Epiphone Valve Junior Head

Only has volume

I am running my chain this way: guitar, boss me50, bbe sonic stomp, amp, marshall 2x12 cab. This little thing sounds great. Best amp for playing at low levels and it cranks to. I finally know what the volume knob on a guitar is for(you realy can use it) Only thing that may be better is an orange tiny terror (at 4 times the price)

just got it

just got it

Best small amp out there. Get the BBE Sonic Stomp

One channel, one volume knob. Simple. I wish it had a tone control, but I get around that with a DOD 7 band E.Q. I use this amp mainly for recording and piddling around, not enough power for gigs or rehearsal. Thats why I have Marshalls.But overall great tone and lots of fun and for $99, you can't beat it.

The amp makes pretty much one sound. Volume knob controls clean to distortion. At about 10 o'clock it gives a good Chuck Berry sound. Dime it and it goes to town. Put an o.d. pedal in front of it ( I use an Analog Man tube screamer) and look out! This puppy rocks. And it is sensitive to different pickups. I play rock (ACDC, Thin Lizzy, Four Horsemen ) and this serves the purpose for recording demos.

Built like a tank. No problems.

Never dealt with directly. Got it from Sweetwater Sound and they back up every thing they sell. No worries.

I've been playing since catfish were walking. Been using Marshalls since the early 70's. If this amp were stolen, I would replace it. I love it's simplicity and basic sound. Very similar to early 60's Gibson and Epiphone amps. This is a fun amp. I would like to have four of them to gig with. That would make a hell of a racket.

2007 model I think; one knob model with a wopping 5 watt of pure tube tone. And yes 5 watts is plenty loud for any bedroom studio. Needs as previously stated an EQ. This amp is great for bedroom levels and to experiment with different types of pedals because it is so "tonally" flat. It is not fair to rate this amp on features because there really aren't any.

Tone: Nice clean up to 12:00ish then the amp breaks up beyond that. I did replace the tubes with a matched triode ECC803S gold pin and a quicker break EL84 and this amp really sounds good for what it is. This amp with a little help from various effect pedals really can sound great from crisp clean to 60's British AC30 OD. My effect chain looks like this-->Peavey HP Special USA--->Barber Direct Drive--->Boss EQ (bump the low freq's to beef up the low end)--->Toadworks Meat (discontinued so buy one if you can still find them as this pedal really adds girth to your tone)--->Boss Digital Reverb--->Barber launch pad for impedance matching and tube cooking (if you have never tried this pedal, you should. Its a clean boost pedal/AB switcher/Buffer). The cab I use is a Peavey 2x12 16ohm designed for the Classic 30 head and it sounds great with the above setup. This amp pushing my 5150 4x12 cab was thin and weak sounding. Lastly, this little amp loves pedals so have fun trying various combinations in various locations in your chain to find your tone. Also I found that if you let this amp warm up for about fifteen minutes the tone will mellow out considerably to a creamy buttery warm tone; but also I'm smacking the front end input of this amp pretty hard with the Barber launch pad well above unity gain, so that may also have something to do with my end tone. As far as noise is concerned, I run all of my gear through a Furman power conditioner for really clean 120VAC power.

So far so good. This amp is really built well, almost overbuilt for its size. Nice covering, 1/2" plywood construction and with spring tension tube guards/holders.

Never plan to call them.

I have been buying gear for 25 years. I have owned mostly Peavey over the years just because their products have always suited my needs well, and that I have never had issue with them and I try to buy what is made here in the US or at least what is assembled here. I own a full 5150 II Stack, Classic 30 head (very nice), Line 6 Vari-tone III, Line 6 Spider and now the Epi Valve Jr. and they all have their "tonal" place in my music spectrum. This is a good buy for what it is a simple clean tube amp with great potential. Plus with only two tubes to play around with, it takes a tube load off of the 10 tube monster 5150 and the 5 tube Classic 30.

This is a very straight forward amp with few features which is a good thing. This is a basic 5 watt one 12ax7 preamp tube and one 6l6 power tube. This was made in china but the costruction seems to be good, you'd be amazed how many big name amps are built in china these days. On the front panel you get a input a on-off switch and a volume knob. On the back panel you get three speaker jacks one for 4ohm, 8ohm and 16ohm. For $99.00 new from guitar center what more can you ask for.

