Epiphone Valve Standard 112 Combo

Just an update... Gibson emailed me back and said it is a Class A amp, and didn't know why in the info packet that came with it said class AB. Had it about 2 months now and still love it stock. Last reviewer had a great point of it not having high gain sizzle to it, even with high gain pedals.

Love it.

Still only had it a couple of months, will review again in about 6 months so as not to give another honeymoon review. So far I still say that with my outboard effects, it is "the sound" I was looking for.

twice in two months it momentarily lost the signal for a split second, don't know if it's the amp or in my pedal line, but who knows, the way this sounds if it cuts out twice every couple of months, I really don't care.

I'll let others talk about this because I had a problem with mine and that's why I'm writing this review.

I play mostly blues but that's not why I'm writing this review.

OK, here we go. This amp runs the output tubes so freaking hot I'm suprised they don't melt. From day one the output tube's plates glowed slightly after about 15 minutes use. I took it back and got another one and then yet another. Finaly I just opened it up and looked inside. With the help of Gibson Tech support who sent me a schematic I located R24 which is the cathode bias resister. It was called out as a 120 ohm which it was, in my opinion, too low. I changed it to a 180 ohm. This works much better and is much more in line with common practice. The amp runs fine now without all the burning smells they used to make. I've run it for 24 hour straight without issues.

They were great and very helpful. A lot of amp builders won't send schematics to people for whatever reason. Gibson rules here.

Once modded I like this amp but not so much that I would buy another. MF is selling them for something like $250 delivered which is a great deal as long as you don't get a hot one like I did.

2005, 1x12, 3 12ax7, 2 El-84, Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, DSP effects, Reverb, standby, on/off. Extra speaker jack, detachable power chord, footswitch included for dsp on/off. One channel, 15 watts. Also, this like a 4/5 closed back combo--adds to the bass and projection while still giving the tubes enough circulation. Cab's pretty big compared to the competition, which gives a nice and full sound.
As far as I'm concerned, they should have forgotten about the DSP effects since they pretty much suck and add an incredible amount of hiss to the signal. The only one I'm ever tempted to use is the slapback delay setting, but this is only if I have my floor pedal delay unit set for something else.

Using a Les Paul Classic with Duncan Antiquities and my pedal board (OD, Dist., Wah, Trem, Chorus, Delay, Vol. pedal, EQ--not in that order, of course.
BASIC AMP SOUNDS: Holy Shite! This amp sounds great!!!! There's some discrepancy about whether this amp is Class A or Class A/B--it sure sounds like class A to me-- rich, full, PHAT. Responsive to pick attack! It blooms!! It sings!!! At decent performance volumes (assuming you mic it and use the amp as a stage monitor)can get anywhere from a nice, fat, ringing clean to a really smooth, fat, sustaining distortion which reminds me of Clapton's tone from the live stuff from the 1960s. Lots of Bass and NO HARSHNESS IN THE MIDS OR HIGHS! Yea!!!! I HATE spikey and harsh highs and mids and as the others have noted below, this is not a bright amp--but for me, bright enough, actually, just right! I don't know if it's the speaker or not, but the low end can get pretty farty and flabby with the gain set higher, which can make the lower end of chords kind of mushy, but the higher gain settings are absolutely amazing for single note work, even on the low strings, notes bloom and sing--the last time I heard anything like this was on a 1500.00 used Kendrick at GC.
I usually run it just on the verge of breaking up for a nice and fat clean--Gain set at about 10:00-11:00 and the Master dimed. This amp really has a vintage sound (from the 50s through the late 60s).

TUBES: The el 84s are stock sovteks, I haven't popped the back off to check on the preamp tubes yet, probably sovteks too. I don't plan on changing ANYTHING with the tubes--not with the tone I'm getting from what's in there now!! And I'm usually a real tweak freak.

SPEAKER: Don't know what it is since all it has on the back is a plain Epiphone label. It's a ceramic magnet though, and I think (judging from the back of the speaker) it's a smooth cone, not ribbed like a Celestion. This may be why I get the flab at higher volumes/gain but it might also be why it has such a smooooth tone over all. I don't plan on replacing it, but I might pop in a Greenback I've got around the house to compare.

DSP: I don't waste my time--they just get in the way of the really great inherent tone of the amp--when they're off though they really are out of the circuit (you can tell because everything sounds so much better when they're off).

REVERB: It's digital, and if set too high creates a pretty strong hiss. I keep it low. The sound is pretty good, but it needs to have a longer tail--it sounds like it's coming from a VERY short tank.

Again, this amp has a GREAT inherent/basic tone--it deserves a 10, especially for $299.00 But, since the reverb isn't all that great and the DSP, if engaged, gets in the way, I have to nick a point.

I've pretty much said everything I've wanted to say above. I've played for more years than I want to admit and have gone through all kinds of gear. Trust me, for the bucks and even for a whole lot more, you'd be hard pressed to get better tone.

