Epiphone Valve Junior Combo

Single channel, single ended 5 Watt all tube amp. Just volume control. Mine is a rev #3, with multiple impedance outputs and Eminence speaker.

It all comes down to what it's been thought for, I think. This puppy was thought to be an easy, plug-and-play, no frills combo, and that's what you get.

After reading lots of boards I have opened mine just to find that many of the mods suggested on the web have already been implemented in the latest revision. Things like using Alpha volume pot, DC heater, proper output transformer primary impedance, better tube quality, correct values of resistors on input voltage divider and things like that have already been addressed.

Mine came with an EH 12AX7 and a Sovtek EL84.

Despite the lot of people complaining about this combo being shrill, I must disagree: mine sounded very dark and muffled.
I have made some mods to it, like installing Mallory caps and a Tweed-like tone control, and now it sounds very good to me.
It gives a very spanky sound that's prone to distort quite easily. Too bad the 5 Watts combined with the small 8" speaker are just too loud to crank it home.
It's kind of a vintage-sounding amp. Dirty and punchy. I just love it.
It takes stompboxes very well, so I can get good saturated tones at bedroom volumes with my TS9 (with 808 mod).
It used to be dead quiet when it was stock, after the mods it's a bit noisy but much better sounding to me.

I bought it because I wanted an amp that was different from my main amp (a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV combo), and that could give me some fun modding it. No complains, it just does the job.

I play it with a Tom Anderson Drop Top and a custom made guitar.

Rating is for the stock sound. After the mods, it deserves at least a 7.

Just had it for a month. Anyway, I've taken a look inside and it looks like it may last forever. Despite it's made in China, it's very well done. Component quality looks quite good. It's a very easy amp, there's not much that can fail inside that black little box, I'd expect it to last long enough to get fed up with it :)

No idea.

For the price I paid for it, it's a bang for the buck. For less than 100 Eur you get a good cabinet, a good chassis, a big power transformer, a suitable output transformer, two good tubes, a well done pcb and a bunch of passive components. Even if it does not sound as you wish, every monkey that knows how to use a welding iron can modify it. There's plenty of boards, schematics and suggestions, it can provide hours of fun just by experimentimg new changes to the circuit.

I really can't complain about the available features, as anyone who looks at this little combo will clearly see it was designed to be very simple.

The one feature that I really would have liked to have seen on all versions of the combo would be 4/8/16 ohm speaker outs on the rear panel. Most of the speakers I've ever wanted to try with this amp have been either 8 or 16 ohms. Happily, I see the newest revision of the combo has this feature.

The revision of the combo I had sounded a bit stale to me with the stock Sovtek tubes. So like most other Valve Jr owners I replaced the stock tubes with some new ones. I used a JJ EL84 and a JJ 12AX7.

I'm really impressed by how well this amp takes to pedals. I use a Maxon OD808 reissue for my overdrive sound and that really sounds warm through the Valve Jr. It's extremely easy to get a solid, warm overdriven sound. For heavier sounds, I use a Krank Distortus Maximus. This pedal also sounds really great through the Valve Jr, and I'm actually able to get some reasonable sounds for metal (n.b. it's an 8" speaker.. don't expect miracles!!). My Holy Grail and DL4 also sound quite full with this little monster.

I think that the worst thing about the sound this little combo produces is that it is very mid heavy and can be a little muddy sounding. There is a relatively easy fix for this. I've found using a GE-7 (or favorite eq pedal) can do a lot to tame the wild mids.

I think the stock speaker is for the most part quite good for the price of the amplifier. I think the only think I could want more there is a little bit better bass response. But hey, it's an 8" speaker. Maybe I want a bit too much.. :)

I have tested the amp with both passive (SD59/JB) and active (EMG81/85) pickups, and I have been very happy with the performance with all pickups. Of note, I think the Seymour Duncan 59 sounds particularly impressive. I really love the creamy tone I get out of that pickup with this amp.

I've had it for about 5 months now and no issues.

Haven't had to speak with them. I have had zero issues so far. I know others who have had to deal with warranty work though, and their experience was positive.

I bought this little combo for home practice and recording, and I really can't say that I've had any disappointments. It's served it's purpose well, and other than the lack of 8/16ohm speaker outs, I'm quite happy to keep singing it's praises.

This little amp is as simple as they come but in the blues , "Less Is More" !

The Valve Junior Combo version #3 has improvements that now make this the best deal on the planet . Wow is exactly what came to mind after about 2 minutes of blowing my harp through the new Valve Junior Combo version #3 . I absolutely loved version # 2 head and combo that used a 4 ohm speaker but this new version has upped the stakes considerably !

The new version is so open-fat-rich and full sounding that it is like a 7 to 10 watt amp that is completely hand wired ( which it is not) . The 16 ohm "Eminence" speaker ( engineered in the USA and made in China ) that comes standard in the new version is the loudest 8 inch speaker I have ever played through . At first I thought the speaker was a bit harsh but after about 10 hours of playing it has now transformed into a keeper ( most every speaker has a break in period before it reveals the true sound it is going to produce ) . After getting the 16 ohm "Eminence" broken in it has turned into a speaker that has a very aggressive growl and penetration that will cut through the mix in a band setting . Really , this amp will do fine on it's own in a small club setting unmiked .

