Bugera decision - 333, 333xl, 6262

[Sidious]

Hey all

I've been a followe of this board for some time now, but haven't really joined a lot of discussions.

Im in the market for a new tube amp, since my old band got together again (after 8 years) and we got a new rehearsal room. The other guitarist bought my 5150 mk.1 when we split up, and thats what HE is going to use.

My own gear right now is Ibanez guitar, Cable, Guitarport... That's it. That really doesnt cut it when the other guitarist is playing his 5150 through 4x12". Luckily (for some) Bugera entered the arena a couple of years ago, and im dead set on getting a half stack. But which one?

Damn that decision is so hard. The 6262 seems like the safe bet, since thats the one being talked about the most, suggested the most etc. And it should resemble my own old amp.

But the 333 (xl) is really intruiging, and actually the one im most interested in.

I went to a guitar center last friday where i got to test the 6262 and 333. The 333 sounded much more brutal than the 6262. More balls, more defined. Just plain raw and brutal. The 6262 had its 5150 thing going, but to me it was immensely HARSH sound. Very fizzy and grainy top. Was there a prob with that specific amp perhaps? Unfortunately the 333XL wasnt available so thats still a mystery for me.

The 333 should be modeled after the XXX, but i heard its not even close and sounds much better actually? How would that go in the mix together with the 5150? Would i be drowned out or would i be present enough?

I also heard that the 333 series has a kind of a mesa tone to it. SOME people compares it to the Mark series tone. But im not sure if its just glorification or honeymoon love for the amp.

Next set of questions regarding the 333XL. I saw it clones the JSX. But wouldnt it rather be a clone of a 3120? Since the 333 is an XXX clone. The 333XL is the same, just with EL34 tubes. And the 3120 is the same as a XXX just with EL34 tubes?

What would the main tonal differences be between the 333XL and the 333? What i need is something that handles a death/thrash kinda tone. Think old in flames, At the gates, Death. Would i be able to nail that, and would the 333 be better or the 333xl?

I know there are a lot of questions here. I just hope someone with experience is kind enough to take his time and answer them.

TL;DR
6262, 333 or 333XL for death/thrash?

 

[laszlozsolt82]

Bugera amps are very good sounding amps for the price Dark Tranquility use bugera amp with 5150,actualy Tue madsen one of the best metal producers Used them on a couple of recordings to, but the reliability on this amps it s wery low , they just stop working after a couple of months , everybody has problems with them after a while;
take a look at this video if you don t trust me maybe you trust Tue ,
so maybe you should buy back your 5150 or just buy a 6505 they are built like a tank and still one of the cheapest best sounding hi gain amps out there in my opinion

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

6262 for a clearer tone, 333xl for the scooped/ballsy tone. The 333 and 333XL aren't going to sound noticeably different if you use the same power tubes, but with the XL you get the noise gate and the "XL" switch which is supposed to give you more bottom end on low-gain settings

 

[Sidious]

Thanks for the input guys.

Anymore? I'd really like to know what i can expect of tonal differences between the 333 and 333xl (6l6 vs el34). Is one tighter than the other? More massive sounding? etc.

 

[006]

...but the reliability on this amps it s wery low , they just stop working after a couple of months , everybody has problems with them after a while...

WRONG. No they don't.

My 333 is a couple of years old now with tons of hours in my band's practice space, quite a bit of studio time, a lot of shows and even a tour - ZERO issues. Do research man, the reliability issues you are talking about was from wayyy back when these amps first came out. They have since remedied the issue(s) they were having, which was NOT all of them, and tons of people have had Bugera amps with no issues, me included. You are just plain f'ing wrong and are absolutely not contributing useful information to the OP at all.

So far I think every post I have read of yours has been along the same lines too... :zombie: but whatever.

MOVING ON...

