mjtripper Posted August 23, 2011 Posted August 23, 2011 I had one and really like it but ended up selling to a friend who needed a small amp. There are 3 versions of the circuit, the first two work well with single coils but not so much with humbuckers. Version 3 however is a nice little amp. The speaker is small and weak in the combo but also in v3 they added multi ohm outputs and used a small jumper cable to plug the speaker in so you can use the combo as a head quite easily and it isn't that much bigger or heavier. I used the combo all the time for a nice quiet small practice amp and just plugged it into a bigger cab when needed but the combo speaker isn't bad for what it is.
DetroitBlues Posted August 23, 2011 Author Posted August 23, 2011 I had one and really like it but ended up selling to a friend who needed a small amp. There are 3 versions of the circuit, the first two work well with single coils but not so much with humbuckers. Version 3 however is a nice little amp. The speaker is small and weak in the combo but also in v3 they added multi ohm outputs and used a small jumper cable to plug the speaker in so you can use the combo as a head quite easily and it isn't that much bigger or heavier. I used the combo all the time for a nice quiet small practice amp and just plugged it into a bigger cab when needed but the combo speaker isn't bad for what it is. Since the one I purchased is new in the box, it should be a ver 3. I had a new Fender Champ 600 a couple year ago that suffered the same problem with humbuckers. Sounds great with a strat, not with a Les Paul.
mjtripper Posted August 23, 2011 Posted August 23, 2011 Since the one I purchased is new in the box, it should be a ver 3. I had a new Fender Champ 600 a couple year ago that suffered the same problem with humbuckers. Sounds great with a strat, not with a Les Paul. It should be but the GC near me still has v2 on the floor so it's always worth checking. There still seems to be a lot of v2 floating around for some reason.
DetroitBlues Posted August 23, 2011 Author Posted August 23, 2011 It should be but the GC near me still has v2 on the floor so it's always worth checking. There still seems to be a lot of v2 floating around for some reason. I know mine has three different Ohm outputs.. Hoping its the V3.
tulk1 Posted August 26, 2011 Posted August 26, 2011 I know mine has three different Ohm outputs.. Hoping its the V3. You did get one? Missed that. How do you like it, so far?
DetroitBlues Posted August 26, 2011 Author Posted August 26, 2011 I'm picking it up today. I'll try to get some demo's of the amp tonight.
DetroitBlues Posted August 26, 2011 Author Posted August 26, 2011 Its now resting in the backseat of my car!
DetroitBlues Posted August 27, 2011 Author Posted August 27, 2011 So I opened the amp today and it was as expected. Run of the mill Epi Valve Jr. head, bone stock. Brought it home and of course the wife immediately asks why I need another amp. To which I replied, "Backup". Since it didn't cost me much, she got over it quickly. When I plugged the amp in to the 1x12 cab, nothing happened. No sound, no smell, no glowing tubes. The pilot light was on, but that was it. So I plugged the speaker from the K-RD amp, and still nothing. After unscrewing the back panel and tearing the leather to pry the panel off, I reseated the tubes. Plugged her back in, and Rock 'N Roll. Sounded decent when turned up (much louder than I thought it would be!) with the 140 in the bridge position. Not very pleasant tone when using the neck position and rolling back the volume on the guitar turned the amp a little flat for my taste. This is definitely going to be a hot rodded amp for sure, the tone of the amp isn't really usable for my style. It does take pedals rather well, but I only have the one. More to come in the following weeks.
koula901 Posted August 27, 2011 Posted August 27, 2011 They can hear me across the street when I'm rockin' the epi! Yeah, it can get loud, and you can put any kind of pedal in front of it. Mine loves single coils, but buckers don't sound bad with it, either. I once A/B'd it with a fender blues jr, and the tone was exactly the same.
DetroitBlues Posted August 31, 2011 Author Posted August 31, 2011 I did not try it with the Strat. KBP810 borrowed it for the weekend. Once I get my extension cab figured out, I'll try out the strat on it.
t0aj15 Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 I once A/B'd it with a fender blues jr, and the tone was exactly the same.I'd say that was a very bad thing indeed for Fender, seeing as how they want five times more $ for it then the Epi and as I already stated IMO the Epi isn't worth the money.
DetroitBlues Posted September 1, 2011 Author Posted September 1, 2011 I'd say that was a very bad thing indeed for Fender, seeing as how they want five times more $ for it then the Epi and as I already stated IMO the Epi isn't worth the money. For the short time I did use my EPI-VJ, I thought it sounded ok when the volume was up. But a lower volumes, it just didn't cut it for me.
koula901 Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 For the short time I did use my EPI-VJ, I thought it sounded ok when the volume was up. But a lower volumes, it just didn't cut it for me. It can be underwhelming at low volumes. When I used to play the strat throught it, I'd use the 7 band equalizer with it, and adjust the settings so that, visually, it looked like a 'W'. That is, increase the bass and treble frequences, decrease the mid lows and mid highs, and increase the mid-mids - just as a 'W' would suggest, and I got a really good tone that way. Just my 2 cents. Since I use the H 137 through the Epi, no need to do that any longer. I went on You Tube last night, and others have said, as well, when they use humbuckers in the Epi, it didn't sound good.
koula901 Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 I'd say that was a very bad thing indeed for Fender, seeing as how they want five times more $ for it then the Epi and as I already stated IMO the Epi isn't worth the money. I just figured they sounded similar because both of them use EL84 tubes.
DetroitBlues Posted September 1, 2011 Author Posted September 1, 2011 It can be underwhelming at low volumes. When I used to play the strat throught it, I'd use the 7 band equalizer with it, and adjust the settings so that, visually, it looked like a 'W'. That is, increase the bass and treble frequences, decrease the mid lows and mid highs, and increase the mid-mids - just as a 'W' would suggest, and I got a really good tone that way. Just my 2 cents. Since I use the H 137 through the Epi, no need to do that any longer. I went on You Tube last night, and others have said, as well, when they use humbuckers in the Epi, it didn't sound good. That sounds like a lot of trouble. While I no longer have my deluxe Strat, I do have a very suitable replacement... 1996 Fender Tex-Mex Stratocaster (neck width feels like an American Standard!)
koula901 Posted September 1, 2011 Posted September 1, 2011 it's no trouble at all, Detroit. Takes less than a minute to do the settings, if you have the pedal. This amp needs to be used with pedals, and an equalizer is one of them.
DetroitBlues Posted September 2, 2011 Author Posted September 2, 2011 it's no trouble at all, Detroit. Takes less than a minute to do the settings, if you have the pedal. This amp needs to be used with pedals, and an equalizer is one of them. I had a Boss GE7 for awhile because I thought I needed it for SRV tone. It didn't do much for me. I found adjusting the amp, pedals, and guitar tone do the trick for me. Not much I can do about humbuckers without coil tapping/splitting them to achieve a more single coil like tone...
DetroitBlues Posted September 9, 2011 Author Posted September 9, 2011 Amp is going back tomorrow. I don't need it and there are other things I want and things I need to finish paying for.
DetroitBlues Posted September 9, 2011 Author Posted September 9, 2011 Returned the amp. No confidence in myself anymore...
H Posted September 9, 2011 Posted September 9, 2011 Returned the amp. No confidence in myself anymore... What do you mean?
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