What I like to do is turn the Valve Junior Combo version #3 about 3/4 wide open and back off 3 or 4 clicks on my harp mic for rhythm and backup playing . She stays a bit clean this way but still a touch of hair and grit when ya cup the mic tighter and blow a little harder . And when you reach over with your pinky finger and turn the volume wide open on the mic , it is like having a tiger by the tail . The power and touch dynamics are so organic and bottomless that it makes playing and practice fun again .

The speaker and amplifier circuit are very well thought out and matched . I tried the combo with other speakers and the "Eminence" 16 ohm speaker ( that it came with ) did the best job of bringing out the full potential-range and depth of what this amp is capable of . This amp is pretty even across the board as far as the low-mids-highs are concerned . But it does lean a bit more toward the mids to highs . But when tried with various other speakers the amp acts like a chameleon and adapts to them .

For playing amplified harp this is the BEST I have ever played through so far ! The Valve Junior Combo version #3 can be a little kitten and cleanly purr , but crank the volume and you unleash the "TONE BEAST FROM HELL" . How in the world can they make and sell such a quality amp like this for $149.00 ? Heck , the cab alone is worth that , it is built like a tank .

Mic this baby and it is mind blowing ! Take 2 of the Valve Junior Combos and a "A/B/Y" pedal and you are good to go with a loud band . With the pedal , use one combo for rhythm and then kick in both for a scorching lead solo . Two of these at the same time , cranked , is like having a religious experience .

I give the Valve Junior Combo version #3 my highest rating , a (7) Harp Salute . It also deserves my next coveted award , and that is my "Nasty Harp Award " , When ya crank that volume knob on the Valve Junior Combo the tone gets so fat and nasty/chewy , the way Chicago Blues should sound and be played . At one time I was a bit obsessed with tube heads and extension cabinets , but they take a while to set up and there is more to carry . I still like them but there is something to be said for the portability of just grabbing the little Valve Jr. Combo and running out the door to the gig.

Epiphone has hit a Grand Slam with the Valve Junior Combo version #3 !


http://bluzharp.tripod.com

I have only had this version # 3 for about 2 months but I have a version # 2 head and combo that has seen more biker bars and spilled beer than a
a motorcycle .

Awesome !!!!! I have had contact with Bob Burns and other techs there and they are a delight to deal with .

This is like my wife ! This is the amp of my blues harmonica playing dreams !

This is my second review. Don't want to be a bore but do want to pass on what I think greatly improves the amp.

I have owned this amp for a year and read about all the different mods you can get. Well, all I did was replace stock Sovtek tubes for JJ Tesla's (cost ??18) and it is now fantastic.

If you want a clean sound then it's great.

If you want natural power amp distortion then it's great.

As others have said before me..turn the amp on 30 minutes before playing it.

Solid so far.

A totally brilliant amp.

It needs tone controls. Mine had big treble boost problem.

The cab with it looks great but the speaker sounds bad-Too much treble...the Head Its like a bad pedal tone nob that doesnt give enough bass freguency; I think it needs a larger value in the head circuit too allow more bass. Im not a mod expert but I think it might be cap on the guitar input that needs a larger value probably?
My vox valvetronix 30 sounded much better. I took the junior head and attatched it too a few great speakers and it was much better!!It still did not beat my vox with stock speaker. Heres the bad part. I then hooked up a small cheap crate practice amp to this same great speaker and the little small amp sounded better than the tube head.
I can only imagine what my vox could do with this cab. In all fairness the Junior head was pretty good alone with a different speaker. I returned it to Gc mostly because I hated the speaker cab. I love Epiphone and play their guitars. I did love this little head, but mine was just way too bright. I posted this just too help balance the reviews as these reviews influenced my decision to buy. The head did sound good with a $400 cab, but was way too bright.

I can't say, I didn't own it long enough-looked well made.

I give it a 6 only because of its low cost. Mine was too bright and unusable without heavey eq. I might try the Blackheart amp designed by the same russian guy who desiged this head; it has tone controls and a cut switch to 3 watt. Oh and the VJ head was too loud to actually practice in mid to full overdrive. Im sure the Valve Junior head can sound great with the right voicing mod -I just dont have the skills or time to fiddle with it. I hope I didnt ruffle anyones feathers with this review, I did love this little head, I may have just got a bad unit with too much variance in a couple circuit parts that didnt complement each other.

One volume pot some speaker inputs and one internal speaker all you need.
I know it's not any features really but thats what this amp is a 5w class a valve combo practice amp!

It does one sound a straight very strong and warm clean sound! i use a few guitars on it a Fender Japan Tele a PRS Custom 22 and an Ibanez hollowbody and it sounded great with all of them and worked really well with all types of pick-ups.
If you want a distortion sound just pick a pedal you like and run it through the front easy as and sounds great and has a surprising amount of volume!

Now i ordered this via the internet and i recieved one and it made no sound whats so eva, probaly due to the speaker or the jack input which was a big let down so i swapped it for another one and exactly the same problem! so i thought i'd try one more incase it was me being stupid and the third one worked fine! i hate to knock it down points but 2 in a row is pretty bad.

There is no customer support in the Uk for Epiphone! the shop was alright but the lack of company help sucks.

If you get one of these that works then is a great amp and does exactly what its supposed to!

This amp only has an on/off switch and a volume control on the front panel, but on the back it has speaker outputs for 4, 8 and 16 ohm. Based on the the range of clean to over-driven tone that results as an increase or decrease in the volume level, the option to use a variety of external speakers, and the really loud 5 watts that this amp puts out, I find this amp to be both simple and versatile.

