Bugera Amps 333XL Head

-3 channels, clean crunch and lead
-xl switch on the crunch and lead channels to add a slight low-mid and bass boost
-noise gate on lead channel
-digital reverb
-high and low gain inputs
-line out
-effects loop that can be balanced with 2 pots
-4 button footswitch
-easily switchable from el34's to 6l6 power tubes

This is a follow-up to a previous review I wrote for this amp. I have used this amp with multiple guitars, mainly humbucker equipped ranging from very warm sounding to very hot output. This amp has a fairly good sound to it, especially for how cheap it is. The clean channel is incredible and boasts a nice vox like chime but certainly not better than either fender or vox like some people have said, but close. The crunch channel has a very marshall dsl100 esque tone that I love. my only complaint about this channel is that there is a ton of gain to it, people have said on here that it gets into the AC/DC territory. that is not true, I have gotten into the thrash/death metal zone without the gain being past 3 o'clock. It's almost too much gain, I would really like to get a yngwie style sound from this channel but it's seemingly impossible. It's a nice channel for ozzy kind of stuff though. The lead channel is essentially the crunch channel with more gain; which was dissapointing. I like that it can sound a bit like a mesa and get a good dream theater sound or pretty much any other kind of metal. my complaint with this channel though is that it screams but can't quite sing like I would expect an amp to do. The noise gate on this channel doesn't do a whole lot to get rid of the noise, both this channel and the crunch channel get pretty noisy and tend too feed back a lot. The xl switch add a little more warmth and fullness to the sound of the gain channels which is a nice addition. The reverb is clearly digital but not bad becasue it gives a great effect of playing an arena. overall, its very good for the price and gets about 90% of the way to the tone of other famous amps but it sounds a bit sterile and just can't quite pull it off.

I have had this amp for a year and have changed out all the cheapy tubes that it originally came with because they are horrible. other than the tubes being ****, the amp feels very flimsy and I get nervous every time I turn the pots because they feel like they are going to snap off. The transformers are attached to the PCB with a plastic plug similar to one you would find in a computer and I know there is a big problem with those melting, easily fixable with a solder gun. I couldn't see gigging with this amp becasue a fall I could see being catasrophic to it. plus when I'm playing at volumes of about 3 or higher, the volume will suddenly cut out and not come back full again until I switch channels, turned out it's because this amp is very sensitive to power and needs a power conditioner.

haven't dealt with them

This amp is good if you have the budget for a solid state and want actual tube tone. It is a little buggy and the construction quality is poor, but it isn't that bad of an amp. All the bugs with the amp can be worked out with fairly little cost and the tone you can get out of it compared to others in the price range (peavey valveking, b52, etc.) makes the amp worth it. It blows other similar amps out of the water by far and is great for nearly any style of music that you can imagine. overall, I would say that this amp is great becasue you can get 90% of the tone with 1/3 of the price.

It??s got what I look from a distorted, metal sound.

I??ve played various amps and I think it sounds really good for metal. It??s got a lead and crunch sounds with a good chance on altering the sound with xl boost on both those channels. The clean sound isnt that good, i would give it only 6. The other model they have 6262 great clean sound.

Heats up really much. You can actually smell it :D And after 2 weeks of playing the tubes started to sparkle...

I??ve been recording and just testing out my friends gear. If it doesent start to burn again it??s for sure my next amp.

im sure you all know the features, its a pretty popular amp now.
made in 2008.

my guitar is a schecter blackhawk with SD-A8 pickups in the bridge.

I play mostly 80s heavy metal and some newer stuff.

