Help me find a new guitar amp!

BradG · Post by **BradG** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:39 pm

Champs rule. With a good stompbox and a well placed 57, you can make 'em sound HUGE too!

mingus2112 · Post by **mingus2112** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:49 am

If you were interested in the Hot Rod Deluxe, check out the Blues Jr. and the Pro Jr. Both really hot amps. (and on the cheap) I also have a BLUES Deluxe which I think sounds worlds better than its Hot Rod counterpart.

Listen to a bunch of amps. At the end of the day it's your sound.

-James

wesimel · Post by **wesimel** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 4:53 pm

i second the blues jr. i bought mine used for 300, and i love it. i think its sounds much better than my friends blues delux - the only down side is that it doesnt have channels, so if you're wanting to go that route, you're pobably gonna have to spend some money.

i'm actually surprised the blues jr didnt get mentioned before. it seems to be the pretty standard amp for your situation, small, sounds great, cheap, and decently versatile. i'm sure there's a tech near you that does mods to it too, to give it a little more bottom end (its just one 12).

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 6:36 pm

Pro, Jr.

Trust me, or at least try one.

Cyan421 · Post by **Cyan421** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:13 am

have you seen the amps from epiphone. They have a newish line of amps bassed on a five watt class A tube design. I just ordered the 15 watt one for $260 because the 5 watt head version (the one I really wanted) isnt available untill june or july.

I played Epi valve at GC the other day and loved it. I thought it could use a little more high end. I saw a mod somewhere that a guy put a bright swtich on it, but that was the smaller one, without the eq section. Also played the blues jr and pro jr. very different flavor than the epi, yet equally cool. It seems that i read that it had a lot to do with the fenders using 6v6 (?) in the power section and the epiphone using el84's.....

lyman · Post by **lyman** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:21 am

peavey classic 30. you'd be suprised, it sounds very good. swapping out the tubes might be a good idea though.

chovie d · Post by **chovie d** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:42 am

my buddy has a vintage classic 50 thats dead...I'm pretty sure its just a tube problem and keep buggin him to have it looked at but it just sits there gathering more dust.

Cyan those 5 watt epi heads have been available for about a month now

Cyan421 · Post by **Cyan421** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 2:26 pm

Where did you see the Epiphone valve jr head? I think you may have seen it for sale, but its not shipping untill june or july. This is what sweetwater, musicians friend, american musical supply, 123music.com, and zzzounds all say. I looked and looked for two days and found no one that are acctually currently shipping, lots of places want you to pre order it.

nlmd311 · Post by **nlmd311** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:39 pm

I got the Epiphone Valve Jr. head last month from MusiciansFriend. The thing is that they weren't originally going to be available until July, but there was a limited run put out (it seems) and I jumped on it as soon as possible.
I don't know if you guys have checked, but they have them back in stock right now at musiciansfriend.com . Music123.com is out temporarily. They could have them back in at any moment, or not again until July.
That said, I wanted to suggest the Vavle Jr. head with a 1x12 Avatar cab. You'd be looking at around $370 total and have a pretty strong, "custom" setup (custom as you would be able to pick the speaker which would best suit what you want to do rather than just sticking with the stock of a combo, or having to upgrade). The great thing about the Vavle Jr. head is that it is about the exact same size as a 1x12 cab, so if placed on top of the Avatar G112, it would be just like a serious combo.
I've got my Vavle Jr. head running into an Avatar 2x12 with one Vintage30 and one G12H30. I love it.
I'd also second the mention for the Fender Pro Jr. I've been wanting one of those for a while...
The Valve Jr. can get loud though. Even for 5 watts, this would be more than too loud for a dorm if cranked. Not a problem if you are using hotter pick ups, or pedals when looking for earlier breakup/distortion.

-Darrill

Cyan421 wrote:Where did you see the Epiphone valve jr head? I think you may have seen it for sale, but its not shipping untill june or july. This is what sweetwater, musicians friend, american musical supply, 123music.com, and zzzounds all say. I looked and looked for two days and found no one that are acctually currently shipping, lots of places want you to pre order it.

mingus2112 · Post by **mingus2112** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 8:01 pm

vvv wrote:Pro, Jr.

Trust me, or at least try one.

My roomate just got one of those. It's VERY awesome. The only reason that i'd reccomend the blues jr before that one is the master volume. If you're looking for a low volume overdrive, the blues jr can do that. now. . .the pro jr is $100 cheaper and sounds BETTER at 8 or so that you can get the jr at 2, but you can get more sounds out of the jr.

Just something to think about. . .i fully endorse both though!

-James

gutsofgold · Post by **gutsofgold** » Tue May 02, 2006 2:24 pm

is the blues jr any louder than the pro jr? i know the blues has a 12" and the pro has a 10" but both are 15watt so im not sure which would be louder?

Cyan421 · Post by **Cyan421** » Tue May 02, 2006 5:33 pm

nlmd311 wrote:I got the Epiphone Valve Jr. head last month from MusiciansFriend. The thing is that they weren't originally going to be available until July, but there was a limited run put out (it seems) and I jumped on it as soon as possible.

-Darrill

I guess I was away from the TOMB and music stuff for a few months or just wasn't paying attention. I really bumbed that now I have to wait three months. I guess I will spend that time fixing the random 1-12" cab that it will look like the epi valve jr head. I probably need to find a better (more correctly voiced) speaker cause the one thats in it now was originally intended for bass guitar.

nlmd311 · Post by **nlmd311** » Tue May 02, 2006 7:08 pm

Cyan421,
Where did you order the Valve Standard (that's the 15w, right?) from? If you haven't already received it, you may be able to cancel your order, or just return it when it arrives. I'm not knocking it, I am just thinking since the Jr. is the one you wanted and at last check they still have them available through Musiciansfriend.com, you might as well just take the shipping loss on the 15 watt and try to pick up the one you wanted.
If you already received it, and that is what you are talking about modifying then, cool... take some pictures if you do it.
I imagine the 15 watt is going to have a bit of it's own tone compared to the 5 watt Jr. They are a loud 5 watts and depending on your pick up will start to break up anywhere between about halfway to 3/4 of the way up. Then again, I think the 15 watt has a master volume which could be useful in it's own right.

As far as speakers, I am really liking the Vintage 30/G12H30 combination with the Valve Jr. I could definitely hear a Greenback matching with it perfectly for some styles/playing. That's my next "guitar" investment.

Can't beat the Valve Jr. for $99. I play it every day.

-Darrill

Cyan421 · Post by **Cyan421** » Wed May 03, 2006 1:59 pm

UPS says its supposed to arrive tomarow. I checked musicansfriend.com just now and it says Due 5/12/06. Well I could probly sell it to GC for the price I paid. They have one on the floor here for $399!! Idiots. I played it. Yes its plenty loud at 3. And it has a master volume so it can get pretty loud and stay clean. The only thing I disliked was the eq section. It needs a bright switch. I saw a mod where a guy added that, but it was on the valve jr. combo. Shouldnt be to hard make it work on the valve standard. Definately want to post some pics for the modders of what the eq section looks like. And I think the DSP section needs to go also.

I will probly just buy the head in a few months anyway. I mean $99 class A all Tube. Unbeatable!
Yeah I looked at the dimentions of the head and its pretty much exactly the same as the 1-12" cab I have. I think that would look pretty sweet. I need to find out where to get the vinyl and the metal corner thingers. I looked at the vintage 30 and the G12H30, those are a bit more expensive than I was hoping for. I saw a blue something speaker on a site selling champ clone diy kits but i can't find that page now so I don't know the brand of that speaker. I know it wasnt a celestion.

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