This amp with an 8 ohm 12 inch Mesa closed back cabinet and an Fender American Telecaster produces a nice range of sounds. The low level clean sound has just the right amount of bite and drive. The high volume level distortion also sounds good with the Telecaster.

This amp appears to be very well built. It is solid and the attention to the detail of fit and finish is as well or better than many amps costing significantly more money. The manufactures 5 year warranty seems to imply that the amp will be reliable. I use the amp without a backup for small gigs and rehearsals.

The amp has a 5 year warranty on every thing except the tubes.

I purchased this amp based on the previous reviews, the low cost of the amp, the ease of changing tubes when and if desired, the low wattage, and the company name. The great sound and quality of the amp is a bonus.

It's just a simple straight forward EL84 amplification circuit. The output transformer but mainly the speaker provides all the tone it has to offer. Tube amps can't get more simple in design than this.

The circuit and ouptut transformer are fine. But the main thing is the speaker and that is crap. It is efficient and loud but at the same time it sounds very brittle and metalic. In no way this is a vintage tone as they claim.
No amount of mods will improve this. I've connected this speaker to another amp and it sounded just as bad specially when driven hard.
Even at low volumes I can't get a decent sound and EQ don't fix it when recording tracks.
It sounds good when I use it for keyboard though because it's so bright so no need for a tweeter.
Sometimes I use the amp just as a head to a decent speaker cabinet and that makes all the difference. It sounds "normal".
This amp just needs a good speaker that's all. No mods or anything else.

Extremely well build amp. Almost an overkill. It's nice to see somehting build so well these days, specially in China. It'll probably work for a 100 years privinding you change the tubes couple of times.

Not needed.

Cheapest tube amp available, mediocre sound for guitar, ok for keyboard with it's original crap speaker.

Volume, line out

This amp is pretty dark. If you are looking for nice cleans, I would stay away. This amp is made to be pushed, not to the extreme, but definitely pushed. I have used it with a strat HSS and a tele. This amp treats effect pedals well. I have tried it with a humbucker into a metal zone into a 7 band equalizer and it got a great metal tone. You can get everything from Black Sabbath to Mastodon. It would not do Nu Metal or chain-saw type distortion. It does blues very well. I like a lot of alternative and indie rock, so it is a little to dark for me, but an equalizer helps a lot. I also use a weber attenuator with it to get good power tube saturation.

Built like a tank

N/A

I have been playing for 5 years now. I play a custom guitar into a couple effects into either this or my Ampeg Jet. I would cut my losses. I really like it, especially in combination with an equalizer pedal and an attenuator. I love how easily tube saturation is achieved, but I wish it was voiced a little brighter. At the end of the day, I am glad to have it in my arsenal.

input jack, volume control, power switch. only play at home.very loud when cranked.

great for old school blues and rock. starts to get a bit gritty at 10'o clock with humbuckers, at 3 o'clock it's very loud & very dirty! will sustain for ever - gary moore style. with single coils it starts to get gritty at just over 12'o clock and gives a great blues tone. if you need any more, use a good overdrive/distortion pedal.

bought mine in october 2005. hummed and buzzed like hell! took it back to sound control in stockton-on-tees, and they changed it for a newer model-this one is really great.

never used epiphone as sound control sorted out my problem. however, i understand epiphone do supply a 5 year warrenty.

i have been playing for around 30 years, on & off. this little amp sounds great for what i do. i have, over the years, owned a lot of good stuff, mesia boogie, fender, marshall etc, and this amp is up there with them - honestly. if anything happened to it i would buy again, without hesitation.

no need to explan the features...
bought it 1 jear ago..

sounds nice at all.changed the tube for EH 12AT7 for more clean headroom,sounds nice after about 50 hours.the tubes need some time to "warm up",about 20 min.i play mostly bluesrock and some dirty pop with a fender strat(made of different strats,with a tele neck).this guy is very honest with nearly no compression.you get what you give,means it shows every wrong note and mistake.you need to have tone in your fingers,so this is no beginners amp.it breaks up nicely at about 1 o clock(with gainboost mod).i dont like its sound,when the vol is full,sounds to damaged.guess its a speaker distortion.the speaker is ok at all,but too small,to give a real punch.gonna build a new cab with a jensen 12" to get more volume and punch.it works in a band,but you have to mic it.the sound is "classical",it has no modern rocksounds and no metal attitudes.he likes tubescreamers and stuff,but sounds muddy with modelling stuff.different guitars have very different sounds on this amp for there is a very short signal chain and no toecontrol at all.it can be modded very easily.it doesnt sounds like a marshall or a fender,it has some kind of its own sound

gigged a lot with it.still workin

i??ve been playin 4 a while.i have seen lots of equipment,and this one i pretty cool.no boutique tone,but its ok since i like unpolished dirty sounds.u can play the blues on a highend superamp,but with this one,its more authentic i think.best partner is a good guitar a good cable,a booster or tubedrive and the vol knob at the guitar.crappy guitars will sound crappy.you can get a lot of different sound,as long as u know how to get them from your guitar.you get,what you give

Mine is a newer version - likely 2007 with the newer hum reduction design. Have to give it a 2 because it is what it is - very basic class A 5 Watt tube amp. Don't interpret that as bad.

