What's the catch? (epi valve junior content)

[dave_mc]

I tried the little epiphone valve junior combo yesterday. It's £130, while the head version is £120 (though I reckon I could talk them down to around £100, seeing as how that's even slightly higher than the price on the 'net).

It's awesome, especially for the price- in the last quarter turn of the volume knob, the speaker/cab did start to complain a little, though since I already have a cab, I could just get the head version (and save £10 into the bargain). I can't get the combo, as it doesn't have a 16 ohm speaker out :( .

does anyone have any experience with these? What's the catch? It just seems a little too good to be true...

As far as I can tell, these are the possible catches:

1) it'll be too loud through my 4x12 Laney with vintage 30's- thus defeating the purpose of a little 5 watt amp.

2) since it's only 5 W, it won't push the speakers in my cab hard enough, and won't sound as good as it could.

3) I'll end up buying another 1x12 or 2x12 cab to go with it if #1 or #2 is true, so I'll actually end up spending loadsa money. :(

4) It only has one knob- I doubt this is a problem though, it sounded pretty good as-is in the shop.

5) It has a tendency to spontaneously combust and burn my house down.

6) To finance the cheap price, there's actually a robot inside that'll let burglars into my house at night.

Basically, at the price, it seems like a no-brainer. I don't think there's anything (guitar-related) at a similar price which'll give me as much fun- most other low-wattage tube amps are £250-£300+.

(And before anyone says it, yes, I am getting BKP's soon.  :lol: )

As long as #5 and #6 aren't true. Although I guess they're unlikely.

Opinions/thoughts/comments/personal experience?

Cheers!

:drink:

[Twinfan]

A gutar playing mate of mine came round tonight and tried a few of my guitars through my VJ combo.  The only downside we found was that single coil guitars don't sound quite as good as humbucker equipped guitars though it.  It's not quite bright enough to get that single coil "cut". However, you could mod it to make it brighter (loads of info on the 'net) or just use an EQ pedal like we did.

I had the same thoughts as you re. head vs combo and I went for the combo.  I wanted a cheap practice amp and it's perfect.  The head would just about push a cab with V30s but you'd have to crank it.  I personally don't think the head would move enough air to overcome the V30s low volume bass and midrange honk though.

I would buy the combo, but also get a replacement ECC83 valve.  The stock EL84 is alright but the ECC83 they supply is very mushy and ill-defined.  I had an old Marshall one knocking about and it's brightened and cleaned the amp up a treat.

"www.iMuso.co.uk" are the cheapest on the 'net.  £98 delivered,

[dave_mc]

^ £98 delivered, eh? Interesting. I wonder if that includes Northern Ireland... I'll go look. Have you dealt with them before? gak does the combo for £88, but that excludes delivery- if their current postage costs are similar to what they used to be, that could bring things up byt £25...

Anyway, thanks for the reply, man, you seem to be the guy answering all my questions at the moment!

I guess my concern about going with the combo is that I'm kind of screwed options-wise if I decide I don't like the stock speaker- my cab is 16 ohm, i'd end up basically having to fork out for a new cab, since there aren't all that many decent 8" speakers around...

of course, if, as you say (and it sounds probable, or at least plausible) that it'll sound like junk through my 4x12, i'd end up buying a new cab anyway.

And the head, from what I hear, has dc-filaments (or something like that) to cut hum (though I didn't notice any hum when I tried the combo, to be honest).

what you say about single coils is worth a thought too- I tried it with humbuckers, and it did seem to like them.

Garg. I suspect it's one of those things- I won't know till I chance it, and by then it's too late.

The head's cuter, too.  :lol:

But you give it your recommendation (for either the head or combo), right?

:drink:

[Twinfan]

^ £98 delivered, eh? Interesting. I wonder if that includes Northern Ireland... I'll go look. Have you dealt with them before? gak does the combo for £88, but that excludes delivery- if their current postage costs are similar to what they used to be, that could bring things up byt £25...

I got my combo from them a couple of weeks ago.  Next day delivery if you order before 4pm.  They were spot on.

Anyway, thanks for the reply, man, you seem to be the guy answering all my questions at the moment!

