Henriksen The Bud

**rio** · 05-21-2016, 11:08 PM

Yesterday I received the replacement in the mail - the original arrived Wednesday but it had a coil rub. They sent out another asap 2 day air since I mentioned I wanted it for a Saturday gig and it arrived yesterday.

This amp makes me feel like I am living in the future...how the hell does this 9" squared amp with a 6.5" speaker put out this kind of sound?? It is so freaking loud. I had a Henriksen Convertible that I sold a couple years ago and this Bud amp blows it out of the water - the tone is just amazing...so responsive and natural feeling, love the reverb (which I was not crazy about on my old Henriksen) and the connectivity is going to be really great in terms of what I can run through it. All of my guitars sound the way I want through the amp with the tone at 12 o'clock...no adjustment needed (although I will be using it to suit whatever the room sounds like of course, but in a neutral room it is just plug and play).

So, in short, great customer support, the best sounding amp I have owned - a short list would be Fender Twin reverb, JC-120, a few Polytones, a couple Acoustic amps, a Roland Cube 30X (which does still retain the award for the cheapest tone monster I can find with the speaker replacement I did, the first Henriksen I had with the Convertible - it outplays them ALL. And it is TINY, like how is this possible?

I have about the Bud on the forums before but I wanted to offer my experience with it because my mind is so blown. And for a chuckle the max volume is 11.

**MaxTwang** · 05-21-2016, 11:31 PM

Thanks for the review. I've been intrigued by the Bud.

**Herbie** · 05-21-2016, 11:37 PM

Wow! Congrats!

Does it have a 'sound'? I mean, can You compare the Bud to any of Your previous amps? Fenderish? Polytonian? Rolandy?

**rio** · 05-22-2016, 12:18 AM

I can't really compare it except to the Convertible I had, but that was also a Henriksen. It is possible to dial in a Polytone sound for sure, but the missing component is the old speaker that has been pissed on by cats and abused (no really...but it doesn't smell!)...it breaks up because of being put through a lot and the compliments I get when using that Polytone relate to the point at which it starts to break up...

But anyway, it is just a very natural sound that responds quickly and accurately. It is better than the convertible but it does have the same sound so I guess that is the Henriksen sound. But that sound is very transparent and it really lets the instrument shine without overly coloring the sound like I would get through the Fender, or the JC-120, or whatever. Those are great sounds! They require tone adjustments where the Bud does not. And they are not 18 pound, 9" amps with a 6.5" speaker and 120 watts running through them. I am really just extremely happy with this amp because the size plus the amazing sound is just mind boggling.

**jbucklin** · 05-22-2016, 02:06 AM

Rio---man! You just caused me to come down from the high I've been enjoying after buying a Jazzamp combo last week. I gotta experience this strange little Buddy thingy. 6.5" speaker, huh? How the hell did they pull that one off?

**jbucklin** · 05-22-2016, 02:09 AM

Originally Posted by rio

And for a chuckle the max volume is 11.

Why didn't they just make it louder and keep it at 10? Hahaha!

**MaxTwang** · 05-22-2016, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by jbucklin

Why didn't they just make it louder and keep it at 10? Hahaha!

But ... The Bud is 1 louder ... These go to 11

**jbucklin** · 05-22-2016, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by MaxTwang

But ... The Bud is 1 louder ... These go to 11

**grahambop** · 05-22-2016, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by MaxTwang

But ... The Bud is 1 louder ... These go to 11

One day, technological advances will make it possible to go to 12.

**PaulHintz** · 05-22-2016, 11:05 AM

Have had a Bud for 2 months. Best amp I've ever owned. It's loud. It's little. I love it. I even like the glow-in-the-dark logo. My archtop loves it. My acoustic guitars love it. My RE Nighthawk speaker as an extension cab loves it. But I don't believe it's only 17 lbs---maybe I'm just getting weak(er) as well as old(er). It certainly is light enough.

**Tom Karol** · 05-22-2016, 11:15 AM

I too am intrigued. As I've said before, I love/hate tiny little amps - I've had many of them! I can see a time in the future where I keep my JazzAmp 112, but sell my JazzAmp 110 and my DVMark Little Jazz and get a Bud! Anyone try it with the matching extension cabinet?

**Eric Rowland** · 05-22-2016, 03:45 PM

How long do you think it will take to "break in" the amp?

**Greentone** · 05-22-2016, 08:33 PM

THIS is the new amp that has been intriguing me. Everything about it just makes sense. Way to go, Rio.

**rio** · 05-22-2016, 10:06 PM

Not going to let this get "broken in" like that Polytune hahaha...but in terms of the sound, it is there now and doesn't need any breaking in. Getting the sound I wanted was as easy as plugging in the guitar. I will be curious to try it in the future using both instrument inputs to see how it handles more than one source. I tried the line out today and man, I would definitely have no reservations running line out to a PA with this.

**David B** · 05-23-2016, 05:49 AM

I got a Bud a couple of weeks ago. It got it's maiden voyage at a workshop with Howard Alden. We variously ran acoustic bass, Howard's 7 string guitar and two guitars through it and the Bud impressed everyone.

Here's a little clip of Howard and an attendee both playing through the Bud that afternoon.

**rio** · 05-23-2016, 12:46 PM

How did it handle the bass? I was wondering if running my upright through it would be safe.

**NoReply** · 05-23-2016, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by rio

How did it handle the bass? I was wondering if running my upright through it would be safe.

When Henriksen was designing the amp they put up YouTube's of them testing with upright bass so it was designed with that in mind.

**nopedals** · 05-23-2016, 01:14 PM

I have had mine for a month or so, but it has not been out of the house. I have used it with fender bass and guitar player playing into it at the same time at moderate volume level (ie, informal jam), and it worked fine.

This is my first 21st century guitar amp, and love all of the features; xlr out, two independent channels, send return, midget size. I would be nervous putting it into a setting that really challenged it for headroom, eg, a loud bar, loud drummer, whatever, but would be interested to hear about the experience of others.

**pingu** · 05-23-2016, 01:20 PM

whats the speaker in the bud ?

**Greentone** · 05-23-2016, 02:30 PM

David B,

That's an impressive clip. It shows The Bud getting a thorough workout by two guitarists playing "Stella" at performance volume. A lot of amps would crap the sandbox.

**rio** · 05-23-2016, 04:41 PM

I believe the speaker is an Eminence Beta

**MaxTwang** · 05-24-2016, 01:21 AM

Originally Posted by rio

I believe the speaker is an Eminence Beta

Rio ... Either you're going to have to take that gorgeous guitar off your profile of I'm going to have to put you on ignore. I'm not sure how much more I can look at the 'burst on your L-5 before I'm off trying to buy one just like it! And then I'll be buying a Bud to go with it.