Epiphone Valve Junior Combo

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

Volume and on/off. Seems simple enough... I give it a 7 because there's no tone tweaking. This isn't a knock, it just happens to be true. The single tone that the amp does generate is surprisingly good, and loud enough to practice with (without putting your hearing at risk), yet quiet enough to let you hear the other guys in the band.

I'm using this amp with a '57 Les Paul Jr. and a '74 Les Paul Custom. Turned most of the way up, the amp gives a nice, girthy overdrive that nicely compliments a Les Paul's thick, chunky sound. For leads a pedal is recommended. Again, the lack of tone adjustment means that tone tweaking will have to come by way of tube rolling or circuit tweaks. (Of course, for $120 that ain't bad ... and doing the mods can be kinda fun.) I'd say, however, that the basic sound is very high quality, and that's important. All the tweaks in the world won't save a bad amp.

One thing I'd like to mention here is that I've got what I think is an early version of this amp with the two cutouts in the back panel. I think the version with only a single cutout (by the tubes) sounds "boxier"; this version of the VJ will likely sound better if you take the back panel off.

The amp is too new to make a comment.

No dealings with Epiphone.

I base my rating on "bang for the buck". For $120 this amp is AMAZING. In the past I've owned a tweed Fender Champ and a cream Gibson GA-5T. I've also heard the Victoria "Champ" clone and the new Gibson GA-5 "Goldtone". All in all, the Valve Junior leaves me with no reason to think that much -- if anything -- would be gained by purchasing these far more expensive amps. Sure, the Valve Junior has no tone adjustment, and it does hum. Same thing applies to all the other single-ended amps I just mentioned. I'd suggest that if you want true value for the money you spend, geteting the Valve Junior is a no-brainer. Even with the cost of some different tubes, a replaced capacitor here and there, or even a replacement for the stock Weber Signature 8 speaker, you'll still be way ahead on price.

Just the volume knob and you do NOT need anything else if you are a good player, I used to own, for example Roland VG-88v2 where you can adjust everything and anything and run it through the PA system ... or I owned the Variax and multichannel amps - yet this is BETTER as you plug in a great guitar and you have THE SOUND & THE TONE, but warm it up for an hour and then it's optimal !

I give it 9 as I would have liked the more connecting options.

That's 10 and no doubt it is 10 even with a stock tubes and speaker (as long as you CHOOSE a good unit - wise advice as these are made in Asia).

It sound much better than any digital or virtual amp or box as it has the dynamics and tone and just the right range for my Strat and Les Paul. All you do is open volume to about 2 pm and you PLAY for days as you can adjust everything else on your guitar.

I ovcasionally add Morley disto, volume, wah or another OD808 like Maxon or Baby Blues and this amp sings. Perfect for all styles.

As suggested I did test it with THD Univalve up front but it needs no Univalve frankly as it sounds great as it is and just the extra boost is all you need. No reverb - do not need one as it sounds great.

I did play LIVE with a band and had no problem to be heard even with 2 conga players and the drummer as this 8'' cuts through nicely !

Sure if you want it very clean you may mic it through the PA yet in practice it is loud enough for all the usual small gigs and 8kgs only.

I give it 10 as it is class A and it feels and sounds like class A which means you get all the finest expressive boutique tones for $120!

No rpoblem in 6 months. And NO hum on my model !

No idea.

If you play guitar, you just have to buy one. It is the best gift you will give yourself if you have a good guitar and play well.

I think that any decent guitarist with this amp and Eric Johnson Strat can get a sonic Nirvana: guitar for $2000 and the combo for $120 !!!

I do have another Jensen speaker and more fine tubes but at present I use everything stock. Whoever did not give 10 for the tone is either deaf or unlucky with a faulty unit or simply cannot play.

My summary: just buy one (but test the actual unit before taking iz home as these are all Asian made). I will buy the socond one and sell my boutique amps. 'nough said. Thanks Epiphone (Gibson).

Purchased new in January 2006.

Amp Features: One Knob: Volume. One channel. Class A Tube (1x12AX7, 1 EL84). 1x8" speaker. Only one thing I'd like is a master vol control.

Styles of music: Blues - Electric/Slide/Acoustic

I got this amp for a regular weekly gig at a small club. Allows for the nice warm, bluesy OD at a respectable level.

I might look at swapping tubes to see about different types of tone that are possible, but right now, it's fine.

So far, so good. Gives me that old 1950's/1960's blues sound (can you say Elmore James) that small, over driven amps of that period have.

No tone controls to mess up your sound. I get the actual sound of my guitars where all the tone controls I need are. Using with the following guitars: 1951 Epiphone Century Archtop/flat back, 2006 Washburn HB15 archtop, 2005 Strat type I built ("Texas" GFS Premium Alnico pickups).

I do run a Digitech RP50 for reverb, delay and level balancing and, if need be, can tweak bass/mid/treb tones there. Occassionally use a DOD 250 OD for some added crunch.

Bottom line: Sounds great with or without pedals.

Seems solid. Time will tell as I play every week.

Not used.

It is what it is: Simple, warm and surprisingly LOUD. Worth it for playing the music I do (blues/rock). Some might find it limiting without tone controls. I find it freeing. Gives me the true color of my instruments.

I'd buy another if stolen (after hunting down the perpetrator) or if lost. Remember, I'm using this for a specific purpose/music. It might not suit everyone.

My first comment is "THIS IS NOT A FENDER CHAMP, DOES NOT SOUND LIKE ONE IF YOU EXPECT IT TO BE YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED LIKE ME." I've been playing since I was five. I've owned every great amp there is, here are some examples so you know what my reference point is: Tweed Harvard, 64 princeton reverb, 68 champ, (2) 68 broncos, (3) silverface vibrochamps, silverface deluxe, (2) Vox JMI ac-10, Vox ac-4 (worst sounding amp ever made) Supro thunderbolt, Magnatone 213 (I think that's the number it's like a tweed deluxe except with vibrato) A late 80 marshall tube combo, a regal tube combo. Those are all the tube amps I think I have owned I maybe leaving some out? Of all these the epiphone valve junior sounds the most like the late 80s marshall tube combo which is not that outstanding. Out of the box I was VERY impressed with this thing. The cabinet, knobs, cosmetics, speaker, tube layout, transformers, feel of the amp was of something way more expensive and reminded me of a champ. This amp is WAY bigger than you will expect. I like the fact it uses a computer electric cable as I have a brown paper bag full of extra ones. I plugged it in expecting to hear a fender champ sound. Let me tell you what I did hear: HUM. Loudest hum I ever heard. My amp is brand new, I'm sure was treated okay in shipping. This amp hums more so than amps that are damaged. Had I not been aware of this amps reputation for the hum and just plugged this in I would take it right to the repair shop. It's really bad, annoying and its so loud I can hear it over the distortion pedal. I tried different sockets in my house, turning off lights, different locals. Everything. These amps hum. Some people here have suggested masking this with the distortion pedal or something. That's like turning up the radio when the car is not working right. The hum is so bad I am not sure if I can practice with this amp and I don't know if I would record with it. The hum really bothered me. I do not feel it has anything to do with the amp being dropped, the speaker or the tubes. People talk about replacing the tubes in these. I've had mullards, RCA and brimars. They do not make that much difference over sovteks. I feel there is some kind of design flaw in all of these. I don't want to have to deal with "mods" or anything or tinker with the amp. Why buy an amp you have to "fix" before you can use it. The most affordable bench fee of any tech I know is about $60 to service an amp like that. Add that to the $119 I paid for it that's around $180. That's putting you in fender champ territory which we all know we want to buy but either can't pay or won't pay the money for.

Okay. I tested this amp with two guitars: A peavey predator USA made strat copy with cheap pickups and bad shielding. And, a 58' Gibson es-125 tdc (george thorogood, izzy guitar) with p-90s. I also used a tech 21 GT2 distortion pedal. I tried it with and without. By itself this guitar does not sound too good. The hum gets worse-especially bad after about 2/4 cranked. I compared the amp with nothing plugged in and that dam noise is still there which is a shame cause it's such an impressive looking little amp. The clean sound did not seem "warm" to me it's definitely a tube amp though as it takes time to come on. It didn't sound any better after leaving it run 20 minutes than when it was first turned on. The strat style guitar made it hum more but again it has bad shielding. This amp does not like semi hollow guitars and it sounded farty and crappy. Sort of like the non-tremolo channel on a old vox jmi. This amp does not sound like the beatles and if you plugged Paul McCartney into it would not sound like the beatles so forget all that "class A" stuff which just means it is single ended and is not vox like. This amp does not sound like zep or acdc in anyway shape or form and I do not think Jimmy page is running out to get one. (incidentally page used a supro trojan which is a knock off of a vibrochamp not a thunderbolt. Albert Lee who grew up with page talked about this in an interview in vintage guitar.) What does this amp sound like? In the late 80s Marshall came out with this little expensive tube studio combo with a 6v6 and 12ax7 tube compliment. It had a vintage 12 celestion speaker. I bought one of these dreadful little amps, I think I paid $250 for it back then which is a lot for a small amp like that and this sounds real close to it. Maybe a little bit better. This amp has no real sound of it's own. The best mod you can make to this amp is not changing out the speaker or tubes but getting yourself a Tech 21 GT2 pedal and plugging it into it. Instantly for some reason this pedal takes care of the hum problem and reduces it. Why? Hell if I know. Makes a substantial difference. With the pedal in this you get a great marshall and boogie sound. The clean sound on this amp sucks. Even with sansamp. No way to get good clean "fender" sound on this amp. The clean sounds brittle and shrill. It does not sound pignosey. That would be to generous. Amp sounds beneath solid state clean. I would prefer going clean into a peavey rage 128 than this. This amp really hated my gibson guitar it sounded really bad. I am not sure what it would do with a guitar with humbuckers. Maybe something great. You could practice with a drum kit with this tiny amp with a distortion pedal to boost the signal you could not play out with it. This amp has no real sound of it's own, not "transparent" but like no sound of it's own. It sounds good with the Tech 21 gt2 because it is a great sounding pedal and the best piece of recording/performing equipment I ever bought.

This amp looks solid. The place I bought it from gives a 1 year replace no questions asked warranty in addition to 5 year from epiphone. If I keep this amp I am going to play the living shit out of it! I am not worried about this amp conking out. The chineese are building some good stuff. Very nice work on this one except for the hum

I would not buy again. That's honest. I gave all new tube amp combos a shot and let me tell you what I think. Fender blackface/silverface champ is it and covers all the bases. If you have to pay $300 for a decent one so be it. It's the best sounding amp there is. I bought my first one for $35 in 87. Those days are long gone. Hehe Play the Epiphone Junior first somewhere before you buy. Forget what you read here. If you've never had many tube amps maybe you won't know. I feel a lot better about this amp than any other tube amp they've made. I don't know if I am going to keep mine or not. I am still testing it out. It sounds pretty good with the Tech 21 pedal but that's the pedal. The worst problem with this amp? Really just one big one: HUM. I don't want an amp I have to fix or mod, or do anything to mask a hum. This is not in the realm of normal hum this is like the worst hum I've heard. It's like bad guitar cable 60 cycle hum times ten. I don't want to put money into this thing. I bought the amp because I wanted to save money and not buy a champ. There is no other tube amp in this price range so right there you have a bargain. I would defintely take this over a harmony, tempo or kay amp with radio tubes. Those are shock boxes stay away. I would take this over a kalamazoo too. Play this amp before you buy it that is all I have to say. I can tell you exactly what the amp sounds like. A 1975-2005 marshall circuit board tube amp. I think it will only sound as good as the pedals and guitars you plug into it but your not really hearing the amp but the pedal and the guitar. This amp has no sound. I am giving it an 8 because of the high quality construction and the price. I would not make this the only amp you own in that case by yourself a nice used solid state usa made peavy. You can get clean and dirty sounds with it.

Front: input jack, volume, illuminated power switch
Back: removeable power cord, 4-ohm speaker jack

The cabinet looks very nice with black tolex, a woven/tweed grill cloth, and white piping. The 8", 4-ohm speaker sounds surprisingly big & full, with a warm vintage sound.

I really like the fundamental sound of this amp. However, it has an unusually loud hum, even for a single-ended design. So I bought it with the intentions of fixing it, (I'm an Electrical Engineer with lots of tube experience). I have discovered that there are actually three problems:

1) The 60hz hum is caused by the AC Filament supply traces. They run right along the hi-z audio signal path. This is a MAJOR no-no! Whoever did the circuit board layout just doesn't have a clue. (HEY AMERICA, CAN WE PLEASE STOP OUT-SOURCING PRODUCT DESIGNS & MANUFACTURING?!) The solution is to cut the filament traces, and run a twisted pair of wires to carry the filament supply up & out of the way of the signal path. This mod requires careful skill by a good tech or it can get very ugly & unreliable.

2) After you fix the hum problem, you will notice a higher pitch (120hz) buzz. This is typical rectified supply noise, and it can be remedied with a larger high voltage filter cap.

3) At this point my amp was very quiet, but still seemed to have excessive noise as you move the volume control near its maximum. It wasn't bad, but I knew it could be better. After some troubleshooting, I found that the input jack wasn't making a good ground connection to the front panel, because Epiphone neglected to mask the inside of its mounting hole. I removed the jack, grounded off the interior paint around the hole, re-installed the jack, and now she's as quiet as can be.