This amp is simply outstanding. At lower volumes, it is quite clear and clean, crank it up and it gets very dynamically responsive to your attack and breaks up beautifully. After one day, it is my favorite amp ever - even with the cheap stock tubes.
This is an amp that you have to understand though. I think those reviewers who call it "dark" sounding have to consider what the amp is and is not. There not much in the circuitry coloring your sound. I spent about 3 hours with it yesterday - no effects with an american tele. On the bridge pickup, the sound is quite bright and cuts through nicely. With both pickups on, the I got a quite nice rhythm sound and with a little turn of the volume knob got some nice growl. On the neck pickup, it is admittedly "darker" sounding, but might be a good sound for some jazz and other uses. I would anticipate the same "darkness" with a neck humbucker, but with an earlier breakup because of generally higher output. The point is, this bad boy amplifies what it gets. Start putting the tone control circuits in and all the other bells and whistles and you start gaining more control at the expense of the short path between you and the tubes and the speaker. I think the criticizm for being "dark" sounding is a reflection of the lack of ability to color the sound by boosting the treble or cutting the bass. I submit that all that can be fixed with an equalizer pedal like a Boss GE 7 or the like if you want more control. But, appreciate this amp for what it is - a great sounding, very responsive amp.
Lots of mods are possible and well documented on the Internet. I contemplated quite a few before getting mine, and am now contemplating far fewer if any. This little guy just screams with creamy smooth distortion and the most responsive dynamics I have experienced. Still has just a little of the hum when cranked, but quite tolerable. May try to tweak that a bit, but this amp is quite good out of the box when you understand that it is simpy going to amplify what you put in. Want color, treble, bass? Get an equalizer and one of these and I don't think you'll regret it. The sound just doesn't get much better than this.

Survived shipping, but can't comment otherwise.

no experience

I have about 18 guitars and 7 amps. Have been playing for 40+ years. I would replace it in a heartbeat, and would buy another if I spot a deal just for fun. As an electrical engineer, I might investigate some of the mods suggested on the Internet. Perhaps add a little more power supply filtering, and mod of the input circuit and the voltage divider between the preamp and power amp stages just for fun. But I'll be thinking long and hard about it or buying another for mods.
Haven't done the calculations, but it appears that the bias may be a little high on the output tube (decreases tube life) so I might tweak that, but trust me, this guy is AOK right out of the box. I might get another just to experiment with, but really it is an excellent amp as is. Some allege that the parts are cheap, but that is an issue that only time will tell, and it is so simple and cheap, it can easily be fixed or replaced. BUY ONE.... or three.

There is everything i expect from the amplifier - power switch for starting it up and volume button for adjusting volume. There is no need for any more stuff, it would just ruin this lovely layout.

when you turn it on, it sounds... well, something you expect to come from a tube amp. not bad at all, but nothing special either.

but hey...

let it warm up... for about 20-30 minutes. then turn it up to near breaking up level and play... play with your heart and soul, with all the mojo you have got!

It would be 10 if it would reach that tone faster than 20-30 minutes.

PS! it loves Tube screamer as well:)

built solid... sometimes i have heard some kind of fizz or smth... but that can be from the poor electricity i have in my home. Its a V2, so there are no other noise problems:)

dont know.

I love this sucker for its small size and great tone - not your usual package... If it were stolen i would buy another one.

As a long admirer of Fender Champs and simple Class A amps, I had to see what these were about after all the reviews. The simplicity is a major plus, and swapping the tubes is a piece of cake- no need to bias. My only wish is that there was a stand-by switch.

Ok- I first bought a VJ head and paired it with a nice 2x12 cab- plenty of power/volume. The nice part is that this can be pared with pedals to get the best of huge/classic amp tone with the ability to play & record at room volume- not like your playing a stadium gig.

So I was impressed enough that I wanted to see if the VJ combo was just as good....WOW. -Let's just say it's the only amp I play. In both the VJ head and the combo I've basically just swapped the 12Ax7 tubes to Groove Tube Gold series. Nice warm tone. I use this amp with a Digitech RP 250 in a classic "Bassman" type setting and the result is perfect. I play various electrics from my '77 SG, a Squier '51, but by recent fav is an '57 Epi LP Jr which I swapped in a true 'P90' to replace the excessively hot P100 it came with.

What a tone!

No issues yet.

From my experience and my playing style, this thing does it all and does it well. I gave it the true love/hate test the other night by playing out live with my lil' jr. I play a lot of slide and I basically played with a piano and a bass player and didn't need to mic the amp. Mic'ing the amp though would have definitely brought a more fuller sound to the room, but I basically played with the amp at 10 o'clock and had all the volume & projection I needed. If I bring in some drums, I will definitely go the mic'ing route. The piano player was floored on how great this amp sounded. I'm even leaving the "drink rings" on the amp for character..

For features, there are tubes, transformers, and a speaker. It even has extra features like a volume knob and a cabinet to hold all of it with a great eye appeal. I like the amp.

I've been playing for about 40 years, so I've heard and played a lot of amps. This little amp sounds pretty darn cool. If you are at all familiar with Hank Williams Sr. and have hear his old music, the old raspy, hot, clean and dirty at the same time is what this amp delivers. I took it into the tiny club I play at last night. I put it next to my other amp and I just kept going back to the VJ. It did not have the clarity of my other cool amp, but it had a tone that was very pleasant. I bought it because my other amp is 40 watts and I never get to turn it up. I bought the VJ after reading about it so much. It filled the club with truly acceptable tube-tone. I have JJ Tubes coming for it already from Eurotubes, because I believe in them and recommend them. I will probably switch out the speaker at some time in the future. I only ran the amp at about 10:00 or so. I use pedals for other tones. People loved it. In a live situation it was great. I run an Analog Man Sunface NKT, Mini Chorus, Juicer, and a AR20DL Delay into whatever I play through. Without these, the amp didn't have a lot of life. Plug in good stuff and it is fantastic. I didn't even get any hum. It's a decent amp. It is what it is: a 5 watt tube amp. Pedals bring it to life. If you hate effects that is a personal choice thing. I try to give my little audience the best listening experience I can with my limited abilities. But, sorry, nothing gets a 10 in my book except the genuine 59 Strat I had a long time ago.

