Bugera v22. Are they any good. Opinions?

topcatcbr

I am seriously looking at purchasing one of these. They get very mixed reviews but are the top seller in tube combos on Thomann. I'd like to get a blues / old school rock sound. I have a Vox Vt40+ which sounds ok if you spend time experimenting with the settings but some times all you want is to turn on an amp and stick with what's good. Back to basics type of thing. It's big let down is it has no effects loop.

So has anyone got one of these and what are the alternatives with effects loop and tube sound.

wild turkey

I have one over a year now with absolutely no problems
supposedly based on a Peavey classic 30 but looks like a Matchless.

Still completely stock, I haven't even replaced the valves which is completely like me as usually I would have it in pieces in the middle of the floor as i did with my VHT special 6 recently
I leave it on pentode with a Weber mini mass to bring the volume down
It has a lovely warm Fender style clean channel, gain channel to me sounds more Vox that does classic rock perfectly
I really only use the clean channel & run pedals in front, Ive never even gotten around to using the effects loop as it sounded great in front
Digital reverb is fine & it takes pedals very well, can handle plenty of gain & is very easy to get a good sound out of it

Im very happy with it & have no intentions of changing it
If anything I might revalve it & put in a better speaker , not that theres anything wrong with the stock one

Id say go for it, for €295 you definitely wont get better


Theres 3 megathreads on the gear page
last one would be more accurate to reliability after they resolved the initial design flaws



http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=594278

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=675881

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=740989

topcatcbr

wild turkey wrote: »

I have one over a year now with absolutely no problems
supposedly based on a Peavey classic 30 but looks like a Matchless.

Still completely stock, I haven't even replaced the valves which is completely like me as usually I would have it in pieces in the middle of the floor as i did with my VHT special 6 recently
I leave it on pentode with a Weber mini mass to bring the volume down
It has a lovely warm Fender style clean channel, gain channel to me sounds more Vox that does classic rock perfectly
I really only use the clean channel & run pedals in front, Ive never even gotten around to using the effects loop as it sounded great in front
Digital reverb is fine & it takes pedals very well, can handle plenty of gain & is very easy to get a good sound out of it

Im very happy with it & have no intentions of changing it
If anything I might revalve it & put in a better speaker , not that theres anything wrong with the stock one

Id say go for it, for €295 you definitely wont get better


Theres 3 magathreads on the gear page
last one would be more accurate to reliability after they resolved the initial design flaws



http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=594278

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=675881

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=740989

Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear.

wild turkey

Perfect Pitch in Exchequer St. has them if your ever up this way & want to try

topcatcbr

wild turkey wrote: »

Perfect Pitch in Exchequer St. has them if your ever up this way & want to try

How do their price compare. If I can give my business to an Irish company I would rather do it.

wild turkey

You could ring them & ask them for a price match
My local guy in Swords matches Thomann prices , you could try him also

http://themusicoutlet.ie/

Kev M

I'd recommend the blackstar ht's, bit pricier but you could likely get a good deal on one used. For blues/old school rock the marshall class 5 sounds great with an overdrive, no loop though.

topcatcbr

Kev M wrote: »

I'd recommend the blackstar ht's, bit pricier but you could likely get a good deal on one used. For blues/old school rock the marshall class 5 sounds great with an overdrive, no loop though.

More info please.

What has the black star got that the bugera hasn't.

What makes it worth the extra money.

Kev M

topcatcbr wrote: »

More info please.

What has the black star got that the bugera hasn't.

What makes it worth the extra money.

It's just a better amp altogether really, more versatile, greater range of useable tones achievable, no over the top feedback on high gain, better clean sounds, just a better function quality if that makes sense for example switching channels is super smooth. All just in my opinion of course, but I've tried the bugera and own a ht5 and ht20 so do have some reference. Nothing wrong with the bugera though, people seem to like it so it must be doing something right!

**Vai**

Yeah +1 on Blackstar, have a HT5 myself.

Looking into the new Bugera amps as well though. They look very nice indeed.

topcatcbr

**Vai** wrote: »

Yeah +1 on Blackstar, have a HT5 myself.

Looking into the new Bugera amps as well though. They look very nice indeed.

Had a look at the black star online earlier. They look good but are approx twice price for similar features.