PLEASE DON'T ATTEMPT TO DO ANY MODS UNLESS YOU ARE A QUALIFIED TECH. THERE ARE LETHAL CONTACT POINTS IN THIS AMP!!! If you need some help getting this work done you can contact me below.

As stock I give this amp a 5, because you really can't record or perform with such a noisy amp. After the noise is taken care of I give it a solid 9.

Aside from the electrical flaws, this amp seems to be very well built.

This is a good project amp for the electrically inclined. Unfortunately I cannot recomend it for the average guitarist because the stock hum/buzz/noise renders the amp useless.

Well, it's a 10 if you like basic b/c 1 simple volume control is as basis as basic gets. If you want more, i.e., eq, reverb, preamp volume, you'll want to look for a more sophisticated amp. I love the basic "it goes from 0 to 10 and that's all it does" simplicity. I'm going to give it a 7 here b/c it has a surprisinglly wide tonal range just w/ the volume control. It goes from a nice clean sound to big gritty growl. And it gets LOUD. I played w/ a 4-piece over the weekend--2 guitars, a bass, and a big loud drummer, and with the volume at 1 o'clock, I had no problem being heard.

I use an American Fender Tele that I think sounds great thru this amp. I play power pop, and am loving the grit I get when I crank it up. The clean sound is very nice too, but if I wanted to play clean w/ the band, it wouldn't be loud enough. With the band, it's grit all the way. I think the overdrive has a great classic tube saturation sound. It's "warm" as they like to call it.

Just bought it a couple of weeks ago. Haven't had any problems yet.

I can't comment on this. I'm not sure how long the warrenty lasts.

As I said, I've been playing it for 2 weeks. I also own a Vox AC-15, which is my pride and joy, but to be honest, I think the Epiphone holds its own. It doesn't have the depth or chimy high end of the AC-15, but for the price, it is a fantastic sounding amp. I do a lot of home recording, and I'm really looking forward to panning the Vox to side and the Epiphone to the other. I think they'll sound great together with the Vox sounding cleaner and more defined and the Epiphone sounding chunky and gritty.

If I lost this one or had it stolen, I'd definately buy another.

1 input
volume
illuminated power switch
4-ohm speaker jack
4-ohm 8" speaker
cool looking cabinet

Simple but very effective!

Sounds great, but hums like a motherf@#ker.

The amp can be modified to eliminate the hum & buzz. I've modified several for friends & customers. My work is neat, prompt, very reasonably priced, and guarenteed to do the trick. If interested, use my contact info below.

Sound ratings:
It's a solid 9 after the hum & buzz is eliminated - a definite keeper!
Stock the amp is a 5.

Big transformers, solid steel chasis, wide circuit traces - so it should hold up quite well. I don't like the fact that the entire back panel needs to be removed to change the tubes. It might be a good idea to remove the metal grill from the back panel when you do the first tube change, so for future changes you can access the tubes without removing the panel. I'm sure the metal grill is for CE Safety Compliance. So if you have a young one or a small pet with access to the amp then by all means leave the grill alone!

The amp has a lot of potential. Unfortunately whoever laid out the circuit board knows nothing about hi-Z circuits.

5 watt, all tube, 1 volume control
Distortion and break-up increase as you increase the volume, simple design.

Played it with my MIM Tele (with SD little '59 bridge pup and SD Vintage Hot neck pup) and my 2004 American Strat (SSS).
Nice clean tone through both, good slight overdriven sound as you increase the volume, but...
LOTS OF HUM, I mean as soon as I plugged it in with the volume turned all the way down it was noticeable, and exponentially worse as the volume was increased. So much hum they should call it the Epiphone Hummingbird Valve Junior, or whatever.
I hadn't noticed so much hum while playing the floor model at Guitar Center, so I brought it back and switched it out for the floor model. Still a lot of hum, but not quite as bad. After a couple of minutes though I noticed an echoey, rattling sound on lower notes. It appeared to be the tube rattling, I adjusted it but it didn't go away.
I returned the second one to GC and got my $90 back.

The amp worked, but the combination of hum and rattling problems I experienced didn't provide me with too much confidence.

n/a

I liked the tone, and I liked the idea of a nice 5 watt tube amp for $90. I pretty much knew I wasn't going to get a ton of quality for that amount of scratch, the the amount of hum and rattle I got from two examples was unnaceptable even for $90. I didn't hate it, but for the money I recommend a Roland Microcube which can be had for around $100, or 100 tacos for $100.

wonderfully, blissfully void of features. amen.

great - for the money. nasty power tube overdrive for pennies. it takes a certain type of player to know how to control and coax a low watt tube amp - this isn't for everybody.

too early to tell - but who cares? if it runs for a month, i got my money's worth.

i dig it - been waiting for a dirt cheap low watter to come out, for recording. suprisingly sturdy construction as well. i have been freaking out over the sheer amount of products americans buy that are made in china, but it's hard to complain about this one.

i'd like to see someone come out with a 1 watter - this thing is still prety loud at the breakup threshhold. recommended.

On/off, input jack, volume. What more do you need?

The class A provides some hum but that is to be expected and doesn't impair the attraction of this amp at all. Clean below 9 o'clock and growls as you go round the dial. I can play it all the way up and it cuts through. I don't know how, but it does. It's basically loud as hell and sounds great too. I replaced the tubes with Teslas and the speaker with a Jensen champ replica. I recorded both before switching them out and the stock speaker sounded just as good. The Jensen is top-notch but somehow the stock does the trick just as well. I'd put decent tubes in there though (I wonder how many stock sovteks are out there collecting dust?).

6 months in and it hasn't skipped a beat.

5 years. Okay, great!

Been playing about 20 years. Would have to go pick up another one for chump change if this one disappeared. I love the vintage 8" speaker tube tones. I play a '96 MIM Strat with EMG-SA's and one of the recent MIJ Blue Flower Teles with Bill Lawrence p'ups. If you know about and can appreciate class A hum then this amp is the bomb.

2005 model.

5W class A
Single EL84 tube and a single 12AX7. Both by Sovtek.
Just a volume knob. Same as a gain knob really, for those of you who only have experience with small SS practice amps.
Single 8" "Special Design" speaker.
Single 4 ohm out.

Features-wise, it doesn't offer much, but it's not meant to. This is a straight up old school style amp. If you need to EQ your sound, then use a graphic EQ stompbox or something. If you think you need more gain, then get an overdrive or distortion pedal.

The stock tubes aren't very good (just about everyone who knows their stuff will tell you that Sovtek does not make a quality product).

Well, this is what I wanted to know when I tried it.

That hum problem? Nonexistent (at least on the amp I tried).
I tried it with a Charvel Model 4 with DiMarzio PU's (I think two Super Distortions).

It's a punchy amplifier and would be great for recording. Great mids and highs. The lows could use work. It sounds a bit farty and loose, especially on the neck pickup. I attribute that to the 8 inch speaker--they aren't made to take lower frequencies too well by nature. I plan on buying one of these and making a cabinet with an Eminence speaker (probably a Black Powder open back).

I wouldn't gig with this because it's just not loud enough to compete with a drummer in its current form. If you put it on top of a 4x12 speaker with extremely efficient speakers, you may have a chance. But seriously, that's not what this amp is meant for.

I can't comment further because I don't own one. I do know that if anything went wrong, it would be a good excuse to just buy a new one.

Can't say.

I've been playing for 8 years now. My stage rig is a Lee Jackson XLS-500 on top of a Lee Jackson 4x12 (with Celestion G12T-75's). My main guitars are a '57 RI Strat and a Dean Vendetta with DiMarzio pickups.

If this were stolen or lost, it would suck, no doubt, but it wouldn't cost me my education to buy myself a new one.

I wish it had a 12" speaker instead of 8".

For the price though, no one can go wrong with this. I want it for recording purposes and for practice when I go to college. There is no better alternative.

Probably made in 2004. One input, one volume, one 8" speaker. No programming skills required. I bought it because simpler signal paths seem to make the best tone. You will not find much simpler than this. Overall tones are easy to change with a simple tube swap. Could use bass/treble knobs and an 8 ohm speaker jack (I will put one in later). I like it simple.

Currently using a PRS Standard 24 with HFS and Vintage Bass pickups and an Epiphone Les Paul 1956 Goldtop reissue with P-90s. I am using a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive and an EH Small-Clone chorus reissue in front of the amp. I play blues/rock and some jazz stuff. The tubes were cheapies so I swapped them out. I put a JJ/Tesla EL-84 in the power section and the hiss cut out dramatically. I also put a NOS JAN GE 5751 tube in the place of the 12AX7. The 5751 has a lower gain factor like a 12AT7 (70), but provides the circuit with plate voltages closer to the 12AX7. It basically allows you to turn this amp up more without pushing into overdrive so fast(clean headroom). It also boosts the mids a little. The jazz/blues tones coming out of it now are astounding. I would rather play it than my Mesa Boogie F-30. The background hiss is also now similar to what the Mesa produces. Putting in good quality tubes really helps this little amp out in the sound department. If you swap the preamp tube with a better one, do like someone else mentioned before and get a lighter spring to put in the tube shield. You don't want to ruin a good tube. Also, the 8" speaker is a good speaker (Weber Sig-8 ceramic I think). It just does not get the bottom end heavier rockers may crave. I will try a bigger speaker later and see how it goes.

The Epiphone guitars are great, but I do not know how long their amps stand up for. It is built very well and I expect it to last a while. I can not really rate it now as I have only had it for a month. This is a bedroom practice amp, so it will not be gigging.

Never had to deal with Epiphone. The warranty is 5 years except for the tubes which are 90 days.

I have been playing for 19 years. I currently own a PRS Standard 24, Epiphone 56 LP reissue, Mesa-Boogie F-30, Fender Blues Jr, Fender Champion 110, various effects and other instruments. If stolen, I would track the crap-weasel down and show him my rendition of the axe-handle scene from the movie "Pale Rider" with Clint Eastwood and take it back home. Good tubes aren't bank breakers, but you have to put some effort to get them. Then I would go buy another Valve Junior just to have it. I may do that any way. I love the tone and how easy it is to get different sounds with a very simple tube swap. My biggest gripe would be that the tubes that it comes with are pretty cheap and with a slight increase in price, Epiphone could at least put EH, JJ/Tesla or Groove Tubes in it. On a final note, even with stock tubes, this thing sounds great. I have a 12" Celestion arriving later this week and I will have the box finished soon. I hope this will open up the bottom end of the amp a bit. For $120.00, this a fantastic value and you really should think about trying one. It will beat the tone of any practice amp upto $200.00. I know, I compared it with tone modelers and somehow, the modeling just doesn't have the soul of this little beast.

Gain, Volume, 8" speaker, all valve audio path with silicon rectification. 2 X 12AX7 preamp valves into a single el84 output valve. If anything is "Very Limited" features wise it's got to be this amp!! gets a 2, one for each knob..

The amp is not noisey. The distortion is high enough. It can go from clean to mean and from low volume to high. The tonality of the amp is thick and raunchy.

Suits blues, and rock and alternative very well. One could go with a pedal but I wanted an open valve tone so I modified the preamp to have an extra tube in it.

Good amp. Stock it has noise at no volume, mid volume and high volume, even when not plugged in. It is easily improved and becomes a really great amp without too much effort. For the money what's better? With a lot of money what sounds THAT much better if at all? It is what it is. The speaker is high quality, the cabinet is strong, the valves are on the rocky side of smooth. If you like raw marshall tone you probably won't mind this amp turned up to full. Pick response is very fast to, and the thing really just sings with my Les Paul.

Here is a photo of my little beastie.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/eyes.only/vj_mods_3/vj.htm

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.

Great little amp. I did some modifications though a bit expensive, proved to be totally worthwhile for me.
1. Changed the EL-84 power tube to an n.o.s. RCA blackplate 6L6BQ (same tube as EL-84, just old nomenclature.)
For penny-pinchers, JJ Eurotubes EL-84 would suffice, or for a little more money, an n.o.s. Philips JAN 6L6BQ would be super.
2. Changed the preamp tube to a good used Mullard made "VM" (Voice of Music) 12AX7A.

CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION !!

The metal shield which covers the small tube (12AX7)contains a spring which is WAY WAY too strong. I've never seen one like that before, the wire-gauge is way too heavy, making the spring seem almost as strong as a coil spring on a car! If you install an n.o.s. (vintage)tube there, don't put that same shield back on, because the glass tends to be thinner on old tubes. I found out the hard way, and destroyed a $40.00 Mullard tube in the process. It didn't happen right on installation, it happened after a couple heat-up and cool-down cycles. The next day... the amp didn't work. The glass had shattered from the excessive spring force. Either leave the shield off, or use another shield with the typical (lighter) spring inside.

I purchased a 2 x 10 speaker cabinet from a good quality, inexpensive cab. maker on ebay and installed 2 Eminence "Ram Rod" 10" speakers in it.(8 ohms each, wired in parallel for 4 ohms total.) I have the cabinet standing up "on end," after adding 4 rubber feet to the one end. The Valve Junior sits on top of the cab., perfect fit, and the internal speaker is unplugged. (must,because the amp needs 4 ohms.) A speaker cable goes from the speaker jack on the amp,to the cab. input.
Vastly improved tone, and the hum is much less noticeable.

Solid as a rock thus far.

5 yrs. warranty on chassis parts except tubes.

If you want any clarification or additional info/assistance with mods I've described, contact me & I'll try to help.

