klast Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 New to this forum. I use a VJ combo (stock) as home amp and for rehearsal in a small setting. I quite like its sound and portability. The one thing I'm missing is preamp gain. Thus, I'm thinking of trading it for a Valve Special or a Valve Standard. I have yet to try them, so I wonder how the preamp distorsion of the Special or Standard sounds. I would also like to know how the clean sound of the Special/Standard compares to that of the VJ. If I go for the Standard (which is discontinued but may be available in stock) it could serve as backup for my gig amp (Laney VC30). One alternative, that I'm also contemplating, is the Vox AC15CC. I have tried it and really liked its overdriven sound. Would the Special or Standard provide a similar crunch? TIA Klas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 If you're buying a V Special or V Standard as a backup, you'll need something else as a backup. The board is the cheepo green style of the VJr, which is totally unstable. Besides, the DSP blows and the tone generally just sucks. If you want good tone, it'll need to be totally gutted and rebuilt from scratch. That's what I'm doing with my VStd. Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klast Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 If you're buying a V Special or V Standard as a backup' date=' you'll need something else as a backup. The board is the cheepo green style of the VJr, which is totally unstable. Besides, the DSP blows and the tone generally just sucks. If you want good tone, it'll need to be totally gutted and rebuilt from scratch. That's what I'm doing with my VStd. Gil...[/quote'] Well, I have been warned off on other forums already. So, am I to understand that the Standard doesn't sound good stock, even with the DSP turned off? What about the overdriven sound? Klas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I have a Special and I love it just the way it is. When I first got it I was kinda bummed and was going to tear into it, because it sounded muffled with no highs. After about a 100 hours of playing, that thing really opened up. I've always had a habit of diming all the controls on my amps, but now I turn the treble down just a bit once in awhile when using single coils. I do run the mid down quite a ways tho. Now it has somewhat of a Marshall sound. It does start to distort early on the preamp, and with the master dimed, it distorts with the preamp down fairly low. The tranny saturates quite easily. Preamp and master dimed, it almost sounds highgain. Cleans sound good but you have to have the gain no more than a little less than halfway up and the master down a ways. The tubes I run contribute to that. V1 Tung-Sol, V2 Sovtek 12AX7LPS or Shuguang 9th gen, JJ powertube. If I feel like something cleaner I use a 5751 or 12AY7 in V1 and a 12AY7 in V2. The only problem I've had with it is the cheap crappy standby switch. I can't seem to find a suitable replacement, and Gibson service won't answer my emails. I do play it far more than my Boogie MarkIII and Fenders now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klast Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 I have a Special and I love it just the way it is. When I first got it I was kinda bummed and was going to tear into it' date=' because it sounded muffled with no highs. After about a 100 hours of playing, that thing really opened up. I've always had a habit of diming all the controls on my amps, but now I turn the treble down just a bit once in awhile when using single coils. I do run the mid down quite a ways tho. Now it has somewhat of a Marshall sound. It does start to distort early on the preamp, and with the master dimed, it distorts with the preamp down fairly low. The tranny saturates quite easily. Preamp and master dimed, it almost sounds highgain. Cleans sound good but you have to have the gain no more than a little less than halfway up and the master down a ways. [/quote'] Thanks for informative input. The "somewhat of a Marshall sound" sounds interesting since I have a "sort of Vox sound" covered with my gig amp. And, I don't mind if the clean sound is a bit gritty and rough around the edges. I actually ordered a Special today on a whim, when picking up a guitar that had been in for setup. Will be getting it next week. Klas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klast Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 Thanks for informative input. The "somewhat of a Marshall sound" sounds interesting since I have a "sort of Vox sound" covered with my gig amp. And' date=' I don't mind if the clean sound is a bit gritty and rough around the edges. I actually ordered a Special today on a whim, when picking up a guitar that had been in for setup. Will be getting it next week. Klas[/quote'] Got the Special yesterday. It's a bit darker and less distinct sounding than my VJ combo (which I will keep for now). Will see if it gets better after the speaker is broken in. The EFX are not good, found one delay setting that I possibly could use. Reverb is usable. The 3 band EQ doesn't have much range. However, the preamp distorsion (= the reason I bought it) suits me so far. Klas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robo Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Got the Special yesterday. It's a bit darker and less distinct sounding than my VJ combo (which I will keep for now). Will see if it gets better after the speaker is broken in. The EFX are not good' date=' found one delay setting that I possibly could use. Reverb is usable. The 3 band EQ doesn't have much range. However, the preamp distorsion (= the reason I bought it) suits me so far. Klas[/quote'] Your impression of dark and indistinct is alot better than what I first thought of it. Mine sounded like it was wrapped in thick blankets. I've always been pretty much just a guitar>cord>amp type, so I really didn't care about the effects except for the reverb which I use rather often, especially for Reggae and Ska type stuff. The reverb seems better than pedals I have used, most of them just sounded like delay pedals to me, tho I haven't tried a lot. I'm used to Fender and Accutronics reverbs. I play around with the DSPs once in awhile but that's all. What tubes came in your's? Different tubes seem to make a big difference in mine. You may want to try a Sovtek 12AX7LPS in V2. I know what you mean about the tonestack. I don't know if it was the speaker breaking in that made a difference or not, but since it broke in, my tonestack seems to work somewhat better now. I actually use it, before it seemed to make no difference where I set things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.