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Bugera V5 5W Tube Combo


Swoop

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Posted

Well, despite giving my VJr the full 'Voxy Mod' as per the the specs on turretboards, it still doesn't really cut the mustard with me, so rather than spend a shedload more money on it, I think I'm just going to let it go and look for something good right off the bat.

 

Spied these Bugera amps whilst doing a little research, and the little V5 5W amp caught my eye, as I'm after something small and portable.

http://www.bugera-amps.com/EN/products/V5.aspx

 

Does anyone own these, or has anyone tried one? It's only $150US on MusiciansFriend. Looks fantastic, and it has reverb! I love reverb, so this seems like my kind of amp!

 

TWANG, I know you're interested in these, I've seen you asking about one on the Agile forum. Have you played one?

Posted

I haven't. I was thinking about getting one, though. They have a lot of features for their size and not a bad price.

I'll try to see if there's more info..

 

TWANG

Posted

Because you've played one right? Didn't think so. I prefer to judge guitars and amps individually and on their own merits, not by the reputation of some other products or the parent company. I might think that the Gibson Flying V is the biggest pile of crap ever made, (not that I do BTW) but I'm not going to boycott Gibson, or the Les Paul because of one guitar I might not like.

 

Reviews on this one are a bit mixed. Some say it's crap, but frankly I think most of them are biased and have something against Behringer/Bugera products due to past experiences with crap pedals etc. Apparently the first V5s were not without issues, but they have bee rectified now. And those who did like it thought it was excellent. I'll reserve judgement until I can find and play one myself.

Posted
I wouldn't expect much from it at all. It's a Berhinger product' date=' and has tubes, there for has to be crap.[/quote']

 

 

Now now, let's not be hasty. I own a couple Behringer amps and have played that little 5 watt Bugera (as well as the v22). The solid state modeling amps I have sound terriffic for what they are. I'd take them over any Line 6 any day. And my band uses a few pieces of Behringer P.A. gear, and they're awesome for what we paid.

 

The Bugeras I played though, left much to be desired. New tubes would definitely make them sound a bit less harsh, but they were far too fizzy and well, cheap-sounding for my taste. They may be perfect for someone else though, so who's to say. I'm really interested in playing that Plexi copy they have though. And the JCM900 copy, too.

 

But yeah, don't ever rule anything out solely based on the brand. Not without playing it PERSONALLY, not just watching some youtube video or something. That's ridiculous.

Posted

If the Bugera is halfway decent, I think it could be quite good value. Is it just me, or do others agree that these little 5W amps are getting a bit overpriced? I dunno, maybe it's my brain automatically associating a figure like 5W with cheap and simple, and forgetting that these are tube amps. But take these prices for example:

 

Marshall Class 5 - $900NZ

Blackheart BH5 - $700NZ

Blackstar HT5 - $900NZ

Vox AC4TV - $700-$800NZ

 

That's really quite expensive for a practice amp. I'd like to have a practice amp that sounds nice, but doesn't break the bank. To me that's sort of part of what a practice amp is, it's relatively inexpensive. I mean, those prices are only a couple hundred dollars away from a brand new Peavey Classic 30. So why, based purely on specs alone, when you can get a 30W, 112 combo with a really nice speaker and much more EQ, for another $200NZ, would I want to buy a small, 5W Combo with a good speaker, minimal EQ and settings, for $900? Or even cheaper if you find a nice used one, which there are plenty of, believe me!

 

I know the C30 doesn't really fit the description or purpose of a practice amp. It's not nearly as portable as something with a smaller speaker and lighter chassis, and it's much too loud. It's a fairly serious piece of kit really. But that's the point, when you can get something so awesome for little more coin than the practice amp, then why buy the practice amp? The Bugera could potentially be $300-$350NZ and, as I said, if it's halway decent, could be excellent value. If you ask me, that's how much a practice amp should cost.

Posted

Fully agree Swoop. For the record, Bugera's bigger amps are mighty nice, I find, especially considering they are invading Solid State price territory. Can't speak specifically about their smaller amps, but I'm a big fan of their JCM copies.

Posted

I've had several behringer products.

sold my ss amp to my sons friend two years ago.. still going strong.

still have a 4 ch. mixer with no problems.

had many other pieces.. v amp pro.. bass amp head.. no problems at all.

TWANG

Posted

in australia, the first batch of bugera amp heads had a failure rate of 100%. even the floor stock blew up and got repaired.. fried output transformers, melted plugs inside the chassis.. allans were stocking them here, but due to the problems with the first batch, dropped them like a hot potato. the design problems were fixed after a certain serial so they should be 'safer' now.

 

the V5 5w combo came out after their first lot of amps so they might be ok..for some reason i thought the reverb was dsp based.

Posted

When I was in the market for an amp I was interested in the Bugera V22, the slightly bigger version of the V5. But other than one internet shop I couldn't find any of them in the area where I live. Eventually I went with the Kustom amp (and I'm VERY happy with it). But when I get to a point where I'd need a new (bigger) amp, Bugera would certainly be on the list again. Hopefully I'll be able to go out and try one first hehe.

