I still do need to play it so I guess it isn't fully tested yet.
I do think it is a decently built amp especially for the price.
I do think it is a decently built amp especially for the price.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
BVV3000 INFINIUM Trial
- Thread starter Saranac
- Start date
I'd recommend Bugera - they have some cool amps with a nice price tag...but I guess you already found that out by yourself...
Cost and of course weight has been the main reasons I haven't really considered that type of amp previously. If the quality of construction is anything like the Veyron amps, sounds like it is, the cost barrier is pretty much a moot point. Weight? Still have to get my head wrapped around that but I am at least thinking about it now. Probably as painless of an entry as there is into a decent tube amp on the market right now..
Last edited:
Do it just like me: leave the tube amp in the rehearsal space and use the Veyron for gigs.
My old back doesn't need the schlep anymore, too.
But it's still fun to play it while practicing with the band.
Not that I'd really need it anymore since having the Veyron, but I still love playing it.
My old back doesn't need the schlep anymore, too.
But it's still fun to play it while practicing with the band.
Not that I'd really need it anymore since having the Veyron, but I still love playing it.
So far it looks like any failures discussed, at least on talkbass, have been tube issues and this connection issue. These types of cables have problems on various Amps though so isn't specific to bugera.
I've had similar repairs on ampegs and some peaveys off the top of my head.
Me personally, I think that I would be more scared of dropping $1000.00+ into a comparable type of head from a manufacturer that has a more prestigious name then having it shipped to me.
The less than prohibitive cost, relatively speaking, takes a lot of the fear factor out of it for me. 3 year warranty doesn't hurt either. I would still do my research but at it's price, I might be inclined to give it a try if a tube head was in my sights. As long as there were not a lot of REAL negative reports about them. Haven't seen much to cause a great deal of concern. Man, I don't need another amp but I have always been curious about the tube beasts....
Last edited:
Problem with that is getting a stoopid heavy BVV3000 to the service center
.Problem with that is getting a stoopid heavy BVV3000 to the service center
Agreed! I think they have service centers in my area though. At least, I recall locating some while researching for my Veyron purchases. I'd certainly have to take that into consideration before pulling the trigger....
Hey Tim,
The below links to a thread with several photos of the BVV3000I internals. Is the dodgy cable that you hard soldered shown in any of them? It would be good to know where potential problems may arise. Thanks for all your reports. Cheers, Mark
Bugera BVV3000I review | Page 2 | TalkBass.com
The below links to a thread with several photos of the BVV3000I internals. Is the dodgy cable that you hard soldered shown in any of them? It would be good to know where potential problems may arise. Thanks for all your reports. Cheers, Mark
Bugera BVV3000I review | Page 2 | TalkBass.com
Thanks Tim. It would be great if you could describe how its sound compares to your SVT?
Last edited:
So my further testing and some playing have been done.
I wanted to redo my original tests keeping the line voltage @ 120V the entire time using my variac. This is the most repeatable from amp to amp to give me a level place to compare from.
I first tested the amp stock with several sets of power tubes: JJ KT88's, Bugera 6550's, Sovtek 6550's and KT88's, some Peavey ones, etc....
The most clean power with no clipping of the sine wave is right under 200 watts. This makes sense because the B+ is only 600 volts. Stock the amp biases the tubes with a .165 volt reading across the 4.7 ohm resistors in the cathodes. This is about 35ma per tube. This might be a little on the cool side but not bad and safe.
My next test was to force it to bias hotter. The quick and dirty but easy way to test this out was to add 10 ohm resistors in parallel with the 4.7's. This makes roughly a 3.2 ohm cathode resistor. Once turned on the amp once again balanced everything out to put the .165 volts across the cathode resistor which now made it bias the tubes @ roughly 51ma. This is a bit on the hot side but was fine for my short testing. Is still got the same power out so no gains there.
