theteenagegiant Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Hey guys, you seem in the know so here I go... I have a VJ combo. It's fine for bedroom practice, but when I play at church I need more clean headroom. Not signifigantly more, but more. Now I know you'll all say that a VJ is made for grit, but I just wonder. I met a guy at a youth even with a VJ head and a Fender Deluxe cabinet and he said that for on stage he only had the volume at 9 o'clock on stage or it was too loud. To get enough volume with my combo I have to go to 1 o'clock. So I suppose my question is, how much volume difference is there (with any speaker other than an 8 or 10 inch)? All help appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 I can't really answer your question, but in response to your signature, that plastic binding sits in place of wood, so your bindingless-guitar probably weighs a little more than a standard :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbrooks0711 Posted June 15, 2010 Share Posted June 15, 2010 Why don't you mic the amp and put it through the PA? That's what I do and I play a lot for my church. That way, our sound guys can mix it right with the main system and the amps that I use serving mainly as a personal monitor sort of thing. Edit: I've personally seen a lead guitarist use a 15w blackheart half-stack mic'd and he sounded fine for a 400 person crowd. FYI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theteenagegiant Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 Sjael, I will remove my sig immediately. Unfortunately we don't have a great PA at our church and I am not able to get a monitor for myself. Is there anyone who can answer my question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbrooks0711 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Sorry can't help. I've either had at least 30 watt amps to play live and if that wasn't enough I mic'd the amp. But before I spent $300 on an amp extension cabinet (the fender deluxe cabinet new), I would look around for a different amp. In that range you are starting to see an actual Fender Deluxe used and those have a lot of clean headroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 You don't get clean headroom with a stock Vjr. It's designed to turn to mush when pushed to a level above bedroom volume, and frankly, it doesn't have enough power to provide clean headroom at "band level" volumes, regardless. You can get a BIT more headroom out of it by tinkering with resistor values and swapping the OT, but not a whole lot more. If you want clean headroom, buy a bigger amp. If you want more headroom from a Vjr, gut it and build it into an EL34 octal, ala turretboards. My octal build clocks at just over 7 watts, and is remarkably loud and punchy. More efficient speaker(s) will only get you so far. Don't buy into everything you hear from others regarding volume, and especially useable volume. Volume can be very deceptive, so what your youth event guy claimed as "too loud" may or may not be what you'd consider even loud enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theteenagegiant Posted June 16, 2010 Author Share Posted June 16, 2010 Haha a Fender Deville in NZ is atleast $1200. A cab would be about $400 and the Valve Junior cost me $250! NZ isn't cheap. Oh and by the way our main worship leader used to have a Deluxe and it was too loud. So he downgraded to a 5 watt amp that is REALLY loud. So I bought a VJ expecting relatively the same result. It's probbably because his has a highed quality speaker I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindjimmy Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Well, i've found a way to deal with this, it's not perfect, and i'm sure the tech guys will tell us why this is rediculous and wont work, but it works to a point. i use a compressor with the level on about 8 or 9,, or my least distorted dirt box , a blues driver right now, with the distortion turned all the way down, and turn the level most of the way up, then turn down the guitars volume knob. i do this at home with a vibe pedal and delay, and it gets pretty loud , still reasonably clean, and , most importantly, my woman loves the way it sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DH Smokin Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 I hooked a Fender 4 x 12 cabinet to my VJ. It wasn't any louder than the VJ 1 x 12 ext cabinet. You may get a different sound but not any more volume in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuse Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Others have already said it....it is not the speaker size as much as it is the sensitivity, the SPL, The dB rating. You will notice a volume increase if you plug into a 4x12 with speakers that are rated at 101dB. If you do not have a PA, you would probably be better off using multiple cabs that you can spread across the stage to widen your sound footprint. But the biggest shortcoming with a Valve Jr, regarding headroom, is the out tranny. For about $30.00, you can get a great Hammond OT that will really help with clean headroom. You will notice the improvement for sure, but it will not turn your amp into a Fender Twin. Are you interested in changing your OT...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theteenagegiant Posted July 5, 2010 Author Share Posted July 5, 2010 If I did get a cabinet I'd put a Eminence Wizard 16 in it. 103.5DB SPL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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