The Steel Guitar Forum

I found a nice version of said amp and it should be here this Thursday (tomorrow) if the weather holds.

I have learned that there are several mods available but I’m not sure which are worth the effort or expense, so I come humbly before you in search of any wisdom that you may have in this area.

As a point of interest : I’m going to learn to play with just the amp as it is, so I can keep my focus on technique rather than tone at this stage of learning.

Thank you for your insight.

What guitar are you going to be using with this amp?

My homemade Gretsch copy with a SD Antiquity lap steel pickup.

I have one that I bought several years ago that was heavily modded. They are good for practice, I think only 5 watts. but no good for gigging unless you have a line out. They are designed for easy distorting and lots of harmonic overtone. If that's what you are after, you got the right amp. If you are after clean to mild distortion, you will have a hard time getting that. Most mods are for more gain and harmonic output. Mine also has a line out and a transformer that allows me to use any speaker impedance from 2 to 16 ohms. Over all a good amp, especially if you want an amp that is easy to distort.

My friend sent me one last year and a box with the Mercury Magnetic upgrade. I did the mods, (which include another power tube), and it is a great OD amp. Up to half volume, it can be clean, but with only 10 watts to work with, that doesn't get it for me. I plan on getting back to it some day, and maybe biasing it a little colder and see if that might clean it up some.
Here's a pick with a cab I built for it, trying to match the head.

I added the Bitmo mod kit - easy to do, and the kit gives you some options for what direction you go in...I opted for increased headroom and clearer tone mod...I was very happy with it!

Steve,
What mod kit did you install exactly?
I would like to do something like that to mine.
Erv

Erv- Sorry, I don’t remember- should be possible to figure out from them- they do have a few different kits, but this one was clear on the options it offered...

They have one with a three way switch, is that the one you have?
Erv

Valve Jr. is a one-trick pony, but such a good trick. There are several around here, you often see them in practice rooms or tiny venues. I think these fill the same niche that the early Fender Champ and Harvard amps back then. My suggestion. Don't worry about mods or upgrades. Just learn to what it can do, quirks and all.

Thank you all for the insight. I’m going to center in on learning how to play and good technique and then I’ll know better which way to proceed. This is a new direction for me because I love toys and gadgets and the guitar world, as y’all know is overflowing with cool stuff.

Erv-
Nope, mine was one you choose which components to use when installing the kit, for more overdrive, more headroom, tone change, etc. No switch. I don't see that kit anywhere now...at least, not from a brief Google to look for it....sorry...

Steve,
I couldn't find anything either.
Thanks,
Erv

Similar to the little Epi is the old Crate VC 508. 5-watts into a 8" Celestion using one 12AX7 and one EL84. It has three controls: volume, tone, and gain. The line out is a very desirable and useful feature, IMO. Experimentation with the preamp tube can bring spectacular results. One of the best harp amps ever built, and not too shabby for lap steel, either. It has the added distinction of being manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri, not China.

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