Bugera V22 - Fun with small import Tube Amps

Plugged into one at GC over the weekend...
Street price is $350 (before any discounts).
To my ears, this thing sounds very good... and offers a lot of versatility.
Granted, I'm not a guitar playing ultra tone-meister... but wow my ears like what I'm hearing.  Full/clear cleans... and nice distortion from a little breakup all the way up to heavy.
Open back cab... but this thing has a good deal of bottom end
 
It's distributed by Behringer...
I have mixed feelings about that...  
Sounds good... so I'm willing to keep an open mind.
Time will tell regarding reliability
Decided to take it home and explore...
 
The one thing I'm not crazy about is the Reverb.
Sounds OK... not great
The ValveTronix reverb sounded better to my ears.

Hi Jim,

I really like the V22 alot..................I am thinking about grabbing it..

I own a V5..........it good little amp for practicing.....

In a previous thread you talked about the Egnator Tweaker?

I went down to GC,Tacoma and played each.........V22 and the Egnator...........

While the v22 doesn't have the tone options the Egnator does, what it did have......was a lot better...IMO.............

I didn't care for the Egnator Tweaker at all..........

But...... I feel the V22 reverb is a strong point? I have never cared for any of the Valvetronix FX at all........I have a ToneLab ST and the FX on it are boarder line toyish?.....maybe its just me?...... 

I'll be looking foward to your report

I'm partial to my Mesa Studio 22. Thing is... you cant touch one of these for $350 unless it's a project amp all beat to crap.

It's built like a tank and pumps out 22 honest watts. Mine is 25 yrs+ and still rocks.

So far I have not recorded with it, but i'm going to..... really I am.....

The guys must love you Jim. Do they really take back your old amps without any grumbles? And then give you a discount on the next one? That's a good thing you have going!

 
Hi Mike,
 
The guys at my local GC are great.  (Jesse, Ian, Cameron, etc)
I buy a lot of gear, so they treat me well...
FWIW, I really don't return much gear... so I don't get grief if I decide to exchange a unit. 
I've bought almost every bass/guitar I've owned from GC... including 8 MusicMan instruments the last couple of years.
I like to live with the gear for a while... as it takes time for me to absorb the finer points/details/limitations.
This is usually well beyond the 30-day return period.  
 
I still have the Tweaker head and Rebel cab.
I think I like the heavier distortion on the V22 better...
But I need to spend more time with both before I can say that with conviction.
 
As time/space is limited, I wind up selling a lot of gear... keeping a handful of what I consider the best pieces.
An ongoing process of improving the collection...  
 
 

I think the Marshall Class 5 is a rocking little amp and very loud.

 
I though the little Marshall was cool...
Too spartan for my needs/tastes (miss gain control).

Got an awesome deal.
Puttin' it through the paces.
Gonna see if I can break it.

Got an awesome deal. Puttin' it through the paces. Gonna see if I can break it.

 
Share your thoughts after you've spent some quality time with it.
In Triode mode, my guitar playing buddy Steve and I think the V22 has a thicker more complex distortion.  (Guess you'd expect this)
Steve thought the amp would be twice the cost... based on the sound/control.
Steve typically plays thru Fender tube amps... and he liked both the Tweaker and V22... though he liked the Tweaker better than the V22 in Pentode mode.  I like the tighter distortion on the V22... and I like the "detailed" sound of the Tweaker.
 
I'd consider adding that 5w Marshall to the collection if it had a separate Gain control.
Even at 5w, I'd drive Traci crazy playing that thing hot enough to achieve a good distorted tone.
 
BTW, Nice mic on the cab!

Still pushing this thing...so far so good.
Post some clips later.
If anyone's looking for info on this amp, I found THIS thread that just goes on forever.
Lots of of serious amp owners talking about it, in studio, on stage, changing out tubes, speakers...
I haven't taken mine apart but it sounds like there is a bias adjustment which is unusual for a $300 amp?
Anyway, the consensus seems to be its quite a value and holds up well with amps costing many times as much.

EDIT:
BTW, I found this Youtube clip where a guy does a pretty good job of showcasing different guitars with different settings on the V22.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoRW8Wj7dWc
If I turn my master up past 5, I can hardly stand it it's so friggin loud.

Jim Roseberry

Got an awesome deal. Puttin' it through the paces. Gonna see if I can break it.

 
Share your thoughts after you've spent some quality time with it.
In Triode mode, my guitar playing buddy Steve and I think the V22 has a thicker more complex distortion.  (Guess you'd expect this)
Steve thought the amp would be twice the cost... based on the sound/control.
Steve typically plays thru Fender tube amps... and he liked both the Tweaker and V22... though he liked the Tweaker better than the V22 in Pentode mode.  I like the tighter distortion on the V22... and I like the "detailed" sound of the Tweaker.
 