No problem  :D

I guess my concern about going with the combo is that I'm kind of screwed options-wise if I decide I don't like the stock speaker- my cab is 16 ohm, i'd end up basically having to fork out for a new cab, since there aren't all that many decent 8" speakers around...

You'll like the stock speaker.  It's suprisingly good and really isn't worth an upgrade.  Honestly.

of course, if, as you say (and it sounds probable, or at least plausible) that it'll sound like junk through my 4x12, i'd end up buying a new cab anyway.

It won't sound like junk, just not as good as it could.  It'll not have enough treble coming through.

And the head, from what I hear, has dc-filaments (or something like that) to cut hum (though I didn't notice any hum when I tried the combo, to be honest).

Both the combo and the head are now "hum-less".  It was a problem with the early combos only.  The combos at iMuso are the new ones and they don't hum.  Serail numbers begin with "1205" on the hum-fixed versions.

what you say about single coils is worth a thought too- I tried it with humbuckers, and it did seem to like them.

Yep, they're a touch dark sounding which works well with 'buckers.  Easily fixed with an EQ pedal or different valves.

Garg. I suspect it's one of those things- I won't know till I chance it, and by then it's too late.

The head's cuter, too.  :lol:

Yep, but the combo's better value.  If you want to use it with different cabs then go for the head.  If you only ever want to use it with one type of cabinet, then get the combo instead.

But you give it your recommendation (for either the head or combo), right?

:drink:

Absolutely!

[dave_mc]

^ £98 delivered, eh? Interesting. I wonder if that includes Northern Ireland... I'll go look. Have you dealt with them before? gak does the combo for £88, but that excludes delivery- if their current postage costs are similar to what they used to be, that could bring things up byt £25...

I got my combo from them a couple of weeks ago.  Next day delivery if you order before 4pm.  They were spot on.

Anyway, thanks for the reply, man, you seem to be the guy answering all my questions at the moment!

No problem  :D

I guess my concern about going with the combo is that I'm kind of screwed options-wise if I decide I don't like the stock speaker- my cab is 16 ohm, i'd end up basically having to fork out for a new cab, since there aren't all that many decent 8" speakers around...

You'll like the stock speaker.  It's suprisingly good and really isn't worth an upgrade.  Honestly.

of course, if, as you say (and it sounds probable, or at least plausible) that it'll sound like junk through my 4x12, i'd end up buying a new cab anyway.

It won't sound like junk, just not as good as it could.  It'll not have enough treble coming through.

And the head, from what I hear, has dc-filaments (or something like that) to cut hum (though I didn't notice any hum when I tried the combo, to be honest).

Both the combo and the head are now "hum-less".  It was a problem with the early combos only.  The combos at iMuso are the new ones and they don't hum.  Serail numbers begin with "1205" on the hum-fixed versions.

what you say about single coils is worth a thought too- I tried it with humbuckers, and it did seem to like them.

Yep, they're a touch dark sounding which works well with 'buckers.  Easily fixed with an EQ pedal or different valves.

Garg. I suspect it's one of those things- I won't know till I chance it, and by then it's too late.

The head's cuter, too.  :lol:

Yep, but the combo's better value.  If you want to use it with different cabs then go for the head.  If you only ever want to use it with one type of cabinet, then get the combo instead.

But you give it your recommendation (for either the head or combo), right?

:drink:

Absolutely!

Thanks for the quick replies!

I actually tried the combo version- the speaker wasn't bad, but in the last quarter turn or so, you could tell it was starting to struggle.

Now, I'm a total noob, so maybe that was the mythical speaker distortion that tone hounds hanker after, and I'm just being some kind of retard. :lol:

i guess my major dilemma is this: If the combo had all the ohm options that the head had, I'd buy it. Like, right now.

Problem is, it doesn't.

Which means, if I buy the combo, and decide that I really don't like the speaker, I have to buy a new cab (there don't seem to be too many 8" speakers around, and 8" tends to sound "small", at least in my opinion).

Of course, on the flip side, if I get the head and don't like the sound through my 4x12, I have to buy a new cab anyway- in which case, I could just buy a cab to match the combo, and buy the combo instead. Also, I do think the head looks cooler (which shouldn't matter, I know, but there you go...). it's very cute, or something.

