Bugera V22HD Infinium

I have owned an original V22 combo and Bugera have put a lot of thought into the build quality of this upgraded model. I have only owned this amplifier for a couple of weeks but the amplifier seems to be much more rugged and a more practical size of cabinet. Sound-wise the amp does well with the right type of speaker, I have chosen to use the brightest sounding speakers I can get to stop the sound being too dark which I noticed happened initially.

A good variety of sounds from clean to classic rock though I think you would struggle with metal sounds without a pedal.

Very happy so far though it has only been used in rehearsals.

** 10 months later **

What a great purchase this amp has been!! My Fender has been to the repair shop twice in that time!! (Great QC Fender!) and this little beast has stepped up to the mark and held its own both times for numerous gigs. Running into a cab loaded with Eminence Legend speakers and it just sings. For a 22 watt amp, it has coped easily with all the venues (Small to 300 seaters) i have played and has been super-reliable. Works best with my Pedalboard through the FX loop and it is really quiet noisewise.

Performance has been good enough for me to revisit my initial review and update!

I bought this amp some time ago because I couldn't afford anything more expensive at this wattage.
I didn't have high expectations, so when I heard it for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised..

The clean channel sounds amazing and it has plenty of headroom and power to be heard in a rehearshal/studio/small venue without a mic.
I play at my home studio on a fender strat with a celestion g12k100 and the pedals I've used on it are od, wah, delay, reverb, eq, dist..none of them presented issues(I haven't tested the fx loop cause I never use the drive channel of the amp)..
Every feature works beautifully, even though I would've liked it to have an amp-output for direct monitoring..
The reverb sounds ok to my ears but I never use it, the tone knobs are pretty usable and the presence knob works like a charm!..

I've noticed two drawbacks:
there is a boost button but the only way it can be activated is by hand
the dirty channel is not tasty enough, even though that's more of a personal opinion

I recommend this amp head to everyone on a budget looking for a great vfm amp!

Ive heard mixed opinions on bugera, but seeing the price i thought id give it a try.
That was the best idea ive had this year.
Everybody talks about the amazing clean tones, and they really are nice, but what makes it a winner is the overdrive channel. Most reviews i read said the od channel is garbage, but thats because they don't know how to set this beast up.
Firstly, the mid boost switch should always be on. This changes the tone to a more mid focused sound. Set the eq to where each knob is at the point where moving it makes the most difference as then it is most responsive. Then dime the master volume. Keeping the master on full will color the tone with power tube saturation. If you are using an attenuator (or in a place where loudness is no problem) push the volume up to anywhere over 6 and viola; you have a powerfull overdrive with beautifully rich harmonic content. Slightly reminiscent of the van halen 1984 album sound.
That out of the way, the build quality is good, knobs, switches, jacks seem sturdy enough.
It is on the heavier side, but hey, its meant to be played, not juggled :)
Oh and one final thing: dont think that 22 watts is quiet, with a 2x12 cab you can make the drummer sound like he's banging on milk cartons.

I'm using this amp with the stock tubes and a Celestion vintage 30 speaker and this review is based on that experience.
This is a great amp for the price range. It might not be a Marshal or a Peavy but it comes very close in terms of sound.
Pros:
The clean channel sounds very good with good low end, great dynamics and pleasant high end and it accepts pedals very well.
The gain channel distorts with a great old school tone and the volume control comes in very useful to control volume when using a lot of gain distortion.
The effects loop works great with the gain channel.
Cons:
The reverb is good but not great, it's digital and it sounds more like a hall than like a spring.

In the end, I think this amp is very, very good for this price, it sounds very good with the stock tubes and a good speaker and it will certainly sound even better with some higher quality tubes.