Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

well after reading the 4 page .....look at what bugera copied now .....thread here,i am not going any where near a bugera.it was horror story after horror story after horror story.as for buying something used...i never buy a used amp..you just can never be sure what your getting.i know people do buy used amps..i am just not one of those people..and after the flame job b-52 is getting,i just may grab a carvin legacy head for 800 bucks and call it a day..only thing with carvin,is you cant put your hands on one untill fed ex knocks on your door.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

ravendouglas said:
ok enough of your condecending bull sh@t dude,i have been ignoring your snobotorium crap all day .enough already and dont choke on your silver spoon and your 3000 dollar amps. i wanted information on a piece of gear,not be insulted because i cant spend 2 or 3 grand on an amp.if thats not what you meant to do fine,but that is my perception of your comments.
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You realize you're saying this to a guy who just extolled the virtues of paying less for amplifiers, right?
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

misterwhizzy said:
You realize you're saying this to a guy who just extolled the virtues of paying less for amplifiers, right?
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i dissagree,read it again and in the context of his earlier rant.i dont want to get into a piszing contest with any one, including him ,i was just trying to find out about a mid priced amp.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

ravendouglas said:
i dissagree,read it again and in the context of his earlier rant.i dont want to get into a piszing contest with any one, including him ,i was just trying to find out about a mid priced amp.
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I understand that. And I don't think anyone wants to start piszing with you. I don't like watching anyone pisz, and I don't even like the smell of pisz. And for the record, I think I understand Adam pretty well.

What he appears to be telling you is that you can find quality on the used market. How many guitarists do you know that buy expensive gear, beat the pisz out of it, then try to sell it real cheap? When I sell an amp, it's because I can't get the tones I want out of it, not because I beat the life out of it and am trying to unload it. I treat my stuff well, because I want it to sound great, and I think most guitarists do the same thing. They sell stuff because it doesn't work for them, not because it's garbage.

And if you go look at a used amp and play it and it sounds good, then why not get it at half price? Why pisz away your money? I hope you do look into the Jet City stuff, because I just got one of their heads, and I think it sounds really, really good. If you buy within the next week, you can get it for $620 after the rebate. Check it out here. Don't pisz away the opportunity.

I'm going to go order a pisza.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

i will even explain why i dont buy used amps. in most cases factory warranties are not transferable..buying a used mesa or marshall for 12-14 hundred bucks is not the same as going down to the pawn shop and buying a used cd player for 30 bucks.if it fries im screwed,so when it comes to my musical equipment,i want it new,un blemished and with a warranty.but thats just me.maybe i just took the guys comments to personal,been a hot crappy day.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

i do appreciate all the feed back..sorry adam if i took your comments personal in way you did not intend...i just want a tube amp that i wont regret buying.,and that i wont spend so much monney on ,that my wife calls a divorce lawyer.i knew nothing about b-52 amps so i asked.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

i even deleted my comment because i dont want confrontation.i dont know adam.so i will be open minded and say..i took his comments in a negative manner he probably didnt mean..i did write down some jet city amp notes.i will check them out.thanks for the recomendation
 
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Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Now that you're being nice, it's no fun. I may even have to go back to my post and correct my spelling. I was trying to get a rise out of you and a laugh out of everyone else. If your posts and my history are any indication, I probably failed on both counts again.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

misterwhizzy said:
Now that you're being nice, it's no fun. I may even have to go back to my post and correct my spelling. I was trying to get a rise out of you and a laugh out of everyone else. If your posts and my history are any indication, I probably failed on both counts again.
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i am nice 99% of the time,not always,but i have toned down my attitude quite a bitover the last couple of years.i still take things to personal i see.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

i hear ya about taking care of your stuff.the rig i just got,was partialy paid for by me selling a pristine purple marshall mg half stack.not a scratch on it.got my asking price of 450 bucks,and went right to guitar center.i didnt sell the marshall because it was beat up,i sold it because i didnt like it.so your post makes perfect sense,but i am still wary of buying high dollar electronics used.
 
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Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

^ you should relax about used gear man.

My amp was new in 1968. It still works great.

You can find used Marshall JCM2000's and Dual Recs and Peavey 5150's for about $800 all day every day and they all probably have another 50 years of life left in them at least.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

I think at this point there'd be some good solid state amps out there for not too much more money that would be a lot more reliable and sound better.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

I have heard from multiple people that they are unreliable and have defects that could have been avoided in the design. For that reason I have steered clear of them. I don't know this to be true for fact, but I wouldn't have necessarily believed it if I heard it only from 1-2 people.

