Epiphone Valve Junior Head

One channel, one input, one knob, one 12AX7, one EL34, is there a trend here? No loop, no buttons, etc... It is what it is: a very loud five watts of class "A" testosterone. The versatility of the amp depends on the versatility of the player and the guitar.

First off, this amp is dead-quiet. No hum, no buzz -- whatever plagued the first shipments is apparently fixed.

The volume knob is the tone knob. With humbuckers, there's no such thing as "clean headroom" unless you roll the guitar's volume down. Vintage single-coils stay fairly clean until the amp's volume knob is about 1/3 up. With the volume 1/2 up, warm sustain and grit are abundant; it's very touch-sensitive, and each guitar's character and voice come right through. At 2/3, it sounds like an angry, cranked-up AC-15. With the volume on ten and a tube screamer in front of it, it sounds like a psychotic british killing spree. Factoring in the price, this guy gets a solid "10".

Amp is new, so no experience here. Take an extra power tube and fuses to the gig, as with any amplifier. The guts are laid out nicely, and the cabinet is much more solid than you'd expect for the price.

No experience here.

Been playing 20 years, main amplifier is a Mesa Rect-o-verb 1x12. I don't use effects much. Guitars? I roll my own.

I like the fact that someone is selling this amp for $99. Until now, low-watt class "A" amplifiers have been a boutique item. This amp has no competition at this price point. However, it compares very favorably with much more expensive items. There's nothing to hate about this amp unless your playing demands loud, ultra-clean sounds.

Has every feature you could expect from a $100 TUBE amp. There's an input jack, a volume knob and 3 speaker jacks. That's double the features I would expect for the price.

This sounds very good (especially for the price). It's a very loud 5 watts. I'm running it through a cab with a pair of Eminence 10" Alnicos. I use a Fender Jeff Beck Strat with Chubtone 67 pickups and homemade fuzz pedals and it sounds very nice. I also have a 58 VOS Les Paul and smacking the front end of this amp with a Rangemaster style booster gives a great crunch and smooth sustain. It's a bit tight and not a round sound (I like a looser sound) but still is great for the price.

So far so good and I ran it without a load for about 10 minutes accidentally (the clips slipped off the speaker tabs) and didn't blow a tranny.

For the price they're great. I actually went out and got a second as a backup or for running a wet/dry mix. It doesn't sound as good as a vintage based Champ, in my opinion. But even if you were to build one of those yourself, it's going to cost you twice as much in parts.

I can't believe how everyone is saying this amp has great distortion!Its just OK in stock condition. Great tube distortion can be had with about 7 dollars worth of parts and a soldering iron . I read online from a dyi amp site how to get rid of the fizzy overdrive and get good tube drive . even partial breakup tone sounds better. If you know how to use a soldering iron, buy this amp.

A tube amp for 100 dollars that can be easily modified? Thats less than some pedals!Buy it.

Front- Input jack, Volume (gain) control, On/Off switch
Back- 4, 8, and 16 ohm Speaker Outs.

I think of this amp as versatile, considering what it is... a simple, very inexpensive 5 watt tube amp. I really like the 4, 8, and 16 ohm Speaker Outs as it allows you to use this amp with just about any speaker configuration. If I had to wish for more features... Reverb would be nice.

I wouldn't say this is the greatest sounding amp ever, but it has very good tone. The tone relies on what type of guitar/pickups and speaker you use with the amp.

I mostly play this amp with a LP Studio, American Tele, and Squier Standard Tele though a 2 X 12 Avatar cab with two Celestion Vintage 30s. I stand the cab on end, makes a pretty nice stack. This amp sounds great through these speakers, a creamy tone. At clean settings 6-12 o'clock this amp sounds like a lot of old vintage amps. I have a 1958 Premier Twin 8 and this amp has a very similar tone. It is like the 50s Fenders, a little dark. Turning up to 12-3 o'clock the tone breaks up very nicely, good for the Blues. Turning up 3-6 o'clock the amp really breaks up and the highs roll off. Cranked all the way my amp reminds me of early Black Sabbath. Through the 2 X 12 the amp produces a very full tone. I have also ran this amp through the 12" Celestion Goldback in my Marshall DSL401. This changes the tone a lot, and is not so full sounding through one speaker. The lows and highs are crisper, gets a good crunch. I also played this amp through a Celestion G12T-75, sounded a little harsh. So speaker choice will make a big difference in the tone. I have also played pedals through this amp, a ProCo Rat, Ibanez Powerlead Soundtank, Dunlop Wah, Dano chorus, phase, tremelo, and reverb pedals. I also use a Dano 7 band EQ. This amp will really scream with a good distortion pedal in front of it. With the tremelo pedal it is the 50's again. With a good reverb pedal this amp produces beautiful classic tones.

This amp seems to like cheap pickups. Of all my guitars I enjoy playing the Squier Tele through it most. It gets a very dirty Blues overdrive ala ZZ Top (Tush). Sounds great to me.

