Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr

Phildog · 02-01-2011, 09:33 PM

Hello friends,

I have an EVJ. It's totally stock and sounds ok. Well, lately, I've been reading about the oodles of mods available for these amps. (TWANG, if you're out there buddy, chime in) Well, with the amp as inexpensive as it already is, I didn't want to spend hundreds on getting it modded. So, my question is this...

Have any of you tried the BitMo mods? I'm currently looking at the Trio kit for $50. Were you pleased with the resulting sound? Is it underachieving?

Or (hey TWANG!!!!!) would you recommend sending it out to someone if the cost is $100 or less? Or... close to that?

I don't want to give up on the amp, as it's my first tuber. I just want to make it more flexible. You know?

Thanks

TWANG · 02-02-2011, 10:01 PM

Instead of the bitmo mods.. and for less.
I can set you up with effective tone producing tube and circuit saving mods..
in a kit form with instructions.
or.. I can swap you a board for one already modded up .. just remove old board, send to me, put in new board.

example. for 50.00 bitmo gives you a three way switch?
For 65.00 I'll do your whole board.
that would give you an amp that is still input volume power,
but would include all new components, correctly valued, no crap!,
all soldered in. plugs and screws. that's it.

I have two done, so all I have to do is test fire them and they are ready to go.
you cover the shipping... but that aint much.
also.. if you can drill a hole in the chassis. we can add standby, tone, and a three way switch, (NFB .. three settings)
or a pentode triode switch, for 1/2 power..
pm me and we'll go over all the things I'd do. and what will give you the tone you want the most.

bitmo is ok IF you are very inexperienced, but really.. it's not harder to swap the board out..and you get three times as much from me.

dig my new 18 watt.

and my other just finished.. nearly.. 18 watt

Phildog · 02-02-2011, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWANG

Instead of the bitmo mods.. and for less.
I can set you up with effective tone producing tube and circuit saving mods..
in a kit form with instructions.
or.. I can swap you a board for one already modded up .. just remove old board, send to me, put in new board.

example. for 50.00 bitmo gives you a three way switch?
For 65.00 I'll do your whole board.
that would give you an amp that is still input volume power,
but would include all new components, correctly valued, no crap!,
all soldered in. plugs and screws. that's it.

I have two done, so all I have to do is test fire them and they are ready to go.
you cover the shipping... but that aint much.
also.. if you can drill a hole in the chassis. we can add standby, tone, and a three way switch, (NFB .. three settings)
or a pentode triode switch, for 1/2 power..
pm me and we'll go over all the things I'd do. and what will give you the tone you want the most.

bitmo is ok IF you are very inexperienced, but really.. it's not harder to swap the board out..and you get three times as much from me.

dig my new 18 watt.

and my other just finished.. nearly.. 18 watt

Good to hear from ya Buddy!

I totally trust you. I'll PM my info to you. Talk to you soon!!!

EnvyInc · 02-02-2011, 10:17 PM

For the record, I installed a BitMo Trio in my EVJ. Very happy with the results.

ddevil · 02-02-2011, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWANG

Instead of the bitmo mods.. and for less.
I can set you up with effective tone producing tube and circuit saving mods..
in a kit form with instructions.
or.. I can swap you a board for one already modded up .. just remove old board, send to me, put in new board.

example. for 50.00 bitmo gives you a three way switch?
For 65.00 I'll do your whole board.
that would give you an amp that is still input volume power,
but would include all new components, correctly valued, no crap!,
all soldered in. plugs and screws. that's it.

I have two done, so all I have to do is test fire them and they are ready to go.
you cover the shipping... but that aint much.
also.. if you can drill a hole in the chassis. we can add standby, tone, and a three way switch, (NFB .. three settings)
or a pentode triode switch, for 1/2 power..
pm me and we'll go over all the things I'd do. and what will give you the tone you want the most.

bitmo is ok IF you are very inexperienced, but really.. it's not harder to swap the board out..and you get three times as much from me.

dig my new 18 watt.

and my other just finished.. nearly.. 18 watt

Mods look good!!..maybe it's that it's later at night or the snow had frozen my brain in my skull..but how are your mods different from the bitmo trio? Thanks!!

Cheers,
DD

TWANG · 02-03-2011, 02:20 PM

Bitmo mods attach to the component legs on top of the board.
His designs are his, that's only fair.. I don't steal his stuff.
(though he did post his tone setup for anyone to use)

Mine are direct replacement mods..wired directly to the board.

