The QA and reliability issues were addressed and closed when "Music Group" (Uli Behringer) acquired (bought out) Bugera in 2009. They openly admitted to addressing the inconsistency in quality control and tightened controls on logistical standardization on components - which was the heart of the reliability problems. I've been following the issue closely because I have a lot of Bugera and Behringer gear getting rough road treatment and standing up well. Both are now under Music Group Corp.
I'm lusting for this amp. Your review and demo is spot on for a "real world" potential buyer to see what the amp sounds like. Your demos are very useful for this and I thank you for your work.
I just ordered this amp and have lost sleep over waiting for it to arrive!!!! your demo's have always been a great help thanks for all the wonderful info on these great products!!!
I have been watching TTK for at least 5 years. I was first exposed to this amp here. I keep comming back to this review. I got my own Bugera 1960 Inf. in January 2020. This is the best review on RUclips of this amp.
Thank you for a GREAT insight on amps. Don't pay any attention to people who are negative, what you are doing is a cool thing no question. Keep up the good work. Jeff Cullen
early 80 s heavy metal can be but not for todays heavy metal. for this you need different type. hi gain amp like 6262 bugera (copy of 6105 plus peavey) but its very good for rock n roll and sound like led zeppelin.
yeah yeah, and grindcore on fender twin;-) and Malmsteen play on the Bugera amps;-) dont be kidding.single coil is not bad in metal. Malmsteen is solo guitarist!!!!!!!!!!!!!And play in very 80's style(neoclasical things).Show me when he play some new metal style riffs. You think why Bugera and other made different amps??????????? You deffinitly plays like Malmsteen , yeah......ha ha;-)yes you can play on that amp heavy but for what when you can buy more hi gain amp special for this??????????I play on scene from 25 years and i know what i say.WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!
Watched over and over,finally decided to buy one.It will be here tomorrow friday 6/14 along with an orange micro terror mt20.Thanks to your reviews I can try before I buy.Thanks for everything you do for us gear heads.Cheers.
About 5 bassplayers I know bought the 1960 Infinium for bass instead of an Ampeg V4b Ri. Only slight modifications in the Front end had to be done. Some used it as poweramp for a bass preamp like the Ampes SVP Pro. It worked wonderfull.
For the really informative videos you, Tone King, make, you don't get anywhere enough viewers. I would recommend that anyone who is looking to buy a guitar amp, new or used, that they watch ALL your videos first. As this video demonstrates, with clone makers like Buger/Behringer one can buy new cheap instead of getting skinned in the "rare vintage original" market. All hail the King of Tone!
I've had this amp for the past 6+ years and I'm still in love with it. Kinda weird to use when you're playing punk/hardcore/emo/indie-rock but you get the right pedals and you're set.
Been following this amp since its inception mostly thanks to you. I'm so very excited its out and will be picking it up. To bad you don't get commission for a sale. Thanks for all you do.
Thanks! This is the most comprehensive review of this amp. I had been thinking of the 1990 but now with the built in mods to this I am thinking this would work even better. I play mostly classic rock and use pedals for overdrive and distortion.
The Amazon price for the Bugera 1960 Infinium is back up to $499.99, but they still have 15% off. Glad I was able to grab one when I did. Talk about fast shipping! I got the Bugera 1960 Infinium amp today along with a Dime D100 I ordered almost 2 weeks ago for $269.84 - Both great deals! Spent $555.13 total for both amps. Now I just have to wait for them to thaw-out so I can try them out. I was actually worried that the winter storm would keep me from receiving them before Christmas.
i use the cascaded low input on the right side bottom. to me its the most articulate and authentic plexi vibe and takes pedals the best. the other channels are either more muddy or just don't get enough highs and mids. this amp takes pedals as good as any boutique amp costing 6x as much.
Great demo, very detailed. I bought the head and matching cab before the price took off. It's a great clean amp for my style. My only complaint is the material covering the wood on the head is separating from the wood. Easily enough fixed with better glue and metal corners added. The manual says the head weighs in at 49Ibs. It feels more like 100Ibs.
Why did you edit out the part where the tube light started blinking? I would have liked to know what the problem was and how you fixed it. I want a real representation of this amp including the quality, and whether or not tubes go bad after 5 minutes of playing.