I have the 333, as I said above. I dig it very much. I've A/B'ed against a friend's Peavey XXX into my Mesa cab and we both liked the 333 more. Had a nice midrange to it that the XXX lacks. This is a really old clip, but, it's 100% 333 for the guitars: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/794136/mp3s/LS-BUGERAreamped.mp3

 

[Ermz]

I'd get the 333 and 333xl over the 6260. As you said, it does indeed have a bit of a grainy and fizzy edge to it. The 333 is more subdued and sludgy sounding. Great for thrash, grind, death etc. The 333xl just seems like a great all-rounder. Both the 333 and 333xl seem to sound better than the amps they 'emulate'.

 

[Harry Hughes]

WRONG. No they don't.

My 333 is a couple of years old now with tons of hours in my band's practice space, quite a bit of studio time, a lot of shows and even a tour - ZERO issues. Do research man, the reliability issues you are talking about was from wayyy back when these amps first came out. They have since remedied the issue(s) they were having, which was NOT all of them, and tons of people have had Bugera amps with no issues, me included. You are just plain f'ing wrong and are absolutely not contributing useful information to the OP at all.

So far I think every post I have read of yours has been along the same lines too... :zombie: but whatever.

MOVING ON...

I have the 333, as I said above. I dig it very much. I've A/B'ed against a friend's Peavey XXX into my Mesa cab and we both liked the 333 more. Had a nice midrange to it that the XXX lacks. This is a really old clip, but, it's 100% 333 for the guitars: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/794136/mp3s/LS-BUGERAreamped.mp3

+1

There are quite a few guys from various forum boards on the internet who have had zero issues with their Bugeras

 

[nwright]

I found the 333XL to have MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH more fizz on the high end than any Peavey I've ever heard.

When I tried it out, I left puzzled as to the "cloning" of these amps, to me the 333XL sounded FAR worse than any Peavey I've ever played. Granted I didn't play it too loud in the store, but at the volume level I tried it out, my XXX slaughtered the 333XL in tightness and clarity (and I preferred the XXX voicing as well).

Maybe my XXX just fares better at low volume playing, and the Bugera comes to life at a loud volume.

 

[Sidious]

I'd get the 333 and 333xl over the 6260. As you said, it does indeed have a bit of a grainy and fizzy edge to it. The 333 is more subdued and sludgy sounding. Great for thrash, grind, death etc. The 333xl just seems like a great all-rounder. Both the 333 and 333xl seem to sound better than the amps they 'emulate'.

You mention the 333 as great for death, thrash etc, while the XL is a Great all-rounder... Is the difference between those 2 models really that big? From what i can see, the only difference is in the power amp section where one is equipped with 6L6s and the other with EL34s. Or maybe im wrong here? The reason im so interested in that is that i had only had the chance of trying the 333 and not the XL. I could go on and order the 333 right now, and get a great amp. But i will never know if i could have gotten an even better amp with orderin the XL. Or the other way around, i could order the XL blindly, but be disappointed compared to the 333.

 

[Metaltastic]

I'd go for the 333 personally, though that's cuz a) Mike's clips of it are awesome, and b) I dig the XXX and am really not a fan of the JSX

 

[PhilTheBeard]

My friends john bought a brand new 333 and it blew up on him a week into touring with it.

 

[006]

My friends john bought a brand new 333 and it blew up on him a week into touring with it.

Out of curiosity, how long ago did he buy it?

 

[Sidious]

WRONG. No they don't.

My 333 is a couple of years old now with tons of hours in my band's practice space, quite a bit of studio time, a lot of shows and even a tour - ZERO issues. Do research man, the reliability issues you are talking about was from wayyy back when these amps first came out. They have since remedied the issue(s) they were having, which was NOT all of them, and tons of people have had Bugera amps with no issues, me included. You are just plain f'ing wrong and are absolutely not contributing useful information to the OP at all.

So far I think every post I have read of yours has been along the same lines too... :zombie: but whatever.

MOVING ON...

