V55HD Infinium 55-watt 2-channel Tube Head Review

Slightly Floored at Price to Performance Ratio

I got this amp recently with Sweetwater's $399 deal. It's a great deal at $599 but for 2 bills less, done deal. I've been researching this amp for about 6 months, as well as about 20-30 other amps, all makes, from 20-50 watts. I wanted a 6L6 powered head, which whittled down the competition and the videos of this head kept sounding so good. They stood up to other top notch amp heads,… read more many boutique ones that were 2.5 - 3 times its price. I've been playing for 30+ years, perform, record and release songs consistently. I've been using a Quilter Mini 101 for years, absolutely love it. Before that, I owned some old Bogen modded PA amp into heads (30, 50 and 100 watts). They all sounded fantastic, but one was always in the shop. Always. That's why I owned 3. Sometimes 2 would be in the shop. Annoying as all hell. I've played tons of other tube amps too (all names you've heard so I won't bore you). Long story short, I've been playing this amp through my EV12L Thiele cab speaker and it's been nothing short of spectacular. I did replace all the tubes, even though the stock ones sounded **** good. I put in a pair of Tung-Sol 7581A power tubes, a GE 5751 5 star in V1, Sylvania 12AX7WA in V2 and a Sylvania 12AT7 in V3. It sounds fantastic. I have other 12AT7's I might try out but for now, I'll keep to this setup. I've played my custom tele, 88 Aria Pro II T50 (semi-hollow body) and 71 strat through it. They all sound excellent. Minor tweaks and they're dialed in. Les Paul still needs a spin with it. It also seems to handle pedals and other overdrives just fine, although the overdrive on this amp is so good, I can take out an overdrive pedal. I need more time with this amp, but I gotta say, with the thousands of hours I've logged in with other amps, this one really surprised me and it's definitely a keeper. I tried out the Quilter 202OD a couple weeks ago, gave a weeks worth of playing and recording with it, but just couldn't feel it. It gets crazy good reviews but it just didn't have that thing. But THIS amp, it has what's needed. With the tube swap, this amp is a keeper. It's about longevity now. I'm looking forward to many years of recording and gigs (when they come back!!). Thank you for the KILLER deal, Sweetwater.

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Unbelievable

Guys.....Im such a picky, discerning, scrutinizing wack job when it comes to tone. I've used and loved my Marshalls, Mesa Boogies, Fenders, Peaveys and Blackstars. When I tell you after 40 some years of playing pro and as a hobby, this thing tonally hangs with some of the best Tube amps. I had mine going on 5 years and I'm still waiting for the catch LOL. Why so inexpensive… read more and sounds so great. Do not discount the overdrive of this amp. Its on par with the Marshall Origin but more saturation and roars like a *****. Its not extremely high gain, but it grinds!! The cleans are amazing... Lol. Gary Moore said it best back in 2011 before he left us....you do not have to spend big money in modern times for great sound.

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Phenomenal for the money

I've been a Marshall, Blackstar and Boogie fan for a long time as well as a fan of Fender amps clean tone. This thing has been my work horse for 4 years now and its reliability and tone has been second to none. Vintage Marshall crunch and great cleans in this amp never cease to impress me. Bugera has come a very long way.

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Awesome Amp, I'd buy it again!

A great head with a bunch of flexibility for a great price. I'm using it with an Egnater 1 X 12 cab, an Ernie Ball Y2D ax, and my dated, but still favorite, delay pedal through the effects loop (Line 6 big green delay set to analog delay) and the tone on the clean channel is excellent. The included foot switch lets me go into the lead channel and the distortion is excellent without… read more being muddy. The head is bigger then the Egnater cab, but the tone is PERFECT! Thanks Sweetwater!

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Unreal In This Price Range

I just wanted to park a more recent review here--I've had this amp for roughly a year now and it's performed very well for me; great sound, lots of options to dial it in, loads of reverb. While I've got no objective evidence I can point to, for me it feels like it performs really well when you use this as the main clean tone and then put some pedals/effects on top, but in that regard… read more it's really, truly fantastic. I get that it's a Behringer, and there's this snobbery out there that precludes some folks from buying that brand, but honestly don't sleep on this.

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