Closed Eye
New member
I went into GuitarCenter in McAllen, Texas over the Labor Day weekend while visiting my fiance's family looking to buy a practice/jam amp for around $200.00. I walked in, looked around, and decided to try the Epiphone Valve Special.
The amp is/has 5 watts, Class A, 10" speaker (epiphone), two 12AX7 preamp tubes, one EL84 output tubes, reverb, 10 DSP effects (Chorus, Flange, Delay), master volume, basic tone controls (gain, bass, mid, treble), speaker out, footswitch input (DSP), and a reverb control. The instructions say the amp is based on "classic amps from the 50s" and I'd be inclined to agree. If you're looking for Marshall crunch or Boogie distortion stay far, far away. This amp offers low gain, blusey tones and overdrive reminiscent of classic country and rock n' roll albums (think Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Chuck Berry). The Valve Special retails for $239 but thanks to a grand opening/labor day sale I secured this sweet piece of kit for $179!
For only being five watts the Special is LOUD and extra volume is added onto the single by kicking up the gain. The gain control runs the two extremes from clean to fuzzy with some sweet classic overdrive tones in between. The Special is very touch sensitive, with a softer touch resulting in cleaner tones and harder picking creating a warmer growl. The tone controls have a fairly larger taper, with each giving different sounds in their respective signal ranges. The amp's most noticable frequencies were the mids, making it quite warm, with least noticable frequencies in the bass register; not so much giving low end as much as suggesting it.
To give the amp a different flavor I picked up a DS-1 along with it to see if the class distortion box would push it over the edge. I was, needless to say, pleasantly surprised with the results. The DS-1 gave the classic 50s sounding amp Marshall clip and lifted the bass frequency out of the humle 10" speaker with wild abandon. I managed to get classic rock palm mutes, screaming solos, and sweet noise.
The preset DSP effects are actually pretty good, offering subtle to extreme variations of chorus, flange, and delay. The effects are arranged in a circular manner and selected via a locking knob that has a nice "click" when the effect is selected. The first two chorus selections are nice and subtle, resembling something close to a Small Clone. The flange settings are, of course, the classic air plane whoosing sounds we've all come to know and love. On the two "extreme" settings both the chorus and the flange have a nice, tremolo type warble to them. The delay settings are the most surprising, going from slap-back echo to sound-on-sound delay similar to the longer delays on the Boss DD-3.
My only complaint, and a reviewer in GuitarPlayer expressed similar sentiments, is the speaker. The speaker tends to muddy up when turned to higher volumes and certain frequencies seem to get pushed out: the little thing can't take it! If you only play lower volumes this isn't much a concern but the first chance I get I'm changing the speaker out!
At $239/retail and $179/lucky a class A tube amp combo like the Epiphone Value is hard to pass up. The buy is definantly justifiable and won't break the bank by any means. If you're looking for a practice amp or something for smaller gigs the Epiphone Valve Special is the place to go. With a speaker out you can also plug the little guy into a cabinet, thus freeing it from the 10" mud at higher volumes. If you stick a distortion or OD stomp in front of the Special you can also pretty much get any tone you want from it. If you've already got an amp you love and need a practice amp or if you're just getting into tube territory but not sure where to go the Epiphone Valve Special is definantly the amp for you.
-Brian
The amp is/has 5 watts, Class A, 10" speaker (epiphone), two 12AX7 preamp tubes, one EL84 output tubes, reverb, 10 DSP effects (Chorus, Flange, Delay), master volume, basic tone controls (gain, bass, mid, treble), speaker out, footswitch input (DSP), and a reverb control. The instructions say the amp is based on "classic amps from the 50s" and I'd be inclined to agree. If you're looking for Marshall crunch or Boogie distortion stay far, far away. This amp offers low gain, blusey tones and overdrive reminiscent of classic country and rock n' roll albums (think Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Chuck Berry). The Valve Special retails for $239 but thanks to a grand opening/labor day sale I secured this sweet piece of kit for $179!
For only being five watts the Special is LOUD and extra volume is added onto the single by kicking up the gain. The gain control runs the two extremes from clean to fuzzy with some sweet classic overdrive tones in between. The Special is very touch sensitive, with a softer touch resulting in cleaner tones and harder picking creating a warmer growl. The tone controls have a fairly larger taper, with each giving different sounds in their respective signal ranges. The amp's most noticable frequencies were the mids, making it quite warm, with least noticable frequencies in the bass register; not so much giving low end as much as suggesting it.
To give the amp a different flavor I picked up a DS-1 along with it to see if the class distortion box would push it over the edge. I was, needless to say, pleasantly surprised with the results. The DS-1 gave the classic 50s sounding amp Marshall clip and lifted the bass frequency out of the humle 10" speaker with wild abandon. I managed to get classic rock palm mutes, screaming solos, and sweet noise.
The preset DSP effects are actually pretty good, offering subtle to extreme variations of chorus, flange, and delay. The effects are arranged in a circular manner and selected via a locking knob that has a nice "click" when the effect is selected. The first two chorus selections are nice and subtle, resembling something close to a Small Clone. The flange settings are, of course, the classic air plane whoosing sounds we've all come to know and love. On the two "extreme" settings both the chorus and the flange have a nice, tremolo type warble to them. The delay settings are the most surprising, going from slap-back echo to sound-on-sound delay similar to the longer delays on the Boss DD-3.
My only complaint, and a reviewer in GuitarPlayer expressed similar sentiments, is the speaker. The speaker tends to muddy up when turned to higher volumes and certain frequencies seem to get pushed out: the little thing can't take it! If you only play lower volumes this isn't much a concern but the first chance I get I'm changing the speaker out!
At $239/retail and $179/lucky a class A tube amp combo like the Epiphone Value is hard to pass up. The buy is definantly justifiable and won't break the bank by any means. If you're looking for a practice amp or something for smaller gigs the Epiphone Valve Special is the place to go. With a speaker out you can also plug the little guy into a cabinet, thus freeing it from the 10" mud at higher volumes. If you stick a distortion or OD stomp in front of the Special you can also pretty much get any tone you want from it. If you've already got an amp you love and need a practice amp or if you're just getting into tube territory but not sure where to go the Epiphone Valve Special is definantly the amp for you.
-Brian
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