128 posts
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Post by Bendricks on Dec 17, 2017 8:46:24 GMT
Hey everyone, long time to talk Recently two amps popped up in the second hand market here in Morocco, a Fender Frontman 212r combo (solidstate 100w) for 250$ and a Bugera V55 (55w tube amp combo) for 300$. I don't know which one to pick, of course i'll test them but my last amp sounded good when I played it at first but the sound got worse after a few months, so that's why I want to get your opinions if possible Cheers !
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 9:22:31 GMT
Bugera V55 of course! It's a great amp for the money! I played the V22 and I own the V5 and they sound fantastic! These Bugeras take pedals really well!
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128 posts
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Post by Bendricks on Dec 17, 2017 9:43:22 GMT
Are you thinking live or at home? I have a buddy who uses a Frontman in his live band and I've played through it. It does a brilliant job and is so rugged and sounds great. They'll take a bashing and go on and on as a workingman's amp on a heavy schedule, lugged from pub to festival to bar and back again. Both of us were using it as a general rhythm guitar amp. I do love Bugeras but live I tend to worry about the fragility and cost of valves. It will depend on your playing style and needs. If it's for home I'd more likely choose the V55. They offer a lot of flexibility for your money and, if you've not had a tube amp before, will be a revelation to you. Great value. I'm more buying it for Live performances, I never owned a valve amp tho. I'm still a college student working a side job, and I keep hearing about valve amps being expensive and such.. And is the valve-watts vs soldistate-watts a myth or is it true? In this case, is the 50w valve gonna be lounder than the 100w solid state?
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DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
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Post by DefJef on Dec 17, 2017 10:34:09 GMT
It's certainly not a myth @bendricks. Very few solid states get that valve response accurately until you get up into big money modelling territory. Many claim to but I don't hear it. In the studio I would pick a valve over a solid state every time for my kind of playing. And quite a low powered one at that so I can turn it up and get the full cooking valves compression and breakup without losing my eardrums. If you want VERY clean almost Hi Fi you may well want to go solid state, or if you're ALL about pedals and don't want the amp to colour what they are doing then solid state might be an option too. I'd rather have the amp adding it's own colour into the mix in these situations. If you want the simplicity of getting ALL your overdrive sound from the amp then you may want to go tube. But if you are planning to use a few pedals for your signature sound and you don't want the gut sucking annoyance of a cracked tube as you are setting up or the clear indication that one is dying during your sound check you might well prefer the solidity of solid state and that Frontman would certainly fit the bill (assuming it hasn't been flung into a van one time too many already). In a live situation the nuances of valve warmth and beautiful reverb are quickly lost (if the audience is listening at all). The Frontman does a great job and has two 12 inch speakers that really fill a room and are a little less one directional than a single speaker. It's quite a big lump but, being solid state, is not as heavy as a valve version would be and is quite manageable for one person. And yes, I would expect a 50w valve to be at least as loud as a 100w solid state. But neither will leave the audience straining to hear!
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128 posts
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Post by Bendricks on Dec 17, 2017 11:35:26 GMT
It's certainly not a myth @bendricks. Very few solid states get that valve response accurately until you get up into big money modelling territory. Many claim to but I don't hear it. In the studio I would pick a valve over a solid state every time for my kind of playing. And quite a low powered one at that so I can turn it up and get the full cooking valves compression and breakup without losing my eardrums. If you want VERY clean almost Hi Fi you may well want to go solid state, or if you're ALL about pedals and don't want the amp to colour what they are doing then solid state might be an option too. I'd rather have the amp adding it's own colour into the mix in these situations. If you want the simplicity of getting ALL your overdrive sound from the amp then you may want to go tube. But if you are planning to use a few pedals for your signature sound and you don't want the gut sucking annoyance of a cracked tube as you are setting up or the clear indication that one is dying during your sound check you might well prefer the solidity of solid state and that Frontman would certainly fit the bill (assuming it hasn't been flung into a van one time too many already). In a live situation the nuances of valve warmth and beautiful reverb are quickly lost (if the audience is listening at all). The Frontman does a great job and has two 12 inch speakers that really fill a room and are a little less one directional than a single speaker. It's quite a big lump but, being solid state, is not as heavy as a valve version would be and is quite manageable for one person. And yes, I would expect a 50w valve to be at least as loud as a 100w solid state. But neither will leave the audience straining to hear! Thank you for your detailed answer ! I'm definitely into simplicity, my pedalboard is really limited (a boost, wah, delay and reverb), so I think i'll go with the valve amp as it will add a more particular sound into the mix. I'm just starting to experiment with tone so that I can figure out my own, so why not Thanks a lot !
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 11:47:07 GMT
These Bugera V5, V22 and V55 are all made to sound very clean (they have lots of clean headroom) so driving only with the amp is not gonna do it well BUT having a nice OD pedals infront of it will bring in lovely drive tone! I would suggest a Drive pedal that has at least a Tone knob or Bass and Treble knobs to shape the EQ a bit because otherwise Bugera can sound a bit dark. My NUX Drive Core is ALWAYS On infront of the amp, ALWAYS! Sounds awesome!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 11:50:46 GMT
Oh my bad That V55 has a 3 way EQ for tone shaping and very likely enough drive to get that nice breakup too.
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22 posts
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Post by thedorkknight on Jan 9, 2018 0:18:08 GMT
A 50W Valve amp will almost definitely be louder than a 100W solid state. It might also be hard to get a good low volume tone if you are looking to use it as a home amp. That is definitely a gigging amp or practising with a drumkit amp at least.
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