NA/NCD - warning: Bugera content!

[landwomble]

After wanting to up the power of my rig slightly, whilst still keeping things nice and portable, I came across Behringer's Bugera brand.
I read a few reviews of the BV1001T amp with a tube preamp and was about to pull the trigger on a new one, when one came up in the classifieds here.

Well, it arrived last week and last night I got to put it through its paces at rehearsal volume.

First off, a couple of disclaimers: yes, I know it's heavily inspired by a GB Streamliner, and yes, I know that the "2000W peak" ratings that Bugera give these heads is inflated. I'd put it at about 500-600W RMS. It's bloody loud. There is a MOSFET version which obviously loses the tube preamp and gains an "ultrabass" button but I'd rather have a more vintage tone so went with the valve version.

There are a couple of nice features on this amp - it has a (to my ears very good) compressor which means I can retire my new EHX Bass Preacher, and it has a valve preamp that can saturate nicely. You can get a really good warm driven tone out of this, which again means I don't need a fuzz pedal for what I want - which is a gentle vintage drive at times. The "clip" light can light up a fair bit without any noticeable degradation of sound so I'd say the indicator is maybe a little over sensitive. Or maybe it's just that valve drive is less objectionable than digital overdrive. Either way, it works well, and has a -15dB pad for active basses which I didn't find necessary on my Jazz with a John East preamp.

The tone is nice and neutral - playing with full band last night including live drums I never needed to raise the master level past 9 o'clock running into a single 8 ohm Eden Nemesis 1x15 cab. The EQ is quite musical - the mid control has a selectable range which makes getting a warm jazzy tone simple, or you can use it to add a little grind to the top end. Not used the FX loop or the DI yet but I'd expect them to behave exactly as expected.

Build quality is a delight, at least on the outside. Aluminium, solid construction and switchgear feels meaty and expensive, which is nice. It looks great, too. Speakon connectors ONLY on this model.



I already have an Eden 1x15 cab so I wanted a second cab that I can leave at home without taking up too much space - I'll use both for larger gigs.
I thought I'd take a punt on Bugera's 2x10 cab, the BT210TS.
This is a 2x10 / 1 tweeter cab that retails at around £200. Again, it has overblown power handling marketing figures (I'm sure if you put 1600W into it, it would melt!) but it's another product that has impressed me.
Built in pad for dialling down the tweeter, solid construction, not too heavy and Turbosound drivers (which is nice as it reminds me of a mis-spent youth in dingy Manchester nightclubs) in a ported cab.
Just the right size for the amp to perch on for home use, and works well stacked vertically on top of the Eden cab so I can hear myself at gigs.

I'm using a 4 string but low E is fine at rehearsal volume without any drive unless I really crank up bass on my John East preamp. Neutral but fairly punch tone, lots of volume, surprisingly hifi-sounding. It's an 8 ohm cab so combines well with the Eden cab and the amp head.



Overall - I'm really impressed. For not a lot of money I'm very happy with the rig upgrade.

[bertbass]

Heavily slagged off for being a Streamliner clone but you can't get a Streamliner anymore so seems like a good option to me. I'm going to get one when I'm rich again.

[lowhand_mike]

sounds like a good amp, looks the part just hope it is reliable but from what i have read they are getting better and better

[Kev]

Ignoring the nonsense power rating (why do it??) that looks quite tidy. Although, looking at Thomann, is the price cheap enough for what it is? If its similar in rating to a 500w head, it has some serious competition at £100 or so more.

Be interesting to see how reliable it is, decent warranty hasn't it?

[landwomble]

I bought used off here so no warranty but we'll see.
It's genuinely a lovely thing, I'm really impressed, especially at the price point. It feels and sounds like a premium amp, and the cab is a lovely compact thing.

They've been around for a couple years now and I don't know of any common problems for this model. (there was an earlier, first amp Behringer made that had a bad rep).

Had more of a play with the valve preamp and it gets a lovely noise out of my Precision..

[Kev]

[quote name='landwomble' timestamp='1476300691' post='3153232']
I bought used off here so no warranty but we'll see.
It's genuinely a lovely thing, I'm really impressed, especially at the price point. It feels and sounds like a premium amp, and the cab is a lovely compact thing.

They've been around for a couple years now and I don't know of any common problems for this model. (there was an earlier, first amp Behringer made that had a bad rep).

Had more of a play with the valve preamp and it gets a lovely noise out of my Precision..
[/quote]

Even better, sounds more than promising!
Would be interesting to know what Class D module they have in there...