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moosers
Published on 10/28/11 at 14:50
The Epiphone Valve Special is a guitar combo amp coming from a rare place, as Epiphone is known for their guitars and not for making amps. It's a small amp, although bigger than what it's wattage would imply as it's only got 5 watts and a single 10" speaker. It's a valve tube amp, but also has built in digital DSP effects including reverb. It has a 1/4" input in the front and the back has a 1/4" speaker output, which is connected to the internal speaker, as well as for a foot switch and for a separate external speaker.
UTILIZATION
It shouldn't be hard to get used to using the Epiphone Valve Special, as nothing here is close to rocket science. The front panel features parameters for gain, treble, middle, and bass, as well as control for the DSP effects. First, there's a button to mute the DSP section, followed by a knob to choose between the different effects, which including reverb, delay, chorus, and a flanger. It then has a reverb level knob and an overall master volume control. I don't think users will find that they need a manual.
SOUNDS
The sound of the Epiphone Valve Special is decent but nothing special in my opinion. Sure, it's a tube amp but it doesn't have the same girth and warmth that you get with some other tube amps out there. I've used the amp both with acoustic and electric and it sounds okay for either of them. The built in effects are also decent at best, although the reverb is better than the others and they are definitely nice to have. The amp will do a fine job for smaller venues or recording, but it still lacks a certain quality in it's sound that you'll get with more full on tube amps.
OVERALL OPINION
For the price, you're not going to find too many tube amps like the Epiphone Valve Special. There is always give and take however, as I don't think that this stacks up to other tube amps that I've used. It still will beat some solid state amplifiers if you're looking for that tube sound, but it's not up to par with something like a Fender Deville or Dexluxe even. It's super cheap so you can't really complain, but Epiphone is definitely best at making guitars!
UTILIZATION
It shouldn't be hard to get used to using the Epiphone Valve Special, as nothing here is close to rocket science. The front panel features parameters for gain, treble, middle, and bass, as well as control for the DSP effects. First, there's a button to mute the DSP section, followed by a knob to choose between the different effects, which including reverb, delay, chorus, and a flanger. It then has a reverb level knob and an overall master volume control. I don't think users will find that they need a manual.
SOUNDS
The sound of the Epiphone Valve Special is decent but nothing special in my opinion. Sure, it's a tube amp but it doesn't have the same girth and warmth that you get with some other tube amps out there. I've used the amp both with acoustic and electric and it sounds okay for either of them. The built in effects are also decent at best, although the reverb is better than the others and they are definitely nice to have. The amp will do a fine job for smaller venues or recording, but it still lacks a certain quality in it's sound that you'll get with more full on tube amps.
OVERALL OPINION
For the price, you're not going to find too many tube amps like the Epiphone Valve Special. There is always give and take however, as I don't think that this stacks up to other tube amps that I've used. It still will beat some solid state amplifiers if you're looking for that tube sound, but it's not up to par with something like a Fender Deville or Dexluxe even. It's super cheap so you can't really complain, but Epiphone is definitely best at making guitars!