Epiphone Valve Junior Head

one volume knob and that's it!! It's a simple as it gets! 5 watt el84 power tube...damn loud for just 5 watts!! one 12ax7a. Nicely constructed and looks really cool also.

very sweet class A amp for just 100 bucks! You don't come across many tube amps within this price range that is new and accessible to the public whether you're a begginer or amatuer to a pro. This amp is alot of fun to play with. There are some weaknesses. But you can expect alot for 100 tube amp. THe cleans are very nice. Dynamics are good. Crank this little bastard and it's got some killer distortion! You can certainly use this for rehearsal and jam with a drummer or band. Since it doesn't have any eq features. you're stuck with the tone unless you get a good OD and EQ pedal. I have my VJ running through a Fulltone OCD and Boss GE7. It sounds amazing! The Ge7 has certainly help taken this amp to new heights along with the OCD!! I'm going to test drive her in a band situation and see what my ears tell me. So far I'm very happy with this setup and saves alot of the tube life on my Laney Vh100R head.

No need to reiterate. I really wish it had a standby swtich. Bought a mod on e-bay; which will naturally void the warrenty. I use this at home as my main practice amp which I alternate between a valve Crate. This amp pumps power. For the life of me, I don't see how a nighlight only carries 2 more watts. I barely crank it past 9 o'clock. I have it plugged through Boss ME 50 and ultimately this amp subs for my Peavey 120 W Deuce combo. I don't want to overuse the tubes on the vintage Deuce, plus 120 W is too friggin loud living in an apt complex. The only thing I find fault is the on/off button which seems like cheesy plastic from a child's toy, IMO. Not a top quality switch.

I am a 25 yr amateur hobbyist. Played a brief ciruit. I think I know what sounds good. I play rhythm, blues/classics. The amazing thing is that when I play with the stereo, I am unable to distinguish between the produced sounds of Aerosmith/AC DC, like I do with the Crate Taxi valve. The tone is natural. Pure tube classic. I also accentuate with BBE Sonic and Aphex Exciter, GE 7. The GE 7 works well with a lack of tone knob. I only play with distortion and humbuckers, Ibanez 540S.

I was absolutely amazed at the size of this amp and it's weight. For $99 I was expecting something mediocre in size and weight, but this amp speaks volumes of quality right out of the box. No cracking issues with tubes. Just takes a good 3-5/10 minutes to warm up. It took me years to conform to Japanese products until I've realized Japanese quality surpasses US. (God help me) I've totally resisted anything Chinese, until now. The power chord is detachable, like the Marshalls. Believe it, this baby takes up quite a bit of space on top of your cabinet, for 5 W.

5 yr warrenty.

This amp is an answer to my prayers. For the past 3-5 years I have sought high and low with the low-watt tube amp market. Last year, I bought a 1980's Marshall Lead 15 W head and I thought that my search ended there. The 1 W Bumbox and a few others are way too expensive. For the life of me I couldn't understand why there wasn't a low-watt tube market, but for $99 this exceeded my expectations 3-fold. This product is a watershed in amplification. Don't let 5 W fool you. It probably sounds closer to 40 W. I know, I A/B switch it with a 30 W. I am able to play right along with AC/DC, Eagles, Aerosmith seamlessly without alarming the neighbors and police.

This amp has NO features...it's not supposed to! It is a tube amp, these days that should be features enough.

When I first got this baby home, I plugged it into my Marshal 4x10 and strapped on my 72 Les Paul. What came out was the loudest 5 watts you could imagine. I then played with different effects pedals until I could tame/warm the tone. Next I strapped on my strat and without much tweaking, I got THE PERFECT Strat sound out of it.

Don't know...Too soon to tell

again, too soon to tell

I love it. The only complaint I may have is that it is too loud, but even that I found a remedy for.

Any simpler and it would operate itself.

This is a follow up to an earlier review.

