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BUGERA REVIEW OF ALL 8 OF THEIR AMPS


Norton666

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Zero problems with my V-Ampire head since the few years after I bought it used.
:cool:

And of the couple people I know around my area who've owned a Mesa Rectifier for more than a few months have both experienced major problems with them. Any amp can have problems or not. Many manufacturers have also had problems with a first run of amps, i.e. the Carvin V-3 many people had to send back to get fixed whereas that issue is no longer occurring. I'm waiting for more people to have personal experience with them before judging anything other than the blatant Peavey ripoff scheme which does = lame, IMO.

 

Yeah, but if anything malfunctions on the circuit board in the V-AMPIRE, good luck soldering a replacement. The CB is thin and not very robust and is wave soldered. Doesn't take much heat to melt the foil rings off the connection holes. You will probably need to buy a component loaded circuit board and CAREFULLY solder the ribbon cable plug to it.

Bottom line, Behringer can make a good product, but no matter how good it may sound, A lot of people will have trouble plopping a lot of money down to fix a cheap tube amp because of its fragile circuit boards. Solution: Better circuit boards, raise the price to compensate. In the grand scheme of things, It will not be that much more expensive. And when an input jack, a capacitor, resistor, or whatever needs replacing. It can be soldered in the board without worry.

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Yeah, but if anything malfunctions on the circuit board in the V-AMPIRE, good luck soldering a replacement. The CB is thin and not very robust and is wave soldered. Doesn't take much heat to melt the foil rings off the connection holes. You will probably need to buy a component loaded circuit board and CAREFULLY solder the ribbon cable plug to it.

Bottom line, Behringer can make a good product, but no matter how good it may sound, A lot of people will have trouble plopping a lot of money down to fix a cheap tube amp because of its fragile circuit boards. Solution: Better circuit boards, raise the price to compensate. In the grand scheme of things, It will not be that much more expensive. And when an input jack, a capacitor, resistor, or whatever needs replacing. It can be soldered in the board without worry.

 

 

Agreed, but I'm wondering if there's even a problem with the circuit boards in the Bugeras aside from the fact of using ribbon cables (which I've also seen in other amps like the Marshall 6100).

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Agreed, but I'm wondering if there's even a problem with the circuit boards in the Bugeras aside from the fact of using ribbon cables (which I've also seen in other amps like the Marshall 6100).

 

Ribbon cables are pretty handy, actually

 

 

 

To the OP: Glad you dig 'em man, I've wanted to try the 333xl for a while, and you confirmed my GAS. I'll see if I can't order one soon. :thu:

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Nobody has heard of these amps. There's exactly one review of the TV60H (which I assume was a typo, cuz it says TV50H on the head) on HC. And I've never heard them mentioned by anyone else, ever.

 

I did a search on Crate TV50 and found this on harmony central:

 

Product: Roccaforte HG-100 Head

Price Paid: N/A

Submitted 03/17/2003 at 12:47am by frustrated with my amp

 

Features : 3

It's a real new 100 watt amp head built by Roccaforte amps. It has only one channel. Very basic. It's loud too. It's all tube.

 

Sound Quality : 6

Well, it's always distorted sounding. It has a very bright, somewhat scratchy distorted sound. The sound of chords is very defined, with good string seperation, but a fizzyness envelopes the sound of the guitar, like static on the edges of the notes. It's a cool sound, when you want that sound.

 

Reliability : No Opinion

It looks solid.

 

Customer Support : No Opinion

My friend sells Roccaforte amps, so if anything did go wrong, I'm sure it would get fixed pronto. Also, the amp is so basic inside, that anyone with a bit of common sense and a soldering gun could fix or replace any part.

 

Overall Rating : 6

I did not buy the amp, although I must have tried it out for 4 or 5 hours, trying to get the right sound out of it. It's a very live amp, and the notes do jump out at you, but they are thin and piercing at high volumes and the bass gets out of hand, if you try and fatten it up. Adding mids adds raspiness, and scooping them makes it sound tinny. I was able to get a more usable sound from a Peavey Bandit, without too much tweaking of the knobs, and the distortion sounds just about the same, although the Roccaforte has greater clarity and punch, the buzziness of the gain is just too discomforting to my ears, and doesn't suit my style at all.

If I was playing thrash or punk, I would love this amp. It has all the distorted noiseyness of a Crate TV50, without the reediness of the Crate. The other thing, though, is the Crate has more gain, and this amp sounds better with a Metal zone in front of it, rather than just cranking it up, as the distortion isn't as tight when it's really turned up loud.

