Bugera V22 vs. Vox AC15 Shoot-Out TTK Style !! 

Bugera has a preferred richer, creamier tone, the Vox is brighter.My vote is for the Bugera, it's a great amp. So is the Bugera V55.

Thanks for the review. The V22 just sounds better to me. It breaks up just right to my ears. I don't dislike the Vox but it just doesn't have the tone I like. I also like the price of the v22.

ToneKing, one a those bad boys right back atcha'! I've been sittin' her just watchin and enjoying many of your demos and shoot outs. Thanks so much for the time spent to give us some great comparisons and demos of gear. I have used your vidoes on many occasions to help me decide...Thanks!

The Vox is no slouch and its quite good when dialed up.The Bugera V22 just sounds awesome on all channel settings. The price is right.

Wow I just bought a bugera v22 blind for a KILLER price, figured if I didn't like it id flip it but man... I'm liking what I'm hearing from it. Amazing bang for your buck. Can't wait to start messing around with this thing

The Bugera V22 is an awesome amp. good for practicing and lots of volume. as far as the vox it is a great amp but i think i would go with the Bugera. more of a high gain amp with balls. Props to Bugera for making some awesome amps that rival the best for a decent price seeing as how the economy is tanked.

it makes my day when you say "i'll give you one of those bad boys right there" awesome. thank you

Thank you for the comparison!

I've been looking at these bulgera amps and you've convinced me on which way to go with your comparisons. For the money and the tone it's a no brainer.Bugera all the way...Thanks for the good work.

everybody watching that now... he uses sadly the wrong input on the bugera! it sounds more open in the 'bright' input which is made for humbuckers. can happen... just sayin.

wow! the bugera sounds great and holds it's own. thanks for the demo

and BTW TTK , you are doing an awsome job with your vids , thanks a lot bro.

Love the new "look", and the vids are better than ever, all top notch! Thanks for all the great Bugera demos, killer-seeming amps, for the price! That said, I'm DYING to see what the V5 sounds like! How 'bout a demo, or maybe a shootout with the 4watt Vox from a few demos back? Stay Golden, Tone King!

Thanks for this, seems like every time I find something nifty and wanna hear about it all I've got to do is stop by your channel. Anywho, my moneys on the Bugera, if my soul was worth 350 bones I'd be on my way to Dave Phillips. Although, I have to say the tone quality from the VOX is warmer, fuller, nicer, however ya wanna say its had some ruff polished off. Keep on rockin/reviewin

hey TTK, GREAT demo by the way this is exactly what i needed to see to make my decision on the Bugera. Bugeras reverd was a little weaker than the VOX but man it sounded so much cleaner and its Gain channel was Intense! thanks for the demo really helped me out. keep on shreddin bro \m/

Hey Tone Kine, thanks so much for the reviews! I love the tone in the Bugera especially at almost half the price! I do know know if both amps are made in China or not (tired of that!). But would still buy the Bugera V22 at the same price as the Vox. It just sounds better overall. The overdriven sounds remind me of the Marshall that I used to own. Incredible!

To me they sound like this- Vox- classic era rock. Bugera- late 80’s early 90’s rock.

Excellent Demo, Thank You!!!

THE VOX IS ALIVE!!! I love your videos man..awesome stuff really!!

Great comparison testing Tone King, I myself would choose the V22 over the Vox, more gutsy, better bottom end, more sustain on gain channel, just a better R&R amp all around, only thing here is will it hold it's value like the Vox can, I'm thinking probably not, good thing to keep in mind when amp shopping.

I am so thankful this guy does shootouts! God bless you sir. I also like the bugeras dirty sound enough to buy it over the vox.

not only are you the tone king but your my king

I had the Vox ac15 now I have the V22, my ears just liked the sound better, glad I switched cant wait to keep jamming!

Both are incredible!!

Thanks for comparison. Been looking around for a second combo amp for a stereo config. I think I like the Bugera in this one.

I bought the Bugera over the Vox and a Fender Blues Jr. I'm so glad I opted to: A) Save myself $250; B) buy the amp w/ more tones and features; C) buy the better amp. Very pleased with my purchase. I don't need another amp and I'm certainly not going to pay a hundreds more for bragging rights, "I have a Vox." However, to be fair, the Vox may be a better option if distortion is your thing. That's cool, too. :)

one thing that wasn't mentioned in this video is that the bugera has the triode, pentode switch in the back which gives it different sounds as well. I have the V22 and love it, I thought the VOX sounded brighter for sure in this video, but on the distortion comparison it seemed the bugera actually had more sustain.