I'd consider adding that 5w Marshall to the collection if it had a separate Gain control.
Even at 5w, I'd drive Traci crazy playing that thing hot enough to achieve a good distorted tone.
 
BTW, Nice mic on the cab!

Sorry man to say this, but don't bother with the Class 5, it's a piece...
 
I had one for about a month and a half, I barely got my money back out of it...and I don't miss it at all!
 
I could not get a decent recorded tone out of it. So I started modding it with some very nice NOS tubes...I had RCA's, Mullard's, Amperex's, and Jan's in it. Swapped out the 12ax7's for AT7's, AU7's, and 5751's...
 
Then I sweet talked a tech at Marshall and got a REAL production schematic for it...the circuit is a total failure. I dropped in some expensive caps, worked with some techs on mods (and tried many)...I also built a baffle for a 12" speaker, swapped in several 12's in there, and ended up with a vintage Jensen.
 
End result: Mud and fuzz...put it back to stock: mud and fuzz.
 
Really don't waste your time. 5 minutes of balls out distortion is fun...but that's all it has. Even at full volume my mic's picked up fizzing from the preamp. Probably the biggest gear dissapointment I've ever had!
 
Also, it's construction is subpar; I mean REALLY chinzy. remove the chassis once or twice, and the chassis totally distorts. I installed good hardware, and bolstered the weak points, and nothing helped it. I had tolex coming off in just a few months. The slats to hold the baffles were cracking after just a few removals of the back. I hit all metal to metal contact areas with felt, but kept finding new places buzzing on the amp. So to sum up...it is really a terrible, cheaply made, piece of garbage.
 
Can you tell I'm a fan?
 
I'd take a Valve Jr over it ANY day of the week. However I did try several single EL84 based amps, and they are just not my cup of tea. They have no headroom, and power tube distortion is too coarse. I'm thinking a push/pull or parallel EL84 would be cool though.
 

Ron Vogel

Jim Roseberry

Got an awesome deal. Puttin' it through the paces. Gonna see if I can break it.

 
Share your thoughts after you've spent some quality time with it.
In Triode mode, my guitar playing buddy Steve and I think the V22 has a thicker more complex distortion.  (Guess you'd expect this)
Steve thought the amp would be twice the cost... based on the sound/control.
Steve typically plays thru Fender tube amps... and he liked both the Tweaker and V22... though he liked the Tweaker better than the V22 in Pentode mode.  I like the tighter distortion on the V22... and I like the "detailed" sound of the Tweaker.
 
I'd consider adding that 5w Marshall to the collection if it had a separate Gain control.
Even at 5w, I'd drive Traci crazy playing that thing hot enough to achieve a good distorted tone.
 
BTW, Nice mic on the cab!

Sorry man to say this, but don't bother with the Class 5, it's a piece...
 
I had one for about a month and a half, I barely got my money back out of it...and I don't miss it at all!
 
I could not get a decent recorded tone out of it. So I started modding it with some very nice NOS tubes...I had RCA's, Mullard's, Amperex's, and Jan's in it. Swapped out the 12ax7's for AT7's, AU7's, and 5751's...
 
Then I sweet talked a tech at Marshall and got a REAL production schematic for it...the circuit is a total failure. I dropped in some expensive caps, worked with some techs on mods (and tried many)...I also built a baffle for a 12" speaker, swapped in several 12's in there, and ended up with a vintage Jensen.
 
End result: Mud and fuzz...put it back to stock: mud and fuzz.
 
Really don't waste your time. 5 minutes of balls out distortion is fun...but that's all it has. Even at full volume my mic's picked up fizzing from the preamp. Probably the biggest gear dissapointment I've ever had!
 
Also, it's construction is subpar; I mean REALLY chinzy. remove the chassis once or twice, and the chassis totally distorts. I installed good hardware, and bolstered the weak points, and nothing helped it. I had tolex coming off in just a few months. The slats to hold the baffles were cracking after just a few removals of the back. I hit all metal to metal contact areas with felt, but kept finding new places buzzing on the amp. So to sum up...it is really a terrible, cheaply made, piece of garbage.
 
Can you tell I'm a fan?
 
I'd take a Valve Jr over it ANY day of the week. However I did try several single EL84 based amps, and they are just not my cup of tea. They have no headroom, and power tube distortion is too coarse. I'm thinking a push/pull or parallel EL84 would be cool though.
 

