My EPI Valve jr. MODS....

owwdatune · Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2007 7:08 am Post subject: My EPI Valve jr. MODS....

i'm on my 3rd one ...first was a combo that i did all the internal mods to & ended up giving it away to a kid down the street from me---then a head that i did the Bitmo mods & standby switch mods to....excellent & easy mods....sold that & the Avatar 2X10 cab i played it thru-(I can't stand 10" speakers !!)- to another guitarist that is still using both to gig with.. Very Happy

...just recently picked up another head......altho i enjoyed doing the mods & the resulting tonal improvements with the previous head, with this one I've opted to do it slightly different---as follows :......caps changed to Sozo caps....replaced stock OT with Hammond 125cse....retubed with Tungsol 12ax7 & JJ Eurotubes low biased el84.......i'm using a Line 6 Verbzilla reverb & a Danelectro Fish and Chips 7 Band EQ Pedal for tone shapeing and a Tube Juice attenuator to keep it at a reasonable get along with humans sound level ...running it into a LopoLine 1X12 cab (burgandy tolex/cane grillcloth) loaded with an Eminence Red Fang..out of the 3 i like this configureation best....very little modding done & to me it sounds the best of the three....at very little cost .....does it sound as good as my big buck amps ???....no.....but it sounds way better than some high dollar amps i've had in the past.....plus its cute
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--after modding a combo & 2 heads, i think i personally wouldn't recommend doing much to a head version at all !!....quite basically, for all but the most hard to please sound hogs, the head version run into a good quality cabinet/speaker will sound/perform marvelously-even stock without mods--of course i like to replace the stock tubes--for tone control, the use of an EQ pedal will enhance the tone immencely & allow you the option of tailoring your tone to suit you for any given medium-be it jazz-rock-blues-metal-whatever....simply by adjusting the sliders to the frequency level that sounds best to you for that medium --much better than any internal tone control mod...i use the EQ pedal with all my amps to help me tailor the tone to what i want...
...after having done all the gain mods etc to the previous 2 VJrs'... for this 3rd one, i opted to not tear into it with all the soldering etc-- i love clean headroom so i much prefer the use of my Hootchie Momma OD pedal to attain the bluesy OD i like for any extra gain, as opposed to the internal gain mods---i suppose for heavy metal/hard rock a simple distortion pedal would do for that sound...I use my Tube Juice attenuator to bring down the volume once i've attained the level of natural tube saturation i like from the amp...i use my Verbzilla for reverb....the only internal modding i did with this 3rd Vjr. was to change out/upgrade the stock OT to the Hammond 125cse ($41.00 including shipping)---nice improvement---& changed to Sozo caps--(i change all my caps to either Sozo or Hoviland---just my preference)--thats it.....and the little son-ofa-gun sounds darn fine for an EL84 amp !!..to my ears way better than the previous 2 !!........soooooo..since most of us already have the types of pedals i've mentioned---if not,-in keeping with the theme of the Vjr.- Danelectric & Behringer offer inexpensive models to choose from for at home or lite gig use....thats why i wouldn't recommend going the modding route---why spend more time & money to accomplish the same results you can get with pedals ( that offer more control variance)----of course i thoroughly enjoyed the modding process .......but this 3rd head is exactly what i want owwda the Vjr.---nice creamy sound at levels i enjoy at home--& the whole rig is even good for a jam session/small gig.
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owwdatune · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 5:56 am Post subject:

this site has some great stuff---especially describing all the parts & what the mods will do/affect >>> http://www.s2amps.com/docs/vj_kit_inst.pdf
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owwdatune · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:24 am Post subject:

go here for info as well >>> http://vj.minuteboard.com/m/b/go.html
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owwdatune · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:28 am Post subject:

and here >>> http://www.18watt.com/index.php .......this site has the most intense info anywhere---but its a big hassle to register/sign up
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owwdatune · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:32 am Post subject:

i like this site also >>> http://www.gibson.com/products/epiphone/forum/toast.asp?sub=show&action=topics&fid=4 ....very friendly/helpful place.
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owwdatune · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:40 am Post subject:

and not to forget the BitMo mods >>> http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZbrucehutcheon6pcz .......i used his mods on my last head & they work wonderful---& plenty easy to do.
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SAguitar · Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 1:18 pm Post subject:

Thanks, bro! That's some great research stuff... like walkin' into a Tone Library!

I'm havin' a ball moddin' my little Junior! Thanks for your advice on that, too!

I played Junior stock on and off for nearly a year, thinkin' and readin' 'n stuff, before finally deciding to jump in. I also had a combo Junior, but it was one of the first generation amps, and had a heck of a DC hum. I ended up selling it on Ebay.

Interesting side note: With the combo, I had that one ordered from MF, and then changed my mind, called them up and changed the order to a Junior Head. Somehow, they back the charge for the combo off my credit card, and still sent both of them. Six months went by, and they never asked for more money, so oh well! I sold the combo amp for 90 bucks on the 'bay, and that's what's financing my upgrading the Valve Junior Head.

