turtle Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 hey everybody, anybody got any cool tips or an idea of what replacement tubes would sound good in my epi valve junior. it has an el-84 and a 12ax7 . thanks for the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 JJs--order them from The Vintage Sound. Ask for Steve. He has a few Valve Juniors he has moded and knows the amp well. I would replace the stock tubes with JJs. I put a preamp tube (12ax7) that had more more clean headroom--which the amp needs. I will check on the exact type when I get home. It also warmed up the tone a little. You also may want to replace the speaker, which may have a greater impact on tone than a tube change. Steve can walk you through some of the options. I bought an attenuator from him, tubes and a Weber speaker--all for the VJ. He's a good guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 thanks for the info, but couldnt find the web site ??? ill check em out > what about electro harmonix tubes?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 . . Old Mullards, long-plate, triple-mica, halo-getter, out of Blackburn in the sixties or seventies. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 It depends on what the version of your VJ, the latest version (3rd) has better tubes than the prior 2. My modded version 2 head improved very noticeably when I replaced the stock Sovtek tubes with a JJ 12AX7 and a JJ EL84 especially on full volume, these tubes have a even clipping or distortion. (don't know the real technical terms). I actually have some tubes on the way from www.tubesandmore.com. I am replacing the tubes on my new Fender Champ 600. I bought Tung-Sol for the 12AX7 and Electro-Harmonix for the 6V6GT. JJ Teslas seem to be concensus when replacing tubes on the VJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 cool, i think i have the older version?? but i have no idea . i bought it used > its the combo version but i bought the extension cab for it. i actually started buiding a head for it today in the shop> it has only a 4 ohm speaker output if that tells you anything. is there anything else different wih the new ones? also more tube info would be great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 http://thevintagesound.com/store/ The first version sucked They improved the second version, though it still had issues The third requires much less work. Be careful--it is a cheap amp. You can sink a ton of money in it. It is a labor of love. The problem, though, is that you may spend a lot and never get it right. Search the web for valve junior versions. There are a couple of ways of telling which version you have. You may want to head over to the epi forum. They might have some better insight, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 thanks alot > i hope i have a better version of this thing> im not into modding the crap out of it because it sounds good as is and i use a boost pedal that really gives it kick.> i just think a new tube set will be a nice upgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 thanks alot > i hope i have a better version of this thing> im not into modding the crap out of it because it sounds good as is and i use a boost pedal that really gives it kick.> i just think a new tube set will be a nice upgrade Sounds like you are in good shape. Let us know how it goes. I think JJs are a good fit for the amp. You may want try a few different brands for the 12AX7s. My understanding is that these are what impacts the tone more than your power tubes. And nice looking guitar in your avatar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Sounds like you are in good shape. Let us know how it goes. I think JJs are a good fit for the amp. You may want try a few different brands for the 12AX7s. My understanding is that these are what impacts the tone more than your power tubes. Nope, both tubes impacty the sound, I was under this impression for what I read but the power tube makes a huge difference when you crank the amp up. The distortion with the stock Sovteks is not good, kind of farty, when you plug in the JJ the distortion becomes more even. Actually I have heard recently that a lot of the character of these amps is in the power tube. I played my Explorer full blast the other day and made those tubes work...big difference with the JJ, now keep in mind this is full blast, as if there was an 11 on that knob... You are right in that if you are modding these things do it for fun 'cause you may end up spending some cash. The cool thing about this amps is the one knob feature, if can call that a feature. I think everybody should own a one-knob tube amp, you learn some things from this kind of setup. I am waiting anxiously to see how my Fender Champ sounds with good quality tubes. They arrive this Friday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rybass Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 I personally dont like JJ's and have had bad luck with them. I would suggest the tungsol 12ax7 and a TAD el-84. The tungsol has great breakup and once it heats up and you are cranking it it will smooth out for a great blues drive. The TAD helps to fatten up the tone and gives a little more punch. Electro harmonix gold series are good if you plan to gig with the amp and move it around alot as they are badass tubes of steel from deep in Russia. To my ears they sound best cranked. If you are buying tubes and have the cash I would get a couple different ones of each value and try them out. That's the best way to find what you like. It's a fun amp, enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thevintagesound Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Hey guys, Just thought I would pipe in over here about the differences in the Vjr. The easiest way to tell the difference in the versions is by the circuit board. Version 1 and 2 had green and Version 3 had a black circuit board. Changing out the tubes made a big difference but changing out the speaker as well will make big difference too. A note tho if you are keeping the stock circuit board is be carefull when soldering and unsoldering. First go around I messed up a trace or two by heating it too much. I eventually switched the whole thing over to a turret board layout. Makes it a whole lot easier if you are going to make lots of changes here and there. Anyways, if you guys have any questions on them just let me know. