Bugera Veyron 1001 series "2000W" amps

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Chienmortbb said:

I got mine out the other day for the first time in a while and some how the gain switch had gone to 11. I thought something had broken. Strangely I had never had it passed halfway. It was a shock as I had only heard it clean. I have had mine for about 3 years too and no problems, Except the noisy fan.

But a good shock hearing what it's capable of with the gain ramped?

I have fan noise with my Mesa M6, which is something I just expect when I turn the thing on and instantly forget the moment I play a note. I'm hoping the same will be true on the Bugera Veyron. 

[Newfoundfreedom]

56 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

But a good shock hearing what it's capable of with the gain ramped?

I have fan noise with my Mesa M6, which is something I just expect when I turn the thing on and instantly forget the moment I play a note. I'm hoping the same will be true on the Bugera Veyron. 

I've never noticed it being particularly loud or problematic. Yes, you can hear it in a quiet room, but no more so than many other amps. Certainly not an issue once you start playing. 

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

But a good shock hearing what it's capable of with the gain ramped?

I have fan noise with my Mesa M6, which is something I just expect when I turn the thing on and instantly forget the moment I play a note. I'm hoping the same will be true on the Bugera Veyron. 

Oh yes. I immediately turned the gain down as I was  testing the rig, I did not get a chance to investigate where the dirt came in or how subtle it could be. Make no mistake this is a super amp. 

[sbrag]

I've got the T and have had it for over a year  now and it sounds great and no issues.  I was able to give it a run through the barefaced super 12 t I picked from here for the first time with the band on Thursday and it sounded fantastic. 

[Al Krow]

1001M arrived from DV247 this morning. First impressions:

First thing I wanted to check was the fan noise, given a couple of earlier comments. Was it going to be worse than I had feared and a deal breaker? You know that moment when you're opening the box and worried you've just bought a lemon (but fortunately if worst came to the worst a returnable lemon)...but it's definitely not! Phew! Probably only 2/3 the fan noise of my M6 which I have totally grown used to and perhaps even kinda like - it tells me the old girl is still alive, hehe!

Plenty of punch and decent bass & mid EQ, particularly with the choice of 5 mid centre points although the available treble boost is a little timid for my liking - but nothing that a VTDI pedal won't fix.

With the gain maxed there was definitely some "valvey" break up, which is what I might have hoped to get from the T version, albeit less so than on that YT video review I posted a short while back. I guess it's going to depend on what bass and pups you're using.

Footprint is a little larger than my DG M900, but fits snugly into the DG padded case which is very convenient. Here's a pic with them next to each other:

For £200, first impressions are that it will provide a capable back-up amp to my M900 and I'll certainly be using it in band rehearsals and pub gigs too.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Al Krow
Please note: no lemons were harmed during the course of this review

[Chienmortbb]

On 21/05/2021 at 11:50, Chienmortbb said:

Oh yes. I immediately turned the gain down as I was  testing the rig, I did not get a chance to investigate where the dirt came in or how subtle it could be. Make no mistake this is a super amp. 

Interesting. I tried the M version again today but this time with my Yammy RBX375. The last time I used it was with my Samick Greg Bennet Royale, the Semi-acoustic shown in my profile picture. This time I tried the gain in every position and it never went i to fuzz, just a warm overdrive that I love. Mt Samick must have a much higher output than the Yamaha 5.

[Al Krow]

Volume test: Bugera M vs DG M900

TLDR - the Bugera had no problem keeping up with the M900 and will be more than sufficient for handling a full rock band.

Did a very quick back of the envelope volume test of the these two amps through my BF BB2 at home.

Vol dial: set the gain at 2/10 and varied the volume

• Bugera: 0 to 2 small increase, 2-5 significant increase, maxed at 8/10 with little increase after that;
• DG M900: 0-5 moderate increase 5-8 significant increase with small further increase 9-10 and maxed at 10/10

Gain dial: set the vol at 2/10 and varied the gain

• Bugera: 0 to 5 small increase, 5-8 significant increase, 8-10 maxed with break up drive
• DG M900: 0-10 fairly linear

Increasing the gain or volume beyond 2/10 when the other dial was maxed produced further (too loud!) increases in volume. Neither of these amps is going to have trouble in a band setting!