WOW! This is really quite impressive, off the top of my head I can't even think of an amp, at any price range, which does all of this. Dang, they hit the nail right in the head, didn't they? Tone King, your reviews came a long way man, kudos to you sir, this was extremely informative, the amp sounded really good, and your editing improved too! :) Keep rocking man
Thanks Tone King I just got one and I like how you demostraight how it supposed to work mine says it's cascaded on the two high channels left & right channels at top of panel
Hello Tone King, I really want to thank you for teaching us all about this amp. I just got mine today and the owners manual is not written in depth enough and does not enplane the 4 channels properly. I looked here and found out what I needed to know. I thank you again. -Peter As I said, I just received my new Bugera 1960 Infinium from Sweetwater this morning, New Years Eve Day. It sure took me a long time to make up my mind. I let my politics make decisions for me many times and I always feel every dollar from me goes to fund China's Military and world domination plans. However, I'm on my second full studio/band room and at age 69 I am not working and so my retirement money is enough for us, it is not always enough to purchase the very best, most like items. So lately this week, 2 out of my last 3 purchases have been decided by money and not brand names. I ordered a Bugera T50 Infinium which is turning out to be a sweet amp, I really like it. Next I purchased the Bugera 1960 Infinium, I just accepted the FedEX delivery and brought her in right now from the December cold and I am allowing it to become room temperature acclimated. Last night I ordered an Ampeg Bass speaker cabinet the SVT-15E and it cost more than the Bugera 1960. I would not compromise on the bass cab in my studio. I already have 11 tube guitar amps and a good Ampeg bass combo amp the BA-210Av2. The Ampeg 15E should compliment that amp perfectly.Also I can use the 1960 as a tube amp bass head. I had one of the Ampeg 15E cabs in my first studio/music room along with 4 other bass cabs and the Ampeg SVT CL Classic 300 watt tube bass head. So I know how good the Ampeg SVT-15E bass cab is! Before all this I purchased a new Fender '59 Bassman LTD and also the D'Angellico Greatful Dead special Semihollow ES-335 type guitar and it's really nice and I am so very glad I did and the Bugera -T50 Infium guitar amp. All for what the Marshall JTM45 cost me! Before that in October 2019 I had purchased a Marshall 2245/JTM45 it was the best sounding amplifier and the tone was the best that I have ever played through. Unfortunately it had issues as in cascading roaring noise every once in a while. I tried replacing a preamp tube and even put a new tube in V1 and then moving it in each position it did not help. I sent it back. The second JTM45 also was also the nicest sounding guitar amp that I have ever played through. Wonerful tone and early break up and loud if I wanted loud. Good for Jimi Hendrix, Rock, Jazz and Blues-very veritile amp. Unfortunately it died within two weeks. I did not seek a third JTM45. That's why and when I got a new Fender '59 Bassman and the Bugera T50 and the D'Angellico Greatful Dead guitar-all for the price on one Marshall JTM45. So anyway being short on cash because I am retired and having to use the 48 months Sweetwater card again. I ordered two Chinese products, hey I'm turning 70 in 3 months and money is short. I guess I am now considered to be in the semi poor class. So basically I can now only afford for the most part Chinese goods. That is a turn off so perhaps I am finally finished with my studio. It has over $20,000 invested in it over the last 10 years. I still have two Marshall tube amps so I'm set. I hope my Bugera's work out. If the 1960 can get me the JTM45 tone then I am a happy man. I'll know in a few day's. It may take a few day's to dial in the tone, or maybe not and it might sound great on first play! I'll say one thing - it's big and heavy, almost as heavy as my old Marshall JCM 900 MkIII Head which was around 15 lbs heaver at 75 lbs if my memory serves me well. The 1960 is 49 lbs and it is big. I'm powering up my new Bugera 1960 as soon as I post this comment. Hey it's New Years Eve Day everybody so I'll end this chapter in a novel by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in 2020! -Peter OK so the 1960 works. I used it as a bass head at 8 0hms and a 15" P.A. cab with a frettless bass using flat wounds and it sounds really strong and clean. The 1st. channel has a lot of hiss so I'm using the second channel. Now I'm running her at 4 ohms through a stack of guitar speakers. When the tubes burn in which could take 24 hours of operation that's when the tone will really reveal itself to me. So far I'm using a Tele and it sounds strong but I'll have to play her more than 2 min. before I can comment on the tone. So Ill be back. My wife is kind of punishing me for the purchase, wait until I get the Ampeg -15E bass cab. Oh-la la am I gonna hear it! She's right of course.
Ha ha, I forgot to turn up the EQ knobs, bass, mid and treble were all set to zero so that's why I did not say I was impressed with the guitar tone. Yes when I played my bass guitar I had the EQ set to the middle. I lowered them, put the amp on standby and changed from the 8 ohm 15" P.A. speaker to the two 8 ohm guitar cabs (total 4 ohms) and plugged in my Telle. That's when I forgot to use the EQ. Instead I took her off of standy and played. My wife needs me so I shall come back and let you know if she has the Marshall Plexi JTM45 sound or not. -Peter
Ok, so no it is not a Plexi like my 2245/JTM45. It's louder and missing the low frequencies "TONE", when set to the exact identical settings. Give me time to experiment as this is a 100 watt EL34 (special large bottle EL34's) amp with 4 power tubes and my Marshall was a 30 watt JTM45 Plexi style with two 5881 power tubes and a tube rectifier. I may be able to dial it in. Also I feel the Bugera 1960 is more closer to the 100 watt Marshal Plexi which I have never played through, but it's not a JTM 45. The hiss on channel 1 is not there in a Marshall JTM 45. and the bas is not as rich as a JTM 45. That's my initial impressions. I am making this summation because I purchased this amp fro two reasons. First to have a JTM 45 Tone and second to have a powerful tuba amp bass head and for the second reason it's $648 very well spent. As far as a guitar amp I feel the 1960 can stand on it's pwn merits so I like it. That's it. I like the Bugera 1960 Infinium. -Peter
Using the Post Phase Inverter and raising the volumes past midway and setting the amp on it's low gain setting which is the guitar input bottom right corner, I can get break up without deafening loudness. It's a compromise and I like the breakup of the JTM45 much better. But hey, I have less than 30 min playing tome on this amp and that's not enough time to learn how to obtain the sounds I want. To be able to get break up from a 100/150 watt EL34 tube amp at non deafening levels is acceptable even if it is not as tone filled as my JTM 45 (that did not work out for me because I had two of them that had issues and had to be sent back). Hence I purchased the 1960. I think I'll be very very happy with this amp. I hope that I can achieve the JTM 45 Tone.
Using the master volume on the back, is it possible to get gain sounds (Demo 3 & 4) on lower bedroom volumes? Not exactly sure if I understood this correctly.
I now play through a full stack of (2) 412 Marshall cabs 16 Ohms each for a total impedance of 8 ohms. Today I am substituting (2) 5881 power tubes in the center positions and have removed all 4 of the EL34B power tubes. I have set the amps impedance selector switch at 4 ohms because you must divide the impedance by 2 when only using two power tubes. Still not getting my Marshall JTM 45 sounds, but I have had three (3) brand new Marshall JTM 45's and every single one had problems within 10 days. Looks like some day I shall purchase my 4th. Marshall JTM 45 because that tone is what I want to hear. - Peter age 73
That is really interesting. I wanted Eddie Van Halen plex tones and Jimmy page Zep tones and the 1960 comes pretty close using old celestion speakers, I think that is a huge part of the tone because I've already got the perfect guitars for each tone but maybe I need an attenuator.
man they just dont sound like some modded marshalls ive heard and the guy who did my fave mod(mark abrahamian) of Rockstah passed away not long ago.He played for mickey thomas and starship and his mods were like early vanhalen to the max.Miss u Mark
It's well worth the money.I love it.They nailed the Plexi sound and the Rhoads mod is spot on. I hope Bugera have worked out all their bugs,they don't have a good reputation for reliablity.Anyway,your not gonna find a head this nice with all the features for under $500,anything else will cost you well over a grand.
