Bugera Vintage Series.

[ibanezjunkie]

im not sure if these have been talked about here, but i for one am eagerly awaiting their release in early september, although i think the V5 combo is already released over here.

Not sure what to think, because in the past all the bugera amps have suffered reliability problems, which were later sorted out, so the V series might be born with a few issues that will be esolved over time.

But anyway, ive heard theyre based on Vox AC series, and are dirt cheap compared to AC15s and their larger bretheren.

Bugera V5 Combo

5 Watts Class A, 12AX7s and EL84s. With Reverb
Power attenuator built in allows you to run at 5, 1 or 0.1 watts, like the vox AC4.

Bugera V22 Combo

22 watts push-pull Class A/b, with channel switching and reverb. EL84s and 12AX7s.

Bugera V55 Combo

55 watts class A/B power, with 2 channels, footswitchabe reverb and driven by a pair of 6L6 power tube, and features 3 x 12AX7s in its preamp.

Bugera V55HD Head

same specs and power as the combo, but is in head form, and has 4, 8 and 16 ohm speaker outs

all this is off of the Bugera website, thought osme of you guys might be interested. The release is in early september, but icant remember the specific date.

Cheapest ive found
V5 - £130
V22 - £260
V55 - £350
V55HD - £360

if these things really do sound like the AC series, they must be the bargain of the century.

 

[Gutmann]

Wow, they look pretty.. But I'm absolutely not a fan of cheap built, trendy, vintagy looking china-crap. They might be good - I can't tell. But if I want a amph looking like a matchless I'd get one (a matchless..)
I think it's worth, paying the people who design the innovative circuits.. not those who copy them.

 

[tunghaichuan]

Wow, they look pretty.. But I'm absolutely not a fan of cheap built, trendy, vintagy looking china-crap. They might be good - I can't tell. But if I want a amph looking like a matchless I'd get one (a matchless..)
I think it's worth, paying the people who design the innovative circuits.. not those who copy them.

Matchless amps were not particularly innovative. Their designs were based on Vox amps. Their claim to fame was the exremely high level of the build quality; Matchless amps were all wired true point to point. Their flagship amp was like a Vox AC30 that never broke down, which was a huge improvement.

But I agree with you on Bugera being cheaply built, trendy, and vintage-looking.

tung

 

[Jimi75]

Bugera = Behringer

If you really wanna throw your money out the window...go ahead and buy one.

 

[ibanezjunkie]

hmm i like the 6260 but only for its distorton.

bugera amps are built to a much higher standard than the behringer ones, and the newer bugeras have had all the wrinkles straightened out.

the 6260, 6262, 333 and 333XL are all peavey clones, with a better clean channel.

im not too keen on believing it, but Bugera claims most of their amps are hand built.

 

[oldguy]

Bugera = Behringer

If you really wanna throw your money out the window...go ahead and buy one.

I have two pedals (a reverb and a switcher) built by behringer. The switcher sucks, and reverb isn't much better. I can't imagine spending any more money on one of their amphs.
My advice is save your money and buy quality, not shiny looks.

 

[bigG]

Here's a video review of a Bugera half-stack from GW. Go abt 1/2 way down the page for the video review. Includes demo and some history of the Bugera story:

http://www.guitarworld.com/article/bugera_6260_head_amp_412hbk_4x12_cabinet

(Of note: guitar is an Epi LP Slash Sig / Go to The Bottom Line of text review for interesting summation of Bugera)

G

 

[ibanezjunkie]

that guy is like one of those camp people on gameshows who molest the prizes.

its a good demo though, besides his annoying amount of talking, rather than playing.

"right now were going to hear the 6260. -talks for another 5 minutes-"

 

[oldguy]

Here's a video review of a Bugera half-stack from GW. Go abt 1/2 way down the page for the video review. Includes demo and some history of the Bugera story:

http://www.guitarworld.com/article/bugera_6260_head_amp_412hbk_4x12_cabinet

(Of note: guitar is an Epi LP Slash Sig / Go to The Bottom Line of text review for interesting summation of Bugera)

G

That review looks good, G.
If they are built gigworthy and can hang w/ the big names, maybe worth consideration. I'll reserve judgement 'till I can hear/play some.
Most reviews I've seen by any guitar mag online are usually positive. They're seldom critical of the shortcomings the buying public finds once full scale production is underway. That could be that the reviewers are given a tested and true piece to try out, or they don't want to step on advertiser's toes and lose the revenue. Sometimes I'll check the harmony central reviews, or elsewhere, just to see what the people who paid money for gear think.

 

[marnold]

I've known that Bugera = Behringer for a long time. I will say that they've got some interesting people endorsing them. They initially were promoting themselves as a metal amp (hitting the Krank demographic) but seem to have backed off that. As far as the "made in China" thing goes--what affordable amph isn't these days? People like to run down Behringer but I know a number of local musicians who use some of their pedals and things like the VAmpire all the time and wouldn't trade them for the world. What the heck do I know?

 

[ibanezjunkie]

i had a 333XL combo for a short stint that i borrowes from a friend, it was prety good. Think its a Peavey XXX clone? but it has much better cleans.

overall the bugeras designed for metal do exactly what they say on the chassis.

 

[SuperSwede]

Bugera = Behringer

If you really wanna throw your money out the window...go ahead and buy one.

+1

I have two pedals from behringer and none of them are anything to write home about..

I also have tried their Sansamp rip-off stuff and it sounds like a childs toy compared to the real thing.