Edited May 26, 2021 by Al Krow

[Al Krow]

This query came up recently just re-posting in here in case of wider interest...

What ohm of cabs to go with Bugera BV1001M head? - Amps and Cabs - Basschat

[Al Krow]

Really neat quote from dB5 on another thread, which relates to something that I've been finding with my 1001M, having been giving it a regular (home) work out over the past month...

27 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yeah. I find a bit of dirt goes a long way to getting the tone to have more presence in a mix, without sounding dirty. 
Its the secret to a good clean tone lol. 

One thing I'm finding with the 1001M is that even with a little bit of gain e.g. at 2/10 it's not completely clean, for example in the way that my DG M900 goes completely clean. I'm guessing due to the MOSFET circuit in the 1001M.

That gives the sound a warmth and touching on what dB5 was saying will hopefully mean it cuts through well in the mix. I'll get to find out in couple of weeks when I take it to a full band rehearsal.

Edited June 27, 2021 by Al Krow

[Woodinblack]

39 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

This query came up recently just re-posting in here in case of wider interest...

What ohm of cabs to go with Bugera BV1001M head? - Amps and Cabs - Basschat

The answer being written on the back - Min Load 4 ohm!

[andy67]

For my last two practices, I’ve used the 1001t with an Ashdown ABM 410 and man did they pair up beautifully! I have my channel volume full, gain around half, master at 3 and it sounds monstrous. What a combination. 

Edited June 27, 2021 by andy67

[Newfoundfreedom]

Yup. I still think these things are seriously underrated. Don't be put off by the name. 

They're better than a lot of amps three times the price. 

I don't even get GAS for other amps any more. This thing does everything I need, and then some. 

[Al Krow]

On 10/09/2021 at 08:22, King Tut said:

...I’d been looking forward to gigging my lockdown acquired Peavey VB-2 for a second time but was uncomfortable because I’d not really got to know it at volume. Also I’m recovering from a screwed up back and although we have roadies, I still had to manoeuvre it into its case and get it to the door and was really worried about putting my back out again, so I decided to use my Bugera Veyron - the one with the valve pre.

 

I’ve never seen Wishbone Ash before, but I have the Argus Album and it’s one of my top albums, love Martin’s bass on it and how much it contributes to the songs. Del had promised to introduce me to Martin, and true to his word, prior to our set, he introduced us and what a lovely bloke he is. We talked about his Rickenbacker which turned out to be a rare one with the extra fret. I asked why he changed to a Thunderbird. Apparently, the neck on the Rick got broken and he needed a bass desperately so he borrowed a Thunderbird from the bass player of Mott The Hoople. The Rick stayed at the record label offices from where it was stolen and he’s never seen it since!

 

Anyway, we played our set and played a bit of a stonker. Big ups to the monitor engineer, he quietly asked each of us what we wanted in the monitors and set them (no sound check) and off we went - none of us had to ask for anything to be changed. My little Bugera? Well I think I got the best sound I’ve had yet with Stray, so if any one’s looking for a Peavey . . . . . No just kidding - I’m going to spend some more time with it yet!

 

@King Tut - what a great story! Hope you don't mind me reposting the bit about the BV 1001T on here.

 

A mate of mine mentioned that there was a £1,200 used Berg Forte amp in the FS, but with another excellent reminder from you of just what great vfm a new £250 Bugera is I think I will be safely avoiding any expensive GAS on that one!  

[andy67]

27 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

@King Tut - what a great story! Hope you don't mind me reposting the bit about the BV 1001T on here.

 

A mate of mine mentioned that there was a £1,200 used Berg Forte amp in the FS, but with another excellent reminder from you of just what great vfm a new £250 Bugera is I think I will be safely avoiding any expensive GAS on that one!  

you'd never think it but I absolutely adore my BV1001T. It is just made to work and do the job!