I feel the amp is setup pretty well as is and trying to change the bias setup doesn't gain any rewards so if it works don't mess with it.
I did play it a bit through my 2x15 cabinet and it is very SVT like and has a good sound. My house has very tall ceilings so it isn't the best area to test an amp in so I can't give great input. Comparing to my SVT isn't really fair because mine is a 70' with 6146's and puts out close to 360 clean...
I am going to run it a bit longer and test and make sure everything stays stable and will be selling it to a local friend fellow talkbass member so I will keep up with his impressions and update.
I have other projects to work on including a Ampeg V4, Ampeg SVT, my Mesa Buster I converted to EL34's and added the push pull features of a 400+ to, and my recently acquired Fender 400ps monster. I've had one of these before so it will be fun.
I wanted to redo my original tests keeping the line voltage @ 120V the entire time using my variac. This is the most repeatable from amp to amp to give me a level place to compare from.
I first tested the amp stock with several sets of power tubes: JJ KT88's, Bugera 6550's, Sovtek 6550's and KT88's, some Peavey ones, etc....
The most clean power with no clipping of the sine wave is right under 200 watts. This makes sense because the B+ is only 600 volts. Stock the amp biases the tubes with a .165 volt reading across the 4.7 ohm resistors in the cathodes. This is about 35ma per tube. This might be a little on the cool side but not bad and safe.
My next test was to force it to bias hotter. The quick and dirty but easy way to test this out was to add 10 ohm resistors in parallel with the 4.7's. This makes roughly a 3.2 ohm cathode resistor. Once turned on the amp once again balanced everything out to put the .165 volts across the cathode resistor which now made it bias the tubes @ roughly 51ma. This is a bit on the hot side but was fine for my short testing. Is still got the same power out so no gains there.
I feel the amp is setup pretty well as is and trying to change the bias setup doesn't gain any rewards so if it works don't mess with it.
I did play it a bit through my 2x15 cabinet and it is very SVT like and has a good sound. My house has very tall ceilings so it isn't the best area to test an amp in so I can't give great input. Comparing to my SVT isn't really fair because mine is a 70' with 6146's and puts out close to 360 clean...
I am going to run it a bit longer and test and make sure everything stays stable and will be selling it to a local friend fellow talkbass member so I will keep up with his impressions and update.
I have other projects to work on including a Ampeg V4, Ampeg SVT, my Mesa Buster I converted to EL34's and added the push pull features of a 400+ to, and my recently acquired Fender 400ps monster. I've had one of these before so it will be fun.
Thanks for the update Tim. I wonder if regular gigging will uncover any more issues with the internal wiring. The design seems fairly sound; it may just be down to fixing faults if they occur and don't kill the amp all together.
Yes, thanks and I hope mine will be okay too as it did survive the journey from China to France and then onwards to the UK. However as one of these amps did have a problem with an intermittent ribbon cable header connection it increases the probability of the same issue occurring in others.
Alrighty!WELCOME to TalkBass.
Just checking. It sounded like you are a company rep trying to clean up their image. Sorry to hear you wasted your time. A Post about your other New Amp will be fun to document as well even though this did not turn out. Good luck on your next adventure.
Glad to hear you got it up and running, timv. I kind of knew my local tech was short-arming it when he looked at it. It sat in a corner for a month before he even cracked it open and was of the mind that because the amp is inexpensive it's not worth fixing. Lesson learned I guess. The shipping actually wasn't too bad with my company discount for UPS. It was around $60 to get it from Connecticut to Arizona.
Yeah I got it up a running, sold it to a local friend and it blew on him! I still need to open it back up, think it blew the internal fuse. He did put a set of kt88's in it and I'm not sure how "good" they were so they may have been really mismatched and made it freak out, not sure yet.
I'll probably refix it, throw it on eBay and remove it from my life.
I have another svt to fix up!
I'll probably refix it, throw it on eBay and remove it from my life.
I have another svt to fix up!
