epi valve jr head...

Hoss

Hoss

Joyfulnoiseologist
sooo...now that golf "season" has come to a close...i'm back in full blown g.a.s. mode again!!! LOL!!! :nervous::boggled::nervous:

soooo...i was thinking about picking up a valve jr head to run into the ext cab i don't even have in my possesion yet and run it and the traynor in stereo through my tsunami pedal from time to time?!

i already have an extra JJ el84 power tube or two laying around and i think it would sound just down right nasty through that greenback in the 1x12!?

i searched on here and didn't find a whole lot of people with experience on them, but thought i'd ask.

on tgp, there's alot of people who like them alot...especially for what they are and the $$$...i mean they are only like $99 new and you can pick them up for 60 bucks or so used!

sounds like fun to me?!?!?!

oh yeah...anyone have one for sale?
 
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Re: epi valve jr head...

stock they are kinda cool, its a single ended amp which inherently has certain qualitys which we guitar players love but its also a cheap pos. the fact that the amp is single ended means that it is actually class a and cancels less second order harmonics so it sounds pretty rich. its also $100 which means they used the cheapest crap they could get their hands on to put it together.

a friend has the mercury magnetics upgrade kit which, aside from being over priced, turned the amp into one of the most toneful little things youve ever heard. the kit is the same price as three of the heads but its all new transformers and some other things which take the amp into serious tone territory
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

LOL!!! that's what i've been hearing! i personally can't imagine putting that much $$$ into it?!

i think it would be fun to tinker with...and try a few inexpensive mod kits on...to learn about things like that...that way if i screwed it up it wouldn't be an expensive loss ya know!?
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

I just got mine less than an hour ago, hooked to a 4x12 cab, let it warm up, plugged in a Wolfgang, and let it rip.. It sounds really cool out of the box. I think with a little tinkering, this will be great. :firing::firing::firing::firing:I think whatever guy at Epiphone that decided to build this should get a corner office and a raise.
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

darnright said:
I just got mine less than an hour ago, hooked to a 4x12 cab, let it warm up, plugged in a Wolfgang, and let it rip.. It sounds really cool out of the box. I think with a little tinkering, this will be great. :firing::firing::firing::firing:I think whatever guy at Epiphone that decided to build this should get a corner office and a raise.
Click to expand...


Agree 100%! Such a novel concept making a cool little amp for a mere $100 so everyone can afford one.

Not to knock some other builders but some of the prices can get a bit crazy paying a few hundred bucks per watt lol
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

i hear ya and like i said they are a cool little amp but not a tone monster as some people have tried to make it out to be. if youve never played a single ended amp before it will really surprise you how cool it is. if you have played cool single ended amps like a carr mercury or fender champ or tweed princeton you wont be blown away.

in cheaper mods are cool for sure and they can add more high end or gain or whatever you want. the mercury mod basically takes the amp to another level but kinda defeats the low cost benefit of the head
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

i've never played a single ended amp before...what could i expect from it?
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

jeremy pretty much hits every nail right on the head. I did a few mods to mine. The biggest change came from the Hammond OT. Just realize there will not be much headroom from these amps. Unless money is no object, I would not go with the MM mods. That money can be much better used somewhere else. I think if I had it to do all over again I would have just left mine stock. Who knows what kind of reliability record these will have. Time will tell. True class A amps tend to be space heaters. These are not made with the best of parts, so again, time will tell if they hold up to their own heat.
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

Heyboer do a waaay cheaper transformer set that apparently sounds great...
 
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Re: epi valve jr head...

I love my Valve Jr. it may not impress everyone but it works beautifully for my purposes. Sometimes i wish it had more headroom though...
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

Hot _Grits said:
Heyboer do a waaay cheaper transformer set that apparently sounds great...
Click to expand...

i have used heyboer trannys before and i think they are great. mm are great too but over priced. wasnt my amp or money but the change was dramatic.

what should you expect compared to what? in general youll get less bottom, more mid complexity, less headroom and a chewier tone
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

Nice! $35 plus shipping and that makes a pretty serious upgrade in tone for that little amp all by itself. A few component changes and you're pooping in high cotton.
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

I originally bought the Valve Jr. Head with the intention of getting it modified. But after using it for a while, I found that I really like it in stock form. I like the idea of having 1 knob for it, but if you find a tone which you like on it, you can't get that same tone at a different volume. The single knob changes the volume, tone, and fuzziness all at the same time.
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

I love 'em. Wish they had 'em when I first started, I would've grabbed one then and never bought another one.

Thinking of buying one sometime soon for myself, already bought one for my little sister heh...

For about three days a company called Blackheart had an amp that was basically the same thing (and same price) as a Valve Jr. on Musicians Friend, but with a 3-band EQ, and it looked a lot cooler. I'm kinda hoping it comes back because it was sweet.

-X
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

Hot _Grits said:
Here:

http://www.allenamps.com/parts.php#transformers

It's just the OT, not a kit. Part #TO7V
Click to expand...

I talked to David Allen at allen amps today, he suggested the transformer, a choke, new caps and to replace the input resister at input jack. Parts all together were around $70, he said a notable difference will be heard. He also said for not too much more I could install a tone control, although I'm not sure about that yet. Really nice guy, he talked for a long time explaining everything he was talking about. I ordered all except the tone thing, I'll let you know as soon as I get the parts and install them. I appreciate the info about allenamps.com, I had never heard of them, so thanks!
 
Re: epi valve jr head...

darnright said:
I appreciate the info about allenamps.com, I had never heard of them, so thanks!
Click to expand...

Please let us know how it goes with Allen. I just popped over there, and I'm interested in their Champ cabinets, among other things. Looks like a very cool vendor.
 
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