P
pfstein
New member
The Bugera 1960 Infinium Amplifier is hated by many, loved by few. Is this amp the real deal?
I assert that it is definitely the real deal, at least as far as sound goes. As a matter of fact, I could do a blind amp lineup of several Marshalls and derivatives, and 9 out of 10 people would choose the Bugera 1960 as the best sounding amp. No you are not going to impress the gear snob musicians in the crowd with a wall of Bugeras. Yes you will melt the audience's faces off.
My honest review of this amplifier is this.
First a little background. I am a long time marshall player. I own or have owned 1959 SLPs, JCM 800, Jubilee, JCM900, 30th Anniversary, DSL, TSL, JTM45 JMP Preamp, you name it. I also have been playing professionally both on stage and in the recording studio since the late 80s. I also own amps from other manufacturers such as Fender, VHT, Orange, Fargen, Mesa and EVH.
Initially I scoffed at the Bugera amps, thinking that something so inexpensive just could not possibly be any good. I was wrong.
My goto bread and butter amp has for many years been a 1974 Marshall 100 Watt Super Lead MKII (Metal Front). This amp was very loud and had glorious tone. Because the amp was so loud, I used a Marshall Power Brake attenuator with it for years, as this was the only way the amp was even usable. It was just too darned loud. Since it had 6550 tubes instead of EL34s you really had to run it to get it to saturate. I liked the way the tone bloomed on single notes though and chords did maintain somewhat of a hard edge. I got my sound by cranking the amp to max. It was awesome sounding.
However, after many years of gigging and much hard use, the amp began to suffer a little. Filter Caps were leaking. It needed a cap job. Nervously at that time, I had it done. I decided at that time to also convert the amp to EL34 tubes. This work destroyed the tonal character of the amp. The wooly liquid crunchy fire was gone. It sounded quite sterile, at least until right before it vaporized the power transformer. Thinking that the voltage difference from the 6550 to EL34s caused an intolerance, I replaced the transformer. The new one lasted only 3 hours. Now the amp sits atop an old 4x12 cab as a silent reminder of my younger days. I have almost had it repaired too many times to count. I know it will never be what it once was. From there I have tried everything to recapture the intangible "thing" that this amp had. I bought a 1959 SLPX Reissue plexi. It wasn't even close. JCM 800 had good crunch, but just didn't have the thickness. JCM 900.... a child's toy. Too much preamp gain, and the power section seemed unable to be overdriven in a pleasant way.
While on vacation, I went to the local Guitar Center to browse the used gear. I always do that because you never know what you'll find. There I came face to face with my first Bugera amp. It was a 1960 (Not the Infinitum). It looked like a Marshall.... with chicken head knobs and a silver front. What did it sound like? They only wanted $275 for it. Was this a joke? Was the amp a piece of crap? It was in the soundproof "loud room" so I shut the door, grabbed a SG and fired it up. The first thing I noticed was that the Ch1 and Ch2 inputs were already linked together internally. No need for the patch cord linking them together. Hey this thing sounds a lot like my old Super.... I turned it up a little more. Yeah!! nice clear bark to it. Got the volumes up to about 3 o clock....SCHOOL's OUT!! It was rich and smooth but crunchy, complex and I could really feel the pick on the string. Every nuance of technique translated clearly. Damn was it loud though. I did not buy the amp. My wife was with me and she told me to think about it. Okay fine.... I left it at the Guitar Center. When I got home from the trip, I was still thinking about what the amp sounded like, and the feeling I got when I plugged into it. I got online and set out to learn more about this brand and their products.
I found out that they have a 1960 Infinium, which has some features that I have longed for in my Marshall amps, such as the Post Phase Inverter Master Volume, which was switchable in and out of the circuit. The cascading or parallel input channels was a nice wrinkle too since it allowed for some great "modded" Marshall tones as well. I did a little shopping online and found one used from Guitar Center. $275. How could I possibly lose? I bought it. It arrived and I was pleasantly surprised with how sturdily it was built. I used a Rivera Rock Crusher power attenuator and plugged in. This thing sounded unbelievable. I tweaked it a little and there was VHII, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Foreigner, early Rush.... Randy Rhoads...
What sorcery is this???
I began thinking to myself, If this was in stereo......
So I bought another.
I have had no issues with either amp.
I perform live shows regularly with them and trust them completely.
I have actually wondered why everyone isn't using this amp.
I can afford any amp I want and own too many to list, but these are the amps that have become my goto for classic hard rock tones. They are actually much more versatile than my Marshalls. I also have the additional benefit of not risking my high dollar gear in questionable venues. If someone steals my amps, no big deal. I can replace them in days. I can't say enough good about this particular amp.
