Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp
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Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviewsPros
- Portable (14)
- Easy to use (11)
- Warm / comfy (11)
- Excellent sound (8)
- Good power output (5)
Cons
Best Uses
- Home studio (8)
- Amateur recording (4)
- Professional recording (4)
- Outdoor events / games (3)
- Performances (3)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Experienced (12)
Most Liked Positive Review
Great Amp! (Change the tubes, BOTH!)
Great buy on a nice small true tube amp for the price. You only have to worry about 2 tubes which makes it cheap to experiment and replace. Not a 12 tube bass amp ...Read complete review
Great buy on a nice small true tube amp for the price. You only have to worry about 2 tubes which makes it cheap to experiment and replace. Not a 12 tube bass amp that costs more than this amp to change tubes.
Very minimalist. A responsive tone knob. I like the reverb, its digital but sounds good and it's certainly better than nothing. Use a pedal if you want flavored reverb. No fx loop, but I haven't seen a tube amp with one that is in this price range. I looked to see where the preamp and power amp were and if adding an fx loop would be easy. Every thing is on a one nice looking pcb board with tiny components so I' not going to try that. Being all on one board though, there is nothing that could shake loose and rattle on the inside, whick is good for a combo that has a speaker next to everything. The 8" speaker is good. Really wish it was 10" so there were 1000's of more options when I want to replace it.
I've had this amp for a year now. Right off the bat the gain was really thin and nasty harsh so I put in a Ruby Tube 12ax7. I have a few 12ax7's about. That tube has smoother gain than most 12ax7's. It improved the sound from bad to way way better. It gave me a nice clean channel sound easy to dial in to on the verge of break up. The tone knob at that point was muddy for me until noon but good past. I thought that the speaker just couldn't handle low end guitar, but dismissed it as I was able to get nice chimey sounds and lower sounds with pedal distortion. Recently I was playing it loud on the full 5w mode (which sounds the best) and the power tube's filament must have had a piece get loose and it made a sound like something rattling in the room. I changed the power tube to a Ruby EL84 and man it was way worth it. Now the tone knob works full range. The speaker can handle deeper sounds without being muddy still being able to dial in clean chimey sound to razor sharp treble. Now I couldn't be more happy. I might evenually put one of my crunchier 12ax7 but I like the good clean channel sound I have going. If the gain is down low and the volume high I can get an almost uncolored sound when I want to use another preamp and still get that nice power tube punch and harmonics.
I think at the price this baby cost that fixing something major would be out of the question. I have not had any problems with it. Changing tubes was a necessity, but people change the stocks on expensive amps. It's a nice looking amp. Small enough to crank up (which makes tube amps sound the best) for practice, recording, and a small gig. To use this for a full rock band with another guitarist you'd need more headroom (miked into PA or using this with another amp for stereo chorus/delay/reverb/etc or for your high end)
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Amp seems to be OK
Wouldn't expect to see MF even display my review, but when I first ordered (Dec. 22,2012) I was told that it was on backorder, and would be shipped approx. Jan 17, 2013...Read complete review
Wouldn't expect to see MF even display my review, but when I first ordered (Dec. 22,2012) I was told that it was on backorder, and would be shipped approx. Jan 17, 2013. I received an e-mail, only 3 hours after ordering, stating that my amp had shipped. I was very surprised to get this response, and called MF immediately and was told that "there must have been a couple that had come in early." I mentioned to the customer service representative that I was hesitant to expect a "new" unopened product after what I was told about the backorder. Well, sure enough, when it arrived it was loose in the packing box with the only packing material enclosed being a piece of "corrigated cardboard" that had indentations on it from the carrying handle. However, the amp was not wrapped in anything, and the cardboard piece was on the opposite side (bottom) of the amp, not against the carrying handle! Obviously removed from the box, and "repacked." The instruction manual and other materials, in the plastic bag enclosed, were basically just thrown into the back of the cabinet, laying loose against the speaker, and the plastic bag holding those materials was so dull and wrinkled and handled ("old looking" already), that it was in no way a newly packed item, and looked as though it was handled a lot!