Great demo dude! very in depth i like that, how would you say the overall quality of the amp is, and i dont mean just the build, does it sound awesome at high volume and how long do you think the amp will last me? thanks!
Love amps with old-school vibe, so was very interested to see this. That cascaded gain mod is killer. Small gripe: I would've loved to hear how it reacts to volume knob adjustments on the guitar and I would've loved to hear the cascaded gain "low" input.
Sounds just like a Marshall Plexi. The Mods you have had done on this amp is fantastic I love the fact that there is a master volume on the back basically an attenuator very cool. TK you have been practicing your Modes I see much cleaner picking and nice definition brother. I love the Washburn. Washburn took over Parker Guitars. I have a Parker and love it. Washburn has the composite neck so no adjustments are ever needed. The Washburn looks very similar to my Dean MAB3 in Metallic Red Rock On!
You just may have sold me on this amp....I presently have 7 amps...fender, orange,, 2- all tube with Celestions...12 inch...but I think this amp will do what I want.
This is an extremely powerful amp... could I use the master volume mod like an attenuator/power soak to allow me to use it at home volume levels without the neighbors freaking out?
From Elmo Karjalainen Channels comment section infectionsman 1 year ago (edited) Great plaing, Elmo! This amp is 100watts. It is the same circuit as a Marshall 1959. 4x el34 at 25w per tube in push pull Class AB. And you should not need to jumper the channels. If you are plugged in the upper left input, then it automatically jumpers the channels in parallel. This amp wont work properly if you put a jumper cable because: If you plug into the lower left input, then it will connect the channels in series aka "cascaded channels" or "Randy Rhoads mod". Basically you get an extra preamp stage. Also, you dont need a volume in the loop. This amp already has a PPIMV control on the back that can take it down almost to bedroom level. If it is too loud and you need it to break up earlier at lower volumes, then you can pull tubes: Remove either the outer OR inner pair of output tubes. (remove tubes 1&4 OR 2&3) And then set the impedance selector to half the speaker value (example: set amp to 8 ohms if you have a 16 ohm cab). I recommend putting some tape over the old values of the switch and writing "32-16-8 ohm" on it so that no accidents happen. The amp will be 50w now. And the amp biases automatically, by a built in chip. It also works well with cheap attenuators like the Jettenuator or Bugera PS1, but those attenuators are rated incorrectly. In reality they can only take about 50w. But they work great with this amp if you pull tubes.
So to be sure,.. At the end you had the amp turned and showing pedal into the return But then you disconnected from return and plugged into the cascade 1 input?
One question, I just purchased a basically 2 hour old used amp. When I leave the Standby switch on or Turn the Standby switch on before the power switch, should the pilot light come on/ stay on when main is turned off?
Pulled the trigger man! $300 shipped to NY. Just hope I like it. I play a Mesa Mark V and Dual Watt Recto. Your clips sound great though gain wise with the master volume mod.
I nearly bought the 6260 but got a peavey 6505 used but nearly new instead. The bugera amps do seem awesome but surely the cost must show in some way. I know the 6505s stand up to heavy giging and traveling abuse well, i wonder how the bugeras fare? Maybe someone gigs them regularly can let us know.
hey ttk, really liked the review. looking into this amp as also wanna run my hd500 thru it. i've heard bugera's having reliablility issues. have you found any problems with that?? thx..
what are you adjusting the vol. with off camera if i turn my amp up to 6.5, 7 i cant set in the same room whats a pedal on top i get feedback like crazy on 3.5
+The Tone King i have a question: Is it possibe to run the 1960 infinium with only one 25w speaker if 2 tubes are pulled, and the volume is set to an appropriate level using the PPIMV?
+infectionsman That is extremely risky; look for a higher wattage version of your speaker (e.g. if your speaker is a Greenback, then check out the 50W WGS Invader).
***** Its ok i have a G12T-75w, i was just thinking if it would work on low volume levels, since the PPIMV would allow significant reduction. If i were to turn it down to a volume level audibly lower than my 15w Vox AC that has a 25w greenback.
This is such a great demo! You convinced me that this is the amp I am looking for. Quick question...the master volume on the back...can I keep it low and then turn up the volume channels on the front and get a shed tone at low volume? The reason why I'm asking this is because my neighbor is 90 yrs old and calls the cops if I fart too loud. Please let me know!
to a cetain extent yes. if not you can actually run a volume pedal through the effects loop in order to get bedroom volume without effecting any of your tone.
I watched the price drop on the Bugera 1960 INFINIUM over the last 24 hours from $388.92, down to $335.63, plus Amazon has a sale going with an additional 15% off. So I just ordered one for $285.29 - no tax/free shipping. Who knows, they may drop the price even more.
Toneking, we all appreciate your efforts on the gear review front but can you do a video on your recording chain? I ask because in most cases it really really sounds bad man!! give us a tour of your setup so we can offer constructive criticism and get you the quality you need to really make these demos shine.
just got mine. was wondering if you have ever used this amp with a multi effects units boss me-80 or fender mustang floor and if so whats the best way of connecting them to the amp? ergo directly to front input or via send/return effects loop?
question for you... i just got this awesome amp today.. a world of difference from my line 6 spider hd150. in as brief an instruction set as possible, with a boss gt8 that i go into, what is the best way to hook the amp to the gt8 to get the best tone/feature set. appreciate it. i know there are several ways..just clear it up for me. i play everything from jazz to metal and get all my sound from my gt8.. with that, i beg off to your immense judgement. thanks in advance
Would old tubes make this amp sound fizzy/Fuzzy? I bought mine from a guy who had broken the outputs but I got it working. The tubes are in questionable shape.
