Extension Cabinet for Bugera V5
I'm a novice when it comes to amps. I just bought a new Bugera V5 Infinium, and read somewhere that adding a 1x12 cabinet would give a bigger sound than the 8" speaker in the small amp. This seems like a better idea than upgrading the stock 8" speaker. This is a 5W tube amp, and it seems there is an output jack for an external speaker.
I only play at home, in the basement usually, so if it's a little loud that's not a problem. The stock speaker is loud enough, but I don't want to spend $ unless I'll be able to hear an improvement in tone. I may go to an open mic or a jam occasionally, probably only playing rhythm behind a friend. I play classic blues, country and classic rock. Not interested in heavy distortion, metal, etc. I'm not an experienced electric player, and don't have some fixed idea bout how I want this rig to sound. I also have four guitars, Strat, Tele, Les Paul and Jazzmaster copies with HB and P-90 p-ups, so a wide variety. At this point I'm easy to please on tone, and can upgrade later if I become more picky. I've got several questions: 1. Will this small amp drive a 12" speaker? The ones I'm considering are 8 or 16 ohm, rated at 60-80W. I am familiar with the spkr efficiency concept. 2. At the output jack for the amp, it says "minimum 4 ohm". So 8 or 16 ohm should work, but is one better than the other? 3. Is a 60W rating better than 80 W for such a low powered amp? Any suggestions and opinions are welcome. I'm definitely not planning to spend more than $200, and used is okay, but I live in a rural area, so there's not much used gear available. Thanks for your help! |
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Thanks for this, Steve. If anyone else has thoughts, I'm listening!
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I had a V5, and I purchased a used Bugera 12" cab (Turbosound speaker in 8 ohm), hoping to get some more bass, a bigger sound/tone at lowish volumes, etc. If you do it, make sure you get a speaker cable (bigger/thicker), and don't use a standard guitar cable (even though it will plug in).
What I got, once I turned it up higher than usual (see next paragraph), was a louder version of the same tone, without the desired bass response I sought from the 12" speaker. Also, as the 4 ohm output transformer into the 8 ohm speaker meant that power output was cut in half, relative to the on-board 8" speaker, which was nice for overdriving the amp at somewhat lower volumes more easily, but I wasn't getting the bigger/bassier tone I was after. So, you can drive the bigger speaker with the V5, but an 8 ohm speaker might not get you where you want to go. Consider trying a 4 ohm 12" speaker (less common "used" than 8 ohm). I should add that I have a Vox Pathfinder 15R (solid state 8" 8 ohm) combo and ran the speaker-out to a 4x8 (8 ohm speakers) Vox Pathfinder 15R cab that was sold for the Head-version of the amp. The 4x8 is wired series or parallel (I always forget how to tell), so there was a similar output reduction. The takeaway from this one is that I did get a bigger sounding tone, not just a volume increase (at higher volume setting), but the 8" speakers didn't give me much more bass response, if any. Just my experience. |
Shortly after I got my V5 Infinium amp 4 or so years ago, I bought one of these…
https://www.bugera-amps.com/product....odelCode=P0B0R Completely fixed the darkish sound, and the amp drove the 12” speaker with no problem. I put the V5 on consignment at a local store, as I was no longer using it after getting my Princeton Reverb, and it sold right away. I brought the Bugera extension cabinet down to the same place a week or so ago along with some other guitars and equipment. If you’re at all near Cotati, CA it’s in perfect condition at Loud & Clear Music. |
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