Oh crap..BUGERA is trying to get in on the TRIPLE RECTO and MARK market

[Daemoniac]

I tried a B-52 once based on that "it's a rectifier but 1/4 the price" line... Right after I tried the B-52 i tried an *actual* Mesa triple rec... no comparison. At all. Maybe there was something different about the B-52 i was trying, but seriously, it had NOTHING on the Mesa

Seeing as how the Bugera is more closely (read: identically?) based on the Mesa design, i'm sure it will have more balls to it

 

[scottro202]

Pretty much everything out there is a clone of something, I don't really see peoples problem with Bugera.

Yep. I've heard before that the Marshall Plexi was based off of a Fender Bassman circuit (I'm not sure if it's true, that's just what I've heard.

EDIT:

From Wikipedia:

The first few production units were engineered to be almost exactly the same as the Bassman circuit, with US-origin transformers and military surplus 5881 power valves. The major difference however was the cabinet used, as Marshall decided to build separate amplifiers and speaker cabinets, and as they were originally intended as bass amplifiers, Marshall chose to use four 12-inch Celestion speakers in a closed-back cabinet instead of the Bassman's four 10-inch Jensen speakers in an open-back cabinet. This new amplifier, tentatively called the "Mark II", was eventually named the "JTM45" after Jim and his son Terry Marshall, and "45" as, in theory, it produced 45W of power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Amplification

So, I'm all for it. If it sounds like it, and is accessible for my budget, hey, why not?

EDIT2: upon reading a bit more of the article, "Plexis" weren't based off of it, but the original Marshall amps that came to be Plexis were.

 

[wannabguitarist]

I just spent a good 2 hours jamming on my buddy's 6262 and loved every minute of it. Can't wait to try one of these

 

[13point9]

£828 for the TriRec and £727 for the Magician - I am tempted.

I think thats the list price off the site aswell so they may very well be even cheaper *rubs hands*

if not im gunna have to try a tri rec and put it against the Laney VH100R different amps i know but to see which one i prefer tone wise...

or fuck it all save forever and eventually get an Axe fx *decisions, decisions*

 

[mrcheapyasui]

lol.. the magician, what an awesome name!

 

[El Caco]

I have mixed feelings about Bugera. These look cool and I could never afford a new Mesa in Australia but I can't help but worry that Bugera is very bad for everyone in the long run.

 

[JPhoenix19]

...I can't help but worry that Bugera is very bad for everyone in the long run.

*cracks open a bottle of Haterade*

 

[angryman]

All I can say is awesome!......if these sound anything like the Mesa Triple Rec (like the 6260 did compared to the 5150) then it's great news for all us Guitarists who want that amp but could never ever afford to buy a real Mesa triple Rec.

 

[budda]

When I was shopping for a 212 tube combo acouple years ago they had the b52 and a 333xl at guitar center for the same price. I opted for the b52 for acouple reasons. First before you even play them you'll notice the b52 had vinyl covering and the 333 had crappy tolex. b52 had metal knobs 333 had plastic. b52 had a metal footswitch 333 plastic. b52 had a rectifier tube along with tube reverb and effects loop 333 did not. b52 cab is made of 13 ply birch 333 is not. b52 came with casters, 333 did not. b52 came with 100watt speakers that have some of the biggest magnets I've ever seen on guitar speakers. Also on the back of my b52 is says Designed by Bruce Egnator even though I am aware of the cheap ass chinese parts used including the output transformers. I actually had a friend who fried 1 of these and he said he got a replacement hammond output trans and it sounded phenominal and he has owned almost every amp you can think of.

