Just got an Epiphone Valve Junior head .....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lt. Bob
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Anything is better than the 8 inch combo. Do not record the 8 inch combo, unless you want to sound like an a.m. radio. In fact, I'd say many (budget) combo amps are not really good enough sounding to record.

This little amp is awesome thru any combination of 12 inch speakers. I run it into a 2x12 with a Weber Michigan and a Jensen C12K and it sound great cranked all the way....
 
TelePaul said:
That'd be overkill in terms of recoridng IMO.
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That depends a lot on what you're going for. As knowledgable as you are you should know that. Thru a 4x12 you get a little more clean before the breakup which can be a good thing, and on the flip side you can push a 1x12 to a more distorted sound. I have both a 4x12 and a 1x12 with identical speakers and the 4x12 sounds huge when recorded while the 1x12 sounds kind of small and thin. So if you need a nice fat rock sound the 4x12 IMO will get you closer than a 1x12. However for some of the bluesier stuff I've done thru the 1x12 was really nice. Why would you think a 4x12 is overkill for recording? Do you have any idea how many 4x12 cabinets have been used in the recording process over the years?
 
jonnyc said:
That depends a lot on what you're going for. As knowledgable as you are you should know that. Thru a 4x12 you get a little more clean before the breakup which can be a good thing, and on the flip side you can push a 1x12 to a more distorted sound. I have both a 4x12 and a 1x12 with identical speakers and the 4x12 sounds huge when recorded while the 1x12 sounds kind of small and thin. So if you need a nice fat rock sound the 4x12 IMO will get you closer than a 1x12. However for some of the bluesier stuff I've done thru the 1x12 was really nice. Why would you think a 4x12 is overkill for recording? Do you have any idea how many 4x12 cabinets have been used in the recording process over the years?
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I'm not gonna record a 4 x 12 cab in my home studio. I just don''t think its practical to be honest. If I want a thicker sound, I'll double track and maybe tweak the EQ second time round. Double these up, pan left and right.

This reminds me of the time Paul Gilbert tracked 100 guitars on one song...after 10, there was no discernible difference in the sound. Seems alot of kids do this; buy their 100 watt head and half stack but can only run it on master 3 in their bedrooms without some kind of attenuator.
 
TelePaul said:
I'm not gonna record a 4 x 12 cab in my home studio. I just don''t think its practical to be honest. If I want a thicker sound, I'll double track and maybe tweak the EQ second time round. Double these up, pan left and right.

This reminds me of the time Paul Gilbert tracked 100 guitars on one song...after 10, there was no discernible difference in the sound. Seems alot of kids do this; buy their 100 watt head and half stack but can only run it on master 3 in their bedrooms without some kind of attenuator.
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I hear ya, man, low wattage is good wattage. Take it from someone who has been playing a Stratocaster through a Danelectro Honeytone for years.

Does anyone know if you can take a line out to a different cab with the combo version?
 
Well I could run the combo out to a separate cab later if I wanted to, right? Doesn't it have some sort of output on the back? I'm usually just too busy to be looking into building a simple cab (or buying...) at the moment. 4x12 is too much for me though. A single 12" would be cool. I think I'll see if I like the combo though. I know 8" is pretty small but surely people on this board must have recorded the combo to satisfaction?
 
RideTheCrash said:
Well I could run the combo out to a separate cab later if I wanted to, right?
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That's what I'm planning on doing. Has anyone else here done this?
 
I'm pretty sure I was on some website where this guy had two combos pushing a Bassman cab he had. Ideally I would like a 12" speaker though.
 
TelePaul said:
I'm not gonna record a 4 x 12 cab in my home studio. I just don''t think its practical to be honest. If I want a thicker sound, I'll double track and maybe tweak the EQ second time round. Double these up, pan left and right.