One control labelled "volume". If you think all it does is control how loud the amp is then you're mistaken. The one volume control on this amp effectively does the same job as the thirty knobs on your Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectumfryer. You can completely change the tonal contour of the amp just by messing with the volume control. I've added a switch to change from 4ohm to 8ohm output - useful if you want it to drive an outside cab.

The hum of this amp is well documented and can be fixed easily by adding some additional filtering and improving the grounding. I won't harp on it here.

Stock, this amp has a very ratty, raw vintage sound. Perfect for blues and classic rock. You may or may not like it. At five watts, it's not going to stay clean for very long, but it's definitely not a quiet amp. I've played several small gigs with it (30-40 people) and it was plenty loud provided you don't mind a little grit in your clean tone. The nice thing was, the sweet spot of this amp was at an acceptable volume level - not something that I'm used to.

The tone of the amp is fabulous - full of your typical class A 3D overtones. With such a small cab and ceramic speaker the actual tonal character of the amp is understandably focused in the upper midranges - again, perfect for rock and blues. The stock speaker is excellent - has great bite that really cuts through the mix nicely. Very aggressive sounding.

Now, I have made some changes to the amp. First off, the sovteks that come with the amp absolutely suck. The el84 was microphonic and the two of them both sounded realy harsh. Yanked them both and replaced the 12ax7 with an EH and the el84 with a JJ. The JJ took away the harshness, and the EH helped add clarity to the entire frequency range. A $12 upgrade that should be done right away.

I also changed out the speaker. Like I mentioned above - the stock speaker is excellent. However I'm more of an alnico man myself. So I picked up the weber sig 8 alnico ($25) and threw it in there. The result was a less agressive sound with more compression and sparkle. The alnico was also noticably quieter than the stock speaker. The overall sound after the change is more up my alley - so I'll keep the alnico in there. However, if you're content with the stock speaker then don't change it - it's the same speaker that's used in the $600 Dr. Z Mini-Z. Actually come to think of it, the Mini-Z and the Valve Junior seem very similar - perhaps a little too similar.... I'd be curious to see a schematic of the Mini-z.

Chinese labor is the best. I don't care what anyone says. The cabinet is crafted as good as anything out there, and the assembly is top notch. I trust that this thing will stand up to many gigs out - and hey, if it doesn't, you can buy a new one for a $120.

I've been playing for 11 years. I won't go into the gear I own, but let's just say I know that top notch tone usually isn't available at Guitar Center. At $120 this amp is the steal of the century. The only thing I would change about it are the cheap tubes and the MDF cabinet. I wish epiphone would just pay the extra cents for real pine and better tubes. Other than that - great job!

Current (2005) production tube combo guitar amp, with a 12AX7 Preamp Tube, EL84 Power Tube, and 8" speaker.

Front panel: Input Jack, Volume Knob, Power Switch

Rear panel: AC Inlet (removeable power cord), Speaker Jack

Nice warm clean tone at lower volumes with both a Strat and a Les Paul. It sounds bigger than any Fender Champ that I've ever tried.

Good blues tone as you increase the volume a little bit, especially with neck pickups selected.

Unfortunately, the speaker starts farting out as you crank the volume beyond 50%. The resulting sound is kind of harsh and flabby. The circuitry seems to be more at fault than the speaker. Perhaps one of the coupling caps is simply too big???

Also, the amp gets quite noisy with hiss & hum as you turn it up. I bet this can be fixed with improved power supply filtering and/or better internal wiring.

Too early to tell, but it seems very solid.

The transformers & circuitry are covered by a 5 YEAR WARRANTY! Unfortunately tubes & speaker are only warrantied for 90 days, but these should be relatively easy to replace if/when necessary.

I've been playing electric guitar for over 15 years. This is a really cool little amp for practice and small gigs. I was looking for a small rig for coffee house size gigs & playing music at parties & family get togethers. This amp seems like a great choice. It looks GREAT, and has a very usable clean tone. I'm confident that the cranked up sound can be improved. For now I'm quite content using an overdrive pedal when necessary. I love the way I can just focus on my playing without worrying about any knobs to fiddle with. The tone simply blows all of the little modeling amps out of the water.

features? this is VINTAGE style. with amps like that,the only 2 things you can rely on are how authentic and responsive your sound is and how good you play. the first requisite ,the sound,is delivered with a lot of dignity from this little amp.

so you get only a jack input and a volume control and you are forced to crank the amp up. that way you hear it's power tube distortion. to me that is one feature that absolutely trashes digital crap amps.yeahhh.

and dont forget that we are getting a class A valve amp for # 99....I have no complaints,the amp only has a sound ,but a killer one! better than having 1000's crap sounds with lots of features,they tend to be distracting because the player is constantly trying to get a good sound but there is always something missing: a real tube circuit!

I think that this amp ,with almost no features at all,beat digital amps anytime.

I use it with both sngle coils and humbuckers. I absolutely loves both combinations. You get a very alive clean sound with the volume control at 10 'o clock or an excellent raunchy and grinding El 84 overdrive with the volume maxed out. On amps like that one,the volume control felles like a gas pedal on a car!

the amps is not noisy,but if you want the least possible noise you should invest in some good valves,although the amp's stock Sovteks are the industry standard nowadays even on much more expensive amps.

the amp's distortion is,how can I say it...AUTHENTIC! it's not the mesa-mondo distortion sound,think more Steve Ray Vaughan,which it's not exactly a wimpy sound!!! and I am not exactly a blues player,but i do use those sounds,'cause they are real sounds.
this amp has to be bought on sound alone!

the construction seems very solid and high quality to me. this amp has a solid steel chassis. I saw other small valve amps and some of them did not seem anything as solid as the Valve Junior.
plus,it looks very pretty!

I dont know about this one,but if they offer a 5 years warranty on the amp plus a 3 months warranty on tubes,on a # 99 amp, it seems to me they mean business without clowning around!! impressive warranty!

been playing for 13 years. been having many valve amps,Peavey,Marshalls,Laney,Seymour Duncan.
I absolutely love the Valve Junior in all aspects,I think Epiphone did an amazing job on a # 99 amp.

it looks like chinese labour kicks ass ,if they are able to do what they do on that amp for that kind of money.
Even although the amp has only a volume control,it really makes me harking back to vintage amps...it's 'lack' of features it's totally justified because IT IS vintage amp AND because it's ridicolously cheap. I remember having a small Marshall 15 watts and a small Laney ,also 15 watt's....both had effect loops etc, but neither sounded as good as the Valve Junior in my opinion,even though they both were (are) valve amps.

the Valve Junior it's KILLEER value!

5 watts, Class A, one ?preamp? tube (12AX7) and one ?power? tube (EL84), both Sovteks originally. Single channel. No separate gain or anything ? distortion only happens by turning up loud. No EQ controls either. Output for connecting to an external speaker cabinet (4 ohms).
One volume knob.
Errm?input jack?

So, not a whole lot of features. The one thing I wish it had is an effects loop. Would be useful for reverb. Having said that, the big advantage of this amp is power tube distortion at non-ear-splitting volumes. Since effects loops always come before the power section, the reverb would be distorted. Therefore, it?s no different really to sticking a reverb in front of the amp, which of course you can do with the amp set clean.

Basically, for me personally, everything I want and nothing I don?t. Oh, except a headphone jack. That would be handy.

Note that I only use this amp for home playing. I don?t gig, and as such can?t comment on its volume in a band setting. Home volume is discussed below.

I think it deserves 8 because it's fine for me, apart from an effects loop (maybe...) and a headphone jack, and the tubes, in my opinion, need replacing (See below). This is a small point - tubes are quite cheap and easy to install.

I'm currently using a cheapy Yamaha ERG-121, which is pretty much stock. Not exactly brilliant, but it is a guitar...

I like classic rock, and perhaps what you might call a modern take on classic rock. Although I love the more modern playing of Vai, Satriani, etc, this amp isn't ideal for that (not enough gain and not smooth enough). However, most of these players use distortion pedals anyway, so, do that! And this amp does provide a great backing for a distortion pedal. Combining the amp distortion with stomp-box distortion is great, as it provides a musical howl that solid-state devices are generally lacking on their own. It's more common, I believe, to use a pedal with a clean amp - to anyone unsure: combining one distortion with another does not produce ill-effects, and this amp puts into place what a pedal lacks on its own.

Someone below somewhere said this amp sounded like a turd (in a good way). This is quite the case. I?ve come to the conclusion that there?s such things as ?real? vintage and ?pseudo? vintage, and ?real? vintage takes some getting used to. You might say ?pseudo? vintage is what one might like to imagine vintage guitar sounds to be like, when in fact ?real? vintage is far harsher and has far less definition.
Low notes are always a bit farty, high notes can get piercing.

What is wonderful about tube amps if you're used to solid-state is how they respond to pick attack. With this amp you can go from perfectly clean to big distortion just by picking harder. Whereas with solid-state things you sort of get a bit more or a bit less, no matter what you do.

Thing is, out of the box this amplifier was?rather disappointing. It was fine when clean, very nice, quite rich. Just when distorted, it sounded rather uncomfortable, like something was misbehaving. It was very, well, farty is in fact a good word. It got a little better with time (as in, a few days) as it sort of bedded-in, but the real change came when I replaced the tubes with JJ?s. Obviously, the general tone of the amp remained, but the higher-quality tubes seem to have added more upper-midrange and removed some of the farty low-mids and bass. It?s much more balanced and rounded, and the transition from clean to overdrive is much smoother. I specified an early-break-up EL84 from Bob at Eurotubes (great place to order from by the way) and it is now pretty clean up to maybe between 10 and 11 o?clock on the volume. Maxed out, it?s maybe the heaviest vintage distortion I?ve heard, but simply isn?t a modern high-gain sound. Overall the amplifier is far more ?musical? now, and far better for solos, where before it was very much more suited to rhythm.

It?s worth pointing out that this amplifier does not give you that legendary power-tube distortion at ?bedroom? volumes. Or at least, not unless your bedroom is the size of my house and you?ve no neighbours (note - I live in a semi-detached house). But this amplifier can, unlike more powerful ones, be turned up full in a house without ripping anyone?s head off. What I do is put it in the next room and run the guitar lead under the door, which is closed. I then get a very nice volume, loud but not worryingly so, even at full volume.

The amp is a bit noisy, but you only notice that when you're not playing, so, like, who cares? Well, not me. It's perhaps not ideal for studio work, but frankly, if you're working in a studio, you can probably afford a more expensive amplifier...

9 because it just sounds so great but isn't...well, orgasm-inducing.

It hasn?t broken yet, although I?ve only had it...less than a couple of months. I certainly don?t feel like it?s going to stop working ? it seems high-enough quality. It?s so simple, there?s not much to go wrong compared to many other amps.

Can't comment.

I've only been playing for two years, but hey, I'm kinda decent. I have a Yamaha ERG-121 guitar (think modern strat-clone with H-S-H pickups). I use a Danelectro FAB distortion pedal sometimes, if I need a more modern sound. I also have a Danelectro EQ, which I use less with this amp because it has a better basic sound than my previous amp. I feel like a better guitar would open this amp up a lot. It seems to be responsive like that. What you put in is what you get out.

"Would I buy it again" is an awkward question. Yes, in that I'm very happy with the amp, but in reality, I'd probably save up for something more expensive (Carvin Vintage 16 tickles my fancy).

I got this amp because it's a good tube amp for cheap! Simple.

Really, this is a truly wonderful amp for me. Your mileage may vary, obviously. If you want a modern high-gain sound, either for grunking power chords or Vai solos, either use a distortion pedal or look elsewhere. If you want a vintage sound, this is pretty much it. Just be sure you want ?real? vintage, which is not quite as lovely as you might think! If, that is, you?re a bit naive, like I was. It took some getting used to, this amp, especially the way it responds to your playing, i.e. a lot. Two-handed tapping and long legato runs take some re-learning if you?re used to a high-gain sound!

But basically, I find it hard to imagine (although I cannot be sure) that anything else this cheap would sound this good. Have you been playing through a solid-state amp? Relying on a multi-effects processor or pedals? Want to move up to a tube amp?
This might be great for you.

9 for just being great, particularly considering the price.

2 tubes /class A /VALUE!!!!!!

I just got it a few days ago. Stock out of the box it sounded great.
I did change the preamp tube I tried a few I had lying around and
ended up using a JJ. The new Groove tube 12ax7r was too bright. I also replaced the speaker with a jensen C8R it's a good speaker and it is under $30. Make sure you get 4 ohm. These mods made it a bit more dynamic and musical. I will probably replace the power tube with a JJ. BUY a matched set then you got a spare.The amp as a bit
noisy but I love what one reviwer said when he started playing the noise went away......I should be playing this amp instead. I've just played my strat and ts808 through it. NO complaints a guitar a dirt box and a good cord and you got a low watt low price channel switching amp that's got tube tone and does get loud someone may even tell you yo turn it down. $120 what does that buy in the age of boutique gear. other amps THD univalve , fender deluxe reissue,
other fender champs , bruno amps , and aroland micro cube {gotta have a battery amp!}

to soon to tell but it is solid more than it looked in a picture.

hopefully I will not need it.

