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NAD - Bugera Vintage V5 Infinium
I've been wanting to get a small practice amp for my home office and took note of some recent posts about Sweetwater's sale of the little Bugera for $200 USD.
This amp is solid and weighs the same as my Fender Sonic Blues Jr., even though it is about half the size and wattage. Build quality and fit and finish are outstanding, with the handle looking very robust and being very comfortable. It didn't take me long to dial in a warm, lush, and clean tone with a touch of reverb that just keeps me coming back for more practice. My Blues Jr. has not seen much action since. It got me thinking if I would prefer the bigger Bugera V22 over the Blues Jr for louder applications like practices and gigs. Would it be correct to assume I would get a similar sound profile only broader and louder with the V22? There aren't any local shops with that amp in stock. https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuZgcVCbwlee7zEv...-csIw?e=C2v6fd
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Taylor AD17e Comins GCS-1ES Last edited by BuddyO; 09-27-2022 at 01:27 PM. |
#2
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I recently bought a Bugera V5, but haven't been able to spend much time with it. Your description of a warm, lush and clean tone with a touch of reverb sounds like something I might like.
Would you mind sharing the settings you are using? Are you using any pedals? Thanks!
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Riley Just playing for my own amazement Martin 000-15sm Eastman E10SS RainSong SMH Blueridge BR-142 The Loar LH-250 Recording King RPS-9 (for slide) Kentucky KM-250 Mandolin A Strat and a Tele Les Paul and Jazzmaster copies |
#3
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Patrick 2012 Martin HD-28V 1984 Martin Shenandoah D-2832 2018 Gretsch G5420TG Oscar Schmidt Autoharp, unknown vintage ToneDexter Bugera V22 Infinium |
#4
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Unfortunately the first run of V-Series combos suffered from teething problems which, although rectified (pun intended) in fairly short order, gave Bugera a bad rap that took nearly a decade to live down. While I'd be extremely careful when buying an older used "blue-light" model (so named for the pilot light on the front panel), the current Infinium series has no such issues and, unless you intend to do some power-tube swapping (a couple situation-specific caveats that have no real bearing here), I wouldn't think twice about buying one - or any other current Bugera offering - sight unseen/unplayed: as you're well aware they're built like tanks, and IME they're every bit as tonally/electronically reliable as any other factory-built (and more so than some)... Just for reference - and in the spirit of "putting my money where my mouth is" - before you commit to a V22, you might find this of interest if you have a spare speaker cab or two lying around: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=653100
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#5
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To me, they are the best amp going, dollar for dollar, IF you’re after the sound spectrum they cover. It’s perfect for my sound preferences.
Roger |
#6
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I'm currently running it with the following settings: gain: 3 tone: 4 volume: 7 reverb: 3 wattage: 5 Others have mentioned upgrading the tubes and speaker, but I'm pretty happy with it's current sound. Another contributor to sound is the guitar itself. My Comins has Flatwound Chrome 10's on it and I'm using the neck-only pickup with the tone knob turned all the way down at 0. And I'm using the stock, but custom Kent Armstrong humbucker pickups.
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Taylor AD17e Comins GCS-1ES Last edited by BuddyO; 09-28-2022 at 11:53 AM. |
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Thanks BuddyO. I'll try those settings today. I've got four electrics, all different types of pickups, plus a couple of pedals so I've got lots of possibilities for experimentation.
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Riley Just playing for my own amazement Martin 000-15sm Eastman E10SS RainSong SMH Blueridge BR-142 The Loar LH-250 Recording King RPS-9 (for slide) Kentucky KM-250 Mandolin A Strat and a Tele Les Paul and Jazzmaster copies |
#8
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[Update]
Based on the responses to my post and the conversation I just had with my Sweetwater sales engineer, I decided to pull the trigger on the V22. It should be here on Monday when I'll get the chance to A/B compare it to my Blues Jr. I suspect the latter may be on the auction block as a result. Thanks to all for the informative replies!
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Taylor AD17e Comins GCS-1ES |
#9
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Patrick 2012 Martin HD-28V 1984 Martin Shenandoah D-2832 2018 Gretsch G5420TG Oscar Schmidt Autoharp, unknown vintage ToneDexter Bugera V22 Infinium |
#10
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Turns out the delivery of the Bugera V22 from Sweetwater/Fedex came on Saturday instead of the expected day of Today (Monday), so I had all weekend to play around with it.