To get the amp right.. you have to correct the voltages. be sure the tubes are getting the right power, add an SGR.. protection for the circuit.. increase noise filtering,
upgrade quality of certain key parts, and also change values of caps and resistors to
clean up the mud, etc.

with Bruce you are paying for a couple of things. Nice changes for sure.
also EASE.. no difficult soldering.. no wasted traces.. no lost solder pads.. no hassling with the cheap pcb board.. just solder to the component legs.
and instructions.. he's gone to a lot of trouble to make this easy for people who want to do it themselves.

In so doing he skips what I know are changes that make just as much and sometime more improvement in the way the amp produces tone.

I work cheaper because I don't have all the overhead.. it costs money to have all the stuff in stock for twenty or thirty of three to five mods, plus paypal takes a cut, plus ebay takes a cut.
Then you have to have shipping boxes, etc..
I'm small time.. I don't need to make as much or stock as much.
and I can spend more time earning the money than most are willing to do.

here's a modified stock board
this one was special ordered.. but you can see it's loaded.. and it drops right in..

Here's a picture of a handmade EL34 board by me..
This can also bedone for a 6V6 or other tubes. and can be a drop in replacement with just a few things extra to do..

ddevil · 02-03-2011, 03:09 PM

Definately good info!!..but ....not quite was I was asking...lol....Let me be clearer as I'm sure I was way to vague...

..(and hopefully that didn't come off as snotty cuz it wasn't..lol...)

...what do the mods you do ..umm..do?...do they add extra tone controls (bass, mid, treble)..?..do they add switchs? new gains knobs...?...etc...

...btw..very nice work with your boards!...look clean and easy to install!

Cheers,
DD

TWANG · 02-03-2011, 11:22 PM

yes beyond the board work.. are features .. quite a few
pentode/triode.. cuts to 1/2 power
NFB three way.. three voices on one switch
Tweed tone is best with only one preamp tube
gain pot.
dual hi/lo input
efx loop jacks
bright switch
gain switch
standby

I dont add TMB because that sucks so much gain. on Blackheart BH amps I put in a switch that cuts out the tone pots.. all three.. and the leap in gain is tremendous.
with vjs I stick to the single tweed style tone pot, adjusts treble only.

you can also add a VVR.. kinda spendy.. but it let's you skip the pentode/triode and add a pot which goes from 0 to full watts, and that's clean or max crunch!

I'm working on a two tube preamp version.
I like the EL34 power tube vj very much.
You can also add a 6V6.. to run with the EL84. or choose between either, or
run it alone.

TeleDog · 02-03-2011, 11:29 PM

YES! Do what TWANG said, the BitMo mod kits are way, way, overpriced!!!

ddevil · 02-03-2011, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWANG

yes beyond the board work.. are features .. quite a few
pentode/triode.. cuts to 1/2 power
NFB three way.. three voices on one switch
Tweed tone is best with only one preamp tube
gain pot.
dual hi/lo input
efx loop jacks
bright switch
gain switch
standby

I dont add TMB because that sucks so much gain. on Blackheart BH amps I put in a switch that cuts out the tone pots.. all three.. and the leap in gain is tremendous.
with vjs I stick to the single tweed style tone pot, adjusts treble only.

you can also add a VVR.. kinda spendy.. but it let's you skip the pentode/triode and add a pot which goes from 0 to full watts, and that's clean or max crunch!

I'm working on a two tube preamp version.
I like the EL34 power tube vj very much.
You can also add a 6V6.. to run with the EL84. or choose between either, or
run it alone.

Very nice!!...so how much for all that goodness?

Cheers,
DD

TWANG · 02-04-2011, 12:45 PM

I don't think I've ever done all of that to one amp.. a bit of overkill there I would think.
But if you want to pm me and go over needs/wants.. we can find a price.

fleach · 03-04-2011, 11:57 AM

Twang,

I am new to the forum, looking for EVJ mods. I would rather pay a reasonable price for an experienced modder than to do it myself. If you want to sell some EVJ mods shoot me a message.

