Epiphone Valve Junior Combo

2006. one channel, one knob, one el84, one 12ax7. Perfect for blues and rock. I bought it just for around the house. I wanted the 5 watt head, but the store only had the combo. So at 99.00 it was hard to pass up. One 4 ohm speaker out. I run it into a 12" closed cab. It gives the amp a little more beef. I don't seem to have the hum most people complain about. You can get a lot of different sounds with your guitar volume and a tube screamer.

I play an old rg560 Ibanez hum sing sing. Great guitar for blues and rock. Not a heavy metal amp. Great blues amp

brand new ( two weeks old )

I've been playing about 40 years. I have owned 4 marshall, a fender twin, a mark 4 mesa, traynor, vox. And I have played just about any amp made. You know a good amp, when you turn it on, it should sound good right away without a lot of tinkering, This amp sound very nice ane at 99.00 You can't go wrong

03-05 ?? Valve Junior Combo
This amp is only suitable for any style of music where distortion is necessary and overhead isn't a requirement. It has 1 12AX7(ECC83) preamp tube and an EL84(6Q5D) power tube. 1 input jack, 1 speaker output jack (which is plugged into the internal 8" speaker). This can be used for an external cabinet. I think the speaker is a Chinese made Eminence. One (1) volume knob, a power on switch. No tone controls, no gain, no standby. Single Channel, output is 5 watts, Class A design.

A lot of hum, and some hiss. Way, way too much hum. Originally, this amp was much too noisy, especially at any setting. It was the scary kind of hum. I kept expecting to hear peculiar explosions, see smoke and smell pungent ordors. But, never did. I played it with P90 and humbucker equipped Gibsons. I play the blues mostly, which is a suitable for this beast. A Friend got this amp, because it reminded him of a Dr. Z Mini-Z, which reminded him of some good GA-5 he played way back when. So it wound up on my workbench for a few weeks. I did some web searches and found a few sites and a real growing interest in these. Anyway, I found the fixes. When I got around to applying these mods it didn't take long. I just used a bunch of old parts. I fixed a ground problem which turned out to be a proximity issue. I also replaced the cheap Chinese input jack with a good Switchcraft, and put in another one (to split the signal to another amp). I also put in a filter network for the power supply. All the hum and hiss go bye-bye.
This amp only makes two sounds, quiet and distorted. But, what a distortion it is. Wow !!! With the original speaker, it is just a nice dirty growl. I disconnected that and plugged it into an 10" Weber Blue Pup, and what a change. The volume controls the gain, the more volume, the more distortion. I wouldn't call it brutal. Just kind of hot and sparkly. Louder than I expected. If I were to have rated it prior to the fix, I'd have to give it a 1, but now, it's clean off the scale. I'll split the difference and give it a ---

The amp seems to be reasonably well made, just cheap in design. The tubes will probably need replacing. I'd like to put in some vintage NOS tubes. I wouldn't gig with out a back-up yet.

I don't know about the warranty.

I'VE GOT TO GET ONE OF THESE. I like the simplicity of use, and I like the sound. I'd like to see a standby switch. I think I'll buy the head version. Heck for this amount of money, can I go wrong?

This is from the KISS school of amplification. Volume, Jack, On/Off at the front. Speaker out at the back.

Aesthetically, I think it's great. Those who don't want a primal guitar experience should probably look elsewhere or consider it's sister amp with the tone controls and digital effects (Valve Special).

I have a 2001 American Series Tele, an Antoria (70's Ibanez) Les Paul Junior copy with an unidentified refit P 90,an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe and a Gretsch Bo Diddley Electromatic.

Even stock, this amp gave me a real guitar lesson. I don't know if it's the simplicity of the circuit or what, but the responsiveness of the guitars through this is WAY past what I've experienced with any other amp.

The tone is overdriven rather than distorted and varies with the position of the volume knob. The P 90 on the Antoria (which might be a Seymour Duncan) loves this amp. The Bo Diddley sounds knockout, although I noticed an alarming disparity in output between front and back p/up that I hadn't caught before. The Tele was good, but it does sound better through other amps. The Blues Deluxe has a big, resonant body which I think the 8" speaker struggled to reflect.

I'm likely to try an Alnico Jensen and follow up on some mods that I've seen that will reduce the hum. The noise is so prominent that only the committed lo-fi er will want to record with it.Also, it changes in response significantly after it's been on for about two hours - and for the better.

Would've been a 9 but for the hum.

