Behringer Review | Bugera 6262-212 Review

Bugera 6262-212 Combo Review November 26, 2008 Uli Behringer first contacted me with his concept of an all valve, boutique, hand built line of guitar amplifiers back in 2006. He was very excited about it and emailed his ideas. He invited me to the German Head Office to discuss ideas with the staff that were working on the project. It was all top-secret and very hush-hush at this time, and I was excited to see a first class hand built range of amps that would at last be in the financial reach of struggling guitar players. In February 2008 I took ownership of a Bugera 6262-212 120w combo. My first impression was it was built like a tank. A very sturdy cabinet construction that obviously looked like it would stand up to the rigors of the road....plus, it looked great. (so far so good) It is not a light amplifier, not the weight of a Fender Twin Reverb, but still heavy enough to let you know this could indeed be a powerful rig. There are 2 totally independant channels (clean & lead) with their own gain, eq, presence, reverb & master volume controls. The added bonus is the crunch button on the clean channel. I don't go past it...this is THE classic rock / blues rock overdrive tone...PERIOD. I always use the clean channel with this crunch button on...it really is my sound and the sound of a musical era I love....the late 60's & early to mid 70's. You can actually "feel" the Gallagher, Hendrix, Clapton & Young tones in this amp. Bugera have nailed it...absolutley. The clean channel, without the crunch button engaged, sparkles beautifully and has plenty of headroom. It's a pleasure to dig in or pick lightly and get expressive with the dynamics. The reverb sounds warm with a medium - short decay, so you can thicken your sound without getting flooded. I'm now finding myself using the reverb on stage. I have never done that before with any other amplifier. (live) The "lead" channel is a little too much for me...too much gain for my style albeit very tight & focused gain. A young shredder is going to love this channel and he can stop saving his dollars for that Mesa Boogie Rectifier. The sound definately lurks in this channel. How loud is it? Well, I play everything from small Clubs to Festival stages and I actually had to halve the wattage by taking out the 2 outer valves. (now it's approx. 60w) It was generally too loud for me and even with the wattage halved, it still cuts every stage I play on. Yes, it's a loud amp. I love a balanced mix of preamp & output tube distortion and I am still using the stock Chinese 12AX7's & 6L6's that came with it..they sound great to me. You can put in EL34 output tubes very easily if you want, but I'm happy with what I'm hearing and feeling. The 2 Bugera speakers react so well with the dynamics of the amp and have excellent projection. They also "tub out" & "bounce" beautifully. I didn't realise how good these speakers were until I hooked up a Marshall quad box loaded with 4 x 25w original Celestion Greenbacks. Ok, an open-back combo amp is not going to have the tightly focused bottom end of a quad box, but the Bugera speakers really stood up as great sounding speakers. If these speakers are available on their own, I highly recommend checking them out if you need replacement speakers for your quady. Reliability As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I picked up this amp in late February where it spent most of it's life in the back of a Vito van on the road - unroadcased! In the month of March we did almost 10,000 kms on the road...that is a lot of vibration for any unroadcased amp to contend with. Throughout 2008 I did approx 60 gigs with this amp...cranked, through Europe without any problem and no loss of tone whatsoever. I'll probably change the output tubes for next year's tour as I don't want to push things, but I can guarantee they will be the same brand Chinese Bugera valves that it came with. Criticisms To a blues rocker like me, the lead channel is a little over the top, (Gary Moore or Eric Johnson would probably disagree) but take into consideration I'm not a hi gain player, even with lead playing. At the back of the amp, there is a heavy-gauge metal grill sheet protecting the valves down to almost 3/4 of the speakers. The only thing I don't like here, is that the grill slopes back at the bottom and is anchored by 2 screws that would be very difficult to get at in a hurry or on a dark stage. I took them out as there are plenty of other screws holding it on. I could say the weight, but this is a twin speaker, 120w unit, so this would be unfair. Summing up I love playing through this amp, and it really does feel like an old friend. I did a 10 day tour in the UK October just passed (2008) and used a backline supplied Mesa Boogie F-50 combo. (Easyjet won't fly amps;-)) I just couldn't get the tones or the feel out of the F-50 that I get from the Bugera. The 6262-212 combo is a serious guitar amplifier. Just go and check out the reviews in regards to Bugera amps in magazines like Guitar Player & Guitar World etc, and you will see what I'm talking about. Kind Regards Rob UPDATE April 14, 2009 Well, I didn't get around to changing the tubes! Still, the amp performed beautifully for another 24 gigs in March (2009) without a hiccup. I usually run the clean channel with the crunch button engaged, gain - 4 and the master volume - 5, a good mix of preamp & output tube distortion. I run the bass - 5, middle - 8.5, trable - 4.5, presence - 4. (it varies slightly depending on the stage) UPDATE November 28, 2009 I decided to change the output tubes, not that I probably needed to, but for reliability. I also went back to putting in the 4 x 6L6's (Bugera valves) just for the hell of it, it sounds much the same, only louder! I have just completed a 4 week tour of Europe (October) and my ears are still ringing ;-) This thing is fucking loud!

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