Members Flannery Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I posted this over in the amp section too, but I find sometimes they are not all that helpful over there. Did I waste my money? I ordered one from MF, and being in Canada it will probably take a month to get here . I hear they are pretty good for what they are (especially at $99), but I have a few questions... Are they loud enough for small gigs? Do they handle pedals well? I figure I'll run my Blues driver into it with an EQ pedal. Will this give me a decent variety of sounds? Are they built well? Any flaws out of the box? I guess I'll find out for myself when it shows up, but I figured I might as well get some opinions in the meantime.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattSkibaIsGOD Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I don't know about the other questions but you sure didn't waste your money. It's the best amp around for $100. I love mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tonefinger Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I am not that impressed. I think mine sounds rather bland and lifeless. For the price, it was worth the risk, but I would not replace it if it were to crap out on me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I don't think you'll regret this purchase at all. Not sure whether it's loud enough for gigs - a smaller venue possibly. Bigger venue it will have to be miked. There are a ton of mods available by the way. I just posted this, and have been doing a ton of research on this. I found a guy who is going to really hot rod my amp and make it sing. The main thing people do to these amps is change the transformers. I have one on order ($31) and it is supposed to make a big difference in the quality of the sound. And change the tubes too. But I am going a few steps further and have a bunch of stuff upgraded and it doesn't cost much at all. I'll post more when it's complete - sometime in early April. But even stock this amp is pretty cool. It takes pedals well, although experimenting with the order is important. I noticed I was getting a lot of hiss out of mine, figured it was the amp or the cabinet I got. I decided to go direct, from guitar to amp, and voila, no hiss at all. I ended up taking out my Digitech RP80 unit, and that seemed to be the culprit. Not sure why, as it didn't make any hiss on my SS amp. But I put most of my pedals back, and it does well. If you want to know more about the mods, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thefuryone Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I posted this over in the amp section too, but I find sometimes they are not all that helpful over there.Did I waste my money?I ordered one from MF, and being in Canada it will probably take a month to get here .I hear they are pretty good for what they are (especially at $99), but I have a few questions...Are they loud enough for small gigs?Do they handle pedals well? I figure I'll run my Blues driver into it with an EQ pedal. Will this give me a decent variety of sounds?Are they built well? Any flaws out of the box?I guess I'll find out for myself when it shows up, but I figured I might as well get some opinions in the meantime.... Head or cab? I bought a used cab with some upgraded American tubes. I love mine. I would definitely suggest putting an EQ pedal in front of it, and boosting the mids. Took my bad monkey amazingly. Sounds really really good. Won't get Fender cleans out of it exactly, but it does sound really good with all my guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ESchmidt Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I liked mine a lot when I had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ozark Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I like mine. I have the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrChitlins Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 Why are you asking these questions AFTER you bought it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wats Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 My Pop bought me the head version for Christmas (since I'm old now he didn't know what to get me and I told him that would be a nice toy under the tree). I have it hooked up to my Marshall 1965 4x10 cab and run the GNX3000 through it - sounds pretty darn great for home playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mo' Cowbell Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I really like the head version. Sounds good through some Marshall mini-stack speakers. I can't say I'd gig with it unless you mike it through a PA. It's more than bedroom loud, but not quite gig loud. It would work well in a studio. Pedals work great with it. If you want to use it to it's full potential, an attenuator or similar device is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xupernaut Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I really like mine its a loud little beast.I swapped in a different pre-amp tube sounds a little smoother not a huge difference.That transformer mod looks interesting and cheap.Now I just need a reverb pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newmaxnew Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 The transformer swap made the biggest improvement to tone in mine. I also did the bitmo trio mod but I really only use the tone control from that mod. My Valve Junior screams now. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spleggjx Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I don't know about the other questions but you sure didn't waste your money. It's the best amp around for $100. I love mine. Must be fate. I have been thinking about the Valve Junior for a while. This thread reminded me of my recurring GAS attack. Just pulled the trigger on a Blem at MF for $76.00. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 They are *potentially* great amps to learn about amp modding and to get good tone for little money. Stock, most people seem to reckon they are a bit fizzy and can also be a little muddy in the bass. There is a HUGE thread on www.18watt.com which is an absolute 'must read' for anyone wanting to mod their VJ. Look at pages 30 to 33 of the thread - you want the 'gold' mods. Swapping the output transformer for a Hammond 125 DSE or ESE will be the best upgrade as people have already suggested. The other things that help are replacing the 2 coupling caps (IIRC C3 and C4) with 2uF jobs and the cathode cap on the EL84 with a 1000uf unit. That will remove the flab from the bass while retaining decent bass response. R6 and R7 (both 1meg) should be replaced with a single 100K resistor(i.e. remove the one going to ground). There's a bunch of other things that you can try, but those are the fundamentals. Now just IMO, but I reckon this amp will sound best with the most minimal controls: no tone stack, no gain - just a single volume control. Sure you can't control drive at low volumes, but it'll give you the liveliest, sparkliest most responsive little amp with the greatest tonal purity possible. Volume wise, with a 2X12 with efficient speakers you could gig comfortably in small clubs with a drummer, though obviously you won't be clean at all. Valve-wise, Ei and JJ EL84s and JJ 12AX7s sound OK, or find some NOS 12AU7/12AT7s for slightly less gain and more clarity. IF you can find an affordable one, Mullard EL84s will make this amp sound huge, but Brimar are also good. Hope you enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 In a coffee-house-like gig, it should be fine. My wife complains about the volume when I'm in the basement and she's on the second floor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Swimrunner Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 In a coffee-house-like gig, it should be fine. My wife complains about the volume when I'm in the basement and she's on the second floor! good assessment, i agree. if you have your drummer playing with the practice sticks to balance the volume 5 watts should be excellent for small gigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IdaCrue Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 This place looks very very interesting. They sell Valve Junior replacement boards with all the upgrades already completed. Various changes to the board components give different amp flavors. http://www.turretboards.com/valve_junior_page.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 Turretboards are good guys - Ken worked with the guys on 18watt.com to produce that marshall/gold mod board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimboJ Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 So how difficult is it to replace the transformer? Can someone with limited soldering skills do it without f#$%ing it up too bad? My soldering experience so far has been limited to replacing guitar pickups and pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 I found a guy who is going to do a substanial number of mods for me. I won't say who it is just yet til the deal is done and I am happy with his work, but here is what I am getting for $100: Mods to the Epi Valve Jr are going to be extensive; transformer (which I am supplying) new caps, new turret board, new tubes, adding a standby switch, and a bunch of other things I don't remember even what we discussed but basicially the mods you see on 18 watt. Plus, he's installing new pups in a guitar for me, plus he's modding 3 pedals similar to the Keeley mods. No shipping is involved as I am traveling to his place on a business trip (bonus is the mileage I'l get for the trip will more than pay for all of these mods! Yeah, I'm lazy perhaps, but I don't have any tools to make these mods, and he is far more qualified than me, and understands this stuff a lot better than me. I'll post my findings next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 I'm glad you found someone to do the work for you. I think it will wind up being a more satisfactory experience for you. Those boards are awesome. I'm gald someone did those. I can't say that the board will make a tone difference, but the VJr needs to get away from that piss poor pcb layout. These amps are awesome. I prefer the combos cause you get a speaker too, and they are a good height for taking a seat. Let us know how you like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikesr1963 Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 Did I waste my money? If you did not know this before your ordered, then yes, you wasted your money. I hear they are pretty good for what they are (especially at $99), but I have a few questions... Are they loud enough for small gigs? No, they are not loud enough for gigging. Do they handle pedals well? I figure I'll run my Blues driver into it with an EQ pedal. Will this give me a decent variety of sounds? No, they do not handel pedals well. The best sound is being directly plugged in. Are they built well? Any flaws out of the box? Flawless. I guess I'll find out for myself when it shows up, but I figured I might as well get some opinions in the meantime....B-I-N-G-O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 Yes, they do handle pedals well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Splendor Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 It's the "Amp so nice, I bought it twice". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blue Apple Posted March 10, 2007 Members Share Posted March 10, 2007 Great amp... even better with a couple mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.