This amp is amazingly versatile. I know most people getting it are playing what they refer to as metal, but usually all you can find in reviews are people that drop to A and chugga chugga. Not me. My band tunes to D standard, we play power and thrash metal in the style of Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Kreator, basically not drop tuned metalcore. So, if you're an old school guy looking at this amp, it will deliver. From old school thrash to modern progressive, yes even to metalcore and djent, it's all achievable if you spend some time with the eq section. I run an LTD EC1000 and a Schecter C-1 Hellraiser to this amp, along with a noise gate and an op amp modded TS9 tubescreamer. It's simply a blast to play with, on stage or in the studio.

The most useful feature to me is the Infinium technology. Knowing exactly which tube to replace, and being able to mix and match el34 and 6l6 is very helpful. The noise gate is not great. It eliminates a little hiss, but you're going to need a noise gate in your signal chain, but you knew that already. The reverb means nothing to me, it doesn't sound great, but you're not buying this amp for the reverb.

The eq on this amp is very touchy, which I like. As soon as I turned it on and switched all the knobs to the noon position, I was given a usable tone, even through a crappy old Behringer cab I had laying around the house. There is a learning curve to sculpt your sound accordingly, but then again any tube amp worth its salt does. I rank it with Peavey 6505+ level ease of use, in that you have to try to make this amp sound bad.

The tolex and the chrome plastic are really the only give aways to where corners were cut. The tolex feels a little cheap, but who cares really? It's tolex. The knobs feel great, the input jacks are nice and tight. Everything seems well ventilated, as mine doesn't run too hot after hours of play, and is relatively quick to cool, especially compared to my Peavey 6505+ 1x12 combo. It's a hefty amp, it feels solid. I know Bugera have had quality control issues in the past, so I can't really comment further, other than to say nothing feels cheap about this amp upon inspection.

Honestly, I cannot think of a better amp for the price point. It sounds better than the 6505+ amps I've played with and been around, which are usually made with higher quality components and can be found at a comparable price used. I operate a small project studio, and because of the sonic ground this amp covers, it's extremely valuable to me. I have coaxed Dual Recto, 6505+, and JCM 800 tones out of this box so far, using only a tubescreamer and the on board eq section. I know many people will turn their nose up at it, but I think that would be a huge mistake. I've played guitar and gigged for 13 years now, I'm very particular and obsessive about my gear, and I think any guitar player would be lucky to own one of these, as long as you take somewhat decent care of it. Oh yeah, the footswitch that comes with it feels super nice, very sturdy.

I haven't had a reason to contact them yet, so we'll see.

I find it sexy, but that's subjective to personal taste.

13 years playing guitar, 8 years doing studio work.

Heavy Metal!

Sound is amazing, tone shaping options are virtually endless. VERY LOUD pre gain and post gain settings help you shape the tonal sensitivity of your playing and the master just for the balls of the amp itself

each channel has its own EQ and is very customizable which is great for players that switch between leads and rhythms. i use the lead channel for my leads (obviously) and i have set a nice rhythm tone on the crunch channel for switching off of playing high leads. The lead channel has a very nice response for frequencies above roughly 600Hz (almost a D# 5) the high end comes out clear and the warm tube sound gives it amazing character. I have one negative to say about the features, the onboard noise gate is not as amazing as bugera makes it out to be, it doesnt cut out the high hiss (usually above 2KHz) and feedback is an issue if using the amp above bedroom volumes, however this could be fixed by patching a noise gate pedal in the effects loop or however you like to use your pedals.

The amp was easy for me to dial in a tone however if you are not familiar with using pre and post gain (channel volume and gain knobs on the amp) and the eq you may have a hard time reaching a tone that you like, however most people like using the middle section of everything and call it good, thats not me...im a tone chaser and i found a great tone in this amp that i think i can settle with for a long time.

Made very well, nice tolex, nice tubes, very heavy power transformers, just overall very nicely made.

WELL WORTH IT, i used the payment option and its working out nice because i thought i could never get my very own tube amp.

Havent needed to do so yet, also i hope i dont ever have to.

Its greatly loud, i was moving from a solid state 100W amp to this 120W amp, and if i didnt know the power rating of this amp, i would assume that it was like a 400W amp or even more beacuse of how loud it is.

6 years, guitar/bass, active musician

Metal of all sorts

Started playing bass when I was 9 years old, (21 now) learning classic AiC and Primus tunes.

Rock, Metal, Nu metal, 80's, 90's.

Semi-Pro guitarist

Rock, Metal

Been playing guitar for 18 years in various heavy metal bands; also music teacher

heavy metal

I use this for a metal band. We switch from high gain to clean guitar a lot in our set. I sure do love the way this works and sounds.