I have been playing for 30 years seen all the gear evolve . Every year a cool piece of gear comes around but it,s usually big bucks!
Not like the days when a new ts808 sold for $40 now it's reissue this and reissue that custom shop, master built, limited run and bend us over. So this is that cool piece of gear that someday you wish you had baught .

well not much to say smple as it is that is the best way to go all tube amp why repeat my self after everyone one volume controld what else you need

well who ever though this amp was not for metal i will ahve to desagreed i use a modeling dist from behringer with it and i am getting that dual recto soud i will not sd which modeling due to it is a secret, but i also replace the 12xa with gt 12au and i get cleaner sound you can't find any tube amp for the price , i will sd a stand by switch will be handy i hook it up to my 412 cab with celestions 75x4 switched to 150 w and it sound very good , for 5w amp it is pretty fucking loud

don't know yet but it seems to be very well assebleded solid as a tank

n/a

i was looking for a small tube amp with no dist i wanted somethign clean to use with my pedal just to play at home , i was going to by the behringer 15w tube combo but after i try this one i just fell in love with it i broght my pedal to the music store to try it out and i was almost in tears , i almost had an orgasm for real best tube amp for the price you won't get any tube amp for this price buy it

This amp is as simple as it gets. One Volume. The rest is up to you. The reason I'm giving the such a high rating is because this is all I need. I'm not a big fan of all the features, I like to keep it simple. And this does it. Also...
It's a 5 watt class A tube amp. Enough said.

So far, I've run an Epi Les Paul Standard, an American Strat, a Parker Nitefly and an Epi Elitist LP Standard through it. They all sound great. This amp breaks up amazingly, and be cause it's only 5 watts, you don't have to rattle the windows to get that break up, all though that's not always a bad thing.
This amp also responds beautifully to your playing. You can take it up to 10 and get ridiculous drive, but back your picking off and you can get it very clear. It could benefit from a better speaker, but this Epi will do the job for now.

So far I've had no problems, but it's only been a couple months. I like the metal corners, though.

I haven't talked to Epi about it, but Musician's Friend was awful. It was suppsed to be under a week til I got it, but after 3 I found out that it had been sent to the wrong place, and instead of sending it the right way, Musician's Friend got it sent back to them, and instead of sending it to me, they sent me a different one, which took another couple weeks. Shameful.

Overall, this amp is amazing. If you can afford the $600 for a boutique practice amp, go for it. If not, this amp will do the job. It is ridiculously affordable, and sounds amazing. I'm looking into Epi's Valve Standard.

All the features have pretty well been covered here.....one EL84,one 12AX7,and one knob! A little recording amp,couch jamming (no drummer),or teaching tool.

Been playing 38 years,I have one of almost everything.....it seems to work best with single coils.I have to say that I changed the stock Sovtek EL84 to a Groove Tube,and the response came alive.Before,it was
a bit muddy,and as one reviewer stated "Pignosey." (LOL)
It does what you would expect a tweed Champ to do,but with a little less volume.The distortion sounds best to me at around 1:00,kinda bluesy with dynamics.I originally had the Valve Special with tone knobs and DSP,but decided to go with a simpler signal path.
I must say that both models have a hum,which I've noticed other reviewers mentioning....maybe there is a hum balance somewhere.It isn't too critical.

I've only had the amp for a week,and bought it to tote to drummerless rehearsals and recording.

See above----I registered it online.Hopefully I won't need any warranty work.

As stated above,38 years playing been around the block a few times.I have collected old gear for quite a few years,although at this point it doesn't have to be old to be good.I wanted something like a tweed Champ in it's simplicity---I have a nice little collection of original tweeds,but they are all larger ones.I like this little amp to this point,and I'll bet it will sound great with a few pedals.I chose this amp for the design,simplicity,and price....it's hard to buy a design overdrive for this price.The amp is built very well,and seems really solid.

Bought it on August 5 in GC in Santa Ana. Has one volume knob - that I (and you should too) just keep at 2 pm - that's all: read on ...

BTW I used to own $750 boutique CORNFORD Harlequin class A 5W but it had BOXY sounding 12" CELESTION AND THIS HUM that's also here as it's class A, yet my THD Univalve head masterpiece doesn't have any hum :-)

I switched it ON and left it on for some 6 hours BEFORE playing it for the first time: to make sure it's really warm :-)

Immediately with all stock options I had a great class A tube sound (with a Strat and Paul ...) and then I added the H & K Tubefactor up front and then I had any sound you can possibly imagine.

My Strat Plus by Fender is well shielded so hum is low and the sound is great as others reported.

I play since 1960 and have only class A small amps like Gibson (Trace Eliot made) GA-15RV 15W 112 combo that is sweet or UNIVALVE that I use as a preamp with usualy 6V6 tube ... and then I use also small Laney LC15R as it is light and versatile ... this Epiphone fits nicely and sounds sweater than My Gibson GA-15Rv in 'sweet' pentode 5W mode
and I did NOT change tubes or the speaker.

Surely I can notice that if volume is max the speaker runs into problems yet that's not important if you play it with a pedal up front; still I may change it eventually with a very efficient design.

The tubes are fine - 5 have plenty to try (from my THD Univalve collections) so will report on that too eventually.

In summary, it's THE bluesy sound but let the amp warm up for 1 hour or even longer (I keep it ON all the time !)

It survived the slow postal shipment of 2 months across the ocean !!!

No idea. In Switzerland it's probably zero.

As I said, I am very experienced and 100% independent. Used to own Fender Prosonic combo or Marshall stack, Cronford boutique etc and many guitars ... this is a STEAL if you are baby boom guitarist who loves to play witha FEELING and if you use your SOUL rather than finger gymnastics to generate a heart-communication and express yourself artistically ... this is NOT for metal and nu kids or pop-shreders ...

Test your amp in a store and as long as the hum is not very high with a well shielded test guitar, you can safely buy one. Keep it ON for a day and then play it ... change the tubes if they are bad and plan for a different speaker eventually - that's for those like me who want an ultimate boutique-like sweet class A tube sound: this baby offers that and that's for $120ish entry-investment.


BTW, you really do NOT need a reverb as it sounds dynamic and 3D.
Loves good pedals up front (I have many and all work fine ...)

The best buy of year 2005, no doubt !

New model this year. Amp is all about tone - based on Gibson GA5. Got no features whatsoever, just one input, volume and on-off switch. Lots of other reviewers have layed this out, so won't bother covering the same ground. Sounds excellent after some upgrades - details later.

I use Ilott guitars made for me by Scott Ilott - amazing luthier from Vancouver Island - one strat style and one tele style, but way better than any Custom Shop Fender I've played. Strat style has Lollar Specials, tele has Kinmans, both excellent pickups. This amps suits my style perfectly - mostly blues and blues-flavored rock. This amp does hum a fair bit, even withthe volume turned right down, but the TONE more than makes up for it, especially after replacing the somehwat toneless tubes (Sovtek) with JJs. I ordered a Weber Sig 8 Alnico during his 8" sale he had on for the last couple of weeks. Other owners have said this makes a big difference, although it already sounds great, especially for the money. Will update after I install the Weber. I like it around 1 oclock where it breaks up just great, and you can ride the guitar volume to bring it down to a nice warm clean rythm. Now here's something else I stubmled on - I've had a BK Butler Real Tube pedal kicking around in my closet for awhile. It's an o.k. pedal (apparently Billy G likes them a lot) but it just wasn't matching up with my other gear. But with the little Epi it's a match made in tone heaven. I replaced the original 12ax7 in the Real Tube pedal with a 12at7 to make it more usable, and with the Epi it's like having an added tone stack and an estra preamp - sounds great and makes the amp even more useful. Highly recommended!

I don't gig with this, except in a restaurant/club setup in a duo. I think it would sound fine miked up though, might try it sometime. Will definitely bring it along as backup for my Traynor YCV40, although probably won't need it - the Traynor has been bulletproof.

Haven't had occasion to deal with them - the thing seems built really well.

Been playing 45 years. Would buy again - in fact, liked it so much, I bought 4! (Cheap enough for gifts).

Volume knob. 5 watts.

Iv'e owned/own and really like the following amps. 72 Marshall SL. Marshall 1959 reissue. 64 blond bassman. Sovtek mig 50. Traynor bassman (owned 3)

Out of the many amps I've owned, these are the ones that tickle my fancy. I also owned a Dr Z ghia which was cool and worth the original sticker of around $500 but I believe they are $800 now which is way more than I would pay for that amp.

It just so happens that all of the above amps happen to have a few things in common, No master volume. No built in effects or reverb and all tube. Well, I am happy to report that the little 1x8 Epiphone Valve Junior has made it to my all time favorite amps.

This is early Led Zep, This is ACDC. This is dynamic, soulful, crunchy, nasty badass guitar tone and at $120 shipped it is not only insane, it is the all time best value of anything ever made period. It's built like a little rock.

If you know what good rock guitar tone is and you know how to use it.. this is the shit buttttttt...

.... keep in mind that the amp is only half of the equation. This amp sounds incredibly rude (that's good) with certian guitars like my deArmond SG copy but my cheap OLP AXIS copy, which sounds great with certian amps does not match up all that great with the valve Jr.

There are a million differnt pickups/guitars combinations.. I've only tried about 5 with this amp.. Three of them sounds super, the other two sounded ok.

The chassis is such a simple design that is should last a life time but even if it breaks.. just spend another $100 and buy another, you cheap bastard.

Playing for over 20 years. If It were stolen, I'd buy another in a heart beat. Infact I'm buying another anyway.

Many people are convinced they have to go out and spend $600-$1000 on a tiny Dr Z or Bad Cat combo to get good sound. For that amount of money it better sound good, damn good! The incredible thing about this amp is the sound you get for the price of a nice pair of shoes.

The only thing I hate about this amp is thinking about the slave labor involved in producing this thing.

There are not an abundance of features just a volume knob and power switch. There is a jack to plug the speaker in or use other speaker cabinets. However, it is great tube amp with a well-built chassis. It is all tube with the exception of a solid-state rectifier.

My rating is for the original set-up, I have changed tubes and speaker and it does make a noticeable difference. The amp in its stock format is a wonderful buy. It did not make every guitar sound great and is on the noisy (hum) side especially as you crank up the volume. My ?noiseless? strat did not sound too good but my Muddy Waters Tele sounded great and so did my Byrdland. My Gibson Les Paul with the Burst Buckers was only passable. However, I really found it fun to play without effects and was surprised that I did not miss reverb! I ALWAYS have needed reverb! It won?t do high gain stuff, strictly a crunch affair. Again, in its stock form it is a great little practice amp at an unbelievable price!

I have made 3 changes to this amp, preamp tube (GT-12AX7-Mullard), power tube (JJ Ruby Tube EL84CZ), and a Jensen P8R alnico 4 ohm speaker. I made each change one at a time and no single change made all that much difference. However, all together this thing sounds great!!! The preamp tube gave a little less, but a warmer, more useable distortion. The power tube gave a little more ?headroom? and eliminated an annoying micro-phonic sound that occasionally reared its head, while the speaker eliminated the ?pignose? sound and made the amp sound much bigger. In all honesty, the changes DID NOT improve the noisy ?hum.? The sound of the thing now seems to make noise less noticeable while playing?go figure. The amp is so much more professional sounding and ALL of my guitars sound excellent now and I can?t stop playing through it!!!!! All this for an additional hundred bucks. For $225 I can?t think of a better tube amp value!

The chassis is built like a tank!! The electronics look well done on its board. I don?t expect the volume pot to last all that long but we will see.

Don?t know and for 119 ?spankies? I doubt that I would pursue any problems under the warrantee.

Been playing for 20 years and have played through lots of guitars and amps. I have owned entirely too many!! But by looking at this forum, I see that I am not alone! Prior to the changes, it probably would have lost its appeal and started gathering dust. I had planned on building a vintage champ out of this one but not now. It will be used regularly as my practice amp and I will mike it and pipe into the PA for live application to get a gutsier sound. Thanks for reading and I hope this helps you in you decision making process! Remember that gear is only a small part and this amp takes the focus off gear and puts it where it should be, playing!!!!!

Wow, I thought, so totally cool....a jack and a volume knob and that's it! Can't go too wrong with that--the knob doesn't even have numbers! ...5 watts, perfect. And it's really nice-looking too. I'm looking for a practice amp that will let me drive the tubes--I have a 15-watt Ampeg, but it's just too loud at the point where it really starts sounding great...much too loud for home, too loud for band practice too. So I wanted a low-watt amp. And I came across the Valve Junior.

Sound...well, first I'll speak about tone --and I LOVE the tone of this amp. Got that nasty, dirty, overdriven tube tone I'm looking forward. Love the way the speaker starts to huff and puff when it's cranked past 12 o'clock. I found that I liked it best around 2 o'clock...much past that and it just went into more distortion than I like. And all this at tolerable volume levels --and that's my goal with the 5 watt amp. I don't need to shake the foundations of the house (and I want to keep my hearing too). The 'clean' sound was quite nice too...definite bluesy, tubesy tone there. With a better speaker, this amp would be great.

But noise? Ah, man was I disappointed! Maybe it's because I had a 230 volt version, and maybe they're different from the 110v amps, but the amp was just too damn noisy...as soon as you get to 12 o'clock or so, the hum (BUZZZZZZZ!) starts in, and just gets worse as you dial up the knob. Actually the noise is present at lower levels, but it's less annoying there. Ah shit, I'm thinking, no, that's not fair...but there's no way I can use this amp with that kind of noise going on (and before you ask, no, there was nothing plugged into the amp, this was the noise from the amp itself).

So basically the only way I could keep the amp was if I played it at 9 -10 o'clock or so...WTF? Sorry, but I have two other tube amps sittin here (my Ampeg and a Music Man 65), both have their 'character', but nothing that I'd qualify as noise...