Too new to tell. It is a cheap (mdf, vinyl, tin corners) but robust construction. I am considering getting a couple more for reasons other than back up, but I've seen nothing to persuade me that it should be any less reliable than my AC 30 (!). I'm not impressed with the way the handle is fixed but then, it's a great little amp for under a hundred quid so it does represent value for money.

Gibson Europe responded promptly to my enquiry about availability of a cover (there isn't one). Other than that, I can't tell. I find that Epiphone products generally tend to be poor at the dealer/distributor interface hence my rating.

I've been dabbling for about 30 years. I have 3 transistor amps (Roland Microcube, Peavey Backstage 30, Fender Bronco) and an AC 30. I've owned many other guitars. Have previously owned a Laney Klipp 100w (70's/early 80's) and a Marshall Super lead 100w (wish I'd known that trick for reducing the output to 50w before I sold it!).

I would hate to be without one of these for all it's faults. Would definitely replace it.

Price and specification were the main reason for this purchase. I'm planning to twin it with a Fender Blues Junior (Fender clean, Epi overdriven. It does everything I want it to do except shut up when the guitar is turned down/strings are damped.

Power, Volume, input.

That's it. A basic 'old school', class A tube amp.

Except for the noise factor, this amp could suite all styles except for low volume practice and recording, where the noise is a substantial factor.

If the nose bothers you, check out the new head-only version with improvements.

Seems reliable enough, and solidly constructed.

Never needed customer support.

Overall, I wouldn't buy the amp again. I would howver consider the newer model, which addresses some of the nose issues.

This is Nice amp, except for the hum. I'll bet a new combo model is due out soon, as the new head-only version has the hum problem somewhat addressed.

The new head version of the Valve Junior Tube amp includes features not found in its combo cousin. These include DC filaments for both the preamp and power sections, reducing unwanted filament hum. It also has 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker outputs so you can drive any kind of extension speaker, from a single 8" box to a 4x12" cab.

5w tube, 8" speaker, volume knob...what else do you need? Well actually, I wish it had a headphone jack. I use it solely as a practice amp, but find myself reaching for this more these days than my larger amp. Also, it's very portable.

Plenty loud and breaks up at a lower volume than most tube amps which I like. 8" speaker doesn't seem like it could handle too much volume.

I play classic rock, blues, and rockabilly. I have two DeArmonds, one with goldtone humbuckers, and the other has 2k single coils. Both sound great through this little amp

Obviously not a lot of variety in sound out of this amp, but it sounds good. I simply plug my Dano Fab Echo pedal in and this amp has a great sound. I've also used my Digitech RP50 through it, but find I need to really cut back on the effect settings for this amp. As I mentioned above, the amp gets that tube break up at a lower volume than most which is nice when you use it as a practice amp.

Minor hum, but not enough to bother me, and can't be heard when you play.

I wouldn't anticipate any issues with it. It does take longer than my other tube amp to warm up.

N/A

I've been playing for 20 years. My other amp is a Peavey Prowler. After many years of playing lots of equipment I love these two amps. They were both very inexpensive and provide me exactly the sound I want.

I have two DeArmond guitars..the most underrated quitars available. I have a M72 which is a chambered, flat top with USA goldtone humbuckers. This guitar is hot and rocks out. I also have an M77T, arch top, 2k single coils, bigsby tremelo...basically a Gretsch duojet. Deep blues and rockabilly sound.

I love this amp for it's styling, sound, and portability. If it were lost or stolen, I would certainly buy another one.

As guitarists, we tend to get too wrapped up in all the features or amps these days, and multi-effect units. This amp simply has the one feature you need volume!

I just it brand new a couple of weeks ago and it has been nothing but a blast. You can turn it down, but why? the way to go is to crank it all the way and then your sound with your guitar controls. It has a funky nasty little growl that sounds great with my new G&L ASAT semi-hollow. I have used it live in a very small club (no drummer) and it held its own most of the time. Just a trifle underpowered unmiked. But I had a blast. I just wish it didn't have a computer power cord or had a good place to stow it. I know I will show up somewhere and not have one. who needs the stress?
Still for $100 I think everyone should have one. BTW, you can unplug the little 8" and run the amp into a 4x12 and LOOK OUT. It's more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

Yeas, it ahs the tone you want for funky, poppin, Tele twang or good slow burn blues. Don't try super clean Jazz. I play single coils and love it. It is noisy, but who cares. As stated, this thing shines on 10, with the volume/tone controls on my guitar, I can get lots of nice sounds.

So far so good. I have trouble thinking of this little boxa s pro gear. I would not take to an important gig without a backup. But it is feather-light, small and seems to be very well constructed. I may be toting this thing around asis in 20 years. I think I will try to figure out a way to secure the powere cord to the amp though.

