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Bugera V22

jay4321

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Got one for about $300 from MF. Pretty impressed so far, great out of the box... looks very nice. If anyone's on the fence I'd pull the trigger, they seem to live up to the hype sound-wise. Hopefully I don't experience any of the QC issues some are reporting.

Somebody else's demo on YouTube, cause that's just too much effort for me and this guy plays better anyway:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrzPo4c64ok&feature=related[/youtube]
 
Updating with a few more notes on it, in case anyone's interested (doesn't look that way, but just the same):

Once the tubes warm up it's really nice, and with gain it really shines. Though I really like the clean, although a lot of people say it's so-so. Works pretty well for me.

Straight-in, it definitely seems to like the LPs better than the Strats. And it really likes the Ash Tele Deluxe. Getting that gritty, earthy kind of rock gain that I like, but could use just a little bit of pedal help (or just look elsewhere) for anything heavier than Alice In Chains or Guns N' Roses (which it does fine with). Dialed back for some Counting Crows - Rolling Stones stuff is really what's outstanding on it. Definite vintage flavor.

Haven't put the Pod X3 Live in the effects loop, but I intend to once I mess with this a bit more.

Reverb is digital. So-so, probably won't be using it.

Tubes are tucked pretty far out of the way.

Looks nice, and sounds decent on 4ohm for house volumes.

If it wasn't made by Beringer & had higher-end components this would be pretty respectable for quite a bit more. Based on the sound alone I couldn't be much happier at the price, though you have to wonder about reliability over the long term. More impressed with this than the Blues Jr and the Blackheart, and they both cost more. Let me not get started on the solid state Frontman 112 which cost around the same.

So yeah, Cliff's Notes: Looks nice, sounds nice, vintage-style tube amp with unknown/questionable brand reliability. A good deal at $500 or so, but at $300 shipped I'm very happy with it. Just give me like 2-3 good years without blowing up and I'l be thrilled with it. 
 
Nice, man. I wanna try one. Sounds like a cool little amp. If I didn't already have my big-ish tube amp (Traynor YCV 50 if anyone needs an amp, they're perfect. Shameless plug.), I'd definitely wanna try one out. Keep us updated as time goes on as to how reliable it is. If you ever open it up, tell us if it's smd inside or real, big, moddable components because a cheap amp like that makes me itch to take it apart.  :icon_jokercolor:
 
I have really like the tomes of all Bugera products...but I too am afraid of the quality issues.  I have heard of their 333 series amps going nuclear and making all kinds of nasty sounds and after only a few months.  they also feel cheap.  does the V22 "feel" any better??
 
I'll get some photos once I get a few projects out of the way, I'm moving my office/studio around a bit, have to config the router so my girl can use her new laptop, yay

But it doesn't "feel" cheap or rickety or anything from what I can tell. But I'm not touring with it, it gets sit in a corner. Haven't busted out the foot controller yet.

 
DMRACO said:
I have really like the tomes of all Bugera products...but I too am afraid of the quality issues.  I have heard of their 333 series amps going nuclear and making all kinds of nasty sounds and after only a few months.  they also feel cheap.  does the V22 "feel" any better??

I don't have a V22 yet, but I do have a V5, and it feels far from cheap. It feels as good or better than everything else I've seen, and I've seen most of what's offered in that class. Bugera does a good job. It just doesn't cost them as much to do it as it does for those manufacturers based in expensive countries where labor has a high sense of entitlement. The Chinese labor force is almost entirely made up of what are essentially political prisoners living in a country with a low cost of living. A 1,200sq' house doesn't cost $250K in China like it does here, and they don't drive $20K to $50K cars. If they can make $50/week, they're in fat city. So, an amp that would cost $500 to make here only costs $50 to make there, and even after shipping it halfway around the world and going though two or three hands, they can still make money selling it at $150.

Any quality issues with Bugera amps are undoubtedly encountered in all amps. For some reason, I suspect mostly because they're inexpensive, people just love to hate Bugera. What's funny is almost all amps outside of the true ultra-expensive garage-built "boutique" units are made in China now. Fender, Marshall, Peavy, Egnator, et al all have lines coming from there. They're just pricing them a lot higher, so nobody's suspicious.
 
Glad to hear the quality is there...or at least getting there.  The issues I have encountered were with a fellow guitar player who had a 333XL head.  Actually he had three of them.  After about two months they all began to hiss.  They were all replaced but it became a real PAI.  Folks at the local Sam Ash were real helpful but said this was a common problem they saw with Bugera.

BTW...quality issues is not isolated to lower end amps.  I just had to replace all four pre-amp tubes on an ORANGE after only 2 months.  Also...had a brand new Marshall that the front panel literally fell out...
 
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