The other review pretty much nailed this...inability to turn reverb on/off and a lack of a level knob for the onboard effects. Other than that, it has everything you need

This little amp is great for blues, jazz and classic rock right out of the box. It reminds me of a fender champ with the high's rolled off. I like some of the onboard effects, especially the slap echo sounds I can get with the delay. I really like the reverb. Plenty to
spare.woks great w/distortion pedals and it actually seems to respond better to stompboxes than my Marshall or Randalls. An Eq pedal will give you some of the high end you might be missing.

I mostly play on a Music Man Sub 1 and an ESP Hybrid. The humbuckers on the music man come out a lot brighter than the Esp. I really like the clean-to-bluesy tones I get from the coil split setting on my hybrid (turning off one coil in a humbucker to make it a single coil). Playing with the gain cranked sound's like Jimi Hendrix in the low end, basically really raunchy and farty. This doesn't really suit my tastes. Using a distortion pedal with the gain around 8:00 breaks up nicely. I actually got some good high-gain sounds with my Boss DS-1, which usually sucks monkey ass. I can't wait to try a Rat pedal with this thing!

The speaker is ok...it'll sound a little shitty right out of the box because it really needs breaking in. I did this by setting the amp up in the closet, turning it on with the gain and bass cranked and leaning my guitar against it so it fed back in the lower register and leaving the room for a couple of hours. After breaking in it was a lot clearer and a little less farty, but I still think I'm going to replace it with one of my Eminence M12's to get a little more clarity and high end sparkle. I believe the stock speaker is a Weber signature series, but I could be mistaken.

I play punk rock, hardcore and 70's-style rock and metal. You can do it all with this amp, but it'll need a little help.

hasn't busted yet...but I'll keep you posted.

I've been playing for 12 years. My main amp is a JCM 900 with El 34s played through an ampeg v-4 bass cab reloaded with greenbacks. I bought this amp so I could get some less traditional tones at lower volumes but I plan on using it for gigs. As far as value, this thing is either going to go up in price as it gets discovered, or it'll drive down the prices of other small tube amps...I'm just glad I got one now!

I haven't seen any reviews on this yet so I figured I'd post one. I only have about five hours on this so I will do another post in a few weeks/months...

Now depending where you look, it's either a Class A or a Class AB amp. Epiphone's and MF's website both say it's a class A, but then in the info packet that comes with it, it says only the Jr. and Special are class A's, and this is a class AB push/pull setup, I emailed Gibson and they said they would check to see which one is right.

Comes with 3 12AX7's in the preamp, and 2 EL84's on the power side. 16 DSP, 15Watts of power, reverb, 12in speaker and the Standard comes with the footswitch to turn the effects on and off

Wish you could turn off the reverb with the footswitch but you can't

Very smooth sound to it. Not really a rock amp by itself. To my ears when the gain switch is turned towards max, it sounds like "summer of 69" type of distortion. Not bad but it isn't much. Cleans sound good. The reverb seems to almost have to get to the 2 or 3 O'clock position before there is a noticable difference The EQ is in the same fashion... not super sensitive, but nothing an EQ pedal can't fix. The are a couple of DSP settings that are usable, but I don't like them all.

I hooked up my favorite distortion pedal in front of this, the korg 104ds, and wow, this thing just rips for rock/metal. The harmonics are easier on this than anything I have played before. It just squeels with the slightest pinch. Great sustain too. Smooth buttery sounds just sing out of this, and this is with the stock speaker, which I do plan to replace, cuz this one isn't the greatest.

I would say with your favorite pedals in front of this, any sound is possible. It sounds good at low volumes, bedroom levels,and higher volumes where it starts to sing more. At low volumes there is a slight buzz to it, but start playing and you will forget all about it.

brand new, but has 5 year warranty. One I tested at guitar center had a slight buzz to it when played loud but the one I received from MF does not.

It's made in China so the verdict is out on this. But if it holds out, I will be a happy man.

don't know, we will see if I get a response from my email.

I got this when MF dropped their price 100 bucks and had a 20 dollar coupon. OUTSTANDING value. With the money I saved, I plan on getting a good speaker, and possibly new tubes, but I like the ones in it with the distortion pedal in front of it. For $280, to get a new tube amp that sound this good is amazing.

I play mostly a Gibson SG and Les Paul through this. Both sound great. My other current amp is a Randall. I have had tube amps before but were too damn loud for the house now as I get older, but I missed the tube sound. I tried out several lower priced tube amps and some higher ones, but settled on this. To me, with my distortion pedal hooked up, I liked it better than the Peavey ValveKing, a Laney AOR, better than my old Crate Stealth, and better than a Marshall TSL. But remember that was testing the others with their own distortion/overdrive. I never hooked my pedal up to those. I was searching "for that elusive sound" without having to hook up pedals to achieve it and didn't find it in those other amps.

This little Epiphone gets close to the sound I was looking for with a little help and for the cost is Unbeatable.