The Basement - Epiphone Valve Junior demo

(please watch in high quality, the video's better but more importantly the sound is better!)

Notes:

Epiphone Valve Junior Combo, completely stock but with JJ tubes. Recorded with an MXL 4000 in figure-8 about 5 inches from the speaker, off axis. The mic went to a Studio Projects VTB-1 preamp, into a Firestudio Project. No compression or EQ was added, the signal's completely dry. I did manual level out the volume, turning the volume of the recording down a bit when the amp was turned louder, so the volume didn't get deafening.

Guitars:
Squier HSS Stratocaster
Squier Telecaster
Fender Classic Player Jaguar

Sorry for the bad playing and sporadic material (lots of repeating parts and switching around)! I was just trying to show how the amp breaks up at different volume levels, playing both soft and hard at each volume point with each pickup selection.

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• epiphone valve junior
• tube amplifier
• demo
• small amp
• squier stratocaster
• squier telecaster
• home studio
• recording

[Tronlegacy22]

dudes, so no joke, I was dumpster diving for computer parts and I found an excellent specimen that works perfectly. I decided to buy a guitar and now im learning how to play.

[jessegimbel]

@Tronlegacy22 Congrats man! What an awesome find. You'll have the opportunity to be starting to learn guitar while using a really great amp. That's a nice thing to have - normally people start out with crappy amps, and once you're getting decent you still feel like you suck, but really it's the amp holding you back. So when you're getting better, you'll actually sound better! I've got a Valve Senior now that I got in a trade and I LOVE it. Have fun!

[mrovantes]

Best review of the valve junior on YouTube. I've owned this amp 3 times (just bought it again!) and think it's the best. Almost vox'y in tone. But this video did show me that the fender classic player jaguar sounds like poop.

[jessegimbel]

@mrovantes b) false! You can't base your opinion of any piece of gear on one video. Play one yourself and then judge. I had a MIA Jaguar and after a few years of issues with it and never really being happy but still wanting the Jaguar sound, I traded it for a CP Jaguar that had just come out. Same sound, resolved issues. If this video shows you anything about sound, it's that this amp/speaker/mic combo isn't ideal for the sound. I stuck with the same setup so you can focus on the amp sound.

[userboy6]

i just watch Down River, dude were almost neighbors. i'm in Willow Grove. great voice BTW. i wish i could sign like that.

[jessegimbel]

@userboy6 Ah how about that, right around the corner! Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it!

[BabyButtSmell]

That's good how you made this demo. Showing the guitars and the pickups used, and recording with a good microphone. A demo that makes comparisons and makes sense, well, wonder of wonders.

[xr650r01]

Small tube amps are tasty. I dig it.

[MrMoneyHelper]

This was an excellent way to demonstrate the capabilities of this little amplifier. Thank you very much for doing it. I noticed that for me, there were some volume and pickup settings that sounded great and others somewhere in between dull and wonderful.

[dmedicFF]

Niice job, good review. I have the earliest version of the VJ combo, and of course had to live with the awful hum...till I replaced the jack, speaker, and tubes- sings nicely now I love it

[jessegimbel]

@userboy6 Yep, humbuckers'll buck the hum. Wiring is definitely something that a lot of venues don't think about, that and acoustics of course. It's a shame.

[userboy6]

the hum is coming from the wiring in the wall. it is picked up by the pick ups in the guitar and amplified by the amplifier. i've played in bars where the wiring was so old, probably not grounded somewhere that was so bad i wanted to pack up and leave. Epiphone realized this problem and tried to alleviate this problem by changing the wiring in the last version but too late the damage was done, they were not big seller due to bad reviews. my fender hums like crazy, my gibson not so much.