I will say this though. They are not necessarily the best thing for players with sloppy technique. This amp is only going to reproduce what you do on the instrument faithfully. It is not going to give you a veil of mushy high gain to hide behind. No Pain ... No Gain!!!
here is a sample of Bugera Tone
https://youtu.be/dOeYLNePVf8
I assert that it is definitely the real deal, at least as far as sound goes. As a matter of fact, I could do a blind amp lineup of several Marshalls and derivatives, and 9 out of 10 people would choose the Bugera 1960 as the best sounding amp. No you are not going to impress the gear snob musicians in the crowd with a wall of Bugeras. Yes you will melt the audience's faces off.
My honest review of this amplifier is this.
First a little background. I am a long time marshall player. I own or have owned 1959 SLPs, JCM 800, Jubilee, JCM900, 30th Anniversary, DSL, TSL, JTM45 JMP Preamp, you name it. I also have been playing professionally both on stage and in the recording studio since the late 80s. I also own amps from other manufacturers such as Fender, VHT, Orange, Fargen, Mesa and EVH.
Initially I scoffed at the Bugera amps, thinking that something so inexpensive just could not possibly be any good. I was wrong.
My goto bread and butter amp has for many years been a 1974 Marshall 100 Watt Super Lead MKII (Metal Front). This amp was very loud and had glorious tone. Because the amp was so loud, I used a Marshall Power Brake attenuator with it for years, as this was the only way the amp was even usable. It was just too darned loud. Since it had 6550 tubes instead of EL34s you really had to run it to get it to saturate. I liked the way the tone bloomed on single notes though and chords did maintain somewhat of a hard edge. I got my sound by cranking the amp to max. It was awesome sounding.
However, after many years of gigging and much hard use, the amp began to suffer a little. Filter Caps were leaking. It needed a cap job. Nervously at that time, I had it done. I decided at that time to also convert the amp to EL34 tubes. This work destroyed the tonal character of the amp. The wooly liquid crunchy fire was gone. It sounded quite sterile, at least until right before it vaporized the power transformer. Thinking that the voltage difference from the 6550 to EL34s caused an intolerance, I replaced the transformer. The new one lasted only 3 hours. Now the amp sits atop an old 4x12 cab as a silent reminder of my younger days. I have almost had it repaired too many times to count. I know it will never be what it once was. From there I have tried everything to recapture the intangible "thing" that this amp had. I bought a 1959 SLPX Reissue plexi. It wasn't even close. JCM 800 had good crunch, but just didn't have the thickness. JCM 900.... a child's toy. Too much preamp gain, and the power section seemed unable to be overdriven in a pleasant way.
While on vacation, I went to the local Guitar Center to browse the used gear. I always do that because you never know what you'll find. There I came face to face with my first Bugera amp. It was a 1960 (Not the Infinitum). It looked like a Marshall.... with chicken head knobs and a silver front. What did it sound like? They only wanted $275 for it. Was this a joke? Was the amp a piece of crap? It was in the soundproof "loud room" so I shut the door, grabbed a SG and fired it up. The first thing I noticed was that the Ch1 and Ch2 inputs were already linked together internally. No need for the patch cord linking them together. Hey this thing sounds a lot like my old Super.... I turned it up a little more. Yeah!! nice clear bark to it. Got the volumes up to about 3 o clock....SCHOOL's OUT!! It was rich and smooth but crunchy, complex and I could really feel the pick on the string. Every nuance of technique translated clearly. Damn was it loud though. I did not buy the amp. My wife was with me and she told me to think about it. Okay fine.... I left it at the Guitar Center. When I got home from the trip, I was still thinking about what the amp sounded like, and the feeling I got when I plugged into it. I got online and set out to learn more about this brand and their products.
I found out that they have a 1960 Infinium, which has some features that I have longed for in my Marshall amps, such as the Post Phase Inverter Master Volume, which was switchable in and out of the circuit. The cascading or parallel input channels was a nice wrinkle too since it allowed for some great "modded" Marshall tones as well. I did a little shopping online and found one used from Guitar Center. $275. How could I possibly lose? I bought it. It arrived and I was pleasantly surprised with how sturdily it was built. I used a Rivera Rock Crusher power attenuator and plugged in. This thing sounded unbelievable. I tweaked it a little and there was VHII, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Foreigner, early Rush.... Randy Rhoads...
What sorcery is this???
I began thinking to myself, If this was in stereo......
So I bought another.
I have had no issues with either amp.
I perform live shows regularly with them and trust them completely.
I have actually wondered why everyone isn't using this amp.
I can afford any amp I want and own too many to list, but these are the amps that have become my goto for classic hard rock tones. They are actually much more versatile than my Marshalls. I also have the additional benefit of not risking my high dollar gear in questionable venues. If someone steals my amps, no big deal. I can replace them in days. I can't say enough good about this particular amp.
I will say this though. They are not necessarily the best thing for players with sloppy technique. This amp is only going to reproduce what you do on the instrument faithfully. It is not going to give you a veil of mushy high gain to hide behind. No Pain ... No Gain!!!
here is a sample of Bugera Tone
https://youtu.be/dOeYLNePVf8
!!!!! I have never played one. Like anything you buy, always a chance something will go wrong. Based off of the majority that there are/have been quality issues I would not gig with one. Just my .02.