I have the 333, as I said above. I dig it very much. I've A/B'ed against a friend's Peavey XXX into my Mesa cab and we both liked the 333 more. Had a nice midrange to it that the XXX lacks. This is a really old clip, but, it's 100% 333 for the guitars: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/794136/mp3s/LS-BUGERAreamped.mp3

Wow that sounds goddamn kickass. But ofcourse i dont know how much Post processing you've done to those clips.

Is the 333 your main amp?

//edit:

Did you ever have a chance playing a 333XL, and how did that compare?

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

Having seen a MESA Dual spontaneously combust on stage - in a beautiful moment, the guitarist kept soloing even as the ship was sinking; his tone turning into a squealing mess and the amp literally dribbling off the top of his cab in a ball of flaming tolex - and studio-based Diezel Herbert splutter and die I can safely say they all go wrong. It's just that when your £1500 head explodes, you say it's just a dud because you don't want to think that an expensive amp can be shoddy; when your £200 head stops working, you tell yourself it's because it's a cheap piece of crap and next time you'll spend more on your gear.

Amps all have pretty much the same shit inside them. The idea that one put together by a machine in China will be always less reliable than one built by the hands of a fat American high on flux fumes is fairly stupid if you actually stop and think about it. The difference is cheap amps will probably, on average, have a shorter life span because they use cheaper components which will wear out more quickly. A lot of it will depend on how you treat it - people tend to be much more willing to chuck their cheap gear around, and then moan when it break. Instantaneous component failure can happen to anything though, however much you spend on it.

Steve

 

[slashvanyoung]

My 6260 has shown zero issues so far, as has my other guitarists 333 which he has been using for about a year now. Ever since they remedied that connector issue from the very first models, I firmly believe these aren't much more or less prone to failure than any or most other mass-produced amps. Just ask for how many people one here had issues with their brand new 6505s... or with their Windsors...

You'll find a lemon in every other bunch of mass-produced amps, but "everybody having problems with these amps" is just not true.

Sloan even posted some gut-shots of a 333 some weeks ago and they looked totally legit. If you look past the plastic logos, the bare-bones and guts are absolutely okay.

 

[006]

Wow that sounds goddamn kickass. But ofcourse i dont know how much Post processing you've done to those clips.

Is the 333 your main amp?

//edit:

Did you ever have a chance playing a 333XL, and how did that compare?

Thanks

Never tried the 333XL, BUT I did sell my Peavey JSX to get a Mesa 4x12 (used) and the Bugera (brand new)! I was muuuuch happier with the 333 rig than the JSX one... The 333 was my main amp for a while after that until I got a Peavey 6505 2-3 months ago. Although I haven't used it for anything studio related yet, it is definitely my #1.

IIRC in that clip there is only the usual EQ'ing going on actually, just normal HP/LP, little bit of a boost in the top-end and little bit of a cut in the boxy area. Listening to it these days I am certain I could do a much better job with the amp given what I have learned from then until now. In other words, now I think that clip sounds like arse but oh well heh.

Sloan even posted some gut-shots of a 333 some weeks ago and they looked totally legit. If you look past the plastic logos, the bare-bones and guts are absolutely okay.

yup^^

 

[Lazzari]

I know this is and "old" thread..

MOVING ON...

I have the 333, as I said above. I dig it very much. I've A/B'ed against a friend's Peavey XXX into my Mesa cab and we both liked the 333 more. Had a nice midrange to it that the XXX lacks. This is a really old clip, but, it's 100% 333 for the guitars: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/794136/mp3s/LS-BUGERAreamped.mp3

Hey Mike did you change your tubes to EL34s ?? Or did you use the stock tubes ??

 

[PhilTheBeard]

Out of curiosity, how long ago did he buy it?

3 months ago

 

[amarshism]

The only decision to make is to not get a bugera

 

[006]

Hey Mike did you change your tubes to EL34s ?? Or did you use the stock tubes ??

Stock tubes, although I think it has two Mesa preamp tubes I put in ages ago just because they were laying around. Don't think it made much of a difference in sound though.

The only decision to make is to not get a bugera