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James... « Nice little combo »
Published on 01/29/12 at 19:28 Hand-built 22W guitar combo, driven by 2 x EL84 valves
Way cool vintage look and feel
Original heavy-duty 12" Bugera guitar speaker for true vintage sound
Authentic 2-channel preamp design from the '60s featuring 3 x 12AX7 valves—everything from purring blues to mind-blowing crunch
Integrated high-class reverb with dedicated Reverb control
Vintage Equalizer section with dedicated Bass, Mid, Treble and Presence controls
Normal and Bright inputs for ultimate sound character to perfectly match your guitar
Multi-gain stage Lead channel with Pre, Post gain and Master controls
Amazing Mode switch to select between Triode or Pentode operation
Impedance connectors (4, 8 and 16 Ohms) to match virtually any external speaker cabinet
High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction ensure long life
An incredibly durable footswitch allows you to select channels and engage the reverb
UTILIZATION
Let me first say. I have played every EL84 combo in the book. Matchless. Top Hat. Morgan. Vintage Vox. All of them. Some are worth the price and some are not. But I've had them all.
I actually came across this amp when I was out to buy a guitar. This was the only low watt amp in the store. So I tested the guitar through it. First thing I noticed was how well built it looked. This is coming from a guy who regarded bugera as a terrible brand. It has come to my attention as of late that the company had a bad run of amps when they first started and has since taken a hit in reputation, but I have been told that the reliability issues went away a long time ago. I can attest that mine has not had any issues. I don't use the footswitch though so no idea whether that is reliable.
SOUNDS
The truth is that this amp sounds about as good as other combos that are 6 times the price. I mean that too. The clean channel is magical. Very transparent and let's the guitar do its thing without getting in the way. It's warm, not muddy. And chimes like a good el84 amp should. The lead channel is not the stellar killer that channel 1 is but still really good. Kind of sounds like a marshall with manners if that makes sense. It's good for pop and classic rock and that sort of stuff. Not for metal or any music of that sort.
Personally I think this amp shines with a speaker change. A greenback or a blue will give it the extra little kick it needs to be a truly incredible combo.
OVERALL OPINION
The price on these is unbelievable. I understand they used to cost a bit less. But it's still worth what they want now for the clean channel alone. Mine has been super reliable and easy to dial in no matter what the situation. This is not a particularly loud 22 watts, but it isn't quiet either. With certain speakers it gets a lot louder. It's too bad the first ones had problems with breaking. I believe bugera has fixed this and they get my support.
Way cool vintage look and feel
Original heavy-duty 12" Bugera guitar speaker for true vintage sound
Authentic 2-channel preamp design from the '60s featuring 3 x 12AX7 valves—everything from purring blues to mind-blowing crunch
Integrated high-class reverb with dedicated Reverb control
Vintage Equalizer section with dedicated Bass, Mid, Treble and Presence controls
Normal and Bright inputs for ultimate sound character to perfectly match your guitar
Multi-gain stage Lead channel with Pre, Post gain and Master controls
Amazing Mode switch to select between Triode or Pentode operation
Impedance connectors (4, 8 and 16 Ohms) to match virtually any external speaker cabinet
High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction ensure long life
An incredibly durable footswitch allows you to select channels and engage the reverb
UTILIZATION
Let me first say. I have played every EL84 combo in the book. Matchless. Top Hat. Morgan. Vintage Vox. All of them. Some are worth the price and some are not. But I've had them all.
I actually came across this amp when I was out to buy a guitar. This was the only low watt amp in the store. So I tested the guitar through it. First thing I noticed was how well built it looked. This is coming from a guy who regarded bugera as a terrible brand. It has come to my attention as of late that the company had a bad run of amps when they first started and has since taken a hit in reputation, but I have been told that the reliability issues went away a long time ago. I can attest that mine has not had any issues. I don't use the footswitch though so no idea whether that is reliable.
SOUNDS
The truth is that this amp sounds about as good as other combos that are 6 times the price. I mean that too. The clean channel is magical. Very transparent and let's the guitar do its thing without getting in the way. It's warm, not muddy. And chimes like a good el84 amp should. The lead channel is not the stellar killer that channel 1 is but still really good. Kind of sounds like a marshall with manners if that makes sense. It's good for pop and classic rock and that sort of stuff. Not for metal or any music of that sort.
Personally I think this amp shines with a speaker change. A greenback or a blue will give it the extra little kick it needs to be a truly incredible combo.
OVERALL OPINION
The price on these is unbelievable. I understand they used to cost a bit less. But it's still worth what they want now for the clean channel alone. Mine has been super reliable and easy to dial in no matter what the situation. This is not a particularly loud 22 watts, but it isn't quiet either. With certain speakers it gets a lot louder. It's too bad the first ones had problems with breaking. I believe bugera has fixed this and they get my support.