Budda SD18 headroom, tone...?

[JimEff]

Lots of love for the Buddas on this forum...

I can't find any local dealers with Budda amps but the SD18 looks like it might be what I'm looking for. But I hear quite a few people commenting on the "darkness" of the tone and the lack (and quality) of clean headroom.

Can anyone comment?

Tones needed: cleans, blues, blues rock, classic rock. No metal.

[DigitalHater]

I used to wire the Budda amps when the seriesII superdrives (PCB) first hit the scene. I am personally more partial to the twinmaster, but that's beside the point. I wouldn't describe the tone as "dark", I feel you can get a lot of tones out of those superdrive amps (I have an 80 watt chassis, employee deal). It certainly can sound dark, or bright, depending on how you set the knobs. I like amps with a midrangey focus, which I wouldn't describe the SD as having. If you like the dual recto sound, the modern switch on the mid knob kills (I don't really like that sound, but I consider the SD to offer a usable flavor of that Mesa sound). As far as the headroom concerns, every Budda product I've ever played amazes me at the SPL's put out, considering the wattage (I use my 80 watt w/ only 2 power tubes, and it's still way too much amp for me. I wish I had gotten an 18 watter). Now it won't drown out an SVT, it is only 2xEL84's, so you should understand the ballpark you're playing in, I would think you'd be pleased with the fact that you can get a little power tube crunch involved. One thing I remember from the old Budda literature: "Bone Tone" - very touch sensitive. The only other thing I could say, I heard that Peavey just bought Budda, so pre-Peavey Budda's might start fetching dollar$. I don't know how post-purchase maintenance is going to go, with them being in the hands of a new company. I don't mean for this to sound like a Budda ad, but there's a chance I helped build the amp you want, and I can tell you, they are built great, and are incredibly versatile (assuming you are in the 2-channel high gain market). I also don't mean to be poo-pooing Peavey (I own a Delta Blues, and my first guitar was a Peavey Predator) as far as the big American manufacturers, I'm mildly pleased to see they bought Budda (as long as they don't ruin the reputation) might be a Acura-Honda type situation. I just plugged into my 80 watt to refresh my memory, and I will say that the rhythm channel is just that, as in not exactly a clean channel. That's not to say that you can't get clean tones out of it, but it was designed to provide you a nice rhythm crunch, with high gain lead tones. I bite my tongue, only because I have 4 times the wattage at my disposal, but I can get an awfully loud clean sound from the rhythm channel. Hope I could help, maybe just confused you.

[dets1]

i've got an 18W 1x12 combo. as much as i'd like to, i haven't yet played a gig with the master above two or three. it's pretty loud and if i'm playing a bigger gig, it gets mic'd. i just changed out the pre amp tubes and it made a huge difference. killer amp.

[JimEff]

Originally Posted by DigitalHater

(assuming you are in the 2-channel high gain market)

Good info, thanks.

Being that I'm not into metal and play primarily blues and classic rock, would this "hi-gain" amp be too over-the-top for me? Any blues tones to be had from the Budda? (Clapton and SRV up through Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa...)

[kingsxman]

Tons of blues tones. The master works really well on these. You can go from clean to very mean or anywhere in between. The drive channel can be set for varying degrees of breakup. I think these are pretty "voxy". They are a bit on the dark side but can bet set brighter if you want. They will never be called an overly bright amp though.

I personally dont think there is a ton of clean headroom though....which is why I'm selling mine. I gigged with it last weekend and found myself wanting more headroom out of it. Now...I play in a 6 peice band with a loud drummer and another guitar player...so I need more headroom to cut through. So the 18 wasnt a good fit for me to begin with. I had a SD45 and an SD30 and loved them though.

Shameless plug: mines on the emporium for a great price and I'll consider shipping also.

[JimEff]

On one of the SD18 posts I stumbled across on the amps forum, a guy was putting a clean boost in his SD18 FX loop and he claims it increased his clean headroom tremendously. Makes sense to me but who knows.

[Gasp100]

This might be a silly question but could these even remotely be considered for a home studio only guy? The things I've heard about these amps are great -- Voxy, full, clean to mean, excellent MV, great loop, killer builds and very solid, etc... But I am a low, LOW volume guy. I'm wondering how well the MV works and if using an attenuator on one of these might be the answer.
Thanks! (sorry to hijack

[JimEff]

I don't own a SD18 (yet!) but I've never had any luck with attenuators. Obviously it depends on the amp, maybe the SD18 sounds great with an attenuator. I know my Deluxe Reverb sounds like sh** with an attenuator.

[kingsxman]

Seriously, mv works well enough where I dont think you need an attenuator.

[JimEff]

Originally Posted by kingsxman

Shameless plug: mines on the emporium for a great price and I'll consider shipping also.

Not a shameless plug at all. I will PM you about it...

[flcmcya]

I'll second KXMan..I've heard him play and he likes it clean..............

Do a search on these and they get a great + for their master volume
as well as a screaming lead tone.......If I could sell a few more aluminum cans it would be gone already........

[ryanougrad]

Shameless plug, but why not just buy my SD 30 in the Emporium. Yeah it's not beautiful, I bought it that way, but it's priced in line with an 18 and has all plenty of headroom. Plus, when you take it out to a gig and it gets scratched, you won't be as sad.

Seriously though, the SD 30 has a bit more headroom and still has an amazing MV. I jam with it in my apartment and the neighbors don't come knockin.

[vmann]

I sold my SD18 combo a few months ago. I finally had enough of the overall dark, compressed tones. I tried a couple of things like a brighter speaker, different tubes and an EQ in the loop (which actually worked okay) but I couldn't get over the inherent dark tone on the distortion channel. And I should mention that the clean is almost opposite of the drive channel to my ears. Bright and tight but not very full or rounded. I remember the previous owner of my amp telling me he couldn't get over the dark tones either.

One other thing about the rhythm channel and the cleans. I first thought they were pretty good but after awhile they became lifeless and sterile especially compared to SFTR I had at the time. It was when I got my Kingsley that finally put the SD18 on the trade block. The cleans from my Kingsley absolutely made the SD unnecessary as I didn't even use the drive channel on the 18 as I much preferred dirt pedals through the Kingsley and Fender.

[luv2playm]

Originally Posted by Gasp100

This might be a silly question but could these even remotely be considered for a home studio only guy? The things I've heard about these amps are great -- Voxy, full, clean to mean, excellent MV, great loop, killer builds and very solid, etc... But I am a low, LOW volume guy. I'm wondering how well the MV works and if using an attenuator on one of these might be the answer.
Thanks! (sorry to hijack

I've got a SD II 18 combo. The master works well and the amp sounds great at low volumes, so I think it could work for you.

[buddaman71]

SD18 is one of the best sounding tube amps I've ever heard, even at whisper levels. No attenuator needed. Perfect, rich, brown-tone drive channel and unique Vox-meets-Marshall type Rhythm channel. Not necessarily dark sounding, but NO Fender 6L6 sparkle.

It's the Budda tone. Very unique, but very pleasing.

One of my all time fave amps. Ever.