I got one of these and I like it but whenever I try the cascaded gain part or even the upper left and crank it it's just very brittle sounding and not much gain. Thoughts?
Hey TTK I have the 1960I on order from AMS but eventually I'm thinking of parring it with a Digitech RP 1000 do you think this would be a good combination, and can I get the same tube tone, if possible can you do a short video with this combo?
hey. i have that same setup that you mentioned, rp1000 and the infinium. i am so LOST on this 4 cable method when connecting to this amp. IS it necessary to use the 4cm with this mfx unit and this amp? or is it better to just go straight from the mono out of the 1000 into either the return as in the video which i can then use the vol mod, or into the front using the preamp..all with just the main out from the rep1000? thats whats confusing. is the 4cm necessary to use on the rp1000 with THIS particular amp or is it just better to from the main out on the 1000? it confuses the crap out of me and after hooking it up with the 4cm as described in the rp1000 manual, i cant figure out why volume levels are all over the place and after using the 4cm and this amp, what signals are going where in this amp? i tend to think, that because of the way this amp is set up, maybe the 4cm is NOT necessary? please get back to me. i am not a newbie, actually rather semi pro/pro but never used this gear in this method with this type of amp...exactly, this amp. thank you
Hey man great video ! tell me, i'm hearing a lot about Bugera being a cheap brand that makes good amplifier which won't last more than 1 month etc... is that true ? how are your Bugera amplifiers doing ? did you have any problem with them ?
great demo with a lot of interesting feats on this newer Bugera 1960 Infinium! So no transformer failures anymore??!! which were the main problems with some of Bugera hi-gain tube amps like the 6260 and 6262.
The circuit of that amp has been very well studied, better than than a Marshall 1959 but it's made with cheap components. An interesting point with such a low budget amp is you can upgrade it using better components and some corrections, maybe on a point to point board if you like and finally get a true top amp. I already made this in a cheap €350 Blackheart BH100H and for true got a kind of a Splawn amp.
Hey I looked but didn't find another question about why you feel having the capacitors on the inside of the amp is a safety feature. isn't the only risk going to be when the leads (right word?) are exposed? I'm just getting into electronics in the past year or so, so this really is a question, not a criticism.
Caps will store electricity, A LOT of it and will kill you even days after the power is pulled (depending on size, bare feet in water etc). I got a huge scar from a ham radio cap, take it from me they are safer away from even an accidental brush,,
i was listening to some clips on sound cloud and i''m wondering what would it sound like if you got an radial aby and combined the parallel and cascade modes together on the 1960? i think you'd be the best to ask. could you do a demo of this?
I don't think that's possible. The parallel mode basically bridges two inputs together, essentially allowing you to plug your guitar into two slightly different amps. The series mod, however, takes the output of one preamp, sends it to the input of the other preamp, and sends that signal to the power amp.
all the reviews i find on this amp are guys playing shred style gits and licks we need to hear a les paul playing say some zepplin with some very fine tonal adjustments then will get to hear what this amp is capable of.otherwise very informative mate
Would it be possible to plug in an iPod or mp3 into the FX loop and the power section, like you used the Soldano SuperCharger in the the power section?? Assuming of course i had a 1/8th" to 1/4th" adapter plug
The QA and reliability issues were addressed and closed when "Music Group" (Uli Behringer) acquired (bought out) Bugera in 2009. They openly admitted to addressing the inconsistency in quality control and tightened controls on logistical standardization on components - which was the heart of the reliability problems. I've been following the issue closely because I have a lot of Bugera and Behringer gear getting rough road treatment and standing up well. Both are now under Music Group Corp.
😂 15 years later and I've still got a working first edition 1960. And it's pretty freaking loud !
I'm lusting for this amp. Your review and demo is spot on for a "real world" potential buyer to see what the amp sounds like. Your demos are very useful for this and I thank you for your work.
I just ordered this amp and have lost sleep over waiting for it to arrive!!!! your demo's have always been a great help thanks for all the wonderful info on these great products!!!
so excited to get mine, after years of fawning over this im finally going to be ordering one on friday
How did it work out for you?
I have been watching TTK for at least 5 years. I was first exposed to this amp here. I keep comming back to this review. I got my own Bugera 1960 Inf. in January 2020. This is the best review on RUclips of this amp.
Thank you for a GREAT insight on amps. Don't pay any attention to people who are negative, what you are doing is a cool thing no question. Keep up the good work. Jeff Cullen
CIRCUS BAND OFFICIAL Thank you Circus Band! Appreciate it very much!
***** hi, nice video, is this a good amp for heavy metal?
early 80 s heavy metal can be but not for todays heavy metal. for this you need different type. hi gain amp like 6262 bugera (copy of 6105 plus peavey) but its very good for rock n roll and sound like led zeppelin.
Man !!!!! I have this amp in infinium version!!!!!!!! it is very good but dont in newtypes of metal( in my opinion)
yeah yeah, and grindcore on fender twin;-) and Malmsteen play on the Bugera amps;-) dont be kidding.single coil is not bad in metal. Malmsteen is solo guitarist!!!!!!!!!!!!!And play in very 80's style(neoclasical things).Show me when he play some new metal style riffs. You think why Bugera and other made different amps??????????? You deffinitly plays like Malmsteen , yeah......ha ha;-)yes you can play on that amp heavy but for what when you can buy more hi gain amp special for this??????????I play on scene from 25 years and i know what i say.WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!
Watched over and over,finally decided to buy one.It will be here tomorrow friday 6/14 along with an orange micro terror mt20.Thanks to your reviews I can try before I buy.Thanks for everything you do for us gear heads.Cheers.
About 5 bassplayers I know bought the 1960 Infinium for bass instead of an Ampeg V4b Ri.
