Bugera bvp5500 exceeded my expectations

[Twincam]

Ok a bit of an initial reaction as admittedly I've not yet used it in anger, will be doing some rehearsal hopefully Sunday. This is my first actual hybrid head and not one with just a valve thrown in to blend into an ss transistor pre.
I wanted an Ampeg svt 3 pro but the prices are a bit steep, so I read this was a clone and a good one at that. It's been around since 2009 and I'm surprised there not more popular.
Edit Although a clone of sorts it isn't exactly the same, the controls are laid out as the svt 3 pro they also function pretty much in the same manner and its base circuit design is in a similar(ish) vane and layout to the Ampeg it isn't an exact copy the circuits are different.

It's heavy at 12.4kg.
The design seems good and the materials used seem ok. Overall it seems everything is good on arrival, time will tell if there's any issues.
All the controls function nicely and have a positive action. Being critical I think the pots and knobs feel cheapish but least they have a good action and the ranges seem good.
Comes with a footswitch, oddly also very weighty lol.
Nice to see the 4 pre valves glow through the top vent. Takes Maybe 5 or so seconds for them to warm up to produce sound, quicker than an all valve head though.
And the fan is not overly noisy, my gf commented it seemed quiet.
Aesthetically nice enough, based nearly exactly on the svt 3 pro layout. Looks like an amp nothing more.

Tone wise it's in my opinion very nice, seems rounded, warm and well balanced. The eq works well however the mid frequency selector doesn't seem to do too much. The graphic eq is more comprehensive anyway.
It has a valve drive that changes the tubes dynamics via I believe changing the voltages. This is subtle but does work.
The playing dynamics are good, better than any all transistor based head I've played, not as tight sounding but not too loose, I like the way it reacts too playing.
The gain is good neither sensitive or weak. The clip light works nicely, not only flashing but dimming too so giving a very slightly more accurate reference.
Overdrive sounds ok a bit uninspiring maybe, but seems you can get a nice bit of od going on.
Would suit someone looking for an all rounder, warm tone.
Not an uninspiring amp but not much character so to say, it's not trying to push any frequencies on you it's fairly neutrally voiced.
I've heard valve swapping yields fairly good but subtle improvements.

Volume and heft. Well very recently I've owned a Ampeg b2r, Ashdown abm 500 evo iii an Aguilar ag500 that I've put through the same cab, bass and strings so I will compare to just them mainly.
The bvp5500 is louder than any of the mentioned above seemingly, can't test its true max volume and heft yet, first impressions are very good on that front tho. It's not as loud as a 200w @ 8ohms Trace Elliot but then again to me this sounds better (Just now thinking what gives those old trace amps so much volume!)
Also it seems to have more power than the svt 3 pro it's based on. Someone on talkbass did hook one of these up I believe and they do come in around about the claimed power output.
Edit Concerning power after some detailed research myself the actual power rms is likely 200w 8ohm to about 350w 8ohm. Although apparently they are run slightly hotter so to say, so they may do a little bit more. I think the pre/eq valves definitely make a difference to perceived volume.
Good heft but the heft to weight ratio is poor considering its weight.
One good thing to mention is it's fairly quiet at idle or when turning the gain up etc, it's not silent but much less floor noise than many amps I've tried.

In my view apart from the weight it could be considered a bargain and the best new amp in its price range £175 delivered in three days by Thomann.

I'm really surprised by this amp and don't know why they are not more popular, too weighty maybe.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Twincam

[Sharkfinger]

Nice write up.

I'd be interested to see how it persorms with a different (better?) Set of preamp valves.