Orange Tiny Terror Vs. Epiphone Valve Junior

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oDD

oDD

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Has anyone had an opportunity to A/B these two heads? I'm interested in a low wattage amp w/ great tone for recording, rehearsal, and small venue use. I've heard great things about both of these. I knoww the TT has the 15w/7w option which is definitley a plus.
Is the Orange really worth the $400 difference?
Things im interested in are Tone, Volume, Build, Wow Factor.

Thanks for any input!
 
I can't speak for the Epi but the Orange sounds amazing. I got to play a '54 Strat through one yesterday. The Orange sounded better than the '50s tweed Champ. I LOVE old Champs. Hows that for praise?
 
oDD said:
Has anyone had an opportunity to A/B these two heads? I'm interested in a low wattage amp w/ great tone for recording, rehearsal, and small venue use. I've heard great things about both of these. I knoww the TT has the 15w/7w option which is definitley a plus.
Is the Orange really worth the $400 difference?
Things im interested in are Tone, Volume, Build, Wow Factor.

Thanks for any input!
Click to expand...

Two different leagues dude, the TT has way more options than the Epi.
 
jonnyc said:
Two different leagues dude, the TT has way more options than the Epi.
Click to expand...

Dude...
Way more options?
No offense meant but I wasn't really intersted in the options or what league you place them in - I have read up on both of these amps. Orange amps are the shit - but i want to know how the Epi compares sonically. Have you actually played both of these or are you just basing your response on the name? If you have actually played them - please let me know what you thought of the sounds they emanate.
Is there really no comparison? Cuz ive hear great things about both...
Thanks for the response regardless.

Both are single channel amps.
Both are basic as hell.
One cost a bunch more, has a Tone, Gain, and 15/7 Watt switch, and probably sounds a shit load better - but I havent had a chance to play either myself which is why i am posting.

Anyone who has played either the Tiny Terror or the Valve junior, or both - please let me know what you think.

Thanks
 
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I've never played the TT, but I do have 2 of the Epi's.
I have a junior head only and the special version which
has a lot more to offer. The special has volume, gain, treble, mid, bass, reverb and effects. It also has a pretty decent sounding 10" speaker.
I upgraded to JJ tubes and both amps sound great. I must say the tone controls on the special are not very sensitive but still quite useful.

But tone is a subjective thing, the tone to me is not is the same ball park as say my Fender Supersonic but then the junior was $100, the special $240 and the supersonic $1200.
 
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well, I have a good friend back in Baton Rouge who has been gigging for the last 8 months or so with an Epi and a couple of weeks ago he said he was going to try the TT and get one if he liked it.
I'll give him a call a bit later in the day and see what he thought ..... he's 'the king of tone' so he'll have a useful opinion on them.
 
Bob,

Thanks! That would be great.

Meant to mention this earlier but forgot - I've also heard that there are some mods for the Epi that really make a huge difference over stock. There is a Mercury Mod out there that changes out transformers, caps, etc. Anyone have any experiece w/ this or done anything similar?

http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/specials/ValveJrPjt/EVJ-01.htm

Thanks for the responses so far.
 
my VJ sounds pretty good since i replaced the chinese sovteks with some JJ's. it's still a little muddy though. but it's got a nice character, records surprisingly well, takes pedals great and has a flavor i didn't have before.

as for the Mercury mod, lots of people have done it and reported that it really makes the amp a whole lot better. it oughta.

then again, who wants to put $300 worth of mods into a $100 amp? if that were my goal, i'd probably be buying a $400 amp in the first place. :D

i haven't played a TT, but i would expect it to be a considerable improvement from the VJ, modded or not.


cheers,
wade
 
oDD said:
Dude...
Way more options?
No offense meant but I wasn't really intersted in the options or what league you place them in - I have read up on both of these amps. Orange amps are the shit - but i want to know how the Epi compares sonically. Have you actually played both of these or are you just basing your response on the name? If you have actually played them - please let me know what you thought of the sounds they emanate.
Is there really no comparison? Cuz ive hear great things about both...
Thanks for the response regardless.

Both are single channel amps.
Both are basic as hell.
One cost a bunch more, has a Tone, Gain, and 15/7 Watt switch, and probably sounds a shit load better - but I havent had a chance to play either myself which is why i am posting.

Anyone who has played either the Tiny Terror or the Valve junior, or both - please let me know what you think.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me, I was one of the the first people on here to post a clip of the VJ. It's like this, if you need an amp to take pedals and you don't really care much about options the Epi would do you fine. If you want options and a superior dirty tone(compared to the epi) then you'll want the TT. You'll probably get further if you stop assuming people like me don't know what we're talking about, had I had no experience with either amp I wouldn't have fucking posted.
 
...

The Tiny Terror is an all around better amp, for me anyway.

The Epi was weak, I owned both for two weeks, and sent the Epi back gladly.
 
just talked to my friend .... he tried the TT and bought one.
Said it was just more versatile .... he liked the wattage options and he especially liked having some EQ control even if limited.
Of course, for the price difference you'd expect this.
West Labs offers some Epi mods where you essentially get one of their mega buck mini amps so that might be interesting too.
 