 

[birv2]

Now this is interesting! I've used some Behringer gear (pedals and the Vampire amp), and I was impressed. I've also seen some good reviews of the first Bugera amps, so it will be exciting to see how "vintage" these ones sound. Wonder how much they'll go for in the US?

 

[ibanezjunkie]

like i said, over here the most expensive model (V55 combo) is about £350, which is the price of the peavey valveking head.

how much does a valveking head cost in the US?

 

[marnold]

how much does a valveking head cost in the US?

$550 at MF, which should be ~£335.

 

[ibanezjunkie]

yeah its about £340 around here as average

and the V55 combo is £360

so id guess more or less $600 in the US for the V55, and the V22, and V55HD are both £260 so you can likely work it out from there.

 

[TS808]

The biggest criticism I've seen regarding Bugera amps is that they have somehow successfully cloned a bunch of amps both tone-wise and cosmetically without any trademark infringement violations being brought against them.

I've seen a number of reviews on the Bugera amps on a number of different forums and the vast majority of them are very favorable. Tone wise, they get some pretty good reviews and I haven't read anything about reliability issues thus far.

Most of the amps they build though are 120 watts which to me is overkill.

 

[msteeln]

The baby of the line seems like a good candidate for a poor man's Swart - www.bugera-amps.com/EN/products/V5.aspx

 

[markb]

More PCB based Chinese built valve amps. If they sound good then they are good. That's the only test. As to long term reliability, come back in 25 years

 

[ibanezjunkie]

the first Bugera amps have a story similar to the first vox AC30s, the best accessory you could buy for them was a good warranty. But however the new AC30s, and also the new bugeras (made in 2009) are very good amps by most standards.

 

[Tibernius]

I did a bit of research in to Bugera's amps a while ago, when I was going to get one of the 333XLs. The main problem people reported was that sometimes the amp would seem fine, all the lights would be on, but no sound would come out. Turned out to be a molex connector overheating and melting:

 

[markb]

the first Bugera amps have a story similar to the first vox AC30s, the best accessory you could buy for them was a good warranty. But however the new AC30s, and also the new bugeras (made in 2009) are very good amps by most standards.

AC30s are a bit flaky by their very design. Dick Denny was pushing the envelope a bit. When they produced the very first AC30 prototype in 1962 Tom Jennings was convinced it wouldn't sell because it was much too heavy to move about. I'm inclined to agree with him

If you meant the AC30CC series, they're another PCB based valve amp. They will die due to heat problems sooner or later. On the plus side the CCs have a standby switch and don't just turn on the power amp on 10 from cold like the old ones. I've seen a few go up in smoke that way but the old ones used tagboards and were a lot easier to repair.

 

[bedroom rocker]

i was looking into getting one of these at some stage, probably the 333 combo, as it seemed as a good value tube amp, until ive heard people on other sites claim half the screws and nuts were falling off. i was going by what the guitar mag said about these, but i realised these guys only usually test something out for half a day at most, so if they say its reliable, theyre probably just saying that cause it didnt break within 4 hours of use

 

[deeaa]

Well for Behringer, their stuff can be useable OK but when pushed you start to notice stuff like really much noise, really ****** pots, really weak solderings and basically just weaknesses all around.

I have a lot of Behringer stuff, and usually end up in tossing them. The last one was a floor version of the V-amp system, utter crap...tossed it in the bin...also bought the WAH pedal...works OK, except I broke one control in 2 days and it is rather noisy as well...kept it anyway. Maybe useable for something. I also use one of their mixers, which when used in recording side are a nice way to destroy any purity of a signal, but are useable for listening side mixers in some situations.

 

[ibanezjunkie]

Bugera seem to be the only decent quality thing available from behringer, even the guys who work there suck, ever seen the behringer worldmusicsupply vids? the guy from behringer sucks.

 

[bedroom rocker]

mind you ive got a behringer ultracoustic 90 watter amp, i cant say its crap, as i havent really played it much to know better. it does its job from what ive seen, but im glad i bought it secondhand for 300 instead of paying 540 for a brand newie, y'know? oke:

 

[deeaa]

mind you ive got a behringer ultracoustic 90 watter amp, i cant say its crap, as i havent really played it much to know better. it does its job from what ive seen, but im glad i bought it secondhand for 300 instead of paying 540 for a brand newie, y'know? oke:

Well sure, most Behri gear works fine at least in home use and for a while ;-) the problems usually only arise when you use them in like gig settings and for longer periods, like with all cheap stuff like Alto, Behri etc. Samson I value much higher than these low-grade stuff, although that too is pretty affordable.

Behringer does have some handy gadgets - I really dig the G100(?) direct box, it has a pretty decent, simple cab sim built in and the box itself is pretty solid. The Composer compressors were quite OK to use in inserts live, although they did tend to be a bit noisy and such in studio.

I was also pretty amazed how good a sound I got outta one of their small practice amps...yeah, many times, as with all cheapo stuff, it may be fine for some use, even great for something, but ultimately there is no substitute for quality builds that won't make extra pops, screeches, noises and break down too easily nevermind some hard conditions and being pushed.

 

[birv2]

I tried the mid-sized combo at GC and very unimpressed. Only a 10 minute trial, but ....

Sounded kind of flat and lifeless at all the settings I tried.

 

[Bilsdragon]

This guy is a little windy, but I like the amps tone. For $150, I think I might buy one of these to play while the rest of the family is at home. I have a Crate V18 for when no one else is around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHXhLCDQpIw

 

[ibanezjunkie]