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Bugera 1960 for bass
- Thread starter Koffelito
- Start date
If you can get your head around the EQ (1-10-1 is flat similar to the old Fender Bassman) it's a V4B class amp.
I own one. I run it through a newer Acoustic BN115 NEO 15. I also own an old mid 70's Fender Dual Showman head too. That gives me something to compare the 1960 to. The build quality on the 1960 is as good as any newer Asian made tube amp. It's solid and pretty clean inside no clutter. PC board type construction. You can forget PTP hand wired with these heads. You'll never find that unless you want to spend HUGE bucks or go vintage. Both are way more expensive than the Bugera 1960. The early versions of the Bugera 100 watt head (pre Infinium) has a reputation for catching fire. I haven't heard of the later Infinium heads burning up.
Sound from the 1960 is way more aggressive and high gain than the Showman head. The 1960 breaks up and comes on quicker whereas the Showman needs cranked up to get dirty and get those power tubes soaked up good. The PI master volume and the channel patch mods on the 1960 really help it get grit at lower volumes than the Showman. My Showman has the push/pull master but I never use it. I'd rather just crank the amp.
In terms of tone. The Fender is everything you either love or hate. I've always been a fan of the Fender tone stack but it does take some getting used to cause flat ain't flat on a Fender as far as the knobs go. The 1960 is British voiced all the way. Really has the old Marshall plexi tone. Very close to the old Marshall Super Bass I once owned. IMO the Fender has more girth and a bit more fatness but you have to push it to get it there. Again IMO the 1960 has the edge in upper mids and highs, has way more gain on tap, and breaks up quicker. Which I've always felt was the difference between a 6L6 american amp and an EL34 British amp.
Don't get me wrong I love the sound of both heads. I've always felt that 100 watts in a tube head is the sweet spot. You can drive the power tubes into saturation at a lower volume and get the full benefit of tube tone. The SVT and the Bassman 300 are killer heads but you really need to get them up to pretty high volume to realize the benefit of saturating the power tubes.
The Bugera 1960 is a sleeper and can be found for very good prices. I've seen them go for as low as $200.00. That's an unheard of price for a 100 watt all tube head. Regardless of where it's made or who makes it. I wouldn't hesitate to get one if you find a good deal. Here's a pic of mine. Funny how the 1960 looks cosmetically very similar to my Epiphone Jr. guitar amp.
Sound from the 1960 is way more aggressive and high gain than the Showman head. The 1960 breaks up and comes on quicker whereas the Showman needs cranked up to get dirty and get those power tubes soaked up good. The PI master volume and the channel patch mods on the 1960 really help it get grit at lower volumes than the Showman. My Showman has the push/pull master but I never use it. I'd rather just crank the amp.
In terms of tone. The Fender is everything you either love or hate. I've always been a fan of the Fender tone stack but it does take some getting used to cause flat ain't flat on a Fender as far as the knobs go. The 1960 is British voiced all the way. Really has the old Marshall plexi tone. Very close to the old Marshall Super Bass I once owned. IMO the Fender has more girth and a bit more fatness but you have to push it to get it there. Again IMO the 1960 has the edge in upper mids and highs, has way more gain on tap, and breaks up quicker. Which I've always felt was the difference between a 6L6 american amp and an EL34 British amp.
Don't get me wrong I love the sound of both heads. I've always felt that 100 watts in a tube head is the sweet spot. You can drive the power tubes into saturation at a lower volume and get the full benefit of tube tone. The SVT and the Bassman 300 are killer heads but you really need to get them up to pretty high volume to realize the benefit of saturating the power tubes.
The Bugera 1960 is a sleeper and can be found for very good prices. I've seen them go for as low as $200.00. That's an unheard of price for a 100 watt all tube head. Regardless of where it's made or who makes it. I wouldn't hesitate to get one if you find a good deal. Here's a pic of mine. Funny how the 1960 looks cosmetically very similar to my Epiphone Jr. guitar amp.
I just got one of the non-infinium for $220. I have to agree that it is a sleeper of a 100W all tube head. If you use the normal channel this amp provides PLENTY of bass, and I use a 5-string.
