Any love for a Valve Senior?

[dwagar]

I was at the local Gibson dealer yesterday, they have an Epi Valve Senior head there for $299. Seems a decent price for an 18W head.
I didn't have time to try it out.

I haven't heard much about these. Good, bad, so-so?

[acstorfer]

While I've never tried the senior, I will say the junior is about the best value out there. I would have to believe the senior would be good also. However, once you get up to that price, there are alot of options. Hell, for 50 bucks or so more, you can get a Phaez. I've never owned one, or played one, but I respect the opinions of those who have who rave about them. May not have the reverb, or the chassis cabinet, but you have an amp that is handmade, point to point (no pcb boards), that sounds better (most likely) and will last years, decades more than the Epi.

[paruwi]

Originally Posted by dwagar

I was at the local Gibson dealer yesterday, they have an Epi Valve Senior head there for $299. Seems a decent price for an 18W head.
I didn't have time to try it out.

I haven't heard much about these. Good, bad, so-so?

BrianH did a great review....

here

Valve Senior is in the HOUSE! - Gibson Guitar Board

[dwagar]

Originally Posted by acstorfer

While I've never tried the senior, I will say the junior is about the best value out there. I would have to believe the senior would be good also. However, once you get up to that price, there are alot of options. Hell, for 50 bucks or so more, you can get a Phaez. I've never owned one, or played one, but I respect the opinions of those who have who rave about them. May not have the reverb, or the chassis cabinet, but you have an amp that is handmade, point to point (no pcb boards), that sounds better (most likely) and will last years, decades more than the Epi.

Phaez makes a $300 20W amp? I don't see one on their site.

[dwagar]

Originally Posted by paruwi

BrianH did a great review....

here

Valve Senior is in the HOUSE! - Gibson Guitar Board

thanks man, looks like a decent cheap amp.

[acstorfer]

From what I understand, he makes an 18 watt Daisy Cutter model for somewhere around $350.00.

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by dwagar

I was at the local Gibson dealer yesterday, they have an Epi Valve Senior head there for $299. Seems a decent price for an 18W head.
I didn't have time to try it out.

I haven't heard much about these. Good, bad, so-so?

had one. sounded like junk. built like junk. looked cool though

[singlecut]

Originally Posted by acstorfer

From what I understand, he makes an 18 watt Daisy Cutter model for somewhere around $350.00.

?

[acstorfer]

Originally Posted by singlecut

?

I guess I must be wrong. What is it then, $450.00?

[dwagar]

25W Corona is shown at $475, 25W Daisycutter at $525. Both are chassis only.

I already have 2 Marshalls that I love, I was toying with the idea of getting something cheap (and light) to cart to local jams, piss around with at home.

[dwagar]

I tried it today, and bought it. I'm surprised how good it sounds, for $299 new?

I'll take it to our gig tonight, I don't know if it's loud enough for normal gigs (I don't mic), I'm sure it probably would be if I hauled in my big 2x15 (D130) JBL cab. Tonight I'll just have to test it through a 2x12 Marshall cab though.

[Saljam]

I have the VS combo and it sounds great. It's loud..... Very loud.... Almost too loud for my use. Don't know why they never took off. It appears as though they are discontinued now. Most people say they don't like the reverb but I don't use reverb. Enjoy!

[TeleDog]

Tube amps ain't light. If you want something portable, why not get a head? You could park a small cab at the practice place and that the head with you when you go.

The Valve Sr is not a bad amp, cut you can make it real nice with a small investment. Mainly, the filter caps and OT can be replaced for cheap, and that changes the tone quite a bit. You can do this over time if you prefer, you don't have to spend all your money at once.

The VJ is a good value indeed, practically a blank canvas, you can turn it into a Vox, Fender or even a little Marshall. I had one and it had the tone of a Marshall in a very small package after a few mods.

TWANG here does VJs, you can also do it yourself if you want. It's one of the best values out there and you can do a lot with them.

[Liam]

Originally Posted by TeleDog

Tube amps ain't light. If you want something portable, why not get a head?

But he's got a 50's Hammond. If you've got a Hammond, everything is light...

Liam

[VastHorizon]

Originally Posted by Liam

But he's got a 50's Hammond. If you've got a Hammond, everything is light...

Liam

[dwagar]

LOL!
And the '47 Hammond (CV) makes the '59 Hammond (A100) seem light.

Seriously though, I did buy the head, not the combo. It is quite a bit lighter than my Marshalls. I plan on finding a 1x12 cab one of these days, that'd be a light rig for jams.

I thought this amp sounded really good tonight, I used it for the whole gig. I did run it through the JBL cab, and it had more than enough power, the master was only at about 1/4. Decent size hall, couple hundred people and were a 6 pc band. I was pleasantly surprised.

Like Saljam, I don't used the reverb.

[bufbills]

my son has a valve standard. I think it sound great. Nice cleans and it loves pedals. the effects suck and never get used.

[dwagar]

TeleDog, I've seen mention on the net about changing the filter caps, I don't think I've seen anything about an upgraded OT. Can you point me in the direction?

There are tons of things to do to a VJ, I don't find much out there for a VSr.

I'm going to leave it as is for now, but I'll be listening as the new toy period goes away, I expect playing with tubes would come first.

[dwagar]

The Gibson dealer found a new VJ cab for me.
Total rig now, brand new, was just under $500 ($299 head, $180 cab). IMO it's great for that kind of $. Pretty light, easy to carry to jams. I'll use a 2x12 or 2x15 for gigs though.

[SlashAppetite]

Very nice. This is my amp I use for gigs with my band. I run it through 2 Epi Cabs though and it sounds ace. Not to mention it looks cool as anything

[dwagar]

That's cool, there are a few of them around here I see.

I'm already toying with the idea of a second cab too. I'll wait to find a used one I think

[TeleDog]

Hey bro, cool half stack there! You just got that? Nice...

Yeah, you can buy new filter caps for the amp. The amp is a power supply, really, that's true for all tube amps, so the cleaner and smoother the flow the better tone you'll get. And then, when it's time to pump the goodness to the speaker, a good OT makes all the difference.

Filter caps will go for cheap, easy job to do. I think you'll need radial caps to mount them on your PCB, that can be a bit of a challenge since a lot of stores only carry the type to wire PTP. But no biggie.

I need to look at the schematic, I'll get back to you with the correct values. Maybe somebody here who already has a VSr can jump in and help out in the mean time...

Congrats on the rig, pretty damn cool!!!!

[dwagar]

thanks, I can't find anything on the net, other than references to changing caps.

I think it's a tad small to call it a halfstack, haha.

[TeleDog]

It looks cool. One thing they did right is the tolex job there. I'd love to see it in black and cream, but can't ask for much at that price... Good value.