I also like to turn this amp to max and then turn my guitar down to clean up the tone, produces very warm tones with great harmonics,
responds to your touch. I think this is where this amp excels. Just turn up your guitar for a solo. Good stuff.

This amp is very quiet.

Only had the amp a month, but so far so good. It does get pretty hot, I imagine it will go through tubes quick. That's ok.

The amp does seem to be built very well, especially for the very low price. It is very attractive as well. I was impressed when I took it out of the box.

I have no idea what customer support is like. I always think the best customer support is to make a quality product in the first place so you never have to call them. I take care of my gear, almost never have a problem with anything.

Been playing 34 years, play in a Classic Rock band through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and Marshall DSL401. If this amp were lost or stolen I would absolutely get another. I want to get another anyway, I just really like this amp. I love the small portable size, yet it has good volume and great overdrive breakup. I am going to haul this amp around to Open Mics, just perfect for that. I find no faults with this amp at all, it is one of the best deals ever. This amp is not perfect, but neither is any other amp. But it's pretty darn good.

1 volume knob, 5 watts, class A, 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outputs.

Perfect for recording, rehearsals and jamming.

Also a great platform for modding and experimenting.

Looks cool.

I wish they made a 10" combo version with tone controls, but that's what modding is all about.

5 - out of the box
7 - with JJ tubes (especially change the EL84!)
9 - After several mods, most of them simple (after much experimentation.)

This amp can be made to sound great. There are several mod suggestions to be found on the web. I installed a tweed type tone control (available as a kit on eBay). This made a big difference making the amp much more useful with different guitars and speakers.

I also added a 3 way gain switch, and a 3 way bright/mellow switch - great fun! My current project is a 3 way "voicing" switch for Fender, Marshall and Vox w/Top Boost.

I sometimes us a Zoom G2 box in front. $99 dollars buys great models (esp. Fender clean and Vox) reverb, tremelo, NR, 6 band eq, etc.

I have several speakers. It loves the Eminence Cannibis Rex. Play it through a Jensen, it sound like a Fender. Through a Celestion its a Marshall, etc. I think I will try an Eminence British ??? - anyone got a suggestion as to which one? I have empty 10" and 12" cabs just waiting to be filled.

The build quality is very good. Not p2p, but for $99?! Some of the components are cheap but easy to upgrade.

I haven't dealt with Epiphone for any support.

One thing I like is the Epiphone must have listened to customer complaintsabout the hum problems in the original combo version and fixed them in the head and rev2 of the combo.

They really should ship it with JJ/Tesla tubes. How much more would it cost them for a huge difference in out of the box experience?

What a great value! Well built, can be made to sound great - just a cool little amp.

I have been playing since 1965. I have a small studio. The Epi VJ is great for recording and rehersals.

I have lots of guitars, basses and other amps. I especially like tweed and black face Fenders.

Single Volume and input. 4/8/16 out. That's it.

Clean at low vol, breaks up at higher, but tone is nothing special. Nothing like the higher priced tube amps.

Don't know - sent it back to the store.

Don't know - sent it back to the store.

I've been playing forever. I read the reviews and thought this amp might add something to my tone. WRONG. I use a GT-8/Tonelab setup into the PA, and get much better tube amp sounds than this tube amp provides. Totally un-impressed.

This is the new Epiphone Valve Junior Head with one EL-84 power tube and one 12AX7 preamp tube.It is only 5 watts but this little baby is pure blues rock and roll.I changed out the stock tubes (and they were pretty good) for EI tubes and it took this little monster up about 2 notches.

I play amplified blues harmonica and this is just the ticket to play some nasty stuff.I rated this category an 8 because it does not have many features but it is exactly what I was looking for!

The Epiphone Valve Junior Head sounds as good as some five to seven hundred dollar amps that I have owned and tried.I play out with this head at blues jams and biker bars and it can walk the walk and talk the talk.It has just the right amount of butter smooth overdrive to make my harmonica sound 3-d and so very touch responsive as well.This amp can pick up every little nuance that I make ,how tight I cup the mic and harmonica,how soft or hard I blow.It is like finding the perfect woman,and for only $99 shipped to my door step!!

This amp is still fairly new,I almost always take an extra head and tubes.Have been cranking it hard and did I mention that it is as quiet as a mouse.

Have not had to deal with the mother company,for $99 bucks this is awesome if ya had to buy one a year.

I have been playing amplified blues harmonica for almost 30 years and I own Tophat,Fargen,Alamo,Victoria and Matchless amps.And the Valve Junior is in the same league tone wise as the others for my taste.This is the VERY BEST $99 that I have ever spent on a piece of musical equipment.
Please check out my website at http://bluzharp.tripod.com
PS=I like playing the Valve Junior thru a "Eminence" Man O War 12 inch speaker in a plexiglass cab that I built.

2006 Valve Junior head. No verb, no pre-amp/EQ, etc. Yet, this thing is killer! 5W power head can drive small to large speaker systems in recording or small gig situations.

