Epi 5 watt Valve Jr.

[dnic]

Hi folks, I bought the Epi 5 watt valve jr. tube amp last Thursday. I have the Peavy classic 50 tube w/ 4x10 and it is a killer amp but it weighs 100.000 lbs and it needs to be really loud to hear the warm fuzzie tube sounds. Let me clarify I have the 5 watt head and extension cab. with the 12" speaker. I've had one rehearsal and one gig with it so far and it's doing just what I'd hoped it would. Give me nice tube sound without blowing my face off. But I gotta tell ya it has a lot of power/ volume. I've been trying for some time to get a lighter amp without all the extra fxs and carpola but thought 5 watts might not be enough. But it is more than enough for stage volume and mic'ed for the house.

The guys in both the bands involved were also impressed with the punch and the tone.

I really like the tube growl I can get with this amp even at low volumes. And the retro look is just a cool added bonus. Man this sounds like a commercial.

Any of you guys tried the little amps? what did you experience?

dane

[dnic]

Forgot to link to the thing. Ck it out

guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Valve-Jr-HalfStack?sku=481475

d

[cknowles]

You're right the Valve Jr. is a fantastic little amp. The 12" separate cabinet really makes it. I tested the Jr. combo amp and was disappointed at the tone from the small 8" speaker. Long & McQuade didn't have a Valve Jr. head for me to try, but I did give the Valve Standard a go and just love it.

Have you explored the mod'ing forums for the Valve Jr? There are tons of mods being done on these amps to wring more tone from them.

Check out www.sewatt.com for some interesting reading on single ended amps. The tube store has some neet stuff as well thetubestore.com/bmtrio.html

Just google Valve Junior mod for a bunch of resources

[shattered]

Doesn't get much simpler - input jack, volume, on/off switch! Cool retro look to it.

[dnic]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I read some reviews on this amp after I bought it. Just the way I do things. Some folks said it sounded tubby and changed out the preamp tube but it sounds pretty good to me right out of the box. I will definitely ck out the mod sites though. I am always looking to gain more info on this stuff.

And I really like the one knob thing. Adds to the retro but also lets me listen to my guitars without any kind of pre-shaping of tone. And I don't need any on board fx stuff. I haven't figured out how to access all the options on amps like the Vox valvetronics (which I owned for a week) with huge volume changes from one patch to the next, and what you can pedal up is very limited compared to what the amp can do.

So what about the rest of you guys? any word on small amps?

dane

[Mach Twang]

Thanks for the heads up Dane! I think I know what some lucky lil lady might be getting for the holidays....

[shattered]

You mean small amps in general? I have a Line 6 Spider III 15, basically a 15 watt digital modeling amp with onboard effects. Most of the effects aren't too bad, but the chorus sounds too fake, and I have no use whatsoever for the sweep echo. The delay and reverb are nice, and I like the phase effect. To switch settings you have to tweak and fiddle, so I don't know if I'd recommend it for playing gigs. For being a legend in my own house, it's a decent amp, however.

[jb]

Hi, Did anyone here about the new epiphone valve junior Hot rodded and the new Valve senior 18watt heads ....looks like i''ll be getting the senior reverb ,presence, gain and other new features and all for 299 . Ck out the sites www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ValveJrHRHD/ due in stock by oct 5 can't wait........ck out the picture at the show www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-central-station/114121-epiphone-valve-sr-head-thats-right-senior.html

[dnic]

I just got home from rehearsal with the evj 5 watt. I never had it dialed up past about 15% at the head and kept turning down at my guitar. I can't imagine needing more volume for an inside gig.

I did ck out the links for mods cknowles. And thanks for those. A lot of what I like about this amp is the simplicity. any fxs or verb or any thing, I can get from my pedal (boss me-50). As I mentioned before the guys in both the bands I play in also like the tone this has stock. real round and mellow. Kind of like me.