Fortunately I know one of the best amp tech in the US is there in Arkansas, so if I ever had a problem, I would pay him to do what he does for a living: fix stuff.

I wouldn't bother sending in the warrantee on an amp I paid $120 for. Deal with a reputable company to begin with and deal locally.

This amp sounds old fashioned. Old school. Minimal in every way. I used it live and I loved it. I would use my big amp in a big venue, but for a small club where you want tube tone at a resonable volume, this amp does it for me. Use your effects to bring it to life or not.

Newer model EVJ. Meh, it has one input, one knob, and one switch. That's plenty for me.

After reading the many reviews on this little beast, I had to try it myself. It's honestly just the thing I'm after. I do more home recording than anything else and if I need a big rig to play on, I know plenty of gear-heads to sort me out. The sound is just what I was after! When people say to at least A-B a couple of them in store, listen to them. The first EVJ I tried was good but on a hunch I asked if they had another I could try. Sure enough, the second was amazing compared to the first, to the point that the clerk serving me remarked on the difference. There is a point where the tubes fizz and isn't that pleasant but that's when pushing it almost full-circle. I put a Crowther Hotcake in front of this thing and the good times kept rollin'. Got slightly Smashing Pumpkins tone outta the thing which was rather splendid. Also, no hum issues with this one as it is a newer model.

Hasn't broken, looks simple to fix, and if not, I'll buy another!

Probably wouldn't bother them

The tone you get for the price is wonderful! It's worth it, but do try and compare multiple versions as the quality control isn't that groovy.

This is just an addition to my previous review where I've rated the sound quality less because it was sounding fuzzy but now after couple of rehersals I feel I need to correct it to 10.
In the last two rehearsal I've played against 100W Music man. The little EVJ amazingly did cut through. All the boxy, fizzy sound seems to come together to a very cool grunty tone in a live band.
Couple of things I've learned about EVJ to make it sound better:
Let it warm up for 1/2 hour.
You need to use quality guitar.
Don't go past 3/4 volume
That's it, great little amp for line band jaming!

Doesn't really have any features other but On and volume knobs ans speaker out jack (if you remove internal speaker jack).

I have several 5 Watts amps, some I've build. This EVJ has a well decent ballanced sound. That is the bass, mids and treble are at about the same level so it's not lacking in this respect. It is quiet loud for 5 Watts but not as loud as it could be due to the output transformer. I've connected one of my build amps to the EVJ speaker and it was about 30% louder that's not to say the the stock EVJ isbn't loud enough for rehearsals. It just dirty all the way because it has to be at least at 3/4 volume and helps to have pedal to boost when doing leads.
Now for the tone of EVJ. It sound somewhat brittle even at low levels. (For recording you'd want to cut it of at about 6k that helps). But it's not a bad sound and is really a personal prefference.
Goes ok till 3/3 volume but once you got to 3/4 or max the sound becomes very treble fizzy. I don't like that. I'ts the speaker not handling higher levels. When I connected my other amp to the EVJ speaker it was even fizzier as it was louder. No amount of mods will get rid of that unless you change the speaker. maybe Epiphone dind't count on people pushing the amp to the max.

Well build and still works but it's only couple months old so can rate this yet.

It's a very cheap amp and even the speaker gets fizzy at high volumes it is still great value and still better than other 5 Watts commercial amps I've tried. I find this amp little addictive and play it very often even thogh Ihave much better amps I can use. I guess it's has a little magic to it for being not only cheap but having it's own original tone.

Got input socket and level knob that's all.

The closest description of sound would be something like the sound of an amp from old Elvis recordings when at about 1/2 volume. It's got that kind of breakup tone. When you max the volume it goes in to heavy distortion but still retains it's tone. It is a good tone with own unique character. It sounds the way it looks OLD. Excellent from grunge rock. It about as loud as 5 watts can get. Pluging it to 12" speaker or other cabs makes it sound little fuller but not that much louder to make it worth draging extra box with you. The speaker in this amp is pretty good as it is and provides lot of tight bass for 8" size.

I was hesitant to buy it being made in china but went to the shop and after close inspection I bough it. Very solid cabinet, metal corners, good solid chassis metal and is painted even where you can't see it. Has tube retainers and even preamp tube cover. Transformers look good and are of a good size, oparticularly the poower transformer looks quiet large and is probably slightly oversized which is a good thing. Speaker sais "E" that's all but apparently designed by Webber. Giood clean solid build. Far better quality build than my Fender Junior but only at 1/3 of the cost.

