NAD Bugera V22 Infinium

[Fret-O'File]

Dusted off my Les Paul Classic, put a new neck on my Strat and started playing electric again a few weeks ago. I was never really a very good electric player so am very surprised with how far I've gotten with my lead playing in just a few weeks. It just seems to all make sense to me now when for many years it didn't.

I've been playing through an old Line 6 Spider as I sold my rigs about 10 years ago when I stopped playing in bands. The Line 6 sounds decent and I could just use that but you know how some of us are, we love a new piece of gear. So I did my homework watched a lot of Youtube vids and pulled the trigger on the V22 Infinium. This thing kicks a**! Wow, from beautiful clean tones, to nasty blues and searing lead sounds to straight up heavy crunch this amp really does it all. Tone wise this thing rivals most of my rigs from the last 20 to 25 years. I've had Marshall JCM 800 50 & 100w heads - Krank Rev head, Carvin head, Boogie power amp and Marshall Pre-amps, Marshall Valvestate, Marshall & Mesa 4x12 cabs.... Just so many setups over the years costing thousands each and I swear aside from volume, this $300+ amp would hold it's own with any of them. There are so many tones to get from this thing with just a Les Paul and a Strat, it's amazing. It has a triode and a pentode switch which basically cuts the output in half allowing you to get some really good tones even at low volume. I guess it acts like a power brake. The reverb while not a spring reverb with a tank, sounds pretty good for digital. The amp is only 22W but it cranks. If I was playing in a full band I would get the 55W combo with an extension cab or the head with a 4x12 but for playing at home it's got more volume than I will ever use. The tone controls are a bit more on the subtle side but they give you enough control and to be honest the thing just sounds good, so not a ton of tone tweaking is needed. It does have a mid boost switch but I haven't found a tone that's worked for me with the boost on yet. I'm sure I'll find some use for it. I don't have any overdrive pedals so don't know how well it will take one but I look forward to trying some out. Some amps sound better cranking the master volume and driving the power tubes and then using the channel volume for actual listening volume. I find the opposite with this amp. I crank the channel volume and use the master for the output and it gives you this huge open sound that just puts a smile on my face. I'm going to fight the urge to pick up another one to run in stereo and try to remember that I'm playing at home and there is just no need but man would that sound good!

Amazon has em for $329 so I called GC to see if they would price match and they did but when I went to pick it up they only had a floor model, so they knocked another 10% off (I had to ask of course) and I walked out with it for $300 plus tax and it might have been the best $300 I've ever spent on a piece of gear. It has two EL84 & three 12AX7 tubes and based on the cost of the amp, they must be super cheap tubes. I can imagine upgrading at least the power tubes will make this thing even better. It's only been a day but I can tell already that this thing is going to inspire me to play more and more electric guitar. If you are thinking about a new amp, I highly recommend trying one out before you drop three and four times the amount on a big name amp.

[Hurricane Bob]

I heard those amps are very fragile and break down easily but never owned one. I played one at the local guitar shop and thought it was rather bright but had some nice tones.

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Hurricane Bob

I heard those amps are very fragile and break down easily but never owned one. I played one at the local guitar shop and thought it was rather bright but had some nice tones.

I heard the same thing when I was researching but it seems the older models with blue power lights were the ones with issues. The newer models with the amber lights supposedly don't share the problems. Considering I don't gig with electrics anymore, the fact that it won't move from my music room will help if it is at all fragile. As far as too bright, I don't experience that problem, I even plug into the bright input to get a little more sparkle.

[Hurricane Bob]

Nice deal for $300, I was considering the V22 or the Egnator tweaker for a lighter amp for gigging with, thank for the tip--

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Fret-O'File

...pulled the trigger on the V22 Infinium...from beautiful clean tones, to nasty blues and searing lead sounds to straight-up heavy crunch this amp really does it all. Tone wise this thing rivals most of my rigs from the last 20 to 25 years. I've had Marshall JCM 800 50 & 100w heads - Krank Rev head, Carvin head, Boogie power amp and Marshall Pre-amps, Marshall Valvestate, Marshall & Mesa 4x12 cabs...Just so many setups over the years costing thousands each and I swear aside from volume, this $300+ amp would hold it's own with any of them...The tone controls are a bit more on the subtle side but they give you enough control and to be honest the thing just sounds good, so not a ton of tone tweaking is needed...I crank the channel volume and use the master for the output and it gives you this huge open sound that just puts a smile on my face...If you are thinking about a new amp, I highly recommend trying one out before you drop three and four times the amount on a big name amp...

- and some folks around here thought I was either lying or nuts when I said I could pull all those sounds out of this little $300 tone box - glad to finally meet a fellow believer ; FYI I have one of the post-October '09 "blue-light" models, made after they ironed out the initial-production gremlins, and I've never had any issues with it since purchase in early 2010...

