Epiphone Valve Junior Combo

What the &^$# do you think? It only has volume. My friends call it the Man-Amp, because it is bonehead simple to use and play with. It's probably the only Class-A tube amp you're going to see below $200, and I would call that it's best feature. Still, it get's a deserved 2, because at least you can change the volume level.

This is my favorite amp. I have a Behringer 212, and it is a souless, god awful sounding monster. I also have a Fender Hot Rod Deville, which was my first tube amp. I like the sound it has better than both of those. This is the perfect amp for bluesy, funky $%^&, there is a level of responsiveness and warmth that perfectly suits funk, rock, blues, and jazz.

At the lower end of the spectrum, you have a nice warm clean sound, and there is almost no hum. I like this sound for playing in the school jazz band, since our fantastic drummer can keep his dynamics to a reasonable level.

The middle end, around 12 o'clock, it starts to hum a bit, and it'll get crunchy on complex chords and hard-hit notes. This is a fantastic blues and funk zone, and with my beater guitar I can get a Hendrix/Frusciante type tone, and with my hollowbody, I get a more BB King type wail.

Towards the end, you get into Brian May/Jimmy Page land. No, you will not sound exactly like them, but you will be playing through a hot, responsive little combo that hums like the dickens if you aren't playing. If you tack on an overdrive pedal, it goes into a thick, syrupy kinda tone.

Overall, this amp has great tone, a persistent hum, and a versatile sound depending on how many guitars you own. You may want to get some sort of mod for cutting bass, and i'm personally modding it to get rid of hum. My buddy's a tech and he's says $20 worth of caps and resistors will clean up it's act. I'm also aiming to get a little more headroom, but I may just need to play it through a speaker cabinet instead. Remember, 5 watts of class A is rated at a clean level, and it will sound about half as loud as a 50 watt class-A amp all other things (speakers, preamps, etc.) being equal.

The sound is the one I have in my head, plus hum. I can't wait to fix it.

&^$% yeah I'd depend on it. I thought it was cutting out the first week I had it, but it was a guitar wiring problem as it turns out (Curse you squier!). This thing needs to warm up for a couple minutes and cool off a couple minutes between switching it on and off, but other than that it's a low-maintanence beast.

Don't care. If this thing craps out on me, it's got the perfect chassis for a new custom amp. It's speaker is perfect, apparently a Weber, according to my buddy. It's cheap enough to the point where it shouldn't matter about reliability, because if you take it in to a tech, fix it up so it's all vintagey and cool, it's basically like getting a custom amp for the $200 you spent repairing it. I guarantee it will rock in either case.

I got a nice Ibanez hollowbody and a beater Squier 51, and I love the sound of both of these instruments through the valve jr. I don't know why everyone's so hissy about the hum, it's like twenty bucks extra to fix it, why the hell you would miss out on this amp is beyond me.

I've got a Jacques trinity wah, and a Danelectro Daddy O, and both are superb through this baby. I intend to purchase a delay in the future, and will probably want an effects loop, but other than that, I can see no problem with effects.

Well, it has exactly the features I was looking for :-).

As others have said, single-ended Class A. Stock tubes are a Sovtek 12AX7WA in the pre-amp section and a Sovtek EL84 for power. 8-in. speaker. Volume knob.

OK, there are two different issues here: tone and noise. And, of course, they're inter-related, since you can't enjoy the tone if the amp is too noisy.

Even out of the box with the stock Sovteks, the tone was excellent. Just by switching pickups, adjusting the guitar controls and playing with the volume, it was easy to move from a warm, ringing jazz sound to creamy blues, even into classic rock.

But, as others have pointed out, the amp buzzes -- and as you increase the volume, the buzz increases. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, it seems clear that some of the design compromises that went into making a $100 tube amp contribute to this problem. I think it's also clear that there are QC issues at work, since some of the amps are noiser than others.

Anyway, since I got this amp for learning and practice, I could have lived with the stock setup; however, I decided to contact Epiphone to see if they had any suggested fixes. They suggested the problem was a bad pre-amp tube and asked me to take the amp in for service.

The service tech didn't replace any tubes, but did replace a leaky cap and resolder the output tube. The result was an increase in gain but no change in the noise.

At this point I decided to retube. I put in a JJ ECC803s and an Ei EL84. To my ears, the difference in tone was remarkable. I thought the amp sounded good with the Sovteks, but now it was warmer, rounder and with much greater clarity -- but no change in the noise.

I then got some NOS JAN GE 5751s and Mullard M8162s (12AT7). Wow. Noise much reduced while still offering the improved tone of the JJ. For now I'm sticking with the Mullard.

I'm playing an Oscar Schimdt OE-30 with a stock pickup in the neck and a DiMarzio super distorition in the bridge. Play mostly jazz/blues and a little classic rock.