Swapped out the Sovtek el84 for a JJ Tesla. It wasn't as pronounced a change as I expected but still better. Swapped the chinese ax7 with a number of nos tubes I had and ended up with a ge 12at7. Tone was already good but this combination really brought it out.

Had been playing through a 12 but just last night my buddy dropped a black widow 15 that another friend had given me into a cabinet. Definatly more punch and to my suprise very clean.

He also did a mod for me which was an added bonus.

I don't know much about how stuff works but my friend who does know can't get over how well these are built especially for the money.

Not worried about it.....

Like everyone else here I have the sickness. Other amps are:

Fender Twin Reissue
Mesa DC-5
64 Bassman Head
Musicman RD50
Kustom Lead II Head

All have their own tone and I'm happy with each but this little guy is definatley in a leauge of it's own. Can't seem to get away from it. By far the best 99 bucks I've ever spent.

You'll find more reviews of this amp in the Guitar Amp Database. Am I the only person out there using this as a bass head? Anyway, on to the review: A 10 for features? But this little, low-watt amp has only one knob - volume. And 3 outputs - 4, 8, and 16 ohms to match your cab. The versatility of this amp resides in it's infinite modifiability - if you never open it up and fool around inside, you're missing the whole point (and all the fun) of the Valve Junior. First off, experiment with swapping out tubes (the stock tubes - 1 12AX7 preamp and 1 EL 84 power amp - are either Chinese or Sovtek - mine had Sovteks - perfectly servicable, but pretty prosaic.) A tempting selection of tubes can be found online. I've purchased from tubedepot.com and tubestore.com - had good experiences with both. You can spend a fortune on NOS Mullards and the like, but you'll also find lots of reasonably priced goodies (check out Electro Harmonix and JJ Tesla.) Another tip for the preamp section - you don't need to use a 12AX7 - try a 5751 for a 30% gain reduction or a 12AT7 for a 40% reduction (result: expanded "clean" headroom and smooth, creamy tone.) I get all worked up just writing about this stuff!

Another option which, I must warn you, will void your warranty is "moding." Characteristics of gain and tone can be altered by adding or replacing various resistors and capacitors. I could never do that, you say, I don't know squat about electronics. Never fear. An inventive gentleman named Bruce Hutcheon has created a series of clever mod kits that are easy to install and realy tweak the Valve Junior in groovy new directions. Go on ebay and search "bitmo" to find him. If you order from him, be sure to tell him you're a bass player and ask him to include the "Spanky Bottom" capacitor! One final note - be careful of voltage when working inside your amp - always unplug it!

Rated 8 for its stock tone. Good, but a little bland. So start swapping tubes, and if you're feeling brave, do a little moding. You can turn that 8 into an 11!

This is a head, so you'll need to get a cab to drive. Choose carefully so that you don't sabotage the amp by playing it thru a crappy cab. Right now I'm using a Carvin 805 (2 way cab with 10" driver, sold as a PA speaker.) I like it because it's compact, lightweight and sounds really full and punchy. Cheap, too at about $150 direct from Carvin.

You won't generate gobs of volume, and the amp doesn't have a line out, but I just mic it (I use an Audix kick drum mic) and send that to the house.

Haven't really run it long enough to say for sure, but seems solid.

Haven't needed any.

When you consider price point, quality, and modifiability this amp really is an unbeatable value. Isn't it time you got tubular?

The features this little amp has can be described in one word. "SIMPLE"

What impressed me the most about the sound quality was how quiet it was the minute I plugged it in! No hum at all! So far I have only played my American Standard Strat thru it since I only got the amp yesterday. Will try my Heritage LP tomorrow.

I had no sooner set it up on my speaker cab and powered it on when my clumsy roomie came trudging along and tripped over the power cord!! My new little toy came crashing to the floor (about a 20 inch drop) I picked 'er up and went on playing.....didn't seem to bother it a bit!

duno....who cares, for $99.99 buy another one when this one fails.