Anyway, I plugged the Valve Junior into the Music Man's (2x10) speakers...this helped reduce the noise level a little, so I suspect part of the problem lies in that little speaker. Still, it was much too noisy through the 2x10s...and besides, the whole point of the amp is that it's so easy to carry, I don't want to carry an extra cabinet to band practice. Anyway, it does sound even better through the Music Man, of course, much more definition to the sound, which makes sense.

Did I just get a bum unit? I sent this one back to the dealer, he checked it out, then checked out the other Valve Juniors in his shop --they ALL made that noise, he said. At least he agreed to give me my money back.

But what do I do now? I mean, I really liked the tone of this one...just wish it was so damn noisy...I'd be tempted to switch out the tubes, sure...but by the time I got done doing that, and changing the speaker, I could buy a much better built amp...the whole point of this one is that it's CHEAP!

So for the rating, I'm giving it 4 --that's a 9 for tone and a big fat 0 for the noise

Well, considering this brand new amp made this much noise, I wouldn't get my hopes up people.

On my amp, the volume knob was already pretty scratchy--there was a lot of noticeable noise when using that.

Oh yeah, I took off the back panel (shh, don't tell)...for some reason they glued a thin wood veneer behind the panel, don't know why because it looks like cheap pine. When I was taking the panel off, there much been some glue runout because pulling the panel off pulled off a chunk of the veneer...sheesh!

Inside, things looked nice and nice. The solder on the speaker terminals looked kind of dodgy.

Otherwise, the outside of the amp is nicely done, looks great, feels sturdy.

I'd planned on taking the amp to band practice but not to gig with. Who knows how long it would have held up?

I wrote to Gibson/Epiphone right away about the noise problem...I ended up receiving emails from three different people from their European unit --a couple of customer service reps and a tech service guy. They were very nice about it, and very quick to answer emails, but ultimately couldn't help me.

So I'll give them a 6 for the friendly attitude.

I've been playing off (mostly off) and on for a couple of decades. I only started getting serious about the guitar last year, and I've been spending time figuring out what gear I like, the kind of sound I want, etc. Mostly I play a Fender MIJ Strat and my old Melody Maker (now restored with an original single coil), and a "Fender" Telecaster partscaster--all sounded great through the Valve Junior. I'm looking forward to picking up an LP Jr too.

Like I said, I'm really disappointed by the Jr's noise...I'm going to have a look around at the stores in the area, maybe I'll find another one --this time I'll want to test it in the store...if there's less hum, I'd buy it.

In the meantime, I'm still looking around for that perfect 5 watter...

One volume control, one channel. Great pure and authentic tube sound without having a chance to make a bad guitar player sound good. The sound is only made with your fingers and hopefully a good guitar.
I replaced the Sovtek 12ax7 with a EH 12ax7 and the Sovtek el84 with the Tesla JJ el84. What a difference!!!
I'll change the speaker next week with a Jensen P10R 4 Ohm. (It fits!) The 8" speaker sounds okay but it breaks up suddenly at higher volumes. Another little change I made was covering the amp with Tweed (what a damned fu***** job!!!) It took me some hours of boiled blood, sticky fingers and lots of beer. But now it looks really great. Real 50's style! The only thing that still looks a little cheap is the on/off switch. (I'll sure change it, too)
I bought this little devil for 149 Euros two weeks ago here in Germany and the modifications took me about a 150 Euros more.

I do not give a 10 rating for it, because I must recommend to replace some parts to make it sound that good. But have you ever seen a brand new Fender Champ or Gibson Goldtone for less than a 300 bucks??? And don't believe, that this amp is a cheap made woodbox with crap in it. It's heavier than it looks like and real solid made.

I use this amp with an Epiphone-295 P90, a Gretsch 6120 and a Hoyer Cat-FG 345 style. Mostly (Scotty Moore) fingerpicking with a little echo and reverb. I know that 5 watts seem to be really quiet but your neighbourhood tears you up when playing it at high volumes.
I play different kinds of blues, mostly rockabilly and jazz. Whatever you play, the tone comes from your fingers and your Guitar. The amp does sound good with any kind of pickup but it's not made for distorsion music or something like this. There are cheaper solid state amps for that kind of music.
Up to 10 o'clock it works nearly clean, up to 1 o'clock it breaks up smoothly, after that the Speaker seems to be overloaded. So, go and get you a Jensen Alnico.
This change is really necessary I believe.

I used it for a few little gigs at Diners without PA and of course at studio sessions. It works fine at small places and if you put a microphone in front of it, you'll be able to make bigger gigs, too.
For real big gigs I use my Fender Bassman but who wants to carry this damned heavy amp. I have to! So I'll try to play most of my gigs with the Junior over PA.

5 years of warranty!!! I hope I don't need to use it.
I had a few questions about this amp, so I wrote some E-Mails to Epiphone. I never got a reply!!!

I rock houses since I'm 18 and that is about 16 years now. For my music-style, this little tube-amp is great. Play blues, slide, be-bop, rockabilly, anything else! It works fine with this gear. A rich, mellow tone outta good and solid made tube amp. I ordered a second one for my harp player! He was surprised about price and quality, and the sound of course. Sure he needs to replace some parts, too.

And that's the point: You have to try some other tubes, maybe another speaker and you'll find "your" tone, I promise.
I would sure buy it again, if some crapneck would steal it. But I think, Epiphone is gonna make it more expensive in a few month. So I'll be careful with it.

It is the sound of a 5 watt class A that attrack me. One volumn, one input and the on off switch. The simplest essence of a true sound. Like most of the high end audios: preamp, DA converter, power amp, there is no EQ, sound effects. So the choice is whether you like their characterist sound or not. Take a closer look, the craftmanship is no way inferior than those American-made at the same price range. On the contrary I am pleased of how it's made. So there is absolutely nothing wrong it is made in China. Period.

It is new out of the box and has not been fully break in yet. Let alone replacing it with JJ El84 and EH 12AX7. I am sure there will be a good improvement in sound. Nice warm break up when volume past one O'clock at a bearable sound level. I enhance the sound with a Robert Keeley compressor and a Java Boost. I'm truely satisfied coz in respect of distortion Valve Junior sings better than my Marshall JCM 900 4102, or TS9+ Boogie Subway Blue or Blue Driver+ Deluxe Reverb. For they have never been pushed to their extremes. So that is why a low wattage amp is my preference in my situation. It is always Gibson drives better than Fender. You won't hear the hum when it is played. My Subway Blue hums much louder but the sweet sound is still there. So hum is not a main issue to me.
I have ordered a Kingsley 1-3 watts Deluxe 1 amp which is far superior than the Valve Junior but it cost ten times much. What can I say:-)

Just 2 days and it is still going. Shouldn't be a problem in fixing when it fails as it is in a simple form of design.

3 years under warranty or 5, not sure though

Under two hundred dollars, I'm sure you can never be able to find one better than this. Test ride one before it is gone. You'll pay more to get a Old Univox, Fender Champ. As one previous reviewer says, there are not many shops will stock this. I'll take it to a small jam session and see how it goes.

Epiphone Valve junior Combo with volume knob, metal input jack and speaker out jack. Single channel combo with all tube class a circuitry.

I have a mexi strat, 1976 Telecaster and a 1965 Melody Maker modified with a Seymor Duncan Humbucker ala Pat Travers. This is a fun little amp with great tube vibe! I love the great low volume blues sound. It allows you to express your individual playing style without muddying the sound in a way that most solid state amps do.

This amp rocks with humbuckers from about 1 o'clock on and sings and shimmers with single coils at all volume levels. By keeping the amp volume cranked up and controlling the volume on the guitar you can really control the tonality and distortion. It sounds very close to the the Gibson GA-5 for a fraction of the price even though you can't really compare this Chinese made amp to the beautiful American, hand crafted Gibson which uses better parts and has a better out of the box sound. The simularities are striking however giving you about 90% of the sound for 25% of the price.

I have a Peavey Delta Blues, 1976 Silver Face Fender Champ, 1962 Alamo Capri and Fender Pro Junior. The Peavey and Fender Pro Junior sing at higher volumes while the Alamo and Fender Champ are more suited to low volume practice sessions. The Epiphone is a nice alternative to the higher volume overdriven tubes amps and the lower volume tube amps in a prctice setting. The Epiphone is just right!

This amp while stil new (4 months old) has been dependable it is really just a practice or recording amp.

I have been playing guitar for about 25 years and have had 16 amps during this time period. The Epiphone used for its intended purpose is a great little amp. Without breaking the bank, offending the spouse and neighbors you can have a great time exploring it's tonal qualities. This is a highly recommended product and I would replace it in a second if it were lost or stolen. This is the best small practice amp on the market for under $200.00, period!

My appologies for hijacking a review but I am about to buy a Valve Jr and reading the reviews there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding what this amp does and how it can be modified to improve sound and I'd like to answer a few questions posed by reviewers of this product.

This amp has 1 volume control. If you wanted more controls why buy this one and then complain? With amp design "more is less"...Zen?

The amp has two valves (tubes) one valve (the 12ax7 also called ECC83) which is actually two "valves" in one package and one output valve (the EL84) This amp runs in class 'A' as the output valve amplifies both the positive and negative sides of the waveform (sound). It has to, as there is the only valve doing the amplifying!

There seems to be confusion as to what is Class 'A', Class "AB1" or Class "AB2" This is only relevant for amps with two output valves. One output valve can only run in Class "A". Class "A" is only achievable all of the time with a single ended output ie; one valve.(I won't confuse the issue with exceptions)

Many manufacturers claim Class "A" using 2 output valves because they are using cathode bias..there is a lot of argument over this amongst tech heads and it doesn't really matter one way or another. Whether class "A" is better or worse than class "AB" is a subjective thing. You decide what sound you prefer. 2nd harmonic distortion (nice sounding) is more prevalent with single ended designs but so is hum...more on this later.

Biasing when changing valves. There is no need to rebias this amp when changing valves (you can't anyway without adjusting the cathode circuit and you need a soldering iron to do that). Just buy a new valve and plug it in.

You have to use an EL84 as the output valve but there are a number of alternatives for the 12ax7 (Ecc83)..common ones are 7025 (military version), 12au7 - less gain, 12at7 - less gain, 12ay7 - less gain. They all have their own sound so experimentation is the key. There are many 9pin valves that look similar but are different inside so be careful. If in doubt don't!! I recommend a trip to you local music shop and ask to try out some alternatives.

Hum...Most users have reported a reasonable amount of hum and said "that's what you expect with a tube amp" This is not strictly true. Changing to a different brand of valve may reduce hum due to schielding/current gain/amplification factor which all vary with each manufacturer's design (and sometimes manufacturing tolerances). To reduce the amount of hum present my suggestion would be to modify the heater circuit to run DC to both the tubes and look at shielding some cables and/or moving the mains transformer to the bottom of the box if the layout is a problem. All of these things will reduce the hum and also void warranty!!

Loudspeakers will change your sound and how "loud" it sounds due to loudspeaker sensitivity (this is given as spl level @ 1watt 1 meter) A 5 watt amp with a speaker with 98db 1 watt/1 meter efficiency will be twice as loud as the same amp with a speaker with 95dB 1 watt/1 meter. (3dB is twice the amount)As this amp only has 5 watts be careful when changing the speaker that it doesn't loose too much volume. Generally a good sounding speaker will not be the most sensitive unless you start spending more than this amp cost in the first place. Do you know the specs of the speaker supplied with the amp for comparison?

Happy hunting!!

Once you modify the amp you are on your own. Stick to the tube types recommended unless you know what you are doing. Once you start soldering all warranty is void. There are lethal voltages inside a valve amp even when turned off. I don't recommend you open up your amp unless you are experienced at this sort of thing.

I've been playing for over 30 years. Have a couple of guitars and a couple of amps including a homebrew 14 watt which has been finished many times over the last 15 years....but there is always just one more mod to try. (It's actually my playing that needs the mod not the amp!)

Brand new, Epiphone Valve Junior. All tube. It couldn't get any simplier. One volume knob and one input. I've always seemed to be able to get more tones out of amps with fewer knobs. This still hold true for the Valve Junior. The volume knob works like the knob on an old Fender, in that it controls tone as it controls volume too. Picked this up at everyone's favorite corporate guitar mega mart. I would have bought it from a small shop, but not many people seem to stock these. I'll be using it for my home playing, as well as some live harmonica playing.

Sounds unbelievable! This is the tube sound I had been looking for in new amps! I once owned a Fender Blues Deluxe, hoping to achieve that old, Fender tweed tube sound. Unfortunately, the new Fenders just don't cut it. Too midrangy, with way too much un-natural gain. Now that this has come along, I couldn't be happier.

The Valve Junior has that perfect, 50's era Fender tweed tone. Anything on 8-12:00 on the volume dial gives you some nice, clean, sparkle. Once you push it past 12:00, the sound fattens, and the tubes begin to overdrive. This is where I like it.

I normally use a 54' Fender Tweed Pro, and I just needed something for home use, as well as a live harmonica amp. This will do just fine for both applications. I'm sure this will be used in my next recording session as well, as the tone is just too sweet to pass up. For $120, it's worth every penny. Why bother with an overpriced old Champ, when you can get one of these new?

One thing I did do was upgrade the tubes, which made a HUGE difference. Replaced the Sovtek EL84 with a JJ tube, and also replaced the Sovtek 12ax7 with a Groove Tubes 12ax7 that I had laying around. Definitely made a huge difference, and it got rid of that tinny, cheap Russian tube sound that the Sovteks have.