Seems very solid.

Warranty is 5 years on the amp, 90 days on the tubes and (I think) speaker. Epiphone responded quickly when I sent a question via e-mail. The local service center was did the work quickly and called to discuss what they had done and why.

I've only been playing a short while, but I really wanted a tube amp. I didn't think I'd be able to afford one till I found the Valve Junior. Since I'm not using it professionally -- no gigging or recording -- I could have enjoyed it in its stock form; the noise wasn't enough to bother me for the type of playing I do. But I had fun playing around with the different tubes and putting in the Mullard really makes the Valve Junior even more enjoyable.

very few. thank goodness.

Regarding replacement tube selection:

JJ'S ARE NOT THE ONLY QUAILTY TUBE IN THE WORLD.

sheesh! you people read 100 times that JJ's are the best, and nobody experiments with anything else. what a mind virus. the stock sovteks, in my opinion, sound better than anything else in this amp when it's opened up to max volume. less harshness, less compressed, just bigger. if you plan on using this amp for power tube distortion sounds, leave the stock tubes in it. EI brand el-84's are nice in it as well. brighter, earlier break up.

many sounds to be had in a low watt tube amp - if you're a good player and know how to coax subtleties out of your guitar.

too early to tell - though construction seems great for the money.

am currently emailing CS about the buzzing problem (didn't occur at 1st, then reared it's head after 1 month).

got a prompt response.

the inherent noise (hum / buzz) is a problem. perhaps if enough people complain to epiphone and request warranty service, they will recall the product or fix it. i can see the 11 year old chinese sweat shop laborers cringing at having to make the adjustment...

and again: DON'T LIMIT YOUR TUBE OPTIONS TO JJ's.

JJ's are fine, but try others too, let your ears be the judge - not the sheer volume of posts you've read by other brainwashed victims of the "JJ are best" mind virus...

The best "feature" of this little amp is that there are no features to get between you and your tone. Whatever you plug into this thing is what you'll get out of the speaker. Do your tweaking at the guitar and you're there. For the price, this is a very well assembled and solid little amp. I'm giving an 8 here because a the amp would be really nice with a standby switch.

I just don't know how to describe how bad the buzz is that generates from this little amp. I wanted to love this amp because of all it offers but there just insn't anything sweet, cool, or retro about the level of noise in this thing. I honestly don't know how anybody can use one of these amps stock! Tune swapping didn't help, either. I've read about all the mods that supposedly tame this beast but man, I haven't got time for the pain, if you know what I mean. Don't get me wrong - the tone is there and it sounds great! - but it's burried under a wall of buzz!

I wouldn't know, I just finished returning it to Guitar Center.

Guitar Center was great about taking it back. I don't know anything about Gibson or Epiphone customer service.

This is the coolest looking amp on the planet! Like I said, I wanted to love this amp like I would an old Champ or Musicman but not until they address the issue with the buzz. It's absolutetly awful and no one should have to mod a brand new amp just to get rid of the noise! When Epiphone fixes this issue I'll buy another one - hell, maybe even two! - but until then, no deal.

Features? What features? A volume control, on/off switch, well that's it! Don't get me wrong lack of featues adds to this amp's charm (an low cost). You can concentrate on playing, rather than tweaking dials all day.

This amp is bigger than it looks online. I have a Roland Microcube and expected the Valve Junior to be about twice its size from the looks of it in pictures. No -- it's huge. It's as tall as most small combos and just a little smaller in width and weighs around 30lbs.

Out of the box it sounds very good. Yes, there is the 60Hz hum people are talking about, but in my case it was not so bad. As everyone is saying the stock Sovtek tubes suck. I had a Groove Tubes GT-12AX7-R laying around I tossed in after the second day and it improved the tone quite a bit. Then I ordered a set of JJs (ECC83s and EL84) and that really made the amp sing. You don't need to rebias the amp when changing the power tube, in fact you can't. Don't worry about it. Just swap and enjoy.

Clean as a bell up to around 12:00. Sounds great against P90s. If you never used a valve amp, you will hear tones you did not think your guitar could make. Who needs reverb? This amp has depth all on its own. Past 12:00 you are in the overdrive zone. Responds really well to pick attack. Classic rock sounds great against its OD and it's LOUD. Too loud for my small apartment. Cranked to 10 you get natural distortion. Forget disto pedals, modelers, and all that artificial stuff -- this is real distortion. It's not for metalheads looking for the tight recto sound but if the opening chord of "Won't Get Fooled Again" defines rock for you -- you won't be let down.

From experience Epiphone is top notch when it comes to service, but to be honest at 30lbs you better have an authorized repair shop in your area if it breaks because shipping will probably cost you more than the amp in the end.