The head is less noiser than the little combo version.
Great ranges: Lovely clean - Warm and raw - Nicely overdriven.
Tone ranges via volume:
10-12 o?clock= 50?s sound with lots of overtones
1-3 o?clock= late 60?s/early 70?s crank (nice breakup).
3-6 o?clock= awesome 70?s to 90?s warm crunch (serious breakup w/high freq rolloff)

A decent pre-amp allows the Valve Jr. to run at an optimum level (12 o?clock) yet get a louder sound with lots of high frequency shimmer. The Valve Jr has no reverb. I?ve hooked up a killer 1x10? cab (Ethan from EarCandyCabs.com) and the combination is fantastic! The extra cab efficiency outputs a lot of graceful tonal complexity not usual for a 5W amp with a 10? spkr. In fact, the cab seems to provide a kind of spatial reverb... very light sound surrounding top and sides of the cab offsets the sound coming out of the front... very cool depth! Without tone controls, I added a late 60?s DeArmond Weeper pedal to tweak the mid/hi tones like a funky tone control- works great. Outboard FX also sound very bright with lots of clarity. The combination makes me wonder about my Mesa Rig?.

I've used it on small proactice sessions ass well as for recording. I will gig with it at open mics, etc. Also- works well with bass guitar!

No contact.

For the $99, this is what I wish I had back in the 70's instead of that VibraChamp!!! The Mesa -slave out can be used to really drive this amp into serious volume and crunch levels, too!

A chicken head volume knob, a lighted on/off switch, an input jack, 4-, 8- and 16-ohm output jacks and 5 big watts of Class A sweetness -- what more could a player want?

This little guy is amazing! I read all the reviews and was a little skeptical, but I found no way I could go wrong for $99.99. This 5 watt Class A baby cooks. I play a homemade tele-type thinline with Texas Special pickups through it. I don't need anything else. I leave the tubescreamer, the chorus and the delay in my equipment bag and plug the guitar direct. The blues sound I get is just beautiful. I run the amp through a homemade cab with one 8 inch Fat Cat speaker. The speaker is made by Charlie Powers of Guitar CPR in Fairmont WV. Great speaker! Charlie really knows his stuff!

So far, so good.

It's a $99.99 amp. Shipping it back to China costs more than the amp.

I've been playing for almost 37 years. I own 2 tele types and a les paul special-type that I built, they all sound great through this amp. My stage amp is a Gibson GA15 with reverb. This puppy sounds almost as sweet as the GA15. At low volumes, it's sweeter. If something happened to this baby, I'd buy another without batting an eye. It's truly the first time I have been able to afford a backup amp that gave me the sound I want.

Probably made 2006, it's new.
Not many bells and whistles, as in, a single volume control and no tone control. Just turn the volume up or down, and the tone changes
Pretty fool-proof.
Nice retro look with the two tone colored front.
Nice detatchable power cord.
4, 8, and 16 ohm outputs !!!
It's got 4 little footies so it's not sitting flush on the top of the cab, and the air can get around it.

Turn it up all the way to 11, and it breaks nicely, no hum (except thru my old Boss ME-30).
Clean on lower setting.
I have an old Shane Targa with ancient Humbuckers I'm using until my new Agile gets here next week, and it sounds fine to me.
It's loud enough that my hearing got muffled in about 1/2 hour in my front room, playing thru my 2x12 Madison Symphonies ( 140 w RMS combined)
I wasn't even playing full volume, it's got presence !

(sarc) I'm sure my neighbors are really happy for me, too (/sarc)

Be interesting to see how it sounds thru other speakers; I have an old 60 watt 12" Jackson speaker I might hook up just to see.

I don't gig, so I can't tell if it would work in a live situation without mic-ing it. Maybe a small stage/club would be workable.

Unknown, but it looks like it's pretty solidly built.
Heavier and a bit larger than what I thought it would be according to the pics.

And since I quit cigarettes, I won't have to worry about the inevitable melting burn marks ;) :)

Unknown, never had to deal with Musician's Friend for support, but if support is like the service... no complaints here.
Ordered from their website, and they shipped it the next day.
It even got here a day ahead of schedule, not that M. F. had anything to do with that part.
It shipped in a double box, so it was unscathed from the UPS experience, also.

Considering there are similar boutique amps going for $250 and up, this thing is worth every bit of a 10 for the price @ $99 and free shipping (Mus.Frnd)
It surely beats building one from a kit for twice this price, unless you want to build one for your own reasons.

I've been playing at it for around 30 some years, for personal pleasure, and this is one of the nicest things I've acquired to date.
If it got damaged beyond repair... I'd buy another. You can't go wrong with this little puppy.
Just great for a bedroom amp.

If you're on the fence wondering if you should take a chance... DO IT , you won't be sorry. And if you don't like it, hell, send it back, or sell it to someone like me for what you paid for it.

I'm not really an Epiphone fanboi, as far as the guitar end goes, but this amp is an exception to the name.
Seems to have quality written all over it. Guess we'll see in about 15 years, eh?

Meantime, color me happy camper, smiley face sunshiny yellow !!