The amp is not noisy, its rather tamed.

here is my problem with it, it sounds like a metal zone made into a amp, bad definition and mid range. you would think with eight tubes that it would be glassy tube goodness. its not really. the mid range is VERY dry. sound like its SS. it really let me down in the lead solo dept. i bought this to further my lead tone and it just sounds bad on higher strings. like its fizzy and dark. i changed the tubes with JJ E34L and 4 JJ preamps. that didnt help but increase the low end. the lead tone was just as bad if not worse. it was biased correctly.

the clean channel is great on the amp. thats the best part of it.

the distortion is dry. like i said before, you will not have a great time recording it. the mids need to be warm to sound anywhere near professional quality. without those mids it your doomed to sound semi pro.

i would depend on it. i would gig with it.

i have had no problems with the amp. my serial is #0801 on the back so the wire problem is fixed after these dates.

but ill give it a 5 because of all the let downs this amp has created with people who bought it before they fixed there problem. really lame actually.

never dealt with the company.

overall rating is a 6. this thing sounds like a metal zone made into a amp. the mids are dry and i really wouldnt consider this a professional amp. its more like a teenagers ear blowing amp.
ive been recording with nice equipment for ages, this thing doesnt have the richness to contend any higher than its price tag.
its really like metal zone made into a amp people. you will hear it right away.

3 channals all good sounding, I did'nt get to use this amp that much and truly get to know it inside and out because it died after 6 hours. But over all there is alot of tone that can be discovered if the amp will last long enough for you to use it for more than a week.

I have a Jackson DXMG dinky with a JB in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck, I play metal. This amp was not noisy for the most part because of the noise gate on it. Overall the amp was versitale you could really pul of any sound that you needed. On the clean setting it sounds like a fender very bluesy sounding ( As Cites Burn like clean) the gain one setting is also very good sounding it is good for low and medium gain settings, it gets a really good rock setting on this channal. The high gain is very impressive, it was very close to a dual rect. very solid and smooth.

This is where the amp lacks, this is the most unreliable amp i have ever owned. I was in the middle of band practice and had not had this head but mabye 6 hours and slowly it started to get softer and softer till eventually it made no sound, the power light flickerd and it just died. I would never recommened this amp to anyone I have heard nothing but bad things about its dependability and after owning one for 6 hours it is not worth it. I have never heard of any one having any sort of longevity with these amps. Just stay away from Bugera.

I never dealt with Bugera.

This was a good sounding amp for the time that I had it. I just think they need to go through and redisign it so it wont crap out. For the most part it seems like 1 out of 10 of these amps actually make it past 2 months. I would not buy this amp, I returned it and got a Peavey Valve King it is every bit as good with a better clean.The Bugera 33xl and everything made by this company is a piece of ****. Dont ever even go near this amps.

i play death matel and the amp sounds killer when the lead channel is kicked on with the treble set at 7 or 8 no mids and the bass set on 8 or 9. plenty of power when we play i run it on 4 on the master volume and 5 on the channel volume

i use an schecter omen 6 with stock pickups and a b.c.rich warlock with stock pickups. the amp does feed back at the master volume set at about 3 but other than that the amp is killer tone for death metal

i had thishead for 3 months and the tubes burned up in it replaced the tubes 80 buck the warranty doesnt cover that. with the new tubes in it played it twice and it burned the transformers up now its in the shop for three weeks now 2/25/09. i would have a back up amp

the local music store where i bought has dealt with bugera and it seems that bugera had it shipped in a couple of days to the service center in dallas tx. the warranty on the head is for 1 year

i have been playing for about 15 years i have played on crates, peaveys,mesa but the sound the bugera has is just brutal.if were stolen i wouldnt buy it again just for the problems i have had in the short time i have had this head. i wished i had a mesa triple

Made in august 2008
3-channels clean, crunch and lead. pretty versatile head overall
footswitchable fx loop with pots to balance send/return
line out
boost for crunch and lead channel, noise gate for lead channel
tons of power
4 button footswitch included for channel switching and fx loop
i just wish the gate and xl switch did more and that the reverb was footswitchable

I mainly use this amp with my BC rich kerry king signature w/emg 81s and my ibanez xiphos. I have to say the clean channel is among the best cleans I have heard period, very articulate with a vox like chime. the crunch can do everything from blues to zakk wylde like gain, it has a very pronounced marshall vibe. The lead has tons of gain and amazing sound quality that can easily be comparable to a mesa boogie dual rec. it is slightly noisy on this channel but nothing bad the noise gate however, doesn't do very much. The reverb is a digital reverb that sounds good but not as good as spring reverb. bottom line, amazing sound quality that is easily worth twice what it costs

hasn't broken down yet but I have had a power tube blow already and I have only had this 4 months so we'll see how it holds up.