Great value for the price. An excellent entry-level tube amp. You can pay hundreds more for something that sounds the same, but why?

ONE KNOB!! Speaker Out. I can use a larger speaker if needed. I don't use rack gear so no issue with the lack of an effects loop. This amp is a players amp. If you need a lot of sounds use a pedal or two. I usually just plug in and crank up.

I mainly play 2 Strats. One is an '89 American Standard with Van Zandt pickups and the other is a Jimmie Vaughan Signature model. I also have a '60's Silvertone/ Danelectro with a single Lipstick Tube pickup. I play all sorts of music from Jazz and Blues to Heavy Metal to Punk to Country and Americana. I was mainly after a Class A amp that didn't cost a nut. I had just looked at a Mini Cat at $700+ a week or two before I saw this little guy at GC. I have a kid in college and a daughter who just started driving. It was a no brainer to get this amp.

I don't think that this amp is any noisier than a lot of more expensive amps either. I have a boutique amp that is noisy and I have owned a bunch of different Marshalls and Fenders that are noisy and I play single coil pickups so it ain't an issue.

The one thig I would like to see would be a larger speaker model as well. I really love the late '50's/early '60's Fender Deluxes. A 10" model would be cool but, a 12" model would even better. I find that is lacks a little bit in the headroom department because of the speaker.

I realize that this amp is hitting a price point and maybe a demograhic point as well. I can't imagine a younger cat really liking this when a Modeling Amp or pedal would be more cost effective to him. I have a big pedal board and a lot invested over the years and a young player just startng out needs as much variety as they can afford or are willing to invest.

This is a kind of a fuzzy area. The day I brought it home, I killed the tubes. The both of 'em! I'm pretty sure that the amp I bought was the factory's favorite demo amp!! I went back to GC and they replaced my preamp tube with a GT Mullard reissue at no charge. I figured if they would do that I would buy a pair of the GT EL-84's to go with it. It sounds KILLER!! I don't expect to have any other problems except replacing tubes. I have owned it since last July and since I replaced the tubes I haven't had any problem.

n/a

I really like the variety of tones that can be produced with my fingers, pick attack and my guitars volume knob. My friends are nothing but complimentary about the amps sound and volume. I play in situations that involve as many as 7 other musicians at a time and never have a problem with volume.

I have a couple of Rivera extensiion cabinets and with a 12" or a 2-12" cab this little amp isn't little anymore.

IMO this is the greatest value in a new amp since I can't remember when. I have been playing for 26 years and this amp is probably less money than my first amp. I started out playing tube amps and I currently own a Rivera and a 1963 Fender Tremolux. I carry this amp all over and I was able to buy a Mustang to get to the gig faster. My pedalboard is bigger than this thing!! If this little dude was stolen I would replace it with 2. Hell, I might get another one to run stereo!!

This lil beauty has great "features" in that it has exactly what I need from a tiny practice amp, and nothing else. Just a volume knob, all tone adjustments can be made on the guitar, and one 4 ohm speaker jack to which a cab or other amp can be hooked up. That's it, straight up. I don't know if Epiphone changed the components or assembly procedure for this amp at all, as I read so many people here saying the speaker was crap and the tubes are crap and the noise is loud, etc. I find none of these things to be the case. Limited in a sense, but too many features can be limiting as well...

Let it warm up a bit, that seems to 'warm' the sound as well. I turned the volume knob all over the place and can't say that I agree with people who've said the speaker breaks up too early. I did get some distortion with the volume about two thrids to three quarters of the way up, but not really before. The sound is actually quite "pristine". Clear, pretty, real. I think that the speaker is quite good, and while everyone's saying that "everyone knows" that Sovtek tubes aren't any good, they get reviewed as being nearly as good as EHs and JJs, but cost less, so that's in the eye of the beholder, I guess. Unless you really like to talk about how you 'modify' the hell out of everything you own, there is no need to alter this amp, unless it came to you faulty in the first place. It sounds effin great!

I have been playing on it with my Washburn WI66 pro, which has 2 seymnour duncan Humbuckers and the VCC tone pots which also acts as coil splitters. It sounds great throughout the dial of settings, the fully selected humbuckers are thicker and a bit louder, the single coil settings are more sparse and clean. All totally usable. I have a 2x12 cab with Eminence legend 125 speakers, hooked it up and for 5 watts, the sound was huge. I have 3 other smallish practice amps, this one is by far the nicest, I will definitely be using this baby to record. What a deal!

I'll refrain from evaluating this as of yet. The FedEx delivery man kind of dropped in on the ground when it arrived, I was a bit worried, brought it home - works fine. So far so good.

Haven't tried yet.

Overall, this is a super deal. Really. Don't compare this thing to 100 tube heads or other high voltage gear. Its purpose is different. Its a recording / practice amp which is probably actually loud enough to be used in small gigs mic'd. It sounds fantastic. No frills, well built to my eyes and ears. Very cute as well. This thing is a gem, and its at such a great price! Can't go wrong with the Valve Jr., I wish I had bought it months ago!

This has been so covered that I won't waste time here....
The features are basic, which I like - it would be great to have an effect loop, but maybe I'll do a mod for that one day.

I am playing a custom built hollow tele with GFS Lil Puncher (modern vintage pickups) - going though a George Dennis Limiter/Volume - Marshall Echohead - Daphon overdrive - Behringer PH1.

So like everyone finds it had this horrid hum. So I carried out a combination of the two different mods mentioned here. I changed the input jack to a high input, increaded the capaicitance and the the DC power fix. I put in an Electro Harmonx preamp valve and a Harma Crogenically treated power valve - check out www.watfordvalves.com
Now the hum is reduced to a more soothing tone (!) and it starts to break up earlier.

All my friends with Fender Bassman's, Fender Deville's and Deluxes really like it now. It's not to sound 'to die for' - but for the price and the experience I have gained doing these mods, it is well worth the money.

I play british style rock (rhythm, I use acoustic too) and I play in church too, no-one can crank their amps to the level they are intended to be used at.... I CAN!! Mike it up and go.

It's not as good as a #700 valve amp... but I didn't pay that for it!

I will be using this amp... and the bonus is it is sooooo little and light!
But I have only had it a couple of months and been modding it! So no rating is given here.

Um.... well.... I have voided the warrantly to make this little amp great.
So they won't support me, but I haven't obeyed them! it would be unfair for me to rate them here. (The UK distributors do repsond to enquiries very quickly)

This is my first amp that I have purchase for electric. Been playing acoustic and bass for years.
I'd buy it again.
I may look into getting an extension cab (though there is a Fender Deville cab at church so I'll try it with that.

I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THIS AMP I WAS THINKING WHAT WILL I GET
FOR MY MONEY BUT WOW IT IS A VERY WELL MADE AMP EXCELENT

GOOD SOUND PLAY ABOUT WITH IT AND ENJOY IT AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK
GOOD FUN

CANT SAY YET NOT HAD IT LONG BUT IT FEELS SOLID

NOT USED THEM BUT SEEM OK WHEN NEEDED HELP BEFORE

WELL MADE NICE CLEAN SOUND MADE UP

2005

5 watt all valve combo
1 input
1 volume
1 12ax7 valve
1 EL84 Valve

Looking at this it seems the features are very basic on this amplifier and the music i play is metal, really high gain mesa style distortion, the reason i have this amplifier however, is to use it with my pedal. And my pedal has 5 EQ's on it so the lack of controls on the epiphone is really not an issue for me. I bought this for bedroom use and maybe recording use at a later stage, so for these purposes it has more than enough power. It does seem really loud for a 5 watt amp. If i was not using a pedal with this amp i would have given less than a 5 because it is so basic but i will be generous and give it an 8.

I have only used this amp with my PRS Custom 24 with 2 h/b pickups but the guitar is very versitile in that it has a 5 way pickup selector. This amp alone would not suit my music style at all but that is not what i bought it for. I recently purchased a Mesa/Boogie V-twin pre-amp pedal. For those who dont know, it is basically a distortion pedal with valves in so u can really get that boogie tone. with this pedal and the valve junior i can get a brilliant sounding distortion and the beauty of it is it is an all-valve set up in my bedroom, which i just love. So sound quality wise I love it.
My dad also loves it too, he plays 50s/60s style blues and he just plugs straight in to it, and he tells me it gives a 100% authentic old skool tube sound. It is clean till about the 3 o clock then breaks up to provide a "marshall valve crunch"

A word about the so called "hum" that everyone on here seems to mention. I may have just got a good example of one but the hum that comes out of it is so quiet you hardly notice it, and from what im told, all valve amps hum to a certain extent anyway.

have only had the amp for 2 weeks but it looks in great shape. The quality is exeptional when you look at the price. Loks like it will last me years. Although i do intend to upgrade the valves and speaker at some point.

Have not had to deal with them in anyway so cannot comment.

I have been playing guitar for 5 years now, Own 2 PRS Custom 24s, A Marshall Mode 4 half stack and Mesa/Boogie V Twin Pre-Amp. Have been in my most recent band for 10 months - www.myspace.com/tocara.

If this product were stolen i would track down the little ****, or perhaps buy another one.

All in all this is a brilliant piece of kit and for less than a hundred quid, you can experience true valve tone in your bedroom.
Great product Epiphone, Highly reccomended