Thanks

Frank

mesadualrec · 06-23-2011, 07:08 PM

twang i just got a used Vjr today and would like to get one of your mod kits. can u email me to get the ball rolling. mesa50w@gmaildotcom

colchar · 06-24-2011, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWANG

yes beyond the board work.. are features .. quite a few
pentode/triode.. cuts to 1/2 power
NFB three way.. three voices on one switch
Tweed tone is best with only one preamp tube
gain pot.
dual hi/lo input
efx loop jacks
bright switch
gain switch
standby

I dont add TMB because that sucks so much gain. on Blackheart BH amps I put in a switch that cuts out the tone pots.. all three.. and the leap in gain is tremendous.
with vjs I stick to the single tweed style tone pot, adjusts treble only.

What amps do you do mods for?

TWANG · 06-24-2011, 01:10 AM

I'm sorry I'm so late. I've been really busy cleaning my shop up and then trying to catch up on work.
I got a nice EL34 VJ conversion done today.

I'm sending messages and emails now.

I have done Fender Frontman, Fender Princeton solid state, Peavey Royal 8, Blackheart BH5 and BH 15, all Valve Juniors, Bugera five watters, and I build a couple different models 18 watt marshall and Fender Tweed deluxe.

by the way..
you don't have to send the whole amp if you want me to mod it. the cabinet is heavy, so I can tell you how to take out the tubes and then just send the chassis, saving shipping cost.

colchar · 06-24-2011, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWANG

I'm sorry I'm so late. I've been really busy cleaning my shop up and then trying to catch up on work.

I am sorry, but that simply isn't acceptable. How dare you let real life get in the way of your forum time? Priorities man, priorities.

I am still deciding between a Pro Jr. and a Blues Jr. but I expect I might consider some mods at some point down the road. If I do, I'll come looking to see what you would recommend for those amps.

Phildog · 06-24-2011, 07:57 PM

LOL Sup Colchar! How are ya dude?!

colchar · 06-24-2011, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phildog

LOL Sup Colchar! How are ya dude?!

Good man, and you?

TWANG · 06-25-2011, 01:18 AM

First I love that quote about Chuck.
I was in a band which made fun of chuck a couple of times.. but I noticed they didn't feel at all bad about using everything he ever did!

and I forgot to say I do kustom defender mods, too.

pro jr. mods

http://www.blueguitar.org/new/schem/...ro_jr_mods.pdf

blues jr mods

http://www.blueguitar.org/new/schem/...s/blues_jr.txt

just a couple of things to maybe help you choose.

Marlo99 · 11-02-2011, 03:00 PM

Hey Twang, I was just curious if you are still doing those mod kits for people? If you are how can I get a hold of you? Thanks

nutsauce · 11-03-2011, 03:27 PM

I had the BitMo Trio mod done to mine. I didn't really feel that the 3 way voicing switch did all that much, seems more like attenuation than anything else to me. Also the push/pull tone knob didn't bring that much to the table for me either. The addition of a tone knob was nice though. I will say that the amp sounded much better overall after the mod though. It was like it had a thick blanket over it that someone removed. That's my best noobish review.

Standard 64 · 11-03-2011, 06:12 PM

when I had my epi valve junior,I think the best thing I did was run a danelectro fish n chips EQ in front,it really cleared up the voicing

TWANG · 11-05-2011, 02:39 PM

YES I'm still doing mods.
and I'm working on a DIY kit that will do much better than the Bitmo stuff.

I have been winterizing the house, and finishing up some bigger amps so I'm not in here as often as I'd like.. just email me from here or pm and I'll try to get online more often.

I got another call today from a guy who got the vj modded to el34.. and man it's so neat to have a call out of the blue saying they love the amp, etc.

an eq is NICE with the stock amp, no doubt about it!

.... like taking a wet blanket off the speaker.. that's been used as a description primarily when you change a certain resistor on the input..
the rest of the mods take the amp from pretty good cheap amp to fantastic tone.

There are a few ways to do this..
one is just to trade in your old board for one I've modded.. just spade connectors and a few screws.
No added controls.

Another way is to do that but drill a hole for a tone pot, and a standby, or gain, or whatever you want, yourself. (can send pics and instructions and template)

A really simple way to juice up a vj with limited experience.. drill one hole only.. and mount a new OT.. Like the Classic Tone 15W used as fender replacments....
which will fill out and fill up the tone of any vj with no other changes.

(I have to say though.. combine that with a new board.. WAYYYYY better.)

And then it gets more complicated.. knobs switches tubes power increase efx loops etc.

