traveler Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 I just sold my VJr combo to buy the head. Got it from Musician's Friend on their recent sale ($109.99). It came with loose speaker and input jacks. I checked the MF website to see if they still had them in stock, as I was contemplating exchanging mine (fixed the speaker jacks but can't seem to get the input jack to tighten at all---any help with that would be appreciated). MF's site says they are discontinued. Checked a few of the other internet sellers and no one has any; only the hot-rod version is available now. Is this the end of the line for the original VJr head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wayne Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 I just sold my VJr combo to buy the head. Got it from Musician's Friend on their recent sale ($109.99). It came with loose speaker and input jacks. I checked the MF website to see if they still had them in stock, as I was contemplating exchanging mine (fixed the speaker jacks but can't seem to get the input jack to tighten at all---any help with that would be appreciated). MF's site says they are discontinued. Checked a few of the other internet sellers and no one has any; only the hot-rod version is available now. Is this the end of the line for the original VJr head? I had to send my VJ head back to Nashville for repair (second repair on a replacement for the original I bought last January),asked for the Hot Rod version as a replacement. he said they had to send the same model back to me,so they must still have some at Gibson in Nashville. call Bob Burns at Gibson,maybe he can help you with that input jack and tell you if they are discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtheory Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 The stock jacks are crapola anyway. Replace with switchcraft, and you're light years ahead. Bummer if Epiphone stopped making the Vjr head, although there are about a billion of them floating around by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traveler Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 Thanks for the replies. I'd hate to send it out to Nashville for just a jack tightening or replacement. It seems like the nut on the exterior is as tight as it can get. And the way the jack is attached to the little board, I'm not sure how to go about replacing it myself. Any tips? I did get this amp to start learning about doing simple mods (have the bitmo trio mod waiting for the day I get up the nerve to start messing with things), so I wouldn't mind tackling the input jack with some sort of instructive guidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtheory Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 I can't recall offhand what that OE jack and daughter board looks like, nor can I recall what the purpose of there being a PCB there at all, but it's likely just something to solder the crap jack to. Regardless, there is a two conductor wire running to it from the main board. Just snip the the wires near the crap jack, strip them back, and solder to the new one. The shielded conductor is ground, so that goes to the sleeve terminal on the new jack. The other conductor goes to the tip. If you're unfamiliar with basic soldering technique, practice on something else first. Remember that you're heating the surface to be soldered, not the solder. In other words, lay the soldering iron tip against the surface of whatever you're going to solder for a second, then touch the end of the solder to that surface, not the iron tip. When the surface is hot enough to flow the solder, you're golden. The solder should flow across the area freely, and should appear shiny and smooth when cooled. As soon as you've got adequate solder flowed out, remove the iron, to avoid overheating and scorching/burning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wayne Posted December 4, 2010 Share Posted December 4, 2010 talked to Bob Burns at Gibson today,he says there are no plans to discontinue the VJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenrisulfr Posted December 15, 2010 Share Posted December 15, 2010 If I remember correctly the 3 different speaker impedance jacks are on the same little circuit board. I believe the circuit board is simply the same "shorting" type of circuit used in most multi impedance amps so that when a plug is inserted into one jack, the others are disconnected, and when no plug is inserted they are all grounded. What I would do, and what I plan to do with mine eventually, is simply remove this stock circuit board and wire up the jacks and transformer directly. I think this is actually a pretty common "mod" that people do to this amp while they're under the hood doing other stuff do it. This is a relatively simply circuit to build, if you've done some basic building before, but if it's your first time then I'd say bring it to a qualified tech. Or you could just replace the individual jacks on the board if it's just an issue of one of them being loose. I don't remember which brand they are, but they are the common PCB mount type and it shouldn't be too difficult to desolder/solder a new one on, even if it's your first time. Sorry that I don't remember the brand names for these things, if it comes to me I will update the thread. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philpm Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 talked to Bob Burns at Gibson today,he says there are no plans to discontinue the VJ. I'm wondering whether they are getting ready to introduce an update on them. GC is blowing out the combos for $79 until 1/7, and they are getting increasingly difficult if not impossible to find online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolide Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Never mind the head, they picked the wrong time to discontinue the gorgeous 1X12 cabinet, Marshall Class 5 owners will snap those puppies up like mad. Okay, the head was Mondo Nice too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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