schundog Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Wandered into "Gold Rush" pawn shop in Danville, IL, today while working that town. There was the usual junk, an Epi Valve Junior Head for $139 (REALLY?!) and an Epiphone Valve Junior combo for $49.95. OK.... I plugged a Squier Strat into it, tuned up, and ran the one knob, volume, from clean to nasty, no crackling, but a big hum on 1-3-5 on the Strat. Loose input plug on the amp, I'm hoping that's an easy fix. I said I'd take it and pay cash if they ate the tax, handed them a $50 and walked out. How badly could I get burned?! It's my entertainment for tonight, may swap some better tubes I have in there just to compare with stock, have an adult beverage and watch the Cubs whup up on the Brewers. What could be better?! Here's my cheap date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Can't beat a $50 amp, an adult beverage, and a little bit of baseball on a Friday night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 That's a fun amp. Easy to "dial in" and mod. Go Cubbies! Oh, nice porn too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t0aj15 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Got my Epi valve jr. head for about $59.00 five or six years ago NEW and I'll say it's still the most over-priced doorstop I've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HRB853370 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Can't beat a $50 amp, an adult beverage, and a little bit of baseball on a Friday night Nice score! Love it when you find stuff like that at Pawn shops. But, why not watch the Blackhawks beat up on the Wings (as it is happening now)instead of (yawning) baseball! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 Nice score! Love it when you find stuff like that at Pawn shops. But, why not watch the Blackhawks beat up on the Wings (as it is happening now)instead of (yawning) baseball! I couldn't care less about hockey; I don't get it, and even if I did, I'm always looking the other way when the 2 seconds of a 3 hour game matter (goal! "What?! What'd I miss?!) Feel the same about basketball, golf, and bowling. Talk about YAWN!! haha. Anyway, I switched from the 525 to a Fender Tele at about 9:00. Two minutes ago, Wifey opened the basement door and yelled down, "Hey, your daughter is trying to sleep, do you mind turning it down?!" "Yes, Domina," I muttered, in my best Sparticus voice, and then chuckled at the fact that I was being asked to turn down my 5 watt amp that was at about 10 O'Clock on the knob, with a digital delay goosing it a bit. And yes, she's right, it WAS loud! t0aj15, I won't say this is the most amazing amp in the world, and I was unimpressed with it without any pedal support, but I've had some fun with it tonight, and plan to mess with it until it isn't fun anymore, maybe a month, maybe a year from now, and then get maybe $30 at a garage sale or pawn shop. I've certainly spent more and gotten less! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 I've had more fun with this 5 Watt amp than I should have. Probably because it was relatively painless to bring it home, but it REALLY sounds good through my pedal board or my Boss GT-8 Multi-effects board. Guitar-amp-cord, not so much. Set it at 10 o'clock and add some reverb or delay from either a pedal or multi-effect, and it gives good tone, and pretty decent volume, even with an 8 inch speaker. Like I said, I'm not married to the thing, and it may move along down the line if/when it stops being fun, but talk about an easy, grab and go tube amp for a jam, this is great! We'll have to see if it can hang with a drummer, but I'm willing to bet it can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbp810 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I've had more fun with this 5 Watt amp than I should have. Probably because it was relatively painless to bring it home, but it REALLY sounds good through my pedal board or my Boss GT-8 Multi-effects board. Guitar-amp-cord, not so much. Set it at 10 o'clock and add some reverb or delay from either a pedal or multi-effect, and it gives good tone, and pretty decent volume, even with an 8 inch speaker. Like I said, I'm not married to the thing, and it may move along down the line if/when it stops being fun, but talk about an easy, grab and go tube amp for a jam, this is great! We'll have to see if it can hang with a drummer, but I'm willing to bet it can. I bet it would be fun to try running it through a 2x12 or 4x12! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 I bet it would be fun to try running it through a 2x12 or 4x12! I'll bet you're right, Brian... I'm still trying to decide on what I want to do as far as a cab with you; DB confused me with his amp; now I'm wondering if I want a full blown amp from you instead!!! Decisions, Decisions....!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmenne Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I have one of the EVJ combo amps. I did not like it all all with the 8" speaker. I bought a 12" cab with a 75 watt celestion, and boy does this amp come alive. It opens up nice now. I think it sounds great with a good medium OD pedal in front of it. I love it with my 150 and SD pickups. Loud as heck for a 5 watt amp. Sounds like you have a fun new toy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Nice score! Love it when you find stuff like that at Pawn shops. But, why not watch the Blackhawks beat up on the Wings (as it is happening now)instead of (yawning) baseball! grr... "Blackhawks beat up on the Wings"... them there be fighten' words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I've had more fun with this 5 Watt amp than I should have. Probably because it was relatively painless to bring it home, but it REALLY sounds good through my pedal board or my Boss GT-8 Multi-effects board. Guitar-amp-cord, not so much. Set it at 10 o'clock and add some reverb or delay from either a pedal or multi-effect, and it gives good tone, and pretty decent volume, even with an 8 inch speaker. Like I said, I'm not married to the thing, and it may move along down the line if/when it stops being fun, but talk about an easy, grab and go tube amp for a jam, this is great! We'll have to see if it can hang with a drummer, but I'm willing to bet it can. I have an Epi Half stack - the head and a 12" speaker. It does have pretty decent tone for a cheap amp. I once A/B'd it with a Fender Blues Jr and the tone was very similar, the only difference was the Fender had more power and EQ, other than that, the same. And 10 on this amp is pretty good. Some nice natural tube overdrive on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I'll bet you're right, Brian... I'm still trying to decide on what I want to do as far as a cab with you; DB confused me with his amp; now I'm wondering if I want a full blown amp from you instead!!! Decisions, Decisions....!! Let me help you with that.... Get rid of what you got and buy a full amp from Brian. Even if you ask for seperate head and cab's, you'll be very happy with it. Last night was my first time with the RD amp from Brian. I plugged my guitar in and immediately, there was a warm tube goody-ness oozing from this amp. I had all the knobs set to 1 too. When I started to adjust the controls the amp came alive. I played two or three songs through it before I had to turn it off for the night. But I must say that was the best amp I've played. I'm comparing to new Marshalls, Fenders, Mesa, and Orange. I cannot believe its tone and I'm really excited to jump on it when I get home. The wife is gone for a few hours and it gives me a chance to crank it up to really let it breathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.