Arg. I posted this thread to prove that I wasn't indecisive. "I'll post this thread, buy the amp in a day or two, and that'll prove all the naysayers wrong!", I thought.

I suck.

:lol:

[Shag101]

I have the head through (2) 10" EV's.  The 5 watts can push a LOT.
I'd go with the head.  If you dont like it through your speakers, then you can buy a new speaker(s) cabinet.
If you get the combo and dont like the stock speaker, you'll limit yourself to finding a new 8" or a new cabinet and a bigger speaker, where as you might as well have bought the head since a combo to a cab takes more space.  
The best would be to drag your cabinet to the store your trying these amps out and plug it up.
For the price of the head, you really cant go wrong.
Throw an OD pedal in front of it and it will be a monster!!!!

[blue]

Dave, where stocks these?  is it in Belfast?  i'd love to give them a go, and would be very tempted by the head i think.

[Twinfan]

It really does depend what you're going to be using it for:

1)  Cranked for recording with your choice of cab?  Get the head.

2)  Low volume with pedals for practice? Get the combo.

[dave_mc]

^ ^ ^ (shag) i got to try it in the store with a 4x12 cab they had in stock- not mine, but as close as I figured I was going to get- no way I was dragging my 4x12 through the multi-storey carpark... :lol:

anyway, it sounded good, so I bought the head- but as usual, it always sounds quieter in the shop- it's pretty loud through my 4x12! Not "OMG 100 watt half-stack" loud, but pretty loud. with the volume around 11 o'clock, my parents were saying "you'd need to put your earplugs in"... :(

Anyway, I don't think I'm licked yet- I have a little vox pathfinder practice amp, it has an 8" speaker, I might first of all try to connect the VJ to it, and then if I can figure out if I can fit a decent 12" speaker in there (it's pretty big for an 8" combo), I might take the amp part out and try to use it as a cab, assuming it's not constructed from papier mache.

:drink:

^ ^ blue: i got it in music galleria in lisburn (about 8 miles west of Belfast), it's a pretty new shop there. http://www.musicgalleria.com/ There's another decent music shop in Lisburn too (Music Matters), so I guess if you went for a trip, you could amuse yourself for a while. Or else just head into Belfast, to the Emporium... :drink:

I don't think they have any left, though- they only had one of the head (which I bought) and the combo (which was already sold to someone else who had a deposit down on it). So I wouldn't make a journey without ringing them first... I guess they'll get more in eventually (they seem to be selling pretty well, and I'm not surprised!).

Twin: Thanks for all the help, man- I went with the head version (as I already said), mainly because of the increased options for the impedance/speaker outs, and also because I think the head looks really, really cool- it shouldn't matter, but it does! :lol:

It actually sounds pretty good through my laney 4x12 with vintage 30's- it doesn't sound wussy, that's for sure (and i've only had the volume up to about 11 o'clock so far).

:drink:

[Word Bearer]

Congrats on the new ampage

All this talk I've been seeing recently about the VJ and Laney's is really getting me have second thoughts about my rack setup.

[dave_mc]

^ :drink:

aye, those laney vc's rock for the price (in the UK, anyway).

[genocidal tendencies]

I've never seen this actually done, but I can't think why it wouldn't work. I think a 16ohm cab of V30s would have to have 16ohm individual speakers, correct? If so, you could piss about with the wiring a bit and put a 2 way switch on to select only one speaker or all four. Not sure how much of a difference it would make, and you'd have to be careful not to crank your engl through one speaker, but it might be worth thinking about.

[gingataff]

^
Presumably the switch would be in the circuit between amp and speaker, could the high output from the amp burn out the switch?

[genocidal tendencies]

You get switches in a lot of household applainces that run a lot more power than a guitar amp. Thinking about it you would need two switches but it'd be easy enough to put two on and duct tape them together or something.

[dave_mc]

^ i have no idea. :lol:

I'm half toying with just buying a decent speaker for about £40... I have a vox pathfinder practice amp lying around, it's only an 8" speaker, but it's quite a big cab for an 8", if you know what I mean. If I can get a 12" to fit, I might try that.

:drink: