Bugera V55 Combo "Vintage style amp"

[Maruuk]

Here's a typical UK V22 store ad:


£259.00 inc. vat €301.50 inc. vat Price includes VAT at 15% Estimated delivery to you on: 01 Sep 09

That puts the V22 at $425, except minus the 15% for VAT it'd be more like $360. Then take away another $50 since Euro music stores always gouge their customers.

So the American street for the V22 could be approaching $300. But safely $350, which would undercut a the BJ by $150. And it provides a lot more flexibility.

[Wesman61]

I found a gut shot of a 6260 and it looked clean and decent. Probably wouldn't be hard to change the caps out to orange drops or mallorys.

[rockon1]

Originally Posted by guittguy1

I found a gut shot of a 6260 and it looked clean and decent. Probably wouldn't be hard to change the caps out to orange drops or mallorys.

Yes but if it sounds good as is would it be worth it? Bob

[SeeMoore]

I just bought a Bugera 333 212 at GC, I went looking for the Marshall Haze, played it and didn't really like it, so I'm looking around and see the Bugera, $449.00, used, so I try it out and it sounds pretty good so I ask what they'll take for it and he says $400.00 so I bought it.
The footswitch had never been taken out of the plastic and there are no marks on the amp at all.
All the tubes are labeled Bugera, maybe not the best, so I'll try some Tung-Sols and see what happens.
Nice amp, heavey tho, but it sounds good.

[Wesman61]

Originally Posted by rockon1

Yes but if it sounds good as is would it be worth it? Bob

Well obviously I wouldn't mod it if I was happy as is. I would need a strong reason to go popping the circuit boards cherry.

[strat56]

You tube vid showing the guts of the Bugera 1960. Some folks were wondering about the quality of the wiring and such on a Bugera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTbJd5oPBjE&feature=fvsr

[rockon1]

Originally Posted by strat56

You tube vid showing the guts of the Bugera 1960. Some folks were wondering about the quality of the wiring and such on a Bugera.

Link? bob

[macmax77]

Originally Posted by HillbillySims

Cheap doesnt always mean unreliable.. and also doesnt mean bad tone.

I always think its so funny, I have a Epiphone Triggerman combo that I take out to a lot of smaller gigs rather than lugging my Dr.Z EZG-50. I get more compliments on my tone with that Epiphone than any amp I have ever gigged with.... And I have never had any issues with it. I think I paid $219 for it on closeout.

Personally, I dont care if Bugera clones something. People that want the real thing will pay the money for the real thing. But I like the fact that someone less fortunate can buy an amp that will get them in a similar ball park (tonewise & performance wise) to someone that has plenty of money.

I would have loved for something like this to have been available when I was a teenager... Unfortunately back then.. it was "You cant afford a Marshall?... ok heres this Quantam.. or Gorilla"

Bugera if filling a gap in this area & I wish there were more companies like this.

One of the best posts i have ever read on TGP!
Congrats!

[Rod]

Originally Posted by radiomatts

Bugera are Behringer's cheap Chinese rip offs of other amps. All I've heard is that the wiring is crap and they need a complete overhaul, including tubes before you can really use them. You can actually find a used Marshall head on Flea Bay or Craigslist for less than these pieces of junk cost.

rumors rumors...I'm excited about the new Bugera's...I have a Chinese built Egnater that's build quality is really excellent

[TomStrat]

I just got done playing the Vintage 22 up at Guitar Center, it was all i could do to not walk out with that amp. It sounds very good, and it looks killer.
"Right on! It could straighten out those inflated boutique amp prices."

If there is an amp out there that is going to do that then it will be this Bugera,
I think some of you will be real surprised when you play one. the clean channel sounded wonderful, nice piano like tones, very clear, almost like the guitar is hooked directly to the speaker with nothing in the way, I could not stop playing it, the reverb is decent too, got a little crazy sounding beyond the half way mark, but at lower levels it was pretty good sounding.
When you really crank up the clean channel it breaks up nicely, especially when you dig in with the pick (although it did get a little harsh.. new speaker though) and when you pick soft it stays clean, very touch sensitive.
The gain channel was quite good too, you can easily get mild AC/DC like crunch all the way up to Van Halen and 80's metal tones, this channel wasn't quite as touch sensitive as the clean channel and it didn't clean up very good but it sounded really good, this amp is fun as hell to play.
there is a pentode triode switch on the back, setting for 4, 8 and 16 ohms, and a place to plug in the foot switch. The foot switch only controls the channels and the reverb, kind of a bummer that it doesn't control the boost. Speaking of the boost, it works OK, its not adjustable but it gives a slight boost in gain with just a small bump up on the volume, but not super usable per say. (sort of like the boost on the Bogner Alchemist)

