Jump to content

It's finally here! HNAD to me. Bugera V22.


guitarman3001

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Kudos to M123. They gave me a better price than list, shipped it the same day, and had it to my door within 3 days. My usual thumbs down to GC for refusing to match the price M123 gave me.

 

Anyway, first impressions, cosmetically it's a badass looking amp. Has that classy vintage look to it.

 

Tone - well, it's as good as I remember it being at the store. It's voiced very well. Using the gain channel and the normal input, it's easy to get some nice ZZ top tones with it. It's hard to describe but the distortion has this kickass "hair" to it. Switch over to the bright input and it's starts to get vox-ish. Hit the boost button and it become even more voxlike, imo. The clean channel is also awesome. Very clear, nice range with the tone controls. The presence knob is a nice addition. Really adds some top end sparkle without making it too piercing like turning up a regular treble knob can do. Reverb is usable but nothing stellar.

 

Triode/pentode is interesting. I haven't been able to crank the volume because of my neighbors so I can't say how big of a difference it'll have in clean headroom from 22 watts to 13 watts but I do notice a difference in tone especially on the gain channel. Triode mode is spongier and almost.........fuzzier.......... more of a classic vintage feel to it. Pentode mode tightens it up and it's hard to describe but maybe makes it slightly punchier or harsher, but not harsh in a bad way. Gives it a slightly more modern sound, imo. Can't say which mode I'll prefer yet until I get a chance to crank it at gig levels.

 

As usual, my complaint as with most amps with a boost function is that the boost isn't footswitchable. Aside from that, so far so good. Looks like it'll make a nice addition to my growing stable of 1x12 combos. Hopefully it'll be good enough to replace my C30. And for three bones, it's a no brainer, imo.

 

Tomorrow during the day when the neighbors aren't home I'll plug in my M13 and see how it gets along with it and my other pedals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 86
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

 

Kudos to M123. They gave me a better price than list, shipped it the same day, and had it to my door within 3 days. My usual thumbs down to GC for refusing to match the price M123 gave me.


Anyway, first impressions, cosmetically it's a badass looking amp. Has that classy vintage look to it.


Tone - well, it's as good as I remember it being at the store. It's voiced very well. Using the gain channel and the normal input, it's easy to get some nice ZZ top tones with it. It's hard to describe but the distortion has this kickass "hair" to it. Switch over to the bright input and it's starts to get vox-ish. Hit the boost button and it become even more voxlike, imo. The clean channel is also awesome. Very clear, nice range with the tone controls. The presence knob is a nice addition. Really adds some top end sparkle without making it too piercing like turning up a regular treble knob can do. Reverb is usable but nothing stellar.


Triode/pentode is interesting. I haven't been able to crank the volume because of my neighbors so I can't say how big of a difference it'll have in clean headroom from 22 watts to 13 watts but I do notice a difference in tone especially on the gain channel. Triode mode is spongier and almost.........fuzzier.......... more of a classic vintage feel to it. Pentode mode tightens it up and it's hard to describe but maybe makes it slightly punchier or harsher, but not harsh in a bad way. Gives it a slightly more modern sound, imo. Can't say which mode I'll prefer yet until I get a chance to crank it at gig levels.


As usual, my complaint as with most amps with a boost function is that the boost isn't footswitchable. Aside from that, so far so good. Looks like it'll make a nice addition to my growing stable of 1x12 combos. Hopefully it'll be good enough to replace my C30. And for three bones, it's a no brainer, imo.


Tomorrow during the day when the neighbors aren't home I'll plug in my M13 and see how it gets along with it and my other pedals.

 

 

Awesome man. I've got one on order too. Can't wait for it to come in. Got mine from MF. It's used but supposedly only cosmetic damage on the footswitch. Hopefully it works as advertised. Played one at GC and it sounded great. Knew I had to pick one up. For the price it seems like one of the best bargains out there right now for a 1x12 combo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

GC wouldn't match? I'll try my local store. I want one.

 

Nope. My GC never matches. The thing is, they refuse to haggle and won't match a price unless they see it in writing. With M123 they're usually willing to haggle if you're nice to them. When I went into GC, I already had a good idea of what kind of price I could get from M123. I asked them if they could match it and they said unless I could show it to them in writing, they wouldn't do it. So, I came home, called M123, and got the price I wanted. BTW, the irony is that the very next day, I got a GC president's day coupon in the mail which when applied would have given me a price I would have bought it from them for. The idiot salesman and store manager knew they had a pres. day sale coming up and could have easily given me the pres day price but they let a paying customer walk right out the door without even trying.

 

 

I hate my GC and because of their no-haggle policy they have lost thousands of $$$ of my business over the last two years or so. I've bought 3 or 4 guitars and a couple of amps recently. Almost every time, I've first gone to GC with cash in hand and told them I wanted to buy it on the spot if they would give me the same price I could get from their own company online. 95% of the time I left the store empty handed just shaking my head wondering what it would take to get them to take my money, came home, called them up, and got the price I wanted.