I have two custom built cabs that I did not have a head to use with. One is a 2-12 slant cab with Celestion Greenbacks. The other is a 1-12 with a speaker from one of the late 70's early 80's Yamaha amps (can't remember the model) I was going to sell both of these cabs but now I have a reason to keep them! I am thinking about buying another Valve Junior Head so I can play around with some "stereo" stuff.

This is a tricky one. One knob.

What I discovered is my guitar volume controls all aspects of my tone through pick attack which I like very very much. Home levels are more than adequate and I'm anxious to mic the jr on a live gig.

I could have probably made this rating a 10 since I love the simplicity but in all fairness I think this category is dedicated to bells and whistles and there are none. Perfectly ok by me.

I can't quit playing this little beast. Great blues and rock tones.

I've tried all my guitars and the two that sound the best to me are a 70's hardtail strat and a SX goldtop with p90's. The strat is very bluesy and the SX has that Brit tone. Clean tones are good but I almost wish I could get just a little bit more volume before the sweet spot. Two o'clock seems to work best for me.

Up front I have an Art digital reverb, danelectro trem, Ibanez ad-80 analog delay and a 70's mxr90. After hours of experimentation this set up seems to work the best. I tried a number of od and eq pedals and didn't like any of them. No need for distortion anyway because the amp gives me all I need and sounds class A great!

Appears to be built amazingly well. I always keep a sansamp classic around just in case. This would not be my choice for clean tone and I will run it in tandem with my twin or musicman rd-50 for gigs. The jr has a distinctive A class tone that deserves it's own place on stage.

Tubes 90 days, workmanship 5 years. I think that's fair. Another $99 epi wonder is the lp jr which I own and have recorded with.

Haven't needed their support so far so I'll leave this one alone.

Playing 42 years. Actively gigging for 34 years. I played a valve jr a friend had and was amazed at the tone. After doing my research here and throughout the net I decided I should fork out the 99 bucks and give it a try. I strongly agree with reviewers who say this is money well spent. I do have the JJ's coming as this seems to be the icing on the cake.

I'm not going to get into the gear thing. It's a sickness and I'll bet 98% of the reviewers here are afflicted. Let's just say my addiction is out of hand and to get sweet A class tone for $99 is simply a sin.

on off input output 4 8 16 ohm combined volume tone two in one knob 5 class a watts.i believe they were made in 2005 and i really believe they could raise the price a bit and add tube driven reverb those transformers are near the same as i have in our 120 watt all tube rockmaster head that has no reverb as well thank electro harmonix hollier grail sounds awsome with this eqd properly.

basic clean to blues overdrive very loud and distorted when wide open a guitar has treble cut for tone fine tuning as well as higher biased tubes if one hundred bucks is alot to you dont buy it till you try it dont forget drive pedals have equilizers as well and start at twelve dollars or so i love this little bugger its light and very responsive i run it through a e/v twelve 16 ohms speaker it screams i bought two more to run in stereo but ones plenty loud in this house.

it gets very warm quick have had no trouble at all its light and no need to cool down before moving at this price you can afford to carry a spare or two large transformer is probably worth sixty bucks alone well built metal corners nice tolex nice price.have left it on overnight more than once falling asleep while playing.

if the company can give two tubes and all this in a well built attractive cabinet for under a hundred bucks im pretty sure they can give excellent customer service.

there truly is nothing to hate about it no crummy speaker no painted black lightweight brittle box that would chip easily.we run a mxr pedalboard and an electro harmonix board through em if they were stolen we would buy four more they are a true value they sound great with our solid body guitars no internal mods at all we have our pedals outside so we dont have to go inside these little amps.

OK.....I'm a bitl ate ot the party, but what the hay. May as well chime in with my thoughts.

First of all, it's $99 stinking dollars! Less than most pedals. I've heard tell it is cheap, junk, save your money, build your own, buy a tweed, save up and get areal amp...blah, blah, blah....

