bugera

solid state has reached its limits for me.

even with tube preamp.

my peavey sounds great, but i'm tired of just cranking it to get enuff volume.

price is an issue. with all the effects i use, simple ampeg svt might not cut it for the price. having an amp custom built is pricey. mesa, laney, green, orange .... way too expensive. love to have one ... just cant afford it.

shopping around ... i found this ........

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Bugera-Ultrabass-BVP5500-Classic-550W-Valve-Bass-Amp-Head?sku=581274

i cant believe how cheap this is!

anyone know anything about bugera? is this a case of you get what you pay for (like all those hartke pos i've thrown away)? is it just not worth bothering to buy this? or has anyone used it before and was impressed?

It looks like it's got a solid state power section, or else they'd be flaunting the power tube specs/quantity. Are you looking for a full tube head or for a hybrid amp with a tube preamp and a solid state power amp? Lots of companies make amps like that Bugera--Peavey, Genz Benz, Ampeg (even though they're more expensive, but that's basically an SVT3 Pro), etc. The thing is, you get what you pay for with most tube heads and that doesn't cost a lot. There's a reason why an Electric with KT88s costs so damn much...

I believe Bugera is made by Behringer. Here is their website:

http://www.bugera-amps.com/EN/home.aspx

EricHaven wrote:

I believe Bugera is made by Behringer. Here is their website:

http://www.bugera-amps.com/EN/home.aspx

That was my first reaction. I'm not sure if they are, though.

ya know ... full tube or tube preamp / ss power ... i'm not sure.

those i've spoken to that build tube amps have told me that tube amps handle distortion and effects fine .........

but i've been told that ss handles distortion better.

this bugera and the others i've looked at are definately tube preamp. i dont think a 500W head is gonna be all tube with only 4 tubes. and just think how loud a 500W all tube head would be ... way too loud.

i'll chek out the website eric posted ........

Chowderboots wrote:

EricHaven wrote:

I believe Bugera is made by Behringer. Here is their website:

http://www.bugera-amps.com/EN/home.aspx

That was my first reaction. I'm not sure if they are, though.

Martin, here is where I read about the Bugera/Behringer connection:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Bugera-By-tuBEhringer-45651.shtml

MadMike, I had always heard that a tube device will handle distortion better than a solid-state device will, but this is from my old-school teachings about tubes vs. solid-state amps. So I grant you that it is possible, in fact, entirely likely, that solid-state devices have evolved so much since then to the point of having superior handling capability over tubes.

i'm pretty sure also that bugera is behringer. at the bugera website i went to a spec sheet. the pdf was downloaded from the behrenger website.

this seems like it might be a better head than what i'm using now. i had one of those hartke heads for a while that used the same tube preamp setup and i liked it, but all the pots were shot and the jacks scratchy. if it wasnt a board mounted hardware assembly i probably wudda tuned it up ... but it was ... and just generally a piece of junk so i sold it for parts.

everywhere i looked, this thing got decent reviews.

and this bugera is reasonably affordable ... i'll try it. if i dont like it, i'll return it before the 90 or 60 day dealey runs out.

Cool beans, man. I hope it works out for you.

Solid state amps have come a long way, I think. I mean, look at those 5 pound Carvin Amps!