Epiphone Valve Junior Head

One channel. One Knob. That's it.

I bought a stand-by switch, but I am waiting for warrenty to expire before installing. I use it at home. Amp is VERY loud for 5 W.

I play classic rock/blues. I have an extensive effects chain, to include 4 rack units. Been playing 25(?) years now. I'm old school. Used to play Skynyrd through an MXR and Sears Home stereo circa 1980.

Ibanex 540s, Hamer Special, Fender Tele Deluxe, Dano 59 reissue.

I've been concerned for several years because I could not figure out for the life of me why there was no low budget market for low-watt tube amps. The Bumboxes go for $499 for 1W, seems somewhat ludicrous.

The Epiphone exceeded my expectations. It screams quality right out of the box. The size is rather large and it's weight is rather decent. I was expecting far less. The construction is dead solid. The value of this amp is probably $3-400 if it weren't made in China.

No repairs. NA

I'm going buy the cab for this. Figuring the quality of the amp is very good, even considering it's made in China. I'll wait for other reviews before I swap tubes. There is real decent clarity while playing. I don't know about the dark tone. You can EQ or adjust through effects.

I'm gonna also buy a Black Heart 1W for $149. The Epiphone is rather loud because I am addicted to the overdriven tube tone. A 1W would be rather interesting playing at home. I have a Peavey Deuce 120W for 20 years now. I used to turn it on full volume back in the 80's. I wasn't popular with the neighbors. That is the cab that I've been using. Twin Black Widow 12 inches.

Volume knob

Tried it out in a sound room at GC, it was amazing playing through a Gretsch 5120. I basically listened to it feedback for 20 minutes and it's sounded beautiful! This other guy had his heart set on a Vox Heritage AC-15 and he bought the Epiphone too.
I took it home and played it through my Epiphone Les Paul Junior 57 reissue. It still sounded great. This is it for me.

Seems really solid. Just got it so I can't comment.

N/A/

For under $300 this is the best tube amp I've owned and I've played just about everything. I can't wait to play it out, it's a very loud 5 watts. I read all about the mods but to be honest I'm leaving it alone. I'm actually getting rid of my Delta Blues. I'll never buy a big amp again. If anything I'd get another one of these and run them in stereo.

one knob, dummy
needs a tone knob
and a reverb knob...ha!

a little noisy cranked, but good god! played this in sound room at GC and people were coming in to listen... and i'm a ****** player! (i fake it pretty good)
nice overdrive... really sweet and full
sounded better than the jtm 45 re-issue mini stack or whatever it is that costs 1500.00
this is about 100.00 - 129.00 retail!
better than th bhudda in the room... all the mesas and anything else in there that costed upwards of 3 grand.
played 4 different ones and here's what i found out...
these things vary considerably
some are wimpy
some are dark
some are constipated
some are brittle
and some are magic
i found one that's magic.
the only reason i didn't buy is the 5 watts was too loud for the apartment!

10

most other reviewers have pointed the lack o features, to me thats the best feature of all. I wonder if any one would dare to make a 50 watt amp with just a volume knob... if so i want one! I do all my fiddling and tweaking on the floor thanks so i don't miss having to pay for extraneous circuitry and knobs that i'll only touch once.

i play this with a jap fender(CIJ) 62 rei tele and tokai tj-65 loverock (DC les paul junior copy) both with stock p/ups through an assortment of pedals of varying quality (B-bomb!) and although i ahve an eq, i only use it for scooping out some mids to get a more modern distortion or a sweeter clean (do yourself a favour and get a eq, or 2 or 3, and you have a booster, amp modeler, filter, noise reducer, hell even a muter). i must admit i have swapped out the sovteks for jj's (just do it alright), and it really turned this cute wallflower into a centrefold pin up tone slut, if you'll pardon the analogy. no hum or noise issues with mine, and i think the darkness some mention may have a few possible causes: 1;sovteks 2;crap p/ups &/or guitars 3;playing with the amp vol below 10-11 o'clock 4;not giving the amp long enough to warm up, i know the manuel says 1.5 minutes or something but thats only so you don't blow tubes, give it 30-60 minutes 5;a combination of all these. i have to turn the tone on my tele down nearly halfway with this thing or it sounds too bright! and i like bright! the only time mine ever sounds dark to me is when its played at very low volume 5 minutes after turning it on. any way, i love the sound of this thing, very transparent and warm clean, quite aggressive ooooohverdrive, but not in a death metal way. only 9 cos it hasn't made me cream my pants (yet).

had it 9 months, played every other day, lugged for 30 km's to and from rehearsals 1-2 times a week, with my daughter climbing over it periodically, no worries so far, built like a brick shit house basically, all ply no mdf, quite overbuilt really, but i'm not complaining.

i give epiphone a big fat one for the crap one year dealer warranty supplied to customers in australia as opposed to the 5 year manufaturers warranty for north america/europe. that sucks. and we're closer to the manufacturer you sods. i hope it is an indication of how well these things are expected to hold up.

it's all been said. great. buy one. now. then buy another one. for back up. then buy another one, go on, you always wanted to go stereo. besides my tele the best piece of kit (yes, kit) i own.