Only slight modifications in the Front end had to be done. Some used it as poweramp for a bass preamp like the Ampes SVP Pro.
It worked wonderfull.
For the really informative videos you, Tone King, make, you don't get anywhere enough viewers. I would recommend that anyone who is looking to buy a guitar amp, new or used, that they watch ALL your videos first. As this video demonstrates, with clone makers like Buger/Behringer one can buy new cheap instead of getting skinned in the "rare vintage original" market. All hail the King of Tone!
I've had this amp for the past 6+ years and I'm still in love with it. Kinda weird to use when you're playing punk/hardcore/emo/indie-rock but you get the right pedals and you're set.
Been following this amp since its inception mostly thanks to you. I'm so very excited its out and will be picking it up. To bad you don't get commission for a sale. Thanks for all you do.
I just got this amp and I thought I was tuck in the clean channel but now I know what to do! Thanks!
Thanks! This is the most comprehensive review of this amp. I had been thinking of the 1990 but now with the built in mods to this I am thinking this would work even better. I play mostly classic rock and use pedals for overdrive and distortion.
finally a proper review on this amp. Thanks, keep up the great work!!!
Thank you for this very thorough rundown of the amp and it's features. I recently purchased one of these so this really helped.
I like that lower left channel1 ,channel 2 series input. Great demo TK, Thank You!
The Amazon price for the Bugera 1960 Infinium is back up to $499.99, but they still have 15% off. Glad I was able to grab one when I did.
Talk about fast shipping! I got the Bugera 1960 Infinium amp today along with a Dime D100 I ordered almost 2 weeks ago for $269.84 - Both great deals! Spent $555.13 total for both amps. Now I just have to wait for them to thaw-out so I can try them out. I was actually worried that the winter storm would keep me from receiving them before Christmas.
i use the cascaded low input on the right side bottom. to me its the most articulate and authentic plexi vibe and takes pedals the best. the other channels are either more muddy or just don't get enough highs and mids. this amp takes pedals as good as any boutique amp costing 6x as much.
I like bassman inspired upper right input, killer cleans for a plexi clone
Thanks bud! This was extremely helpful compared to any other video out here for this amp!
Great demo, very detailed. I bought the head and matching cab before the price took off. It's a great clean amp for my style. My only complaint is the material covering the wood on the head is separating from the wood. Easily enough fixed with better glue and metal corners added. The manual says the head weighs in at 49Ibs. It feels more like 100Ibs.
Fender Bassman and Bassman LTD Reissue both also have the four (4) inputs with cascading gain.
Tone King,you ROCK!very detailed breakdown of the that plexiglass style amp,thx!
Really great demo. Really insightful information. I've enjoyed watching and learning. It's going to be in my collection soon.
Love your reviews ! Keep it up !! EXCELLENT and many thanks for Sharing !!!
Why did you edit out the part where the tube light started blinking? I would have liked to know what the problem was and how you fixed it. I want a real representation of this amp including the quality, and whether or not tubes go bad after 5 minutes of playing.
Yeah I caught that too.
WOW! This is really quite impressive, off the top of my head I can't even think of an amp, at any price range, which does all of this. Dang, they hit the nail right in the head, didn't they?
Tone King, your reviews came a long way man, kudos to you sir, this was extremely informative, the amp sounded really good, and your editing improved too! :)
Keep rocking man
Yea same here. I was about to buy a 1990 Bugera but went with a used JSX in great condition because I know Peavey's are tough for gigging.
Thanks Tone King I just got one and I like how you demostraight how it supposed to work mine says it's cascaded on the two high channels left & right channels at top of panel
This guy is the Patton Oswald of gear
Hello Tone King, I really want to thank you for teaching us all about this amp. I just got mine today and the owners manual is not written in depth enough and does not enplane the 4 channels properly. I looked here and found out what I needed to know. I thank you again. -Peter
As I said, I just received my new Bugera 1960 Infinium from Sweetwater this morning, New Years Eve Day. It sure took me a long time to make up my mind. I let my politics make decisions for me many times and I always feel every dollar from me goes to fund China's Military and world domination plans. However, I'm on my second full studio/band room and at age 69 I am not working and so my retirement money is enough for us, it is not always enough to purchase the very best, most like items. So lately this week, 2 out of my last 3 purchases have been decided by money and not brand names.
I ordered a Bugera T50 Infinium which is turning out to be a sweet amp, I really like it. Next I purchased the Bugera 1960 Infinium, I just accepted the FedEX delivery and brought her in right now from the December cold and I am allowing it to become room temperature acclimated.
Last night I ordered an Ampeg Bass speaker cabinet the SVT-15E and it cost more than the Bugera 1960. I would not compromise on the bass cab in my studio. I already have 11 tube guitar amps and a good Ampeg bass combo amp the BA-210Av2. The Ampeg 15E should compliment that amp perfectly.Also I can use the 1960 as a tube amp bass head. I had one of the Ampeg 15E cabs in my first studio/music room along with 4 other bass cabs and the Ampeg SVT CL Classic 300 watt tube bass head. So I know how good the Ampeg SVT-15E bass cab is!
Before all this I purchased a new Fender '59 Bassman LTD and also the D'Angellico Greatful Dead special Semihollow ES-335 type guitar and it's really nice and I am so very glad I did and the Bugera -T50 Infium guitar amp. All for what the Marshall JTM45 cost me!
Before that in October 2019 I had purchased a Marshall 2245/JTM45 it was the best sounding amplifier and the tone was the best that I have ever played through. Unfortunately it had issues as in cascading roaring noise every once in a while. I tried replacing a preamp tube and even put a new tube in V1 and then moving it in each position it did not help. I sent it back. The second JTM45 also was also the nicest sounding guitar amp that I have ever played through. Wonerful tone and early break up and loud if I wanted loud. Good for Jimi Hendrix, Rock, Jazz and Blues-very veritile amp. Unfortunately it died within two weeks. I did not seek a third JTM45. That's why and when I got a new Fender '59 Bassman and the Bugera T50 and the D'Angellico Greatful Dead guitar-all for the price on one Marshall JTM45.