I didn't like the way it sounded in the shop because it was brittle sounding and treble were this. I bought it with some heavy modifications in mind, basically just to have fun moding it. Took it home and out some older worn in tubes and it sounded better without being so brittle aon the treble. So I put the original tubes back and took it to a jam where I trashed it for 4 hours and max volume.
Next day I played the amp again at home and it sounded much better. The tone was more defined and not so brittle and even got little fatter. That's because the tubes and the little speaker got worked in.
Now I don't see any point in doing any mods at all. It sounds as good as any well build 5 watt amp if not better.
So when you buy a new one don't jump to change things right away. Give it a good trash for few hours to break it in and you'll probably like it enough to leave it original. I'm not changing anything on this amp. The only thing I'd preffer is that the amp would be lighter, made of wood or plywood. On the orher hand maybe it would rattle like Fender Juniors do so if that's the case the little extra weight is worth it.

One knob - volume. As versatile as I like my amps!

It sounds terrible. For those who don't have tube amp experiences, low power tube amp even 1 Watt should sound clear and punchy like for example Fender Twin but off course with lot less volume.
This Epiphone sounds flat, brittle, blured, muffled and above all has a volume level of about 1 Waa not 5 Watts which in good amp would be loud enough for rehearsals. Problem is eather very bad speaker or oputput transformer. The circuit design is basic but good enough.

While the amp is useless sound wise, it is extremely well build in solid box, good chassis which is painted properly even in places you can't see, transofrmers are nice and shiny, tubes have spring retainers and over all design looks quiet unique. This amp should last for years.

It's a shame the way it sounds because is build so well but it's about the tone after all.

You buy a piano... where are the EQ controls, where is the volume control... and as for digital fx...? blimey they've missed 'em off, guv!!! So why did you buy it... hopefully 'cos you love the tone and everytime you sit down to play it, it sounds inspiring and harmonically rich and you just want to go on playing. Where's the tone or digital fx on a sax, a clarinet or a trumpet or a classical guitar? Same with a really good valve amp and guitar... this one is featureless control wise [volume pot obviously!] and less is more! [my wages being the exception] So with 2 classic rock valves, the EL84 and the 12ax7 you should get some great valve amp sounds.

Most valve amps tend to be characterless tonally at lower volumes and it's not until you get at least beyond half way that that valve magic starts to work. Same with this amp... 2 to 3 o'clock seems to be the sweet spot with a Strat... but it's way too loud for sitting next to and happily strumming away... it'll split your ear drums in two! Hire your local town or village hall for an afternoon and take the VJ down. Place the amp in the middle of the hall and place yourself at the end of at least 9 foot of good guitar cable. Prior to this you'll have switched on the amp, set the volume at 70 to 75% [2 to 3 0'clock] and left it heating up its valves for about say 20 minutes.

For the benefit of other HC users you may well consider recording your efforts. With the amp in the middle of the hall you can now play and listen with the amp able to move some air and your ears under less pressure! The amp will produce some wonderful overdriven sounds but also try your overdrive pedal as a boost... you'll have some sonic fun and really get to know what this amp can perform like.

I suspect that the stock speaker at 8" is not as good as it could be. I'm not sure but when I tried my VJ with a 10" Peavey speaker the improvement in tone at all volume levels was immense.

I have no idea as to its reliability gig-wise. My VJ has been with me for a year now and I have a love hate relationship with it. The valves are now the always recommended JJs and yes they sound way better than the stock valves. There are no moving parts... unless you turn the volume up and play!

Epiphone UK were not exactly honest about problems with the VJ mark 1. The Mk 2 which I have is hum free and has no noise problems at all. They would not acknowledge that the noise problems were way beyond what was acceptable on any amplifier... especially for home use. I know because I exchanged many emails with them as they ducked, dived and dodged!

My VJ has been with me for a year now and I have a love hate relationship with it. The amp however is simply great fun and a great idea. The shame is that it is so loud at its sweet spot for overdriven sounds. 5 watts of valve amp is tinnitus inducing. Therefore I hardly ever play it!!! It sits on top my Peavey Solid State Backstage 50 and it's the Peavey with a Bad Monkey that gets all the use. The Peavey sounds way better at normal home playing volumes and is more inspiring to play. My Peavey is from 1988 so has not been infected with anything digital! My Strat [USA 1972] plus the Bad Monkey and a Boss DD3 in to the Peavey blows the VJ away at normal home playing levels. The VJ sounds boxy, harsh and thin in comparison...

So get in that blues band [with a musical drummer of course?] or take the VJ out to a large hall somewhere where you can really put it through its paces because at home with the family and neighbourhood your hopes to rock immortality may well be challenged!

I bought this amp as my second having played for a year, as a budget valve amp. Don't be fooled by my playing time though, I certainly know more about tone than alot of guitarists I know who are far more accomplished than me.

I'm gonna have to rate it low in this, seeing as it has barely any features, but I must also say that's its strong point. A volume knob, an input and a power switch. Single channel, obviously.

This is a purely bedroom amp, but even at 5w of valve power it's far too loud. I get shouted at if it creeps over 10 o'clock on the volume. I'd like it to have an EQ and reverb, but I've heard from modders that adding these features sucks tone and volume, so it's best off without them. Perfect Blues/Classic Rock.

Obviously, it's very limited without pedals, but the sound quality is awesome for the price. I use it with a Fender MIM Strat, for playing Blues and Classic Rock. It starts to break up around 1 o'clock, and the valve saturation is really beautiful. It goes up to about Led Zep gain with an LP, which is all I need, but remember this is flat out, and at far too high a volume for home use, so I ordered a Digitech Bad Monkey. This isn't as nice as the amp's power valve OD which is a gutsy, throaty British crunch but it certainly works as a budget overdrive pedal for home use. The setup certainly slays anything else in the pricerange that I paid for it, ??130 for the amp + pedal.