 

Anyway, this thread isn't about GC and their unwillingness to take the several thousand dollars I've tried to give them, it's about my HNAD!!!!! :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well {censored}. Seems mine is afflicted with the dreaded footswitch/channel switching problem. It was fine the first half hour but in the last 10 minutes it has done it 4 times.

 

I'll be playing on the dirty channel with the reverb on, suddenly the lights on the footswitch turn off, the amp switches to the clean channel, the reverb turns off, then after about 2 seconds it goes back to the dirty channel, then the reverb and lights come back on.

 

Goddamit!!! :mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well {censored}. Seems mine is afflicted with the dreaded footswitch/channel switching problem. It was fine the first half hour but in the last 10 minutes it has done it 4 times.


I'll be playing on the dirty channel with the reverb on, suddenly the lights on the footswitch turn off, the amp switches to the clean channel, the reverb turns off, then after about 2 seconds it goes back to the dirty channel, then the reverb and lights come back on.


Goddamit!!!
:mad:

 

Check the bias. If the output tubes are biased too hot the amp will run hot and that, I believe, is what's causing this problem with these amps. My V22 came biased at -23vdc out of the box, which I increased to -17vdc. A couple of days later it started doing this channel/reverb switch thing. I checked the bias it had increased to -13.5vdc...too hot. I lowered it back to -17vdc and it quit doing that. And after checking off and on for a few days it had stablized at my desired bias setting.

 

My V55HD did the same thing when I first got it and I put a fan in the back blowing on the tubes and the problem stopped. I actually quit using the fan awhile back and it has never done it again. I think it's heat related...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Check the bias. If the output tubes are biased too hot the amp will run hot and that, I believe, is what's causing this problem with these amps. My V22 came biased at -23vdc out of the box, which I increased to -17vdc. A couple of days later it started doing this channel/reverb switch thing. I checked the bias it had increased to -13.5vdc...too hot. I lowered it back to -17vdc and it quit doing that. And after checking off and on for a few days it had stablized at my desired bias setting.


My V55HD did the same thing when I first got it and I put a fan in the back blowing on the tubes and the problem stopped. I actually quit using the fan awhile back and it has never done it again. I think it's heat related...

 

 

Where is the bias adjustment and how do I adjust it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I though m123 was owned by musician's friend/GV, w/e HNAD hope your footswitch problem is worked out

 

 

yeah, they're all owned by guitar center which is owned by Bain. They all have different policies though as far as haggling and price matching. Hell, even from one guitar center store to another they do things differently. One store may be willing to haggle, the other one down the street might not be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Where is the bias adjustment and how do I adjust it?

 

 

Look underneath where the tubes are. You will see a clear piece of plexiglass and an RCA jack underneath it (rca cables are the red yellow and white set of cables to hook up VCRs and DVD players). There will also be a little adjuster knob. Here is how I adjusted the bias.

 

1. Bought a digital multimeter. I had been wanting one anyways.

 

2. Took an old RCA cable and cut it in half. So I had a connector on one end and bare wires on the other.

 

3. I took the probes from the multimeter and (i think if I remember correctly) taped the red probe to the internal wire of the rca cable and the black probe to the external wire. Wou will understand external and internal once you cut the cable.

 

4. Plug the multimiter in and turn the amp on. Let it warm up and hit the standby.

 

6. Check the -DC current. The father away from zero you get the colder the bias. I have mine set at -16.5. Remember -13 is HOTTER than -16. The hotter the bias the faster your tubes wear but the colder the bias the more asslike your amp will sound. Turn the knob to adjust the bias where you want.

 

7. Turn amp off, close up plexiglass. be careful those screws holding the plexiglass are a bitch to find if you drop them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Where is the bias adjustment and how do I adjust it?

 

 

If you look at the back of the amp, up on the right-hand side is a clear plastic cover that you take off to get to the bias adjustment area of the amp. There is a female rca jack that you plug into and connect to a multi-meter. I just took an old rca cable and cut one end off, stripped back the insulation and connected to the meter probes. Set the meter to read vdc and set it at 200. You turn the knob near to jack to adjust bias.

 

I would not recommend altering the bias without a meter though as the adjustment is very sensitive and does not require much turning to change it.

 

This method of adjusting bias is not really the most accurate way to adjust, but without investing in a bias probe, it does work.

 

Check the Bugera V22 review thread at TGP for alot more info...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Look underneath where the tubes are. You will see a clear piece of plexiglass and an RCA jack underneath it (rca cables are the red yellow and white set of cables to hook up VCRs and DVD players). There will also be a little adjuster knob. Here is how I adjusted the bias.


1. Bought a digital multimeter. I had been wanting one anyways.


2. Took an old RCA cable and cut it in half. So I had a connector on one end and bare wires on the other.


3. I took the probes from the multimeter and (i think if I remember correctly) taped the red probe to the internal wire of the rca cable and the black probe to the external wire. Wou will understand external and internal once you cut the cable.


4. Plug the multimiter in and turn the amp on. Let it warm up and hit the standby.


6. Check the -DC current. The father away from zero you get the colder the bias. I have mine set at -16.5. Remember -13 is HOTTER than -16. The hotter the bias the faster your tubes wear but the colder the bias the more asslike your amp will sound. Turn the knob to adjust the bias where you want.