[Newfoundfreedom]

25 minutes ago, andy67 said:

you'd never think it but I absolutely adore my BV1001T. It is just made to work and do the job!

Same here, and I genuinely love the tone that comes from it. 

[Chienmortbb]

Has anyone compared the T and M versions?

[Newfoundfreedom]

17 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Has anyone compared the T and M versions?

 

Yes. Although I can't remember who. But it was on a different thread. The general consensus was that the Tube had a somewhat warmer tone than the Mosfet. 

 

Edit.

 

Maybe it was earlier in this thread, but I'm not reading back through 18 pages. 😆

Edited September 14, 2021 by Newfoundfreedom

[Chienmortbb]

20 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

 

Yes. Although I can't remember who. But it was on a different thread. The general consensus was that the Tube had a somewhat warmer tone than the Mosfet. 

 

Edit.

 

Maybe it was earlier in this thread, but I'm not reading back through 18 pages. 😆

Me neither. Thanks

[Al Krow]

On 04/11/2018 at 19:19, ebozzz said:

For a period of time, I owned both the Mosfet and the Tube versions. My plan was to make a decision on which I liked more and the other would be returned to the vendor. I liked them both and couldn't decide. I kept each of them for more than a year until I sold the Tube to fund another amp purchase. Right now my amps are the Quilter Bass Block 800, Ashdown Rootmaster RM-800 EVO and the Veyron Mosfet.

Who knows how they came up with the 2000 watts rating. 500 watts? I feel pretty confident with saying that I think it is more powerful than that. With respect to volume, it compares very favorably to the amps that I named above which are rated at 800 watts RMS. 

 

Here you go gents, to save you reading through 18 pages  - well actually just 3 pages as it turned out! @ebozzz ended up holding onto the M version.

 

Whilst the T version may be 'warmer' still, personally I don't think the M lacks warmth at all - in fact with the gain pumped it delivers quite a tube-like break up. 

[Chienmortbb]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

Here you go gents, to save you reading through 18 pages  - well actually just 3 pages as it turned out! @ebozzz ended up holding onto the M version.

 

Whilst the T version may be 'warmer' still, personally I don't think the M lacks warmth at all - in fact with the gain pumped it delivers quite a tube-like break up. 

That wa sort of what I was asking. I usually have the gain quite low but somehow recently it got turned way up and woo hoo.

[Al Krow]

Took my 1001M out for a "proper" spin at band rehearsal last night and a 2 hour gig tonight - first time since getting it a few months back. Had no problems powering my BF BB2 to hold its own with a full 5 piece band. Its core tone is definitely more gritty / "dirtier" than my DG M900. 

 

I need to spend a bit more time getting my ideal "base case" EQ settings - I was playing a passive Yamaha BB1025 tonight and maybe a sensible approach is to stick with that "threesome" till I've got the base case nailed. It was feeling a little too full on bass particularly on P or PJ, but even a relatively slight bass cut on the amp and compensating boost to the mids at 450 Hz felt a little boxy. So I'll need to tweak it a bit further to hit the sweet spot and also have a listen from the audience rather than just in the mix with the band. 

 

But overall, this is undoubtedly a kick-ass amp!

 

Gig was a lot of fun too - crowd definitely up for letting their hair down on a Friday night!

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by Al Krow

[Chienmortbb]

8 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Took my 1001M out for a "proper" spin at band rehearsal last night and a 2 hour gig tonight - first time since getting it a few months back. Had no problems powering my BF BB2 to hold its own with a full 5 piece band. It's core tone is definitely more gritty / "dirtier" than the DG M900. 

 

I need to spend a bit more time getting my ideal "base case" EQ settings - I was playing a passive Yamaha BB1025 tonight and maybe a sensible approach is to stick with that "threesome" till I've got the base case nailed. It was feeling a little too full on bass particularly on P or PJ, but even a relatively slight bass cut on the amp and compensating boost to the mids at 450 Hz felt a little boxy. So I'll need to tweak it a bit further to hit the sweet spot and also have a listen from the audience rather than just in the mix with the band. 