It doesn't get any more basic than this. Two tubes (12ax7 & el84), one volume knob, and 5 watts. It's simplicity is the beauty of it. If you want more knobs to play with this ain't your amp.

I just can't believe that this $100 amp sounds so absolutely amazing. The breakup on this thing is so nice and smooth. It has that class A el84 sparkle with some good grind to boot. Some people complain about it being too dark but I think it has alot to do with the guitar and pickups you're using. I'm playing a Yamaha AEX-502 semi-hollowbody which has stock P-90 pickups that have a bit more bite than most P-90's so it isn't an issue with me. I run a Visual Sound Route 66 overdrive/compressor as well as an MXR MicroAmp in front of the amp and run the head into a custom made 1x12" speaker cabinet with a Jensen C12. I pretty much always get my overdrive from pedals but just plugging straight into the amp and cranking it yields some great overdriven tones as well. There are supposedly all of these mods for this amp to make it sound better but aside from replacing those shitty stock soveteks with some JJ's there is nothing else it needs. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I've only had it a week but so far there have been no problems with it. It has a smart design and look. I think it would hold up just as well as any other tube amp out there when subjected to the wear and abuse of the rock n roll lifestyle.

Couldn't say. I haven't had to deal with them and let's hope it stays that way.

In the future when Epiphone finally stops making these amps the guitar player world will be divided by those who own one of these amazing amps and the poor fools who couldn't/wouldn't/didn't shell out the measly $100 to buy one of these amazing amps. For $100 you can do no better. I've owned and played some pretty decent tube amps since I first picked up the guitar and I can say without a doubt that this amp is one of the best sounding and most fun to play amps I've owned. Factor in the price of it and it stands alone. This is by no means a complaint but since the Valve Jr is only 5 watts it really is for home/recording use. It just won't cut through playing live with the rest of your band without miking it. Epiphone, you must make a 15 watt version of this great amp. Yes I know there are mods out there that can be done to it to make it a 15 watt amp but at the price tag of $500 it kind of defeats the purpose. I'd give this amp an 11 if the rating went that high.

No features except a volume control, which is a feature, as well as tubes, which gives the user the ability to experiment with tone via changing tubes, and also light weight and compactness which gives the unit portability.

So I guess it does have features, sort of.

Every guitar I grabbed off the rack at GC, single and humbucker, cheap or expensive. Every pedal I could get the salesman to hook up at GC. Some people say the clean tones remind of Fender, and the over-driven tones remind of Marshall.

Actually, this amp reminds me of a Buddha combo amp I owned a couple of years ago. It sounds American but reminds the player of classic British Rock. It cleans up nicely and distorts easily if that's what you want it to do.

I think the stock amp only needs a stand-by mod on it's own. However the ability to further mod the amp is there if desired, so a big thumbs up for design.

I have no idea.

I have no idea.

Playing on and off since 1969. I'm like most musician's, I buy and then I sell to buy again. I love this amp and hate nothing about it. I compared it to the Blackheart, which is comparable in size and design. I didn't choose one over the other as I'm getting both. I wish it had a stand-by switch but the design is mod-able so no worries.

If you need, as I do, a light portable tone monster, this could be a choice for you. Just like most who have purchased and reviewed, I agree that the Epiphone Jr. is a winner.

Features (or lack of them) are well described below. Just input, volume and - this is good - 3 speaker-out sockets @ 4, 8 or 16 ohms. For what its intended for, this little valve amp really doesn't need anything more so....

I play Gibson Les Paul Standard (Burstbucker Pro's) and Gordon Smith Graf through the amp. At top volume, the Gibbo sounds a little mushy, I think the p/ups may overpower the amp a little. Good for power rock stuff though, and solo lines really sing beautifully - very rich dynamics.
The GS Graf seems a better match; slightly lower output p/ups and a sweeter overall sound; cleans up a little more easily than the Gibbo.
The 5w output of this amp is sort opf "in-between" really; its a little too loud for home rehearsal (my home, anyway) if you want good overdriven sounds, yet just a little too quiet for proper rehearsal with the band (classic rock covers mainly). Shame. It takes my Boss OD pedal very nicely though - amazing singing lead lines and very musical and controllable feedback - great fun!