N/A

I've been playing for years. I recently sold a Roland JC-120 and bought an old Music Man fifty-112 RD which sounds Oh my goodness like heaven. I play G&Ls, an old-style SC-3 and a new ASAT. There is so little risk with this little amp. I mean it cost less than my Route 66 OD and comes with a speaker! It is truly plug and play. There are a couple of other more expensive amps in the line but they just Addd effects and things to complicate the issue. This one is just no frills fun. Enjoy it like a toy.

Made last year, 2005. I bought it from American Musical Supply. I love the way they deal with there customers. I haven't had a bad experience yet.

Versatile enough to make my Strats and my Epi Les Paul Classic sound GREAT!

Single channel, one knob does it all. The knob shouldn't be labeled "volume," it should be labeled "BEEF!"

I use this amp at home being that I don't gig anymore. I just wanted a simple, toneful amp. And after reading quite a bit, I bought the Valve Junior. BUT, I did understand that I'd have to do a few mods to it.

I'm giving it a 3 because of the way Epi shipped these amps out with the ground issues.

I use a Strat with the standard Delta tone p'ups, a Samick SSM-1 Strat copy with Carvin S60 single coils in the neck and mid, and a Bill Lawrence L500-XL in the bridge. And an Epi Les Paul Classic with DiMarzio Virtual PAF's and updated electronics from Black Rose Customs.

It suits my playing just fine. I was looking for a sweet classic rock, heavy blues tone and I now have it.

Like I said before, I don't gig anymore so I don't have that to worry about. So for me it's very dependable. I've played for a few hours straight with the volume around 12 o'clock a few different times with no troubles. So far so good.

I gutted the amp 3 days after I bought it, so right there I voided the warranty. But I bought it knowing what I was going to do with it.

I've been playing off and on for approx. 27 yrs. Long enough to still remember me having a KISS ARMY membership BEFORE Alive II came out! I also used to play bass in a Christian P&W/rock band. I still have my Samick Stingray copy bass and Hartke combo amp.

If i were stolen, YES I'd buy it again. But then again, Epi just released the Valve Junior head for $99. Hmmm, that would be sweet to try through some different cabs.

I love the old school AC-DC, KISS tones I can get with no pedals.

I used 2 websites to get the mods done. The first one mostly dealt with the noise problem Epi let go out the door. The second one dealt with the noise, but also showed how to get some gain increases. Both guys were great at answering any questions I had. I had a total of about $25 in parts and an afternoon in time to get this amp to where it should be. Not too shabby. Next stop is some new JJ tubes unless I can find a good deal on some NOS GE tubes.

http://www.coolpick.com/way/cool/about/valvejunior.html

http://www.euthymia.org/DIY/VJmods.html

This is an addition to my review below, in response to the overwhelming number of emails & requests that I have received.

The amp sounds much like a tweed era champ, or gibson single-ended amp. However there are design flaws that provide loads of hum & buzz...

1) 60-cycle hum (gets louder as you turn up the volume) - caused by AC Filament supply traces running along the Hi-Z audio signals. To fix this you must cut the filament traces near the tube sockets, and run wires instead, as far away from signal traces as possible. New holes must be drilled in the copper near the tubes, to accept the new filament supply wires. Of course, you also have to re-locate the 100ohm filament ground reference resistors to star ground.

2) 120-cycle buzz (always there no matter how you set the volume) - caused by inadequate power supply filtering. To fix this you must increase the first stage filter cap. 100uF gets rid of most of it, and makes it as good as vintage single-ended amps. The problem is there is very little room on the PCB. You could drill new holes through the copper & fit a snap-in cap (be sure to glue it to the board with silicon). However, there's only enough room for a 22mm diameter cap. The cap must be rated at 450V minimum.

This is not a job for a novice, but rather for someone with experience modifying tube amps and PCBs. NOT TO MENTION THAT LETHAL VOLTAGES INSIDE TUBE AMPS CAN KILL YOU INSTANTLY!!! DO NOT OPEN ANY ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT UNLESS YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO DO SO, OR YOU CAN SERIOUSLY DIE!

In short, this amp can be modified to sound good by experienced & reputable tube amplifier technicians. There is a considerable amount of time involved, plus some parts required.

I can do the work for $69, including parts & labor. This is a HIGHLY discounted price. You are responsible for any shipping costs. I'm in Upstate, NY. (If you use UPS, you can send it to my business address to save on shipping costs.) I am not responsible for shipping damage, so please pack it well. Turnaround time is usually 2-5 business days, plus shipping time.

Thanks,
Dan
EE
(References available)

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.