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 The beauty of these small 5W amps is that they usually have 2 tubes so it is cheap to experiment with tubes and/or change the sound of the amp. I have a Peavey Classic 30 with all JJs and if I wanted experiement with that one there are 7 tubes to replace, that gets a bit expensive. I like JJs a lot but then again my experience is limited, they are definitely an improvement over Sovetks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRom Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Turtle - Just remember that 'old' = 'expensive'. Especially VOS tubes if you can find them. EH makes very good tubes so I wouldn't hesitate using them. But most tubes brands are better than the stock tubes anymore. Even Groove Tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted October 29, 2008 Author Share Posted October 29, 2008 thanks friends for all your help, because of your advise i figured i would order some jj's to experiment with > i went to the local music store today and actually.....yep i traded the valve junior combo (which aparrently was a first edition) for the head version of a brand new one. i got the combo for $75 bucks and got a $95 dollar trade for it so i couldnt resist. it sounds similar but there is no hum or buzz> major improvement > and i got the new head for $35 more . it was marked for $129 and got a new one in a box. 3rd edition i guess > long serial # and no markings on the power button. supposed to have "just come in" but, ill tear it apart and post what i have. but much happier with the reduced noise . ill also let you guys know about the tube improvement in my opinion of course. thanks for ALL your help again, turtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Trawl the junk-shops and garage-sales (car-boot fairs here in Blighty). Find old boxes of tubes, old tube radios and gramophones. Keep looking. Look some more. Every time you find an ECC81 / 12AT7, ECC82 / 12AU7, ECC83 / 12AX7, EL34 / 6CA7, EL84 / 6BQ5, EL86 / 6CW5, buy the unit or box, take out the tubes you want by Mullard or Amperex or Telefunken, RCA, GEC or whoever. Don't forget - people like Fisher used to re-brand Mullards, so gen up on the letter-codes and general appearance of the tubes for YOUR amp(s). You will be totally gobsmacked the first time you replace your modern Soviet or Chinese tube with an old unit in the pre-amp stages, and very pleasantly surprised the first time you do the same with the power stages. Build up a little supply of spares - and try them in different places (pre #1, tone-gain, phase inverter). It doesn't have to be expensive - and selling on the ones you don't want or need can be fairly lucrative too - I just bought a junked Sound City (front panel trashed, case flood damaged) for 20 english. I have kept the four ECC83 from Mullard in the 60's, and sold the 4 EL34 Mullards for 60 english and another 20 english for the transformers and choke. You got it - I gained 4 gorgeous tubes and 60 english on the deal. Most importantly though - enjoy..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 You will be totally gobsmacked the first time you replace your modern Soviet or Chinese tube with an old unit in the pre-amp stages' date=' and very pleasantly surprised the first time you do the same with the power stages. Build up a little supply of spares - and try them in different places (pre #1, tone-gain, phase inverter). [/quote'] While this is true in many amps, it is not necessarily true in the Valve Junior. You should definitely try a number of tubes out since EL84 and 12AX7 tubes are both pretty cheap. However, I tried some great vintage Telefunkens from one of my Fender amps in my Valve Juniors and I didn't notice any difference at all! In fact the modern JJs and Tung-Sols sounded best to me. I think vintage/NOS tubes don't always work the sonic wonders in new (especially cheap, printed circuit board based) amps that they do in vintage/point-to-point wired amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermionik Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 . . hey surfpup - an excellent point well made. Never occurred to me..... but you are almost certainly right. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 ok here it is... a third edition black circuit board amp. this thing sounds great with the extension cab and a boost pedal. the jj's made an improvement but this thing sounded good to begin with . when i took it out of the box at the music store i asked to plug it in before buying it . the first thing i noticed was no buzzing. somebody grounded this puppy good .even in my new rehersal space im building , im plugging it into a 2 prong with no ground and it still doesnt buzz, even cranked to about 12 o clock. thanks for all the info again. im going to try a different set of tubes as well so i can swap them between the epi v.j. and my new blackheart little giant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 What tubes did you remove? I understand version 3 came with better tubes than the previous versions. I A/B'd the TungSol and JJ on the preamp and the JJ is smother but not necesarily better, good sound from either. To my surprise my Champ 600 cam with a Russian Sovtek on the preamp. The output is still Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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