Members prosigna Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I picked up an Epiphone Valve Junior head. Class A tube amp 5-watts. I brought it home, plugged my Tele directly into it. Hooked it up to some speakers and was shocked hoe good a $100.00 amp would sound. I will not get too much into the aspects regarding the small 6-stringed instument since we talk bass. After a few minutes I decided to plug it into a 15" cabinet and plug in my Spector. I have to say I was hoping for an Ampeg sound. That is not what happened. You got a clean signal with the knob at 9:00. At 10:00 it was trash. At 12:00 things were "hide-under-the-bed-ugly". Fully cranked was some un-earthly, non-bass sounding blob. Oh, well. It makes the Tele sing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretless Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 keep it at 9:00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prosigna Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 keep it at 9:00 9:00 is maybe 1/8-watt output. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 The Valve jr is a badass little amp, especially for the money. I plan on trying out my harmonica through it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToeJamFootball Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 The Valve jr is a badass little amp, especially for the money. I plan on trying out my harmonica through it We, Amanetatrons, fear harmonicas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2manband Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 The Valve jr is a badass little amp, especially for the money. I plan on trying out my harmonica through it How ya liking that thing w/ my Leslie 1x10? Got any clips recorded? You're kinda my guinea pig for that setup - if you get good results, I'm gonna pick up a VJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AntiStuff Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 My Fender sounds pretty decent through it at noon, an old school overdrive bass tone. It nothing special, but it will sit nicely in the mix. But it definatly is an awesome guitar amp. I think I might try modding mine eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 How ya liking that thing w/ my Leslie 1x10? Got any clips recorded? You're kinda my guinea pig for that setup - if you get good results, I'm gonna pick up a VJ. nah no recordings yet. i've been working on getting my effects in order and recording bass tracks right now. I hope to get some clips of everything in the near future though. I got a new music123 catalog and they are selliing an epi 1x12 cab that matches the valve jr, I thought that was kind of interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2manband Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 nah no recordings yet. i've been working on getting my effects in order and recording bass tracks right now. I hope to get some clips of everything in the near future though. I got a new music123 catalog and they are selliing an epi 1x12 cab that matches the valve jr, I thought that was kind of interesting Werd- lemme know when you do, I'd mainly be using it for recording guitar tracks, so I'd like to see how it turns out. I also have a Celestion loaded 1x12 if you'd like to try that instead of the 1x10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Werd- lemme know when you do, I'd mainly be using it for recording guitar tracks, so I'd like to see how it turns out. I also have a Celestion loaded 1x12 if you'd like to try that instead of the 1x10. I'll make sure to let you know. I plan on doing some recording next week with it. things have been so hectic around the B-bottom estate that I haven't been able to do all the things I'd like. orange makes a little amp similar to the valve jr (although a bit more expensive) that seems pretty cool. Wray's may have one if you'd be interested in checking it out. How is the Highspire band going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC Bass Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I have one and have modded it with gain, bright and standby switches. Plan to do a couple more mods in the near future. This thing is an AWESOME little guitar amp...wouldn't dare try it with bass though. For 5 watts, this thing is FREAKING LOUD!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted March 28, 2007 Moderators Share Posted March 28, 2007 I love my Epi Valve Jr Head. To the OP that would like a little more clean headroom before the ugly crunch, I would suggest that you try replacing the 12AX7 preamp tube with a 12AT7. I did that in a Marshall with very positive results. The breakup in the gain stage will occur later. This VJ Jr thing is just so Voxy . . . .I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2manband Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I saw a new BitMo attenuator on eBay this morning - $60. Mounts in the rear panel w/ no drilling, no soldering. Might be fun to try - cuz, yeah, 5W is still pretty loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prosigna Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I tried the light bulb attenuator trick described here: http://www.valvejunior.com/ I screwed up twice when trying it. First I rigged one of the bulbs up on the end of a 1/4" cable and plugged it in to the cabinet in parallel. It should be run in series. So I tried again latter in series and the bulb lit up with the corresponding compression you would expect. Still, it was freaking loud. This moring I checked the website again and found my other mistake. I purchased a 4-watt 12-volt bulb. The directions call for a 7-watt bulb. Tonight I am going to try again with two 4-watt bulbs in series (they come 4-to a pack). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RyCLB Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Interesting. I've got one with the gain mod, treble boost mod, EH/JJ tubes and it sounds awesome with guitar. I've also used it along with a direct bass track when recording bass - excellent way to get some cool grind/drive with a bass track. I will say that the EH preamp tubes and JJ power tube made a world of difference to the sound - I highly recommend them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Interesting. I've got one with the gain mod, treble boost mod, EH/JJ tubes and it sounds awesome with guitar. I've also used it along with a direct bass track when recording bass - excellent way to get some cool grind/drive with a bass track. I will say that the EH preamp tubes and JJ power tube made a world of difference to the sound - I highly recommend them. I was wondering when you'd chime in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RyCLB Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I was wondering when you'd chime in Took me a bit, but I found it. I love those little amps. They're just killer for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC Bass Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Interesting. I've got one with the gain mod, treble boost mod, EH/JJ tubes and it sounds awesome with guitar. I've also used it along with a direct bass track when recording bass - excellent way to get some cool grind/drive with a bass track. I will say that the EH preamp tubes and JJ power tube made a world of difference to the sound - I highly recommend them. Hmmm...I have an EH 12ax7 around here somewhere...may have to pop it in there to see just how different it sounds from the Sovtek that comes stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RyCLB Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hmmm...I have an EH 12ax7 around here somewhere...may have to pop it in there to see just how different it sounds from the Sovtek that comes stock. To be honest, the JJ EL84 had a more drastic change than the EH did. Although, the EH made a world of difference when it came to squealing single-coil pickups - I've made a habit of using the EH 12AX7's in amps that have microphonic/squeal issues. They really shine in that aspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prosigna Posted March 29, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 29, 2007 OK. I tried two 4-watt bulbs in series and it worked a little better. It toned down the extreme volume output but still not "bedroom level". I tried again with the two bulbs paralleled to each other and in series with the speaker. No real difference. I am going to get an 8-ohm speaker level transformer rheostat. They get good reviews for reducing the output to bedroom level. You lose some pure tone but you gain the love and admiration of your wife and kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members prosigna Posted April 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 5, 2007 So, I was wrong. I gave the VJ another shot at bass last night. The problem I was having was in the speaker, not the amp. It sounded great right up to just past 12:00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RyCLB Posted April 5, 2007 Members Share Posted April 5, 2007 So, I was wrong. I gave the VJ another shot at bass last night. The problem I was having was in the speaker, not the amp. It sounded great right up to just past 12:00. Good deal! Those are great little amps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Renfield Posted April 5, 2007 Members Share Posted April 5, 2007 The Valve jr is a badass little amp, especially for the money. I plan on trying out my harmonica through it That might sound pretty cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members i_wanna_les_paul Posted April 5, 2007 Members Share Posted April 5, 2007 The Valve jr is a badass little amp, especially for the money. I plan on trying out my harmonica through it You've been listening to the new Clutch album, haven't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted April 5, 2007 Members Share Posted April 5, 2007 You've been listening to the new Clutch album, haven't you? Just like 8 or 9 times a day, so not that much:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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