Depending on the speaker cabinet and what type of guitar you use you can coax several different sounds out of this amp. I have a 2x12 speaker cabinet loaded with eminence speakers(don't remember which ones)that I run this through and I play a strat with Duncan Livewire active single coils. This amp is very sensitive to your volume placement and your attack on the strings. What works best for this guitar is to set the amp volume around 12 to 3 o'clock and use the volume on your guitar to control the drive. At low volumes this amp is sparkling clean (think small fender) and as I turn the volume up on the guitar I get more and more distortion (think 70's tube amp). If your guitar has cheap electronics you will notice it with this amp(muddy sound)which could also be a good thing for lo-fi. This amp is for classic rock, blues rock, blues and some country. I love this amp and it does exactly what I got it for which is for recording but if miked since it is only a five watter it also sound good live. It is pretty quiet for an amp in this price range.

I have had this amp for only 8 months but it is built pretty well and I always have some sort of a backup when I play live with a tube amp(25 years of experience). I have had no issues with this amp and if I did Guitar center has always been pretty good about service.

I do not remember what thew warranty was but if it last me over a month with no issues then it will last for quit a while. Usually when I buy things from guitar center if there are issues they usually handle it but I have also found that every Guitar center is run differently.

I have been playing for over 25 years. I play either classic rock, my first love the blues or country. I own around a dozen amps ranging from small practice amps(peavey) to what could be considered boutique amps(bedrock,mesa boogie) and plenty of fender tube amps. I play fender and gibson guitars and I have about 25 of those. I compared this to other small tube amps but for the price and sound this beat them. If you think that you need more features just go on ebay and there are companies that sell upgrade kits with standby high low swithing etc. If you play metal or want a distortion machine this amp may not be for you. This amp may not have enough clean headroom for some country picking but for everything else it works fine. And if you are not sure just go play it with your guitar at the store.

These amps have been out for a couple of years now but they have maintained a steady level of popularity. After playin on my friends Epiphone Valve Jr., and finally obtaining my own, I know exactly why. Sure, this isn't one of the most versitile amps but I didn't buy it for that. It's simple and that is the outstanding aspect to it. Just a 5W class A tube circuit (el84 power and 12ax7 preamp tubes) with a power switch and a volume knob. It doesn't get more simple than that. A lot have rated this amp low in the features dept. because of this but I rather feel that if you aren't hunting for a bazillion knobs and an on-board computer/midi/modeling doo-hickey then this amp has the most important feature possible: TONE. Seeing as there is no EQ, no effecs,and no bullsh*t to this amp, it allows the true tone of your guitar to shine through. It is also very sensative to your picking style. Best of all this amp has 3 outputs: 4,8, and 16 ohms so you can use this amp wih just about ANY cab.

For the money this should be a must-have for any guitar player. It's just too much fun not to own. That single Volume knob comes in very handy and can deliver a wide range of tones from a warm clean to a raunchy, crunchy rock tone. The higher you turn the knob, the more the preamp tube is pushed and the harder the sound gets; one of the most pleasing rock tones I've ever heard. Down low on the volume and you can get a full bluesy tone. The type of guitar and the type of pickups being used affect the sound immensely. I mainly use a Gibson SG with a 498 in the bridge and a Dillion SG with a Gibson 500t in the bridge and both sound fantastic out of this amp. I have also used a handfull of other guitars and each one has a completely individual tone that is really delivered by this amp. As I said before, the limited controls on this amp actually work to its favor in this very way. I play a lot of metal and in that sense I suppose this amp might not deliver the goods. However, there's aways the option of a distortion or overdrive pedal to push it even farther. I have had excellent results with all of my overdrive pedals (mainly DOD stuff). One thing I should mention is how damn LOUD this amp can get. I have used it in practice and I plan to use it live soon (yes, it's that loud). I never knew that 5 watts could be so loud. It really shakes my entire house when only at about 12 o'clock on the volume! When I used it in practice out of my Fender GE-412 cab I was actually louder than the rest of the band. I have also used it with my VOX 2x10 cab and a Kustom 1x12 cab and have still never heard 5 watts sound so good. On it's own it can give a warm, full bodied clean to a thick Sabbath-like groove to an all out AC/DC rocker. All with just one knob. It does pay to experiment with different tubes. I have tried out a few and have found JJ's to work the best in it but that is always going to depend on each persons individual taste. There's also a TON of mod's out there to hot-rod this amp. I would love to try a Tube Works pedal with this!

I have not had any problems and I doubt I will. Other people that I know that also own this amp have yet to tell me of any flaws in production. So, while I have not, and noone that I know has not had to deal with any reliability issues I'm gonna rate it high.

Like I said, haven't had to deal with the Epiphone/Gibson people yet so I can't tell you for sure.