I am basically not disappointed with the product, but have no idea as to how it was handled, played, abused, or possibly damaged. I do plan to change out the tubes with better ones, as previous reviews have indicated, however again, I am very disappointed as to the handling of my purchase, and how it was obviously taken out of the original packing and just basically tossed back in the box without any packing besides the aforementioned small piece of corrigated cardboard. Finally, I am just not happy with how this was handled.
Thank You, although I don't expect that MF will post my review. I am being thoroughly honest and truthful about my experience.
I would like to continue to purchase products from MF in the future, but this experience has given me pause.
Reviews
Reviewed by 91 customers
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Pros
- Easy To Use
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
- Lacks Top End
Best Uses
- Home Studio
- Practice Amp
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
This is a decent amp to start with good gain (not metal) reverb has nice range.The tone is a little dark good bass but week top end.With the attenuation set at 1 watt or 0.1 watt there is not enough treble.I was thinking of modding it with a 10 speaker but decided against it because the baffle is glued in .I went with the Jensen 8" Mod20 4ohm. Now
the amp sounds great even with attenuation.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Good Warmth
- Great tone
- Portable
Cons
- 8
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Events
- Home Studio
- Performances
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I bought this amp 6 months ago and for the first two months I kept it stock. Sounded just fine, but wasnt as good as I wanted. So I bought an upgraded speaker. Sounded a little better, but I dont recommend spending your money that way. It didnt make a huge difference. I got a set of new JJ tubes here on MF for cheap. That made a huge difference. I bought a 2X10 speaker cabinet with Celestion V30 speakers in it. I converted the amp into a head (instead of combo) and now just set it on top of the 2X10. I use this amp live with a bassist, keyboard, 3 vocals, and occasionally a drummer. I keep the volume on 10 and the gain on 4.5 and this thing is LOUD. I love this little guy now. And after tearing it apart to convert it into a head, I see that it was REALLY made well. This amp is absolutely awesome. JUST CHANGE THE TUBES AND YOU WILL HAVE A VERY NICE AMP!! (I use a highway one telecaster and I play contemporary praise and worship music and alternative rock/texas blues) THis amp has had NO problems at all.
Pros
- Change Out The 12ax7
- Easy To Use
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Put In A 12ay7
Cons
- Gain Is Muddy
- Limited Functions
- Use Pedals For Gain
Best Uses
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I have owned this little amp for over 2 years. Its great with pedals and is a brilliant little bedroom amp which can rock out. My stong suggestion is if you want a good clean sound on either setting is get rid of the 12ax7 tube and put in a 12ay7. This will clean up your sound to the point that the gain will pretty much add volume only. For distortion use pedals. The reverb is fine and volume level is ample on 5 watt setting. The speaker handles the volume well.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Looks cool
- Portable
Cons
- Bizarre Harmonic Response
- Noisy
- Poor Sound Quality
- Weak Bottom End
Best Uses
- Practice Amp
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
The Bugera V5 is an okay sounding amplifier and it records well, but is prone to random noises, it farts out on the low end and has what I describe as a weird harmonic effect on certain notes. It's a great looking amp and is possibly upgradable (or modded as the kids say). To my ears these don't have the same "tube" sound that vintage 5 watters have. Sure the headphone jack is nice (but useless) and the reverb is okay, but the 1 and .01 setting sound terrible.
At the end of the day I should have bought a solid state amp or modeling amp; it would have filled the same utility. This isn't the elusive tone king that you stick a SM57 in front of and crank it up.
Pros
- Its Small
- Portable
Cons
- Poor Sound Quality
- Too Dark No Brightness
- Weak
Best Uses
- None
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I have been wanting this little amp for a while. I checked the reviews on youtube, a friend told me to get one and so I did. I wanted this for a home practice tube amp, thats it. I was not going to record with it. I have other high quality low watt tube amps for that purpose. I know that the Bugera V5 is a cheap amp with alot of features and some may like that. So as for the features, The onboard digital reverb is actually okay. The attenuator does its job, but the amp cant shine through past its full 5watt setting. With most attenuators, the more you attenuate an amp, the darker the sound gets, and when you start out with a very dark amp it just sounds like garbage. If you crank this amp at the full 5 watts you get an okay sound, but its just a loud amp. Nothing tells me its a tube amp. Your better off with a Solid state modeling amp. When you set it to 1 watt it worse and at .1 watt its unusable.