Unfortunately, the speaker can't handle the amp. It's fitted with a Weber Signature Ceramic 8, but at anything above 3 o'clock you get this horrible fizzy speaker breakup, not the pleasant breakup from a Celestion Alnico Blue, it's fizzy and harsh. I replaced the valves with a Mullard 12AT7 and JJ EL84 to calm this, as I knew some of the fizz came from the stock garbage Sovtek valves. This remedied it a little, but I'm still left with the fizzy speaker at maximum crankage. I highly recommend changing the valves to a Mullard 12AT7 and JJ EL84 if you can, they're an extremely potent combination in this amp, and if you can, go for the head + extension cab.

Never broken, absolutely perfect condition, and I crank it regularly at home. I'd advise changing the valves to a Mullard 12AT7 and JJ EL84 if you can, the stock Sovteks are low-quality, thing glass, microphonic and I would go as far as to say about half as structurally strong as the new valves.

Haven't had to deal with them, so I'm giving this a 10 as that's the best you could hope for in this area.

Been playing 2 years now. I bought this amp with the Bad Monkey overdrive as an upgrade from a Fender Frontman, and it's in a whole different world. It's so much warmer, with beautiful vintage valve tone in spades. Much better than any modelling, SS or hybrid in this pricerange. The only other alternative IMO would be the new Fender Champion 600, but they're harder to get hold of.

Great amp let down only by crappy stock valves and fizzy speaker.

Bought brand new May '07 from Musicians Friend. This amp isn't versatile, but that's the beauty of it. Simple class A tube amp. Would've been nice to have a standby switch, but if that's all I've got to complain about, then I haven't really got anything to complain about, for the price. This is a practice amp for me. I recently made the switch to apartment dweller, and realized the big amp was neither practical (nor wanted by my neighbors!) Plus, if I go somewhere for practice, I wanted something a little easier to tote around. I really swear by Peavey amps, but ever since I heard about this little gem, I've really been intrigued by it! It's only 5 watts, but it's got enough volume for a small gig, unmiked. As you all know all it takes is a mike and a sound system to make any amp gigworthy. My effects chain gives me all the options I need (more on that later), so really this little thing is everything I wanted/needed.

The previous reviews say it all. From typical clean to a nice overdrive. No metal tones here, but that's what pedals are for. This is not tonal heaven for me, I'll admit. It would take a Peavey Bravo for me to get there (I regret selling that amp every day of my life). But, that said, it certainly does have a great tone, very true to what a simple amp like this should be. Since you can't control the tone much I can't get it to sound quite as round and thick as I'd like, but good nonetheless. However, this amp responds exceptionally well to pedals, I couldn't be more happy with that aspect. A previous reviewer mentioned something about the sound being "boxy" because of the small, closed package. I pulled out the ol' marshall 4x12 and sure enough, it opened up the sound a little. Now I know there will be some chomping at the bit to tell me an amp like this wasn't designed for that kind of speaker setup and you won't get optimal sound of out that, blah blah blah but it's the only cab I had available. if I had a 1x12 or 2x10, something like that, I would have gladly used it instead. Haven't retubed it yet but planning on going that route as for most folks there seems to be an improvement with the JJ tubes.

I don't depend on any one single piece of equipment. Well, except my cabinet I guess. But the valve jr. seems sturdy enough to handle some abuse. I wouldn't recommend being careless with it, though, as for as cheap as this amp is, epiphone had to skimp somewhere. It hasn't seen enough duty yet to crap out on me, but I trust Epiphone enough that it shouldn't have any major issues that aren't provoked. I give it a 9 because nothing is perfect, and I haven't given it enough time to break yet (hopefully it won't though)

Never dealt directly with Epiphone, so no clue about their customer service.

I've been playing for 11 years, over half the guitars that have come and gone have been Epiphone, so I've got quite a fondness for the brand and the value they deliver, I probably would have never considered this amp were it not for the name. Currently it serves a Epiphone G-400 Deluxe, Fender Mexi Tele, or Washburn A-5 reissue played through BBE Boosta Grande>Crybaby>tuner pedal>Akai Shredomatic distortion>Arion 7-band eq>Digidelay. If I'm not using the epiphone valve Jr. I'm either running through a Peavey Triumph 120 or VTM 60 to the marshall 4x12. Both fantastic, but I needed a low volume amp. If I ever needed to replace this amp, I'd spring for another! Seriously, as long as you've got a distortion pedal (and maybe an eq if that's important to you), why do you even have any other practice amp? Sell your other amp, and buy this! Seriously, 100 bucks for a practice amp with cheesy distortion and a headphone jack (woopty doo) or 150 for this amp? There's only one logical choice: get a valve junior. Had I been able to buy another Peavey Bravo for this price (I got lucky and got my original Bravo for 75 bucks I guess because the shop owner thought it was a Bandit, he told me it was a solid state amp) I would've went that route, but lately You can't find a Bravo unless it's listed on eBay for a buy it now price of $400. The competition was either the new Peavey 5-watt JSX (and at four hundred bucks, I quickly disregarded that notion) or the Crate 5-watt tube amp (v15? Not sure of the model). The Crate cost more and honestly, I wouldn't have expected much from it. Crate, to me, equals mediocre. But that's just my experience.
In closing, this is an excellent amp. Whether you're comparing it to its price range or to amps above its price range. Epiphone seriously could have gotten away with slapping a standby switch and some tone controls and charging double or more for it. I highly recommend this amp.