Heres the deal, I like this little gem. No cleans to speak of, but what do you expect for 5 watts? Through a variety of speakers,
( vintage C12 Jensens, JBL, EV, Emmenence ) the Valve Jr puts out a great rock tone. It also responds fairly well to the guitars controls and seems to love any dirt pedal you throw it's way. all this with the ( gasp ) stock tubes and no mods!

It's pretty darn quiet too. Seems to like single coils as well as humbuckers. For me, it's a terrific little amp that not only loks very cool, it sounds very cool. I must say it beats the crap out of the Champs I've had come my way! In fairness though, I never ran the Champ through a larger or better speaker.

? who cares!! It's $99.00!!

Whoc cares! It's $99.00!

I'm old, set in my ways and have been playing since time began. How they can put this amp out for a C note is amazing. It's a great time to be a guitar player. The amount of good quality off shore guitars and amps for cheap is amazing. Wish I had these bargains back when I was starting out. Thanks Epi! Keep em coming.

Purchased last April (06) and have already submitted a full review. This follow-up note concerns the Epi head with JJ tubes - $30 delivered thru TubeDepot. I read a few reviews recommending the JJs. I found that they smooth out the tone - definately a difference. I'm using the head with a 12" Weber and a touch of the delay pedal. The clean tone is nicer and the overdrive smoother, with and without an OD pedal.

On/off switch, volume, 4, 8, 16 ohm speaker out. Not a whole lot of buttons and knobs, but it does everything you'd want a little amp like this to do. Various tones can be had by varrying the volume level, and the ability to have different speaker ohms opens up a lot of fun options. It's not "versatile" in the sense that Line6 or something would be, but for what it does it fits the bill better than most.

Turn it up and you crunch, turn it down and you're clean. I'm not terribly impressed with the clean sound, but that's not why I bought it (I've got a nice Palette and a '67 Deluxe Reverb Amp for that side of things). I was really impressed with the tone it had cranked, juicy is the word I think fits best. A little bit of extra noise flying around, but I'll open it up tonight and get that taken care of... I played my jag through through it with one of the Palette's 1X15 cabinets (prototype Jensen Ceramic speaker) and it sounded great and suprisingly loud (got my first noise complaint ever). For $70 though, you'll never hear a negative word out of my mouth.

I don't know about the reliability of anything... I'm a luthier/technician so things like that usually don't register in my mind unless there's something heinous or repetitive going on (see digitech).

I am the customer support in most cases... But in terms of Epiphone themselves, no telling. I ordered a guitar from them once and it took 6 months because of a backorder, long enough for the customer to literally die of old age, but that's the only beef I've ever had with them (if you can even call it beef).

Compared to the Palette and the Fender, the clean sucks pretty hard (most everything does) but the class A crunch I get out of this thing is pretty exciting. I'll probably poke around inside it and modify a few things, but I'm pretty impressed overall. For the price it's a sure go if you like to have a few different tones that are really great. If you're a beginner though... maybe not so much. Doesn't have the metal tone or the clean, and most guys like to be able to press buttons and turn knobs when they are starting out. I definately suggest it for someone who has something to handle the clean duties, but the beginner might look at something else.

A volume knob, a really cheesy "radio shack" on/off switch, and three outputs for 4 ohm, 8 ohm, or 16 ohm cabinet, which I think is the singlemost thing that elevates this amp to a thing of wonder.

So I read the reviews on this amp and traded a blues junior in at GC for the valve junior head, a mogami cable, and a pack of DR's. When I got it home, I realize that this was the best thing I ever did. I really like this amp, and play it through a 1 x 12 with a Weber 15 watt speaker. Clear as a bell compared to the fender which at low volumes had this really subtle but annoying "cutting out" noise that spoiled my whole vibe for playing quiet. And the epiphone is so much better for easy recording with a mic. Its only 5 watts, and I feel sorry for you crunch whores out there, because you still have to spend so much money to really get the sound you want (there is no way around it). I basically got my sound for 99 bucks. (plus what I lost on the trade, but was more than happy to get rid of the blues junior boat anchor, although I still have a Fender Blues Deluxe which I am completely happy with.

