Bugera G5 Infinium 5-stars Reviews

Great little practice amp

I was in the market for a practice amp and needed something small that sounded great.

PRACTICE AMP CONSIDERATIONS

For a practice amp, I have two main non-negotiable items that I needed, i) namely a line-in so that I can have backing tracks playing through the amp, and ii) a headphone out so that I can practice in quiet when the kids are sleeping.

There are quite a few solid-state combos that meet these requirements, although not that many solid-heads that do. However, I still recall the first time I played on a proper valve amp and the stupid grin shortly after I struck the first power chord and I was not going to go with anything other than a full valve amp.

So, when looking at valve amps, suddenly I needed a fx loop. If you wish to use the overdrive of your valve amp, it is preferable to plug in pedals after the signal has been overdriven, otherwise the effects just get muddied up. Once you start looking for a valve (or hybrid) amp, that have a line-in, headphone out and a fx loop, you may find that there are not that many options available.

I was pretty hesitant ordering this amp due to the Bugera's (admittedly older) reputation, but decided to give it a chance, since I could always return it and get a Marshall DSL5C (which also ticks all of the boxes).

FEATURES

This is one of the more feature-laden lower-wattage valve amps out there. I discussed most of the features above, except for the auto-biasing feature (Infinium). I can't really test this, but in theory, it should extend tube life, while also maintaining a consistent quality of tone during the various cycles of a tubes life. It will also allow the use of newer tubes (although they need to be the same type) without the need to have a tech bias them.

QUALITY

In any case, when it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised at the build quality. It is pretty sturdy and looks like a top notch product. I have not looked at the internals, but from the outside it looks just as well built as a Marshall.

SOUND

Yes, this amp can also elicit a stupid grin when playing power chords. I get great AC/DC sounds in 0.1W mode with a little bit of gain for the preamp and a lot of volume for the power amp. When I want 80s metal sounds, I turn up the gain and turn down the volume.

The clean channel works quite well at home, but I never pushed it to the max. I spend most of my time on the dirty channel and just control that with the volume pot which suits my needs perfectly.

Much more than a great deal!

Well above my expectations!! Definitely has the sound and the material quality of a much more expensive high wattage amp. head

Authentic Tube

Visit the Bugera website that's what convinced me to buy .. fully featured tube amp .. can plug straight into mixer/PA .. Problem solved .. price affordable.

Great little amp. But packed up after warranty finished so confined to loft.

Bugera G5 my new one for all practice amp!

The new Bugera G5 amp has more features than you´ll ever need!

T h e b u i l t i n P O W E R S O A K

First of all it has 5 watts of tube power, but has a built in power soak where you can switch it down to 1 watt or even 0.1 watt. That is very useful if you want to practice at low volumes at home. I play it mostly on one watt at home and use it with my Palmer 1x12 cabinet which is loaded with a Celestion Greenback speaker.

T H E C L E A N C h a n n e l

The clean channel sounds very beautiful, crystal clear and stays clean even if you drive it hard, depending on the pickups of your guitar. If you set it to 0.1 watt, you can drive it to a crunch sound. The reverb sounds fantastic, but be careful not to raise the reverb level too high or you might sound as if you play in a cathedral. The clean channel can be shaped with one several tone control, which works very well, you won´t miss a three band EQ.

T H E O V E R D R I V E C h a n n e l

The overdrive channel might be the reason why most people buy this amp. I would describe the sound of the OD channel as hot rodded "marshallish". But is has its own character. It can be shaped by a three band EQ and the special Morph EQ which shapes the midrange and helps you to realize more British or American style tones. I mostly use it on the UK side with my Les Paul (about 3 o´clock on the dial), with my Strat I often turn it to noon.

I play mostly rock or hard rock from AC/DC to Led Zep. to Guns and Roses or even 80s metal and it does a good job for this kind of music.

T H E E X T R A S of the Bugera - and the "I N F I N I U M" Technology

It comes with a well built footswitch, which can be used to go from the clean channel to the od. channel and to switch the reverb on and off.

It has a line out which can be used for recording (if you connect the head to a mixer or interface) or you can use it with headphones.

You can put the amp on standby, when used with headphones: This will mute the speaker cabinet and you can practice even at night without annoying your neighbours.

The infinium tube LED at the back of the head will indicate if your power tube has to be changed. If you have to change the power tube, you can just simply put the new tube in and the amp will do the biasing automaticly.

The G5 uses one ECC83a tube in the preamp and a 12BH7 tube in the power amp section.

I haven´t used the FX loop so far. The amp has a line in which can be used to connect the head to your MP3player/device so that you can practice to your music. The only point I have to criticize is that the amp produces an unpleasant smell when getting hot, for example if you have used it very long. But this is getting better and I think the smell will disappear in a few weeks and won´t bother me any longer.

Overall I´m very satisfied with the Bugera.

Edit: I have it for 5 weeks now and the unpleasant smell has disappeared completely! I´m still very happy with this amp!