Valve Junior

Categorized | Guitar Parts & Accessories

Posted on 16 August 2010. Tags: amp, diy, epiphone,, guitar, valve, valve junior, valve junior cab, valve junior combo, valve junior hot rod, valve junior mods

Valve Junior

Fender Frontman 212R 100W or Epiphone Valve Junior Tube Stack.?

I am looking to replace my Roland Microcube RX with one of the two. I enjoy the clean tone on the Roland, but I am looking for a more dynamic distortion. I am thinking with one of the two I can get a good warm clean tone, and with a pedal (Boss Metal Zone or Metal Core) achieve a more early Deftones sound. Which one will be able to get that harsh deep distortion with the pedal?

I prefer the tone of the EVJr personally, but I'm not convinced that its the right choice for you. If you want a relatively clean tone at higher volumes, then a 5-watt tube amp can't deliver that.

Once you hit between 1/3rd and 1/2 volume on the EVJr the tone dirties up pretty quickly, by 2/3rds volume you've basically saturated the tube and that's about all you're going to get, period. With the volume at 3/4ths I can't tell any significant difference in terms of distortion between my Metalcore on or off, for instance! The basic tone of the amp is relatively "vintage" when you push it... so no marshall/mesa tone inherent to the amp.

I do like how the EVJr can be modified, tubes can be swapped out, etc. Even after doing some of that, though, I prefer to run my Metalcore into my EQ and into my (solid-state) power amp - sometimes "tube warmth" just means "muddy", after all.

The Frontman will give you more volume and better cleans at higher volumes. Of the two, if you ever want to be able to push some volume, it would be the better one to go with.

I should probably emphasize that the EVJr does not have a huge bass response, either. When I've hooked it up to a different cab it was a little better, but there was still less bass response vs my power amp... that's the other sucky thing about low wattage.... sounds great at low volumes, but you lose your headroom quickly, and that means less clean cleans at higher volumes, but you also lose your bass response too....

I would recommend A/Bing them if possible!

I like the sound of the Metalcore when jamming with my buddies, as it has a deeper sound (more bass, more low mids).... the Metal Zone (which I've used for years also) records well, sounds good live in a band context, and if you want to sound like basically any 80's metal band (Slayer, Metallica, Pantera, Cannibal Corpse, etc) it's a great way to get there... the mid EQ is awesome, but the EQ controls are a little wild - they can quickly go from too little to too much.....

Anyways, my preference is to play with the Metalcore followed by some EQ, as that lets me tweak it just the way I want.... its my preference with any distortion pedal, actually.

So, if you want a clean metal sound, I'd go with the Metalcore/Fender. The EVjr has great tones, but not at higher volumes, and you run the risk of getting muddy or indistinct tones if you're going for the metal.

Okay, I'm done rambling. Good luck!

Saul

The most recent Ebay auctions for Valve Junior are listed below. You can now search through the results and find great low prices on Valve Junior.