Epiphone Valve Junior Combo

I give this amp a 9 for ist's basic, yet perfect features for an amp like this. This is a little ROCK MACHINE. Perfect for Calssic Rock! Love the ability to use an ext. cab as well. Simplicity is beautiful!

If I could give this amp a 12 I would. Guys, I am 50 years old. Played in cover bands since I was 16. I have owned and still own some coveted amps by the worlds standards. I have 7 or 8 small practice amps and love small amps. For just over 100 bucks and the reviews here I had to get one.

Holy Cow! With a humbucker guitar this is total nirvana. Crank that little volume knob 1/2 way and you are grinding, all the way and it's a mini Marshall. Do you long for that sound on Zeppelin 1 and 2? Look no furthur. I also hooked up my Boss BD2 just as a boost with the gain on the pedal at zero and this amp is a smoking rocking box!

I have played this amp for over 2 hours today and just do not want to stop! Called two of my guitar playing buddies over to hear it for themselves. One brought his tele, the other used my LP. Within 20 minutes they were gone. Gone to Guitar Center to buy one each. I have not had this much fun with an amp in years.

Just got it today. 5 year warranty, heavy, looks very solidly built.

This is such a great opportunity for people to try that all tube sound and all tube overdrive and such a great price. I have 3 botique amps and they sound no better than this amp.

1 volume knob, on/off switch. one input. 1 Sovtek 12AX7, 1 Sovtek EL84, 8" speaker, Class A, 5 watts. pretty much old school no bullshit. it's basically an overdrive pedal with a speaker.

cabinet is a little cheesy. not wild about the shape of the speaker grille and the rattan grille cloth. plastic epi logo is also a bit cheesy (sorry to be redundant...only word that works). metal corners also smack of "crate" and "ibanez". but other than that nice box.

I play imported teles (mexican and jap)with replacement bridge pick-ups,a mexican strat with a stacked double coil in the neck, an sg junior with one p-90, a jay turser 12 string electric, an a junky arbor gretsch copy.

i play jangly pop and americana, so class a tube is the only way to go if you're worth your salt.

at 12 o'clock you've got a nice, chuck berry style clip. if you play open chords, you get a nice belnd of mild crunch and clean. very little sparkle to these but there's not supposed to be. it is what it is. if you want sparkle and shimmer, get an old british made ac-30.

when i crank it to about 3 o'clock, Keef starts oozing through the speaker and i get a huge hankerin' for smack, vodka, and sunkist (just kidding). past 3 and it's the first zep record. played the gretsch copy with it cranked all the way and it was total good, scary, 60's garage. sounds good using my $20 dano tuna melt trem pedal.

you'll read all about the hum. yes...it's there...but so f**king what? it's a $119 from guitar center. it's got one knob. you don't want hum? be a dick and spend $7500 on some boutique amp.

have only played in writing/practice room at home. will use it in the studio. ears will ring after playing with it cranked...that's a very good thing in my book.

too early to tell. seems sturdy. would never gig with it. bought strictly for recording. use a 90's blues deluxe for gigs.

have not had to deal with epi yet. is supposed to have a good warranty but haven't gotten up off of my ass to register it on the internet (yet...i have time to write this review).

have two epi acoustics and absolutely friggin' love 'em..though.

i've been playing 26 years. have had two twins, the jazz chorus with two 10's(no lie..had it for like two weeks...what a stupid f***king mistake), a blues junior, and a 90's blues deluxe.

have had a hankering to get a small, recording amp so i had been trying to buy a silverface champ on ebay but they kept geting away from me. don't care how great they were...not gonna pay $250+ for an amp with, essentially, an 8 inch radio shack speaker in it. looked at the mini z or the mini cat (what? are they serious? $700+ for a 5 watt amp with A knob? does a boutique amp come with a blowjob as well?).

stumbled on to the valve jr. went and took it for a test drive at guitar center. went when the kids wouldn't be there playing staind on the schecters through the solid state marshalls. cranked the sumbitch up with a standard taco tele and really dug the tone. went home. sold some old stompboxes on ebay, went back to guitar center and bought it. the floor model was the last one there so, i knew what it sounded like. was very hesitant buying something chinese made but was surprised (almost frightened) at the quality. like japanese stuff from the mid 80's. really top notch.

if you want to mod it out later...you can. new speaker..tubes..what ever. it's $119! go to town.

i'm planning to use jr. to record. get back to the basics: a wood cabinet, a speaker, a knob, and some glass tubes. place the ribbon mike correctly and i'm ready to roll.

2005 Production model. Great recording/practice amp. If Epiphone put in a defeatable master volume, then this amp would be unstoppable. I would rather see this modification or new production model than one with tone shaping features. As for now, I will just turn my amp up and set my guitar volume low.

