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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lt. Bob
  • Start date Start date
TelePaul said:
Could be a bottleneck in the Supply Chain.
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Yeah, I'll tell ya where I'm gonna stick that bottleneck if Walton's don't get the finger out and get them in stock.
 
I have a lot of shit to do today but I just got back from a trip to the store I squeezed in. I decided to go give the VJ combo a try. I normally hate playing in stores, partly because I suck, and of course with this amp you gotta crank it to a certain level to obtain whatever tone you're going for...but I sucked it up and tried it. The serial # started with 0905, so I assume it's a version one...it was kind of noisy, but I'm used to it.

I used an MIA (I think?) Strat and tuned it from scratch while I let the tubes do their thing. The clean was pretty damn good but the amp seemed to take a while to enter a dirty sound. While it did sound somewhat grainy I still liked the sound at the same time...it was kind of bizarre, I guess I'm used to hear solid state grain and it's kind of like "yuck". I ran through some riffs I normally play to get an all around idea of the sound and I think overall I was impressed. I'd use the amp strictly for recording so double tracking and stuff I think would beef up the dirty sound for me.

One guy working there came by and mentioned running it through a cab and I mentioned I've heard good things about the head and he made it sound like it would be no problem ordering one. So this is where I'm kind of...stuck for now. For such a cheap price, I'm still attracted to this amp, and I think it'd sound great through a cab, but of course...I have none and I'm not sure what the store has on hand, etc. I think maybe in a few months...I'll keep my eye on it. I'm getting married in June and you guys know that ain't cheap.
 
Thanks, though it's stressful to plan for and all that. A small tube amp for recording is on my big list of things to get, and this is tempting. Fortunately the girl I'm marrying is a musician herself, so she understands.

I think next time I try the amp out, I'll bring my strat copy so I have better reference to the sound I'll be getting.
 
EPi jam

I just got an opportunity to play the EVjr. for awhile at GC, in the little room.
It was fun, first noticed that it was quiet/no hum.

The clean seemed to be very quiet, around 12 o'clock it was coming to life...i left it wide open for awhile or until others came into the room.imo.

I also had access to a really nice large head/cab Mesa Boogie too for comparison and its 4x12 cab.(that was frkn swwweeeeettt..but the cost of ~30qty EVjr.'s! :eek: )

Anyway, $100, the Epi had a really nice compression sound at wide open and is where i preferred the tone.
great little amp, loved the simplicty too.... volume knob.
I'd probably leave it full on and run a pedal into it for volume and effects, eq pedals etc... its really a cool amp. a breeze to lug around.mic the thing if you need to. thumbs up.

I wonder if the expensive 4 x 12 Mesa Cabinet helped made a huge difference? I have 2,raw 12incher's..

Can anyone clarify, as I understand the literature, the combo is now the same circuit as the EVjr.
I'm not 100% sure but read somewhere the combo issues were all worked out?
same amp these days as the head?
 
COOLCAT said:
Can anyone clarify, as I understand the literature, the combo is now the same circuit as the EVjr.
I'm not 100% sure but read somewhere the combo issues were all worked out?
same amp these days as the head?
Click to expand...

Far as I know, the combo issues are all worked out, no hum, no nise, no nothing, so long as the combo in question is made in 2006, and no earlier.
 
The easiest mod to do is replace the speaker. I put a Jensen C8R in mine for $25. Way better sound. But a 2x12 four ohm cab is the best way to play it.
 
soundchaser59 said:
Any idea why Gibson doesn't want to repair the hum in my VJ Combo? I got one at a super discount, thinking I could get the hum fixed under warranty.

Aint happenin! Gibson says if the amp is "up to original spec" then there is no repair to authorize, even though the "original spec" is a flawed spec that causes the nasty hum. Even though the newer versions of the same amp have no hum because Gibson fixed the design flaw, which proves that they are aware of a known problem. The fix is simple (power supply filtering, input jack ground) but they wont touch it.

Those people at Gibson royally pissed me off today. I cancelled my order for the other VJ heads I was going to buy.
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Then, how about buying a new one and returning the old one. They look the same, don't they?
 
I've had a VJcombo for some time now, It's a very good amp to play at home. I use a Vox Tonelab or an Engl Tubetoner preamp in front it, and both sound great!... For recording I'm thinking of getting a 12" speaker, one of those encased in a closed box with a mic inside.:cool:

Should be great!!:D
 
addicted to small amps

Ever since I got my first EVjr head I've becomed addicted to small amps.
Next I purchase a EVjr special, then a Roland mirco cube, then a Vox 15r
and now a Traynor YCV-20WR. All are quite impressive amps in their own
right.
 
small amps...if it sounds good ...

I read Layla was recorded on a Champ, not sure what the whole setup was..a SM57? I always thought that was so shocking...I just read it the past year or so. Makes a person wonder what is really required for a good track?
 
COOLCAT said:
small amps...if it sounds good ...

I read Layla was recorded on a Champ, not sure what the whole setup was..a SM57? I always thought that was so shocking...I just read it the past year or so. Makes a person wonder what is really required for a good track?
Click to expand...

The right player, with the right amp, and the right mike in the right position.

Simple concept.
Complex in execution. :)
 
I was a little late to jump on the Valve Junior wagon, but better late than never. I bought a used head a couple months ago. The original sovtek tubes didn't sound nearly as nice as the vintage RCA's I swapped in. It still sounded a little dark for my taste. I then modified the input, and power supply to something more of a fender scheme. I dig this amp! The cabinet I built for it is a 1X12 open back with a 16 ohm 15w AlNiCo speaker pulled from an organ. To keep things bedroom friendly I built an 11db attenuator that throttles it down to less than a half watt. Even at that power level the very efficient low wattage speaker really responds well. It's amazing how loud 1/2w can actually be. I'm on the lookout for another head so I can run them stereo. It's hard to beat these amps for the price.
 
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