As far as the way they sound, however, they sound really good. The AT100 I think it's called is the one I played the most. It has nice cleans and smooth overdrive. I think if they had a reputation for being sturdy and reliable I would own one.

On the other hand, why get a B52 when Peavey is around? Nothing B52 makes can match up to a Peavey JSX in my humble opinion. Those things are selling less than 1G right now new.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

A good , or better solid state circuit is always better than a poor or worse tube circuit.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Soundwise, it probably has some good tones in it. Reliability is a different issue...throw that thing into the back of a van fifty times, and if it still works than it's reliable. Most likely won't last that long tho.
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

ravendouglas said:
i even deleted my comment because i dont want confrontation.i dont know adam.so i will be open minded and say..i took his comments in a negative manner he probably didnt mean..i did write down some jet city amp notes.i will check them out.thanks for the recomendation
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I think I might have come off a little too harsh in this thread. I can tend to say things very directly, and take a more cynical or opinionated tone that I really intend. I apologize if I offended you, man.

The point about used gear that people are tying to get through to you is that, when you buy cheapo import junk new, you lose in the end. It doesn't last. You aren't satisfied. And when you go to sell it or trade it in, you take a bath on it because nobody wants cheap used crap. The moment you take your brand new piece of chinese pressboard out of the box, it's suddenly worth half what you just paid for it.

Buying a good used amp - in many cases, a really good used amp - will cost you the same (or just a little more) than some indo-chinese budget piece on initial purchase, but save you hundreds in residual value. If you bought, for example, this 2-channel Dual Rec (no affiliation with seller) for the BIN of 1,190.00, you could gig with the thing for five years and turn around and sell it for the same money...

...You lose nothing, and providing you took care of the amp during your ownership of it, the guy who buys it from you gets a killer amp that's just as useful and toneful as it was when you bought it 5 years prior.

Good equipment holds its value because, being well-made using quality components, it tends to remain desirable.

Budget gear loses value because, being cheaply-made using cheap components, it rarely lasts long enough to even be re-sold more than once for any kind of money.

Continually turning junk over for new junk locks you into a "whirlpool of crap." Buy new piece for $400. Sell it for $200. Buy new piece for $450. Sell it for $230. Ad infinitum. Do that enough times and you WILL have cumulatively spent that $3,000 you initially said you could never afford, and you will still have just one sh1tty little amp to show for it.

You don't even need to spend a lot to break the cycle - as Empty said above, there are literally tons of good amps to be had for relatively little coin:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SOVTEK-MIG-50-S...UITAR-AMP-/320572981923?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sovtek-MIG-100-...ller-Muff-/290462631180?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0http://cgi.ebay.com/Laney-AOR-100-Pro-Tube-Lead-Amp-Head-/230508639196?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/RedBear-MK-60-Amplifier-Red-Bear-MK60-Amp-/150478148456?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/ENGL-E325-Thund...-all-tube-/120595080732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Blackstar-Venue...-60W-Tube-/120604236631?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1988-Ca...Watt-Tube-/280492531915?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Peavey-5150-Head-Bias-Modded-JJ-Tubes-/400142930660?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

http://cgi.ebay.com/PEAVEY-Ultra-Pl...Amplifier-/370408770607?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

If you're not sure what used/out of production amps are good (because there are a lot of them out there) ask around. Do some research. There are deals to be had.

BREAK FREE OF THE WHIRLPOOL OF CRAP
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

that was a very informative post adam.and you are right,i have spent over the last 5 years..lets see.....first half stack was a line 6 spider 2,. that set me back 650 or so, kept it for a few years,actually got a good rersale on it.i got 500 for it.took that money and bought the purple marshall mg half stack,played it and hated it for a year and a half,that marshall was 650,i got 450 out of that one on resale,i turned the marshall half stack into this new amp seen here.this set up was about 840 bucks or so with tax.so all together on amps ,the last 5 years i have spent 2140 bucks,i got 950 of that back in resales.




View attachment 20231
 
Re: Are B-52 tube heads any good?

Yeah, man... the thing is, I spent a few years doing the same thing before I wised up. If I knew then what I know now, well, let's just say I'd have sounded a lot better a lot sooner.
 
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