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Old 12-27-2022, 10:22 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Default NAD - Bugera T50 head (REVIEW!!!)

Some of you may recall the Buigera T5 mini-head I picked up for $175 during Sweetwater's Labor Day Sale (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=653100); while I've been happier than a pig in poop with this little tone monster, and planned to hold off on its big-brother T50 until I found myself back in a regular gigging situation, the lure of a 50-watt EL34 amp from a company with whom I've had great success - coupled with another 20% off sale - proved too hard to resist:



https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ss-a-tube-head

FYI they're still in stock (while supplies last) as of this writing...

Scheduled arrival tomorrow - full hands-on NAD review to follow...
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Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 01-13-2023 at 09:35 AM.
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Old 12-28-2022, 05:34 AM
Maicobmw Maicobmw is offline
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Sure seems like a lotta amp for the money, and I'm certainly an EL34 fan.

It'll be interesting to hear your impressions, enjoy!
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Old 12-28-2022, 07:08 AM
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I've had mine for over four years. It is a really great sounding amp stock, but two years ago I had a power tube fail so I replaced the power tubes with a pair of matched mesa boogie EL-34s and a JJ preamp...it really sings now. Highly recommended.
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Old 12-28-2022, 07:25 AM
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Bob Womack Bob Womack is offline
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The Flying Bugera Bum strikes again! I hope you have a blast with it!

Bob
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Old 12-28-2022, 08:44 AM
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A great way to start the new year by getting to know a new piece of gear! The reviews and demos are strong for this head, and if i remember correctly you just had a MojoTone cabinet built. I guess its time to heat up those tubes and push some air through that new cabinet! Happy Holidays to you.

fd
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Old 12-28-2022, 09:40 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Arrived late this morning - busy time coming up, haven't even unpacked it yet, probably won't have the chance to do a full shakedown until after New Year's...

Stay tuned...
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Old 12-29-2022, 09:59 AM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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I'm looking forward to reading about how you like the new amp, Steve.

It looks impressive!

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Old 12-29-2022, 05:42 PM
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Congrats, I Know from your posts you are a Bugera fan Steve, look forward to your impressions.
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Old 12-30-2022, 01:47 PM
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At first I did not care for the metal cased (industrial looking) amp heads,, but they have grown on me .. Congrats
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Old 01-03-2023, 09:06 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Default Update...

Been a little under the weather the last few days, didn't have a chance to plug in until tonight...

Basic get-acquainted session: gain/volume/EQ control parameters, channel balance, multi-class switch, listening for any little gremlins that shouldn't be there - all at low volume, with the P-90 LP goldtop through the Mojotone 2x10"...

Teaser: Had this one been around in 1966, Messrs. Clapton and Harrison would've both found much to like...

Based on my experience with the T5, I'm hauling out the Taylor Custom solid and Yamaha SSC-500 next - heard some good things from the little box that will likely be even more so in the T50 - and saving the workhorse Gretsch 5622 for later...

Stay tuned, folks (pun intended)...
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Old 01-13-2023, 08:21 AM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Default Bugera T50 Review

A little late, but here it is:

First impressions:
Since the early-60's I’ve been a major fan of the classic chrome-and-cage aesthetic best exemplified by the McIntosh audio and Ampeg Portaflex gear (which drew me to the Bugera T5 from minute one) and having missed a few opportunities to score an Ampeg B-12XT (if your style runs to ‘60s “big clean” tone and you’re not familiar with Linden’s “Twin Killer,” you should be - and if you ever have the chance to play a good one you’ll see it came by its nickname honestly...) at anything resembling a reasonable price, I found it hard to resist the call of a comparably-powered/styled top box that could be teamed with a variety of cabs depending on the gig – not to mention the ability to distribute the weight rather than having to wrestle with a 100-pound all-in-one rig as I approach the big seven-o. Teamed with my Mojotone Lite 2x10” cab it indeed captures much of the visual vibe of the B-12XT – paired with a blue-check-covered 2x12” (I may have one built somewhere down the line just for grins...) it could probably have Ampeg aficionados in the audience doing a double take; that said, there’s at least an equal nod to the early-2K's Vox Night Train 50, with a few key differences that IMO make it a generally better-conceived and more useful package than its progenitor...