A couple negatives things, when i turned it up a bit i heard a slight buzz in the cabinet but it was nothing too annoying, very hard to hear when you were farther than a few feet from the amp. the speaker sounded good over all, especially for not being broken in (i was the first one to play the amp) but i could tell that a better speaker would be an improvement. I was seriously impressed with this amp considering it was stock and had no speaker, transformer or tube upgrades... i predict these will be hot sellers for Bugera. It was a bit on the bright side, i had to keep the treble and the presence down at about 3 on the knob or it got harsh and ice picky, it was fine if i kept the treble and presence down though. (this was on the normal input, not the bright input). I could not tell a very drastic difference between the normal and bright channels FWIW).
The amp wasn't particularly loud, not as loud as some of the other 20 watters i have heard, it would probably only be good for very small rooms but you could always mic it. Very nice little amp for low volume practicing or just rocking out at home. The amp looked very good too, IMO one of the best looking amps out there. It was very light too, maybe 20-25lbs or so.
I also played Bugeras new 1990 head, it was OK, nothing to write home about, it would be a great amp for a kid that wanted a cheap hi-gain head, it actually had some decent tones but these vintage series amps are really a step above that.

[Maruuk]

I suspect it's a dirt cheap, inefficient speaker. Something like a Red Fang or a Wizard would probably double the apparent volume.

I've been saying of this new V-series for a while now: Be afraid Fender, Peavey and Korg. Be very afraid.

The V5 has 3 switchable output levels, an actual speaker-compensated headphone/recording out, reverb, a master volume, single-ended Class A operation, and it's $150. This thing is gonna really have to sound like shyte to not be the steal of the century. Does anybody actually believe it will sound awful? Not me.

[Dale]

I am looking forward to hearing about these that is for sure.

[peterdjp]

I have a 6262 The construction is decent. Looks like it was made at the same place as the Bogner Alchemist, pcb and wiring looked very similar.

I gotta tell ya for 550.00 shipped you won't find a better sounding three channel head. The lead channel is fantastic, the clean channel sounds like a Fender, you could do a blues gig with it. and the crunch channel is not bad at all.
Having owned Diezel and Elmwood and Fuchs I can say this amp is a joy to play.

I had read the reviews and was ready for reliability issues but mine is solid. I did put in new tubes and did a re bias. It was biased pretty cold and the JJ tubes did smooth it out a bit but I would do the same for most amps I get. the Bugera can run 6l6 or el34 tubes. I dig it.

I'm not really a high gain guy but I like that sound, however I could not justify keeping a 2500.00 amp to play once in a while just for that tone. The Bugera filled that void.

They are a good buy in my book , sh*t I have pedals that cost more than that amp.

[Maruuk]

At these prices, who cares if they hold up? Like Lay's potato chips...they'll make more!

What was the V22 listed at, $349? Yikes. And it has a ton of goodies on board.

[TomStrat]

They had a 6262 there as well, didn't get a chance to play it today but i may go back in tomorrow to check that one out. I'm waiting to see if they get one of the 1960 heads in too.
FWIW i played through the Vintage 22 with a US Masters Avada SFT H/H, killer guitar.
didn't get a chance to play through the amp with a strat or a tele but i will give that
a shot tomorrow.

Maruuk, the V22 is only $349. (ooop, i see you edited your post)
the amp came straight out of the box when i plugged it in. Some of the guys that worked there (GC) and I were
talking about "how much" it was. a few of the guys were like "$599.00, probably", another guy chimed in
"ya i think there right around $600". I said, "are you sure, i was reading about these a while back and i could
have sworn they were right around $400'ish". So Brian pulls it up in the computer and says "Its $349 guys".
everyone sort of just looked at each other and got big eyes. it was pretty funny.
i have to admit it does look really sharp, has a much more expensive hi-end amp vibe to it.
Then while i was playing some older gentleman (60's maybe) came over looking really surprised and interested and said "what is it?".
Haha, i think he wanted one.