I know the AC15 is like the staple Amp out there but I will be honest and say that the Bugera blew it out of the water. The clarity of the tone in the latter is much more workable in both clean and OD channels.

@confretti That makes sense. You sure got some beautiful amps! Thanks for sharing.

Very helpful. thanks bud.

Both great amps with great tone. As a two channel amp the Bugera is more flexible and a better gigging amp for anybody that likes to toggle back and forth between playing clean and playing with overdrive. The foot switch of the Bugera make switching back and forth easy. When practicing at home you can get killer OD sounds at very low volumes. Been gigging with my Bugera for three years and love it. Did have a problem right away with the tube socket melting which was covered under the warranty.

Just Bought the V22, I love it. Sold My Peavey Mace Half stack to buy it.

these are two of the three amps I am considering at the moment so thank you for doing this demo. Now if you could only add a Marshal Haze MA50C to the mix I would know which amp I would get. The Bugera seems a little more American and the Vox a bit more on the British side. Both are great amps but I like two channel footswitchable so I am more or less leaning towards the Bugera. The significant price difference helps too!! Thanks again, great job on the demo.

Awesome thanks!

I have been playing all of my life and went to Guitar Center to test guitars. I plugged into a V22 just to test a guitar and was very impressed with the tone. I am not saying that this amp has the tone of a VOX AC30 (which I own), but it has a warm sound in triode and pentode mode. I highly recommend this amp regardless of price.

I recently bought the Bugera V22 and I love it. I was originally looking at the vox AC15. Don't get me wrong, the Vox is an amazing amp, I just liked the Bugera better for my guitars and the style I play with. I don't think one is universally better that the other. It all depends on your style or playing and your guitar(s). I definitely think the distortion on the V22 sounds better than the AC15 when you switch over to pentode.

Bugera seems to have a well blended high gain channel. I just ordered a V55 so I am hoping I love it.

I got a bugera with a Sheffield 6505+ speaker and change tubes for tung sol its so much rrr sound I love it

V22 wins this one hands down by a mile. I already have the V55 head + 2x12 cab and that rig is awesome at around £320. I wanted the same quality in a small combo with FX loop and the V22 was the only option at £198...literally the ONLY option when it came to bang for buck. Not only that, but the Bugera amps work very, very well with pedals too. Don't hesitate - buy Bugera.

...i play the Bugera with Strat and Tele and it sounds awesome. Totally defined tone on every string. I never had that clean before.

thanks for the great shootout. my bugera v22 is on its way as i speak.

thanks alot brother for the effort.. really appreciated ;) its really help.. btw for me VOX is my tone..

bugera sounded great. what a great amp for people to have as a first serious amp, or for the reason i want it, a nice backup amp/practice amp/slash tool for the studio to get new cool sounds.

Bugeras are out there cheap!! Sound awesome, best bang for buck!! Love mine w/ American Strat

Thanks for the info! Best,

Perfect review!! I dont know haha wish I had both!! LOL I prefer bugera V22 love the drive channel, vox in my opinion has better clean, looks brighter, but if I had to choose between I choose bugera. Actually I'm going to buy one of those!

I've had a V22 for about 3 years now, and it's one of the best starting tube amps that you can get. For under $400, it's the best amp on the market: period. However, I now play in a band pretty regularly and it's just barely loud enough to be heard over the drummer before it totally loses the bottom end, so my recommendation would be to just buy a bigger amp with a lot of volume (and the tone you want, of course) so you're only making one purchase, rather than wasting your money little by little! Vox amps are honestly the way to go! I don't think anyone makes a better sound quality for their price range (until you get to about $1500+ with boutique amps), but they hold out on bottom end and are amazing for playing with bands! Bugeras are great practice amps and/or for solo gigging. I'll definitely be keeping that, even after I buy the Ac30!

Had a Bugera V22 for over a year and was always using a Modeling pedal through the clean channel. Then I took it away and found a great natural distortion.

great comparison man!! since I have made a total of $150 playing music, I am definitely loving the tone, style, and versatility of the Bugera... for the $220 I save on the Bugera, I can buy like ten or twelve cases of beer...

I like the Bugera, 'cause i own it :). At one point in the vid you had a nice overdrive setting, i'm gonna try to get that sound out of it too, thx!

As always, a great review!! Thank you. I tried this at Guitar center today and compared it to the Marshall Haze. I thought the v22 was much more versatile and had a nice warm sound. My band has a bunch of Berhinger gear and has never had a problem with any of it. In fact that is some of the most reliable gear we have. Do you think the V22 would be loud enough to play with my band (other guitarist uses a Fender FM212)? Or should I look closer at the V55.