Do not believe some of the extremely negative reviews some have posted. My guess is that they have a vested economic interest in a competing product or that they are just being unfairly critical to seem like a tone conniseur. My amp is no more noisy than any other tube amp I've owned. Tube quality, pickup type, and environment will have more to do with noise than the amp itself. The stock speaker holds up at high volumes. Mine does not rattle at the highest volume.

This thing encourages you to practice. When you're not concerned with adjusting tone and reverb knobs, then you spend more time on the guitar itself. If you absolutely must have distortion at midnight apartment levels, then you'll want a distortion pedal. Feel free to buy different tubes or an alnico speaker, but I think the way the amp sounds stock is remarkable. If you do not own a dedicated practice amp, you can't go wrong with this thing.

Too early to tell. I suggust that you should keep the cabinet in a stable climate (i.e. not too humid) to prevent warpage. The cabinet is very thick, so it would probably take a lot of moisture to warp it. I have heard some 1968 Fender Silverfaces with fiberboard baffles, that were well cared for and sounded great.

No experience with Epiphone.

I've been playing for about sixteen years. I have owned many expensive vintage and boutique amps and guitars. This amp is a fantastic buy for an almost disposable price. I admit that I paid below cost for it, but even for $120 it is a fair price. Materials alone seem like they should add up to about $50. If you can't afford a Victoria, Bad Cat, Dr. Z. or Star Amp, then this is a wonderful alternative. I suggest that Fender make a similar amp with a 6v6 tube to compete with this monster.

I want to say that this is a great time to be a guitar player. I think that this product demonstrates that great playable gear can be had a reasonable cost. I have talked with many people who feel the quality of instruments today are better than they've been since the mid sixties. I think the only limiting ingredient is good wood. So support your local farmers and all legislation that will encourage the continued production of these critical natural resources.

This amp had all the features I was looking for in an "at-home" amp. 5w, single-ended class a, 1 12ax7, 1 el84, one volume knob. Chances are if you bought this amp you're not looking for a line 6. It loses points for only having a 4 ohm jack. I have since added an 8 ohm jack (the wire is in there...you just have to drill in a new 1/4 inch socket and hook it up). If you're like me, chances are you'll want to use an extension cab...

Let me state that I bought this thing with the intention of turning into a head, which I have. The stock speaker was okay for that "small-amp vibe", and is pretty loud and efficient. Cool for ratty blues and slide tones, but that's not really my thing.

I changed the preamp tube to a JJ 12ax7 and the power tube to a JJ as well (groove tubes-rated "6"). This took much of the boxiness out of the sound, brightened things up a bit and sweetened the midrange. It also made the clean tone far more useable. The stock sovtek's werent bad (they were actually great for full-bore distorted rock sounds), but the JJ's made the amp far more versitile and complex.

The main guitars I use with this amp are a mahogany Parker Fly with dimarzios, a custom built Tele thinline with EMG buckers, and my old beaten strat with two dimarzio blue velvets and a red velvet. I run it through either an open 2x10 with celestion vintage 10's or an open 1x12 with an eminence private jack (excellent old greenback clone). With the strat, the clean tones are great. With single coils the amp actually stays pretty clean until about half way. Push it past half and it yeilds excellent blues tones. With the volume set over half way with buckers, it gives a great heavy rock tone, which is why I initially bought it. I find the heavy distorted tones had more low-end punch with the stock tubes, but the JJ's are better overall. The biggest surprise of this amp has been the amazingly woody and responsive jazz tones i've been able to get out of it. Playing fingerpicked with either the tele or the parker (or my archtop), I've gotten possibly the sweetest sounding jazz tone i've ever heard...almost reed-like in its attack. This sound isnt loud enough to cut it un-mic'd with most drummers, but is perfect for duo gigs (or any drum-less gig, really). Needless to say I'm completely happy for $150!

No problems. Easy enough to fix if something were to go wrong. I was also impressed by Epi's use of metal jacks. Seems pretty solid.

If it broke, i'd fix it myself. I dunno how much epiphone cares about a sub-$200 amp...

I've had the amp for about 2 months, and I'm still blown away by the tones and value. I bought it because it had become impractical to use my other amps (Orange AD-30 and Fender Prosonic) for practice, as the level at which they distort is much too loud to play at home on a regular basis. Some have mentioned that this amp takes awhile to warm up, and this is true...it definately sounds best when it's been on for at least 20 minutes. However, even when you first flip it on, the tones are nothing to complain about. I love the class A response, and the low wattage, great tone and unbelievable price are why I bought this amp. It still has a little too much gain for my taste, and the JJ preamp tube added some unwanted brightness when fully cranked, but I plan on sawpping it for a Groove Tubes 12ax7-m mullard reissue, so we'll see what that does to the tone. Also, I have a Dr. Z 2x12 on order which should spice things up too...regardless, this amp sounds great, is useable of a variety or styles and is an awesome value for anyone looking for a small tube amp.

