Epiphone Valve Standard 112 Combo

2005. The features are pretty well covered below. I play a variety of styles with classic/blues rock and blues being my strong suit. This amp is plenty powerful for small club work and will give nice clean to a bluesy overdrive--no distortion really. They could lose the DSP effects since the circuit adds a ton of hiss to the signal--I never use them. I also wish that the reverb were spring instead of digital--this circuit adds hiss, although not anywhere near as much as the DSP effects and then, only when it's turned up high. I really like the amp--the inherent tone is pure vintage, sufficient for great sound all by itself and also takes pedals very well.

It sounds best with my Les Paul Classic with Duncan Antiquities, although my strat (w "Fat 50s" pickups) sounds really good too. It's got tons of bass--in fact the strat doesn't get as muddy when including the low E string in a chord as the Paul, but, I still prefer the Paul's tone overall. And as others have pointed out, this amp is not bright, but that suits me just fine b/c I can't stand harsh highs, the Standard definitely is in no danger on this count. As I stated above, this amp has a very vintage tone to it (think 50s through late 60s).
Speaking of vintage tone, what I really wanted to say is that the sound out of the box is very good (except for the crappy, hiss-laden DSP effects)...but...I compared this amp side by side with my early 60s Epiphone Galaxie--recapped, NOS tubes, a 10" hemp cone speaker, NO tone control (just volume, reverb level and trem speed knobs)--to see if I could get the Standard to sound as close to possible to the vintage amp. The Galaxie has superb and complex tone that just sparkles--when cranked (all 10 watts or so of it), it's super responsive and I absolutely LOVE the tone and figured I'd use it for a reference for dialing in the Standard. Anyway, the Standard could get a quite similar tone quality, but it was way too flabby and farty on the low end w/the Les Paul and sounded kind of boxey and muddy in the mids, I really couldn't get the same caliber of satisfying tones out of it no matter how much I played with the EQ. So, I decided to pop in a Celestion Greenback 25 watter (not the super expensive original spec reissue, but the standard model that still ain't cheap)I had layin' around. Anyway, after adjusting the EQ for a while (on the guitar too) I got this real close to the vintage Galaxy. Although it doesn't offer the same level of complexity and nuance that the vintage amp does, it's very close and also tightened up the woofy bass (although not completely--there's a good dose of that coming from the circuit and is accentuated with humbuckers when the gain is set past 3:00 +/-). It made a very big difference--the boxiness is gone, and it 'sparkles' more and over all, you can really hear the differences in distinct EQ settings.
Anyway, it sounds even more vintage than it did and no longer has a "cheap amp" sound, feel, vibe anymore. The amp's been discontinued, but if you want to improve what's already a good sounding amp, check out swapping the speakers. I haven't changed the tubes even though they're Sovtewks, b/c I'm real pleased with the sound of the amp--especially now since I swapped out the stock speaker for the Greenback..ME GUSSSTAAA! With the speaker swap, I'll give it a nine since it still doesn't quite reach the complexity of the real vintage amp I compared it too.

so far, so good although I haven'e gigged with it a whole lot yet.

Been playing long time. If this one was lost or stolen or blew up or some such, I would probably check out the Blues Custom and see how that sounds. I like this amp a lot and will be using it more as a gigging amp since I can now get the tone I want.

This is a fairly straight forward Valve amp. It is missing a second channel and an effect loop - hey, what do expect for the price!!!

Good old valve sound! Love it! I have a Marshall JTM30 combo and I would say it is nearly as good. The only thing that lets the amp down is the speaker. It's a bit dull sounding. Worth upgrading to a Celestion or equiv. I used a Behringer EQ pedal to brighten the sound up and works great! using an Epi Les Paul with EMG PUPs.

No problems yet!

New amp, so who knows!

I just bought amp about a week ago. I believe it was made in 06. It has some cool features. I like the sound that you can get out of the EQ. Reverb is nice and rich. Everyone says that the DSP effects are a mistake. Personally I think that they are neat. Mine doesn't Hiss or anything when they are tuned on. They sound actually very good. It's pretty dang powerful for 15 watts. (the loudest 15W I've ever heard.)

Oh man...I love the sound of this amp. You can definitely tell that this is a class A Amp. It's so responsive to touch and when you dig in its gets really down and dirty! Great overdrive! Sparkling Clean Highs and punchy lows. Great Tube Breakup. I have had Fender Tube Amps before and this sound is far better than any of them.

Well It does get a little warmer than I figured it would. But then again...my old Hot Rod Deville got way hot all the time too. So far no problems with this amp at all and I have already put about 12 hours loud playing on it.

The Epiphone Warranty is five years long so If I have a problem with the Manufacturer Parts like overbiased tubes, bad components, I can just bring it back to the store I got it from, and they will take care of it.

