epiphone Valve Junior Tube Amplifier Head
By
Rhino-YotSe, in Guitar Amplifiers
Overall Rating
Sound Quality
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Reliability/Durability
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General Comments
24 years of strappin' on the guitar and it's nice to pick up decent, inspiring gear now and then. I have two other amp heads (I'm a class A half stack kind of guy), a Carvin Vintage 50 (class A) and the above-mentioned Pignose GVR-60 (also class A with the help of THD Yellowjackets). I'd buy this little amp again because it's just so darn cute! And it kicks a little ass too.
Reading these reviews makes this amp sound like the greatest thing since the dual rectifier. It's not! I think the price is attracting a lot of previous solid state users, which is a good thing (life's to short to put up with bad sound!) but this amp gives you just a taste of what el84 tubes can do. They really sound nice on a gritty but clean setting, which is tough to get with this amp. I too retubed this bugger with JJ's because as others have said, Sovteks are kind of industrial and sterile sounding. But it was pretty good out of the box.
There are always thing you wish it had but I can't ask for anything more because I feel I got more than what I paid for. Make no mistake, this is a true bargin in a class A tube head but it's also kind of a one-trick pony. But it's a nice little trick!
And to all those who think this amp is under rated at 5 watts, it's because you've been hearing solid state watts for too damn long. Class A watts are big! Play this through a single 8" speaker and it'll sound small. Plug into a 4x12 cabinet, and it'll sound huge. You got to love that!