This reminds me of the time Paul Gilbert tracked 100 guitars on one song...after 10, there was no discernible difference in the sound. Seems alot of kids do this; buy their 100 watt head and half stack but can only run it on master 3 in their bedrooms without some kind of attenuator.
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Well you can argue all you want but a 4x12 sounds different than a 1x12. I have both and record both all the time. And 30-20, nobodies arguing about wattage, it's about how many speakers to use. We're all talking about a VJ here. BTW the VJ thru the 1x12 isn't that much more quiet than running it thru a 4x12 so I'm failing to see how it wouldn't be practical, in fact I pretty much run it at the same volume no matter what type of cab it's going thru.
 
jonnyc said:
Well you can argue all you want but a 4x12 sounds different than a 1x12. I have both and record both all the time. And 30-20, nobodies arguing about wattage, it's about how many speakers to use. We're all talking about a VJ here. BTW the VJ thru the 1x12 isn't that much more quiet than running it thru a 4x12 so I'm failing to see how it wouldn't be practical, in fact I pretty much run it at the same volume no matter what type of cab it's going thru.
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I'm not argueing man, its all good, just voicing opinions. And no its not about wattage, but it is about volume I guess. Think 32-20 meant low wattage works for recording for the reasons I voiced. I'd consider a 12' speaker just because the treble from an 8'' with a Telecaster would take your head off.
 
the combo sends out a 4 ohm signal, which makes it a little harder to match optimally to a cab (i found two cabs that are rated at 4 ohms). there is no "extension cab" output on the combo-- you have to get an extension cable and attach it to the amplifier section to speaker cable to run it out. i am not particularly knowledgeable about doing how the different impedences between amps and cabs work, but i do know that if you do it wrong, you can start a fire :(
one of the advantages of the head is that it has a multi impedence output. they are cheap enough that i probably will just get a head at some point and a decent cab, though for that price i might just get a carvin lo watter or something.
 
TelePaul said:
I'm not argueing man, its all good, just voicing opinions. And no its not about wattage, but it is about volume I guess. Think 32-20 meant low wattage works for recording for the reasons I voiced. I'd consider a 12' speaker just because the treble from an 8'' with a Telecaster would take your head off.
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Fair enough, and I agree.
 
The VJ combo has one 4-ohm speaker output jack on the back. The cord that connects the internal speaker just hangs there like a dongle. You can connect the internal speaker or you can use your own cord and plug into a 4 ohm cab of any size. It will drive an 8 ohm speaker, but it loses a lot of its smooth scream if you do that.
 
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soundchaser59 said:
The VJ combo has one 4-ohm speaker output jack on the back. The cord that connects the internal speaker just hangs there like a dongle. You can connect the internal speaker or you can use your own cord and plug into a 4 ohm cab of any size. It will drive an 8 ohm speaker, but it loses a lot of its smooth scream if you do that. The head version has one jack with switchable impedance.
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The head version has three jacks, a 4, 8, and 16.
 
I think I'm leaning more towards the head now. I wish my local shop had it in stock though...plus I'd have to look into a cab.
 
Nobody has them in stock right now. I had one on back order for 6 months and cancelled it after Gibson gave me such a fit about fixing the hum in the combo under warranty. Since I was able to prove to them that it was a known flaw in the amp, and the whole world wide web was on to the problem, they reluctantly did the mods for me. But the hassle made me cancel my order for the two VJ heads.
 
soundchaser59 said:
Nobody has them in stock right now.
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The store I ordered mine from has them in their warehouse, but for some reason they're not on the shop-floor. It's driving me mad, I've been chasing this thing for a good few months now. The guy told me that the manager would be there at nine tomorrow, so I'm gonna raise some hell, stamp a few feet, etc...
 
Musicians Friend says they have them in stock, but what do I know?

Unfortunately living in Canada and all, it's easier and cheaper for me to purchase here rather than going through the hassles of shipping and border charges, etc.
 
RideTheCrash said:
Musicians Friend says they have them in stock, but what do I know?

Unfortunately living in Canada and all, it's easier and cheaper for me to purchase here rather than going through the hassles of shipping and border charges, etc.
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Well, one upside to ordering from Musicians Friend (shudder), is that they sell so many that their stock turns over regularly meaning that they will almost certainly send you the newer version. Before I ordered mine, I emailed them and asked if they could check the serial number (which can help determine which version a given unit is) and I received a reply that they couldn't but that their entire stock had been received from the factory w/in a couple months prior to my email. The amp I got definitely does not have a noise problem :D.
 
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