1 year warranty. haven't had to deal with them,its held up pretty good so far

this amp is amazing quality, the knobs and decorations are plastic but who really cares? The most important thing is that I got an amp that matches amps that cost up to $2000 but I only paid 550! this amp has plenty of gain to do just about anything granted it may still need a pedal to get good solos and then when i need a clean sound, i can get a clean that I have only heard on boutique amplifiers before. I highly recommend this to anyone that needs tube amp tone on a solid state budget or any "tube snobs" out there that love real amp tone.

Built in 2008, shipped May 2008.
Versatile 3 channel design covers ultra clean through metal.
All the other features are covered elsewhere.

Reliability.....see below.

Superstrats (G&L, Jackson, Charvel, etc.)

I've had the head for about 6 months. Worked fine until one day, when I turned it on, the front panel lit up but the power tubes didn't fire.

It has never been out of my house, and the only time it has been moved is when it was shipped. It has only been called upon to push about 50 of its 120 watts -- and that was on a rare occasion when the wife left the house.

I investigated and found some information regarding the connection to the power amp being just a "clip" prone to failure. I also read that it was a simple solder job to fix it. The problem....if I try to fix it myself (which could be simple), the warranty is voided.

I'm sending it back in to Bugera for repair.

The Behringer people were nice. The first call was to technical assistance, but the guy on the phone recommended buying a new set of power tubes -- which was clearly not the problem. He was nice enough, though.

The second call was to warranties. Again, very friendly. I was informed that it could take a few days to get a return authorization number -- unusually heavy activity (this didn't make me feel particularly good about the period after the warranty has expired). However, I'll wait and see and keep my fingers crossed.

I will report back after the amp is repaired.

No opinion as of yet.

Right now, I have to give it a 5 or so. If this was just a one time glitch from a new amp design (that is corrected), then I'm willing to chalk this up as a minor design flaw that was corrected. If it comes back in fine working order, and it is not a hassle, then I would give it a 10.

We shall see.

specs- lots of knobs, i tried the head and the other guitarist in my band has the combo.. footswitch, 120 watts of power...

i play a gibson les paul with seymour duncan pickups and the other guitar player plays jackson dinky's with dimebuckers in them... the reason i'm writing this review is to clear the air on alot of glowing reviews on this amplifier. Now, everyone has their sound, so don't get me wrong, it may be what you like, but for me-- this amp didn't do it.

there is ALOT of crunch and chunk, but compared to my jcm800, it doesn't have the frothiness to it, and it just sounds muddy. it has so much gain that you'll never use it all!!!! by turning up the gain once you get to about 12 0' clock you just get more sludge.. here's the thing guys- if you've never had a great amp, you may think that this amp sounds great. i think that it encourages lazy technique. pinch harmonics just LEAP out of the thing, but when i play them on MY amp they're not so readily available, and when i'm playing the bugera, i can fudge a little when playing fast. it all sounds well and good, but that's just it. with the Marshall- you gotta NAIL those harmonics, and you gotta NAIL those notes dead on to get that perfect feel and attack. i take pride in my technique, and i realize now that you have to PLAY the marshall, while you can cheat with the bugera. the bugera just doesn't have that "it" quality and feel. the complexity and beauty of the guitar played WELL by someone through an 800 vs the bugera- there's no comparison. this amp will hide poor technique.

here's the BIG one.. the other guitarist in our band has gone through 5 of them in 6 months time. one practice, he was standing with his guitar volume off, and the amp was sitting next to him humming away as normal, when POP! a huge pop came out of the speakers, power and standby lights flickered, and smoke came pouring out of the thing! we hurriedly shut it off. send it back. again.. and again. once he called me up because he was playing out, and it popped a fuse, and wanted to know what fuse to get. so i googled 333xl combo fuse and - what's this? i get TONS of hits. why?? i guess they very commonly pop them, and have all kinds of problems. they seem very cheaply built, and the one he got now has a problem with the chassis not being secured to the box very well. so he's going to trade it off. i am unimpressed with these amps and the only reason i wanted to write a review is just to make a fair comparison to a classic amp. NO COMPARISON.

