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  #1  
Old 06-16-2020, 09:20 AM
TonyD TonyD is offline
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Default Amplifier setting advice needed

I started playing acoustic guitar, and mostly still do, but over the years have acquired an Epiphone LP Trad Pro, Epi SG-310 and Squire CV Telecaster. Since I wanted a tube amp I bought a Bugera V5.

My problem is no matter which guitar I play through that amp they sound the same to me! The only difference seems to be loudness; for the same volume setting the LP is louder than the others.

The amp only has gain and tone controls (plus reverb and volume, of course), so is that the reason?

I can get crunch/distortion, but when I play 'clean' I don't hear any difference/personality from the guitars.

I also realize these are lower level instruments, so should I not expect too much from them?

Thanks for any feedback.
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  #2  
Old 06-16-2020, 09:49 AM
robj144 robj144 is offline
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Weird... the Tele should sound quite a bit different than the guitar with humbuckers. Are you playing loud enough? Sometimes you can't really get the sound of the guitar unless you turn the amp up.
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  #3  
Old 06-16-2020, 10:11 AM
TonyD TonyD is offline
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Yeah, I mostly have the amp on the 0.1 or 1 W setting so that could be the reason!
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Old 06-16-2020, 11:21 AM
pieterh pieterh is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD View Post
Yeah, I mostly have the amp on the 0.1 or 1 W setting so that could be the reason!

I’m not familiar with your amp but that could be the issue.

Try using the higher power setting and not gaining up too much. I have a VOX AC4tv with similar settings (0.25 watt, 1w and 4w), gain and control knobs. The .25 w setting is ok for practice but it’s hard to differentiate between a Gibson, a Fender and a G&L. Played at 4w or through my Fender Deluxe Reverb there is no mistaking their different characteristics. Sometimes high gain can muddy things up too much so this is why O suggest high output power but low input gain to start with.
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Old 06-16-2020, 11:32 AM
acoustigoat acoustigoat is offline
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Congrats on the Bugera! I have this amp and agree with pieterh that the .1 or 1 watt setting is limiting the guitars' different voices. I usually play my Tele at 5 watts with gain at 3 and volume at 4 for clean tones that aren't too loud. I hear a distinct difference in switching from the humbucker to the bridge pickups. You can keep the volume lower and crank the gain for some crunch.

I use the .1 and 1 watt settings for quiet practice and playing through headphones. The tones are much flatter but neighbor- and eardrum-friendly. I find the reverb and tone controls to be more decorative than useful.
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  #6  
Old 06-16-2020, 01:11 PM
TonyD TonyD is offline
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Thanks for the advice! I'll try the higher output and settings at my next practice session.
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Old 06-16-2020, 02:12 PM
Dru Edwards Dru Edwards is offline
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I can understand if you think the Epi Les Paul and the SG sound similar. The Tele should sound differently though. Like others said I wonder if it's the low setting. I would expect, on clean, that the Les Paul and SG would sound warmer than the Tele.

Steve is very familiar with Bugera amps and he should be able to provide some great context to your question.

BTW, you've got some very nice guitars!
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Old 06-16-2020, 08:15 PM
DukeX DukeX is offline
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Yes, those guitars are plenty nice. So is the amp. Play the amp in normal 5w mode and use your volume controls.
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  #9  
Old 06-16-2020, 11:01 PM
Paleolith54 Paleolith54 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD View Post
I started playing acoustic guitar, and mostly still do, but over the years have acquired an Epiphone LP Trad Pro, Epi SG-310 and Squire CV Telecaster. Since I wanted a tube amp I bought a Bugera V5.

My problem is no matter which guitar I play through that amp they sound the same to me! The only difference seems to be loudness; for the same volume setting the LP is louder than the others.

The amp only has gain and tone controls (plus reverb and volume, of course), so is that the reason?

I can get crunch/distortion, but when I play 'clean' I don't hear any difference/personality from the guitars.

I also realize these are lower level instruments, so should I not expect too much from them?

Thanks for any feedback.
I think most of the responses are right on. Google "amplifier headroom" or similar and you'll understand why you're hearing little difference on clean tones. Having said that; I think the differences between guitar tones are WAY overemphasized, so even with plenty of headroom I wouldn't expect to hear differences as stark as some folks like to portray them as being.
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  #10  
Old 06-22-2020, 04:58 PM
TonyD TonyD is offline
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That was it! I played all 3 guitars today with the amp set on 5W and the volume at about 5 and can now hear a difference. I used the gain and tone controls to go from clean to distorted and am very happy with my 'new' guitars!
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  #11  
Old 06-22-2020, 07:27 PM
acoustigoat acoustigoat is offline
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That is super to hear. Thanks for the update and congrats on the "new" guitars!
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  #12  
Old 06-22-2020, 08:02 PM
Steve DeRosa Steve DeRosa is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD View Post
...I played all 3 guitars today with the amp set on 5W and the volume at about 5 and can now hear a difference. I used the gain and tone controls to go from clean to distorted and am very happy with my 'new' guitars!
Welcome to the Hardknocks School of Electric Guitar Tone from a magna cum loudly graduate, class of 1966...

With the exception of the digi-verb and the Bad Cat-style cosmetics, under the skin you're dealing with a classic single-ended Class-A amp - the earliest, and still considered by many savvy players to be the ultimate form of guitar amplification; BTW I own a V5 that I use for band practice and coffeehouse gigs, and if you're used to the relatively sophisticated EQ of even a blackface Fender - to say nothing of the plug-&-play instant gratification of a contemporary modeling amp - a combo of this type can seem somewhat lacking in flexibility. As you've discovered, you've got to work a little to draw those sweet tubey-good tones out - just as we did back in the day - but once you've mastered the highly-interactive gain/tone/volume controls you'll find a lot to like in that little $200 tone box, and with a tube/speaker upgrade (I'm using Preferred Series 12AX7/EL84 tubes - the latter a Soviet-era mil-spec tone bottle that'll likely as not outlive both of us - and an Eminence 820H hemp-cone) you'll have a little killer that'll raise some eyebrows among fellow players (and furrow some brows among owners of comparable amps costing four and five times as much)...

Use it well, often, and LOUD...
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