Budda Amps??

Scottgman

Scottgman

Legend in Own Mind
Hi people,

There really isn't much information on this forum about Budda amps. Since I'm in the market for a new amp, I was wondering what you people thought of them.

Here's my situation: I live in Oklahoma City and there is not a store in the state that carries Budda amps. In fact, I think I'm one of the (very) few people in Oklahoma that knows these amps exist. Thus, I can't exactly go to the local music shop and test drive a Budda. Obviously, I won't know if I like them until I get to actually play through one. But I'd like to hear people's opinion's of these amps to give me a better idea if this is the route I want to go. I'm specifically looking at the Superdrive 30 2x12.

I want something different than the standard Marshall/Mesa Boogie sound. I've managed to find a couple MP3 samples of people playing their Buddas, and I've listened to Matchbox 20 (who use Buddas) and I have been pleased with the tone. The Budda website message board is full of people gushing all about their Budda (that's to be expected, who wants to say their $1800 amp sucks!). But there are also glowing reviews on Harmony Central. I'd like to hear what you guys think.

Cheers!
 
I have the PhatMan pedal and would love to have an actual amp. I would get the 18 watter with reverb.....but thats me, if you need the volume for gigs, I think the Super would be good. I would be willing to drop the money without playing it based soley on the quality of my pedal.
 
So true

I agree with that logic. I have the Budda Wah pedal. This is flat-out the most musical wah pedal I've ever used (although, I admit I haven't used some of the more exotic wah pedals people rave about). Just adding a true bypass so their wah doesn't suck your tone shows a high level of sonic care that must translate to their amps.

Are there any Budda owners out there who don't like their amp?
 
I`ve used a couple of Verbmaster`s on a few gigs, great sounding little sucker!
Haven`t had the chance to audition the Superdrive, but it`s supposed to be killer....

Amund
 
Hi to all those wondering about Budda amps!

Im currently playing in all sorts of bands, so my equipment has to be versital enough to play rock,soul,pop,metal,blues...
When i first tested the budda sperdrive II 45w (1210 cabinet) i was amazed by how "special" i sounded! This is not the anonomuos sound i had anticipated!!
The amp is truly great! Its probably the best amp i have ever tested! EVER! Its has super dynamic qualities, even at low volume.
I think the Budda is a real workhorse. I tried to krank it up real good to see who chickened out; my ears or the tubes.. my stomach just couldnt take it anymore. (the master volume was two o'clock)

The Budda works best when you krank it up to when the clean sound almost cracks. Here the amp responds wonderfully all the tricks you can conjur up your sleeve! The distorted tone is angry with lots of sustain and bite. No problem for even metal guitarists to be parked on the sideline here!! It can be moulded like clay to fit every type of music you play! By adjusting your volume control on the gutar the distorted tone mellows up very nicely:result 100% control.

But there are however two bad things about the Budda
1: The effects loop is wired in series! This is a bit annoying, if you want to mix with different outputs on your effects! if your effect gain is turned low, the amp follows....(This can be fixed, if you have some experienced amp tinkerers in your vicinity)
2: The visual bit!.. From an estetical point of wiew the budda has a somewhat dull appearance..
 
If you're looking at Buddas, I'd also recommend looking at Dr Z amps. They don't have effects loops or channel switching or what not, but then again they don't NEED them.

Another possibility is a Matchless or a Bad Cat, but those can be very bright-sounding unless you have a dark-sounding guitar. Also, look at any of the boutique copies of the old 18 watt Marshall design.
 
What kind of music are you looking to play? Do you play out? How much volume and clean headroom do you need? Or do you want a lower-wattage amp you can crank to get the power-amp drive? Do you have any tones in mind that you want to be able to get?

It's been a while since I played a Budda amp, but they're definitely high quality. Depending on what sound you are looking for, there may be better choices. There may not be.

All the info available to us via the Internet makes purchasing hard sometimes. We want to get the best sound for the best price, and we read about all these great products, but much of it is unavailable to try out before we buy.

I recently got a brand new Top Hat Club Deluxe. I was able to play one briefly locally by hooking up with someone I met at the Top Hat forum. (I also got to hear him playing it a decent amount.) Still, I didn't get a lot of audition time. I was planning on buying one without ever having played one, based on what I had heard and read about the amp.

I love the amp, and am very happy with it. Hearing the amp live convinced me. Still, spending that kind of dough on something you can't spend hours with trying out is a little nervewracking.

The amp was actually an Xmas gift from my girlfriend (no, she doesn't have a sister). If i was buying the amp myself, I'd have bought a used one so I could turn it around for about the same price if I didn't like it. She was more comfortable buying a new one for a purchase that large, so we did.


Maybe you can track down a local Budda amp owner that you could hook up with to play one? Also, check for info at The Gear Page - tons of boutique info over there.

Budda's are great amps. There are a lot of choices. Answer those questions about what you're looking for and we may be able to help you better.
 
haha....I don't think Scottgman needs convincing anymore.
This is an old thread and from what I gather he's been a proud Budda owner for some time now.

;)
 
Haha... wow. Three years. Time flies.


Yep, definitely proud Budda owner. I may by more amps, but I'll have this amp for life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top