FloyDZeD Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Alright, I have around $300 to spend on a new amp and I have narrowed my choice down to these: The Epiphone Valve Junior: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Valve-Jr-HalfStack?sku=481475 And the Blackheart BH5H and BH112 Halfstack: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Blackheart-BH5H-and-BH112-Half-Stack?sku=483078 Which of these do you guys think is better? I was leaning more to the Blackheart, but I'm not sure. By the way, I mostly play blues and classic rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunghaichuan Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 It depends on what you want to do with it. The stock VJ has a great OD sound right out of the box. Epi has really improved this little amp since the crappy version 1 combo came out. Version 3 sounds great. It is also easy to modify and there are plenty of resources on the 'Net to help you modify it. The downside is that it has almost no clean headroom. It is clean at very low levels but starts to break up fairly early. The Blackheart has more clean headroom due to the TMB tone stack, but the cranked OD sound isn't as good as the VJ's. However, the BH *loves* pedals. I tested mine with several pedals an all of them sounded great: the dreaded stock Boss DS-1, Boss Blues Driver, Carvin Ultra Distortion, Digitech Bad Monkey, Boss Turbo OD. The BH is harder to mod as it has traces on both sides of the PCB, but no plated-through holes. Much easier to damage than the VJ's PCB. Another downside is that the tone stack on the BH isn't all that great. The bass makes the amp blatty when turned up, the mid control does almost nothing, and the treble makes the amp duller or brighter. tung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Tung could you just replace the pots and caps on the tone control? (Yes this is called building your own tone stack, not so much upgrading...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunghaichuan Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Tung could you just replace the pots and caps on the tone control? (Yes this is called building your own tone stack' date=' not so much upgrading...)[/quote'] Not easily, the pots are PCB-mount, small 16mm size. And the edge of the PCB almost touches the wall of the chassis underneath the pots. tung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 My opinion based only on info about the blackheart second hand.. inc. youtube comparisons.. the vj. I just got the V3 combo, and I know right now that I would have done far far less to modify this head than I've done to my two V2s. At the risk of raising ire: I wouldn't swap the OT. one of the main costs of modding the amp. this combo through a 12" speaker is just fine on the low end. Not as big as the hammond, but very very good. As far as modding goes, the info on the vj is sick.. it's everywhere. it's got great people who love helping out.. and there's that board.. sure, you can lift a pad if you do like I did and try every mod in the book. But you don't have to do that. I think you could make an excellent sounding amp out of it, much much better than the stock version with only a few cheap swaps. Stock. I have some problems with it. Compared to my modded heads. the combo is fine, really suprisingly good, up to 12:00.. after that it starts pooping out, while the modded head starts saying. so, you wanna play, huh? with a terribly arrogant sneer I might add. Around 2:00 the stock combo starts crying momma. Stick a pedal in front. esp some EQ to tame the farty low end, and the stock head can get up to 2:00 and a little beyond., fairly well holding it's own.. but .. there's always a but.. the mod head still outshines.. the blackheart is no more, really, for it's tone stack, not in sheer volume of clean or dirty, and less because of the difficulty in modding.. of course it's nice to have all those holes predrilled.. but.. I truly believe you could mod a vj and have NO extra controls, (except maybe for NFB to cut volume). and have less trouble, and a great sounding amp. VJ for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cGil Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 You could put that NFB on the switch of a push-pull volume pot, and not have to drill a single new hole in the chassis. Gil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I have both and I think the Valve JR is a better sounding amp and an easier mod platform FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 You could put that NFB on the switch of a push-pull volume pot' date=' and not have to drill a single new hole in the chassis. Gil...[/quote'] I thought it tended toward noise there.. will twisty wire or sheilded cable fix that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wastra Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I have had both- here's my take: The VJr is a solid amp, but it's a little less versatile. It's far easier to modify, so if modding is your goal- at all- I'd probably go that route. It's slightly vox-ish in its tone, and like the BH, takes very well to a tube upgrade. the BH has more features, and despite what some may say, the EQ controls aren't useless....they're jsut not all that pronounced on the 3W setting or at low volumes. When cranked, especially on the 5W setting, they're very usefull. Plus, the pentode/triode switch is pretty nice. You get a darker sound on 3W, and a brighter, smoother overdrive on 5W. the BH has a marshall-y tone rather than vox-ish, to my ears. I wound up selling the VJr mainly because I don't ever plan to do any modding to either. stock, or with basic tube upgrades, the BH was a better sounding amp to my ears without mods. It is a little brighter, a little cleaner, and a little more versatile. Again, that would be reversed if I were planning to mod either. I should note that I don't use the BH or Epi cabinet with mine. I use a 12" eminence legend closed-back cabinet rated at 130 Watts rather than 75W BH cab. I like both amps, however, and the only real difference to me was that the VJr sounded more akin to my AC15, and I didn't need another vox-ish sound. The BH sounds more like a plexi- especially with an overdrive pedal in front of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Either one would be more than fine for most folks shopping at this price point. I don't think either would realistically be mistaken for a $750 z mini or some similar booteeky creation, based upon, more than anything else specifically, transformers and speaker selection, undoubtedly, but from what I've heard, neither one outright sucks either, which is more than can be said for the first two versions of the Vjr. At this stage of the game, it's probably going to come down more to features and specific tone details more than anything else. The modding will still be done, of course, but, as many others with personal insight to both have said, it's not all that necessary anymore, nor is it always particularly easy anymore, as in the case of the BH. If I were shopping for one right now, and had neither, I'd probably opt for the BH, based upon features and the closed back cabinet. I much prefer closed cabs myself. Feature-wise, the triode/pentode thing isn't a huge deal on a 5 watt, but the TMB, albeit a passive, tone-sucking tone stack, would be attractive to me as a potential first-timer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdgails Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 dont buy a blackheart yet.......thre will be better versions in 6 months and you dont want to stock up on the crappy one. buy defensively!!especially with the first runs. second the vj od, its just tubey and warmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 dont buy a blackheart yet.......thre will be better versions in 6 months and you dont want to stock up on the crappy one. buy defensively!!especially with the first runs. second the vj od' date=' its just tubey and warmer[/quote'] I just wish Epiphone would release a version of the VJ with a simple FVM tone stack on it. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdgails Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 i have an MXR M108 10 band eq----im telling people to get this. Its is awesome with the vj. it has gain built into the eq and u can dial in eq settings with no tone loss. the gain when used drives a sweet tube od. I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE----TRY IT AT GUITAR CENTER OR YOUR local music store, IT transforms the vj immensely. A guitar amp tech showed it to me. MXR M108----GET THE WORD OUT PEACE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I considered a Nady. yep. I did. 31 band eq.. single channel. why? it will take a line level signal. I could run my vj's 12ax7 out the loop d jr.. into the nady.. zing.. 31 bands of eq post preamp, and I think the thing has a loop built into it.. not sure. but if so. add efx post preamp and eq.. build a nice little matching holder for it so it's secure to the top of the amp.. and you might have just the thing for all efx and eq and more. too broke though. TWANG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefoxicy Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I could run my vj's 12ax7 out the loop d jr.. into the nady.. How are you doing this? Tap on the tube, or soldering around inside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 the loop d jr is gils creation.. the schemo is in the FAQ at sewatt.. probably here, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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