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Valve Senior is in the HOUSE!


brianh

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I got my Senior Friday. I have been playing it all weekend long. I gig a Mojo Marshall 18 watt clone I built.

I must say, This Valve Senior is very good for the $$.

I agree, The reverb is unusable.

I like the fact that this amp enables you to mix between the gain and Master. I am finding many different tonal options.

I cannot wait to see what kind of mods pop up. But, I am fine with the way it sounds, as is.

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Got mine on the 29th. Thanks brian for the videos, they kept me excited while the amp was en route.

 

My thoughts of it so far are:

 

* NIIICE!

 

* Reverb is shite, sounds like someone hitting on a spring everytime you attack, and very muffled. Boing!

 

* Excellent versatility and volume. Except if you want it really clean it won't be loud enough for gigging alone.

 

* It's got some 60(50 here) cycle hum, probably from bad grounding. (3 different points to the chassie of I didn't miss one.)

 

* Minor thing, I didn't expect it to be that off-white.

 

 

Sooo.. First things to be "taken care of" will be fixing grounding/hum problems and reworking the whole reverb circuit.

I might even add an extra tube to make it into more of a Fender Deluxe/Twin reverb.

 

Great work on the schematic jaydodge, I will "proof-read" and confirm it in the next few days!

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Didn't pay much attention to the solder work' date=' but I should have. Next time I take it apart (to upgrade the rvrb ot instal new caps) I'll post some pics.

 

I think you'll like it, post some pics and/or vids when you get it.[/quote']Thanks Man will do....

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the solder is that high temp crap that requires you to add lots of normal solder to get the stupid stuff to flow properly...yes i am bitter lol [crying]

 

a few of the connectors have broken off whilst i've been working on it..putting it in and out of the chassis.. i'd at least check those closely.

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Drdos' date=' did you get yer VSr yet? You owe us a review...[/quote']Hey Bud I will have it in my hands on Friday. It's a little funny how I came about getting it. My bass player plays some guitar on a few songs for the band and needed a guitar amp. She decided to buy the Valve Senior on my recommendation, and then after ordering it she decides (like a Woman) that she really wanted the combo version of the amp, so I told her to call sweetwater and have the order canceled and changed. Well, she decided that that was too much work so she asked if I would be interested in trading my Crate Palomino V16 for the Valve Senior. Since I haven't used this amp in a while I said yes. Well long story too late she gets the amp last Friday, but wants to try both to see which she really wants. I got a call 2 days ago that it's the Palomino for her, and I get the head to MOD! Anyway band practice this Friday I will have it and review to come shortly after...[biggrin]
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Just got my Valve Senior Combo today. I'm surprised there's no mention of it on the Epiphone website. I've noticed on a european website, they show one with two inputs (high & low), and claim it's 18 watts. Every amp I ever saw including the one I have says 20 watts, and there's only one input. No problem there, because it works for me. The reverb is weak, but I don't use a lot of it anyway. One thing I do know, I'll have plenty of time to experiment. It's just what I need for what I play.

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(Shame on me) Where's the 4th 12AX7 valve? I just see 3.

And one more thing, the 12AX7 in the middle is V1? Board says V2 at right (or left) and V3 opposite. And the other V? is in the middle.

I asked T.A.D. for valve replacement and they sent me 3 different valves (actually 4) for V1 a high grade 7025, for V2 a 7025 mullard style, and 12AX7WA for V3 and V4 (the missing one)

 

(sorry also about my english)

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(Shame on me) Where's the 4th 12AX7 valve? I just see 3.

And one more thing' date=' the 12AX7 in the middle is V1? Board says V2 at right (or left) and V3 opposite. And the other V? is in the middle.

I asked T.A.D. for valve replacement and they sent me 3 different valves (actually 4) for V1 a high grade 7025, for V2 a 7025 mullard style, and 12AX7WA for V3 and V4 (the missing one)

 

(sorry also about my english)

Ummm the Valve Senior only has 3 12ax7's[biggrin] :)

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yes! I read it had 4 somewhere. Here

BTW' date=' the accutronics reverb fits exactly. No extra drilling needed. I will try it tomorrow. (too late here in old europe)[/quote']

No it only has three:

 

ValveSrGuts024.jpg

 

PS: Make sure the resistance/impedance values of the new tank match up - you could blow the OT....

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I finally got the chance to use the amp. It worked so well, I am gigging with it for now on. Did everything I needed it to do. I did change out the reverb tank to a Accutronics Type 8, but did not change the over the top dwell. Not a big deal. I do not really need reverb.

If I could change anything, it would be the brightness. But, Just a slight turn of the treble works fine. I have not even changed out any of the original tubes.

The Valve Senior worked very well with all of my pedals, even my home brew pedals.

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Dang !!!! Wouldn't mind pickin' one of these up......Mrs RSD might not even notice the lil extra size and extra knobs vs the VJ head [biggrin] The crappy reverb ain't an issue for me, the extra power would be nice. Decisions, decisions - I need (ok, want) another guitar more than I need/want another head....heh. Maybe I'll just bide my time and pick one up if/when the price eventually comes down (hopefully), or buy used. My lady already wants to know why I have to have 3 amps - simple, to me.... the 15w ss amp ain't all that (got my Epi LP Std +top, crappy ss Epi Studio 15R, strap, crappy tuner, crappy cord new from MF for $50 less than what they were charging for the same guitar standalone....LOL.... I basically only use it to run drum tracks through, headphone use, and occasional church use). The VJ combo (bought used on the 'Bay) is what it is, and the VJ head'n'cab (bought new for $149 needing only the fuse contacts scuffed) is what IT is. In the scheme of things, I haven't really spent all that much on gear. However, the F*nd*r Thinline Tele has been beckoning for some time, now....[confused]

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