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1. crash worship says:

   March 5, 2010 at 12:15 pm

   Although I heard this is a copy of a vox ac30 I think it is more like a mini colossal. 3 wattage setting options with the built in attenuator. 8 inch speaker actually sounds fine in a bedroom. I don’t think upgrading the 8″ speaker will have much of an impact on the sound. However I’m interested in hearing this through a 10″ speaker.

   The reverb is nice. Its a big difference between the other low cost/low watt tube amp options.

   The amp has a lot of headroom so there is no reason to go with a 12au7 as a pre-amp tube. However to get heavy distortion will require a stomp box to push it.

   Maybe a set of jj tubes in replacement of the rebadged sovtek tubes that bugera uses. But that too isn’t high on the to-do list.

   The amp itself looks and feels well made and the handle feels plush.

   I can see this becoming a favorite in the after market mod kit scene given the reverb option.

   Wish I could say that this is a locally made amp but they are made in China. 10 years ago I don’t see this price would have been possible.

   Rating: 5 / 5
2. G. Majkrzak says:

   March 5, 2010 at 1:09 pm

   I really like this amp for use at the house. The power attenuator is great for cranking down the volume while still getting a natural tube sound. I have found that I almost always run mine on the 0.1 watt setting and it’s plenty loud for me in the lving room. Sounds best when the tubes are not driven too hard (just mild distortion / tube breakdown). If you push it too hard it gets into a king of weird tube breakdown that I’m not too crazy about, but maybe the tubes are not really broken in yet? The built in reverb is a nice feature and has a very good sound considering it’s digital. This amp is a good deal if you just want something to get a nice bluesy tone around the house without blowing everyones ear drums out.
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. Desert Rat says:

   March 5, 2010 at 1:50 pm

   Bought this on Amazon. Incredible value. Hard to believe they can sell this for $150. I really like the way it sounds in the bedroom on 1 watt. Very full bottom end that sounds like a 10″ rather than the 8″ that is in the cabinet (when playing a single P90 hollow body Godin Kingpin). The 5 watt setting brightens up the sound (and raises the noise floor) but a bit brighter sound is what you want when playing with others and you need more volume. Excellent, natural sounding reverb. Behringer has really done their design homework on this combo and the sound and build quality is a step up from other Behringer products (which is maybe why they went with the Bugera name). I was about to buy a Vox AC4TV and I’m glad I didn’t since I’m getting 10″ style sounds and reverb for $100. less money.

   If I have one complaint, it’s that I would have gladly paid a few extra bucks for a plywood box. The particle board construction just adds weight to an amp that is already heavy with decent transformers and a good custom loudspeaker with a heavy magnet. Not a lightweight box by any means. Don’t think a Weber, Celestion or Jensen speaker would make much difference and this amp sounds good enough out of the box to leave the tubes alone for now.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. James says:

   March 5, 2010 at 1:57 pm

   I’m very impressed with the Bugera V5. I have been playing guitar for 17 years, and this to me is a very good sounding and versatile amp.
   
   Honestly I’m amazed, I think they hit a bulls eye.

   You get a warm and pretty clean tone with the gain turned down, and a strong dose of crunch with the gain cranked up. I don’t think you could get a clean tone like this for under $500+ before this amp, it really is nice (just give the speaker a little time to break in). I’ve owned the Fender XD amps and the V5 has a much more natural sound to me, more volume too, and it has no hisss. The overdrive is really good on the 1/10th watt, nice sensitivity to pick attack too. All this with the volume at low levels.

   The attenuator is a nice feature for sure. With 5 watts you get plenty of volume. You could hang with a drummer fine as long as what you are playing is not metal or hard rock, you’ll need a bigger speaker for that type of music, or a PA. This amp does have a speaker out though, so you can hook it up to a cab (I’ve not done that yet).

   Stock speaker and tubes are good, so that is plus. The reverb does a pretty fair job. You can get pretty surfy, or just use a taste. It sounds good though, not the best ever, but it is a good usable verb.

   Great looking build too, it just looks cool. The cab has a nice size actually so you are not stuck with a boxy sound. I have no issues with the material that the cab is made of. There are a lot of audio speaker boxes made from the same stuff, and they can sound great.

   I’m not sure they will be able to keep the prices this low on these actually. I’m thinking these are going to be a hit. And to think it sells for only $150..
   
   That is amazing to me, you use to have to pay a lot of money for an amp like this.
   
   Recommended.

   Rating: 5 / 5