I am selling a couple of 5W amps. A V Junior and a Blackheart. I agree there isn't enough headroom. I have a 20W Laney Lionheart which is very good and a Mack Skyraider which I also like. I did try an Ibenez 15W 2x 6V6 with built in tubescreamer which I kind of liked. I would like to try the Reeves 10W with a single EL34 as well. The orange dual terror may be in life at some point as well. So many amps. So little time!

I tried the Bu(h)gera today and it did seem like a reasonable amp, but sounded a little fizzy to me. Have any of you tried the Peavey Windsor Studio?

I tried the Bu(h)gera today and it did seem like a reasonable amp, but sounded a little fizzy to me.

 
Have not tried the Windsor...
 
The V22's distortion can sound fizzy... especially if you crank the Gain super high.
As long as you keep the Gain knob ~3/4 or less (still plenty of distortion)... the sound is pretty decent.
BTW, The stock speaker is OK... but when connected to a Rebel 1x12 cab... the sound is tighter and has greater detail.
I may try swapping out the stock speaker...
 
Back to the Tweaker:
I wasn't super crazy about the heavier distortion when I first got the Tweaker.
After working with it for a bit (Tweaker head with Rebel 1x12 cab), I've found a heavier tone that I absolutely love.
 
Marshall Class 5:
Went to GC and got the Class 5 and a Fulltone Fat-Boost pedal... to see if I could get a nice "roar" tone at quieter levels.
Well... this little thing has to be cranked to get into the "fun" zone.
It's amazing how loud 5w can get!  The only way I could make effective use of the Class 5 is to use a power attenuator.
I'm trying to get a THD 16-ohm Hotplate but can't find one in stock.
The Class 5 sounds great thru the Rebel 1x12 cab.  Nice thick tone... just wish I could crank the thing without suffering hearing loss.  Went into Sam Ash yesterday (looking for a THD hotplate for the Class 5) and the kids behind the counter looked at me like I was completely nuts.  "You want an attenuator for a Marshall stack?"  No... I want an attenuator for the 5w Class 5.
Got nothing but blank stares... then one of the kids says, "Isn't the purpose of rock-and-roll to crank it up?"
Left shaking my head (at both the kids and myself)... knowing that I somehow officially crossed over into "old guy" territory when asking for an attenuator for a 5w amp.  
 

Jim Roseberry

I tried the Bu(h)gera today and it did seem like a reasonable amp, but sounded a little fizzy to me.

 
Have not tried the Windsor...
 
The V22's distortion can sound fizzy... especially if you crank the Gain super high.
As long as you keep the Gain knob ~3/4 or less (still plenty of distortion)... the sound is pretty decent.
BTW, The stock speaker is OK... but when connected to a Rebel 1x12 cab... the sound is tighter and has greater detail.
I may try swapping out the stock speaker...
 
Back to the Tweaker:
I wasn't super crazy about the heavier distortion when I first got the Tweaker.
After working with it for a bit (Tweaker head with Rebel 1x12 cab), I've found a heavier tone that I absolutely love.
 
Marshall Class 5:
Went to GC and got the Class 5 and a Fulltone Fat-Boost pedal... to see if I could get a nice "roar" tone at quieter levels.
Well... this little thing has to be cranked to get into the "fun" zone.
It's amazing how loud 5w can get!  The only way I could make effective use of the Class 5 is to use a power attenuator.
I'm trying to get a THD 16-ohm Hotplate but can't find one in stock.
The Class 5 sounds great thru the Rebel 1x12 cab.  Nice thick tone... just wish I could crank the thing without suffering hearing loss.  Went into Sam Ash yesterday (looking for a THD hotplate for the Class 5) and the kids behind the counter looked at me like I was completely nuts.  "You want an attenuator for a Marshall stack?"  No... I want an attenuator for the 5w Class 5.
Got nothing but blank stares... then one of the kids says, "Isn't the purpose of rock-and-roll to crank it up?"
Left shaking my head (at both the kids and myself)... knowing that I somehow officially crossed over into "old guy" territory when asking for an attenuator for a 5w amp.  
 

The Windsor Studio has an attenuator!

BTW, The stock speaker is OK... but when connected to a Rebel 1x12 cab... the sound is tighter and has greater detail.
I may try swapping out the stock speaker...
 

 

I've read quite a few user posts on this amp.
Guys who are giging with it report the speaker benefits from a break in period of about 20 hours at decent volume.

Hey Ron,
You seem to be very knowledgeable about swapping tubes and such.
I don't know much about it but I love to tinker.
This Bugera has 3 12AX7 and 2 EL84's.
They use their own brand, which are obviously Chinese.
Some folks say swapping them make a huge difference, some say not so much.
I don't have any problems with the sound at this point, but I'd like to mess with it.
What would be a good brand to start some swapping experiments?

Thanks.