Bugera 333XL Faulty - Amp cuts in and out and 'reboots'

***THE AMP HAS NOW BEEN REPAIRED***

2 Months after sending it back for warranty repair the amp has been returned in original box with the valves I sent it away with. They certainly have done something as they have managed to scuff one of my shiny gain knobs! Also the amp was originally shipped to me missing a couple of screws holding the chassis in, and on return these had been filled in.

A piece of paper was included in the box saying "Your Behringer item has been repaired and has undergone extensive testing to make sure no further faults were present, this was under warranty at no cost to yourself."

I inspected the circuits on the inside of the chassis and some of the components that look like transistors (presumably the voltage regulators) have been replaced with new ones with large heat-sinks and thermal paste for better cooling. So Bugera appear to have isolated the problem and are actually tackling it. Presumably this means all amplifiers produced after this problem being discovered will be free of it too!

So far all looks promising!



PREVIOUS DESCRIPTION:

The amp has a fault, it has had it for a while but has gradually got worse to the point it is unplayable any more.

The amp appears to function fine, however after it has been used for a large amount of time it seems to reset itself. I have recently discovered that this is triggered by engaging the FX-Loop.

For example in this video; I play on the crunch or lead channels fine for a bit, I engage the FX-loop, amp appears fine for a bit longer, then out of the blue all lights on the footswitch and dash turn off except the two blue power bulbs.
The amp remains playing the last channel you were on, then the sound starts to cut in and out like a tremolo and you here a few pops and squeaks from the speakers.
Soon the sound cuts right out, and the amp 'reboots' into the clean channel and all lights turn back on.

By engaging the FX-loop on the crunch or lead channels this process repeats.


First time I've managed to capture the fault on camera, forgive the guitar playing as I only had one hand free to demonstrate what was happening!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bugera
• 333xl
• 333
• xl
• faulty
• fault
• broken
• reliable
• reliability
• breaking
• overheat
• cuts
• out
• valve
• amplifier

[davekerr81]

@mazklassa1 Don't mind at all pal! I got mine from DV247 :-)

Can't get the words to say how much I love this amp btw!! It's awesome!!

[richardw1992]

@davekerr81 The very 333XL you see in this video was bought from DV247 (Digital Village) too. They have great customer service and a 4 year warranty on anything they sell!

[davekerr81]

@richardw1992 Awesome mate! Fingers crossed it'll be fine. Keep us posted!

[richardw1992]

@davekerr81 I took the chassis out and had a quick poke around inside (not literally) and to my eyes there appear to be two or 3 new (shinier) transistors or voltage regulators, and they all have large heatsinks on them with thermal paste connecting them to the board. Im sure this was never there before, so I'm confident they have isolated and fixed the problem, hopefully ironing out the last remaining problem with these heads! I have all faith in it now!

[davekerr81]

@richardw1992 The service centre tried to sort it both times but, could never find that particular fault. I've actually had a replacement now...so far, so good! All working and sounds awesome! :-) Hope yours is fine mate!

[richardw1992]

@davekerr81 Just got it back yesterday and had it up and running, sounding sweet as ever and so far the fault hasn't popped up! However im in Uni accommodation so I havent been able to get it into volume levels where significant heat is generated.. But a piece of paper was in the box saying "Your Behringer equipment has been repaired and extensively tested to see if any further faults were present, this was at no charge to you as it was under warranty"

[bugera]

Hi Richard! This doesn't look right...I'm going to send you a DM.

[davekerr81]

@xlr8r2010 I appreciate that these amps have had some bad press and my first 333XL was actually faulty...However, since Bugera replaced it, it has been solid! I have toured it and had no issues what so ever. I have also in the past had a faulty Marshall JVM 410H and several faulty Fender amps!So, it isn't just a Bugera that can go bang!

My last amp was a JVM 410H (replacement of the faulty one) and I was never happy with the sound I got. My 333XL sounds bleeding great! I can't get enough of it!

[xlr8r2010]

@davekerr81 If you are taking a Bugera on any kind of tour,good luck to you...search Google for "Bugera failure Rate" more than half of them die within a few months,no bullshit.

[xlr8r2010]

Seriously though...Bugera amps have a VERY HIGH failure rate.My friend bought a Bugera (against my advice) exactly 33 days later..it died on him.He now has a Marshall JVM 50 watt head and it sounds amazing.

[xlr8r2010]

I wouldn't buy a Chinese made amplifier....even if I was a Chinese person living in China! ;)

[mariovernand]

please i need your help, how i can do it??

[mazklassa1]

@davekerr81 Can I ask where within the UK you purchased your Bugera head if you don't mind me asking? Thanks

[davekerr81]

@richardw1992 thats awesome fella!!Good to hear its sorted. I'm just about to road test mine for the first time on tour so...really needs to hold out for me lol.

Have fun mate