Anyway, I have yet to apply my guitar effects pedals to it. I'm sure they'll sound just fine with it. I just couldn't help listening to the natural tone, so I played it by itself for hours with just my Les Paul plugged into it.

So far, so good. It's old technology in a new package. Seems plenty sturdy, and I've had no problems as of yet. Any tube amp is fragile, so it needs to be babied a bit.

This is my first Epiphone product. Hopefully I'll never have to deal with any CS.

Great amp, great price. I've been playing for long enough to be a tone fanatic. And this one does it for me. It sounds as good as a 50's era tube amp, but yet, it's got a style all it's own. I'd definitely get a replacement if it got stolen. Some people might balk over the lack of features, but in my opinion, it doesn't need anything else. It's great tone in a cheap, small package.

Volume, your guitar has a tone knob, what more do you need.

I am amazed. I had ordered a Epi Galaxie 10 from MF. It arrived borke all to pieces. I figured Epi discontinued it for a reason, so I had MF send me the Valve Jr. instead. The overnighted it to me and apologized for my problem. Ordered on Thur. arrived on Fri. I have played it with my 91 strat plus loaded with EMG sa's and it goes from shimmering clean to Clapton to SRV. Then I plugged in my US tele with stock PU's. From Richards to Paisley . Then I went to my Wolfgang standard loaded with EMG 85's, from jazz smooth to EVH brown, this little amp in amazing.

Only had it three days. The only gripe I have is a little hum when the volume is between 10 and 2 (the most useable range). I am going to order a set of JJ's and hope it fixed the problem.

Don't know about Epi. MF was wonderfull.

One volume control. One very small speaker.

One playing volume, and if you don't like that volume and turn it up or down the tone will change ... basically only suitable for recording where you can then later change the volume in the mix.

There is a 60 cycle hum and you have to *try* to see if you can mask it in a recording ... or treat this as a kit amp, and fix the hum by your own mods or send it to an amp tech.

Now the amp isn't a $120 amp, but $200 or more after the bench fee and parts.

And if you need some classic brown bass tones you will want a 12" speaker and extension cab ... well, now the cost is $300 to $400 for a kit tube amp with limited flexibiility.

I would recommend taking a listen to some of the newer tube or modeling amps that already have a beefy vintage 12 inch speaker and can be used at any volume practice-recording up to live performance volume. Check out the sound clips at,

http://guitar-mentor.blogspot.com/2005/08/high-yield-gear-for-guitarists-then.html

Either the Peavey Valveking ($350) or Behringer Tube Amp modeler both have vintage voiced 12 inch speakers and fantastic tone. And by the time you mod the little epi valve jr, you are paying less for the Valveking or LX112.

Once you investigate, you will find each of these amps have much more than just a volume control and much more speaker / cabinet engineering.

One volume control means one tone matched to a non-variable volume.

Change the volume and the tone changes.

The amp doesn't work with headphones (in a practice mode) nor does it work in a live setting (it can't keep up with a drummer or other live sound).

I'll still rate it a 4, because if all you want is 'brown tone', then that's what you get. No reverb or effects loop just brown tone through a thin 8 inch speaker.

If it runs for 90 days, it is probably going to run for a while, like other inexpensive electronics. Tubes will have to be maintained, based on how often you play. Budget $20 or so per year for tubes.

The good news is that there are only two tubes to replace. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

Not required (yet or ever, I hope!).

Any part you may need (except for the transformer) probably can be found locally.

If lost or stolen, I might not replace it. I have evaluated amps from Dr Z to Epi over the years, and prefer a versatile amp vs. a single function amp (or collection of amps). I am a player, and try NOT to be a collector of infrequently used gear.

For $99, on sale, it is a fair deal, as long as you know what you are getting into.

EVALUATE THE VALVE JUNIOR BEFORE PURCHASING

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY SO YOU ARE NOT DISSAPOINTED.

This is not a 'first amp' a beginner-student would want. It can't be effectively used at a practice level, and the dry sound (no reverb available) leads you to the expense of effects pedals. By the time you add pedals (for the tone flexibility), you could have purchased the ValveKing or LX112 (which has a very flexible tone stack and some effects built-in or line-in, not front-ended). Front-ending pedals is becomming a less desirable option these days for several reasons.

I might purchase it again, if I could save another $30, and just get a 'head version' for $70. I would much prefer to run this through one of my 2x12 or 1x12 combo amp speakers rather than use the 8 inch speaker.

I hear the terms thrown loosely around, Class A, Class B, Class AB and though I'm no new student to tube amps I forget alot so I went to the bible of self promotion and tube amps, The Tube Amp Book by Aspen Pittman and read " an amplifier operating with the grid bias adjusted so plate current flows for the entire 360 degrees of the input waveform." Exactly what I thought.....

So here we have a brand new Class A amp from Epiphone, 5 watts, 1 12AX7 and 1 EL84 with a 4 ohm 8" speaker which may or may not have been designed by Ted Webber.

There is an input , a volume knob and a 3-prong plug.

I wish, oh how I wish it had a tube rectifier as my Prosonic does and makes the amp.

I play Gibsons more often than not, P90's, PAFs and Burstbuckers. The amp has soul. Just like the literature says, down low beautiful blues clarity, louder a subtle breakup full of brown warmth.

There is a 60 cycle hum and you have to create enough noise and attitude to forget it.

For the money and tube quality it is a ten.

Brand new.

Don't know.

I've been playng for 10 years or so, played some in highschool before that. Have a couple of Sunns, Prosonic, '57 tweed, Sound city and the like, recently sold a Blues Jr to a friend who needed an amp and I wasn't using it. I like music and the tonal qualities of tubes, speakers, strings and wood. This is cool. I'll keep it

Brand new Valve JR. One Big Fat Knob. Channel switching via MIDI.....just kidding.

One thing that a lot of people have missed here is that the speaker (if I am not mistaken) is actually manufactured by webber. I think it is fine, I AB'd it with some other 8's practice amps and found it quite pleasing, with its own character. I am using this in stereo with a VOX pathfinder 15R. The two compliment eachother well. I have backed up a singersongwriter band with a drummer who plays with brushes and bundlesticks, and it held up well, just don't expect it to be super clean.

I run the standards through this, strat (MIJ), Tele, and LP. They all retain their special voice with this amp. This thing has a sweet clean tone at about 10:00, and a wonderful OD at 1:00. Things are raging at 3-5:00. Great rock sounds, dirty, gritty, farty, wonderful. I own a classic 30 that sounds similar to this on the clean channel, just twice as loud. I wanted this for low(er) volume recording of power tube distortion. However, don't get me wrong, this thing will still piss off the neighbors if you crank it. Don't expect singing saturated sustain and scooped mids, this thing sounds like a turd, a big fat brown wonderfully rock'n roll turd.

I have also noticed that it takes to distortion pedals quite well.

If you like tube amps, you will like this tone, however, if you are upgrading your practice amp, you might be in for a suprise. Tube amps sound different alone, but they are a much better sound for group playing and recording. If you are used to tube sound, this is for you, if not, skip this amp and go straight to a slightly bigger tube combo and join a band.

At $119, I will be happy if it makes it past the 5 year warranty. However, it looks fine, the outside cabinet build seems strong. I just worry about some of the components inside.

I wouldn't know.

It is worth it to own this. $119, come on. Hold off on your 18th delay pedal or your new boutique megafuzz and get one of these. I can see this getting a LOT of rehersal, recording, and practice use, and maybe even a few shows.

I think by now, we all know the features of this amp..1 input, 1 chickenhead volume knob, 2 tubes, and a speaker. As far as features I wish it had, one would be some sort of onboard spring reverb to add a little airiness to the overall sound, and two..I don't know why they didn't just do this, since the taps are already there on the output transformer...a hardwired 8 ohm output jack for a little more flexibility in hooking up outboard speaker cabs. But the basics for pure class A tube tone are all there.

Hmm...this is the subjective part...I've already done some minor mods, so I'll rate this on stock, and repost when all my mods are in place. Right out of the box, I found it a little, well, blahh...it broke up very early (11 o'clock) and I found the tone to be very muddy and boxy, especially with humbuckers. Stock, what I found it to work best with was P-90's and a wah, for some very honky midrange funk vamping. But I was unable to get very much top end sparkle or bite. I like the overdrive, but once again found it to be very boxy sounding and muddy. It seems like the places where Epi cut corners for value pricing were tubes and speakers. (more on that later) Also, there is audible hum, but I guess that just comes with the tube territory.

So far it seems solidly built, always carry spare tubes, kiddos. The construction is quite nice. 5 years on everything except tubes and speaker which are 90 days, but I splurged and spent the 12 bones for Musician's Friend extended warranty.

Well, I haven't dealt with Epiphone yet, but registering online was a breeze.

Alright, stock...for the same money, my Vox Pathfinder 15R is a much more versatile amp, but I don't dig the SS gain on it much, so I thought, "What the hey...120 bucks for a tube combo", which leaves me money for mods. So far, I've followed others lead and replaced the Sovtek 12AX7 with a GT12AT7, which gave me more clean headroom, and drastically improved treble response. I will soon be replacing the stock Weber Special 8" with either a Weber or Jensen 8" alnico, and replacing the Sovtek EL84 with either a JJ/Tesla or comparable NOS tube and maybe messing somewhat with the circuit, which is similar to a Champ. Once I'm done with my Mad Scientist bit, I will chime back in with a tonal update.

One Input, One Knob, Power switch. All you need. I sold my Peavey Classic 30 and bought a tweed deluxe amp kit. I have yet to complete it, so when my wife wasn't looking I went out and bought this little mp to keep me occupied until I finish it. Just got it outta the box and I love it. I have never trusted epi amps in my price range, but this little puppy was ridiculously cheap and sounds great! I may swith the tubes with some that I got for my deluxe to see how that sounds and maybe take back the Jensen alnico I put in my Father-in-laws practice amp. But I am happy with this deal. The only feature I would add is a standby.

I have a Mexi strat modded with a tele bridge pickup and modded 5 way switch for tele bridge and neck. This little amp sings. I may not have the trained ear to pick up what other can, but the word sweet does come to mind. I does breakup a little earlier than I might like, but I will see what the tubes and speaker do for that.

Just got it outta the box, but it took the ride home in my truck.

Not need yet. 5yr materials and workmanship. 90 tubes and speakers on warranty card.

I am an at home hobbyist considering doing a little home recording. this makes me consider it even harder. I think it would record great! With a few mods this could compare to a nice Champ. But 120 bucks as is - is a deal!

In the case of tube amps, more often than not a lack of features is a good thing. The front panel of this amp has just 1 input and a volume knob. I'm so glad it doesn't have tone knobs and other circuits that eat away at your guitar and amps true tone. On the back panel, it's great that the power cord is removable and there's a 4 ohm speaker output which you can plug in other speaker cabinets if you disconnect it from the built in speaker. It looks pretty nice too; touches of retro design on the front. And wood, covering, and corners appear to be of a nice, non-cheapo, quality too.

The amp has a suprisingly great bluesy tone and breaks up very nicely. My Les Paul, Tele, Strat, and Talman all sound great in their own paricular ways. Often i put a tubescreamer, wah, and a digital reverb (a Yamaha MagicStomp) in front of the amp and they sound great with this amp.<br><br>
My main amp is a 68 Fender Bassman, which is a joy to play and makes every guitar sound great. However, it can be hard to get a good sound at a low volume. The Valve Junior, being just 5 watts, has a nice sound a low volume. And when you turn it up, it sounds even better. I thought the stock Sovtek tubes made the amp sound kind of harsh and a bit dark, but still sounded pretty good. I had some extra EI 12ax7's, so I put one of them and it helped the amp's tone some. I had to order an el84 for the power amp and decided to try the new jj tesla ones. That change made an even bigger positive impact and now the amp sounds great. I highly recommend spending the $18 or so to upgrade the tubes as it's more than worth it. <br><br>
It does that low level hum that others have, but my Bassman has its own hums too...it's just how tube amps are. The stock speaker sounds suprisingly good. If you want other tones, I'd suggest connecting different speaker cabinets rather than replacing the speaker.

So far, two weeks, so good. It's new so I will trust taking it out.

I've never had to deal with them yet.

This is hands down the best value for a new tube amp. This would still be a great deal at twice what i paid. I don't how they make any profit on this. As much as I love my Bassman, I've been playing this little amp a lot the past two weeks and am loving it. I'm looking forward to taking it to shows and it's plenty loud, as long as you don't have a hyper amphetamine drummer which i don't. And this should go without saying; this amp is not for hard rock/metal. It's a great old style bluesy amp with a nice bitting clean sound that gets pushed into a pleasing overdrive.

Sorry, but I disagree with the guy who said he couldn't bring himself to give a high grade in this category, because, come on, there's only one volume knob. Yeah, well, that's what I happen to think is great about this amp. There are so many misleading options on so many pieces of equipment i've used over the years. Tone should not come from filters and gadgets and controls that just screw with the natural character of your playing. Volume on a tube amp means more than loud or soft, it influences the degree of distortion and gain, and that's the way it should be. This amp is exactly as versatile as your fingers are and doesn't sugarcoat your limitations. I love that.