Features/construction:
This one follows the basic T5 formula, but taken to the next level with two independent channels (3-band EQ on each, versus the T5’s bass/treble configuration, and gain/volume on the OD channel) and a push-button “Phat” control that boosts gain and bypasses the EQ on both channels; the master section features the same digi-verb found in the V-Series amps, Tone Cut (a nod to the Vox Night Train as well as the iconic AC Series), master volume, standby/on-off toggle switches, and yellow Infinium pilot light gracing the black front panel. The back panel features an IEC cable input, a Class A/AB push-button switch (which not only drops the volume but opens up a whole different set of tonal possibilities), two Infinium tube-life monitor LED’s (which provide a visible warning when your power tubes need replacing - not too often according to company literature, which claims that the Infinium circuitry is not only self-biasing but significantly prolongs tube life), 1/4" speaker-emulated (1x12”/4x12”) out, dual 1/4" speaker outs (minimum 4-ohm total load), 1/4" TRS jack for the included FS102A channel/reverb footswitch (familiar to owners of the V22/V55) and 1/4" send/return jacks for the effects loop (which, based on the manual illustration, is probably intended for rackmount gear rather than stompboxes – the company literature doesn’t specify). The T50 has the same solid overall feel (at a claimed 26.4 pounds fairly heavy for its size, with the tube complement - 4x12AX7/2xEL34 - and the substantial iron driving them both readily visible through the cage) and smooth-feeling controls as the rest of the current Bugera lineup, but if you’re new to these amps be advised that the pre/post gain and EQ controls on the T-Series respond differently than their more vintage-inspired V-Series cousins - all the more fun if you’re a back-to-basics, guitar-cable-amp player who enjoys exploring the broad variety of tone colors available...

Nevertheless, there are a few minor points common to the T-Series that might improve both the practical utility and visual vibe if addressed. As with the T5 the faux-leather handle hearkens back to the classic design seen on up-line ‘60s blue-check Ampegs (a nod to the Portaflex IMO), but again I would’ve preferred a more vintage-style set of control knobs - and I’d also ditch the yellow pilot light in favor of the blue one used on the pre-Infinium V-Series. While I commented in my review of the pocket-rocket T5 that a manual push-button boost is useless in a live-performance context, IME it’s an even more-glaring shortcoming in a dual-channel high-power head designed for big-stage use – while Fender’s Drive/More Drive feature is somewhat controversial I personally find it a highly useful on-the-fly performance option, and as soon as both amps are out of warranty I’m converting them to single-button footswitch operation...


Listening test:
In my previous review of the T5 I commented on the hidden shortcomings/limitations of the self-biasing Infinium circuitry: in spite of the T50 manual’s assertions that the OEM EL34 power tubes can be swapped for a 6L6 pair without rebiasing or modification, my initial shakedown runs were done with the factory tubes, through a Mojotone 2x10” cab - and all pertinent comments should be taken in that light. Although it’s well- and widely-known among Bugera aficionados that they’re normally the weak link in the chain - and these low-rent tone boxes are indeed highly responsive to upgrades in this department - it’s not only best to proceed cautiously, but based on my ongoing experience with the T5 the current factory glassware provides more-than-acceptable performance...

As much as I love my trusty modded “blue-light” V22 combo, there’s just something about a “big-tube” amp played clean: there’s a wealth of dynamics and low-end support that IME just isn’t there with the EL84-powered rig (even with the high-sensitivity Swamp Thang speaker), and if you’re a player who leans toward some Brit flavor in your clean sound - more from the Hiwatt than the Marshall camp - this could be your amp. Like the T5 the tone stack offers an unusually wide range of adjustment, with an even broader range of clean tones and headroom; good news is that, depending on which guitar you’re using, you’re less likely to dial in something truly unusable than with the small box. Paradoxically, it can also be a bit more idiosyncratic and finicky than its little brother; while my Taylor Custom solid (itself somewhat idiosyncratic) was almost a plug-&-play proposition with the T5, I had to do some heavy-duty dial-twisting to find the tonal sweet spot. On the other hand, it’ll handle any old-school pickup you throw at it: a P-90 LP sounded fat, full, and almost humbucker-like; an old MIJ Yamaha SSC-500 transitioned easily from searing hot-single-coil to Strat glassiness without missing a beat; and this old early Beatles fan was able to evoke memories of the ‘65 tour with the workhorse Gretsch 5622 and my wife’s Guild Starfire 12 - thanks to a little judicious tweaking of the clean channel EQ and Vox-derived master Tone Cut...