I have no idea. The on/off switch looks like it could break, but any radio shack carries the exact same one.

don't know

Epiphone is genious for blowing the lid off of the whole boutique amp thing. After all, what are you paying for when you spend so much on one of those little amps that cost $1000, only to be scrutinizing it trying to endlessly figure out if you got your money's worth. This one is $99 and go. No worries. A small head was exactly what I was looking for, and when it came along, it was only $99...since small combo amps also tend to have lots of tube rattle. Don't have to worry about that with a head.

5 watt class A. EL 84 powertube This baby cranks don't let the 5w fool you. One volume knob, What else do you need? A great feature on this head is the 3 speaker outs 4,8,16 ohm.

I run this amp mainly through 4x12 cab. I have heard it through a 12 and also a 15in. speaker cabs. To me it sounds great through all. I have also used about 7 different guitars through it. Glassy clean tones at low volume. crank it at 2 o'clock and its heaven, your picking and style is really going to come out at this point.
crank to 11 and you wonder why you even have overdrive pedals, not to mention all those thousands of dollars on something that masks your tone!

I have not giged with this yet (do not be sceptical this thing miked up could be asecret weapon) great quality better than expected.

never delt with them all my epiphone stuff has not failed!

Have been playing for more than 20 yrs. Either owned giged or played pretty close to every thing under the sun. This is simple "buy this amp" buy four because once you hear it you will agree.

one volume knob, on/off switch, no standby, 4,8 and 16 ohhms out..

pleasantly surprised. el84 tubes sound good, they are the same tubes found in the power section of Vox ac30's, can't go wrong here
this thing is a boutique amp without the ridiculously expensive price.

i won't say it sounds like ACDC but you can a similar overdrive just by cranking the volume.. mine started sounding better after i changed the preamp tube to a Phillips NOS 12ax7. i use a Gibson SG and a SQ series strat. My es335 sounds very good in this head- i use a single 12 inch cab with greenback speaker- but you can't crank it and expect clean sound. it overdrives easily.. i'd say it's loud enought for band practice depending how hard your drummer plays.. probably enough if you have a 4x12 cabinet

the original series of these amps were only as a combo..and i know by trying it in a store that they were pretty noisy..but the Head version (this one i'm reviewing) is practically noiseless except for a slight hiss.. if you have a noise issue with this amp, its probably your equipment or it's broken =dead tubes alo=.

one thing i remember to mention..when i took this amp out of it's box, it didn't work..it just switched on.. no sound at all..i removed the back of the amp - 7 screws- and on the power transformer, there are 3 fuse plactic holders..i opened and placed back the 3 fuses , plugged the amp again and it came back to life..i guess it was one of the fuses that wasn't making a contact..

never dealt with epi..

for 150 canadian, this is the deal of the century.. the cabinet is VERY well built, the inside electonics aren't the cheapest. there are 3 fuses attached to the main transformer.. the tube sockets seem fine.. there is a minimum of bleed with the volume at minimum but what the heck!!

2006 VJ head
What features?
There are none - but that is the absolute beauty of this amp - its gets you back to basics. I give it a 2 but that is not a bad thing, its just a volume and speaker out. You want features go get a Honda. The only changes that where made to the amp where new JJ tubes thats it.

I am mainly a Blues/Rock player, so the guitars are Gibsons/Fenders. I run the VJ into a single 12" (Vintage 30). I run it mainly at lower volumes as i dont play out amymore but the breakup beyond 12:00 is very cool and smooth. Under 12 there are good clean tones but and when you dig in you can hear it start to "go". This amp absolutly loves pedals. I run a Budda Wah, DS-1, SD-1, FZ-3, and a TS-9 (all modded by Monte Allums) also a DD-20, CE-20, RT-20 and a boss reverb for good measure. I can get any tone i want at a volume that wont get me arrested. It is not noisy at all when turned up - as a matter of fact it is quieter than my 1000 dollar Mesa combo. Overall a great amp for blues and rock.