Posted

Yes, the reverb on the V5 is digital. Still not a terrible thing on a small practice amp though. I'll settle for digital reverb just to have reverb at all on a practice amp.

Posted

I tried the larger line ( before I knew they were from The Big "B") and was very un-impressed. Not to mention the fact I have seen about 8 die in the past year, remember, brand new unmolested amps here, giving up the ghost for no reason.

I was excited about them and the B-52 line of amps when they first came out, but both are crap. I have no faith in that company, (BERRY) and can't in good conscience recommend anyone buy their products.

And that ain't me being a gear snob either. I'm on here supporting Epiphone, cause every once and a while they make a great guitar for a great price. And if you pick the right one you get a good value, but nothing I have ever heard or seen from Berhinger has been dependable or not been noisy as hell, except for my cheapest of cheapies, the DI1000. But in all honesty, I have killed 3 of them while my whirlwind that is 20 something years old still works like a charm. So the DI works well, but only for a short period. I think you can only pick it up 100 till it dies or something.

Disposable gear is for disposable income. I have neither.

Posted

people don't like behringer saying they copy ideas.

people say they are cheap junk that breaks down.

 

People say their behringer has lasted for years with no problems.

given the amount of goods they sell, you're probably going to hear more of breakdowns or problems.

 

But I'll say it twice..

the bass amp I had was just fine while I had it..

the mixer has worked for several years with no problems at all.. and by the way sounds pretty darn good.

the v amp pro was a little quirky.. but never a problem.

the ss amp is still running in my sons bedroom after at least two years.

 

behringer customer support was always good with me, passing info along, etc..

I think the company has some problems with getting things right.. for sure. But solve them, it seems to me, eventually.

I think they have unsold a few people foever, too.

 

I don't really have any feelings or opinion about their business practices as far as design goes, 'cause I wouldn't know about any of it.

 

it's just that nothing I've gotten from them was crap at all that I can remember.

TWANG

now nady.. there's some often junky stuff..

Posted

Beheringer gear is kinda like Fender guitars. You may have to send a few back before you get one worth keeping. But the good ones do the job when they do work, and they last as long as anything else that works when it works. :) Lets just say their quality control is second to none (at all). :-k

 

I've got a UB802 mixer that's still working. And an audiophile DJ buddy uses their Tube Ultrafex in his PA cuz he sez the fancier stuff like the BBE's and Aphex exciters weren't as good or as easy tweak on the fly! Go figure. http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/T1954.aspx

 

Gil....

Posted

my 2 cents..

 

go with a blackheart......why?

 

look up there reviews,

 

mod way easy,

 

and personly I have read more bad reviews on the epi valve amps than most others, with the buggeras being right behind them so I think it is all personal preff, but like I said

 

BLACKHEARTS are perfect

Posted

^Perfect if you have $700NZ to blow on a practice amp. That'd get me a nice used Epi Les Paul.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Music-instruments/Instruments/Guitar-bass/Electric-guitars/auction-253609625.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Music-instruments/Instruments/Guitar-bass/Electric-guitars/auction-254105089.htm

 

Or another $100 and I could have a nice, used Fender Blues Junior.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Music-instruments/Instruments/Guitar-bass/Guitar-amps/auction-254107099.htm

 

Or a myriad of other nice things for that price. Which proves my point exactly. Why the hell are these little 5W, 10" amps so freaking expensive?

 

Doesn't look like I can get the Bugera here anyway, so the search continues for something suitable.

Posted

phhhsssssss you can find used Blackheart Little Giants on Craigslist and ebay all the time from $150-250, for head or combo, get a used head, then get,make, find, or use an existing cab for tons of different tones

ps. if you really look hard you can even find some cheap used Tiny terrors, ive seen two on craigslist for $300 in the past month........might have to gets me one

Posted

Yeah, no Craigslist here! I have been keeping an eye out for a used BlackHeart on TradeMe, our equivalent of EBay, but all I've seen is a BlackHeart speaker cabinet. I'd hazard a guess, and probably be pretty accurate, that not many are buying the Blackheart, or other similar amps, because they're just too expensive for what they are. It really is ridiculous. You guys in the US have no idea how lucky you are to have a such a wide range of guitar gear for so few notes.

 

The cheapest little tube practice amp you can buy here is the Valve Junior, and we all know how underwhelming they are. I'm also after a combo amp, not a head and cabinet. The point of a practice amp is that it's portable. Having a separate head and speaker kind of ruins the portability.

Posted

Just wanna add swoop, a small head and cab combo is very portable. Takes up very little space, and each piece is lighter than a combo's whole would be, dig me?

Posted

+1 on the Blackheart. I don't know how outrageous shipping would be from the U.S. dealers that do international shipping, but if you get the chance, I'd go with a Blackheart over all the other low-wattage tube amps. I've played them all, and the Blackheart is my favorite by a mile. My 15 watter sounds great even at bedroom levels, and I recently played a gig with it, unmiked, with a loud punk band. Very versatile in terms of volume, tones, and clean headroom.

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