Members GAS Man Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 I just received my Bugera V5 from Zzounds on a "meet or beat" price match against MF (cuz MF taxes me ) And I'm very impressed First impression - it weighs a ton compared to other amps in this class. Within the last year or so I went on a little low watt class A amp binge. Peavey Royal 8 (upgraded to a Jensen) Vox AC4TV (Weber Alnico waiting to be installed) Peavey JSX Mini Colossal (great presence but a bit nasty sounding gain) Blackstar HT-5 Head (got a Tung-Sol 12AX7 waiting to be installed to smooth it out) Marshall Class 5 (nice but mine has the cab rattle - unfortunately not discovered until too late - and it's $400) Besides looking very nice compared to some, it weighs a ton. Yeah, that deserves repeating - that is - for its size. But the next thing that impressed me is the smooth nature of its tone. It's quite bluesy sounding and doesn't have that shallow raspy gain sound I've heard in most of the others. The Peavey JSX certainly has it beat on presence, but the Bugera kicks its ass on smooth. Also having a built in reverb is certainly a big plus. It's like, if you buy a diminutive amp like a 5 watt Class A, do you really want stomp boxes and cables running all around it? Depends right, but you might get the idea. It's nice if it can be self contained. Okay, here's the down side. It's a bit on the dark side and isn't chiming sounding like you'd hear on a Fender. The reverb doesn't sound like spring or even plate, it's more like a hall reverb tone. Now are those negatives? Not really. It's again going for more of a bluesy/Gary Moore kind of tone, and unlike some amps, the reverb on this guy is ample for its style of tone. I didn't even get around to maxing it on my brief "out of the box" trial run. Anyway, that's enough for a first impression review. But based on that, I'd say run and get one. I don't know what's up, but the prices are almost at $200 at AMS/ZZ but they did price match/beat against MF. So maybe there's a price hike coming down I first heard of this amp from my 29 yo stepson a few months ago and then followed that up with watching some YT vids. Then Frets added his vids to the scene (further increasing my interest due to the cleans I heard), plus of course "The Tone King"s video are out there. Just had to say, I concur. Well done Bugera! This is my best out of the box experience yet with one of these low watt Class A's +1/2 for the very reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members calclown Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 same as you, i tried the vox ac4tv, valveking royal 8, the champ 600. The bugera is the only one I still own. Got mine for $118. Attenuator, head phone out, reverb, AND it's a tube amp? Ridiculous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 I have nothing but raves for mine. I generally play my "spankier" guitars through it and it does add nice body to it but an eq pedal makes it perfection for any guitar. I keep mine in the living room where the attenuator comes in very handy. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 they're selling them for 200??? WTF? Last time I saw them they were 149.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blind radish Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 Just got mine in a trade the other day for my crate vintage club VC2110 The crate was a great amp, but it had no reverb and I never really cranked it much. The Bugera is perfect for practice and recording .... Gas Man described it perfectly .... real bang for the buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hurtzher Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 they're selling them for 200??? WTF? Last time I saw them they were 149.00. MF has them for $149.00. Damn, that is a crazy price for all that you get with this amp! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phillbis Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 I tried the Fender Champ 600, the Vox AC4, Epiphone Valve Junior and the Marshall Class 5. I still own the Class 5 and the Bugera V5. The V5 sounds pretty good at low volume unlike the Class 5. I also couldn't pass up the price, $118!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman3001 Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 I tried the Fender Champ 600, the Vox AC4, Epiphone Valve Junior and the Marshall Class 5. I still own the Class 5 and the Bugera V5. The V5 sounds pretty good at low volume unlike the Class 5. I also couldn't pass up the price, $118!. where are they 118???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grantus Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 Yeah, it's a great little amp. I love the headphone jack and attenuator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phillbis Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 where are they 118???? I got mine at Musician's Friend for that price. I asked them to match a Guitar Center coupon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members webwarmiller Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 I got mine for dirt when M123 had those 'TUESDAY' codes last year..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Promit Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 Smooth? I played it in the store and listened to demos online and got the opposite impression Not AS harsh as the Royal 8, but a fair bit harsher than the Vox... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members faberbz Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 It's a lot of amp for the price. I sure wish my AC4 had a headphone jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 I have nothing but raves for mine. I generally play my "spankier" guitars through it and it does add nice body to it but an eq pedal makes it perfection for any guitar. I keep mine in the living room where the attenuator comes in very handy.Congrats! Yep, I think with a "spankier" guitar they will balance out a bit more, but also as I was trying to convey above, I don't think they are necessarily dark in a bad way. But more so in a bluesy/Gary Moore sort of way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 Smooth? I played it in the store and listened to demos online and got the opposite impression Not AS harsh as the Royal 8, but a fair bit harsher than the Vox... Yeah, I was hearing pretty smooth last night for a low watt Class A. But it was a brief demo and I actually bought two. One's going away soon to a good cause, but I'll be demoing the second one soon to test it out for good working order and will see if it sounds the same as the first one. But I know what you mean, some of the clips I've heard on line were also glassier than I was hearing last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 Yeah, I have one... among the sub $400 single tubed amps, I'd say it's my favorite. Doesn't do any ONE thing super great, but it can play clean AND loud which is more than most of the competition can do. For warm, smokey tones with a neck pickup, I think the Champ 600 is best. For Vox jangle, there's only one choice. But neither of those can do loud AND clean. Plus with the speaker out that can drive pretty much any cab, it makes it very easy to make it sound even bigger. I got mine used, but it was literally brand new. It wasn't even dusty. Came with the box and everything. If I didn't have so many amps, I'd keep it, but I'm trading it to a guy that is refinishing one of my strat bodies like the Hendrix Montery Pop strat. Still, I was pretty impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xStonr Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 I had the Bugera and found it just okay. Personally, mine was a little on the dark side. I was able to get a Blackstar HT5h for 165 and the Blackstar is a 2 channel amp with much better tone. Bugera is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted November 4, 2010 Members Share Posted November 4, 2010 Smooth? I played it in the store and listened to demos online and got the opposite impression Not AS harsh as the Royal 8, but a fair bit harsher than the Vox... Yep, I had one for a couple weeks. Ok, but certainly not as enjoyable as my other choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 5, 2010 Yep, I had one for a couple weeks. Ok, but certainly not as enjoyable as my other choices. Dang tl, I truly value your input, but I think you sunk my thread. So I'll buoy it once again by sincerely asking, which "other choices?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bag302 Posted November 5, 2010 Members Share Posted November 5, 2010 Here's mine with a BSIAB in front. I really like this amp (better than my EVJ). It's really fun. [YOUTUBE]B7UNf1_9eS0[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted November 5, 2010 ^^^ Wow, I like the sound of that pedal. I hadn't heard of it before. Well, Kudos to that pedal too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Davo17 Posted December 31, 2010 Members Share Posted December 31, 2010 The Bugera Vintage 5 has been rocking me for over a year! Do yourself a favor, and hunt down some vintage preamp tubes, and a Saratov for the power section. I have just picked up a Marshall Class 5 and its great for what it does, but its loud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted December 31, 2010 Members Share Posted December 31, 2010 I've been playing a raving about mine for 8 months now, got it for $135 shipped. I love that little amp. The clean sounds dark if you come from a fender amp, but it really sounds good once you acclimate to it. It takes dirt pedals really well too. at the moment I'm using the V5 as part of a stereo rig with a mustang 1.It's absurd, two cheap amps that just sound great together, I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mmkco Posted December 31, 2010 Members Share Posted December 31, 2010 I just picked one up also. I really like it running into a 12" Jensen Neo100 speaker. Clean, I like the stock speaker a lot. For more dirt I have been using a Barber Super sport. It's a cool little amp for sure. I have tried modding my Epi Valve junior head and it just does not do much for me. You can attenuate the V5 and play all night, and it has a really cool look too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Davo17 Posted December 31, 2010 Members Share Posted December 31, 2010 I just picked one up also. I really like it running into a 12" Jensen Neo100 speaker. Clean, I like the stock speaker a lot. For more dirt I have been using a Barber Super sport. It's a cool little amp for sure. I have tried modding my Epi Valve junior head and it just does not do much for me. You can attenuate the V5 and play all night, and it has a really cool look too. At night, with a bright OD like the tubescreamer, I can rock out at crazy low volumes. Its good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.