I need opinions on the Budda SD80.

[NaturalBornBoy]

Yeah the guy was eccentric to say the least

Does the SD80 sound good with V30 speakers?

 

[Meathead]

Yeah I boosted it with a MIJ SD-1. I'm running it thru a Mojotone 4x12 with Reissue GB's in that video. The guitar is a late 80's charvel model 2 body with a new Charvel neck and a Duncan Distortion in the bridge. The delay is a Roland SDE 1000 in the loop.

That's it... nothing special going on. No super exotic/expensive gear.

Sounds pretty damn sweet to me

I don't know what settings this guy had for this vid but is this a good representation of the SD80 with max gain, unboosted?

This is what happens if you spend to much time on the internet and don't get out enough to have conversations with 'real' people.

The Budda SD's sound great at low volumes, no attenuation needed...they have a great master volume.

 

[boost]

Yeah the guy was eccentric to say the least

Does the SD80 sound good with V30 speakers?

I had a a THD with 2 V30's and I did not care for it. Replaced them with CL80's and like it much more. Maybe the V30's would have sounded better in a 4 X 12, not sure. They were very middy with not much else.

On another note, the SD80 does like cheap Ruby power tubes, but I did not care for the recommended Sovtek 12AX7B's preamps tubes. The sounded dull and lifeless to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah the guy was eccentric to say the least

Does the SD80 sound good with V30 speakers?

This guy has lots of videos... he's probably a bit crazy but you can tell he's just having fun, so props to him

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Great amp! Very loud, but not even close to a Plexi in volume...

 

[D-Rock]

Didn't like the amp with V30's, it sounds good with T75's because the amp already has great prominent mids and it's gain voicing benefits from the T75's sizzling treble crunch.

 

[Vrad]

Didn't like the amp with V30's, it sounds good with T75's because the amp already has great prominent mids and it's gain voicing benefits from the T75's sizzling treble crunch.

So I wasn't crazy when I dug it with T75's... Good to know..

 

[Norton666]

Great amp! Very loud, but not even close to a Plexi in volume...

Agree with this.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Hhhhmmmmm.................both my cabs have V30's in them and I love those speakers.

 

[D-Rock]

Yeah traded my SD80 away because I predominantly use V30's and don't like having to use a boost to be satisfied with my tone.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Yeah traded my SD80 away because I predominantly use V30's and don't like having to use a boost to be satisfied with my tone.

I don't mind the bossting cos' that's what I'm doing with my DSL and Legacy now but I don't ever plan to get another 4x12 cos' gat damn it I already have one too many.

I have no way to try the amp before I buy so if the majority consensus here is that the SD80 sounds like crap with V30's, then I'm gonna have to scrap this idea.

 

[D-Rock]

I wouldn't say it sounds like crap with them, it's just the amp is so loud and has a prominent mid focused tone that is doesn't need really efficient speakers with aggressive mids.
You can make it work with the mid dial set to modern, which cuts some mids. But I liked it in the regular mid setting with an 808 boosting the front end.
The amp really does sound unbelievable with a boost. I liked mine with Eminence V12 Legends since they are smooth speakers with less upper mids and more low mids. Bigger, tighter lowend too with those.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

I wouldn't say it sounds like crap with them, it's just the amp is so loud and has a prominent mid focused tone that is doesn't need really efficient speakers with aggressive mids.
You can make it work with the mid dial set to modern, which cuts some mids. But I liked it in the regular mid setting with an 808 boosting the front end.
The amp really does sound unbelievable with a boost. I liked mine with Eminence V12 Legends since they are smooth speakers with less upper mids and more low mids. Bigger, tighter lowend too with those.

I guess backing off the mids a tad would make it work better with V30's then.

And like you, I don't really like what I've heard of the modern mids setting.

 

[D-Rock]

What price you looking at one for? I got mine new, on clearance at a store closing for $999. I took a chance on it knowing it was worth more than that and ending up trading it straight across for VHT Pittbull a few months later.

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

What price you looking at one for? I got mine new, on clearance at a store closing for $999. I took a chance on it knowing it was worth more than that and ending up trading it straight across for VHT Pittbull a few months later.

I'm in Asia so I won't be buying used or from the US. I'll be getting it new from Thomann.

 

[shane159]

I had a SD 30 for a while and it was killer with V30's IMO. That was a loud ass amp at 30 watts, I bet the 80 watter is LOUD!!! I really regret selling my SD30, and I plan on trying to find another SD30 or SD45 in the future.

 

[ratter]

I LOVE the SD80. But there's no way I'd pay the current new prices.

Several years back, when they were still an independent boutique company, the SD80 cost roughly the same as a new DSL100. It was a no-brainer.

The amp and its features haven't changed. They've been bought out by a company doing huge volume, and the price has nearly doubled. The bang-for-buck factor kinda went down the shitter.

The SD18 and Twinmaster are still a good value at their current prices, IMO. But that's about it...

 

[NaturalBornBoy]

Too bad for me about the prices. I get butt raped with gear prices over here.

 

[ericsabbath]

no personal experience here
what I do know is that Dave Friedman designed the preamp section for the SuperDrive series
the circuit is pretty close to the Naylor SuperDrive, just like the Naked
of course all 3 sound pretty different, as they have different components and power amp designs

 

[Meathead]

Didn't like the amp with V30's, it sounds good with T75's because the amp already has great prominent mids and it's gain voicing benefits from the T75's sizzling treble crunch.

So I wasn't crazy when I dug it with T75's... Good to know..

...or maybe you're just both crazy.