TK you rock! Thank you for this video. Bugera sounds better to me.

I bougt a V22 from Guitar Center about 3 months ago now. Still sounds great. The only complaint I have is not from the amp. But from Guitar center ( Boardman ). I told the guy that was working with me that I loved the price and saw the reviews and that was the amp I wanted. He did everything he possibly could to talk me out of it. As well I also bought the Ibanez ART300 along with it. GREAT package with the ART having really HOT active pick-ups in it. Really helps to bring this amp out.

i like the bugera much better!!! the vox really sounds kinda harsh and the bugera has a nice warm full sound! i really love your videos and plz keep rocking dude!

The V22's distortion sounds absolutely killer! It's probably the closest thing you'll get to an 18 Watt Marshall below the $800 price point (and that would only be from a kit build). Lots of room to tweak the overdrive and it runs the gamut from blues to thrash.

I own both the V22 and AC15. I use them both for different things. Example; my AC15 just doesn't sound good with my Envelope Filter. So i play it through the V22. When getting down with some good ole rock and roll, I go with the AC15 every time. Both are good amps. Also, I replaced the stock speaker in the V22 with a celestion Vintage 30. Made a huge difference. I love both amps, if i had to pick one it would be the VOX AC15 all the.

Cool!! to my ears the Bugera would be my choice . .. i really liked its crunch sound!

Nice shootout! Vox wins. The biggest difference for me is in the clean sound. I was thinking about getting a AC30 but I guess I should give the bugera a try as well :)

Thanks for the comparison, I have been working towards my next amp purchase and these two are the top contenders. I also saw your review of the V55. Of those two, which do you like better?

Great comparison! I like the Bugera a lot better!

Bug V22! I've owned one just over a year. Play out often and "no" issues. Great studio amp. Plus I saved enough to buy a nice M-Strat. Never liked the Vox stuff anyway.

By the way I think you did an excellent job on the video. I have extensive experience with the AC15 and I do find the V22 to be a lot more versatile. On the video the V22 had a lot warmer tone across the board. Please be sure that I'm not bashing VOX because while I do think that the AC30 is an absolute monster I'm not nearly as impressed with the AC15! Thanks for the video.

Ah, correct you are. I read it wrong on the website. Regardless, the low wattage, hard pushed EL84 tone is what I'm after and even though it's not in quite the same league, my wallet will take the $350 Bugera over a $2400 Marshall 1974x Handwired Reissue any day! Tone King: Your reviews are always awesome. Thanks a million for this one, can't find any good info on these new Bugera amps anywhere!

The tones are completely different, both could be used extremely effectively, depending on the sound. That being said, they are both quality, but with the price point, it has to go to the bugera.

Thank you Imsjr! I've been scratching my head trying to figure out between the two. That being said i'm not sure if the volumes were really the same but if they were, the Vox is really punchy. The V22 seemed a lot cleaner and milky in tone. The AC15 seemed louder and grittier, which is totally fine. Since I own a Les Paul with Humbuckers, it would seem the Vox would be a better choice? Since I already get that Warm milky tone from the pickups. The V22 is within my price range at the moment...

I liked the Bugera on the clean channel but it got very muddy on the dirty. A bit like someone had placed a cloth bag over the speaker. Vox sounded a little harsh on the clean but had much more clarity with the gain turned up. Much more authentic sound imho.

I have a V22 it's a great amp I got it used for $200 and it's a great amp and loud as hell when cranked up ... plus has a power cut on the back that allows you to practice at lower volume levels in your home... without pissing off my neighbors LOL..

I like the bugera sound but that vox is really clear in comparison.

Over the years, my love was always of the Orange variety, although I've tinkered with Marshall and Mesa, Bugera are now making the best sounding Amps out there, and happen to be cheaper overall with a comparable or better build, i now have a V5 infinium and V55 and feel "My sound" is more distinct and richer, you really got to try them in the flesh because few of these videos do justice...

This AC15 just sounds thin and over compressed. Amazing how they can charge so much more for that because of it's big brother. I'm really surprised at this, but I think I'm going to have to choose the Bugera over the Vox.

I feel like selling my AC15 now and getting a V22!