7. Turn amp off, close up plexiglass. be careful those screws holding the plexiglass are a bitch to find if you drop them.

 

 

Thanks. I found the bias pot. Which way makes it hotter and which makes it colder? Does counterclockwise make it colder which is what would make the most sense to me or is it backward?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Thanks. I found the bias pot. Which way makes it hotter and which makes it colder? Does counterclockwise make it colder which is what would make the most sense to me or is it backward?

 

 

I really can't remember. Just turn it one way really slow once your meter is hooked up and see what your meter says. If you turn slow you aren't going to ruin anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Bittersweet congrats!

 

I have my V22 and I love it, although I did have issues too!

 

What I will do is:

 

Contact the store, return it because it is defective....

 

BUT!

 

take the receipt and (nicely) demand a price match from Guitar Center... if you ask nicely, and with prove, as a receipt, they may need to oblige to your demand....

 

 

I would not mess with it, you could lose the warranty....

 

and, if you decide to live with it... contact bugera/behringer and get a repair ticket started so they can send you for a warranty service to a local shop (what I did because my Bugera started to act after the 30 day return policy)

 

Hope this helps :wave:

 

Omar :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Thanks. I found the bias pot. Which way makes it hotter and which makes it colder? Does counterclockwise make it colder which is what would make the most sense to me or is it backward?

 

 

Get a digital multi-meter before you start turning the knob...I can't remember which way it turns to run the tubes colder, and don't want to mess with mine right now to find out. As Alex said, the more "minus" the number reading, the colder the tubes will be biased. My V22 still sounded great when biased at -23vdc, though it got a little better when I increased bias to -17vdc.

 

If you have a Harbor Freight near you, you can get one really cheap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Bittersweet congrats!


I have my V22 and I love it, although I did have issues too!


What I will do is:


Contact the store, return it because it is defective....


BUT!


take the receipt and (nicely) demand a price match from Guitar Center... if you ask nicely, and with prove, as a receipt, they may need to oblige to your demand....



I would not mess with it, you could lose the warranty....


and, if you decide to live with it... contact bugera/behringer and get a repair ticket started so they can send you for a warranty service to a local shop (what I did because my Bugera started to act after the 30 day return policy)


Hope this helps
:wave:

Omar
:thu:

 

 

Adjusting the bias is not going to void the warranty. The adjustment is there for a reason and Bugera has some info (though sparse) on their website about bias adjustments on their amps. Changing tubes is going to occur and you really need to adjust bias on the amp to best match the tubes you use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Adjusting the bias is not going to void the warranty. The adjustment is there for a reason and Bugera has some info (though sparse) on their website about bias adjustments on their amps. Changing tubes is going to occur and you really need to adjust bias on the amp to best match the tubes you use.

 

I know... but one wrong move and you fry something there (I think, I do not know much and I maybe totally wrong, If I am, I apologize!)... besides, I think that if he paid for a NEW amp, he should get one in good condition... I would have returned mine but the tubes starting to act up right after the return period, but luckily not after the tube warranty period (90 days)....

 

Still, it could be a matter of moving something just a bit and getting it fix... either way...Congrats, and hope you the BEST!!!

 

Omar :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Bittersweet congrats!


I have my V22 and I love it, although I did have issues too!


What I will do is:


Contact the store, return it because it is defective....


BUT!


take the receipt and (nicely) demand a price match from Guitar Center... if you ask nicely, and with prove, as a receipt, they may need to oblige to your demand....



I would not mess with it, you could lose the warranty....


and, if you decide to live with it... contact bugera/behringer and get a repair ticket started so they can send you for a warranty service to a local shop (what I did because my Bugera started to act after the 30 day return policy)


Hope this helps
:wave:

Omar
:thu:

 

Yeah, my first instinct is to send it back but it's a pain in the ass to send an amp back. If it's something as simple as adjusting the bias, I don't mind doing that to avoid having to return it. If the bias doesn't fix it though, it's going back. I'm going to call M123 right now and let them know I'm having the problem to see what they suggest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yeah, my first instinct is to send it back but it's a pain in the ass to send an amp back. If it's something as simple as adjusting the bias, I don't mind doing that to avoid having to return it. If the bias doesn't fix it though, it's going back. I'm going to call M123 right now and let them know I'm having the problem to see what they suggest.

 

If it is a defective item problem, 99% of the time they will give you a return label and let you ship it for free....

 

I got my Bugera for $279 out the door at Guitar Center back in September... so they can definitely give you the discount you are looking for...

 

Anyway you go about it.... WISH YOU THE BEST!

 

:wave:

 

Omar :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

If it is a defective item problem, 99% of the time they will give you a return label and let you ship it for free....


I got my Bugera for $279 out the door at Guitar Center back in September... so they can definitely give you the discount you are looking for...


Anyway you go about it.... WISH YOU THE BEST!


:wave:

Omar
:thu:

 

At this point if I did return it I wouldn't even bother trying to get one at GC. I really hate my GC and refuse to buy this particular amp from them. It's a matter of principle. I'm either going to fix it by biasing it or exchanging it through M123. I have other amps so I can wait for a new one to be shipped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...