1 knob looks cool.

Holy doodoo. O.k. Im hearing a little buzz but I dont give rats ass. The sound coming out of this little amp is so amazing. The people complaining about the buzz havent played many tube amps because all of them buzz a little. I have also found many mods on the net to easily fix the hum. Dude I got mine for 100 bucks! The tube saturation when cranked is amazing. I want another one just to have it. I run this thing in stereo with my blackface bassman and I am in tone nirvana. Oh yeah then I can plug this little focker into my 4 ohm bassman cabinet. Wow! Oh by the way the speaker is already made by Weber so save your money. If you bought a weber 8 inch ceramic. ow you have 2 because its the same speaker that comes with the amp. It gets a 9 for the buzz factor. Again I dont even notice the buzz because the sound is that good. Look compressor into a reverb pedal into the amp mama!

Seems pretty damn rugged built like a rock outside. I havent looked at the guts.

Havent dealt with them.

Been playing 16 years mostly thruogh vintage fender tube amps. Ive got gear we all got gear Im not taking the time to list it all here.I would definately but it again. I want another one just for fun!

No features at all, which adds to it's cute little appeal. One volume knob. That's it. Nothing more. 8" speaker, class A itty-bitty cute as a button Chinese made all 5w tube amp that can be purchased for change you find in your sofa. In all fairness, there really isn't any features to this amp, which isn't a bad thing. It's what it's meant to be. So, you really can't rate it in this category.

Have a Japanese 60's RI Strat w/Duncan Antiquities and a Amer Std. Telecaster w/replacement PUPS. Play mostly rock/blues. This amp's perfect for those styles of music. Breaks up very evenly and completely. Heres the kicker though.... I run my Marshall 15DFX from the line out into the input of the Epi amp, to use the gain and effects of the Marshall, and the 'second amp' of the Marshall. Good lord, it sounds amazing. The tube warmth rounds out the transistory harshness of the Marshall and complements it very well. Now, I have the versatility of the digital FX, the Marshall's high-gain tone AND the warmth of a tube amp, all in a neat little package I can carry w/one hand. This little amp is LOUD for 5w (all tube, probably equals 15-20w of a like transistor amp). I practice with my Epi/Marshall mini rig and have been told I'm too loud! Other reviews have stated this amp hums a lot. I don't seem to have that problem. It's typical of an amp of this size and output to be a bit noisy. It's fine despite even taking the microphonic shield from the preamp tube so I can see 'em glow in the dark. Sweet! I'm so happy I bought this little amp.

Don't know how reliable it is. The cabinet is pretty beefy, and seems to be well built. Only time will tell, but for $119, if it broke, I'd go dig in my couch for more change and buy a new one.

5 year wty minus the tubes.

Great, fun little amp and a great conversation starter. I'm going to give it 10 for what it is... A class A all tube amp that sounds great and is cheap as dirt. Hope it holds up!

This is a follow up to a review I wrote a few months ago. The amp has held up better than I could have imagined. It has won over everyone in my band/family. Two of my brothers bought one because they were blown away by this little 1X8 all tube wonder king. Read on...

Well, this is the whole point, yes? How does it sound??? Rippen!!! incredible!!! rude!!!! warm!!! cutting!!.. You could do every record made by ZEP,ACDC with this amp. You could even get away with some VH. keep in mind, it's been 3 months since I've owned it.. The honeymoon period has well passed and this thing is even better than I thought it was.

Turn it down and use a good bridge pup ( like the one in an EBMM Axis gitar) and the thing sounds excellent for if you like a different flavor.

I bought a second amp for myself as well as three 8" weber speakers when they were on sale for like $20 bucks or something. I bought every 8" model they had.

The second amp sounded great but had/has signifantly less bassresponse. The tubes and speaker are the same so it's hard to pin point the cause- In it's stock form it still sounds great just not as good as the first one I bought.

I ended up swapping some speakers in and out to see what I get.. After reading many comments about the improved sound with a weber speaker upgrade I came away with a different opinion. The stock EP speaker in the amp is the best speaker for this amp- or at least it's a very good match. The ceramic weber speaker I tried was not as exciting sounded and did not add any improved bass. I also tried two alnico Webers.
The Alnico S version ( which I think is the cheaper of the two weber Alnicos) is more compressed with less mids than the stock speaker. It's not as loud either.. It's less in your face... It gives you a different sound that is great for rock but not as good as the stock speaker for soloing or other types of music.
Since I have two amps, I decided to keep the ALnico S in one of the amps. If I only had one amp I would leave the stock speaker in it. I prefered it to any of the three weber speakers. It certianly has more attack/midrange/ in your face sound.
That's not to say that I do not like the new amp with the Alnico S.. I love it.. Having owned many vintage amps/speakers. I could say that the alnico is much closer to a Greenback with its compressed less middy sound.
The more expensive Weber alnico did'nt do it for me.. Perhaps, I''l fool around with some different tubes in the future but be assured that this amp in it's stock form is the shit.