We'll see, have had it for a few months and no issues yet.

Have never contacted Epi for anything so i cant comment on them.

Been playing for 20 years and have been a Mesa Player for all of them. truth be told - they dont see much action anymore. Between the VJ and the overdrive/distortion pedals i get a warmer tone and more flexability. I love the simplicity of it. and the fact that i can get a great tone at a low volume. Face it all us guitar players are vain and we buy huge stacks and 100 watt tube amps and most of us never get to utilize them to there potential. I was one of them. Now they are fo sale. For $99 there is no negative points here. Its a great amp and thats all there is to it.

Made in China 2006, 5w class A tube amp.
This little amp is great. The features are a little on the light side, but the beauty of this amp lies in its simplicity. One input, volume, and on/off, it does not get any simpler than that.

and don't let 5w fool you this thing can get loud.

The only change I would suggest is a standby switch, but at such a low power it is not essential.

For such a limited control set, the valve junior can make quite a few different sounds. It will take you from very clean (no headroom though), to a pretty heavy crunch. The first thing I would recommend is, put in a Groove tubes 12AX7C, it opens up the amp to a much more Marshall-like tone (and really nails the AC/DC sound)

I use a Peavey V-Type, Epiphone Les Paul Custom, or a Saga Telecaster, through a Behringer 4x12 cab.

I really do not know if I can depend on it, but my initial impresion is that it is pretty solid. I dont know if I would gig with it (not enough power) but if I did I would do so without a backup.

Never dealt with them

I've been plaing for about 4 years, but have owned my share of equipment. I bought this to expand my tonal arsenal, and have a practice amp that would not run up the power bill like my live setup does. My style is mostly metal and heavy punk, but i do play some classic rock, blues, jazz, and ska.

My usual setup consists of a Line 6 Uber Metal > Peavey Deuce VT 2x12 > Peavey Renoun 4x12. but this can be a nightmare to bring to practice or recording sessions, so I bought the valve junior. And believe me it is an amazing recording amp, you can crank it and get full power tube saturation at recordable volumes.

If you are thinking about buying one, just do it. You will not be sorry, and it is only $99.

One input, one volume knob and an on/off switch. All that's missing is a headphone jack, that would have been cool. Now for a plug, I wanted a cover for this cool ass head. Amplifiercovers.com, for about $35, more if you add piping, you get a cover that fits perfect! This amp is cool even when it sits with cover on it!!! I use this when jammin with other guitar players, no drums. Also practicing at home, saves on my Marshalls tubes.

For what it is, the sound is real good, all my guitars are humbuckers. With that in mind, I don't seem to get a real clean sound. I like playing Bad Co., Montrose, Sammy Hagar, we play a lot of classic rock in our band. It dosen't seem to be too noisy unless you turn it way up. For me, the sound is great, a great practice head that WILL get too loud! I use a DigiTech RP100 pedal.

I've had it a little over a month and have played it a lot. Sofar, no problems. For a $100, who cares?

Haven't used it, the warrenty is 5 years.

I've been playing for 40 years, last October I hooked up with a band that plays classic rock. First time with a band since 10th grade! I use a Marshall 1962 reissue Bluesbreaker for that. Bottom line, this little head is sweet, I bought it mainly for that. I've plugged this into a 16ohm single 12, 8ohm 2X12 and a 8ohm 4X12. They all sound great and get loud, I like the 2 and 4 X12's best. The 2X12 cabinet I have is a Carvin Legacy with Vintage 30's. I turn it sideways and sit the head on top, man, it don't get any cooler than that!! I would buy this again in a heartbeat! Remember, if you need a cover that's not available for your amp, this guy will custom fit it. amplifiercovers.com.