Only had it a couple of months so I can't usefully comment. Its well put together and very simple - unlikely to be any major problems, and even iof so they can I'm sure be solved easily, quickly and cheaply.

Never needed thus far.

Playing for many years (mainly recording), only the last 5 in a regularly gigging band. I have an Ashdown Peacemaker 60w 2x12 tube combo (mine's fine, don't knock 'em) for larger rooms. Gibson, Gordon Smith and Aria guitars.
The Valve Junior is a great little amp; cute (!) and does what it says on the tin. Lovely overdrive when pushed - as surely its meant to be - though not for anything but the smallest of venues in my book.
I'd replace it if stolen (! ??90 I paid, who would steal it - its a steal anyway at that price!) but might consider Blackheart, Peavey, Fender alternatives just because its fun.

1 input, 1 volume control, 5 watts of pure tube power, 4, 8, and 16 ohm outputs. Really excellent feature set. Could not be simpler but it's perfect!
Ah, the lack of a standby switch is going to hurt my tubes quicker than normal, I'll take a point off for that.
Once and for all, you don't need a tone knob!

I was a bit worried after reading some reviews that said the overdrive on the amp sounded muddy and dull. They claimed that it needed to be modded with a brightness switch or to change to some quality tubes. In any case, this is just not true! I play an SG with bareknuckle pickups and the sound is bright and clear even with the volume on full, the searing tube fuzzy distortion peels your face off. It's really great. Pretty loud too. Too loud for my neighbours and too quiet for my band. 5 watts is a stupid value! A mod I might consider is making it less powerful - to 2.5 watts for example. This would facilitate recording. For 90 euros, it's the best sound ever! A joy to play. I did find I could make some tonal improvements using a 7 band eq though... I definately reccommend an EQ pedal to go with this amp. I may change the tubes in the future but the cheapo ones sound great already!

Yep. Pretty damn solid for cheap chinese crap and cruddy cheap tubes. Lack of a standby switch will wear out and possibly damage the tubes quicker than than normal.

Best 90 euros I've ever spent! Awesome for recording (finally, I can record the sound of tubes breaking up without having to bury the thundering fender twin under a pile of duvets and blankets, awesome for playing too. There is a load of great mods that can be done on this amp so it'll grow with me.

Well its meant to be simple so can't really hold that gainst it.But a gain and tone woulda been nice.

Well stock mine was kinna woofy and bassy,lacked harmonics and OD.
I swapped the tubes out for RFT el84 and mullard 12ax7 and revoiced the preamp and added a diode clipping gain stage based on the Marshall Jubilee and it turned into a pint sized Marshall.
Honestly they are mediocre stock but they are also $100-$129(now) so what do you expect.But they are cool to learn how to mod amps.
I'll rate it for stock tone.

seems solid for a $100 amp.

Well if you want to just plug in and jam,its kinda lackluster its bassy and don't overdrive enough to play lead without a pedal.
If you have a some electrical skills it can be made cool for a few dollars in parts and a couple strong used or NOS tubes.

Not many features, but that's the beauty, isn't it? Just
a whole lot more tone than it should rightfully have!

Using this little beast in a stereo set-up with a
tech21 trademark 60. Gretsch Special Jet with
Dearmond single coils>MI Audio Crunch Box>MI blue boy deluxe
>Carl Martin ChorusXl, stereo split into the trademark and junior.
The sound with the stock Sovtek and EH tubes was not bad,
but in the quest for more clean headroom I changed these
out for a Ruby12AT7 and a RubyEL84. Holy shit!! Tone for miles.
The amp has taken on a new character. Gorgeous singing, fat cleans up to around 4.00 on the dial, and then a slightly crunchy Keef tone.
Also minimal background noise. Was intending to have mods done, but now the jury is out.... Compliments the trademark set to fender or mesa sound. Fills out the mids nicely. 7 before but now....

Not much to it. Had my amp guru bias and check it out. Could not believe the build quality vs the price.

Slow as the second coming to send it after I ordered it!

Played an old Silverface twin and one of Jims stacks for years. Sold them both due to chronic CBF syndrome, with regards to carting them around.Currently own an AER compact 60, and a Yamaha CPX800, as well as the aforementioned. Would buy another....no..will buy another. I love the way it seems to morph from a little vox to a baby champ with minimal movement on the dial.