I have 12 years experience playing guitar, and I have been looking for a sound like this amp has. It's a beautiful sounding and looking amplifier.

Dollar for Dollar this Amp is so worth it!

You'll know what this amp is about if you're reading this.
The DSP was a silly mistake and I rarely use it.
I use it for playing dirty slide guitar blues in small to medium venues so my comments here might not translate to someone playing regular guitar.

The reverb is fine live, but I just wish they would have used a spring reverb and gotten rid of the silly DSP effects, because honestly, this is a very good sounding amplifier, has much more tonal quality to have the equivalent of some kid's toy gimmick effects bundled with it.

Bearing in my mind I use this for snarly and moody slide guitar, it sounds excellent! Mainly used for classic sounding blues. (Not rock. Blues.)
Guitar is a custom-made slide guitar with humbucking pickups, quite hot on the output levels so it may be pushing my amp a little harder than say a stratocaster or similiar.

I've played through Fender Pro Juniors, Blues Juniors, Fender Twins, Marshall heads, and Laney VC30's live, and this has a better quality overdriven sound than all of them, bar the Laney. The Laney is just as nice and has more headroom, so would be better live, but was a great deal more expensive so I bought this and was not disappointed.

I'm not a meathead guitarist, I take a great deal of care with my tone and any posturing based on brand, 'power', image etc... I take no heed of.
Bearing that in mind, I was a little hesitant to buy a 15-watt amp for smaller live gigs without micing it through a P.A.
But I was very surprised, it worked quite easily in a small bar with a full drummer, bass, other guitarist and keys through a leslie box.

What I found is best, for me, is to keep it simple like the old records. No distortion pedals, and just turn the volume and gain to 10. If it worked for Hounddog Taylor, it shoul wThis isn't macho on my part, it's a small amp, so turn it up and it shines. Also I use a slapback echo and that's all.

Unlike a Laney VC30 which has absolute glass-shattering high-ends, even on moderate settings, the Valve Standard is a 'darker' sounding amp. So I ramp up the highs a fair bit to give just a normal amount of clarity, and back off on the bass a tad too. (I much prefer a thicker, creamy midrange and solid chunky low-end with just a hint of sparkle for leads. I usually use less high-end spectrum than most guitarists... don't like the sharpness of it)

So with both volumes on 10, and a moderate amount of reverb, I can control the distortion with my guitar's volume pot, -very- easily. I can play rhythm and back up, and moody sliding chords that trail off in the reverb really easily. Just be gentle on the strings and turn the volume down on guitar if needed.
And then when it's time for a lead, simply turn guitar to 10 and let it wail. It really shines here, howls up on the higher notes and they sustain nicely and trail off a bit in the reverb, and will even feedback a little if you want. Very responsive and friendly, but with a dirty swampy classic tone if you need it.

I have also use it at a large venue, miced up, and people all commented how much better it suited the blues style than the large Marshalls and what not. It really filled up the whole place with this tornado from a little box, and even the sound engineer commented on the satisfying musical overdrive it produced.
He commented that it's because firstly it's being run at maximum (I had it on 10), so the input tubes are saturated, the output tubes are saturated too (unlike a Marshall 100watt head etc..) and finally, the standard cheap 12" speaker is actually being pushed to clip as well. The speaker clipping or straining a bit is not something you'll usually hear in larger amps.
But this tortured classic sound is exactly what I wanted.
And it's all without being too thrashy, or harsh. It's very expressive and calls to mind another era to my ears.

So for un-miced small gigs, I can highly recommend this bargain amplifier if you're playing blues, country, or anything that wants a little bit of a 'brown' tone . Very hard rock and metal, I doubt it's much good for.
For big gigs, you can mic it up easily and it soudns great coming through a big PA. Remember, if a mic can make your voice power through an auditorium, don't be fooled by 15-watts, it will easily be heard and that little box will sound even BIGGER than a large amp because it's really working in the optimum 'hot' zone!

I wouldn't recommend it for anything where you need big punchy sparkling clean tones at high volumes. It simply won't do that.

As everyone has said, the front and back panels get hot.
But it's never caught fire or malfunctioned on me yet and i've had it nearly 1 year. Also, keep in mind that any time i've used it, i've had it set to maximum volume and am probably stressing many components by doing that.

It is large for 15-watts, much bigger than a Pro Junior or Laney LC15 for example. But that 12" speaker and 3/4 closed cabinet resonates really well and it makes a fuller and richer sound than a smaller cabinet. Very solid low-end, punchy and thick.

Unknown, no problems, but did have a 1-year warranty, not bad for a very cheap amp.

Overall rating i'll give it 8.
The most important thing - TONE- is great for my style and it's really loud for 15-watts.

Loses marks for dodgy DSP effects.
Loses marks also for the worrying amount of heat it generates on front panels. Really does get quite hot, and heat=bad.
Loses marks for not having a spring reverb tank.

