Danno719 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm new to the electric guitar world. I just got the Epiphone Les Paul 100 "Hi-Performance" Pack with Valve Junior Amp. I'm very pleased with it especially for what I paid for it. What I want to know is, is it possible to get a more distorted sound out of this setup by just adjusting the tone and volume. I can change the sound from sounding like and electric to swearing that it is an acoustic, but I can't get the distorted rock/metal sound. Can it be done or do I just have to wait to get a different amp to do that, or is it just not possible with an LP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wastra Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm new to the electric guitar world. I just got the Epiphone Les Paul 100 "Hi-Performance" Pack with Valve Junior Amp.I'm very pleased with it especially for what I paid for it. What I want to know is' date=' is it possible to get a more distorted sound out of this setup by just adjusting the tone and volume. I can change the sound from sounding like and electric to swearing that it is an acoustic, but I can't get the distorted rock/metal sound. Can it be done or do I just have to wait to get a different amp to do that, or is it just not possible with an LP? [/quote'] The higher you crank the amp volume AND the guitar volume, the more distortion you'll get. The Vjr amp has real nice tube distortion when pushed, and the LP is the quintessential rock guitar (the LP100 has epi humbucker pickups that make nice rock sounds) To get more distortion (especially at lower volumes)- buy an overdrive or distortion pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcorn429 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I would look at getting a distortion pedal or learn to play that amp and then when your ready to upgrade go with something that has more effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricach Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Got the same setup. For rocklike distortion, turn the guitar volume and tone all the way up. You'll like what you hear. And flipping through the pickups will give you 3 really nice, distinct, sounds. For a nice blues sound, let the amp do more of the talking by turning it up and dialing back the guitar volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwillow777 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 The higher you crank the amp volume AND the guitar volume' date=' the more distortion you'll get. The Vjr amp has real nice tube distortion when pushed, and the LP is the quintessential rock guitar (the LP100 has epi humbucker pickups that make nice rock sounds) To get more distortion (especially at lower volumes)- buy an overdrive or distortion pedal.[/quote'] Like Wastra said. The VJr is a great sounding amp, and there have been many changes done to the 3rd version. I had the 1st version and did a lot of mods to it, like adding a master volume. That helped to get a nice overdrive sound without getting too loud. If I remember right it was pretty clean until about 11 o'clock. Then it started to distort. For a 5 watt amp that baby gets pretty loud. If you turn the volume down on your guitar it will sound clean(er), but as you turn the volume up on your guitar the distortion increases. So, you have to have both up to get distortion, but if you do you will get some great distortion out of the combo. If you really can't turn it up too loud, you may need to look into getting some kind of a distortion or overdrive pedal like Wastra said. If you like tinkering on amps there are a lot of mods you can do to the VJr to make it killer. There are a lot of guys on the amp page here that can help you out, some very knowledgable guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagwood Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Yes and Yes to both of your questions. The only sacrifice may be at which level/volume you want to play at? The Valve Jr is an Awesome AMP!!! Hands-down. I know seasoned players that absolutely love theirs. Don't let the fact that its "ONLY 5w" fool you. Wattage has NOTHING to do with Volume, well it does but not like you think. Volume is dictated more by the amount of air your moving with your amp. If you plug that thing into a 4x12 or 2x12 cab it'll blow you out of the room. Distortion, yes you'll either have to crank up the amp and/or turn your knobs on the guitar. I'm surprised you haven't done so already. Dude, its your gear, twist and turn those knobs to your liking. Mess around with that Pick-Up selector switch, you'll hear the differences. As suggested you can also get a stomp box. If you don't have the money, you can get one of the DanElectro Daddy-O for pretty cheap. They have a few at around $10 and I've seen 3packs (Metal/Dist/OD) at GC for like $20. Ok, so they're pretty much considered junk, but I have a few and they're perfect for practicing and they do the job just fine. Also check out some of the Beheringer Pedals. They're not bad if on a budget and/or your experimenting. The reason I'm suggesting the cheaper alternatives is because until you know what you want, why waste hundreds of dollars on em? Which is real easy to do. If you do have a few bucks.. one of the most popular pedals is the Ibanez "Tube Screamer". The TS808. Its a GREEN BOX. Get one and you'll love it forever. BTW did I say that amp you have is awesome? Its something you could keep forever....believe it or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyelcrrt1281733995 Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Really nice amp! but you have to crank the volume up around 2 or 3 o'clock to get that lovely creamy tube OD sound. Sometimes, even 5 watts is too much for the neighbors. You can use a distortion or other effects pedal to get some buzz at a lower volume, but it just won't sound the same. For the same money, try an attenuator like the Ted Weber Micromass. Pretty much same money as an effects pedal, but what it does is limit the volume going to the speaker so you can crank the amp to get the tone, but limit the sheer loudness at the speaker. Works well enough that I just bought my second one. It also has very little coloration of the tone. Enjoy, you've got a nice rig there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 the typical mod for this problem is still fairly loud. the addition of a negative feedback resistor on a switch. this cuts volume in half.. so you can achieve distortion earlier. But, it's still pretty loud for a lot of home situations. a pedal in front will give you the drive you want at low volume. behringer has a couple of nice overdrive distortion metal pedals on the cheap.. an attenuator is expensive. turn your amp on 9, guitar volume all the way down.. now slowly turn your guitar volume up.. testing with chords etc.. when it overdrives, that's it's lowest volume with overdrive. pretty loud innit? pedal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno719 Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Yes it is VERY LOUD! Too loud for my situation, I'll get yelled at. I'll get me a cheap box for now, and just play it loud when I'm home alone. I have to say that I am thrilled with the set up, especially for the price. MF's stupid deal of the day for $199. They still have some with the LP100 and the SG310 for $249. Thanks for all the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWANG Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 yah. I almost bought another set. *G* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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