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


guitarman3001

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Once you get everything sorted out, I'd love to hear your opinion with a shootout with the C30.

 

Count on it. Haven't put them head to head yet but I think the V22 sounds better, has a comparable clean channel and a better gain channel, and sounds a little fuller. I suspect part of that is because the V22's cabinet itself is bigger so it has more room to resonate in.

 

The bright input gives it a voxish sound that the C30 doesn't have. The presence knob also makes a big difference. It also has a standby switch which the C30 lacks. Oh, and of course the master volume.

 

I'd love to take both to a gig and run them in an A/B setup (hrmm..I actually have an amp switcher pedal I could do this with) and switch back and forth between them although I think my band will probably get pissed and tell me to pick a sound and quit {censored}ing with it every other song! :cop: I could probably manage to switch amps from set to set though. I suspect the winner will be the bugera as long as it sounds as good at gig levels as it does at apartment levels and doesn't suffer from rattles and farting out when driven.

 

But....first I need to either fix this one or get one that doesn't think it knows better than I do what channel I need to be on.

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I hope your amp works great and gives you many years of happy service!

I don't have any first hand info about them, but I've read reviews that have given high praise to the tone.

Behringer products make me nervous though! And please, be careful when you start poking around inside that thing:-) HNAD.

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Thanks for the heads up on harbor freight. They had a multimeter on sale for 2.99! I'll be able to check the bias after lunch. In the meantime, I got a reply to the email I sent behringer. They suggested I take it to a service center for a repair or replacement. I don't know if that would be easier than sending it back to m123.

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This thread is so full of FAIL. Dude, you bought a {censored}ing BEHRINGER. And now you spend the whole thread diagnosing problems on a brand new amp?


Here's some solid advice :: stop giving money to companies that {censored} you.

 

 

If I were you I would email Lee Ritenour and advise him not to let Behringer/Bugera build his new signature amp. The guy has got a reputation to uphold and I'm sure that he would appreciate your advise, even though he toured Europe with Bugera amps and cabs late last year and liked them so much he decided to have his name attached to this new amp.

 

And while you're at it, make sure you also give Vernon Reid a heads up about how crappy this stuff is...I mean the guy is using it at every show and probably has no idea he could burn the building down with it.

 

And also tell Allen Hinds he should stop using the V55HD/212 setup...bad idea for such a great player to be demoing for this company who makes such crappy {censored}.

 

These are just the players that come to mind...I'll do more research and let you know who else you should contact, so you can save them from failure....

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If I were you I would email Lee Ritenour and advise him not to let Behringer/Bugera build his new signature amp. The guy has got a reputation to uphold and I'm sure that he would appreciate your advise, even though he toured Europe with Bugera amps and cabs late last year and liked them so much he decided to have his name attached to this new amp.


And while you're at it, make sure you also give Vernon Reid a heads up about how crappy this stuff is...I mean the guy is using it at every show and probably has no idea he could burn the building down with it.


And also tell Allen Hinds he should stop using the V55HD/212 setup...bad idea for such a great player to be demoing for this company who makes such crappy {censored}.


These are just the players that come to mind...I'll do more research and let you know who else you should contact, so you can save them from failure....

 

 

WIN!!!

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Wow! I've been listening to some clips of the V22 cause this thread has me interested and I have to say some of the clips I've heard sounded awesome!

But I'm still leery cause I've heard all the reliability horror stories. And guitarman3001's situation isn't helping.

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No, still fail. You're surprised that artists that aren't exactly mainstream would accept free endorsements.

 

And I'm sure they take those stock amps right off the shelf and don't have an amp tech go over them, right?

 

Still, major fail. I don't care who "endorses" them, they are still putting money in the pockets of a company that has a long history of inferior products, and RIPPING OFF other peoples designs.

 

I choose to vote with my wallet and not sign off on such unethical behaivour. But whatever, suit yourself. I know some good amp techs for when that bugera fails you....again.