I worked in a coal mine for 85 years to buy the beautiful THD Univalve. I also sold my soul, so I could afford a vintage Marshall 4x12 cabinet with Greenbacks that Jesus himself used to play. With this rig, I had the most wonderful single ended Class A tone in the world. There was NO reason to pick up that Epiphone. But it was so damn cute and so affordable! Less than half the price of that fancy Fender Pro Junior with its garish two controls! It was a crazy thing to buy, but since I have all the Manolo shoes a girl could ever want, and I didn't feel like splurging on Ice Cream that day, it had to be the Epi. Oh, those Chinese people have such a sense of style! And since I haven't adressed any of the issues this category is about, let me just say: It sounds good. A little buzzing and hum, but it sounds really sweet.

Had to return one because it buzzed like someone standing next to a TV with a single coil guitar, and this was before plugging in! The second one I got hums a little, but nothing out of the ordinary. So... I wouldn't use it on a gig without a backup, but it IS my backup from now on. I wonder how long the tubes will make it without a standby switch, also, I hear Class A is kinda hard on the valves. If anybody reads this who is tube-enlightened: Could you let me know if I can replace the tubes myself of does there have to be rebiasing? I was thinking a GT EL 84 might be a good thing... my email is jlab@bluewin.ch

Well, this is not about Epiphone customer support, but the good people at Guitar Center Manhattan replaced it without any stupid questions when I returned my first one which started to emit an ugly buzz, even without a guitar being plugged in, after an hour or so. I had taken it to the bathtub with me, but don't tell them that. Here's my real question: Why do postal workers run amok on a regular basis, but these poor dudes who stand next to 12 year olds experimenting on Marshall stacks all day seem so calm and easy going? Is there something about sex, drugs and/or rock'n'roll I haven't fully understood?

I've been playing for 25 years, with interruptions of course, since I like breakfast and stuff. I'm not telling what other gear I own, cause I find that to be the most unreadable part of any of these reviews. I am a compulsive guitar stuff buyer, I am way old, you do the math.

I wish this amp ran its speaker at 8 Ohm, so I could use my existing cabinets, just to find out if different speakers would make it sound even better. But what the hell.
If I had another 70 bucks to spend, I'd consider a Jensen speaker like the ones in the Bassman.
If this amp was stolen or lost, I'd steal it back. I did compare it to the Pro Junior, sort of, which I have considered buying for years, but I could never justify the 300 bucks. The 120 for this thing are a joke (not to the sweet little children in China, but hey. I wanted an amp so screw my conscience. I'm sure it beats the hell out of sewing sneakers. Or does it? We'll never know.)!

The feature list of this amp start with "tone" and end with "tone."
No other features are required of an amp!
One input jack
One Volume Knob
One 12AX7
One EL84
One 4ohm, 8" speaker.

This class A, albeit Chinese, five watt wonder shares the same basic topology as the $600. Gibson GA-5 Reissue...right down to the solid state rectifier. I purchased the jr at GC and immediately brought it home and mated it with my Ibenez Artstar hollow body. In a word...incredible. Not for useless DSP effects, poorly designed "modeling" circuits, or foolish "Drive" buttons, but just a simple and tried experiment in the effects of electron clouds within a vacuum. Sure, this amp hums a bit, but would you listen to Communication Breakdown and bitch about Jimmy's noisy rig? Really, now. This amp is not intended to give you "distortion" in the normal, transistor sawtooth wave crap. It breaks up gracefully as you increase the volume in predictable, soft knee clipping. The only thing that would add to the delicious tonality would be returning the 5Y3 rectifier. I suggest building a 4ohm Power Soak to allow for private, overdriven practice. Search the net for a circuit.

As I stated, I bought the amp at Guit Cntr and was given a "demonstration" by a salesman. He said, "It really doesn't sound worth sh*t until you crank it like this and get the power tubes to
overdrive." He then struck an E chord and about took my head off.
You gotta love those big box guitar store moments.
I took the amp home and soon realized the EL84 tube was microphonic and after checking to see if it might just be loose, determined it was defective. I think this was a fluke, since the amp is very solid and expertly built (unfortunately by underpaid chinese children, very likely). Some corners have been cut such as the power switch (it's not very sexy, looks modern and out of place) and the speaker is soldered right to the 1/4" output plug instead of using molex connects. Not huge issues, just minor details.
The cabinet is MDF, but very solid and expertly covered with tolex.
You wouldn't want to get it wet....but why would you?
Based upon the construction I think the reliability is obvious.

I have dealt with Epiphone in the past and they honored a lifetime warranty on an acoustic I bought. They were very efficient and
took care of my claim without any drama.
The Valve Junior carries a limited 5 year warranty with all the normal exclusions such as tubes, speakers, cosmetics, etc.

I have been a performing musician for over ten years and own quite a bit of gear including Gibson and Vox amps, G&L,Epi, Fender guitars...I know a thing or two about gear.
I love the Epiphone Valve Junior for the simplicity and tone...as well as the rediculous price! The designer's nod to nostalgia is nice as well. I cannot find anything bad to say regarding this amp. My final point would be that building your own single-ended class A guitar amp as a DIY project just became impractical. I love to build amps but I can't even buy ONE quality OUTPUT TRANSFORMER for the price of this whole amp!!!! Yes, it's a shame...Thanx Walmart!

Very simple. Input and volume control. Straight forward no bells and whistles or DSP effects. The only thing that may be a good addition to this amp is to add a standby switch. Other than that this amp is just right.

I am using a Ibanez JS1000 with Dimarzio Fred in the bridge and Pro PAF in the neck. A versatile enough guitar to find out what this amp can do. I play whatever sounds good that day, but mainly blues, and rock. This amp sounds great, and at $120.00 is well worth the money especially for a class A tube amp. You get some great clean sounds at lower volumes 1-4 and it gets some great natural but subtle tube overdrive at higher volumes 5-10. I think with the 1 volume control this amp generates a variety of great blues tones. This amp is mainly for practice, but with some creativity could be used in other applications. The greatest thing this amp does is it responds to what you are doing on the guitar. Not that this amp does that and all others don't, but that this amp falls into that class. Just by changing pick attack and strumming technique along with adjusting the volume or tone control on the guitar opens up more tone possibities. It does hum a little bit but tube amps do that. I was surprised by this amp.

I have only had it a couple weeks but it's built great. Metal corners are a great addition. Tubes are positioned well and protected well. Manufacturer warranty is 5 years from defects, and 90 days on tubes and speaker. I can live with that.

N/A Hope I don't have to.

I have been playing guitar for about 10 years. I would replace it if necessary. As I stated above this amp or really any amp reacts to what you do as a guitar player. If you are creative and play well you are going to like it. It probably won't make you a better guitar player unless it inspires you to study and practice more. I compared this amp to other new and used examples in the same class, and thought this was the best buy for the money.

Brand new 2005 Epi Valve Junior amp, 5 watts through an 8" Epi speaker with a Sovtek 12AX7 and EL84 tube in the guts. Class A single circuit, but not hand-wired (at this price, are you kidding me?) Nice touch with the detachable power cord and metal corners. About 13" tall, so it won't tower over your Stonehenge setpiece. Sorry to burst the features rating bubble, but c'mon, it's got an input, a knob, and an on/off switch. Bare bones if there ever was one; the amp equivalent to a Telecaster.

I tested (and yielded to) the charms of this little lump of Chinese Class A amplification at the local big-box-retail-guitar-o-rama-center the other day and couldn't help but be impressed. I knew while plugging in that there was no reverb, no EQ, no headphone jack, nothing but an input, a knob, and an on/off switch. But I've been keen to get an amp I could easily move around, didn't have a ton of knobs to reset when my 2 year old daughter would decide to be my engineer, and most of all something with tubes and tone that wouldn't cost me more than a car payment. Sure, I would've loved that Victoria 5 watt amp or Bad Cat Mini Cat unit, but that's $700+!

I plugged a maple necked American Strat, humbucker equipped Paul, (which third guitar would best complete the holy trinity of electric guitar: Discuss.) and a DeArmond loaded Gretsch hollowbody into this baby at the store. This amp takes a few minutes to get warmed up, but once it's toasty and purring, this amp begins to reveal it's subtle charms. Between the 7 and 11 position, it's just a straight forward amplification of the wood, strings, andd electronics of your guitar. Rolling past 11 until 2 begins to bring out nuances of your picking, attack, and fingers. From 2 to 6, it's time to break out the liquor, put the kids to bed, and just groove on the overdriven break up that comes with juicing tubes at maximum power. While not subtle enough to max out each guitar's individual characteristics, I could enjoy the hollowbodied thump of my Gretsch for some roots rock, my Strat's single coils danced a bit more, and my Paul was a little more soulful than through the hybrid Vox I've had for the past three years.

Don't kid yourself; this amp is an awesome practice model, or mike it up and record some killer tracks, maybe even a small, quiet gig where you're 50% of the sound. But don't buy this amp thinking you're taking it on the road or to compete with a drummer. That's why they make 50 watt heads and 4x12 cabinets.

Okay, I just bought it yesterday, so I can't rate reliability just yet but I will say that it looks tough enough. Pop off the back and swap in new tubes if they burn out, otherwise, just go buy another one while they're this cheap. Unlike most things made in China, this is not a complete peice of cheap crapola. If someone could make an amp in America this nifty and not charge 4 to 5 times what Epiphone sells this one for, I'd buy it. Wait a minute, they did! Back in the 60's, and now guys on eBay want you to drop $100+ on old no-name Champ clones that went for $30 a few years ago. Thanks, free market!

Cannot comment as I have not contacted the gigantic-behemoth-corp that is Gibson/Epiphone regarding this product. If you can't fix it, parts it out or use it as a step stool.

5 year warranty on the cabinet, 90 days on tubes and speaker. (Disparity if I've ever seen it: they'll care for a box twenty times longer than the pieces that make it useful?!)

For the money, this is an insanely good deal. Sure, you could buy the aforementioned vintage cheap-o 5 watt Champ clones that now sell for as much as the Epi Valve Junior, but this is brand new, at least has a warranty, and it won't be DOA. This is precisely what I wanted: something I can just plug and play without dragging around a larger, heavier amp. My house is small and I have a wife, a 2 year old girl, and assorted animals that aren't that as keen on guitar, so I need something that won't cause domestic duress but isn't a laughably poor mini amp ("Dude! My battery powered Marshall mini stack just roars! This thing is coooooool!" Okay, Grasshopper, time to put down the Mountain Dew and stop listening to Creed).

If I need more power, I'll just disconnect the speaker line, use it as a head and drive it into the Vox Cambridge with a 10" Celestion Bulldog that is now tucked away in a closet until I get my guitar room.

Little wonders like these were the amps your dads cut their teeth on after the Beatles landed in America. Turned up and miked right, these babies cut the blues on lables all over the land. Paired with a great guitar, it's easy to just cut loose and spend some time getting acquainted with how well you can play music.

As another reviewer stated, this is tone boot camp; if you can't play well with just a guitar and a little class A 5 watt amp, nothing will help you. And if you're like me and can barely play well with a guitar and just this amp, this Epi will make you a better player.

Plain and Simple = 1 volume control. This is a small practice amp, so that's all it needs. They don't add in a bunch of knobs and features that you don't need in a practice amp, just to jack the price up. Oh yeah, and it's a Class A Tube Amp for $119. It's hard for me not to give this amp a 10 for features considering the price, but nothing's perfect.

Let me just begin here by saying that I can not believe that you can get a tube amp which sounds this good for $119. I can't figure out how they can make this amp for $119, the price of labor in China must be absolutely dirt cheap. My main amp is a Hot Cat 30, and since I got this little epiphone valve junior, the Bad Cat has not gotten nearly as much play time as it normally does. Don't get me wrong, comparing the two is like apples and oranges. But the epiphone has seriously impressed me. Out of the box, it does sound a little murky and dark. But I like to tinker, so here's what I did. I replaced the stock Sovtek tubes with a 60's RCA 12ax7($12 ebay) and an old mullard el84($23 ebay). Next, I replaced the stock speaker with an 8 inch weber alnico(about $45, but you can get a nice jensen on ebay for around $25). NOW THIS THING ROARS!!! So for under $200 I have a sweet amp. Not that it sounds bad out of the box, the stock speaker didn't sound too bad once I changed the tubes. Those Sovteks just didn't do anything for it. I agree with the review below that this amp needs a good 20 minutes to warm up to where it sounds good, but it's worth waiting for. I play a Melancon Vintage Artist and the single coils really sound sweet thru this amp. I suspect that humbuckers would sound nice too. There was a slight hum out of the box, but it seems to have almost gone away after changing the tubes. I think this is a pretty well designed circuit, with a lot of tonal versatility which you can access via the volume control on your guitar. Amp seems to like pedals. It sounds better with the back panel removed too, brings out even more thick overtones which sound nice when playing lead; also it seems to growl a little brighter on the low end. It does break up and overdrive nicely, but that's the benefit of Class A.

This is another amazing aspect of this amp, it's well built!! Nice big cabinet, metal corners, smooth tolex, solid handle, BIG transformers for an amp this size, tube shield for the 12ax7 and spring holder for the el84, and a removable power cord. If you ignore the fact that it's a PCB and not hand wired, construction wise this amp isn't far off from the expensive boutique amps that go for around a grand. Of course these amps are new, so it remains to be seen how they hold up over time. But here's something important: I bought mine online from MF, free shipping, no tax, and I could return it with no hassle if it was crap. These amps are not well packaged for shipping. They ship in a big-ol cardboard box, but the only thing holding the amp in place inside the box was about 6 pieces of cardboard the size of a TV remote. And they didn't do a very good job as I found them under the amp all bent up, so the amp was basically loose and flopping around inside this box. But it still worked fine. Point is, take your chances with having it shipped or go buy one locally that you can test before buying. But after making it here from China with that kind of packaging, and then to work right out of the box, I think it's pretty reliable.

