Epiphone Valve Junior Head

This amp by Epiphone is a 5 watt tube amplifier head with just a single volume control. It was touted as being great for recording or perhaps small shows if put through a decently sized cabinet. It's got no other controls, no effects loop, no reverb, no anything... just a volume control and a power switch. It's powered by a single EL84 tube and really just is what is as far the amp. Some say it makes a great modding platform, and Epi's even done a few of them over the years like that too.

UTILIZATION

Getting a good sound is okay considering there is only one sound - on. It gets slowly more overdriven and louder as you turn it up but the core tone stays the same. Since there are no EQ controls, the tone is pretty much going to be factored by your guitar, cabinet and the volume you're playing at. You could run pedals in front of it to change the tone as well, but of its own merit the amp doesn't offer much flexibility.

SOUNDS

This amp sounds the same with whichever guitars I've tried. The tone is a little flat for my liking and I'd have liked at least a tone control in order to tame some of the brightness or add some more in. Of its own devices the amp sounds fairly generic and boring... I'm not particularly a fan of sterile sounding cleans with no control over the amount of breakup. I admire the attempt but I think only having a volume control is a serious limitation to this amp and it definitely turns me off. It doesn't really do much other than that one quasi broken up clean sound unless you modify it or use pedals.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Epiphone Valve Junior is an admirable attempt, but it falls short of the mark for me. The lack of tonal flexibility, the rather flat and lifeless sound and the fact that it's so dependent on other tonal factors make it really unappealing to me. They're about $150 new which is overpriced to me considering you're getting a box with speaker/input jacks and a volume control. If you are looking for something to mod, maybe try one of these, but in its stock form it's really not worth much, at least to me.

This is a 5 watt tube amp with a solid state rectifier. It has two tubes: a 12AX7 and an EL84. There is one input, one volume knob and one on/off switch and thats all. It has jacks for a 4,8, or 16 ohm speaker configuration. I have the above pictured version with the red covering on the face which I believe is slightly improved from the earlier blue version but I'm not aware of what the actual improvements are. The construction of the cabinet is unusually solid and inspires extra respect for the amp. Even though the amp is extremely minimalist in terms of features I'm ranking it high because thats whats attractive about it i.e. its simplicity.

UTILIZATION

The amp could not be easier to use obviously. As you turn up the volume the sound goes from clean to dirty. At full volume the amp is surprisingly loud which is not a plus because the purpose of a low wattage amp is to make overdriven sound at low volume levels. At full volume through a Marshall cabinet the amp is almost just loud enough to play in a band with if you have a power drummer playing an old drum kit but not quite.

SOUNDS

This amp is most suitable for recording and practice at home. I use mine with a Weber attenuator to keep the volume down when turning up. I play mine through a single cabinet with a 12 inch Celestion G12H30 speaker. The amp produces an immediate somewhat brittle type of sound that I rightly or wrongly associate with class A amps. It is not as warm a sound as I get from my other more normal tube amps. The sound has a fidelity which lends itself to recording I think because the amp is very quiet and the notes you play are very clear,tight & immediate. The amp starts to really distort with the volume knob about halfway up depending on what pickups your playing. At full volume the amp produces a very distorted singing like tone that is excellent for lead but probably to harsh for rhythm except in small well placed doses. At about 3 oclock the amp sounds better for rhythm and produces a sound that sounds closer to power tube distortion than preamp tube distortion and thats good.

OVERALL OPINION

I do not recommend this amp as your only amp because its too limiting. This amp is more suitable as a second amp to practice through or use to add variety to your recordings. These amps can be bought new for only $150 and used for $100 and thats part of the attraction. I believe they have been big sellers and now other companies are offering alternatives in the same wattage and price range. The amp is cool and will probably maintain its market value over time but for me its too brittle sounding to be something I can fully love but from what I can tell many other people love em.

All-tube amp 12AX7 / EL84
5 watts good
Between 1 jack, 3 hp output April 8 and 16 ohms

USE

There's no easier!

SONORITS

I like particulirement clean sounds, playing blues and reggae
I play with a Ibanez sz320 and pti korg AX3G for effects
faonne the sound with his guitar and depending on the game, depending on the micro utiliss and tones
I think changing lamps to delay the saturation of the beast and change my original microphone easel that does some task .. (a pearly gates no doubt)
I manufactured a cabinet in which I put a emminence from a fender blues junior

NOTICE GLOBAL

I use normment fun for a week, suddenly my custom tube 12 that I find very good is acuellement in unemployment ....
this is my first all-tube sound and actually obtainable with any lamp is not a legend, it sounds so good you almost seems to play better; beautiful harmonies come individually
A 88th the head it's a big deal I think.

Head 5W all-tube amp.
A knob, an input, output 4, 8 and 16 ohms.
Good build quality, not absolutely cheap.
Look fabulous.
Information easy to find on the net more technical.

UTILIZATION

B # tch, please ...

SOUNDS

It sounds great, and you turn the knob, the more it saturates point. Too powerful to play back in the apartment, but at low volumes it is suitable if the HP is not dependent on the potato that he sends. At worst, the acquisition of an attenuator for a 5W is not death.
His natural style is rock, but it supports very well the pedals gain, which opens to all styles. Good compliance with it too ...
A guitarist can not not have fun with this kind of toy.

OVERALL OPINION

I learned to really serve me an all-tube amp with this, even if it was not my first.
Purchased at the base to play at home without détapisser, but big mistake, too powerful to be pushed without disturbing.
Of its simplicity, it has allowed me to really realize easily the effect of a change in lamp preamp, find my taste in the material, the same for HP.

Considering the price, overall quality, versatility and look, and with 5 years back, for my use as side / buff / fun / homestudio / deco amp, I stick him on October 1st sincere.