I prefer people to really hear their amps.. get used to them.. talk about guitars used. tunes played! speakers used.. all that stuff. then try to get that amp in the exact zone they need.
It's a little BS'y to say that, as it's not like it's the universal sound like any kind of amp.. but you can for sure tweak this into a personal zone you'll like very much.

tony2kats · 11-16-2011, 04:30 PM

Twang... I'm new to this forum. I'm VERY interested in your Vjr mods but couldn't find any contact info. How can I get in touch with you?

TWANG · 11-17-2011, 11:30 PM

you can pm me or you can email me
coleman_patrick@hotmail.com

pwhite · 11-19-2011, 11:47 PM

Twang I just purchased the Valve Jr hot rod so I may be reaching out to you once it gets here if I don't like the head. I don't use a lot reverb so I don't think that would be an issue to me as much as the overall tone.

TWANG · 11-20-2011, 03:23 PM

Give us your review!

pwhite · 11-25-2011, 10:13 PM

Ok so the hot rod head arrived Wednesday but I didn't open it until this morning, it is supposed to be " my Christmas present" so after convincing the wife I needed to hear it to make sure it was a keeper, I got to play it for about 30 minutes. I had to put on my 4 x 12 cab because I haven't had time to finish my 2 x12 I am building. First impressions are good, not great.
1. It is really loud for 5 watts, and hard to get good tone while turned down. even with the gain up and master down it wants more master to sound good. That may have been the cab though. I was able to get some really good classic rock/southern rock tone from it. My wife thought I was playing one of my larger heads. I also have a 10" mod speaker that may become a 1x10 for it.
2. The reverb really sucks, thank goodness that is not something that I wanted the head for. If you use a lot of reverb then this head is not for you. It has to be at 6 o'clock to even notice there is reverb and it only sounds decent from 6 to 7/7.5 from there is just sounds like crap. Like I said I don't use a lot of reverb and some of this could be the larger cab.
All in all I am happy with it and for 219.00 I think it's worth the money but it's a one trick pony for me. I will give a better review when my 2 x 12 is finished. I have boxed it back up for Santa.

Phildog · 11-26-2011, 12:20 AM

Thanks for the review pwhite. I always wanted to know what was "Hot Rodded" by Epi. I guess no matter what they do, they will all sound rather Blah until you drop another OT in them, and redo the wiring with a nice turret. Are there any mods you plan to do with it? Or, do you plan to use pedals to get you where you need to be?

pwhite · 11-26-2011, 04:07 AM

Right now I don't own any pedals, since this is probably my fourth go around in playing guitar in my life. It has gone like this for awhile..Play/buy all new stuff..quit/sell it all...play/buy all new stuff...quit/sell it all. that's why I suck so bad at playing. The only thing I have kept is my LP classic. I will probably mod it but will wait until I have played it for a while to make sure it's not just me or the cab it was on. I played a dark terror in a used shop last week as well as a regular junior head. The regular junior head was stock and it sounded really bad to me but the hot rod is a little better.

02-01-2011, 09:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Phildog Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Philadelphia, Pa Posts: 3,044 Thanks: 23 Thanked 38 Times in 27 Posts	Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Hello friends, I have an EVJ. It's totally stock and sounds ok. Well, lately, I've been reading about the oodles of mods available for these amps. (TWANG, if you're out there buddy, chime in) Well, with the amp as inexpensive as it already is, I didn't want to spend hundreds on getting it modded. So, my question is this... Have any of you tried the BitMo mods? I'm currently looking at the Trio kit for $50. Were you pleased with the resulting sound? Is it underachieving? Or (hey TWANG!!!!!) would you recommend sending it out to someone if the cost is $100 or less? Or... close to that? I don't want to give up on the amp, as it's my first tuber. I just want to make it more flexible. You know? Thanks __________________ ************************** 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Standard 2005 Epiphone Les Paul Classic 2008 Epiphone G400 1966 Reissue Eric Johnson Sunburst Strat Jimi Hendrix Monterey Pop Strat Fender Telecaster 50's Reissue Univox Hi Flier Phase II Premier 4 String Bass SKB Stage 5 LOADED!!! Fender Hot Rod Deluxe **************************