Made recently, I got my combo less than a month ago. When I got it it only had one volume knob, now with my mods it has two, (added a gain control). For me it has all it needs, it doesn't need a tone control, standby, etc. Just one speaker out, it would be good if it has a few more outs, to run into other cabs.
Just a simple no frills small amp, which on full pelt is very loud. It would cope with a restrained drummer, and it would do small pub gigs with ease. Miked up, its awesome.
I'll give it a ten, as although it has few features, its role as a loud, simple tube amp is not in question.
If you want features, buy a Line 6, if you want tone get one of these.

Out of the box, it is good, but Epiphone wire up these as if it has a low input. I played it stock for about three days, built myself a lightbulb attenuator for a change in tone, but then after reading up on the various forums about this little beast, I decided to take the plunge and modify it a bit. Discharged the caps, by playing through it after switching off at the mains, left it for 15 mins, then opened it up. I replaced the input resistors to give more signal to the preamp valve, I then replaced the resistors between the preamp valve and the output valve with lower value and a pot to control the gain. I added a small high power resistor across the output jack, to protect the transformer. I now have a perky bright little amp.
I will probably replace the output transformer, and maybe revalve. But the simple mods I have done have made a dramatic diffrence. Gives you a nice warm clean sound at bedroom volume, turn it up a bit more and it starts to chime like an old Vox, a bit more welly gives a beautiful crunch. Flat out its wonderful, clear tone through the overdrive, and very true to both the guitar you are playing thru it and VERY true to your playing. This amp doesnt differentiate between mistakes and virtuosity.
A good ammount of bass response from the 8" speaker too suprisingly, through a good cab its great, though dont just run it into any old thing. I put it thru a PA speaker cab, and the tone was far worse than its stock speaker.
It has the rare ability of being able to coax feedback out of guitars that are normally reluctant.
Effects pedals are a joy, run an EQ pedal into it, and my cheap nasty little Danelectro Fab Echo sound wild, instead of plain dull.
It is also a wonderful amp for playing slide guitar, it picks up all the overtones with ease. I would say that it would make a great lap steel amp as well.

Valve amps need a different approach. These amps are tough in many ways, they are easy to modify, they are easy to replace valves, components etc. But there are a few rules like, dont run it without a speaker load, or some kind of load on your output, itll blow things up inside. You cant drop it too often, then again, valves are replacable. Apparently the way it is set up, could mean that tubes last less time than other amps, this is curable, but involved some serious mods.
But the cabinet is pretty tough, the speaker cloth is substantail. the chassis seems tough enough to withstand a bit of abuse.
The switch seems a bit cheap, as do the stock control pots, but this is a cheap amp, so theyve got to make savings somewhere. They are easy to replace as well.
Funny rattle sometimes, I think it is one of the valve springs, but its part of its charm to me.

Never dealt with Epiphone and probably now never will.
What a clever marketting thing they have got. They produce a cheap amp, with a goodish tone out of the box, yet it has the ability to be easily modified to give it an awesome tone. Yet the process of doing this instantly voids the warranty. Yet Epiphone could easily uprate the amp themselves to do this out of the box.
So you have two choices, leave the amp sounding average to good, till the warrany expires, then modify, or dive in with the soldering iron, and wave byebye to customer support. I chose the latter, if this amp blows up as a result of my fiddling around, I will either have to repair or replace. The former is easy, the latter is cheap.

I love this amp, and Im tempted to buy the head only version and build a small cab, and voice the two differently. There are websites, forums and little industries dedicated to modding these, and turning them into almost boutique amps.
I play a variety of guitars, but I find this one suits all of them. I own an old Tele, a cheap Stagg Jazzmaster, a Les Paul Junior type with a P90, all of them sound ace thru this little thing. In particular I find it complements my Telecaster Resonator conversions, www.sollophonicguitars.co.uk, these sound great thru this amp. A mate played his Highway 1 Strat thru it, and managed to get feedback out of the guitar for the first time ever.
Another thing, it makes cheap pedals sound wonderful. Pedals which sound lifeless thru other amps, come alive with this amp.
A great amp, but be prepared to modify and be prepared to become addicted to its tone.

Very good

This is my third review. I now own two of these and my two brothers bought one after hearing mine so there are 4 in the family. A word about consistancy. They all sound slighty different. All good but the 1st original I bought still sounds the best. I have narrowed it down to the speaker. It has more bass than the others even though they all use the same speaker. I alos listen to the people who insist you need to mod certian things to get the best out of this amp. Well per my last review, I bought every 6" speaker weber makes and tried them all and prefer the stock speaker to all of the webers even though I kept the cheapest weber ( I liked the sound better than the others) in my 2nd amp. I still much prefer the stock amp than the one with the weber in it.
So my suggestion is to LEAVE THE AMP STOCK when it comes to the speaker. I have not tried different tubes. My amps are the older ones and buzz like crazy but I kinda like it.
I said it in my 1st and 2nd reveiw and I'll say it again. These little amps are the shit. $100 a pop makes this the all time best deal in musically equitment. I used to own a bunch of Traynor bassmasters ( Which I used with a weber mass and Marshall powerbrake) but after comparing them side by side the Traynors, which I used to love sound very compressed and sound like they have a blanket over them in comparision to the open sound of the Valve Junior amps. Buy one or two or three.