HMMM..... I get the feeling that I may be on my own here. It would have been nice if they had included a schematic, or made one readily available. I think the best aspect of customer service with this amp may be that if it blows up, I'm not out a lot of coin. Probably cheaper to replace a broken one than to have it serviced.

OK, here's the bottom line on this amp. It's the most amp you're gonna get for $120 new or used. If you wanna style it out a bit, then do like I did and drop $80 into it and have an awesome little amp. Most of the time when you buy music gear you're lucky if you don't get ripped off, and if you actually get your money's worth then the Gods of Tone are truly smiling on you. This amp is one of the ultra-rare instances when you get more than you pay for!!! Go buy one before epiphone finds some way to make this amp more profitable and screws this amp up.

2005 VJ
Exactly what I had been looking for in a practice amp.
Simplicity itself, like early guitar amps: A volume control. Period. Perfect.
Specs already stated.

I have used this with humbuckers so far, it will get the Stratocaster treatment soon, though. I play mainly blues, jump blues, swing, classic R&B, bigband, soul and early R&R, plus a bit of jazz. at about 1:00, the amp just sings, any higher and the grit expands nicely. everything can be controlled from the guitar pots (which is why they are there, isn't it?)
The amp really needs to warm up for about 20-30 minutes. Up until then it will sound like a cheap SS practice amp...but once its warm...time to go!
My only issue is that the speaker sounds stiff. I did not expect it to sound like a 12", but it just seems a bit constrained unless the amp is pushed all the way out. Maybe it needs some 'excersize', maybe not. Time will tell.

Appears very well made. Metal corners are a nice touch.

Service from OEMs is nearly always a nightmare, but for the $120 I'd just order another one and keep this one for spare parts...warranty already noted below

My harmonica player was so taken with the sound of this amp he ordered himself one. As I noted, I wanted a low wayyage amp for rehearsals. I had looked at the Epi Galaxie, but was put off by the sound, too harsh. I looked at the Gibson LP Jr. Goldtone...but the price was ridiculous. I don't need point to point for rehearsals, and I don't need an expensive amp to just leave at the rehearsal location. This thing is plenty loud in a small room, and once it starts to cook, it has the right sound for me.

I have a '64 BF Vibrolux Reverb, two Blues Juniors and a Marshall V65R Valvestate. I gig rooms with the BJs, outdoor gigs with the Vibrolux. Occasional side rock projects with the Marshall. I have several guitars, '74 Stratocaster, '62 Melody Maker, '72 SG, a '03 ES135LE, and a '02 Epiphone Alley Kat, etc. I have not run all of these into the VJ, but eventually that will happen. So far the Alley Kat and the Es135 sound great through it.

As below (i.e. zero sound features). But it is a beautifully designed and solidly-built (it's HEAVY for a 5-watter) little bastard. The level of detailing from the excellent covering to the gorgeous grill cloth with the white piping to the metal corners and quality handle is amazing for the price. This thing should be going for closer to $400 like the little Gibson LP.

I run my Dan U2 RI through it, and my Variax 300. I also play harp: Chromatic, Golden Melody, Pro, Lee Oskars through a Blues Blaster/Astatic.

For newbies, you gotta understand this a real pure Class A amp: no hyped top end, no Jimi EFX, no channels or tremolo or reverb. It's all about tone. In fact, this is tone boot camp. To the novice, this will seem very dark and dull played clean. To the pro, you'll love the warmth and response in the clean zone. And pros also know all the bells and whistles you need can go on in the final mix. Much better to record clean and build your sound to the record.

The mid crunch is complex and brings a new round of bright overtones into the sound. Really gorgeous and punchy, with surprising low end for an 8" speaker. That's the smart cabinet design: it's deep and a good size to build bottom. Just add a touch of delay and you'll swear you're Luther Allison in the Chess studios and Little Walter is soloing over there.

When you start to rip on it (around 1 to 2 o'clock) all hell breaks loose. Fantastic intense overtone-rich lead tones.

For harp, it sounds pretty much like what Little Walter played on. He loved little 6-8" speaker Class A amps. Okay, that's all he had available, but who's counting? Just add some echo, crank yer chromatic up in Dm, amp up to say 11:30 o'clock, and you can do Blue Lights in style, baby. This is great harp recording amp. 'Nuf said.

It's a tank. Made in Commie China like everything else on Earth. Has full tube retention supports. Who needs vintage when they make stuff like this new???

Never talked to Gibson/Epi. Warranty is full 5-year parts and labor, though only 90-days on tubes and speaker. Fair enough.

I'm an old pro, and all I can say is: this thing is astonishing for $100 new (got it at Guitar Center on July 4th--I said, "Hey, it's July 4th!" and they knocked off the $19). To some kid, they probably wouldn't know what to do with it, but to me, I'm gonna stick a 57 in front of it, run it into Tracktion2, crank up my 37 vintage guitars courtesy of Line 6, blow some nasty harp and recreate the entire Chess catalog. And that's just for starters.

How the heck does Gibson expect to sell the GA-5 when they make this little gem way prettier, more solid, sounding at least as good, and, oh yeah...$400 cheaper???

new,one volume pot on/off switch.5 watts through 1-12ax7sovtek,and 1-el-84 sovtek.simple vintage circuit on a p.c.b. exiting a 8"-4ohm speaker.versatility was not the intent here.retro tone baby!

now,i bought this with the intent to tweek the tone a bit.out of the box,i feel it has too much gain.(for a vintage box)i changed the speaker to a jensen c8r ceramic ($25),jj el84 ($8.50),rca 12ay7($13)which allows more headroon before a super authentic vintage crunch!

appears to be built like a tank.

5years-90dayspeaker/tubes no service req'd

'72 reissue thinline tele,'57 reissue l/p jr.-most tone for the buck.i would highly recommend this to all vintage fans!

I liked the idea of a cheap tube amp for practice, recording and teaching. Having only a volume knob means there's less to go wrong.

I'm using the amp with a Fat Strat and a Standard Strat. I play mainly classic rock, blues, and country. The amp is a little noisy but nothing I can't live with. I've heard it's an easy fix and may try this soon. I'm probably going to swap out the stock power tube for something that will give me a little more clean headroom. Right now it breaks up between 4 and 5. The overdrive is nice and much smoother IMO than the Galaxie 10, which I also owned briefly.

Only had it a week.

Haven't had to deal with them but it has a 90 day warranty on tubes and speakers, 5 year on workmanship.

I've been playing for about 20 years and have other amps such as a Fender DR II and a Peavey Classic 30. Also a Johnson J-Station taht I use to record. I would definitely buy another if it were lost or stolen, in fact I may buy another anyway to run in stereo. For the price it can't be beat, much nicer IMO than comparably priced SS amps.

2005 Epiphone Valve Jr., 5 watts, Class A, 1 12AX7 & 1 EL84, so it won't cost a fortune to retube! Only 1 knob and 1 channel, so this amp gets more overdriven tone as you crank it up. The overdrive/distortion on this amp is quite a bit warmer, and less harsh than the recently discontinued Epiphone Galaxie 10(which I also own). I'd venture say that this amp would be great for blues and classic rock ect..., but stear clear if you want nu metal tone right out of the box. If you want hi gain( ala Mesa Boogie) or reverb, you'll have to get it with pedals. Also, the Valve Jr. seems to have better bass response with its little 8in. speaker than the Galaxie 10 has with its stock 10 in. Celestion tube 10 speaker. I was surprised because the Valve Jr's speaker looks to be some no name chinese Epi speaker. The amp might fair better with a speaker upgrade, but it sounds great as is too. The clean tone is warm on this amp, but it's not quite as clean as the Galaxie 10 , or what I recognize more as a Fenderish clean tone(might be due to the EL84 instead of 6L6 tube). It's only 5 watts so you can't expect tons of clean headroom. Black vinyl type covering is quite nice, as are the black metal corners, and wheat colored grill. I looked at a little Vox Brian May amp recently, and was disgusted by the plastic corner protectors. Thanks Epiphone for making an affordable amp sans plastic corners & input jack ! Metal is good! Tone-wise, I noticed that this amp's stock tubes are actually very useable compared to what came in the Galaxie 10. I'll only retube this thing when the stock tubes die. The Valve Jr. doesn't have a ton of features, but the features that it does have work well.

I've tested the Valve Jr. with a G&L George Fullerton Strat(single coils), Gibson LP Custom(Rio Grande hums), PRS CE24(hums) Fender MIM tele(single coils), Epiphone Dot Deluxe(hums),and they all sounded great. This is the type of amp that highlights the tonal characteristics of each type of guitar quite well. I was surprised that even cranked, the 8in Epi speaker could handle the bassier tones of my LP. Not a whole lot of tonal variety or clean headroom with only 1 knob and 5 watts, just GOOD tube tone. This amp could be spiced up with some pedals.

5 year warranty on the amp and 90 days on the speaker & tubes. I just got it last week, so it's hard to say how it will hold up. It seems very solid though.

I haven't ever dealt with epiphone before, but they've been around forever.

I've been playing guitar for 13 years. I have some acoustic and electric guitars,various amps, a bass, and drums. I bought the Valve Jr. as a practice and recording amp. I also purchased an Epiphone Galaxie 10 amp about a year ago. I still like the Galaxie's simplicity and low price, but must admit it HAD to have a tube upgrade to be useable(the Valve Jr. rocks right out of the box). Epiphone makes some nice budget tube amps. I like the EL84 tone of this Valve Jr. My Mesa Boogie DC-10 and the Galaxie 10 are both 6L6 based, so this amp has a different tone/vibe with the EL84. I chose this amp because it was inexpensive, had the El84 tone I've been searching for, and had a sweet retro looking cab. I think you'd have a hard time building an amp similar to this yourself for the same or less $$. At just over $100, this amp is a NO BRAINER. If you need a good low watt practice or recording amp, skip the bland modelling amps, and stop searching Ebay for that overpriced used tube amp from 30 years ago. Just order 1 of these, and you've got 45 days to decide if you like it(Music 123.com, AMS, MF ect... )and you get 90 days on tubes & speaker + Epiphone's 5 year warranty on everything else . This amp doesn't have a loads of tonal variety, but it does have good simple tube tone. Buy a few pedals with the $$ you saved from not buying a botique low wattage amp. This amp is inexpensive enough that you'll have $$ left over to buy more gear! BEST bang for your buck on a new tube amp I've seen in years.

Real Simple, again just as advertised, i don't really want to give it a low score because it is what i was looking for but it is what it is. 1 Input, a volume control, Sovtek 12AX7 Pre-Amp tube and a EL34 Sovtek Power Tube.

---I use this for a Harmonica, not Guitar---

I got the amp to replace the Frontman 25-R i have been using as my Harmonica Amp and was paleased to find a low cost tube amp made by an, at least, known brand and for 119 i was willing to give it a shot. I use a green bullet mic through a Boss GE-7 Equalizer with the low end knocked up a touch (since the amp has no equalization on it's own i always have it on) and ast low levels i get a beuatifull clear delta type sound. At first i had issues with feedback when i tried to push the levels for some crunch but replacing the Sovtek tube with a Groove Tube 12AX7-C seemed to fix that, I also tried a GT 12AU7 but it reduced the gain too far for my tastes on the already low powered amp. If you're playing large venues this would probably serve more as a practice amp for you but i find that it can push well beyond comfortable levels in a reasonable locale, of course i do play the harmonica and i find they tend to cut through the mix at lower levels.

Not too much hum for such an inexpensive tube amp, esspecailly with the new pre-amp tube so if mine is indicative then it really isn't something to worry about. I would deffiently recomend it to harmoinca players.

Owned it for three wees so i can't really comment on this except to say that it appears very well built and sturdy with quite heavy components, which i have allways felt means quality. I wouldn't drop to front screen on a mic stand from ten feet up though... defiently not sheet metal or anything just straw with some sort of sturdy plastic interwoven.

never had to deal with them, i hope not to

Overall i would call this a very good amplifier for harmonicas esspecialy considering the price although it does sound better with new tubes. If you want better you'll probably have to spend a few hundred more.

Also i was worried it would look cheap given the price but it actually looks quite good, nice and simple.

And the final measure, i would buy this little guy again if some @$#^% stole it.

Made in China, 1 volume, on/off switch. 1 Sovtek 12AX7, 1 Sovtek EL84, Epiphone 8" speaker, Class A 5 watts. Nothing fancy, just as advertised. Might be better with a tone pot, but who knows?

I played a Roue101 Strat w/Duncans and an Epiphone WildKat through this little monster. The strat had some good Blues tones out of it, but this little beast really shined with the Kat. Volumes at 3 provided super clean, dialed in jazz with the tone on the guitar. At 5 it got a little gritty, bluesy tone. All the way it was a nasty little critter that was sweet Class A overdrive. Currently I don't possess a HB equipped guitar, but I bet it would be killer, the P-90's just growled with this thing. Surprisingly loud for 5 watts.

Just got it, but seems solid enough, pretty heavy for a 5 watter.

Warranty is 5 years, 90 days on the tubes and speaker. Never dealt with them, so I can't say.

You can't beat it for the value. $119 and you get a sweet little tone monster.