I was talkin most directly towards bogner... but yes your right you can find some pretty good deals on used mesas Thanks for the reply!

both great amps but i love the tone on that Bugera

AC15, hands down. Good review, TK. And by the way, the AC15C1 is an even better option, with a 2nd, Normal channel - you can have your clean and dirty too.

as a proud vox owner I have to admit that the bugera sounded very good. I preferred the cleans on the vox and the od with the bugera in this vid. Although the vox has a much more "vintage" vibe in the way that it overdrives that is more appealing to some. The bugera it seems was given a more "modern" compressed overdive. all in all,nice vid and I am impressed withthe bugera.

toneking meets his faithful friend, 240p - making it a truly valuable review

hey tone king your reviews and shoot-outs kick ass. I was wondering do you buy all these amps or are you endorsed.

Nice video...

The point of all the settings at noon are so you hear what the manufacturers intended it to sound like. I think it's a great video. Cleanly TTK is trying to get the point across that the Bugera is similar but cheaper. The Vox clearly sounds better but not everyone has $600 to spend and the Bugera is the affordable option to a similar sound with a 2nd channel which is cool considering I would love to own a Vox AC50 Classic Plus but I do believe at the price range I would opt for the Blackstar ID

YES!

great video as always ttk, you do the best reviews on the web. i am in the market for a tube amp and the Bugera V22 is one that i found i like the best. In your opinion, do you think the Bugera V22 is more of a blues amp or can it be more aggressive? thanks

I barely use the reverb on (on my Vox), about 10%. It's truly fine. The tremolo is amazing!!! I've seen many who switch the reverb tank for about $30 and it sound fantastic! I run a BOSS pedal board in front and can get basically every sound from blues to jazz, rock to metal! Very versatile amp. It takes many different guitars VERY well, doesn't 'flavor' their sound. The (Whafedale) speaker needs a little time to break in, turn it up and let it breath. It gets smoother as it ages! Good luck!

Last Friday, Feb 26th I bought this amp. Love the tone, the clean channel, the range and tone of the dirty channel. Love it! Wed. Mar 3rd....the footswitch craps out....the lights on...working...the lights off....not working. I'm thinking a fluke? NO....tonight...again, reverb shuts down, channel screws up...then it comes back on........have owned Fenders, Peavey's, Marshall's.....no problems. Now, unplug the footswitch? works fine, so far.....I will be making a trek back to Guitar Center. Dang!

I like the bugera, I might have to pick me up one :)

great review. I think the vox has that classic sound and the distortion is superb. as well as the bugera has a powerful dirty sound that is very comparable to the vox. from this review I'd go with vox, but I would still have to try them both out in person to get the real deal

Great test. I think......yes the Vox is the better amp BUT it's not worth the extra cash so I would buy the Bugera and be a very happy bunny.!!! Nice one TTK.

Great comparison.... just what I wanted to see... actually been considering both of these models. Both amps have noteworthy tones, the Vox clean sound is really warm; the reverb (which is powerful) and tremolo are nice features. However, the Bugera has a super tight crunch tone and is very affordable. I imagine once Bugera gets more popularity, the V22 will go up in price. Just a guess...

I'm a Vox guy but in this video the Bugera sounded better and certainly more flexible. I've loved that EL84 sound since way into the last century... :-)

The Vox just made me smile.

It is 45.3x57.2x27 cm. And it is 41.8 LBS. I got one of these yesterday and it is really nice. Great sounding amp.

This was a cool comparison, for just sound I would probably go with a Vox and OD-pedal, but putting it into an economical context, I think I would go with the bugger.

@MegaTolp I own the Bugera v22 and its a great amp. This is my first tube to own but I have played on just about everything and I love this amp. You cant beat it for the price... even some more expensive amps can't beat it.

I have a Vox AC15. But I like the Bugera V22 and for the money you can't go wrong. Thanks, I have to go checkout the Bugera V22 tomorrow. I been giging small gigs with my Crate Palomino V16 for about a year now,but want something a little bigger. I will tryout the Bugera V22.

Been looking at the V22 a lot lately and it sounds great for anything clean or for a rock tone. It can't do anything higher gain too well but that's alright with me!

i prefer bugera.. but i don't like both amp... but still.. great review TK !!!!!! :)

Would love to see a shoot out between the Bugera V5 and the Vox AC4TV...c'mon Tone King, I know you can make it happen! Great job on the video!

I like the Bugera and it will be my next amp for certain. For 350.00 I don't think there is a better sounding amp on the market and it is perfect for my needs. By the way, the very last riff you played in the video (on the Vox) sounded great. You should write something with that, if you have not already. Thanks for the demo.

Had a Bugera''' tried it''' Na,, I Guess Im just a VOX Guy''' Cheers Cool Vid Bro !

Tone King in the old days at 240p :) Love my Ibanez SZ

I agree!!