Brand new just received it last night. One channel, one volume knob you know the drill by now. Class A tube amp

I bought this kind of as an impulse and normally I wouldn't do that but for $100, even if I wasn't satisfied it wouldn't feel like that huge of a waste of money. Anyways, I love it. It responds to the way you pick and strum really well. I like to hook it up to my Marshall 1960A cab and crank it and then use the volume on the guitar to go from clean to smooth breakup. Doesn't have any noise but a slight hiss wheen turned up all the way, but I'd say that's a given. Volume is pretty loud. I'm not sure how it would compare to a hard hitting drummer, but it may not be loud aenough to keep up, but still plenty loud. I sort of bought this just to give me a more diverse tone for recording, my only other amp is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe which I think is also great, but pretty noisey.

Seems kind of well built, but I really dont't have any idea of how it would hold up to the rigors of the road.

Haven't ever dealt with Epiphone before because I've never owned a peice from them.

Great investment. It's good to have different options for tones when recording and plus it's something cool to show off every once in a while. Look at my little 5W Epi!

Pure and simple. I like that. The three impedence options are very thoughtful. Remember it's only 99 bucks

Right out of the box it exceeded my expectations. Run a modded TS9 or a Rat and there ya go. Remember it's only 99 bucks.

So far so good. I'd like to see a standby switch just to chill the tubes but I let her cool off and it always seems to fire back up. Remember it's only 99 bucks.

Great warranty (5 years). If it broke I think I'd just get another one instead of fuggin' with the process. Remember it's only 99 bucks.

She's a 10. The idiots who would flame it are just that... idiots. Keep sending them back morons so there's more units for us, What'ya want for 99 bucks? I applaud Epiphone for a great idea and I bet it'll be a million seller. This is a perfect little head when coupled with a decent cab. Sure it ain't a THD or a Bogner or any other boutique amp but Jeeeezus it's a great deal and has some balls. I don't intend to do any mods, it'd kill the effect imo. I'll bet my last dollar that many others will jump on this market and I look forward to many more models to come... and I'll buy every one of 'em. Remember it's only 99 bucks.

Many other reviewers have detailed the features, which are about as stripped down as can be, and are totally appropriate for this amp. It brings quality tone to the table very cheaply. What more can you ask for? I use this amp primarily for recording, and 5 watts gets plenty loud.

Given that this amp has one knob (volume, which consequently also acts as the tone knob), it actually provides quite a wide tonal pallett, and allows the player and the guitar to move the tone into different configurations by using different pick attacks and/or by adjusting the guitar tone/volume. I am using it with a Hofner Verythin Standard, which has minihumbuckers. This amp takes humbuckers very well, but gets cleaner cleans with Single Coils. This is not to say that the humbuckers sound bad at all, they simply have different tone, which I actually really like; it is kind of raunchier and a somewhat dirty clean, if that makes sense. I run it through a Geezer Sound Co. 1x12 closed back cab with a greenback in it, which, to me, is the perfect match for this amp. This is just my opinion, but I am really happy with the match. A switch of the tubes, as others have suggested, is a good idea. The stock tubes sound very good, but switching them out really warmed up the sound and is the first of many customizations you can do with this amp. Also, it is dead quiet.

it is a chinese made, little 5 watt tube amp. Generally you are not supposed to gig without a backup. Since I am not gigging with it, I just carry around a couple extra tubes in my guitar case should the occassion to use them arise. In the time that I have had this amp, it has been nothing but steady.

given it's cost, the sound quality, and the general quality of build, it is a VERY good deal. I was skeptical at first, but reading these reviews convinced me, and I am very, very glad that I took the advice of the fine people who have rated this amp positively. The pictures of them on the websites make them look kind of cheap, but when it showed up at my door I was astonished the actual quality of build (I wasn't expecting too much from the pictures and the price). I've never been so pleasantly surprised.

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.