Just forget about brand names for a minute. If you are serious about the "Orange" TT, which is only a head so you still need a cab, I would suggest a used THD UniValve. A used one can be had for $600 on ebay. IMO it is one of the most versatile tube amps available for a small home studio. And its build like a tank.

Otherwise I would stick with a $100 Epi.
 
jonnyc said:
Are you kidding me, I was one of the the first people on here to post a clip of the VJ. It's like this, if you need an amp to take pedals and you don't really care much about options the Epi would do you fine. If you want options and a superior dirty tone(compared to the epi) then you'll want the TT. You'll probably get further if you stop assuming people like me don't know what we're talking about, had I had no experience with either amp I wouldn't have fucking posted.
Click to expand...


Jonnyc,

I didn't assume you knew nothing about either amp. I wanted more info about the amps which you provided in this post. Just posting that they are in different classes doesnt help me much - I had a feeling you had more to offer. Thanks for the post.
 
Micter said:
Even after all the mods you could do to an Epi Valve Jr. it still won't be in the same ballpark as the Tiny Terror. Not even close.
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These mods would absolutely get it into the same ballpark as the TT although it might be reasonable to say these aren't exactly mods per se.
http://www.valvejr.com/
 
I dont know.....I had a VJ all modded out, and the TT I tried at the store walked all over my VJ..... no contest!
 
did you look at the mods I put a link to ? That's why I said they're aren't exactly mods per se because they are more like buying an entire amp, just in the samebox.
One of them ups it to 15watt amp with full EQ. Does your Vr have that?

Once again .... they basically replace everything so I don't think it's fair to say it's a mod when it's much more than that.
 
Spending more than $50 to mod a VJ is like flushing your money down the crapper. I have a VJ and love the thing the way it is ( except for the stock tubes). I have tried the TT and it blows the VJ away. Instead of spening $250 to mod the VJ, spend the dough on the TT.

I have another rediculous MOD project for the VJ. Lets mod it into Traynor YCV40-WR.

Modding the VJ is pointless except for tubes and a few resistor tweeks.
If you are that gung-ho why not just build an amp from scratch?
 
Henry Mars said:
Spending more than $50 to mod a VJ is like flushing your money down the crapper. I have a VJ and love the thing the way it is ( except for the stock tubes). I have tried the TT and it blows the VJ away. Instead of spening $250 to mod the VJ, spend the dough on the TT.

I have another rediculous MOD project for the VJ. Lets mod it into Traynor YCV40-WR.

Modding the VJ is pointless except for tubes and a few resistor tweeks.
If you are that gung-ho why not just build an amp from scratch?
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well actually that's in the plans when I get some spare time.
But once again ....did you really read the link I posted? Doesn't seem like it.They don't really mod the amp as much as they use it as a basis to build their amp for a cheaper price than they would be able to without the Epi as a starting point.
I was partially being facetious which is why I've repeatedly said that those links weren't what I'd actually call a mod ..... and the meaning of that, if it's still unclear, is that I don't actually consider those to be mods as much as a totally different amp.
Go back to the "How many amps do you own" thread and see if I may have enough amps to know about the difference between a $100 Epi and a $400 Orange.
I posted a link to a totally over the top rebuild of the Epi as a joke more than anything else but I bet that the $500 West rebuild of the Epi is definitely a comparable amp NOT that I'm suggesting that anyone should go and do it and I wouldn't mod my Epi at all since I have 13 other amps to use if I want something different.
 
Henry Mars said:
Spending more than $50 to mod a VJ is like flushing your money down the crapper. I have a VJ and love the thing the way it is ( except for the stock tubes). I have tried the TT and it blows the VJ away. Instead of spening $250 to mod the VJ, spend the dough on the TT.
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Time and money has little to do with modding and building.
I haven't used a TT, but I can understand it costing $550 because it has more parts and a metal cage, but I would argue that it is in all likeliness still a typical musical product of China when push comes to shove. I am talking bout build quality, not the sound. I am sure it would hold its own next a Mexican Blues Junior or any other similarly price amp.

Also, something to remember, the Epi is essentially a modern version of the old Fender Champs; a cheap, low wattage practice amp, with a decent tone.
The Orange TT is a more complex circuit (at least it better be for the price), so its not catering to the exact same crowd. The only thing in common is they are both budget oriented.

Lt. Bob said:
well actually that's in the plans when I get some spare time.
But once again ....did you really read the link I posted? Doesn't seem like it.They don't really mod the amp as much as they use it as a basis to build their amp for a cheaper price than they would be able to without the Epi as a starting point.
I was partially being facetious which is why I've repeatedly said that those links weren't what I'd actually call a mod ..... and the meaning of that, if it's still unclear, is that I don't actually consider those to be mods as much as a totally different amp.
Go back to the "How many amps do you own" thread and see if I may have enough amps to know about the difference between a $100 Epi and a $400 Orange.
I posted a link to a totally over the top rebuild of the Epi as a joke more than anything else but I bet that the $500 West rebuild of the Epi is definitely a comparable amp NOT that I'm suggesting that anyone should go and do it and I wouldn't mod my Epi at all since I have 13 other amps to use if I want something different.
Click to expand...
Some people just don't grasp the concept of having something custom and/or unique.
 
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