Bugera V5

[drone46]

I have been curious about these forever. Well I finally found a used one in great condition on craigslist for only $100. It came with (3) different EL84 tubes. A Mullard which I have always heard is supposed to be amazing, a JJ, and one from tube dr. The Mullard was it in when I first tried it and I was not impressed. Very dark and muddy sounding. My Strat wouldnt sparkle at all. Even with the gain all the way up, it didnt distort much. Next I tried the tube dr EL84. MUCH better. Bigger fuller sound, sparkling highs. sounded pretty great for an 8" speaker and 5 watts. Then I tried the JJ and the combination of the JJ and the EH 12AX7 that is in the preamp just shine together. Nice balanced sound, sparkling highs without being shrill, breaks up nicely when cranked or the gain is brought up. Overall I am impressed, this turned out to be a great buy for $100.

Does anybody else have one of these? What do you think of them?

 

[Adieu]

Re: Bugera V5

No lows/bass. Tube-ey, yeah, but sounds like a cheap boombox from walmart or something.

Might be quite nice using an external cab, but don't remember if it has a speaker out.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Bugera V5

Havent tried the V5, but I have a V22 which has some great tone. Yeah, you have to go through a lot of tube combinations to get the ones that really shine. And with the right speaker (either a Celestion G12K or Emi Swamp Thang) this thing really shines.

Gongrats on a great buy. Have you tried a Tung Sol ECC83s in the pre? Nice and punchy with full tone and good bass.

 

[thespricket]

Re: Bugera V5

I've had one for about two years and just recently I found out how to get the best from it. I used it for a while with a lot of different pedals and it never sounded great. It was easy to tell the fault was in the speaker. Very muddy and dark sounding. An old korean lady gave me an old Marshall Artist 30. Again, used it for a while then just didn't get enough out of it. It's not entirely tube and always sounded pretty thin even with all my pedals. BUT it has a Celestion V30 with a hardwired cable. Soooo i got a female/female 1/4 adaptor and connected it to a speaker cable out from the V5. Sounds Great! Sparkly Voxy tones, I really like it.

So basically, the speaker is the weakest part of the amp. The tubes are also a great easy way to improve this amp too. I need to get some decent ones soon. I would even feel fine taking it out to a show or session if there was an ok speaker I could plug into. Treat it like a head I guess. Or build a new inclosure cab with room for the Vintage 30.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Bugera V5

Like a lot of low watt, single ended amps.....it will REALLY come to life when you run it through a 12" speaker, or better yet a 2x10, 2x12, 4x12, etc etc etc.
good luck

 

[BEACHBUM]

Re: Bugera V5

I bought one a couple of years ago. Tried it out as is out of the box for about 15 minutes and returned it for an SCXD. I didn't try any of the things you guys are talking about so maybe it would have been worth keeping after all.

 

[Adieu]

Re: Bugera V5

4x12 helps it? Really?

I know a cab does wonders for Epi Valve series, but its stock sound, while also not quite good, is wrong in an entirely different way... maybe that's why I thought it was the design not the speaker?

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Bugera V5

I would say if you found the amp to be generally disagreeable.....more/different speakers will not help. Better to just pass. The Valve Jr suffered from some major, yet easily rectified design problems.
I am not that familiar with the Bugera, but it would not be hard to play with. Very few parts/circuits in those amps.
best

4x12 helps it? Really?

I know a cab does wonders for Epi Valve series, but its stock sound, while also not quite good, is wrong in an entirely different way... maybe that's why I thought it was the design not the speaker?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Bugera V5

Everyone has their own opinion on what sound is "good" (thank goodness for that), but a 2x12 cab with the right speakers works wonders on improving the sound of the V5. The right tubes also make a big difference.

 

[lNllClK]

Re: Bugera V5

yep, stick a tung sol 12ax7 and a decent el84 in there, plug it into an extension cab, crank it on five watts. hello 100 dollar plexi. only complaint is it still remains just a bit dark, when you open it up some treble will appear but i think it sounds great, touch sensitive class a. cant beat it for 100 bucks man, keep it.