1960 INFINIUM


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by Andy July 20, 2022
Bass Beast
I have an older version I bought used for bass. It is epic. More volume than needed at around 6/7 on the dial. That’s just input 2. Bridging the channels I can’t really take it past 5 and 5 without blowing the drummer away. Truly one of the best bass tones I’ve ever heard. An amp is an amp. Just get the right speakers and it’ll work. I run this head at 4 ohms into a 4 ohm 8x12 SWR cab. It goes hard. THUNDER!!!

by Customer September 15, 2016
Sounds better that it has any right to.
After a long streak of bad luck with relatively high-dollar Mesas, Marshalls, Ceriatone, Orange, Peaveys, and Fenders, I decided to give one of these a shot. Like the title says, it sounds better than it has any right to. My sound is built around a loud, fat, clean amp on the verge of breaking up with a Fuzz Face in front of it. The clean channel on my JSX and the low channel two input on my Ceriatone Super Lead clone were very good at this. Unfortunately, both of those amps have had reliability issues and after unsuccessful repairs I've been on the search for yet another amp. The 1960 is capable of being very loud and staying clean so I can get a nice thick punchy sound with the Fuzz Face. The parallel channel two input works best for this. Parallel channel one feeds both volume controls and is hotter and brighter than two. Both of those inputs sound like total rock and roll with the guitar going straight in and the volume cranked. It's unreasonably loud and not for the faint of heart. Very fun. I don't care for the cascaded input tone. It's pretty harsh and doesn't have the low-mid body of the parallel inputs. When engaged, the master volume seems to cut the power in half even when turned all the way up. The master volume thins out the low end but it allows you to get some pretty saturated JCM800ish sounds. I definitely prefer the sound of the amp with the master disengaged. This isn't the amp for playing at home if you're concerned about your neighbors/wife/kids/pets' well-being. If you're looking for some Plexi vibe on the cheap or if you're like me having come full-circle after blowing up a bunch of more expensive crap this is definitely worth trying out. It's not quite as magical sounding as the Ceriatone, but for the price it's ridiculously good. I haven't tried swapping out tubes yet but I'm looking forward to experimenting with different tubes, pedals and speakers. It seems like a solid platform to build some great tones on. Hopefully it doesn't catch fire or anything.

by Paul Steinbrueck August 17, 2016
Unbelievable
I saw one of these in a music store used. I could not believe the price tag. It looked a lot like my '74 Marshall Super Lead MKII, so I skeptically plugged in and was immediately shocked at how much this amp sounded and "felt" like my old beloved Marshall. Additionally, I purchased a Marshall 1959 SLPX reissue head as a backup to my old faithful Marshall so I would not have to cook my filter caps at gigs. I was very disappointed how much the reissue Marshall did NOT sound like my old metal front Super Lead. Needless to say I bought the Bugera head. When I got it home I began to experiment with it a little bit and found it to have a much wider variety of tones available, due largely to the input jack configuration, and the cascading mode of the inputs. The Post Phase Inverter master volume allows you to get the volume down and achieve some seriously saturated gain (think Blizzard of Ozz). Then I put a mic on it. Just a single SM57. With a little tweaking I was getting "Brown" sounds that were amazing. LOUD LOUD LOUD. With a little more tweaking I was well into Little Wing territory. If you are a serious rock player, you will not find a better sounding amp head... I dare say for any price. Not sure why everyone isn't using this amp.