Which Bug are you thinking.

**Vai**

I started a thread on here about it. Its the new Infinium series I was looking at. They have them for decent price on thomann.

The Blackstars are a bit more expensive alright but you'll find a few second hand on adverts.

fuzzbrew

if you get one, i would like to get a real honest opinion on it, as far as sound and build quality and reliability goes.

I'm thinking about buying a bugera v5 or a v22 for a little amp to bring around to mates houses for jams and parties and such. Something that is inexpensive and small so i don't have to lug the Peavey classic 30 around or worry about it getting damaged..

topcatcbr

fuzzbrew wrote: »

if you get one, i would like to get a real honest opinion on it, as far as sound and build quality and reliability goes.

I'm thinking about buying a bugera v5 or a v22 for a little amp to bring around to mates houses for jams and parties and such. Something that is inexpensive and small so i don't have to lug the Peavey classic 30 around or worry about it getting damaged..

I am getting next week. I'll be ordering it when I get back from holls. Give me a month to give an opinion as I normally find out what I like before I discover the little things I don't. I bought a vox vt40+ and for a while I loved it. It has very many sounds. However I have found the more I use it the less I like the artificial nature of it. It is still a good amp and I have use for it.

It took me a while to discover this. After a month or so I will give a full opinion.

fuzzbrew

topcatcbr wrote: »

I am getting next week. I'll be ordering it when I get back from holls. Give me a month to give an opinion as I normally find out what I like before I discover the little things I don't. I bought a vox vt40+ and for a while I loved it. It has very many sounds. However I have found the more I use it the less I like the artificial nature of it. It is still a good amp and I have use for it.

It took me a while to discover this. After a month or so I will give a full opinion.

Great man, look forward to hearing it, maybe post it in this thread so i will get notified about it?......:)

topcatcbr

fuzzbrew wrote: »

Great man, look forward to hearing it, maybe post it in this thread so i will get notified about it?......:)

Just purchased.

I'll give an initial impression soon.

fuzzbrew

topcatcbr wrote: »

Just purchased.

I'll give an initial impression soon.

Savage pal

topcatcbr

fuzzbrew wrote: »

Savage pal

Got the amp yesterday.

First impression is I like it. It looks nice and retro. I was a little worried that it would be too much for bedroom playing. Not so. It's perfect. It responds well at low volume.
It makes my SG sound like a guitar again and not as my Vox vt40+ does. The effects in the vox make my guitar sound more like a keyboard with a synth guitar mode if that makes any sense.
It is exactly what I wanted in my amp.
I got a delay and a compression pedal at same time. I didn't get an overdrive pedal as I wanted to get to know the onboard gain first. I'm glad I did. The gain channel is good. I won't say great but better than average. I put my vox in ac15 mode and compared to the Bug triode mode and the Bug sounds more realistic in what you'd expect the ac15 to sound like.

The clean channel is where the Bug sounds best. It really chimes and holds the notes well.
The only thing I'm not hugely impressed with is the reverb. It is fairly subtle. I think I'll be getting a reverb pedal in the future.
Considering the two amps above cost nearly the same new (with additional foot switch for vox) I know where the best value is to be had.

fuzzbrew

topcatcbr wrote: »

Got the amp yesterday.

First impression is I like it. It looks nice and retro. I was a little worried that it would be too much for bedroom playing. Not so. It's perfect. It responds well at low volume.
It makes my SG sound like a guitar again and not as my Vox vt40+ does. The effects in the vox make my guitar sound more like a keyboard with a synth guitar mode if that makes any sense.
It is exactly what I wanted in my amp.
I got a delay and a compression pedal at same time. I didn't get an overdrive pedal as I wanted to get to know the onboard gain first. I'm glad I did. The gain channel is good. I won't say great but better than average. I put my vox in ac15 mode and compared to the Bug triode mode and the Bug sounds more realistic in what you'd expect the ac15 to sound like.

The clean channel is where the Bug sounds best. It really chimes and holds the notes well.
The only thing I'm not hugely impressed with is the reverb. It is fairly subtle. I think I'll be getting a reverb pedal in the future.
Considering the two amps above cost nearly the same new (with additional foot switch for vox) I know where the best value is to be had.

thanks for the review dude, will be considering it seriously