So anyway being short on cash because I am retired and having to use the 48 months Sweetwater card again. I ordered two Chinese products, hey I'm turning 70 in 3 months and money is short. I guess I am now considered to be in the semi poor class. So basically I can now only afford for the most part Chinese goods. That is a turn off so perhaps I am finally finished with my studio. It has over $20,000 invested in it over the last 10 years. I still have two Marshall tube amps so I'm set.
I hope my Bugera's work out. If the 1960 can get me the JTM45 tone then I am a happy man. I'll know in a few day's. It may take a few day's to dial in the tone, or maybe not and it might sound great on first play! I'll say one thing - it's big and heavy, almost as heavy as my old Marshall JCM 900 MkIII Head which was around 15 lbs heaver at 75 lbs if my memory serves me well. The 1960 is 49 lbs and it is big. I'm powering up my new Bugera 1960 as soon as I post this comment.
Hey it's New Years Eve Day everybody so I'll end this chapter in a novel by wishing everyone a very Happy New Year in 2020!
-Peter
OK so the 1960 works. I used it as a bass head at 8 0hms and a 15" P.A. cab with a frettless bass using flat wounds and it sounds really strong and clean. The 1st. channel has a lot of hiss so I'm using the second channel. Now I'm running her at 4 ohms through a stack of guitar speakers. When the tubes burn in which could take 24 hours of operation that's when the tone will really reveal itself to me. So far I'm using a Tele and it sounds strong but I'll have to play her more than 2 min. before I can comment on the tone. So Ill be back.
My wife is kind of punishing me for the purchase, wait until I get the Ampeg -15E bass cab. Oh-la la am I gonna hear it! She's right of course.
Ha ha, I forgot to turn up the EQ knobs, bass, mid and treble were all set to zero so that's why I did not say I was impressed with the guitar tone. Yes when I played my bass guitar I had the EQ set to the middle. I lowered them, put the amp on standby and changed from the 8 ohm 15" P.A. speaker to the two 8 ohm guitar cabs (total 4 ohms) and plugged in my Telle. That's when I forgot to use the EQ. Instead I took her off of standy and played. My wife needs me so I shall come back and let you know if she has the Marshall Plexi JTM45 sound or not. -Peter
Ok, so no it is not a Plexi like my 2245/JTM45. It's louder and missing the low frequencies "TONE", when set to the exact identical settings. Give me time to experiment as this is a 100 watt EL34 (special large bottle EL34's) amp with 4 power tubes and my Marshall was a 30 watt JTM45 Plexi style with two 5881 power tubes and a tube rectifier. I may be able to dial it in. Also I feel the Bugera 1960 is more closer to the 100 watt Marshal Plexi which I have never played through, but it's not a JTM 45. The hiss on channel 1 is not there in a Marshall JTM 45. and the bas is not as rich as a JTM 45. That's my initial impressions. I am making this summation because I purchased this amp fro two reasons. First to have a JTM 45 Tone and second to have a powerful tuba amp bass head and for the second reason it's $648 very well spent. As far as a guitar amp I feel the 1960 can stand on it's pwn merits so I like it. That's it. I like the Bugera 1960 Infinium. -Peter
Using the Post Phase Inverter and raising the volumes past midway and setting the amp on it's low gain setting which is the guitar input bottom right corner, I can get break up without deafening loudness. It's a compromise and I like the breakup of the JTM45 much better. But hey, I have less than 30 min playing tome on this amp and that's not enough time to learn how to obtain the sounds I want. To be able to get break up from a 100/150 watt EL34 tube amp at non deafening levels is acceptable even if it is not as tone filled as my JTM 45 (that did not work out for me because I had two of them that had issues and had to be sent back). Hence I purchased the 1960. I think I'll be very very happy with this amp. I hope that I can achieve the JTM 45 Tone.
Switched to my Start and now the 1960 is sounding a lot more like my Marshall JTM45. Tubes not even burned in yet. I'm happy!
Thanks for a great explanation of all features....
Great review! I just came across this vid and love the way the Bugera amps are sounding! Thanks dude!
Using the master volume on the back, is it possible to get gain sounds (Demo 3 & 4) on lower bedroom volumes? Not exactly sure if I understood this correctly.
I really like the clean ! Thanks for your video, keep doing ;)
I have been waiting a long time for a review on this, thank you and rock on!
I now play through a full stack of (2) 412 Marshall cabs 16 Ohms each for a total impedance of 8 ohms. Today I am substituting (2) 5881 power tubes in the center positions and have removed all 4 of the EL34B power tubes. I have set the amps impedance selector switch at 4 ohms because you must divide the impedance by 2 when only using two power tubes. Still not getting my Marshall JTM 45 sounds, but I have had three (3) brand new Marshall JTM 45's and every single one had problems within 10 days.
Looks like some day I shall purchase my 4th. Marshall JTM 45 because that tone is what I want to hear. - Peter age 73
That is really interesting. I wanted Eddie Van Halen plex tones and Jimmy page Zep tones and the 1960 comes pretty close using old celestion speakers, I think that is a huge part of the tone because I've already got the perfect guitars for each tone but maybe I need an attenuator.
Love this demo! I'm a little confused though, is it just yours that is 'modded'? Or is the one your using the stock amp I could buy?
Thanks
just my opinion but the distortion sounds like a cheap fuzz
It's the way he sets it, I don't like his sound, it might his micing, I'm not sure. Its a great amp though
Billy Manilly so the amp doesn't sound that muddy all the time?
No way, it cuts like a knife
that's exactly why i want this amp
Agreed…
Sounds like a can full of bees.
man they just dont sound like some modded marshalls ive heard and the guy who did my fave mod(mark abrahamian) of Rockstah passed away not long ago.He played for mickey thomas and starship and his mods were like early vanhalen to the max.Miss u Mark
I feel that this amp would be good for.begginers like me to learn more about amp function, and history.
