bugera amps

[freddy j]

anyone tried , or have a bugera amp, the 22w tube version looks real nice, maybe like a blues jr.? for a few less bucks?

[jeffstocksmusic]

FJ, I spent about 20 minutes with one at our local Guitar Center in the 'amp room'. I thought it sounded fine. The reverb is digital, but it sounded lush and very usable. The clean channel wasn't particularly chimey, but it was not bad. I could get a nice gritty crunch out of it as well. They seem to be put together well (as in they way it looks and feels). There are several threads on this amp that have hundreds of posts over at The Gear Page. I won't link to the site since I actually don't generally encourage visiting it because it is a fairly vile and hateful place, but if you are interested in more hands on reviews, you might google it and hit the 'Amp' section.

I didn't buy it, mostly because I wasn't in the market for an amp at the time. If I needed another low-watt amp, I absolutely would give them another close look.

Just throwing out another option...have you checked out the Fender Super Champ XD? I haven't played one but people seem to rave about them.

[DonEsteban]

I own a V22 since ~ 3 or 4 months. Bought it here in Spain for 260 € after intensive reading in the net. There is a fairly good test-video on frugalguitarist.com

Mechanical construction: Great. Everything looks very neat and "worthy" Adjusting the bias is very easy and doesn't require tool except a screwdriver an a voltmeter.

Sound:
Clean channel very bright but also provides big bottom, very round and sweet tone.
Drive channel goes from almost not driven up to fairly high gain, Santana rings a bell? But no rectifier sort of gain, for this I use an extra pedal see below.

What I found positive is, that both channels blend perfectly. So pressing the channel switch is not like changing the amp, but simply playing same amp with more drive. Also very nice how the amp reacts to the volume control of your guitar. I really like to start a solo almost clean (already beeing in drive channel but poti on the guitar way back) where I still can play chords, and then accelerate the solo by giving slightly more and more volume, everything controlled by guitar poti and dynamic playing. Works great.

Someone described the amp as between Fender and AC30, but as I never had any of these, I don't know if this is true.

Matter of fact, before I changed to virtual amps for some time I was a mesa boogie player. Don't know if this thing is exactly as good, as I firmly believe, that only direct a/b comparing is what has any significance in audio, but I'm happy with it. Maybe I put in another speaker in one day, because I read about it to be some improvement.

I use it sometimes together with a HT Dual by Blackstar, if I need real high gain, does it like a charm.

22 Watts are enough for me to play Jazz Gigs with up to 100 people. I would never play anything louder than this device can produce without ear protection anyway. So if the venue is bigger, please provide PA.

In the studio I switch it to triode operation and it sounds even sweeter, but significantly lower in volume.

Contras: The mid-boost switch is not in the pedal (only rev. and channel) as isn't the effect loop. So I'd really love to be able to control this settings with the pedal too.

Conclusion: At this price? Where is there anything else even close to it? But even without the price I recommend the Bugera v22 100%

DISCLAIMER After reading my mini test again I feel it necessary to state that I am in no way affiliated with Behringer or Bugera in any way, just a happy customer! :-)

[freddy j]

hey thanks for taking your time to provide this comment. it really helps out. i will play both the fender, and the bugera. about a $350 dollar difference in the 2, fender being more costly.i don't want to buy a name, just a good amp. take it easy , thanks again