I have owned a LOT of gear in my 15+ years of playing and I would CERTAINLY buy this again. It has instanly moved into one of my favorite gear spots. It gives me that same feeling when I was a child and I got a new toy; I wake up early and quite excited to play with it. I do wish that it might have come with a preamp or gain knob but it's nothing I'll dwell on. And if I do there's plenty of mod's out there to make it possible but I don't see myself doing that any time soon. Find a friend who has one, find a shop who has one, find a sound clip online, do whatever you can to check this amazing little amp out. For the money it CAN NOT BE BEATEN!!!

input, on/off, and volume in front - 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker outputs in back - nice. 5 class A watts and not bad looking. $100 delivered...is that a feature?

as is, weak. JJ tubes will help fatten - and it needs eq. Sans the mods, use an EQ pedal. Don't try to make a fender outta this - it's got 1 EL84 power tube so think mids, and go with it. Put a TS-type drive pedal after the EQ and use your higher-output PU for nice brit-rock tone at low levels...REAL nice with a decent guitar and speaker. Remember those JJ's - makes a diff.

16 months and no probemos amigos

These are fun to play with. You can do the mods or use pedals to further shape tone - and new tubes are a must, imo. So, if you have the desired pedals lying around, and a good spk cab, it's a cheap trip to decent lower-volume tube tone. Paid a hundred bucks new, delivered(!) - currently $130 at MF, or less on 'the bay'...the price of another pedal.

Brand new made in 2007 I assume. This amp suits my need for an indie rock 4 piece i'm in myspace.com/plainclothestracy. It has 1 channel with just a volume knob. Simple enough for anyone I suppose. I wish this amp had instead of 3 seperate cabinet jacks i think there's a 4 ohm, 8 ohm, and 16 ohm I wish it just stuck with one so I could add an extra extension cab to the one I currently have.

This amp is pure valve. Turn up the volume know you have 5 loud watts of overdrive. With a substantial amount of gain. If you wanna play metal then go by a Mesa which in my opinion is as dry as the Sahara desert anyhow. The amp does dirty up at high volumes. And it is plenty loud enough to give with. I use a El Degas Les Paul copy with extremely hot dimarzio's. I also use a standard american strat for a bluesy sound. This amp would fit well with rock, country, blues any genre that requires tone *cough* metal.. It is also relatively quiet with the les paul. The Fender you get a little feedback as always.

This amp seems reliable. The chance of dropping it are that of getting struck by lightning because it's lighter than your balls. I've yet to have it break down knock on wood. But it seems like if it did as simple as the amp is it wouldn't be hard to fix. Plus it was only $99 bucks.

Haven't dealt with them I deal with my local music store.

I have been playing guitar for about 5 1/2 years. I own along with it and the 2 guitars. A boss blues driver for and extra boost, an old ibanez tremelo, and a boss chromatic tuner. I try to keep it simple. If it were stolen I'd find the sob and break his face. And go buy another cause they are cheap haha. I got this amp from a trade with a hot rod deville which some would say your nuts. But the 12 inch speaker gives me the punch i need as regards to the 4 10s in the fender. Also the fender is way to clean it won't break up and it's too heavy. I would recommend this amp to anyone who plays good music, wants a valve amp for cheap, and doesn't want a hernia. Keep rocking ladies and gents!

The Valve Junior is allegedly modelled on the first generation of simple valve amplifiers that accompanied the newly invented electric guitar in the 1950s. There???s 5w of power under the hood with single knob to control the volume, like the early Fender tweed champs. Although 5w sounds diminutive in the tube world that???s still pretty darn loud; it would easily disturb the neighbours when fully cranked and will get the floor rumbling through the matching 112 cab. The only features the guys thought to include were three outputs for the amp to be hooked up to 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker cabinets, allowing it to be used with pretty much any guitar cab ever made no doubt. A rating of 3 isn't a criticism - it just means this is a bare-bones amplifier.

I bought mine with the matching Epiphone 112 cab, so will describe how it sounds through this. It has a strong 50s vibe about it, no doubt since it was based on amps from that era. Without pedals the only sound you???re going to get from this amp is early rocknroll. The amp has a strong midrange and attack and at 5w is quick to break up, having a thick, slightly grainy overdrive. With modern high-output humbuckers the amp breaks up at around 10 o???clock, and of course a little later for single coils. The clean tone provides a nice foundation on which to use pedals if that???s your thing, but it lacks the sparkle of a post-tweed Fender. It???s a bit meatier. Running an EQ in front of it can widen the tonal palette, but every once in a while I???ll bypass the effects and just plug the guitar straight in jam like they would have in the 50s.

It seems relatively solid, though it is the cheapest tube amp going around and comes from China, so naturally my confidence in it isn't high. On the other hand it's such a simple amp that there are less things that can go wrong with it. I found the stock Sovtek tubes would rattle if the amp was turned up past 1 o'clock, so I replaced them with a Tung-sol reissue 12ax7 and JJs EL84. I can now crank the amp fully without any annoying rattles. The tube swap also unexpectedly cut out a lot of background hiss (which was quite minimal anyway), and made the tone slightly clearer and I guess more hi-fi.

