Henriksen Bud vs DV Mark Amps???

[NYC]

I’m in need of a small warm clean jazz amp to play nothing but guitar straight into amp.

im considering the Henrikson Bud but also have seen some folks playing the DV mark jazz Amps.

the price discrepancy between the henrikson and the dv mark is significant…

does anyone have experience with the henrikson bud AND dv mark Amps?

very interested in your thoughts. Thanks

[rpjazzguitar]

This has been discussed on this forum before.

Use the search function.

But, I'll summarize.

There were a few posts from players indicating a preference for the Little Jazz, but I think most preferred the Bud/Blu. Some point out that the Bud/Blu are very clean or PA like. The LJ (which I've been using as my main amp for several years) is not that -- but I like the way it's voiced.

Currently, when I need more volume, I bring a powered speaker and run the LJ into it (because I already had the speaker), sometimes with a mixer in front of the powered speaker. I don't recommend that for someone who wants a small, uncomplicated rig.

Nobody disliked either amp.

Everyone seems to agree that the Bud/Blu are louder.

The Bud/Blu have 5 band EQ, which is something I find interesting. The LJ has 3 band.

Given the price difference, it's kind of a surprise that they are discussed as if in the same class. Certainly, the LJ is a lot of amp for the money -- it was on sale a few weeks ago for $200!

[bcrich]

I actually have both amps. I initially bought Henriksen the Bud. I also have the extension cabinet the Ray. I've been very pleased with these amps. I ended up purchasing DV Mark Little Jazz because I often take my amp with me to my music school and to friends homes for jam sessions. I had no problem taking the Bud with me, however it is so expensive that I wanted a cheaper amp in case it got damaged during my travels or in the unlikely event that it was taken from me.

Fast forward and I had been using the DV Mark pretty much daily for well over a year. I pulled out my Bud to set it up and play it in preparation for a gig in a bigger venue, and low and behold I found that I had grown very fond of the DV Mark. I tweaked the settings of the Bud and got it to replicate the sound of the DV Mark pretty closely, but I never liked the sound I got from the Bud as much as I did with the DV Mark. I compared them after the gig and to my ears the DV Mark has a better reverb, which I always use a touch of. When I turned off the reverb and compared them they were very close. To my ears the DV Mark may have a slightly warmer sound. The Bud sounds a bit more "crisp" to my ears. If I had been using my pedalboard and either my Strymon Big Sky or my tc electronics Hall of Fame reverb who knows which one I would have liked more.

In summary, the DV Mark Little Jazz is a great amp. it is lightweight, it has a nice onboard reverb, it has a very warm sound, It has a fair amount of headroom.

The Bud is more versatile. It has two channels. it is very clean sounding. You can easily plug in a mic or share the amp and allow a second guitarist to play with you. It has much more headroom than the DV Mark. There is a 5 parameter equalizer compared with 3 for the DV Mark. The Bud also has separate input gain and volume controls.

I haven't recorded myself playing both. I'm not convinced that if I played the Bud daily for a few weeks, I might like it more than the DV Mark Little Jazz.

Finally, I got my DV Mark Little Jazz for under $300 on sale. I think I paid $1600 for the Bud. That's over 5 times more. The extra money for the Bud might be worth it to you if you want one amp that can fill up a large venue and not break your back. Personally, I'm glad I have both.