by Mark King August 10, 2016
A GREAT ALL TUBE AMP
The thing that matters most is tone, that is really all that matters. It does not matter how inexpensive something is if the tone sucks. The Bugera 1960 Infinium has tone for days, this is a great sounding amplifier. I love the preamp section, I really like that the channels are already jumpered for series or parallel operation. I really like that the master volume and effects loop are bypassable, that is how I leave them. I play this head through a Marshall 1960 speaker cabinet loaded with Celestion V30 and it really gets that classic Marshall sound plus a lot more. I've owned over a dozen Marshall heads and currently have a TSL 100 plus seven Mesa Boogie heads (three are dual rectifier models) for comparison. This Bugera is a really great amplifier for recording, that's what I got it for since at 50 pounds it's a bit heavy for me to lug around to gigs. I like the parallel preamp mode for blues, you need to be able to crank the input up to about three-o'clock position and look out, it's gonna be loud, but wow what a great tone. I'm playing a 1980 Les Paul Standard and a 1999 BB King Lucille through it for blues songs and it is a wonderful classic sound this head achieves. Use the preamp in series mode to get that saturated ripping lead guitar tone that was so popular in the late 70's to early 80's, power chords crunch and sustain like you have dreamed of. I owned an original Marshall JCM800 which I bought new in 1981, it was a total one trick pony compared to the Bugera 1960 Infinium. In series mode the 1960 head can get that extremely saturated and long sustaining rock lead tone. For the best sound you need to bypass the Master Volume on the rear, stand back and enjoy the shear madness this amp can unleash. Ok, price, it's an inexpensive head. If you need to spend a lot in order to feel like you got something good then have at the new Marshall reissue heads. We've had a reissue JCM800 here to compare the Bugera 1960 with, everyone (except the owner of the Marshall) thought the Bugera sounded better, richer, fuller than the reissue Marshall. You could buy six of these Bugera 1960 for the price of the Marshall head. I am very happy I found out about this head. It sounds great and it's inexpensive, what a great combination. Good music to everyone!

by Mark King May 26, 2016
BUGERA 1960 SOUNDS LIKE 1970'S HOT RODDED MARSHALL 100 WATT GUITAR HEAD
I bought this amplifier, it was not a freebie or review item. I have a ridiculous number of Mesa Boogie amplifiers, I love them, love their singing sustain, reliability and features. Three of my heads are Dual Rectifier models, two of my favorites are Class A combos and I have some 80's Boogie amps I like for different things. I've owned over 20 different 100 and 50 watt Marshall heads since the mid 70's and five different Hiwatt models (also from the 70's). I play all my heads through Marshall 4x12 cabinets in the studio, I love the low-end whomp these cabinets provide. I'm working on an album that is not sounding right with the amps I currently own so I got to looking for a classic old-school Marshall, not flabby or buzzy, just great rock tone. I had one Marshall head back in 1978 that got this sound but stupidly I sold it. I bought a new JCM 800 Marshall head in 1980, a lot of people like this amp but I thought it was sort of a 1-trick pony and sold it at a profit. That led to my affair with Mesa amplifiers. So I was looking for a Marshall sound, watched a ton of review videos on YouTube, tried several amps locally and I talked to a friend inside Sweetwater who turned me on to this Bugera head. There was an earlier version of this before the Infinium technology was added to the current model. I got mine new, mail order for $352 which was $48 cheaper than Amazon wanted. The day came, the beast arrived, it came in a really large box. After removing the head from the carton it reminded me a lot of an old Hiwatt in the shape and feel of the head. I like that the feet on the Bugera are nice and tall, it easily sits on top of my favorite Mesa 2-channel Dual Rectifier head. I spent several days trying different effects in the effects loop, trying the master volume, trying the various inputs and their configurations. Finally I put a Royer R-121 in front of a Marshall 4x12 in my rear isolation room and did some recording with this head. I love the tone of the 1960 head, it's got that old-school Marshall tone, nothing fizzy or fake, it's the real deal. I prefer it with the master volume bypassed and as others have said, it's L O U D ! ! ! This is why I have two isolation rooms in the rear of my recording studio, so we can play and record amplifiers at loud volumes without blowing out my ears. The 1960 hangs on to notes differently when it's played loud, it's completely different than the distortion built in to most amplifiers, it's the combination of harmonic distortion and sustain from the sheer gain that make this head (and it's vintage Marshall relatives) so desirable. The preamp section of the 1960 is very versatile, it can get crunchy like a vintage JCM800 but it can produce a heavy clean like AC/DC, powerful but not flabby or fizzy chords. I've tried it with my American Standard Stratocaster, 1978 Les Paul, 2004 BB King Lucille and Gibson Flying V with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates and 59 model humbuckers. The Strat was probably my least favorite, the large humbuckers benefit from the bright Marshall sound character, they sustain like crazy and sing on leads. The 1960 weighs almost 50 pounds, I did not buy this amplifier to haul around to gigs, it's way too heavy and large for that but in the studio it's a tone beast and a gem. I love the clarity and beastly sound this amp makes, it's the real sound of rock like we did it back in the 70's, powerful and not too buzzy. With a Strat, an OD808 overdrive and Fulltone MDV-3 pedal in front of the 1960 head you're on your way to a very classic sounding Robin Trower character. I would give this head six stars if Amazon would let me. I have not had time to play with switching power tubes yet, stock the head sounds great and I'm having too much fun recording with it. If you are coveting that vintage Marshall sound or maybe a little bit newer "modded" Marshall sound this head will deliver it in a BIG WAY! For me it's never just about price, this head would suck for $352 or $399 if it sounded bad but since it sounds incredible it is one of those few bargains that are almost too good to be true. If you want that vintage rock tone and can tolerate the volume then just buy this head. Good luck and good music to all!

