hot rodded epiphone valve junior head in progress

[danwelsh]

Hi guys, i modded the crap outta this head and am still not done but i figured i post and add to it as i go, i've been following these mods from http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/squawk-box/186850-epiphone-valve-junior-mods.html ...just amazing so far with the mods, i did pretty much all of the resistor changes... i used 1/4 watt resistors in parallel to get the proper values as i needed 1 watt and figured i might as well use what i already had an abundance of (my dmm had a workout lol), added a master volume, and tone control and bright switch so far, i still have to do the standby switch, and some cap changes and a few other cosmetic surprises , I bought this from my buddy for a 100 bucks and at first i found it to sound too muddy and farty, and didn't really like just having a volume pot alone, now i have wayyy more headroom and the head just sounds 500% better....i'm some glad i bought it. I'll post gut shots after i do the cap changes.

[raven174us]

Nice! I've always wanted to get a valve Jr and mod it. They just seem like they would be really fun to tinker with.

[Jabulani Jonny]

I'm jealous.  I've been looking hard at these as a practice amp set up.  I played through a buddy's once and I still think it's some of the best recorded tone I've ever gotten. 

[danwelsh]

for a hundred bucks i can't complain whatsoever.....especially since you guys help mod whatever i got....i really didn't need it but my friend needed some coin so i helped him out

[danwelsh]

Nice! I've always wanted to get a valve Jr and mod it. They just seem like they would be really fun to tinker with.

that they are man, it's unbelievable what can be done to these....epiphone just wanted to release a cheap tube amp

[danwelsh]

I'm jealous.  I've been looking hard at these as a practice amp set up.  I played through a buddy's once and I still think it's some of the best recorded tone I've ever gotten.

sell it to you?

[flanagan0718]

I remember when these came out (or were reissued), I was working at Daddy's Junky Music and I had a chance to buy one for cheap. But at the time I had no money because i was working at a music store...funny how that works. Any ways I've wanted to get one for a few years now. Nice job Dan. Looks great!

[danwelsh]

I remember when these came out (or were reissued), I was working at Daddy's Junky Music and I had a chance to buy one for cheap. But at the time I had no money because i was working at a music store...funny how that works. Any ways I've wanted to get one for a few years now. Nice job Dan. Looks great!

it ain't done yet dude...gimme a week

[flanagan0718]

I remember when these came out (or were reissued), I was working at Daddy's Junky Music and I had a chance to buy one for cheap. But at the time I had no money because i was working at a music store...funny how that works. Any ways I've wanted to get one for a few years now. Nice job Dan. Looks great!

it ain't done yet dude...gimme a week

Looking forward to the finished product.

[Jabulani Jonny]

A demo would be awesome too.   

[wgc]

I bought 2 broken heads on eBay about two years ago, with intent to make 1 good one after years using of rack mounted gear.

Upon arrival, the problems with each were visible within 5 min of disassembly and easily fixed.  A bit muddy and farty as described. 

Modded 1 to Marshall and the other to vox.  Not bad at all, need to get some tubes though since the ones in there are pretty whipped but free from a friend, also need to get my 1x12 out of storage. 

Great fun for the $$ and also the catalyst for me getting into building pedals.

[culturejam]

Great work so far!

I modded the holy hell out of a VJ combo a few years ago. I did most of the "Marshallized" mods, added a tone control, pentode/triode switch, and finally added an built-in attenuator (to make it more like my Univalve). Also I yanked the PCB and rebuilt it all on an eyelet board. It was a lot of fun.

With the attenuator, that thing would do serious crunch at reasonable volume. Of course, I immediately sold it as soon as I had it perfect. 

[Leevibe]

Valve Jrs are so fun! The first one I had I put a TMB tone stack in. I decided it sounded better unmodded. I then converted it to a Baby Will (18 watt marshall lite IIb on PCB) with VVR B+ voltage scaling, and completely retolexed, flipped the cab so chassis is on bottom, custom face plate etc. now it completely rocks. My buddy liked mine so I converted his too. VJs are the cheapest, easiest way to get into amp building/modding! I've bought a few on Craigslist and haven't paid more than $80 for a head version. It's sad that they don't make them anyway. These are worth stockpiling.

[wgc]

Yeah. Gonna flip mine and powder coat the faceplates. Might do some other mods when I get the tubes.

Someday

[slimtriggers]

+1 for Valve Jrs.  I did the 18watt Baby Will thing to mine, also.  That's a great amp!

I still have the PCB from the donor Valve Jr. out in the garage.  I'll sell it cheap if anybody wants to mess around with it.