 

But overall, this is undoubtedly a kick-ass amp!

 

Gig was a lot of fun too - crowd definitely up for letting their hair down on a Friday night!

Mine will have its first public outing for 18 months tonight on the back of a Trailer. THe house PA may or may not be any good so both amp and Basschat BC112 MK3 will get a good workout. I have never really had to have either anywhere near flat out so it will be interesting.

[Cuzzie]

On 18/09/2021 at 00:17, Al Krow said:

Took my 1001M out for a "proper" spin at band rehearsal last night and a 2 hour gig tonight - first time since getting it a few months back. Had no problems powering my BF BB2 to hold its own with a full 5 piece band. Its core tone is definitely more gritty / "dirtier" than my DG M900. 

 

I need to spend a bit more time getting my ideal "base case" EQ settings - I was playing a passive Yamaha BB1025 tonight and maybe a sensible approach is to stick with that "threesome" till I've got the base case nailed. It was feeling a little too full on bass particularly on P or PJ, but even a relatively slight bass cut on the amp and compensating boost to the mids at 450 Hz felt a little boxy. So I'll need to tweak it a bit further to hit the sweet spot and also have a listen from the audience rather than just in the mix with the band. 

 

But overall, this is undoubtedly a kick-ass amp!

 

Gig was a lot of fun too - crowd definitely up for letting their hair down on a Friday night!

 

 Does it not have a mid frequency selector where you can easily shuffle to get the best balance?

 

that would be an easy on the fly test in real time surely?

[Al Krow]

Cheers Cuzzie - I agree the availability of the semi-para mids on an amp at this price point is yet another really neat feature, adding to the fantastic value its delivering.

 

However finding the sweet spot EQ, for me, will be more a case of taking it to a few more gigs and getting comfortable with how its sounding with the band, particular bass, venue and playlist. This was my the first gig outing for this amp and I'm sure that you'll appreciate that tweaking EQ mid-set to find a sweet spot (with ear plugs in) and first time this particular band has played live after 18 months wouldn't have right at the top of my "to do" list! 🙂 

 

I know some folk will happily spend ages faffing around with gear at rehearsal(s) but our focus, with just one pre-gig rehearsal, was very much making sure we were on top of the 35+ songs we were running through. But the overall mix on the gig sounded good from the feedback we got and the audience seemed to be having a very good time - so that was a big tick. We had a really fun time and it was great to be out gigging again. 

 

On 18/09/2021 at 08:41, Chienmortbb said:

Mine will have its first public outing for 18 months tonight on the back of a Trailer. THe house PA may or may not be any good so both amp and Basschat BC112 MK3 will get a good workout. I have never really had to have either anywhere near flat out so it will be interesting.

 

How did the 1001M fare on your first after-18-months outing?

 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by Al Krow

[Cuzzie]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Cheers Cuzzie - I agree the availability of the semi-para mids on an amp at this price point is yet another really neat feature, adding to the fantastic value its delivering.

 

However finding the sweet spot EQ, for me, will be more a case of taking it to a few more gigs and getting comfortable with how its sounding with the band, particular bass, venue and playlist. This was my the first gig outing for this amp and I'm sure that you'll appreciate that tweaking EQ mid-set to find a sweet spot (with ear plugs in) and first time this particular band has played live after 18 months wouldn't have right at the top of my "to do" list! 🙂 

 

I know some folk will happily spend ages faffing around with gear at rehearsal(s) but our focus, with just one pre-gig rehearsal, was very much making sure we were on top of the 35+ songs we were running through. But the overall mix on the gig sounded good from the feedback we got and the audience seemed to be having a very good time - so that was a big tick. We had a really fun time and it was great to be out gigging again. 

 

 

How did the 1001M fare on your first after-18-months outing?

 

 

Yeah it’s no biggie - just that my thinking was a simple turn of the dial takes no time and would yield an instant result, also would give decent feedback for other folk as they may use it