Next i played through them. b52's clean is almost fenderish, amazingly warm jazzy and punchy. 333 regular clean with nothing to get excited about. b52 crunch channel was straight cranked vintage tube crunch, no way to mistake that beautifully saturated poweramp grit. 333 was nothing special here as well. b52 distortion basically sounded like a triple rec to me with loads of gain and great harmonics. 333 had a heavier distortion sound almost 5150 ish compaired to the b52. I was truely divided here. The one major plus for me with the 333xl was that it had a noise gate, the b52 is pretty noisy even when not playing. The b52 already had the fan installed that revised the overheating problems they had so no worries here. The b52 also had a footswitchable tube driven fx loop with levels on both in and out. I've heard complaints about both of these amps stock tubes. b52 came with stock sovtek 5881's and the first 2 12ax7's are electro harmonix ev tubes, rest are chinese. Not sure what the 333 comes with but at least the b52 had some name brand.

I am definetly surprised and even want to get acouple different bugera's since they are emulating just about any mainstream amp you could want. I understand that the cheap stuff like tolex and plastic stuff is a trade off for having the sound of an amp for half the price. All im saying is buy one if thats all you can afford but the original high cost amp will be built alot better.

1. Peavey 5150's have plastic knobs
2. Tube rectifiers give you more "sag" - your low end is more loose
3. Orange cabs don't come with casters.
4. I hope you spent time dialing them both in, and didn't expect the same settings to work on both amps. Did you turn them up? Because it's damn hard to get "vintage crunch" (read: cranked 50W/100W amps ) at low volume.
5. I'm willing to bet that the bugera shipped with sovteks too, as that's the regular "affordable" tube amp manufacturer's tube

Build quality is definitely important, but I haven't heard any "My bugera broke" stories lately. Nor have I ever played one, or a B-52 for that matter.

 

[conorreich]

Bugera solved that melted clip problem with their first run of the older amps. I am actually excited to try one of these even though i never got into Mesa.

 

[asmegin_slayer]

Bugera makes good products I have to admit.. Definitely affordable. However... I still love that California tone from an American made Mesa Boogie... Regardless how expensive it is, there is this love that the workers put together in these amps... You can feel it, smell it and hear it....

Same way with the American, British and German amp makers that started their company from the ground up..

 

[SnowfaLL]

anyone know the size of the Magician? I googled it but couldnt find it. Is it rack-mountable (short chassis mesa)? That'd be neat/tempting.

 

[Andromalia]

Given the retarded Mesa prices in Europe this might be worth a try. Over there Mesa costs somewhat like 30%+ more than equivalent Engl quality. An Engl SE head is 2800, a road king head is...3699€....
If you go inot less complex products, a triple rec is 2600ish€, the new fireball is 1600€.
Power amps ? The 50w Engl is 985€, the mesa 50/50 is 1500€. Etc, etc. Didn't check Marshall prices but they are in the Engl territory. (For same quality gear)

So if we can get decent amps with a mesa style for a decent price, I'm not against it. I will however wait to make sure Bugera QC didn't blunder once again.

 

[asmegin_slayer]

Given the retarded Mesa prices in Europe this might be worth a try. Over there Mesa costs somewhat like 30%+ more than equivalent Engl quality. An Engl SE head is 2800, a road king head is...3699€....
If you go inot less complex products, a triple rec is 2600ish€, the new fireball is 1600€.
Power amps ? The 50w Engl is 985€, the mesa 50/50 is 1500€. Etc, etc. Didn't check Marshall prices but they are in the Engl territory. (For same quality gear)

So if we can get decent amps with a mesa style for a decent price, I'm not against it. I will however wait to make sure Bugera QC didn't blunder once again.

Engl here NEW is:
SE: $4000.00
Fireball 100: $1699.00
Powerball: $2000.00
Invader 100/150: $2600.00+

Engl here used is:
SE: 2800+
Fireball 100: 1200 maybe?
Powerball: 1600
Invader: 2000+

Mesa here NEW is:
Roadking: 2749.00
Roadster: 2000.00
Mark V: 2000.00
Dual/Triple: 1799-1899

Mesa Used:
Roadking: 1700-2000
Roadking: 1200-1600
Dual/triple: 900-1300
Mark V: 1500-1800

 

[MrMcSick]

1. Peavey 5150's have plastic knobs
2. Tube rectifiers give you more "sag" - your low end is more loose
3. Orange cabs don't come with casters.
4. I hope you spent time dialing them both in, and didn't expect the same settings to work on both amps. Did you turn them up? Because it's damn hard to get "vintage crunch" (read: cranked 50W/100W amps ) at low volume.
5. I'm willing to bet that the bugera shipped with sovteks too, as that's the regular "affordable" tube amp manufacturer's tube

Build quality is definitely important, but I haven't heard any "My bugera broke" stories lately. Nor have I ever played one, or a B-52 for that matter.