BitMo seemed like the way to go for a newbie like me, and so far, it's been great, every step is a marked improvement. I've got the new tubes and transformer on order right now, so those will be going in pretty soon.

~T~, you are The Man! Cool

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stickler64 · Tadpole Joined: 10 Feb 2007 Posts: 18

I found that swapping in a jan philips 12at7 was truly magical. Brightened things up and gave a little extra headroom and vol. boost. The 12at7s are not expensive, yet. Try it and tell me what you think. The difference is remarkable!

SAguitar · Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 6:09 am Post subject:

... note to self: try 12at7, and report back... just do it...
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owwdatune · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:03 am Post subject:

yo SA.......hows about filling everyone here in on how your project went---what you did & how you like/dislike it & what you play it thru ??? ( I already know- but you forgot to let the AMP peeps here know !! ) Cool

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SAguitar · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:17 am Post subject:

OH! OK, well I better take care of that! Laughing

I did remember to do that on some other forum, so I'll paste in those posts here, and then do a more current update at the end. OK, here goes...

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I'm such a beginner with amps... I finally got my Epiphone Valve Junior on the bench this weekend, and did a few BitMo mods to it. Of course, I messed up somewhere in the middle of the project, and probably put 12 hours into what could have been a 3-4 hour project. I finally figured it out, though! And the little booger sounds great now! Cool

Step One: I put in a tone control with a big gain boost option on it. The tone control works like an early Fender amp, and yields a nice, wide range, very satisfactory. It works well with both my Tele and my Les Paul, which is usually a good test.

Step Two: I wired in a three-stage gain change switch. This was interesting (at least for me, the rookie), and tapped into two different places in the board. Eventually, I got it right, and these options take those 5 watts from a nice, clean tone (with just a little overdrive), to a moderate overdrive/crunch, and then to a full roar! This can be used in combination with the boost on the push-pull tone control to effectively produce 6 different gain stages from two simple controls.

Step Three: I put in a Standby Switch. No tube amp should be without one.

That's all I've done to Junior so far, but I can say that I am very happy with the improvements. I was impressed, but not really knocked out by its tone in stock form, but these upgrades make it a flexible, formidable little amp. It is able to achieve a wide range of tones, is very responsive, and a lot of fun to play. Cool

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Update on the Valve Junior Project!

Step Four: A Hammond 125cse output transformer was installed into Junior, and he went up another level. The clarity and power seemed to take a noticeable jump in the right direction. After the previous three steps, this one seemed to bring it all together and really focus the tone into a solid, shining beast. Junior just keeps getting better!

Step Five: I put in two new tubes (that's all of them!). Junior got a Tung-Sol 12AX7 and a JJ Eurotubes EL84 stuffed into his main board, and he's very grateful. The tone has become even more focused, with a new brightness on the high end that makes Teles sing, and Jr.'s loose bottom end got tightened up and more defined. Nice improvement!

Step Six: I got BiMo's 10-uator, assembled it, and attached it to the back panel of the Epi. This little attenuator works great, and now I can let Junior roar with all his 5 watt might, and still roll back the volume to a very nice level for practicing at home without bothering my wife in the next room. Very impressive! In addition to being an attenuator, this unit has a variable level, speaker-voiced line output so I can plug directly into a mixer for recording or live performance. Or I can use Junior now as a preamp, and run him into a bigger guitar amp. When going straight into a mixer, or recorder, and without a speaker plugged into Junior, the power resistor will engage act as a dummy load, protecting my little friend.

I am totally stoked about this little amp, and I've learned a bit about amps by going through all this. The Epiphone Valve Junior is a great place to start, and after a few mods, it can become an incredible little amp. Cool

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SAguitar · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:30 am Post subject:

I don't have one of the Epi extension cabs (yet), but I'm seriously considering getting one just to see what that's like. I know it would look great! For $130, it seems like a no-brainer.

Right now I'm just running Junior through an old closed-back Kustom cabinet I already had which I loaded with two Carvin 10" speaks, and it's rockin'. It doesn't sound boxy or anything, but I'd like to try it through a partially open-back cab to see if it would open up the sound a bit more like I expect it would. I'm happy with it now, but I might like that better!

The setup I've got now just makes one of the cutest little half-stacks I've ever seen! No bias here! Laughing

Recently, I picked up a JJ 12AT7 and swapped out the 12AX7, and it made a pretty subtle difference, at least to me, and sounded like I lost a little of the high end clarity that I had. I'm don't think I like it as much, so I'm probably going to go back to the 12AX7.

Junior has become my go-to amp around the house, and is the one I practice through most of the time. I am using a Boss Reverb RV-5 stompbox in front of him to put a little "sauce" on the tone, but nothing else.

Many thanks to ~T~ for all his suggestions, links, and encouragement through the Epi Valve Junior Project. I had a ball doing it, and am having even more fun playing through it! Cool

I'm a happy camper! Very Happy

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Dilapidus · Tadpole Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 20

SAguitar · Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 8:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks for clearing that up. I am really a rookie at understanding amps, so anything I can learn I'm thankful for!

Stay tuned,
Stan
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"I love the smell of hot solder in the morning. It smells like victory."