When I first came across the Henriksen Bud mentioned by Gerald Ross (“The King of Swing”) within minutes of trying one out, I was totally convinced that this is the best acoustic amp out there. I bought a second one for the band, so when we play live we usually use the DIs from these Henriksen Bud’s into a PA or as stand alone amps. At 120 watts they are loud enough for most small venues. In New York I picked up a Henriksen Blu which is the single channel lighter option and equally sonically superb. The Henriksen Bud extension cabs also add more sonic possibilities to the stand alone Buds.
I was curious to hear what the Buds might sound in a stereo set up, but a key problem appeared. This was the earth loop sound created by linking these and no matter what I tried all we got was a really nasty hum. Finally my instrument tech found a unit made in Germany that sorted the problem. Lehle make great switching units for amps and the Lehle P-Split II High Impedance Audio Splitter Box totally resolves the problem. All Lehle products are built like tanks and fortunately this is not a massively expensive solution. This means that I can now run two Henriksen Buds and extension cabs in stereo if I want which makes for a really great set of sonic options.
I appreciate we are now heading into “Billy Gibbons” territory and many folks will be happy to plug into a Marshall or similar acoustic amp, but I’m always interested in getting the best possible sound and figuring out how to do this. Peter Henriksen has been brilliant in communications and this means even the smallest uke can sound absolutely terrific rather than just “ok” i have sat through sets at some uke festivals where the instrument sound is beyond terrible and sometimes that’s the soundperson as well as the equiptment being used. Call me picky, but with music, getting a really great sound is really important. I learned this from Martin Simpson who is known for creating a brilliant sound. The great thing about the Henriksen Buds options is that they are small and light as well as sonically the best out there. BTW when I first showed Martin a bud he commented “That’s a tone monster!”