02-02-2011, 10:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Instead of the bitmo mods.. and for less. I can set you up with effective tone producing tube and circuit saving mods.. in a kit form with instructions. or.. I can swap you a board for one already modded up .. just remove old board, send to me, put in new board. example. for 50.00 bitmo gives you a three way switch? For 65.00 I'll do your whole board. that would give you an amp that is still input volume power, but would include all new components, correctly valued, no crap!, all soldered in. plugs and screws. that's it. I have two done, so all I have to do is test fire them and they are ready to go. you cover the shipping... but that aint much. also.. if you can drill a hole in the chassis. we can add standby, tone, and a three way switch, (NFB .. three settings) or a pentode triode switch, for 1/2 power.. pm me and we'll go over all the things I'd do. and what will give you the tone you want the most. bitmo is ok IF you are very inexperienced, but really.. it's not harder to swap the board out..and you get three times as much from me. dig my new 18 watt. and my other just finished.. nearly.. 18 watt

02-02-2011, 10:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
EnvyInc Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Southern Maine Posts: 72 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr For the record, I installed a BitMo Trio in my EVJ. Very happy with the results. __________________ Gear: 2004 Epi Les Paul Standard Plus Honeyburst 1993 Epi T-310 2009 Epi Dot VS 2007 Mollenhauer SST Klassik Master Class 2006 Taylor NS-34ce Sunlite GCN-1600G Classical Danelectro Baritone 1969 Silvertone Model 1419 Combo Modded 2008 Epi Valve Jr Half-Stack Marshall JCM600 Head Scratch built 18 watt Lite IIB head EMC 2x10 w/Eminence Legend 1016's Gallien Krueger 212EGS Custom 2x12 w/Jensen Mod12-70 & Eminence Patriot Texas Heat

02-03-2011, 02:20 PM	#6 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Bitmo mods attach to the component legs on top of the board. His designs are his, that's only fair.. I don't steal his stuff. (though he did post his tone setup for anyone to use) Mine are direct replacement mods..wired directly to the board. To get the amp right.. you have to correct the voltages. be sure the tubes are getting the right power, add an SGR.. protection for the circuit.. increase noise filtering, upgrade quality of certain key parts, and also change values of caps and resistors to clean up the mud, etc. with Bruce you are paying for a couple of things. Nice changes for sure. also EASE.. no difficult soldering.. no wasted traces.. no lost solder pads.. no hassling with the cheap pcb board.. just solder to the component legs. and instructions.. he's gone to a lot of trouble to make this easy for people who want to do it themselves. In so doing he skips what I know are changes that make just as much and sometime more improvement in the way the amp produces tone. I work cheaper because I don't have all the overhead.. it costs money to have all the stuff in stock for twenty or thirty of three to five mods, plus paypal takes a cut, plus ebay takes a cut. Then you have to have shipping boxes, etc.. I'm small time.. I don't need to make as much or stock as much. and I can spend more time earning the money than most are willing to do. here's a modified stock board this one was special ordered.. but you can see it's loaded.. and it drops right in.. Here's a picture of a handmade EL34 board by me.. This can also bedone for a 6V6 or other tubes. and can be a drop in replacement with just a few things extra to do..

02-03-2011, 03:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
ddevil Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Detroit, MI Posts: 171 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Definately good info!!..but ....not quite was I was asking...lol....Let me be clearer as I'm sure I was way to vague.....(and hopefully that didn't come off as snotty cuz it wasn't..lol...) ...what do the mods you do ..umm..do?...do they add extra tone controls (bass, mid, treble)..?..do they add switchs? new gains knobs...?...etc... ...btw..very nice work with your boards!...look clean and easy to install! Cheers, DD

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02-03-2011, 11:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr yes beyond the board work.. are features .. quite a few pentode/triode.. cuts to 1/2 power NFB three way.. three voices on one switch Tweed tone is best with only one preamp tube gain pot. dual hi/lo input efx loop jacks bright switch gain switch standby I dont add TMB because that sucks so much gain. on Blackheart BH amps I put in a switch that cuts out the tone pots.. all three.. and the leap in gain is tremendous. with vjs I stick to the single tweed style tone pot, adjusts treble only. you can also add a VVR.. kinda spendy.. but it let's you skip the pentode/triode and add a pot which goes from 0 to full watts, and that's clean or max crunch! I'm working on a two tube preamp version. I like the EL34 power tube vj very much. You can also add a 6V6.. to run with the EL84. or choose between either, or run it alone.

02-03-2011, 11:29 PM	#9 (permalink)
TeleDog V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: United States Posts: 8,781 Thanks: 78 Thanked 193 Times in 57 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr YES! Do what TWANG said, the BitMo mod kits are way, way, overpriced!!! __________________ “Teledog. Telecasterus Fanaticus Dogius". Got a Mac or iPod? Join our Apple Dogs group!