Thoughts?
This amp is great it sounds amazingly close to the 59' SLP which it's meant to replicate.
It's well worth the money.I love it.They nailed the Plexi sound and the Rhoads mod is spot on. I hope Bugera have worked out all their bugs,they don't have a good reputation for reliablity.Anyway,your not gonna find a head this nice with all the features for under $500,anything else will cost you well over a grand.
Great demo dude! very in depth i like that, how would you say the overall quality of the amp is, and i dont mean just the build, does it sound awesome at high volume and how long do you think the amp will last me? thanks!
Love amps with old-school vibe, so was very interested to see this. That cascaded gain mod is killer. Small gripe: I would've loved to hear how it reacts to volume knob adjustments on the guitar and I would've loved to hear the cascaded gain "low" input.
Sounds just like a Marshall Plexi. The Mods you have had done on this amp is fantastic I love the fact that there is a master volume on the back basically an attenuator very cool. TK you have been practicing your Modes I see much cleaner picking and nice definition brother. I love the Washburn. Washburn took over Parker Guitars. I have a Parker and love it. Washburn has the composite neck so no adjustments are ever needed. The Washburn looks very similar to my Dean MAB3 in Metallic Red Rock On!
Great review! Is there a provision for Line out for recording or to add into a PA? Can the send/return be used in anyway for line out recording?
You just may have sold me on this amp....I presently have 7 amps...fender, orange,, 2- all tube with Celestions...12 inch...but I think this amp will do what I want.
fantastic review man! could you tell me which channel has the most gain on tap? or rather what input setting has the most gain on tap
This is an extremely powerful amp... could I use the master volume mod like an attenuator/power soak to allow me to use it at home volume levels without the neighbors freaking out?
From Elmo
Karjalainen Channels comment section
infectionsman
1 year ago (edited)
Great plaing, Elmo!
This amp is 100watts. It is the same circuit as a Marshall 1959. 4x el34 at 25w per tube in push pull Class AB.
And you should not need to jumper the channels. If you are plugged in the upper left input, then it automatically jumpers the channels in parallel. This amp wont work properly if you put a jumper cable because:
If you plug into the lower left input, then it will connect the channels in series aka "cascaded channels" or "Randy Rhoads mod". Basically you get an extra preamp stage.
Also, you dont need a volume in the loop. This amp already has a PPIMV control on the back that can take it down almost to bedroom level.
If it is too loud and you need it to break up earlier at lower volumes, then you can pull tubes: Remove either the outer OR inner pair of output tubes. (remove tubes 1&4 OR 2&3) And then set the impedance selector to half the speaker value (example: set amp to 8 ohms if you have a 16 ohm cab). I recommend putting some tape over the old values of the switch and writing "32-16-8 ohm" on it so that no accidents happen. The amp will be 50w now. And the amp biases automatically, by a built in chip.
It also works well with cheap attenuators like the Jettenuator or Bugera PS1, but those attenuators are rated incorrectly. In reality they can only take about 50w. But they work great with this amp if you pull tubes.
To me the RR cascade channel sounded best and then the pedal added sounded great.
Good demo TK :-)
Great!
like in the old times :-)
Missed your reviews for a long time ;-)
thank you
So to be sure,..
At the end you had the amp turned and showing pedal into the return
But then you disconnected from return and plugged into the cascade 1 input?
It sounds like his guitars tone knob is on 0 the whole time I mean damn
One question, I just purchased a basically 2 hour old used amp. When I leave the Standby switch on or Turn the Standby switch on before the power switch, should the pilot light come on/ stay on when main is turned off?
Hey TTK, very informative and complete review thanx! even though I don't like the sound of the amp very much, keep'em coming ... greetz from Brazil!
Please... Yngwie Malmsteen tone with Bugera 1960 + YJM 308... can you do it for us?
Pulled the trigger man! $300 shipped to NY. Just hope I like it. I play a Mesa Mark V and Dual Watt Recto. Your clips sound great though gain wise with the master volume mod.
sean106alcon . so hows that amp working out for you ?
I nearly bought the 6260 but got a peavey 6505 used but nearly new instead. The bugera amps do seem awesome but surely the cost must show in some way. I know the 6505s stand up to heavy giging and traveling abuse well, i wonder how the bugeras fare? Maybe someone gigs them regularly can let us know.
hey ttk, really liked the review. looking into this amp as also wanna run my hd500 thru it. i've heard bugera's having reliablility issues. have you found any problems with that?? thx..
Great review! I want one,when you started Demo 4 before you tweaked the knobs,got hit with a great Pete Townsend HiWatt tone and then later ZZ Top.
agreed, which is why I wrote 6xxx, indicating their 5150-cloners.
what are you adjusting the vol. with off camera if i turn my amp up to 6.5, 7 i cant set in the same room whats a pedal on top i get feedback like crazy on 3.5
Great video @imsjr . BTW how effective was the master volume? Thanks!
+The Tone King i have a question: Is it possibe to run the 1960 infinium with only one 25w speaker if 2 tubes are pulled, and the volume is set to an appropriate level using the PPIMV?
+infectionsman That is extremely risky; look for a higher wattage version of your speaker (e.g. if your speaker is a Greenback, then check out the 50W WGS Invader).
*****
Its ok i have a G12T-75w, i was just thinking if it would work on low volume levels, since the PPIMV would allow significant reduction. If i were to turn it down to a volume level audibly lower than my 15w Vox AC that has a 25w greenback.
This is such a great demo! You convinced me that this is the amp I am looking for. Quick question...the master volume on the back...can I keep it low and then turn up the volume channels on the front and get a shed tone at low volume? The reason why I'm asking this is because my neighbor is 90 yrs old and calls the cops if I fart too loud. Please let me know!
to a cetain extent yes. if not you can actually run a volume pedal through the effects loop in order to get bedroom volume without effecting any of your tone.