by Eric D February 11, 2016
Try it before you judge...
I was hesitant to buy yet another Bugera after several previous purchases ended in mixed feelings due to reliability. This is another story altogether. If you have a fever for some old school Marshall tones, save your $$$ on a 1959 RI that sells for 3x to 4x the price and try one of these. I read several reviews and watched all the youtube vids, and will confirm it nails1959 tones and feel. The Infinium tech is useful, but all the other mods are what makes this great. The PPIMV and cascading gain mods are done right and sound great. Despite being advertised @ 150w peak, its actually 100w RMS. Pull two tubes and cut your impedance in half and you have a somewhat manageable beast. Also, despite what some may say, I think its a decent low volume amp. It doesn't need to be at ear splitting volumes (like the previous 1960 amp or a Non Master volume 1959) to sound great. With an OD in front, its RR all day long. It will clean up with your guitar volume like a good 4 hole Marshall should as well. Trust me. I'm an amp snob and owned all the great Marshalls (2204, 1987x, JMP 50, 2205, DSL's, TSL's, Vintage Moderns and more) and wouldn't steer a fellow musician wrong

by timothy power December 21, 2015
bugera 1960 amp head
BEST music company I have ever dealt with never had a half stack now in my 50s and still only play 80s hair band music this head and matching speaker cabinet kicks butt awesome power and with my distortion pedal and zakk wylde wah pedal it is shred heaven love it thanks Sweetwater

by Indian Al October 02, 2015
tube amp head
Great head all tube 159 watts of power great tone out of the box

by Joseph Hulsey June 26, 2015
Vintage tone
I've had this amp cranking for 6 months now. Got it plugged into a EVH 5153 Greenbacked 412. I have to be careful I don't give my cab too much power cause there is more wattage than the cab can handle. However I play this amp very loud and don't baby anything. Where I live I can. I'm using Dimarzio SD's in 2 of my axes and it really accentuates those classic to hard rock era tones that Plexi circuits thrill at. My Srat is a HSS configuration. The NMB sound excellent throughout. The neck pup is round and rich yet biting when you need it to be. Really impressed with how the amp takes the low bass frequencies of the neck and middle and that 5153 holds itself together at the volumes I throw at it. Excellent cab for this amp...and my others especially my Marshall's. You can buy an attenuater and run it flat out or put a clean/OD pedal in front for a bit of a gain boost. Either way mine has sounded excellent. Loop works fine. I'm not a fan of the PPIMV. I prefer the tone more without it but we are talking a very loud amp then. I do like the PPIMV at 8 to 10 and then boosted with my Radial Elevator pedal using the Parallel channel. I mostly stay in the Parallel channel. I play it usually with the PPIMV by passed. I find the Bass channel sounds good with the PPIMV though. It sounds great with the stock tubes. I took the 2 outside El34's out and put in EH 6CA7's. Then I put some of my NOS. 12AX7's in. Just doing some fine tuning for more feel/dynamics. Amp is fine out of the box though. I have lots of spare tubes being a long time tube amp owner so I can experiment when I want. Anyways the auto bias works with the power tubes of course and all has been well. Great Plexi circuit!

by Josh Newton May 18, 2015
sounds great.
can't be beat for the price. sounds great.
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