Overall I love it, it feels 'trusty' and it's a real surprise package. Nice looks too, and is different.
I would trade up if I needed to, to a 30watt Laney, Vox, Peavey Classic just so I could have that clean powerful headroom, and spring reverb.

(p.s. If anyone needs more than 30-watts, I really don't know why, i've stood 20 metres from a Vox AC30 on full blast during a lead break and it was scorchingly, blisteringly loud!?)

Features already mentioned.

The gain control gives sounds from bright cleans to muddy distortion. The gain is very noisy and lacks clarity. The eq is very good, gives a variety of usable frequency shapes. The stock speaker is garbage, replace with something nicer if you want to appreciate this amp at all. I recommend a celestion vintage 30. Dsp is rubbish at higher volumes, the processor is too noisy, it buzzes. Just enough clean headroom for jamming with a moderately loud drummer. The tone is not the greatest, even for the price, its not smooth or clear enough.

This is where my review gets nasty, so if you have your heart set on his amp don't read on.. just be wary.
Within 1 week of having this amp it developed a nasty buzz and started running amazingly hot. I took it back to the point of purchase and they opened it up to find an array of issues; severely over biased tubes, multiple solder joint faults, a failing transformer. If i had continued to use the amp i was told i would set it on fire!
I would certainly hope that my case is an isolated one, i don't want fire bombs residing in peoples homes.

The amp was promptly sent back to the warranty service. After four months of waiting i was offered a new amp by the store. I promptly refused and demanded my money back. I'm sure that if the store had not offered my a new amp i would have waited for a even more ridiculous amount of time. Again i hope this is only the case in the australian warranty service and that americans receive spare parts quicker.

I have owned many a decent amp and it is only because i moved to the other side of the country that had to buy this unfortunate piece of equipment. I have since purchased a vox ac15 for only a few more $ than this amp, it has performed reliably for 6 months and sounds amazing. Please be vigilant if you do decide to purchase this amp, if it does break down demand your money back, don't settle for a bomb.

Single channel class a/b push pull all tube combo. DSP effects and reverb, master volume.

I was a bit leary when I bought this amp but my fears with the tone are no more! I play a start with duncans and a washburn HB-35, yep I'm a blues guy! The strat actually sounds the best through this amp. I've read reviews here that the singles don't push the pre-amp enough but mine is just about perfect(after about an hour of running hot!)But I'm not looking for a high gain tone just alot of edge and a little umph! A buddy of mine just bought a vintage GA-20(1966). This is supposed to be a tone god, It didnt even come close to beef I got out of this amp. The beautiful side of this amp is my buddy is a harp player, and if you blow harp there can be a bit of feedback problems, harp guys check this amp out!!! It was awesome dialed all the way to 10!!

I've only had the amp for a few days and it seems to be fine, this remains to be seen. I had it at rehersel last night and there was no problems with it.

Haven't had to call them yet but with a five year warranty what more do you need!

All the features your need. One channel, 3 band eq, gain and master volume, digital reverb (with level control) and an FX select knob with an on/off switch (comes with footswitch for it). Back has footswitch plug and 2 speaker outputs (internal speaker connected to one). 15 watts class AB with 3 12ax7 preamps and 2 EL84 power tubes.

This thing screams! Well, actually my Jackson Soloist screams and this amp lets its true character come through. Great harmonics and overtones. I can get very loud and punchy clean sounds or a smooth clean jazz tone at low gain. I used to think I had to crank the gain to get a good rock sound but I think it sounds best at half gain and then adjust the master volume to the right level. I use a blues driver in front of it with everything set close to half on that and I get an amazing rock tone good for almost everything. Depending on how I play and what I set my guitar to, I can get screaming leads, powerful rhythms, and a great intense bluesy sound (neck pup) all with the same setting. This thing is very versatile and with the right pedals can get any sound you're looking for.

The effects....eh. I like a couple of the delay settings but thats about it. I use...i think the 3rd delay setting to add some body to some of my leads or arpeggiated chords. The reverb is ok, but I've heard better. Much better. Don't rely on these effects, they are really just a bonus and mediocre. If you like using effects, use your own pedals. I'm not taking points off for this b/c the amp itself deserves a 10 and the effects are really just a bonus.

Very solid. The tubes will die eventually, but other than that I don't forsee any problems. Only had it about a month so I can't rate it.

Never delt with them.

This amp can do what others more than 2x the price can't. Very loud too! No problem jamming with a band without a mic. I've been playing for 5 years. If it was stolen I would cry about my lost investment but I would get another one.