I watched the price drop on the Bugera 1960 INFINIUM over the last 24 hours from $388.92, down to $335.63, plus Amazon has a sale going with an additional 15% off. So I just ordered one for $285.29 - no tax/free shipping. Who knows, they may drop the price even more.
I know this is an old video but I want this head how clean is it? I'm thinking of going the plexi pro co rat route
Nice video as always. Sweet guitar. I missed the make - what is it?
Toneking, we all appreciate your efforts on the gear review front but can you do a video on your recording chain? I ask because in most cases it really really sounds bad man!! give us a tour of your setup so we can offer constructive criticism and get you the quality you need to really make these demos shine.
just got mine. was wondering if you have ever used this amp with a multi effects units boss me-80 or fender mustang floor and if so whats the best way of connecting them to the amp? ergo directly to front input or via send/return effects loop?
question for you... i just got this awesome amp today.. a world of difference from my line 6 spider hd150. in as brief an instruction set as possible, with a boss gt8 that i go into, what is the best way to hook the amp to the gt8 to get the best tone/feature set. appreciate it. i know there are several ways..just clear it up for me. i play everything from jazz to metal and get all my sound from my gt8.. with that, i beg off to your immense judgement. thanks in advance
Would old tubes make this amp sound fizzy/Fuzzy? I bought mine from a guy who had broken the outputs but I got it working. The tubes are in questionable shape.
Superb demo/review - ROCK N ROLL!!!
Can u still pull 2 power tubes, even with master?
Any long term issues supporting or denouncing the peanut gallery claims?
I got one of these and I like it but whenever I try the cascaded gain part or even the upper left and crank it it's just very brittle sounding and not much gain. Thoughts?
Hey TTK I have the 1960I on order from AMS but eventually I'm thinking of parring it with a Digitech RP 1000 do you think this would be a good combination, and can I get the same tube tone, if possible can you do a short video with this combo?
hey. i have that same setup that you mentioned, rp1000 and the infinium. i am so LOST on this 4 cable method when connecting to this amp. IS it necessary to use the 4cm with this mfx unit and this amp? or is it better to just go straight from the mono out of the 1000 into either the return as in the video which i can then use the vol mod, or into the front using the preamp..all with just the main out from the rep1000? thats whats confusing. is the 4cm necessary to use on the rp1000 with THIS particular amp or is it just better to from the main out on the 1000? it confuses the crap out of me and after hooking it up with the 4cm as described in the rp1000 manual, i cant figure out why volume levels are all over the place and after using the 4cm and this amp, what signals are going where in this amp? i tend to think, that because of the way this amp is set up, maybe the 4cm is NOT necessary? please get back to me. i am not a newbie, actually rather semi pro/pro but never used this gear in this method with this type of amp...exactly, this amp. thank you
I must admit thought the tone is a bit muddy but still its a cool video of how this kind of amp works
Does the Channel 1 (Bright) volume pot on the 1960 have the bright cap like the Marshall Plexis have?
Could I use an A/Y box to switch between the normal mode and the cascaded gain mode?
Hey man great video ! tell me, i'm hearing a lot about Bugera being a cheap brand that makes good amplifier which won't last more than 1 month etc... is that true ? how are your Bugera amplifiers doing ? did you have any problem with them ?
great demo with a lot of interesting feats on this newer Bugera 1960 Infinium! So no transformer failures anymore??!! which were the main problems with some of Bugera hi-gain tube amps like the 6260 and 6262.
how good is the headroom on the amp? how long does it stay clean before breaking up? still get loud n clean?
Text me if you have any idea where to find one 1960Bugera infinium 150 watt head
Channel one parallel at high volumes seems like a fuzz,i like a lot the cascade mod;)
If I use the amt pedals on the preamp with this the clean sounds will come through right?
The circuit of that amp has been very well studied, better than than a Marshall 1959 but it's made with cheap components. An interesting point with such a low budget amp is you can upgrade it using better components and some corrections, maybe on a point to point board if you like and finally get a true top amp. I already made this in a cheap €350 Blackheart BH100H and for true got a kind of a Splawn amp.
Thanks TK!
-DP
Than you. Very useful info!
Hey I looked but didn't find another question about why you feel having the capacitors on the inside of the amp is a safety feature. isn't the only risk going to be when the leads (right word?) are exposed? I'm just getting into electronics in the past year or so, so this really is a question, not a criticism.
Caps will store electricity, A LOT of it and will kill you even days after the power is pulled (depending on size, bare feet in water etc). I got a huge scar from a ham radio cap, take it from me they are safer away from even an accidental brush,,
Do you run your gain pedal through the effects loop on return
i was listening to some clips on sound cloud and i''m wondering what would it sound like if you got an radial aby and combined the parallel and cascade modes together on the 1960? i think you'd be the best to ask. could you do a demo of this?
I don't think that's possible. The parallel mode basically bridges two inputs together, essentially allowing you to plug your guitar into two slightly different amps. The series mod, however, takes the output of one preamp, sends it to the input of the other preamp, and sends that signal to the power amp.
Dude. Awsome demo! Thanks.
Great demo man!
Awesome demo bro!!!!
the master volume on the back of the amp doesnt do my amps sound any justice, do you get the same problem ?
Just one question, can I jump the channel, like in the normal Bugera 1960?
all the reviews i find on this amp are guys playing shred style gits and licks we need to hear a les paul playing say some zepplin with some very fine tonal adjustments then will get to hear what this amp is capable of.otherwise very informative mate
with no foot switch, how do you change channels on the fly?
Santos's brining me one can't wait
Would it be possible to plug in an iPod or mp3 into the FX loop and the power section, like you used the Soldano SuperCharger in the the power section?? Assuming of course i had a 1/8th" to 1/4th" adapter plug
How does this compare to the Marshall jubilee?