Epiphone Valve Jr Clearance/price hike? & vs Kustom 12 t

TheGreatOne · Post by **TheGreatOne** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 6:50 pm

I just bought one of the valve lr's from my local retailer for $119+tax. And I'll keep buying them at that price for as long as possible b/e sure as hell gibson will raise the price to $300 any day now and discontinue them in a year....SHAZAM!!! Instant collectible

TheGreatOne · Post by **TheGreatOne** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 7:03 pm

sorry about all the typos above...and to comment on an earlier post about using small combos as heads....I've done this in my home recording for years. A couple of examples are Fender's Bronco and the Vox Pathfinder. They don't move a lot of air when used like this but the tones are cool and easy to record.

nlmd311 · Post by **nlmd311** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 10:03 pm

Yeah, definintely. That is the main reason I love smaller combo amps. Great running them through speaker cabinets. I just thought what chovie_d's friend did was extremely cool and think it rules even more that they are going to be selling a "head" version of the junior and for $99, it blows my mind even more. The Pathfinder is one of my favorites, but can't wait to see what the valve junior can do.

-Darrill

TheGreatOne · Post by **TheGreatOne** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 10:23 am

Heres a question about the valve jr...why the 4 ohm speaker? I think thats an odd choice considering its not hardwired and the gigantic majority of cabinets are 8 ohm

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 11:36 am

It's more efficient, thus a little louder.

Bear's Gone Fission · Post by **Bear's Gone Fission** » Sun Feb 12, 2006 1:11 pm

The stock speaker is a Weber Signature Series ceramic mag. IMO, that makes it worth spending a bit more for the combo than the head version. The ceramic will probably match better than an alnico, too, sounding more solid and "there" in the bass, and a little less bright up top. Certainly it will generally sound better through an external cab with bigger speakers, but the combo form adds some utility.

My understanding is that the PCB board layout can be problematic for noise, but it can be fixed, and it's a simple little design. Generally, I thought it sounded pretty damned good when I did a test run in the store. (The Gretsch Electromatic hollowobdy probably helped in that assessment - stupid cheap for a guitar that good.)

Bear

TheGreatOne · Post by **TheGreatOne** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 2:41 pm

"My understanding is that the PCB board layout can be problematic for noise, but it can be fixed, and it's a simple little design. Generally, I thought it sounded pretty damned good when I did a test run in the store. (The Gretsch Electromatic hollowobdy probably helped in that assessment - stupid cheap for a guitar that good.)"

I saw the innards of the gibson les paul amp today...I can't imagine that the epi is much different...its true that the amp is noisy but I just set a '62 Les Paul (the SG model) down after playing thru that amp...very cool tones at all volumes...the plan is to do some tinkering to reduce the noise on the one I use, and leave the one I bought today in the box, in a closet, for 5-7 years...hahahahaha

linus · Post by **linus** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:36 pm

I had the mods done to mine to quiet it down.

Changing the AC current to the tube to DC and improving the grounding. I think a value of a resistor in the gain stage was changed to improve the gainstaging. I might be wrong about the description(I'm not a tech guy). It made an improvement but there is still a bit of a background hum to this thing. However, it is a quiet hum and the amp is totally useful and sounds great.

the velour fog · Post by **the velour fog** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 4:45 pm

linus wrote:I had the mods done to mine to quiet it down.

Changing the AC current to the tube to DC and improving the grounding. I think a value of a resistor in the gain stage was changed to improve the gainstaging. I might be wrong about the description(I'm not a tech guy). It made an improvement but there is still a bit of a background hum to this thing. However, it is a quiet hum and the amp is totally useful and sounds great.

how much did it cost to quiet it down? i have one at home right now, but i was planning on returning it cause it's so noisy.

lysander · Post by **lysander** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:45 am

Something new from Epiphone: Valve Junior Head.

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?Pro ... ctionID=13

nlmd311 · Post by **nlmd311** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:00 am

lysander wrote:Something new from Epiphone: Valve Junior Head.

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?Pro ... ctionID=13

Yeah. I posted that on the first page... only thing that sucks; it won't be available until mid-July.

I'll be curious to know if they manage some of the noise issues people are complaining about between now and then with that version.
I think I am just going to save up and get the combo, tap it out to an external cab every now and then and if I really like it buy the head version when it comes out.
I just love stuff like this.

-Darrill

linus · Post by **linus** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:42 am

Parts and labor plus upgraded NOS tubes ended up costing almost $100. Seems like a lot to put into a cheap amp but still seems like a bargin to me.

thegunshyboy wrote:
linus wrote:I had the mods done to mine to quiet it down.

Changing the AC current to the tube to DC and improving the grounding. I think a value of a resistor in the gain stage was changed to improve the gainstaging. I might be wrong about the description(I'm not a tech guy). It made an improvement but there is still a bit of a background hum to this thing. However, it is a quiet hum and the amp is totally useful and sounds great.
how much did it cost to quiet it down? i have one at home right now, but i was planning on returning it cause it's so noisy.

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:50 am

nlmd311 wrote:
chovie d wrote:here is a pic of his vavlve jr. half stack..Aw, dont you just wanna hug that wee thing?
http://thousandsmusic.com/epi112.jpg
Most likely the coolest thing I have seen in a long time!

-Darrill

If you like those then check out Carr Amps Hammerhead. http://carramps.com/carrframeset.html

A little different price range though.

KFT · Post by **KFT** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 2:46 pm

Just a heads up for anyone interested in getting one of the combo amps:

I went to the GC President's Day sale this afternoon and picked up a Valve Jr. for $89.99

This is $30.00 off the "normal" price.

nlmd311 · Post by **nlmd311** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 5:53 pm

shamrock recording wrote:Just a heads up for anyone interested in getting one of the combo amps:

I went to the GC President's Day sale this afternoon and picked up a Valve Jr. for $89.99

This is $30.00 off the "normal" price.

I just talked to someone at the Guitar Center here in Atlanta who told me the "sale" was $119. Then said he would go down to $109 for me. Said there was no way they could do $89.99 since $88.99 was cost. He seemed like a nice guy and either the sale varied store by store, or this guy just didn't get the memo.
I guess I missed out again.
Thanks for the heads up though.
Glad you were able to pick one up at that price! That rules!

-Darrill

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Epiphone Valve Jr Clearance/price hike? & vs Kustom 12 t

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