My two brothers just bought two more but I have not had the chance to test them. It will be interesting to compare all four amps.

So far so good.

@ $120 it's a silly, sick value. My 70s non master bassman has been sitting unused. every once in a while I plug it in but It does not give me the goose that the little EP's do.

I also forgot to mention that we were all blown away by the fact the we are able to use the amp for rehersal. I play it with the amp all the way up and I do not understand why but this thing cuts like nobody's buisness. If I were readind this I would say BS, but I am telling you that after years of using 50/100 watt amps with and without an atenuater(spelling?) It blows me away that I am know using a 5 watt amp that cuts as good as it does. (I now understand how Page could use his 1X8 or 1X10 to record the first zep record).

Whe all is said and done, If you could get over the fact that little chinese people are being paid penuts to build these.. then it's the best deal on the planet bar none. It's the best all time deal on anything. I want to buy four more but I'll never use them all.

Just one knob, 5W, Class A, dirt cheap. That's why it is so appealing. I would have like headphones, but for the price that is OK...

I should start by saying that I love Epiphone products. All the Epi guitars I have, i.e Sheraton, EJ200, Biscuit are great instruments at an incredible price.

Having said that, RUN AWAY FROM THIS AMP !!!

It does not hum, it SCREAMS, it YELLLLS!. Do you want to sit next to a power plant in full activity? Unless you have a 500 feet jack, and play from a different room, you'll get all the BUZZZZZZZZ in your ears until you get real sick and stop the guitar.

I purchased one and returned it the next day.

I also checked all the VJs (about 6 of them) at three shops: they all buzzzzzzZZZzZZZ. Saying it is a Class A is no excuse: my VOX AC30 does not hum at all. No, it's not a 230v problem. I tested them in the US at different places.

Protect your ears, protect your brain, save your money for something else.

BTW, it is not the rip-off of the year. There is a better one: the similar-sized Gibson amp hums about the same for 4 times the price of the Epi... Yeah!!

No idea

Never tested

Would be a bad bad move if you buy it, my friend...

Brand New, Under #90 & a 5 year Warranty, this amp provides great value for money. Features are beautifully simple; Input/ Volume/ On-Off switch. In a small watt A Class amp anything else would be Guilding the Lilly

I bought it as a harmonica amp (Couldn't justify a Fender Champ to the Bank Manager) and it it offers all the dirt a harp player could want. I would reccomend changing the valves as the sovtek ones are able but not great. I had a couple of friends over who use my house as a home studio and they used to add a bit of crunch. Young lads (bless 'em) asked what pedal I was using, their jaws damn near fell off when they realised I'd just turned the volume up a bit! I'm ignoring the buzz as I can't wait to invalidate the warrenty and get the soldering iron out/

Had it 3 weeks not broke yet. It is solid as though.

I've got a Marshal JCM 800 and a lovely 1963 AC30 but this amp really does come in useful. At 5 watts you can play at home, the tone is sweet and it has good old fashioned looks. If you need a new amp and you fancy just plugging in and getting on with it, this amp is hard to beat. Good basis for a harmonica upgrade (the valves are easy to get to so you can replace them to cut the gain).

5 watt guitar valve combo.
One 12ax7 Sovtek preamp valve.
One EL84 Sovtek poweramp valve.
Volume control.
One 8inch 4ohm Epiphone speaker into a single 4ohm minimum output.
Enough features to produce great tones for me.

Between 0 and 1/2 way you get 'clean as a bell' tones, giving a great clean tone.
Between 1/2 and 3/4 you get my favourite tone, clean but just, and I mean just, slightly edgy, so rich and warm, it is the perfect tone for me.
When fully cranked you get a rocky overdriven sound which is perfect for classic rock.
I prefer to use single coils with this amp as they work better with this amp, humbuckers tend to make the amp sound like it is forcing the sound out more, though I still use this amp with humbuckers from time to time as they produce a different sound.

Well I've cranked it many times and it still works fine. The tubes still work great. It's built solidly.

Not used it yet as I haven't needed to.

I have a Marshall DSL201, a Fender Blues Junior, a Fender Pro Junior and this. The Epiphone Valve Junior is my favourite as it is so simple but never disappoints me when I want great tone. I've wondered if I changed the valves will I get a better sound, surely that's not possible but I'm going to do that next just to see.
It is slightly quieter than my other amps but it's still bloody loud.
The price it is out of this world and for what this amp does I would pay double for one any day.
If it were lost I would get another one in 1 second after it was lost.