Recently at my band practice this amp quit on me. After replacing a blown fuse i found, i played the amp for a little while; everything seemed fine. The next time i turned the amp on, the power tube flashed, and the fuse blew again. The tube had a short. Re-tubing this amp with some groove tubes fixed the issue, and drastically improved the sound.

In my time in poking around the amp while trouble shooting, I noticed a few things. First of all, this amp is extremely simple. When there's not a whole lot, there's not a whole lot to break. I also realized how Bugera managed to make this amp so affordable. Instead of being hand wired, everything is on circuit boards. In addition, they also manufacturer the tubes and transformers in-house. With transformers, there's not a whole lot to mess up. With tubes on the other hand, small details make big differences.

Bugera does a good job at manufacturing tubes for not being a tube company. All they want is to get something in their amp that works so they can get it shipped. For most musicians this works. But, this doesn’t work for musicians who care about reliability and details. Actual tube companies engineer tubes to detail just to get the right sound. Go on the Groove Tube website and see how many different EL84s they sell!

If you’re looking into this amp, and reading this review; you are probably just like me and want plexi tone without a huge bill. Trust me, buy this amp and some tubes and you will not be disappointed. The circuit design of a true plexi is no secret and bugera copied it almost exactly. The only difference between this amp and a real Marshall are the components. Resistors and capacitors don’t make a big difference in sound. Transformers have some impact but not much. The tone lies in the tubes. REPLACE THEM!

This is truly a great amp and should be illegal to sell!

Well, if you're reading this you probably all ready know Bugera's reputation of building affordable amps that sound great but break often. I originally planned on buying a 333xl, but someone talked me out of it. The circuitry in this amp is simple, so if it does break down it is not hard to get it repaired. Mine was broke out of the box when I recieved it. It took 2 repairs, but finally found all 4 power tubes blown, probably shipping damage but still frustrating. Now that the amp works, it sounds great! I play a line 6 podx3 live through it and I can't believe the tone I get. My friends have MUCH more expensive tube amps that don't sound nearly as good as mine, and I have way more tonal versatility. It's not for everyone though. If you plan on only using the amp be prepared for a sweet vintage bite but not much versatility. But, if you have effects pedals to push through it I'm convinced you can't find a better tone for the money. If you can afford it, go for a more expensive brand for sheer reliability, but if you're strapped for cash like me rest assured, you can't beat this amp! By the way, this other review by Jeff is very accurate and has some good info about the amp in it. Be sure to read it too.

I own this head and use it with a 300w 1960 Lead 4X12 Cab...This head is loud and has nice break-up soon after cooking the tubes a few times and breaking them in. BEWARE this head ain't for the faint at heart when it comes to the break in period.

I would recommend doing this when no one is around (your house or the neighbors) or if you live out in the sticks and there aren't neighbors near by. I used a sound room completely covered in sound foam in my basement... With this head I've found the volume level stops climbing at half way # 5. Obviously I turned it up more and heard more tube saturation rather than volume increase. Don't get me wrong this beast is loud at half way and even better at 7 for it's saturation sound which is very desirable when your into cranking it by yourself.

I'm not sure if other guitar players would want to keep up but if your not standing directly in front of the cab when you do this you will appreciate the sound. I stood 10 feet away from it and it's very tolerable even at these levels in my sound room.

I've used a Zoom effects pedal, distortion, over drive, phases, flange, but some of the effects seem to take away a little of the amps natural break up just a bit and it looses some of the natural bass through my 4X12 cab.

If you plan on pulling tubes to decrease volume don't bother buying this amp...Doing this eliminates the presence effect and you round the sound. No hot plates for me...I would rather look into having a master volume installed by a licensed amp tech. That's all this beast needs to be compared to a RR Plexi for a fraction of the cost.

To sum it up, This is a great deal if your looking for a Plexi head. This amp head straight out of the box sounds great when you crank it loud! If your looking for a Metal sounding head straight out of the box this amp isn't going to deliver. Anyone whom knows anything about Plexi amps knows If you bridge the channels together and then plug into the high gain channel the sound is amazing!

Buy this amp if your mature enough to understand what a Plexi head is all about...The price is a fraction of the cost compared to any other name brand Plexi anywhere. Hands down this amp is a great deal and everything I expected with it's performance.