1. I am aware that peavey's use plastic knobs. It wasn't a deal breaker but a nice touch, says something to me about build quality and their choice for components.

2. The tube rect is a tri mode rect in the b52's. You can select it to either be tube a, tube a/b or solid state. There is a noticibale difference from tube a to the other setting. It definetly sags a ton but thats awesome to have that option, if you want you just switch it to SS for tighter bass and no sag.

3. Im not sure why orange cabs don't come with casters. That would be something that would definetly weigh in on my purchase especially if it is a top of the line product. That would suck to carry it every where and to get that nice orange tolex all scratched and dirty.

4. I definetly played around with every knob on both of them, I didn't turn it up full tilt but they were at band jamming level.

5. Both of these amps had reliabilty issues when they first came out. They both resolved them but you can read about tons of people complaining about their amps dying ect.

 

[Andromalia]

"Mesa here NEW is:
Roadking: 2749.00"

You have no idea of the number of swear words I had to retain from leaving my mouth in the office.

 

[PnKnG]

1. I am aware that peavey's use plastic knobs. It wasn't a deal breaker but a nice touch, says something to me about build quality and their choice for components.

2. The tube rect is a tri mode rect in the b52's. You can select it to either be tube a, tube a/b or solid state. There is a noticibale difference from tube a to the other setting. It definetly sags a ton but thats awesome to have that option, if you want you just switch it to SS for tighter bass and no sag.

3. Im not sure why orange cabs don't come with casters. That would be something that would definetly weigh in on my purchase especially if it is a top of the line product. That would suck to carry it every where and to get that nice orange tolex all scratched and dirty.

4. I definetly played around with every knob on both of them, I didn't turn it up full tilt but they were at band jamming level.

5. Both of these amps had reliabilty issues when they first came out. They both resolved them but you can read about tons of people complaining about their amps dying ect.

1. As far as I know most Peavey's are US made. Plastic knobs or not doesn't really says anything about the quality of the gear. Specially on amps I don't get the obsession of some guys with having metal knobs. Its not like I turn them forcefully or stomp on them so it doesn't really matter to me. Its just something that is a minor detail.

3. Orange Cabs don't come with casters because casters are something that can rattle at high volume. They have a special feet design for their Cabs that give them a tighter bass respond and more definition.
If you still want to roll it around I suggest you get a road case with casters on it.

5. The problem with most people that are complaining about their amp dying are often new to tube amps and don't know how to take care of them.
And personalty I haven't heard any stories about a Bugera dying since the first run. The new one seem to be solid in quality and great "bang for bugs" amps.

 

[kherman]

I thought this was impressive.


Hopefully the Recto Bugeras deliver like wise.

 

[Key_Maker]

I thought this was impressive.


Hopefully the Recto Bugeras deliver like wise.

I tried a 1990, it's even worst than the original 900 , one of the worst amp i have ever tried, although i could get i nice clean from it, the distortion lacks of definition and was very fuzzy.

 

[JPhoenix19]

I'm expecting the TriRec to compare to the Dual Recto the same way the 333xl compared to the JSX when I tested them both a while back. To make a long story short I ran them both through the same cab, unplugging one and plugging in the other. I cranked them both, and tweak their knobs many many times. When upon comparing the two side-by-side, the JSX sounded better in every aspect.

I'm expecting the same here. Sure, you could buy a new TriRec for a bit less than a used Dual, but to the discerning ear that small gap in price means a considerable loss in tonal quality. That's my bit.

[/rant]