16 years with guitar. Perform in a versatile metal band.

Genre binary

20 yrs

Metal and blues

The sound of the lead and crunch channels are good, FOR OVERDRIVE. chords are crunchy and mean yet still retain the sound of the chord. The clean channel gets distorted by high output pickups/Pedals but you can always just dial back the volume on your pedal/guitar a little and it still sounds fabulous.

the most useful feature is the reverb. i heard it waasn't "all there" but man. i hit that switch and all of the sudden im in a nice big cave. least useful feature is probably the noisegate... as a matter of fact.. What noisegate? Oh and something else amazing...the included footswitch. i love you bugera.

Pretty easy for funk, jazz, country, and classic rock. for melt your face of gain you definately will need a distortion pedal. but as far as great sounds go..just plug it in and turn it on. turn a knob a couple inches... there ya go. The variety of sound is good and its very dynamically responsive.

Cosmetically perfect. the picture certainly does not do the amp justice. The insides and the tubes look very well made. built like a tank. I bet it could survive more than a few falls. the craftmanship is that of a $1000-$2000 amp head. then i looked at the where its made... MADE IN CHINA Since when do the chinese make such high quality musical equipment. It puzzles me. but i guess im going to put it to the test! Looks like it can. if it does is a whole diofferent story. for that we will have to see...

Its worth so much more!

Haven't had to contact bugera. (this zzounds support team is phenomenal though!)

Lets just keep it censored and say..its very nice lol

4 years. Trumpet, piano, violen, saxophone, Euphonium, Bass Guitar, Guitar, (some drums..kinda)

Metal, Jazz

Guitar , Tele, Les Pauls & ESP guitars ...... the ABODA Project over 15 years and still kicking !

Country,Punk,Metal all kinda balled into one twisted but tasty package!

Put it this way...I relieved all my Marshall gear of duty and I have 2 of these heads along with 2 custom built, for Robbe Zappa (Me), 4x12 cabs with dual Eminence Patriot and dual Eminence Swamp Thang 12"speaka's! Snake skin punked them out and every show I got musicians swarming up to the stage asking HTF I get my sound...BUGERA is the sh!t hands down...and I build tube amps! Exactly the features a studio, practicing or live musician need and a sound that is barely comparable. PLUS I purchased a Bugera Vintage 22 combo that is rocking my musician friends, students and fans world. For my style I swapped out the speaker with an Eminence Patriot and the tubes with Electro-Harmonix (although I usually prefer JJ's) and these tubes were the winning ticket. And to drive the preamp just a tad I use a Daphan (Australian made) Preamp Overdrive...not a distortion pedal cuz it synthesizes distortion...but an OD pedal. I've used it for metal, classic rock, blues and lent it to a friend for jazz, folk rock, originals and 'yes' even Van Halen rock! A great sound 'almost' always means a great gig so anyone that may be pondering over Bugera vs "name brand" let it go brother...go with a good sound and not a piece of outdated past. PLUS you can swap EL34/EL84 power tubes with 6L6/6V6 and bias the amp with a simple RCA cable with one end bare and a a volt meter. So ask yourselves this; do you want a killer sound with full features or a "so-called" prestigious name plastered on an outdated product that fails to meet a guitarists total needs? At the end of the day people aren't going to say, "wow he had a Marshall, or wow he had a Fender". But what they are going to say is "WOW WHAT AN AWESOME TONE"! And then they will glance on the stage and see "Bugera". ~ Robbe Zappa (Robbe Zappa Band)

There are to many to discuss to the average reader but to put it in a nutshell...diversity, ingenuity, performance and a brown sound baby!

Not really a learning curve, great sound...? just plug in, turn on and play. The rest is icing on the cake.

Cosmetically beautiful, made like a Dodge (Ram tough), no worries about longitivity....at all.

The price is AMAZING for the quality, features, reliability and tone. As I said, I sold all my Marshall and only play Bugera now.

I have dealt with the company...not for any problems but to "seek" an endorsement. I have 2 333XL heads, one custom / one stock.. I have spoken with there tech specialist in the past and he was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

Features, quality, reliability and tone.

32+ years. Lead/Rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards, mandolin

Classic Rock, Rock, Hard Rock, Metal

playing for roughly 10 years

hard rock/metal

Guitarist for 8 years, drummer for 2 years, singer and songwriter for about 10 years

Rock, Punk, Alternative, Psychobilly, Rockabilly, Blues, Metal, Hardcore, Folk

I've been playing 7 years and I'm the owner of Arachnid Amp Cabs USA

Death Metal

Jam at home and with friends. Been playing for five years.

Metal Blues

12yrs Guitar

Rock, Metal, Alternative