New bong killing me.

My new bong is really confusing me. For one, the smoke has a very distinctly terrible taste to it and it usually leaves my throat feeling really fucked up even though I'm used to taking hits that size. It's a beaker bottom maybe 14-15 inches tall. No percs or anything but the downstem is this kind of crazy looking 4 arm with 2 holes on each arm. I have tried different levels of water and other things and several different kinds of bud. I've probably tried 4 strains in both the bong and my old bubbler, really weird difference.