they keep sending em, so i guess that's nice of them, but geez- build a better amp!

over all i think the bugera amps are cheaply made amplifiers, and i don't much like the vibe of them. they just rub me the wrong way. our bass player owns a store and he's an authorized dealer for them, and he's always bad mouthing my jcm.. so i gotta keep kickin his ***. haha. interestingly, he has alot of these combos on hand because people have returned them and gotten something else. i just think they are soulless amplifiers. what is so soulful about cheap plastic amplifiers made by a large company that excells at building mass produced products??? you can do better by going on ebay. you can get a hell of an amplifier for 600 to 700 dollars there used. try splawn if you want to go off the beaten path.

Made in 08
4 EL34 tubes
3 12AX7 tubes
I play rythmn guitar covering mostly 80's hair metal, however I do play some country and classic rock. This amp is definately versital for each mentioned style. It has 3 channels with an included 4 button footswitch letting you access all 3 including the effects loop/boost channel . I use a Zoom GFX-3 effects pedal through the onboard effects loop (located on the back of the head). The effects loop has send and return knobs to adjust to your taste, I use the reverb on the head and it is very adjustable. It's not spring reverb but it is good. I use different effects with the GFX-3 pedal... i.e., chorus, delay, etc...
I use the head with the Bugera 4X12 cabinet (half stack) for practice and live shows. It's definately got the power... 120 tube watts.

I use 3 main guitars. All 3 are Ibanez ART100's with the exception of upgraded pickups in two of the guitars. When I first plugged into the head, the adjustments were very easy to make and the sound was dialed in very quickly.
This thing is very, very quiet. Naturally if you stand in front of the speakers with your guitar pointing toward them, you will get feedback. It has a noise gate that is functional, but not as functional as a separate noise gate, etc. With EMGHz pickups I can easily get Zakk Wylde squeals and Nuno Bettencourte harmonics. The distortion is all you will ever need and very easy to acquire and adjust.

I don't depend on anything that can break. It's my opinion to always be prepared for the unseen... The amp crapped out about 2 months after I bought it (new). I took it back to the store that I purchased it from and they had a brand new head and swapped on the spot. Not sure why the head went to the bad, I keep all my equipment in top condition.

I haven't dealt with Bugera directly.

I have been playing for 22 years. I own 2 fender combo amps one of which is a 212 Hot Rod Deville (tube). The Bugera blows it away... period. I also own a 1988 USA B.C. Rich V, Paul Reed Smith and a ton of live sound gear.
I would definately buy this thing again if it were lost or stolen. I love everything about it and can't wait to play it everyday...

-Manufactured in 2008
-All tube (4 12ax7) (4 EL34)or (4 6L6)
-120 watts
-3 channels (clean, crunch, lead) footswitch (included) with effects loop or boost function.
-volume, bass, mid, treble, reverb, boost, XL switch (more bottom end at lower volumes), noise gate
-Used mainly for practice, occasionally gigged

-Using G&L Invader (Dimebucker in bridge); LP knockoff black beauty, Jackson Kelley, Fender Squire Stagemaster (24f) (Duncan H in bridge)
converted to Kahler tremolos on all.
-Play mostly metal, hard rock, and occasional classic rock
-Overall -- pretty quiet, but the noise gate doesn't do much.
-Clean good, crunch distorts to AC/DC at 11, lead is good for almost all metal
-Clean channel can get some good old fashioned tube breakup at a reasonably low volume.
-I much prefer the distortion of my Laney AOR w/overdrive in front of it, but for the price, ($599 including shipping), a solid 8

-No problems after 6 months.
-Survived tube experiments with no problems
-I would trust it without backup
-have not had it long enough to make educated assessment.

1 year warranty

I've been playing off and on for the last 24 years-just getting back into the groove. I would replace it if lost or stolen because for the money, it provides a highly versatile tube amp experience. Like I said, I much prefer my Laney AOR Pro Tube setup, but it doesn't have the convenience of versatility that the Bugera has.