wpkg Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Ok I love my modded Vjr. But the thing is, it has become a drag to drag it and my attenuator and pedals and cabinet to a rehearsal every week where it cannot play cleanly with the bassist and drummer anyway. can you guys make some reccomendations as to how much power I need to play with a drummer and bassist and what amps are worth looking at in the 350-to-maybe-500 dollar range? Do I have to go solid state? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Get rid of the attenuator. There's no need for it at a rehearsal. Dump that, and you can probably cut back the throttle on the amp a bit, to give you a bit more headroom. Also, try a 5751 or JJ 803S in the preamp slot. Both are lower gain versions of a 12AX7. How extensive are the mods on your amp? If you haven't included the output transformer upgrade, and it's a version 1 or 2, you must do that, in order to maximize headroom. Also, consider a beefier speaker...I REALLY like my Celestion G12H100. As for pedals, once you've got the amp gain knocked down a bit and the headroom improved, all you really should need for a rehearsal (or gigs, for that matter) is a good clean boost and perhaps a decent dirt box for "over-the-top" gain. Finally, if you're not riding your guitar volume, do it. I can leave my Vjr cranked and go from "cleanish" to distorted with the twist of my fingers. More so with my strat than my Lester, of course. You'll never get Twin Reverb clean at "stage" volume with this amp, but you should certainly be able to get something acceptable. If you're running some megadeath 29k pups, forget it...you ain't going clean. Finally, if you've got a decent clean boost, you could get more clean volume by hitting the boost and rolling your guitar volume back to near nothing. And, for God's sake, stay away from SS, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copper1281734000 Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 There are plenty of combo amps that could hold up to a drummer. You probably don't need a lot of power to hold up to a drummer, as you said, your 5 watt valve junior worker, so almost anything else would work. There are plenty of amps in the range you are looking for that are tube. Here's some from musicians friend: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation/tube-guitar-combo-amps?N=100001+338503+10 My favorite ones on the list are the Peavey ValveKing and the Fender Blues Junior. The ValveKing is cheaper and more versatile, and I've hear lots of good things about them. My favorite amps are Traynor. They are high end sounding amps but not high end price. They are about $150-250 out of your price range, but if you could save up and buy one, it would be a great amp. I have the YCV50 Blue (EL34 based) and it sounds spectacular. Just look around, there are many opportunities. Or, like the above said, replace the 12ax7 to a 5751, 12at7, or a 12ay7 for less gain, and the OT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Get rid of the attenuator. There's no need for it at a rehearsal. Dump that' date=' and you can probably cut back the throttle on the amp a bit, to give you a bit more headroom. Also, try a 5751 or JJ 803S in the preamp slot. Both are lower gain versions of a 12AX7. How extensive are the mods on your amp? If you haven't included the output transformer upgrade, and it's a version 1 or 2, you must do that, in order to maximize headroom. Also, consider a beefier speaker...I REALLY like my Celestion G12H100. As for pedals, once you've got the amp gain knocked down a bit and the headroom improved, all you really should need for a rehearsal (or gigs, for that matter) is a good clean boost and perhaps a decent dirt box for "over-the-top" gain. Finally, if you're not riding your guitar volume, do it. I can leave my Vjr cranked and go from "cleanish" to distorted with the twist of my fingers. More so with my strat than my Lester, of course. You'll never get Twin Reverb clean at "stage" volume with this amp, but you should certainly be able to get something acceptable. If you're running some megadeath 29k pups, forget it...you ain't going clean. Finally, if you've got a decent clean boost, you could get more clean volume by hitting the boost and rolling your guitar volume back to near nothing. And, for God's sake, stay away from SS, man. [/quote'] well obviously the weber is not on when i want loud cleans. i tried all the tricks you mention. still too short... the attenuator only comes out to play when its just me and the bassist and no drummer... should have mentioned that before. and besides I am looking more for reccomendations on combo amps, n ot making the junior any better than it is. I am getting tired of making two trips up and down my stairs, to my car, to the rehearsal space, and back again. but thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 and besides I am looking more for reccomendations on combo amps Peavey Classic 30. The Blues Jr. is an ok amp, but 15 watts really isn't going to give you a whole lot more volume than a 5 watter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpkg Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Peavey Classic 30. The Blues Jr. is an ok amp' date=' but 15 watts really isn't going to give you a whole lot more volume than a 5 watter. [/quote'] this is what I am trying to figure out. I was looking at a blues junior, havent played one, but i htink you are right 15-18 watts wouldnt be much louder. and anything more seems to be out of the range I mentioned... I will check out the peavey stuff... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I will check out the peavey stuff... I've heard very good things about their Classic amps, and I would think you could pick one up pretty cheap on the bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Yell at the drummer. I'm a trained concert percussionist, and I don't care if you're playing rock and roll or with an orchestra, if you can't control your dynamics you need to be yelled at. "You" being the drummer, not "you" meaning you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssgfowler Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 If you're happy with the tone of the amp as it is you might consider adding a another 1x12 cab with a parallel jack at 8 ohms, or a 2x12 (or even 4x12) cab. Just from personal experience, the Jr. gets much louder the more speakers you have in the equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 But he would not want to carry a bigger cab though. That is his point. I have a Peavey Classic 30 and although I have never played with a drummer the amp is very loud, I am sure it would hang with a drummer just fine. Used Traynor amps are good value, check your local craigslist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RelicStrat Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 I have a VJr that I made into a combo, 1 12" emminence legend, a 5751 tube with OT upgrade, hammond 125dse, and the gold mods, I practice and GIG with this amp Miced up of course for gigs, but not at practice, I have a loud drummer and a hammond b3 in the band. I have never had to go above 12:00 volume and am heard easily. I run a line 6 pod xt with the output on 3/4. I had trouble with clean headroom untill I did the mods, now I'll never look back. I run the pedal directly into the input although I have a loop d junior in it, I find I lose too much volume with the loop. I have people constantly tell me they can't believe this amp is only five watts, the key is to get all the clean head room you can from it then drive the front end with a pedal or preamp. I also built the AMZ mini booster but don't really need it, if you do the mods listed here, you probably won't either. Don't give up on it, the speaker makes a huge difference as well as what you do for mods. I have many amps, but this little gem gets the call for all my small club gigs hands down. Here's a link to a pic. http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t82/57Historic/epiVJcombo.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 hey that's a nice looking amp. open or closed back? (just wondering about heat there) TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 The drummer sets the volume of the band. If you can't get him to quit beating holes in the heads, put him behind a screen and let him kill his own ears. The louder he plays, the louder you play and at some point you have to address the problem. If you can't play using a 50 watt amp turned up halfway, you are going to have the club manager constantly coming up and telling you to turn down. After all, his wait staff has to be able to hear the customers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RelicStrat Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Its an open back twang, sorry for the delay in responding, I've been busy as heck. I've tried it both open and closed, it now has an eminece swamp thang in it and that sounds best open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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