Is the Epiphone Valve Jr. craze over?

[vibrasonic]

I have the head version, it sounds good through a 2x10 or a 2x12. Its a good amp for the money IMO

[dented]

Originally Posted by bigmuff113

What kind of volume does that put out?

Plenty of "in the house" volume. But I do not get a great low end out of it. I "bass" out the tone knob and try to have fun with it. For the money I like what it does but I do not have a comparison.

[bigmuff113]

Originally Posted by dented

Plenty of "in the house" volume. But I do not get a great low end out of it. I "bass" out the tone knob and try to have fun with it. For the money I like what it does but I do not have a comparison.

So if I were playing small gigs, would it be suitable?

[Warm Gums]

The VJ was a early attempt to bring a budget tube amp to market, early versions had many short comings, the later version with the Emiinence sounded pretty good.

I'm thinking the whole "5 watt no MV" thing has died down a good bit.

Those in detached homes have figured out that they are not quite loud enough for jamming with a drummer, and those in semi detached, or apartment dwellings have figured out they are still too loud when cranked.

The people they work for;studio owners, those with understanding neighbors, have one or are saving for a boutique version.

My understanding is the Marshall class 5 is or will soon be discontinued.

The Orange Ad 5 s difficult to find, and probably discontinued

The Gibson GA-5 is long gone (that was a LOUD amp)

As is the PV mini colossal, and Royal 8 which had a MV and headphone jack, but just didnt sound great..

The latest Vox entry has a master volume....never was impressed by the attenuator on the older AC4. Not much going on at 1/2and1/4 and1/10 was too much (or too little ) of a good thing..

The less said about the Crate 5 the better...

The 600 seems to be hanging in,as it's pretty quiet with its small cab, and tiny speaker,(I suspect that its only putting out @ 3 watts..) sort of a forerunner for what seems to be coming..the sub 5 watt amp like the Gretta, or Marshall 1 watt.

[LGOberean]

Three or four years ago I tried one out at the local GC. The stack, not the combo.



I wouldn't know about the combo version, but that little 5 watt head through that birch plywood cab w/ the 12" Eminence Lady Luck speaker was pretty good. I remember thinking at the time, "Well, it's a one trick pony, but as tricks go, it's not such a bad one." I didn't have the strong negative reaction to it that others have expressed here ("abysmal," "the worst," etc.).

But then again I guess I didn't have a strong positive reaction either. It was sort of fun, but it didn't grab me. The price was tempting and I liked the looks of that little stack, but I didn't wind up pulling the trigger.

[studio1087]

I ordered a Lopo cab with a wheat grill (to match my Valve Jr) back in the day.

It was a thrill when it came out. It was too dark for me. I found this old photo. The low power Trio.......

[fezz parka]

I have found that they are at their best when converted to a 6g15 reverb unit.

[spankdplank]

Pretty horrible out of the box, but I had a lot of fun educating myself on amp construction by ceaselessly modding it in search of good sounds. Ultimately I converted mine to an 18 watt Marshall clone with 2 EL84 and 2 12AX7 tubes and use it all the time. It's now perfect and will not be the subject of future experiments. The PT, on/of switch, power chord and chassis are about the only remaining VJ parts, so I can't really say I have or play a VJ anymore.

[robt57]

The one I had was modded just short of OT/PT. Old tubes inc a long plate 12AX7, with a good speaker and it had one good voice for sure. It was a lot of modding to get it there. To me, especially on full pipe with a speaker like a greenback or the 1980 G12-80 Celestion I have laying about. Full on Brit area of resonance and tone-ish-ness. ;)

I think those are good learning platforms, but the abundance of one up for sale all the time could suggest dis-satisfaction. Or, it could be like those old Seagate Hard Drives 20 years back. So many where out there they got a bad rep for failing. But in truth there where just so many out there it seemed that way and the rate was actually both normal & reasonable.

In the end, I think folks that appreciate real PTP circuits for the 40/50/60s will hear the lacking comparatively to the complex rich harmonics offered by all the old small amps of those decades/days when running properly. 'IMO' qualifier must be added of course.