With tube amps this cheap now there's really no need to compromise with solid state amps anymore, especially if you already have a rather sizeable pedal collection. A pedal running into this amp will give a more natural and responsive tone than any (current anyway) digital model ever could like you find on those Roland Cubes and Line6 amps. I'm more satisfied with this head and cab package than I ever was with a Fender Blues Jr, which cost me twice what the Epi package did. I think both tube amp virgins and seasoned valve connoisseurs would be able to appreciate this amp - flexibility, tube response and a decent tone for pocket money really.

2007 Valve Junior Head. For practice use, maybe small jams.

Sounds from clean to distorted. Using a Fender Highway One Strat.
I got the amp brand new. Tested it in comparison side by side with a Roland Cube 20 watt with effects etc because it was the same size and price range. I had two speakers to plug it into. 12" Celesiton Alnico Blue, and a 10" Celestion Vintage Ten. Hands down its louder than the Roland both cranked full. Sound wise the Roland beats the crap out of it. It seems to be a fun retro looking package. I really dont need another project to drive me nuts researching all the mods available. Personally I'd leave it to hell alone. It is what it is. A 5 watt small tube thing. Dry sounding as a two day old pizza. To me it didnt seem to have enough poop to really push the 12" speaker. It did rattle my old eardrums however. The 10" was better but didnt push that either. (Compared to the Fender Pro Jr I had it in) For $129 bucks its a better deal than the noisy Pro Jr. It may sound pretty good with the Epiphone cabinet that has a 12" speaker. Some have reported the speaker is not too hot. That may be the ticket to get the old retro sound. I dont know. But it would look nice. Overall the Roland has great various distorted sounds for a few bucks more and almost as loud. (Almost)And a lot more fun. Having said all this, there is nothing wrong with it out of the box. Good quality and it indeed does kick booty for 5 watts.

Probably ok. For 12 bucks from Musicians friend you get two years to screw it up and get a new one. Provided you dont modify it.

Ive been playing for several years. Im older. What is nice it has three different speaker ohm plugs in the back. I'd think with a couple pedals it would make a killer harp amp, even blues guitar, but nothing for clean loud playing. But its 5 watts. If you get it dont go nuts on the mods till you try it awhile. If youre going to sink another 100 bucks into it then get a bigger amp to begin with. I'd get it with the cool speaker cabinet for sure. If the speakers cheap and it breaks up all the better. If I didnt have a couple tube amps already Id a kept it for the hell of it. I think it would be tons of fun to break out at the local ego jams. For a fun rating I'd give it a 10.

I believe the serial indicates a 2006 production date. I wanted it to experiment with. This a single ended single channel amp. I wish it had a gain and master volume. This amp may be used in the lab?

The variety in sound will come from your guitar, the attack , the position of the VC and the speaker you use. The amp will distort , however its that nice single ended crisp sdistortion. There is no brutality here or none intended, however it does have a nice retro sound. I plugged in the speaker from the Valve Special (purchased last week) (see review) and I couldn't believe how loud it was. This is the loudest five watts I have ever heard. Many people that love this amp have offered mods to better the tone and after seeing the schematic(enclosed with instructions) it looks like many of these mods were incorporated into newer products. The product is noisy when you crank it and are not playing, however none of the noise creeps into the output. This suits my style as I am trying to learn some of Mike Bloomfield's riffs. I may make changes to the amp?

The first one I purchased played for 7min and died down. I turned the switch off and turned it on again in a minute and it came back and played for 5 min. This time i waited and turned it on again and it went down it 2min. I took it back to the dealer and they repalced it immediately. I am giving this a good opinion because it did not cause me any great inconvenience. In 45 years I have never purchased a product tha failed to work and most of what Istill have has worked for many years. This was a fluke.

I have had good luck with Gibson. There dealer Music Arts Enterprises was fantastic!

I have been playing 45 years. I would replace this unit and of course if I lost I would place my self in rehab for people who lose very large objects. I love the price I have accesories that cost more. I hate nothing it is simple unpretentious and delivers the goods. Because of my intent I did not compare it to anything, I wish it had a gain control and possibly one other socket for an extra 12AX7. These are possible things that I can do. If you are on a limited budget and are looking for a great value or just a gear hound this amp packs a wallop for any one's dollar. Sure this dosen't sound like a botique amp, however, you can go out and buy that great guitar you always wanted with what you'll save. and you will still be awfull close. With some slight mods and the right speaker this amp could killer. This amp also leads me to believe that tone stacks are highly overrated.