Class Project: Epiphone Valve Jr. Bitmo Trio Mod
Bitmo Trio Mod Kit for the Epiphone Jr.
$49.95
http://thetubestore.com/modkits.html
When I purchased the Epiphone Valve Jr, it was mostly for the purpose of having a fun little tube amp I could experiment on and in the process learn a little more about how amps work.
When I started researching common EVJ mods, I kept encountering the references to Bruce Hutcheon and his company Bitmo. The consensus seemed to be that his mod kits were a great value and a non-threatening way to enter the world of amp modification.
That was all I needed to hear.
The Bitmo Trio mod is actually two mods that compliment each other packaged together. The first stage adds a tone knob that can be pulled for a what Bitmo calls a 'fat boost'. The seconds part adds a three position mini-switch that takes the voicing of the amp from Lo (a blackface Fender-style sound) to Mo (a British kind of crunch) to Whoa (modern-style rockin) .
So, to review this mod, let's ask two questions:
1) How hard is it?
2) How's it sound?
1) How hard is it?
If you know much about me at all, you know I am not considered by most to be handy. I knocked out the back window of my car with an amp. I cut off a chunk of my thumb with a pair of scissors. I once took apart my Boss DR-5 drum machine and have never to this day been able to get it back together.
When I went to the Bitmo site and saw this kit was labeled for skill level 'moderate' I definitely had second thoughts about my decision and started to think about how I might be able to get another amp after I wrecked this one. I have done a few basic guitar mods in the past, swapping out pickups and installing a mini-switch, but I had never before come face-to-face with the inside of an amplifier.
So you'll know how big a deal it is for me to day this: This mod was SO much easier than I dared hope. If you can read the English language, solder a connection and hold a drill, you can do this mod.
Probably the best surprise of this whole experience for me was how crystal clear Bruce's instructions were. Unlike almost every other instruction manual on the planet, there was very little room for interpretation in this guide. Bravo, Bruce!
There were two times where I ran into a little difficulty. The first was mounting the Tone knob. the kit comes with a very handy drilling guide you tape to the front of the chassis to see exactly where to drill. I was rushing a bit at this stage and, as you can see from one of the above pictures, I did not have the guide lined up correctly. The result is that my tone knob brushes against the side of the amp a bit when turned lower than about 9 o'clock. No big deal, but I wish I wouldn't have rushed there. The second struggle I had was the wiring of the mini-switch. The lugs on that mini-switch are really small and my fat fingers had a hard time with them. That, coupled with the fact that I kept dropping the resistors on to my shaggy carpet, led to some frustration during the last hour of the project.
All told, the mod took me about three hours, bolstered my confidence to try some more complex mods, and was a hell of a lot of fun.
Now on to the big question...
2) How's it sound?
I'm not gonna lie; it was a scary moment screwing the chassis back into the cabinet, plugging in the power cord and flipping on the power switch. Was I about to see smoke rising from the amp? Would any sound come out when I strummed the open D chord? And, if so, would it sound any good?
First I tried the 'Lo' setting. Not bad. It sounded a bit like the original amp, but a bit brighter.
Next I flipped the mini-switch to 'Mo'. And the sound changed. It was louder and broke up a little more. That flabby distortion I had grown used to from the Jr was gone.
Then came 'Whoa'. Now we're talking! The gain is sweet and singing. I'm absolutely going to be using this setting.
The mini-switch definitely functions as advertised and adds some great voicings to the amp.
Then I pulled the tone knob and engaged the 'fat boost'. And with that one pull of a knob, the Epiphone Valve Junior went from a cool little tube amp to experiment on to the cool little tube amp I cannot stop playing. Seriously, the 'fat boost' adds so much the sound of this amp and the change is so drastic it left me speechless. The voicing mod is cool, but, for me, the tone knob with the boost is 100% the reason to use this mod. It is excellent.
If you are looking to get into the world of tube amp modification, you'd be hard pressed to find a better gateway drug than the Bitmo Trio. It's easy, fun and sounds absolutely killer. My only complaint is that the mod takes this already loud 5w amp and make it significantly louder.
Thankfully, Bitmo also offers the '10-uator' attenuator. Now where's my credit card...
posted by Six-String Bliss at
2:59 PM
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