As I said, when I had small amps like the Supro made Airline early 60s, and a 1970 mint Princeton, amp like the VJR and the the 5 watt crate I still have [taken in trade] a VC508 and a V5 get little or no cable time. If I am not plugging into the Classic 50, 63 Brown Pro I seem to gravitate towards the Eganator Rebel with all 60s tube in it plugged into the Red Fang in a pine Cab.

I only really use any of them for when folks come to buy a guitar from me anyway, it has been a few years since I played out. So I am not sure if opinions of non active players, and bedroom variety is the best arena for taking advice on gear... As I slowly slip into that realm.. Not dissing said realm, just pointing out what should be obvious.

[jefrs]

Let's hope so!


(I got an EVJh too, just to tinker with you understand)

[Steve G]

"It was a thrill when it came out. It was too dark for me. I found this old photo. The low power Trio......."

Studio1087, i need to steal that for a band name "The low power trio". Bit of a guitarists in-joke but I like it!

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by fezz parka

I have found that they are at their best when converted to a 6g15 reverb unit.

It was cooler when everyone thought you were gettin' "that tone" from a VJ.

You'll notice sales of VJs absolutely stopped when you re-covered it. Everyone said, "Fezz doesn't play a VJ anymore". Single handedly made VJs cool then not cool. That's all she wrote!

[chippertheripper]

I'm in dire need of a twangoverb.

[fezz parka]

[backline]

If any of you guys live near me, I have a Head and the Combo. If we can jive on time, you are welcome to plug in and see what you think.
Best

[DTPBUSCHPILOT]

I still us mine. Sounds great after the speaker gets broken in.

[elmicko]

Is the Bitmo kit for the "twangoverb" conversion the best one out there or are there others?

[andyfromdenver]

Originally Posted by studio1087

I ordered a Lopo cab with a wheat grill (to match my Valve Jr) back in the day.

It was a thrill when it came out. It was too dark for me. I found this old photo. The low power Trio.......

lol. "The Low Power Trio" would be a hilarious name for an admittedly amateur band.

[andyfromdenver]

Originally Posted by Steve G

"It was a thrill when it came out. It was too dark for me. I found this old photo. The low power Trio......."

Studio1087, i need to steal that for a band name "The low power trio". Bit of a guitarists in-joke but I like it!

awww crap, this is why I need to finish threads. touché good man :)

[muchxs]

Valve Juniors are like Rocky Horror Show.

Rocky Horror wasn't and isn't popular because it's a great picture with stellar production values. It's actually kinda crap with a few redeeming qualities. It had a stellar cast. If you watch it on tape rather than in a theater it's slow moving and has big gaps in the dialogue. Audiences filled the gaps in the dialogue. It became an interactive experience and a cult phenomenon.

The VJ is like that. The circuit is designed as if it were built by someone who never saw a tube amp before. It's just plain bad, stock. I've been inside of lots of small vintage amps, Champs of course , GA-5s, Supros, Silvertones, lots of similar small phonograph amps. It's as if everyone who built small amps "back in the day" all worked off the same schematic with few changes. That's because they did use the same schematics. Grab RCA's example circuit for the power supply and the power amp ("small phonograph amp") then splice on a "microphone preamp". Instant "Champ"!

The cult phenom here is the VJ was well provided with "gaps in the dialogue". The low price and the interactive process of fixin' the damn thing are what made it a cult phenomenon. There are only two or three minor changes necessary to make it halfway decent with no additional parts required. It wouldn't cost anything to build it "right" to begin with. I expect that would defeat the interactive process and would have made it less of a success.


While I'm here I'll challenge an urban lengend... Boutique Jellybeans. I can buy boutique jellybeans that taste like jalapenos or hamburgers or pickles. Obviously I'm not eating jalapenos or hamburgers or pickles if I'm eating jellybeans that taste like jalapenos or hamburgers or pickles. Empty caloriies, no nutrition. The Urban Legend evolved that a VJ could be made to sound like a Fender or a Vox or a Marshall by swapping resistors. Resistors it seems are the cure for transformers that aren't designed properly in a circuit containing what can be described as mistakes. Additonal parts are an engineering faux pas to fix an engineering mistake.

Anyway, Boutique Jellybeans. Tastes like a hamburger or even a strawberry but it ain't.