A few suggestions for easy DIY mods that'll help you wring the most out of your amp, in order:

• Speaker: Eminence Swamp Thang (8 ohm)

Although the new Turbosound speaker is a vast improvement over the original Celestion-clone one of these will take your amp to a whole new level, and it'll fit your original cabinet with no hassles. You will, however, need to make a new speaker lead with 16-gauge two-conductor wire and a right-angle phone plug; the original factory lead is securely soldered to the speaker terminals, and I doubt anything short of nuclear holocaust can remove them. Although there will be a noticeable difference from day one, you'll need to devote ~25-50 hours of play time at moderate volume for it to really come into its own; you'll be rewarded for your efforts with extended low-end, smoother mids, clear but not edgy highs, and a definite "American" tonality - IME a perfect complement to the EL84 power tubes, which can get brash in the upper-midrange if you push them too hard. In addition, efficiency on this one is ~102 dB - and in sonic terms that's like picking up free watts; my amp can handle a ~600-seat auditorium with no problem, and in a smaller room (or dialed back to practice levels) it sounds like a 2x12" - not bad for a nominal 22W rating. FWIW, I'd do this one first, for that reason alone - you'll probably never need that V55...

• Preamp Tubes: Preferred Series 7025

Here's a link:

http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/Pr...ies-7025-12AX7

Everything the reviews say they are, and infinitely better than the OEM $1.49 bargain-store specials - big, fat, clean Fender blackface/blue-check Ampeg tones in spades when used in all three preamp positions, and my own go-to setup. BTW, I'd spend the extra $5 each for matched triode sections; although some guys say it only matters in the PI/driver stage (V3 in your V22), to my ears the cleans sound smoother and the OD is more controllable with greater headroom. Caveat: if you like to get your Carlos on more often than not, these may not be the tubes for you - for that Santana sustain use a Mesa SP-AX7 (available at GC) in V2, or if you need more gain overall use the Mesa in all three positions (great PI/driver tube in V3 if you want to goose the power tubes a bit - I interchange it with the 7025 as need be)...

• Power Tubes: Preferred Series 7189

http://www.thetubestore.com/Tubes/Pr...9-Premium-EL84

These are pre-Glasnost, Soviet-era mil-spec tubes designed for use in MIG fighter jets - the equivalent of those legendary JAN tubes the Fender guys would sell their gonads to get, and tough as they come. In terms of power rating I've got a set of #47's in my amp - I'm a fan of old Ampeg-style "big clean" tube tone - and other than the slight compression when you push them hard (and I do mean hard), in combination with the upgraded preamp tubes and high-efficiency speaker you'd think you're listening to a "big tube" (6L6/EL34) 2x12" amp. Great for country, jazz, or surf when you dime the master and control the volume from the preamp stage and/or your guitar, does the Beatles' "NME '65" Vox AC50 tone when you hit the mid-boost, and in OD it'll take you into "brown-town" crunch - especially with a couple Mesa SP-AX7's in V2 and V3...

• Rebias:

You probably won't need to do this with the new Infinium self-monitoring/self-biasing circuit, but if you do you'll need a tech who really knows what he/she is doing - this is not a DIY job for novices. Although most of the info you'll see online suggests a 22mA reading at the bias point, the tech who showed me how to do the job myself said to use the -vDC figure (FYI Bugera is very tight-lipped with info of this type, in the interest of preserving/maintaining their service network - fortunately the guy had 30+ years of tube experience and recognized this discrepancy). My target figure with the #47 tubes was -17.2 vDC (initial reading with the old tubes was -17.4) - the initial reading and final target figure for your amp/tube combination may (and probably will) vary - so I'd suggest starting with something in this general range and working slowly (with a capital SLOW - you'll definitely want to be in the shop when this is being done if at all possible) until you achieve the tone you're after...

FYI, the tubes I suggested above are available as a package - you'll just need to specify matched preamp triodes and power tube rating when you order:

http://www.thetubestore.com/Shop-by-...remium-Package

Use it well, often, and LOUD...

[Fret-O'File]

Thanks Steve! It was your post in the Amp thread that even put it on my radar so thank you!!
Also for the great info on the tubes and speaker. For $95 the swamp thang sounds like a no-brainer. I'll check out the tubes as well.
That was an insane amount of info you provided and much appreciated! I'll play this for a couple of weeks then start with the swamp thang and let you know how I like the difference.
This amp makes me want to play!

[KevWind]

Hey congrats on the new Bugera. It was one of amps I researched (also because of Steve's recommendation) when I looking. And I found the qulality complaints were indeed from the older models.
Had I not end up with a Supro that V 22 is most likely what I would playing through.

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Hey congrats on the new Bugera. It was one of amps I researched (also because of Steve's recommendation) when I looking. And I found the qulality complaints were indeed from the older models.
Had I not end up with a Supro that V 22 is most likely what I would playing through.

That's a nice looking rig you got there, the PRS is beautiful and your great room ain't too shabby either. Congrats!
How's that Supro sound?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Fret-O'File

That's a nice looking rig you got there, the PRS is beautiful and your great room ain't too shabby either. Congrats!
How's that Supro sound?

Sounds great to me but I really havn't played thru anything else.

[Fret-O'File]

Hey Steve, are you using an OD pedals with your V22 or just the amp's gain?

[Steve DeRosa]

Only pedal I use of any kind these days is a Cool Cat trem with my V22/Frontman 212R - otherwise I've been back to guitar-cable-amp for the last 30 years...

[Fret-O'File]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Only pedal I use of any kind these days is a Cool Cat trem with my V22/Frontman 212R - otherwise I've been back to guitar-cable-amp for the last 30 years...

Nice! It's got plenty of gain, I'm just curious to see what the clean channel sounds like with an OD pedal.