However, the push-button “Phat” control which, as previously stated, bypasses the tone stack and boosts gain, doesn’t have quite as dramatic an effect in this application: to my ears and line of thought far better in practice, as it offers the potential for quasi-4-channel operation – Channel 1 for clean rhythm/lead, Channel 2 for crunch/hi-gain (FYI the first channel will also overdrive nicely at higher pre-gain settings, for four different flavors of dirt) - if you’re willing to convert it to pedal operation (which is at the head of the must-do list once it’s out of warranty). Speaking of the OD channel, there’s a healthy amount of gain in there - not as much as a purpose-built hard-rock amp like the Mesa Rectifier Series or 5150, but the dedicated additional 12AX7 (compared to the similarly-powered V55) definitely takes this one to places the V-Amp can’t go; FWIW my own tastes in this department are grounded more in the classic-rock era, and the T50 doesn’t disappoint: moderate gain netted some classic “woman tone” and had me riffing on “Strange Brew” through the P-90 LP’s neck pickup; both pickups, some EQ tweaking, and a bit more front end brought out my inner Carlos; and a quick switch of the SSC-500's coil taps evoked early BTO’s rhythm and lead tones. Although it doesn’t overdrive enough for most metal styles, with the right stompbox and a quick-breakup cab I could see this doing club duty for hard-rockers, and it’s got enough grunt in both clean and OD modes to cover all but the biggest houses for the rest of us...


Summary:
Although taking much of its visual/topological inspiration from the discontinued Vox Night Train, the Bugera T50 is very much its own animal, drawing from a variety of (mostly British) influences to create a hybrid that will appeal to players in a broad spectrum of styles. Whereas some may consider it lacking a distinctive sonic personality, I find its overarching ability to complement your guitar, without calling undue attention to itself or being too sterile/hi-fi in the process (one of the traits I most admire in the blue-check era Ampegs), a refreshing change of pace; while unlikely to foster any converts from the Vox/Marshall/Blackstar camps, I don’t believe that was/is its raison d’etre - besides, there are already enough mass-market and boutique amps in that category, and at nearly every price point from Working Joe/Jane to "if you have to ask... ". Much like those of us who play Gretsch guitars have discovered, if you’re willing to break away from the “conventional wisdom” there’s a whole lot of good stuff going on in there – and at the usual "how-do-they-make-them-so-good-for-so-little-money" Bugera price (still $399 at Sweetwater as of this writing, while supplies last). Nevertheless, I find its shared faults less acceptable in this mid-high-powered stage-oriented topbox than its practice/recording/small-gig baby-brother T5, and while it could easily have been a perfect 10/10 (for little to no cost at the production-line end BTW), until such time as Bugera chooses to offer an upgraded Mark II version it gets a 9.2/10 ...
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Last edited by Steve DeRosa; 01-29-2023 at 08:45 PM.
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Old 01-13-2023, 11:09 AM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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I'm glad you mostly like the new amp, Steve! Very interesting review!

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Old 01-13-2023, 12:39 PM
Chickee Chickee is offline
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Steve, what speakers did you eventually put into that MojoTone 2x10 cab? Were you happy with the build? I thought they did a really good job with my 1x12.

Best of luck with the new Bugera head. Now you have the whole GoldieLocks family of small, medium and large power ratings to fill all of your needs! How cool is that.
All the best,
frank d.
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Old 01-13-2023, 01:14 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Still have the old Peavey Scorpions in there and, other than the fact that they're not very efficient as guitar speakers go (95dB), the fact that the frequency response goes down to 60Hz puts them in the same league as the Eminence Swamp Thang, so I'll be leaving them for a while as an economy measure (got enough power on tap that it doesn't matter much, and most of my playing is cleaner stuff anyway); BTW I've got a 1x12" in my future - there's a '70s JBL E-120 sitting in my basement that hasn't had a home in over 40 years (used it to upgrade my Ampeg Rocket when it was my only amp), and given the ultra-light weight of the MojoTone cab the combination should scale in somewhere in the low 30lb. bracket - lighter than many stamped-frame/small-magnet equipped 1x12" cabinets and, I suspect, a better match for the T5...
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Old 01-13-2023, 02:45 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
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The MojoTone speaker cabinets seem like a very cool option for a very reasonable price.

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