Thomann Amp stock (Blackstar, Bugera, etc..)

studiorat

Hi all,
I'm looking at a few amps on the Thomann site and I'm seeing a few names I don't know much about.

I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are on the likes of Blackstar, Bugera, Jet City, Harley Benton etc. are compared to the old reliables like Fender, Vox , Marshall etc.

I'm looking for amps in the €500 region maybe a little less 15 to 20 Watts. I'm thinking rock rather than heavy metal. Have had the best results with a Fender Bassman and a Tele in the past or an AC 30 & the Tele.

Also what are we thinking about the DSP based offerings? Line 6 the new fender Champ etc?

martinedwards

Harley Benton is their own brand.

they buy in other products rebadged.

for instance the GA 5 valve amp is an epiphone valve jr.

the Bugera V5 looks dangerously similar

same factory, same production line, same far eastern guys and gals weilding the soldering irons.

think Seat, Ford and VW releasing the same people carrier......

the Seat Alhambra is several thousand cheaper but the SAME CAR

Jet City I've heard VERY good things about

studiorat

Yeah I did a recording session the other week with a Bugera. Didn't sound bad at all in a heavy metal way. The EQ worked and the dude seemed to be getting a result out of it.

I dunno what it would sound like beside a JCM though...

These guys make the Harley B guitars...

wonski

Have you checked Laboga head Studiorat? It is 475E from Thomann, and some of my favourite guitarists use it. A bit exotic brand in Ireland, but recommended a lot in where i come from. Price seems to be right for what it has to offer.

Ravelleman

Lots of threads on low-powered tube amps in that price range. I think mine was the most recent.

I'd check out the Egnater Tweaker if you like fiddling or any of the Orange Tiny Terror series if you want something simple but effective.

People like to say that Bugeras set on fire spontaneously - pretty funny but obviously not true.

I was set on a Laney Lionheart 5w combo before but I think I'm going to go with a Tiny Terror or a Dark Terror. I want to simplify my practice rig.

Grolschevik

studiorat wrote: »

I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are on the likes of Blackstar, Bugera, Jet City, Harley Benton etc. are compared to the old reliables like Fender, Vox , Marshall etc.

Blackstar make very well regarded amps, designed by a couple of top ex-Marshall engineers. Some of their stuff is boutique-quality hand wired.

Bugera are Chinese clones, most famously of the Peavey 5150.

Jet City are getting a fair bit of attention as solidly made, good sounding, good value amps. Made in China, I think (along with everything else these days) and designed in conjunction with some of the most famous names in amplification, most notably Mike Soldano.

Don't know much about the Harley Benton stuff, I'm afraid.

wild turkey

I've been looking at the Bugera V 22 , about 270 on thomann
getting great reviews
Walked into perfect pitch today & the owner was on the phone raving about them to a supplier, He had a demo model but didnt have time to try it .
just not sure about reliability !

studiorat

The 5150! ahh yes. This guy's Bugera had a bit of that going on, but much more knobs. The EQ wasn't bad, we were getting decent results from it. I'd wonder about the reliability of it though.

I'm looking at amps not above 30W single channel with a simple (ish) signal path. I decided against just ordering something I had never actually heard. So I had a bit of a play in the Maker the other week. I was impressed how much more positive the new staff are. I had a listen and although there's a lot of new stuff there the same flavors still seem to exist. It had been a long time since I really listened and compared amplifiers properly. For what it's worth here's a few observations.

I had a go of the Blackstar stuff first. Not bad, not a million miles away from Marshall amps. Both leave me cold personally but I can see the usefulness of them. The're not mad expensive and they do sound the part. I would consider one since Marshall don't seem to have too much going on in the 20W market, except for that mad priced 5W yoke.

Also had a go of the AC15, this sound I know well from my old JMI AC 30. It didn't have the chime that the 30 had and didn't have the bottom end of the bigger box. But it certainly felt like a VOX. Not having the 3 parallel inputs was a disappointment.

Then I tried the Orange Tiny terror, it was impressive at first, but there's not as much harmonic content when you compare it to their bigger amps. It reminded me of an old WEM I used to own, good at first but not much detail in the sound. The 30W Thunder leaves it behind tone wise, even before you try and dial in the sound a little more on the Thunder.

Then it was out to X-Music for a go of the Koch studio tone. A very useful amp, great EQ tone control and reverb. Full of harmonics and also capable of the distortion you'd expect from a rockers amp like a Marshall or a Boogie. It's getting kinda pricey for a small amp but I suppose it's close enough in price to a decent US guitar, you get what you pay for I suppose.

One thing that was weird was testing out amplifiers in a barn of a place like X-Music. The space is so live and open you really were afraid to turn the amp up and give it a bit of welly.

Anyhoo, my favorite if the day was the Orange Thunder, great sounding amp with a good palette of sounds, not everyone's cup of tea but something I would find useful.

The surprise of the day was in Bass amps, most notably the Orange Tiny terror bass amp, I can only describe it as great fun!! Certainly made me pay attention to how I was playing the strings instead of just hammering away. And the Aguilar tone hammer, 350 Watts, amazing EQ and lighter than a laptop. And that crazy TC amp which lets you load FX settings through the pick on the guitar from your i-Phone.

The moral of the story is I suppose hear the thing before you buy it. Since the new amps seem pretty much to be going for the sounds of the usual suspects, I'm leaning towards the old reliables.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

studiorat wrote: »

Hi all,
I'm looking at a few amps on the Thomann site and I'm seeing a few names I don't know much about.

I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are on the likes of Blackstar, Bugera, Jet City, Harley Benton etc. are compared to the old reliables like Fender, Vox , Marshall etc.

I'm looking for amps in the €500 region maybe a little less 15 to 20 Watts. I'm thinking rock rather than heavy metal. Have had the best results with a Fender Bassman and a Tele in the past or an AC 30 & the Tele.

Also what are we thinking about the DSP based offerings? Line 6 the new fender Champ etc?

Blackstar make great sounding amps, ive played throgh a good few. I have the HT Dual pedal, love the ISO function that all their pedals and amps have. As they are designed by ex marshall engineers, they shouldnt fall apart in a few years either.

as far as i know, Bugera are made by behringer.

for an amp in the 15-20 watts, have a look at the orange dual terror if you can lovely rock amp. the guy from wolfmother uses one

Squidgy Black

I think the best answer is to just buy one of each

studiorat

stetyrrell wrote: »

I think the best answer is to just buy one of each