02-04-2011, 12:45 PM	#11 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr I don't think I've ever done all of that to one amp.. a bit of overkill there I would think. But if you want to pm me and go over needs/wants.. we can find a price. mesadualrec likes this.

03-04-2011, 11:57 AM	#12 (permalink)
fleach Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Twang, I am new to the forum, looking for EVJ mods. I would rather pay a reasonable price for an experienced modder than to do it myself. If you want to sell some EVJ mods shoot me a message. Thanks Frank

06-23-2011, 07:08 PM	#13 (permalink)
mesadualrec Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr twang i just got a used Vjr today and would like to get one of your mod kits. can u email me to get the ball rolling. mesa50w@gmaildotcom

06-24-2011, 01:10 AM	#15 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr I'm sorry I'm so late. I've been really busy cleaning my shop up and then trying to catch up on work. I got a nice EL34 VJ conversion done today. I'm sending messages and emails now. I have done Fender Frontman, Fender Princeton solid state, Peavey Royal 8, Blackheart BH5 and BH 15, all Valve Juniors, Bugera five watters, and I build a couple different models 18 watt marshall and Fender Tweed deluxe. by the way.. you don't have to send the whole amp if you want me to mod it. the cabinet is heavy, so I can tell you how to take out the tubes and then just send the chassis, saving shipping cost.

06-24-2011, 07:57 PM	#17 (permalink)
Phildog Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Philadelphia, Pa Posts: 3,044 Thanks: 23 Thanked 38 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr LOL Sup Colchar! How are ya dude?! __________________ ************************** 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Standard 2005 Epiphone Les Paul Classic 2008 Epiphone G400 1966 Reissue Eric Johnson Sunburst Strat Jimi Hendrix Monterey Pop Strat Fender Telecaster 50's Reissue Univox Hi Flier Phase II Premier 4 String Bass SKB Stage 5 LOADED!!! Fender Hot Rod Deluxe **************************

06-25-2011, 01:18 AM	#19 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr First I love that quote about Chuck. I was in a band which made fun of chuck a couple of times.. but I noticed they didn't feel at all bad about using everything he ever did! and I forgot to say I do kustom defender mods, too. pro jr. mods http://www.blueguitar.org/new/schem/...ro_jr_mods.pdf blues jr mods http://www.blueguitar.org/new/schem/...s/blues_jr.txt just a couple of things to maybe help you choose.

11-02-2011, 03:00 PM	#20 (permalink)
Marlo99 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Hey Twang, I was just curious if you are still doing those mod kits for people? If you are how can I get a hold of you? Thanks

11-03-2011, 03:27 PM	#21 (permalink)
nutsauce Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NC Posts: 1,367 Thanks: 19 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr I had the BitMo Trio mod done to mine. I didn't really feel that the 3 way voicing switch did all that much, seems more like attenuation than anything else to me. Also the push/pull tone knob didn't bring that much to the table for me either. The addition of a tone knob was nice though. I will say that the amp sounded much better overall after the mod though. It was like it had a thick blanket over it that someone removed. That's my best noobish review.

11-03-2011, 06:12 PM	#22 (permalink)
Standard 64 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Milky Way Galaxy Posts: 2,071 Thanks: 18 Thanked 20 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr when I had my epi valve junior,I think the best thing I did was run a danelectro fish n chips EQ in front,it really cleared up the voicing __________________ 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard HCS 2011 Fender American Standard Stratocaster. 2012 Fender Jaguar with Lollar P90 pickups. 1965 Fender Tremolux amplifier(AB763) 2012 Orange Holy Terror(Mercury Magnetics).

