Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1906
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
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Posted on Jan 16 2007 06:02 PM
I tried out an Epiphone Valve Junior head last night through my single 15" JBL cabinet with and without my Fender reverb tank.. I played it for a few minutes before the band started to join in, as well as played a few songs with the rest of the band, and here's my thoughts.
For the price, its a pretty cool little head - it gets loud enough (barely) to keep up with drums, bass and guitar...But....
It gets dirty sounding way too early to get anything resembling a surf tone out of it. At about 5 on the volume, it was starting to overdrive - at 8, it was really dirty. It sounds great if you are into the overdriven tube sound.
Far too dirty to play surf, I think. It's a cool little head for doing other styles of music, but not surf in a traditional form. If it was cleaner sounding at full volume, I'd buy one.
Chris
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
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vulture
Joined: Jan 14, 2007
Posts: 68
australia
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Posted on Jan 16 2007 09:27 PM
There are plenty cheap mods to clean it up when it gets past 2.
www.valvejunior.com
and theres a monster 172 page thread at
www.18watt.com
most mods are just swapping the tubes out for no gain ones and changing the resistors.
im more of a DIY kind of person so this will sortof suit me
— image
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Jan 17 2007 03:49 AM
chris, fair assesment! usuable if you don't mind a bit of grit, and have a modrate hitting drummer. I git a bit better result I think with a more efficient speaker, but it will never be the dream surf sound.
vulture, no modding in the world will make this a loud clean amp. one EL84 just can't do it. if you're going for a gritty sound though, you might be on to something.
my 2cts
WR
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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Sonichris
Joined: Mar 06, 2006
Posts: 1906
Wear gloves - I'm in the Rockies
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Posted on Jan 17 2007 06:15 PM
Yeah - I heard WR used his for his SG101 comp mp3 this year, and it sounded great for that aplication. I had to try it and see. It'd be a cool amp for a blues, punk, etc, or a cool moderate volume home amp. I was hoping it would be a good item to have as a backup to a regular full sized head. I think the Crate powerblock is probably more what I'd need for a live backup amp.
Chris
— "You can't tell where you're going if you don't know where you've been"
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Jan 18 2007 01:07 AM
Sonichris
I was hoping it would be a good item to have as a backup to a regular full sized head. I think the Crate powerblock is probably more what I'd need for a live backup amp.
Chris
I hear you - I have both, and I agree fully, and to be honest, for surf music, the powerblock gets more use.
WR
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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WR
Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3832
netherlands
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Posted on Jan 19 2007 06:13 AM
Sonichris
Yeah - I heard WR used his for his SG101 comp mp3 this year, and it sounded great for that aplication.
the song bigwave on our myspace page was recorded with the epi as well, and I actually put some effort in getting a better sound. all a matter of taste, but i like that sound better. still not the best.
— Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."
https://www.facebook.com/The-Malbehavers-286429584796173/
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