I did the old Jimi thing and spun all the knobs to their max settings, like I do with all my amps just to see what happens, and I was not really pleased. The amp compressed bad, and the music sounded like it was getting smothered under water, but maybe it was just the powertubes not being able to take it. It reminded me of a Musicman RD50 in a way, when I did that.

 

 

 

Maybe the floor model had a dying tube, moron? Someone could have jarred the head while moving it, you don't know, you're not there 24-7.

I don't know, Doug, your amp just got compared unfavorably to a cheap crate tube amp and a peavey transtube amp. This guy must be an expert?:rolleyes:

 

He goes on to say: "the amp is so basic inside, that anyone with a bit of common sense and a soldering gun could fix or replace any part" I guess he was intrigued enough to have his "friend" open up the amp (that he did not like) to look at the build? He's full of {censored}. That whole "overall rating" paragraph is a masterclass in why no one should put a stake in HC reviews.

 

Oh, and the amp reminded him of a Musicman RD50? {censored} me!!!!

Spinning a custom amps controls to all their max settings?:confused:

This guy shouldn't have even been allowed to try that amp out.

 

Fail-a-Fail-a-{censored}ety-Fail-Fail.:mad:

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Agreed, but I'm wondering if there's even a problem with the circuit boards in the Bugeras aside from the fact of using ribbon cables (which I've also seen in other amps like the Marshall 6100).

Actually the ribbon cables don't bother me as much as the problems a thin circuit board can create. They are much more fragile, Prone to malfunction from heat or physical movement. I can't remember, but I believe the Behringers are two-sided as well (correct me if i am wrong...)

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what stores are these gonna be in? hopefully all the big stores that carry behringer?

 

 

Funny you mention that. Since I've seen it available to order on SamAsh.com

I called 4 of my local stores to see if they had them in stock yet and they all said no and 1 guy said that Sam Ash stores would not be carrying them and they are available to order online. Guitar Center reps no NOTHING about the Bugera line so I would assume that they are out of the equation.

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We have some Behr comps and gates in a club that I mix in, and we've had minimal issues in the 3 years they've been installed there. One comp gave up the ghost, but the other 7 channels and 8 channels of gate are still working.

 

 

 

 

Ive never had one problem with any Behringer product in 8 years or so.

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Ive never had one problem with any Behringer product in 8 years or so.

 

 

 

the whole behringer hate thing is over done here. ive seen plenty of pro-touring racks with behringer gear in them and plenty of big name clubs that have berhinger gear. i have a couple behringer rack pieces ive had for 5 or 6 years with no problem.

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the whole behringer hate thing is over done here. ive seen plenty of pro-touring racks with behringer gear in them and plenty of big name clubs that have berhinger gear. i have a couple behringer rack pieces ive had for 5 or 6 years with no problem.

 

 

Most pro sound guys won't touch Behringer gear with a 10 foot pole. Doesn't make it bad stuff, but I can't count the # of riders I've seen with "No Behringer" in bold.

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Is there any delay when switching amp channels with the footswitch like you get in some cheap amps?

 

I've only heard of that happening (and experienced it) with Line 6, where the computer inside has to load up a new program. I can't think of any reason why it would happen in amps like these. I could be wrong though. :idk:

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I've only heard of that happening (and experienced it) with Line 6, where the computer inside has to load up a new program. I can't think of any reason why it would happen in amps like these. I could be wrong though.
:idk:

 

Peavey Valveking etc.

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Like I said, I knew I was gonna catch {censored} for it, but I didnt mean that the eq on the Bugera was more responsive than the MK IV. The MK IV is a great amp, I just dont think it is as great as a lot of folks on here feel it is. For me, the Bugera nor the MK IV would be a good fit, but the Bugera would be closer. On the MK IV , I tried and tried , but I couldnt get a satisfying mid- crunch tone. The high gain was great and the clean was damn near unbeatable, but everything in between I found to be average at best.

 

Well to each his own of course, but I couldn't disagree more. The crunch on the M4 is stunning to me, beautiful breakup. Actually makes me want to use it in some parts in songs where I used to use straight up clean. Also with the gain dialed up I can nail the perfect AC/DC tone, Iron Maiden, or many other pre-modern-gain tones. And yeah, the clean and the high gain are pure secks. :love:

 

But yeah, still interested in trying this out. And if you'd rather get a 333 than a Mark IV, be my guest. You'll certainly save a lot of money. :idea:

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ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I doubt many people will run the gain on these past noon. They have TONS of gain.

 

 

Is the amp fizzy like a 5150? I heard SOMEONE's clips of it and it sounded like a fizz machine, but so did the 5150 he was comparing it with. Both of the 6505's I had weren't that fizzy at all.

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