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There have been some problems with the Vintage series relating to the random channel switching. But I have yet to hear of anything else going wrong with these amps. There's a huge thread at TGP about the V22 and alot of guys seem to be very happy with the amp. Some have changed tubes and speakers (though many have moved back to the stock speaker, finding that it's actually very good). I have a Bugera 412 cab which sounds warm and wonderful.

I think the channel switching issue is heat-related and solvable. In the case of the V22, having the bias adjusted properly solved this problem. In the case of the V55HD, I used a fan for awhile, but really think the bias drifted out of the danger range (read as the 6L6's not running so hot) after I got some time on it and have not had any channel or reverb turning off for many months now. The adjustment knob turns very easily and would not be surprised if shipping causes it to move somewhat...very little movement in this knob is needed to make a substantial change in bias level. My V22 came out of the box biased fairly cold, which I doubt was intentional, while the V55HD was biased fairly hot.

Both amps sound great to me and I will buy one of the BC30-212 as soon as they become available. I'm not afraid of Behringer/Bugera. Every amp manufacturer will have issues now and then, especially if it's a new design that's just hitting the market.

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Just checked the bias. If my measurements are correct, this thing was biased way hot out of the box. I set the knob to how it was originally and I got a reading of -13 or -14. Based on the info on the huge thread on TGP, the proper setting should be -22. I set it at right around -21. I'm guardedly optimistic that this will solve the problem but still not completely convinced. Right now I have the amp turned on just sitting there. Let's see how it is in about an hour.

btw, the ambient temperature had nothing to do with my problem. My room is about 70 degrees right now and the amp wasn't being driven at all. It was just sitting there turned on. This actually makes me even more fearful of it failing at a gig. If ambient temp does have something to do with it and it happens in my living room at 70 degrees, I can only imagine what would happen when it's sitting in a corner on a hot stage and being pushed at gig volumes.

Meantime, I'm gonna leave it sitting here turned on while I walk across the street and grab myself a sammich!

btw, what's the best way to use the master volume in order to drive it so the power tubes start breaking up on the clean channel? Should I turn the channel volume all the way up and then turn the master up till it breaks up or should I turn the master all the way up and then bring up the channel volume till it breaks up?

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Glad you have a way to adjust bias now and know where you're at. I would think you could get away with running the tubes a bit hotter...something around -17 or -18vdc should be fine and it might sound a bit better, especially when driven hard. The ambient air temp shouldn't be an issue at a gig, if the bias of the tubes solves your problem at home, because the tubes will be be way hotter than any room you might be playing in. You can always add a small fan (I used a computer fan that glowed blue when on....looked cool with this blue glow behind the amp. Dead quite too...$9 at Staples. There are alot of amps that run hot and a number of them have fans built-in stock.

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Well this is turning into an epic fail! Even with the colder bias it started doing it again. I called M123 and they suggested I return it and order another one. I said fine. I figured everything was good to go.........until.................the M123 rep tells me that they're out of stock and the next shipment isn't expected until March 5th!!!!! :mad:

I'm starting to think this amp is going to be more trouble than it's worth. My only other option at this point is to go to GC with the sales invoice from M123 and see if they'll match the price based on that. Of course, I'll have to pay tax since they never want to match my delivered price but maybe an extra 25 bucks is worth paying for the peace of mind that I can take it back to the store if there's a problem with it. Man, what a pain in the ass this is turning into. :arg:

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Well this is turning into an epic fail! Even with the colder bias it started doing it again. I called M123 and they suggested I return it and order another one. I said fine. I figured everything was good to go.........until.................the M123 rep tells me that they're out of stock and the next shipment isn't expected until March 5th!!!!!
:mad:

I'm starting to think this amp is going to be more trouble than it's worth. My only other option at this point is to go to GC with the sales invoice from M123 and see if they'll match the price based on that. Of course, I'll have to pay tax since they never want to match my delivered price but maybe an extra 25 bucks is worth paying for the peace of mind that I can take it back to the store if there's a problem with it. Man, what a pain in the ass this is turning into. :arg:



Where are you located???