Bottom line: if you're even considering this amp, GET IT! You'll thank yourself later.

i love this amp for its simple features and basic settings, its like having a blank canvas where you can do blues/rock/metal (if you use pedals of course).
its got some nice (but simple) effects built in, a digital reverb that goes from 0-10 this sounds pretty good, then a rotary switch with delay/chorus/flanger effects, these effects are pretty basic (all set to different timings/settings) but still sound good.
i use this amp at home and it has a lot of power, could easily gig with it if i wanted to.
the tubes that came with it appear to be SOVTEK made, maybe one of the cheaper brands of tubes but they sound ok.
i looked on a website for amp tubes and it would cost about 50GBP to replace them all

the amp on its own has only 2-3 sounds, a clean bluesy tone, then when its turned up it has some nice rock sounds it seems to distort a bit with the gain at 10 and volume at about 3, this is loud enough to play at home.

it has a 12 inch speaker inside with an epiphone sticker on it, i might replace this for a celestion one.

seems dependable ive only had it a month though, since its a tube amp id have a backup if i gigged with it, the front panel and rear of the amp get Very hot from the tubes, i hope the wiring is ok inside...

havent dealt with them, seems to have a 5 year limited warranty with Gibson

this is a real nice amp for the price i paid id get another if it was stolen (or maybe the blues deluxe) these epiphone amps are really cool.

I'm not a fan of amps with lots of bells and whistles. I personally feel that your amp (by itself)and your guitar should be able to make the music without much help. So I was happy to see that you can completely bypass the 3 DSP effects all together and kill the reverb if you want. At that point all your left with is 15watts of AB tube power and it sounds really good for this set up and price range. (2 EL84 Power Tubes, 3 12AX7 Preamps). Usually everyone likes a little reverb in there anyway and I think this is some of the best sounding reverb that I have ever heard out of something this size. Its definately controlable and not overbearing. (But it can be set up so it sounds like your playing in a giant concert hall thats empty)It doens't have that tinny sound to it...probably complements of the tubes.
I also really appreciate that Epiphone decided to mount the speaker off center in the cabinent to balance the weight of the power transformer. As a result, you can pick the combo up by the handle and the weight is centered on it, unlike my late 70's Bass Man that tipped to one side when you picked it up.

Nothing short of outstanding. I have played a lot of Orange amps in this configuration (though with a little more power) and this amps keeps up just fine in the clean end. The tube break up (controlable via the gain knob) is excellant. However, I think that if you have a guitar with "good" pickups in it, you'll get better results than some of the cheaper standard hardware that is usually in our guitars. The tubes are all Soviet made Sovtechs. So I'm thinking about putting in some JJ power tubes to "cream" up the sound a little bit. This will help the overdriving of the tubes also (because EL84's contribute to the distortion, too). And if I decide that I still want more I may try some more expensive preamp tubes. But as far as an off the shelf amp goes, for this size it sounds great. Oh and I tried the 5 watt class A little brother,the Special, and the Standard BLOWS it out of the water in the Tone department. Seriously, spend the extra 40 bucks and get this amp instead. If you don't believe me that there is a night an day difference in tone between these 2, do what I did, plug them both in, turn them up and let your ears tell you which one is better.

I have not had this thing very long but I have taken it apart and compared it to other amps that I have owned. Inside I have found a very simple configuration with solid parts, spaced nicely inside it's mount (nothing looks shoved in there) and all the hardware is solid, and well constructed.
I wouldn't think twice about using this for a gig, though with any tube amp, I would make sure I had a set up spare power tubes (EL84's are cheap...15-20 bucks?) and an extra preamp tube just to be safe. The cabinet is solid, it has a strong handle thats anchored through the cabinet and into the metal chasis of the amp.

I have not had to deal with customer support. Though on their official website the amp is advertised as a "class A push-pull" amp. Obviously thats not possible, you can be one or the other. (Class A or Class AB) So if I ever did need tech support, I hope this is NOT an indication of the type of assistance that I can expect.

So I have been playing for about 8 years now and done some touring and recording. I wouldn't hesitate to take this amp on the road or in the studio. I think it sounds great, looks cool, functions well, and its really easy to dial in your "sound" that your looking for without fussing much. I would recommend this amp to anyone who is looking to spend a few hundred dollars on an amp and wants that "tube" sound. For this price, why not have the real thing!?!

This amp is okay on features. It's pretty bare bones which works for me. It has a DSP circuit, but if that isn't your thing, you can bypass it via footswitch. It's only one channel so to get a good gain sound out of it, you gotta use a pedal. I used this amp at gigs and it holds up great when you stick a mic in front of it. The best feature to me, is the master volume.

This amp can do vintage stuff very well. It stays clean even with the gain all the way up. If you want a natural gain, you need a pedal. It's great for blues. I run a fuzz pedal in front of it to get good classic rock tones.

I've only had this amp for a month or so, but it's worked great so far.

Never had to deal with them.

This is a great amp. If you want a straight up, no frills, blues amp, buy this...