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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 4:14 pm
by Mike
Check out thegearpage.net - lots of people over there playing these things and happy with the V22 and V55.

Was it a Deluxe Reverb you played? They're lovely. I like this amp because it can do the Fender clean thing pretty well and it doesn't cost the earth, that's what I wanted in it, and it delivers.

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:06 pm
by nomorebridge
For the UK these amps are a treat. You can't get a big fendery clean style amp for a decent price, the only thing that is cheap and uses 6L6 bottles I have ever found new here is some Sound City thing and it doesn't look much. Things like HRD's are just a rip off at current prices

One of the things I majorly like about these amps that I saw on TGP is that they have all the bias twiddlers on the outside of the chassis... Why don't fender do this anymore - It's a major selling point for me. I want to be able to retube my amp wihout getting fried, why do they force people to venture into the 'exciting' part of the amp who like myself don't really know/can't do that safely.

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:13 pm
by Rayjaysonic
No it was the Fender Hot Rod DeLuxe 112, god it sounded good, a bargain but sadly I can't justify spending £500 + at the moment. Thanks for the tip I will check thegearpage.net, but I think I am kind of there with my decision. I think the Tiny Terror would be fun but it's not what I am after tone wise. Rich harmonic cleans and plenty of knobs to fiddle with! That's where it's at :lol:

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 6:44 pm
by Rayjaysonic
Yep that's a great design. E-mailed the company because there Bias sheet didn't include the V55HD and they said they would get it revised ASAP!
We will see. :wink:

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:00 pm
by Mike
Rayjaysonic wrote:No it was the Fender Hot Rod DeLuxe 112, god it sounded good, a bargain but sadly I can't justify spending £500 + at the moment. Thanks for the tip I will check thegearpage.net, but I think I am kind of there with my decision. I think the Tiny Terror would be fun but it's not what I am after tone wise. Rich harmonic cleans and plenty of knobs to fiddle with! That's where it's at :lol:
You'll definitely be happy if you're after cleans from this thing. I'm sure the gain channel can be massaged into sounding good but it will take effort, not so the cleans which jump off the strings. Hot Rod Deluxes are extremely overpriced for what they are. If they were £300 it might be worth going for one, but at £549 they are a joke.

Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:19 pm
by Rayjaysonic
Mike wrote: Hot Rod Deluxes are extremely overpriced for what they are. If they were £300 it might be worth going for one, but at £549 they are a joke.
Probably very true, there's a lot of better stuff for that kind of money but have you seen one in Surf Green?????? Yum! :lol:

Might find this link rather cool if you have not seen it already. The tone king at work!! Bugera V55 Vs Fender Hot Rod Duluxe.


Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:26 am
by Sloan
HRD's aren't even worth the current USED prices. fuck those ripoff pieces of shit.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:04 pm
by Rayjaysonic
Well, it's done. I have odered the V55HD, arrives Monday so we will see how it sounds. To be honest I can't wait. Decided for the money, you just can't go wrong. If it sounds half as good as I hope, it's still bloody good value for money. I think my money might have been sfer with a TT but I could see myself selling it in 6 months for something with more tone variety. Fingures crossed! 8)

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:50 pm
by stewart
i think i paid £300 for my hot rod deluxe and that included having it delivered to my door. i like it, but no way would i pay more than that for one. i saw a silverface bassman with a 2x15 cab in my area recently going for less than a full priced HRD.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:00 pm
by Mike
£300 is about right I would say.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:01 pm
by stewart
i'll readily admit that the drive channels are pretty average too, i never use them.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:04 pm
by Mike
Ditto the Bugera to be honest, it sounds nice enough but it's a bit fuzzy, I'm going to see what a 12DW7 does to it when I have a second. I'm crazy busy these days.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:12 pm
by stewart
it sounds ok on the video, but i'd be interested to see what the differences are with changed tubes.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:14 pm
by Rayjaysonic
This is all sounding good, cleans are what I'm after. How is it with a OD or Distortion pedal in front???

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:14 pm
by Mike
It can definitely be dialed to sound pretty damn good, it's just if you have enough trebs dialed in to make the clean channel spank then it can be a bit fizzly.

A 12DW7 is a cool tube, it's half 12AX7 (high gain) and half 12AU7 (low gain), in some amps this means it can tame gain channels while leaving the clean alone, thus you can turn the gain up on the Gain channel to thicken it out at lower saturation levels.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:14 pm
by Mike
Rayjaysonic wrote:
Mike wrote:Ditto the Bugera to be honest, it sounds nice enough but it's a bit fuzzy, I'm going to see what a 12DW7 does to it when I have a second. I'm crazy busy these days.
This is all sounding good, cleans are what I'm after. How is it with a OD, Distortion pedal in front???
Lovely! I actually do this in the end of the video in this thread, and all the gain sounds in my '66 Jaguar are pedals I have built.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:17 pm
by Rayjaysonic
I will have to check it out again later when I have more time. Cool stuff. Not often I wish away the weekend but can't wait for Monday and the delivery truck.....but then it's a day with an amp sat staring at me from the corner of the office!!!!! :shock:

Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 2:48 pm
by Mungodora
Looks like it would be good to use just as a clean amp, if you have the luxury of having a second amp for the crunch/overdrive sounds.

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 6:56 pm
by Rayjaysonic
Well, it arrived today, I have played it for an hour and I have to say I am pleased as punch with the Bugera V55HD. Plugged it into my home made 2X12 with Jensen CR12's. The cleans are as Mike suggests, very nice indeed, silky with a touch of sparkle. I kind of like the fuzzy quality of the lead channel too! Quite a bluesy kind of feel. The thing that has knocked me out the most is the lack of background noise from this amp, even with my cheep nasty patch cables. I think it's an absolute bargain for the price. Happy Happy Joy Joy. :lol:

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 7:21 pm
by Mike
Good stuff, glad you're happy with it.