Isn't there another GC close by, or maybe a Best Buy Music Store???

Sorry to hear that.... Things like this can happen to any brand, of course, behringer/bugera had an issue that was not fully fixed with this amps and now you are suffering the consequences....

My Sale rep at GC price match a sale from music 123, and he gave it to me for $280 out the door... same price as online, including taxes....

give it a try...

Good Luck!!!

Omar :thu:

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Just dropped a NOS Jan 5751 in V1 of my V55HD in place of the 12AX7 that is stock...the gain channel is ALOT better now. The 5751 has about 30% less gain than a 12AX7 and really tightens up the gain on this amp...no fizz or buzz at all....all the way up to 10. $20 well spent...

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The Bugera Chronicles: Chapter 3

 

lol...this is a neverending saga. I called my GC to see if they had one in stock. I figured I'd cough up the extra $$ and be done with it. They said they still had one and also said they'd match the M123 price if I brought them my receipt. He also mentioned that they were on sale this weekend for pres day. As I was walking out the door, I realized I had a 15% coupon from them and that 319.00 minus 15% + tax was actually less than the M123 price. I got there and picked it up for 290.00.

 

So, I'm sitting here boxing up the broken one and unboxing the new one. I'm gonna turn it on and let it get nice and hot and make sure it works before I take it to the gig and risk disaster.

 

I also had a very productive discussion with the guy there about their no haggle policy. Looks like they might possibly be willing to work with me in the future.

 

 

BTW, I don't know if GC is finally starting to realize that when they advertise sales, people actually expect real sale prices, but they had some kickass deals for pres day. They had an epi LP custom silverburst that usually sells for 699.00 marked at 449.00 or 499.00 or something like that. The blackstar HT5 full ministack was listed at 449 and it qualified for the 15% coupon. I almost walked out with that too!!!! And they had a bunch of other decent deals scattered around the store. I'm hoping it's a sign of good things to come.

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This should be interesting. Based on the serial # and the batch code, if they mean what I think they should mean, the new one is from the same build out and batch as the old one. I wonder if there's a specific component that was used in a particular batch that's bad. I'll know soon enough.

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This thread is so full of FAIL. Dude, you bought a {censored}ing BEHRINGER. And now you spend the whole thread diagnosing problems on a brand new amp?


Here's some solid advice :: stop giving money to companies that {censored} you.

 

 

We need a little thumbs up or down count next to posts, like on you tube.

You get a thumbs down on this one.

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second time is a charm. The new one worked flawlessly at the gig. My bandmembers thought it sounded great. I had it set at triode (13 watts) all night and it was perfect for the small room. I was able to get the volume right where I wanted which was just past the point where the power tubes break up naturally.

 

Now that I've played it at gig volume I can compare it more accurately to my C30. I'll write about that tomorrow. Wiped out from the gig right now.

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No, still fail. You're surprised that artists that aren't exactly mainstream would accept free endorsements.


And I'm sure they take those stock amps right off the shelf and don't have an amp tech go over them, right?


Still, major fail. I don't care who "endorses" them, they are still putting money in the pockets of a company that has a long history of inferior products, and RIPPING OFF other peoples designs.


I choose to vote with my wallet and not sign off on such unethical behaivour. But whatever, suit yourself. I know some good amp techs for when that bugera fails you....again.

 

 

A company that steals designs. Like matchless stealing 95% of Vox's AC30 circuit and being so {censored}ing lazy that they only changed the name of the amp by 1 letter? Or the fact that there are 13,000 companies that make a living cloning hot rodded Marshalls? Or the boutique pedal market which are clones of mainstream pedals in fancy handpainted housings. Oh lets add an extra switch, that makes it all original? Every damn amp pedal company out there has a tubescreamer, fuzzface, muff, or rat knockoff. How about Marshall stealing Fenders amp designs? How about the companies cloning tweed Fenders and even using the Fender script? How about the 4 billion guitar companies that make Fender and Gibson clones? You are full of fail, do us all a favor and don't post in this forum anymore.

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