11-05-2011, 02:39 PM	#23 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr YES I'm still doing mods. and I'm working on a DIY kit that will do much better than the Bitmo stuff. I have been winterizing the house, and finishing up some bigger amps so I'm not in here as often as I'd like.. just email me from here or pm and I'll try to get online more often. I got another call today from a guy who got the vj modded to el34.. and man it's so neat to have a call out of the blue saying they love the amp, etc. an eq is NICE with the stock amp, no doubt about it! .... like taking a wet blanket off the speaker.. that's been used as a description primarily when you change a certain resistor on the input.. the rest of the mods take the amp from pretty good cheap amp to fantastic tone. There are a few ways to do this.. one is just to trade in your old board for one I've modded.. just spade connectors and a few screws. No added controls. Another way is to do that but drill a hole for a tone pot, and a standby, or gain, or whatever you want, yourself. (can send pics and instructions and template) A really simple way to juice up a vj with limited experience.. drill one hole only.. and mount a new OT.. Like the Classic Tone 15W used as fender replacments.... which will fill out and fill up the tone of any vj with no other changes. (I have to say though.. combine that with a new board.. WAYYYYY better.) And then it gets more complicated.. knobs switches tubes power increase efx loops etc. I prefer people to really hear their amps.. get used to them.. talk about guitars used. tunes played! speakers used.. all that stuff. then try to get that amp in the exact zone they need. It's a little BS'y to say that, as it's not like it's the universal sound like any kind of amp.. but you can for sure tweak this into a personal zone you'll like very much.

11-16-2011, 04:30 PM	#24 (permalink)
tony2kats Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Twang... I'm new to this forum. I'm VERY interested in your Vjr mods but couldn't find any contact info. How can I get in touch with you?

11-17-2011, 11:30 PM	#25 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr you can pm me or you can email me coleman_patrick@hotmail.com

11-19-2011, 11:47 PM	#26 (permalink)
pwhite Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Carolina Posts: 633 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Twang I just purchased the Valve Jr hot rod so I may be reaching out to you once it gets here if I don't like the head. I don't use a lot reverb so I don't think that would be an issue to me as much as the overall tone.

11-20-2011, 03:23 PM	#27 (permalink)
TWANG Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: minnesota Posts: 2,612 Thanks: 2 Thanked 124 Times in 51 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Give us your review!

11-25-2011, 10:13 PM	#28 (permalink)
pwhite Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Carolina Posts: 633 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Ok so the hot rod head arrived Wednesday but I didn't open it until this morning, it is supposed to be " my Christmas present" so after convincing the wife I needed to hear it to make sure it was a keeper, I got to play it for about 30 minutes. I had to put on my 4 x 12 cab because I haven't had time to finish my 2 x12 I am building. First impressions are good, not great. 1. It is really loud for 5 watts, and hard to get good tone while turned down. even with the gain up and master down it wants more master to sound good. That may have been the cab though. I was able to get some really good classic rock/southern rock tone from it. My wife thought I was playing one of my larger heads. I also have a 10" mod speaker that may become a 1x10 for it. 2. The reverb really sucks, thank goodness that is not something that I wanted the head for. If you use a lot of reverb then this head is not for you. It has to be at 6 o'clock to even notice there is reverb and it only sounds decent from 6 to 7/7.5 from there is just sounds like crap. Like I said I don't use a lot of reverb and some of this could be the larger cab. All in all I am happy with it and for 219.00 I think it's worth the money but it's a one trick pony for me. I will give a better review when my 2 x 12 is finished. I have boxed it back up for Santa.

11-26-2011, 12:20 AM	#29 (permalink)
Phildog Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Philadelphia, Pa Posts: 3,044 Thanks: 23 Thanked 38 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Thanks for the review pwhite. I always wanted to know what was "Hot Rodded" by Epi. I guess no matter what they do, they will all sound rather Blah until you drop another OT in them, and redo the wiring with a nice turret. Are there any mods you plan to do with it? Or, do you plan to use pedals to get you where you need to be? __________________ ************************** 2006 Epiphone Les Paul Standard 2005 Epiphone Les Paul Classic 2008 Epiphone G400 1966 Reissue Eric Johnson Sunburst Strat Jimi Hendrix Monterey Pop Strat Fender Telecaster 50's Reissue Univox Hi Flier Phase II Premier 4 String Bass SKB Stage 5 LOADED!!! Fender Hot Rod Deluxe **************************

11-26-2011, 04:07 AM	#30 (permalink)
pwhite Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: South Carolina Posts: 633 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Mod kit for Epi Valve Jr Right now I don't own any pedals, since this is probably my fourth go around in playing guitar in my life. It has gone like this for awhile..Play/buy all new stuff..quit/sell it all...play/buy all new stuff...quit/sell it all. that's why I suck so bad at playing. The only thing I have kept is my LP classic. I will probably mod it but will wait until I have played it for a while to make sure it's not just me or the cab it was on. I played a dark terror in a used shop last week as well as a regular junior head. The regular junior head was stock and it sounded really bad to me but the hot rod is a little better.

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