The best sounding tube amp in this price range is the fender greta. Plug it into a 1X12 buy a reverb pedal and your set. I was so psyched for the bugera v5 but i learned my lesson, too good to be true.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
Cons
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I like the 5, 1 and .1 watt selector switch.
I can't believe low price tag! I own Marshall, Fender, Peavey. Line Six, Roland large and small amps. I'm impressed with this Bugera.
Couple it with either a Godin Slim if you want versatility or the Vox SSC332 if on a budget.
The Vox with the Coax pickups and this Bugera Amp provides a economical clean sound.
Parents will love the Watt selector. Kids can get distortion with the .1 watt selection and not blow out either their ears or their homes windows. Rock on! And Save BIG.
P.S. In my opinion Godin Slim has the most vesatility and plays screaming fast!!!
Chi-Town Jazz Katz
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
Very useful practice amp. I live in an apartment, so the power attenuator is a big plus. With it, I can get the sound that I want at a much lower volume than with other amps. The gain is quite good, and I haven't relied on my foot pedal for this feature. I play a tele and a strat, and also sometimes use delay.
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I bought one @ the local store...Took it home & found that the only way to get any appreciable volume - LIVING ROOM VOLUME - was to crank the gain. All brightness and clarity disappeared. I like a good clean tone and this amp didn't deliver. Besides that, cranking the gain brought up way too much hiss. Nope. If you've got to jump through hoops to get an amp to sound good out of the box...get something else. My Roland RX Cube (modeler, batteries, etc.) cuts this amp to pieces.
Pros
- Amazing Sustain
- Great tone
- Screams
Cons
Best Uses
- Home Studio
- Professional Recording
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I got more than my money's worth with this little amp. I've owned a ton of tube amps, and swapped and sold more than I can count. That being said, this little thing is so cool, I can never see myself getting rid of it.
I recently used it at a small New Year's Eve acoustic jam, playing a Strat on the 5 Watt setting and it was the perfect blend in a 1500 square foot room. Un-mic'd, it still had enough balls to cut through the pa system. It was like having 100W tone, but at incredibly low volume.
I am more than impressed with the included 8" speaker, but it gets even better when plugging it into a 1x12 extension cabinet. Set the built in attenuator to .1, 1 or 5 Watts and you will always get the coveted Gain and Volume to 10, Tube Amp sustain. I have yet to record with it, but I sincerely plan to.
Bottom line, what you get in this amp, by far exceeds what you pay for it.
Pros
- Ok Sound
Cons
- Cannot Tell If New
Best Uses
- For Home Practice
Comments about Bugera V5 5W 1x8 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
Wouldn't expect to see MF even display my review, but when I first ordered (Dec. 22,2012) I was told that it was on backorder, and would be shipped approx. Jan 17, 2013. I received an e-mail, only 3 hours after ordering, stating that my amp had shipped. I was very surprised to get this response, and called MF immediately and was told that "there must have been a couple that had come in early." I mentioned to the customer service representative that I was hesitant to expect a "new" unopened product after what I was told about the backorder. Well, sure enough, when it arrived it was loose in the packing box with the only packing material enclosed being a piece of "corrigated cardboard" that had indentations on it from the carrying handle. However, the amp was not wrapped in anything, and the cardboard piece was on the opposite side (bottom) of the amp, not against the carrying handle! Obviously removed from the box, and "repacked." The instruction manual and other materials, in the plastic bag enclosed, were basically just thrown into the back of the cabinet, laying loose against the speaker, and the plastic bag holding those materials was so dull and wrinkled and handled ("old looking" already), that it was in no way a newly packed item, and looked as though it was handled a lot!
I am basically not disappointed with the product, but have no idea as to how it was handled, played, abused, or possibly damaged. I do plan to change out the tubes with better ones, as previous reviews have indicated, however again, I am very disappointed as to the handling of my purchase, and how it was obviously taken out of the original packing and just basically tossed back in the box without any packing besides the aforementioned small piece of corrigated cardboard. Finally, I am just not happy with how this was handled.
Thank You, although I don't expect that MF will post my review. I am being thoroughly honest and truthful about my experience.
I would like to continue to purchase products from MF in the future, but this experience has given me pause.
