Musicians Roadhouse

I oredered a Bugera 333xl combo new in the box of Ebay from a small store it appears. I was lured by the feedback and the price.

The Bugera is basically a direct copy of Peavey JSX. It differs though in that is made in China probably by 5 year old children.

The box arrives, the tape on the sides has been cut open before, the tape on the plastic bag around the amp has been cut before, the knobs are not at zero, the speakers have scratches on them, the screws that mount the chassis and the back grill look like they have been a little stripped from overtightening or repeated use. I check the impedence setting then power it up on standby planning on letting it cook for 15 minutes. It already warmed up in the house for a few hours.

On standby I start hearing static and a few funny noises come thru the speakers, can this be on standby? At his point I start laughing out loud because I am getting the feeling that its time to bend over and take it in the can!

Just for amusement I go ahead and take it off standby with the master volume on zero. I am assaulted with hiss and feedback and noise that I have only heard before from an amp that had to go back to the factory.

My kids start yelling and my wife comes downstairs form sleeping because she is working night shift tonight. Lets just say she did not have much empathy that I was having another gear issue.

I emailed the seller but no response yet.

I checked the power tubes, they are seated correctly.

I checked the impedence of the 2 speakers. They are 8 ohms each and wired in series. My ohms reader came in at 10.5 and the impedence switch on the amp was set to 16 as manual recomends. Each speaker individually came in at about 5.4. Pretty low, probably poor build quality?

So I think I got a turd and maybe someone elses problem. I went and read the fine print from the auction and their auctions state that returns and warranty stuff are to be handled thru the manufacturer. I can wait and see about a response but feel I may end up getting screwed.

I know I should not to hear any noise or static through the speakers in stadby mode. I have never had an amp that made noise in standby before ha! ha!.......oh this just sucks man!

Any ideas on what causes this to happen other than just being a piece of crap?

Any ideas on the obnoxious noise and feedback when off standby and powered up? I appreciate any help I can get. Thanks!

Work with ebay PayPal and Jesus to do everything possible to get your money back. There is no end to the scam stories I hear lately on eBay. Infact a guy ordered a 1959 and all he got was the box with no amp guts...... $1300

Well some good news.

I decided to not have a fit and just tried to calm down and give the situation to God in prayer no matter what the outcome. :idea:

Just checked my email and the sales manager at the store emailed me in detail and was about as pleasant as you could ever hope for. He explained some things about Bugera amps and is sending a new amp out early next week with a call tag in the box to take care of shipping the broken one back. :shock: :D

That's great news Dave. I've had some scary moments with ebay but thankfully never a real bad experience. Funny, most of the problems I've had have come from buyers and not sellers. Y'no, "This pedal you sold me doesn't work, but if you refund $50 I'll just keep it".

The good lord must have had something planned for you soon as he did not need you to be frustrated... he does that with me to sometimes

Excellent, hopefully just an embarrassing mix up for them.

Glad to hear you got it sorted. If and when, Id be interested to hear what you think of the amp. If it really IS a JSX copy Id be all over one for a good price.