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I have a question for the non-infinium 1960 owners, or some tube guru's. The manual does not state what the bias should be set to. I have done some research and found that el34's can live between a bias setting of 30-45mV when using a bias probe, but that depends on the plate voltage. I have not been able to find, through research, what the plate voltage is for the Bugera 1960. I have the bias set right now at 35mV and see no cherry plating. Any advice would be great! Thanks
Hi, thanks for that. I actually did come across that thread when researching, but did not see a plate voltage to base the proper bias setting.
Got a question for the owners. I have the 1960 infinium. I run both channels, the bright around 1 or slightly less for presence, and use channel 2 for volume. Channel one produces a fair amount of hiss. At my low volume, it's not bad. I changed the v1 preamp tube to a JJ, hoping to remove some treble brittleness, but the hiss remains. Any tips?
And are the stock Bugera tubes in v1, v2, v3 all identical? Because they are labeled A, B, C. Not noticing much difference in swapping them around in v2, v3....
Thanks
And are the stock Bugera tubes in v1, v2, v3 all identical? Because they are labeled A, B, C. Not noticing much difference in swapping them around in v2, v3....
Thanks
I haven't noticed very much hiss with mine but as it I haven't played it very much lately Just moved into a new house and it's not unpacked yet. As soon as I get a chance I'll try it and let you know.
Anyone experienced issues with reliability with these?
(Now they've been out for a few yrs we should get a better picture of how reliable they are)
(Now they've been out for a few yrs we should get a better picture of how reliable they are)
I’m still thinking on getting one. Would love to hear some long term reviews. Are these able to play clean? Or do they get distorted pretty much always?
Not sure on reliability, but I get great clean volume for moderate size needs with JJ power tubes.
I just bought a used 1960 Infinium and it has the same problem like yours. It has the stock Bugera tubes (preamp and power). I am thinking of replacing the preamp tubes.
Did you solve the problem?
Thanks.
The Epi valve Junior is also an awesome sleeper of a head. It won't do gigs, but it's a great studio toy.
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Mine has J&J power tubes and I put a J&J preamp time in V1. It has some hiss but it's not really noticeable at stage volume and doesn't really go through the mic'd cab. The replaced pre tube didn't really change a whole lot. Sounded good before, still sounds great. It has become my primary amp, and the bandleader has taken a liking to it.
Thanks!
I just ordered J&J power tubes (EL34 II).
And I am planning to do a tonestack mod (cap and resistor).
In this thread there is a link to a program called Tone Stack Calculator.
I installed it on my computer and did some comparising with different values for caps C1 and resistor R1, but I didn't see much difference for the way I am using the tonestack right now (Bass at 5, Mid 6 treble 1).
I will try a 12AT7 as V1 instead of the (stock) 12AX7, less gain so more control range for the volume.
A few years ago I found a cry baby whawha pedal in a pawnshop. Yesterday I removed the electronics of it except for the pot (100k Ohm). I now use the pedal as a "gain" for the preamp.
With the volumes of the 1960 at 1 (volume 1) and 2 (volume 2) and using the upper left input, I can get a clean sound with the pedal just a little bit impressed. With the pedal to the metal (all down) I get a nice distorted sound. No separte distortion pedal needed ;-)
Maybe I replace the pot in the pedal with a 470k pot for more control over the volume/gain.
I installed it on my computer and did some comparising with different values for caps C1 and resistor R1, but I didn't see much difference for the way I am using the tonestack right now (Bass at 5, Mid 6 treble 1).
I will try a 12AT7 as V1 instead of the (stock) 12AX7, less gain so more control range for the volume.
A few years ago I found a cry baby whawha pedal in a pawnshop. Yesterday I removed the electronics of it except for the pot (100k Ohm). I now use the pedal as a "gain" for the preamp.
With the volumes of the 1960 at 1 (volume 1) and 2 (volume 2) and using the upper left input, I can get a clean sound with the pedal just a little bit impressed. With the pedal to the metal (all down) I get a nice distorted sound. No separte distortion pedal needed ;-)
Maybe I replace the pot in the pedal with a 470k pot for more control over the volume/gain.
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