My initial impressions are that it is louder, warmer, and more versatile than my Fender Blues Jr. At the full 22 watts, it can be too loud for my practice room, so I set the power attenuator to triode mode and the volume became much more manageable. I prefer to control it from the guitar, so at that setting, I have the clean channel gain at 4, with master at 7, and my guitar at 5. Here, it is comfortable for sitting close to it for practice and I can go higher when I want. Swapping cables from the Bugera to the Blues Jr., the 2 amps sound more similar than I had thought they would, but the Bugera is slightly warmer and does NOT produce those ear-piercing notes at and beyond the 12th fret on the high E string. (I'm currently using Chrome 10 flatwounds) The Bugera bests the Blues Jr most when turned up, it really fills the whole room with a fuller, warmer sound. I think at $500 vs. the current $799 USD for the Fender Sonic (has the cannabis rex speaker), the Bugera V22 is both better sounding and offers more features. It's a keeper. Bugera V22.jpg
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Taylor AD17e Comins GCS-1ES |
#11
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It would be interesting to compare it to Blues Jr. if you used an EQ pedal to nuke the high end on the Blues Jr. Often perceived "warmth" is just a lack of nasty, spiky high end.
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Grabbed his jacket Put on his walking shoes Last seen, six feet under Singing the I've Wasted My Whole Life Blues ---Warren Malone "Whole Life Blues" |
#12
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Hey BuddyO, congratulations on that great looking Bugera! With that good looking semi-hollow you have put together a very nice rig.
I wanted to ask you about your sonic blue Blues Jr. I am a Celestion speaker devotee and am saying right up front I know zero about Eminence speakers. But I do like to read, especially about things related to guitar gear. What I have been seeing in my Cannabis Rex dive is that speaker is represented as having the quality to tame highs and add warm lows. Now, I am aware a little knowledge is dangerous, and all I have in my brain is what I’ve read about this particular speaker. It is a quality speaker with a good reputation from what I’ve found. From my own experience with Celestion speakers(Greenback, Creamback, Blue and Ruby) it took a while of playtime(weeks at a moderate level)for those speakers to come into themselves. In fact, at instillation I was pretty disappointed sometimes. How much real time has that Eminence speaker have on it, and were you able to push enough air to loosen up the paper? All the best, frank d.
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I love playing guitar Last edited by Chickee; 10-03-2022 at 07:10 PM. |
#13
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Speaking from extensive hands-on experience, while there are indeed some great tones available from the triode mode (FYI it's far more than just an attenuator - as you'll discover when you take some time to play around with both guitar and amp settings - and it'll get you some real nice low-watt Brit-flavored mojo in both clean and OD) the pentode mode is just as controllable once you find the sweet spot between guitar/pre/post-volume controls; perhaps it's a matter of style and approach - I've always run my guitars flat-out, and rely on subtleties of touch and picking to achieve my desired tones - but with a large-humbucker semi-hollow jazzbox like your Comins there's a valuable Fender-like sparkle that you'll be missing out on... As to the volume, unless you're playing a lot of outdoor or big-hall gigs the V22 could well be the only amp you'll ever need (want, however, is a different story... ) - I've played everything from 600-700 seat halls to the local coffeehouse, clean as you need or dirty as you want, with no sacrifice of tone at any volume (a claim very few tube amps can make - regardless of price) - and only the fact that I'm no longer physically able to handle the 53-pound weight on a regular basis (I've got an Eminence Swamp Thang - big brother to the Cannabis Rex - in mine, which adds a substantial amount of avoirdupois ) has led me to other options in the Bugera camp (just picked up a T5 head, got a T50 in my sights somewhere down the line). Thankfully the current Turbosound speaker is actually quite good, so a speaker swap is no longer necessary - but if you're in search of a more "American" tonality, the Cannabis Rex will not only put you solidly in the ballpark but at ~102dB efficiency will, when/if need dictates, provide the grunt of a 50-60W "big-tube" rig (mine'll hang with both my '65 Super RI and 100W Fender Frontman 212R); in toto, there's a lot going on for what is still an extremely reasonable price - and the only thing that surprises me is that after fifteen years of production it remains well under the radar... Use it well, often, and LOUD...
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased) |
#14
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Thanks, Steve, for recommending the V22!
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Patrick 2012 Martin HD-28V 1984 Martin Shenandoah D-2832 2018 Gretsch G5420TG Oscar Schmidt Autoharp, unknown vintage ToneDexter Bugera V22 Infinium |
#15
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I've had the amp for a little over a year now, most of my playing has been around 1/2 - 1 hour per day at lower volumes because I sit right next to it. My primary instrument is drums, but I've brought it out to a couple of indoor brewery gigs for my guitar player to use as a 2nd amp, so it's got about 6 hours of louder play time, but maybe it still needs more break-in time.
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Taylor AD17e Comins GCS-1ES |