BUGERA is the hottest new entry in the All-Valve Guitar Amp Arms Race. Look at the list of features and it’s easy to see that this upstart line of all-valve amp heads, combo amps and road-ready speaker cabinets is the answer to tone-crazy guitarists' prayers. The tonal possibilities are simply endless.
BUGERA users live for tone. That’s why we put our valves through some of the most rigorous tests known to man. While many of our competitors test their valves for an hour or so, we burn ours in for an incredible 48 hours and subject them to extreme loads that push them to their limits. Only after they pass this excruciating test, do they move on to the next step.
Maintaining Your Valves:
One of the most important things is making sure your power valves are correctly biased. Rest assured this does not mean convincing your valves to root for your favorite football team or to vote yes for a new freeway. When it comes to valves, biasing is the process of making sure the correct voltage is running through them. As you use your valves, the bias requirements can change, so having them inspected every six to twelve months can help you maintain a rich valve tone.
Be sure to get an experienced professional to do this because a little bit of error can make a big difference, and a big error can cut your power valves' lives extremely short. Your preamp valves, on the other hand, don't need to be biased.
Another thing to remember about valves is that they get warm when in use. To keep them performing longer, be sure to keep the valves cool when you're not using the amp. Keep your valves out of direct sunlight. You should also give them a quick rubdown with a cloth when they've had a chance to cool down after use. It's also important to make sure the speaker impedance is in line with what the amp is built to handle. Otherwise, overheating can take place.
Another thing to remember about valves is that they get warm when in use. To keep them performing longer, be sure to keep the valves cool when you're not using the amp. Keep your valves out of direct sunlight. You should also give them a quick rubdown with a cloth when they've had a chance to cool down after use. It's also important to make sure the speaker impedance is in line with what the amp is built to handle. Otherwise, overheating can take place.
The life of a valve depends on several factors: how long they've been in your amp, how hard they've been used, how much they've been shaken or vibrated and how often they've been subjected to extreme temperatures. If you play all the time with the valves pushed to the point of distortion, you might use them up in as little as six months.
On the other hand, if you use your amp infrequently and take excellent care of your valves, you might not have to change them for several years.
When it comes to knowing when to change your valves or have your amp serviced, your most valuable asset is your ears. If your amp does not sound right, if it doesn't sustain like it normally does, if it lacks clarity or delivers unequal volume between notes, you may need new valves. When that time comes, be sure to treat yourself to the best valves you can buy. We make a wide variety of hand-selected, top-quality valves, each with their own distinct personality and abilities to make your sound something truly one-of-a-kind.
How Valves Work:
First of all, which is it? Is the glowing glass thing in your amp a tube or a valve? The answer is that it's both, but in terms of its function, the most operative thing to do is to call it a valve. Think about how the valves on your kitchen sink work. Basically, they regulate the flow of water from the faucet in the same way that a vacuum tube regulates the flow of electrical current through your amp. The louder you crank your amp, the more power is allowed to flow through your amp's valves.
While it's true that transistors (basically the solid-state version of valves) work the same way, the difference is that the flow of power in a solid state amp has two speeds: full-gale and stopped dead. But again, just as your sink's faucet can govern several different water flow rates, valves have the same effect on the power flow in your amp. This in turn gives you access to a wide range of clean, crunchy and overdriven tones.
You can also think of a valve as an off-center fulcrum on a lever. As you press down a few inches on the short end, the long end swings up several feet, but the process is gradual (if you consider a few microseconds gradual), revealing new tones along the way as the valve opens and closes. But when your fulcrum is a transistor—you guessed it—it instantly snaps all on or all off. This is certainly efficient, but very "cold" sounding.
But before we get too far into why valves make such incredible vessels for an electric current, let's take a look at how these curious cathode-filled oddities came about.
The evolution of the vacuum tube began more than 100 years ago. Shortly after inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison noticed the inside of his bulbs were blackened over time as the filament released contaminants. To fix the problem, Edison inserted a metal plate inside the bulb and applied different voltages of different polarities to see if he could minimize or eliminate the blackening effect. The experiment failed, but he noticed that positive voltages between the plate and the filament conducted an electric current, while a negative voltage between the same two elements did not. Thus, Edison unintentionally invented the first tube diode.
Twenty years later, British scientist John Fleming used Edison’s failed experiment successfully as a radio detector. The electronic age began shortly afterwards in 1906 when American inventor Lee De Forest took Fleming’s valve and added a third element close to the filament. He noticed that small voltages applied to the third element (the control grid) would cause huge changes in plate current.
De Forest had invented the first valve (triode) amplifier, which was promptly put into use by AT&T to extend long-distance telephone services to fully traverse the entire continent from New York to San Francisco. Prior to the invention of the triode, long-distance telephone services were only possible midway through the United States.
Valve amplifiers in the 1920’s found a new widespread use in radio receivers. Meanwhile, further refinements occurred in valve technology in which additional elements (grids) were added to the basic triode. Greater performance in terms of power output and sensitivity was achieved.
The first electric guitar amplifiers were made in the 1930s. Early rock n’ roll performers of the 1950’s created a huge new demand for electric guitar amplifiers. Soon, musicians began demanding louder amps with special effects like reverb and tremolo.
Technology has come a long way since then, but the valve guitar amplifier remains a relatively simple device. An amplifier will consist of anywhere from three to six valve stages in cascade, amplifying the weak millivolt signal from an electric guitar or bass enough to drive the speaker(s). A typical valve amplifier will consist of anywhere from one to 10 preamp valves containing triodes used for straight-through amplification as well as for effects like overdrive, reverb and tremolo. Meanwhile, there are anywhere from two to six large power valves where the bulk of the amplifier power is developed.
During the 1960s, valve guitar amps were seen as just another tool of the trade. People expected that solid-state technology would quickly replace valves by the early 1970s, but when early transistor amps were introduced, they didn't gain the acceptance everyone predicted. That's mainly because young guitarists like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend were exploiting the warm, harmonic distortion that only their overdriven valve amps could create. When you try the same trick with transistor amps, the result is a distortion whose harmonics are more like a bunch of drunk guys on Spring Break singing along to Jimmy Buffett. But with valve amps, the distortion's harmonic overtones always complement the fundamental note, like an unholy—yet beautifully voiced—choir.
Harmonic overtones are precisely why many top guitarists consider valve amps to be musical instruments unto themselves. Think about how your guitar is affected by the gauge of its strings, tuning, action and pickups. In the same way, valves have several dynamic qualities that dramatically affect their sound. They sound different as you drive them harder, they adopt different tonal shades throughout their life in your amp, and depending upon what kind of valves you use, they can completely change the personality of your amp. So, does this make valve amps superior to solid state? It's really just a matter of opinion. But remember: The sound you get from a valve amp can be changed by doing something as simple as playing more aggressively. A solid state amp will always sound the same.
You asked. Bugera listened. Then they listened some more. Then Bugera gave the 1990 INFINIUM an even cooler look with flawless performance and better sound than ever. This new version of the highly-popular 1990 allows switching between full-throttle pentode or more harmonic triode (60-Watt) modes. They gave Clean and Lead channels separate master volume and reverb controls. Bugera tossed in a dual-control footswitch others charge extra for. Then they used their powerful economies of scale and advanced manufacturing to produce a superb value that puts Biting British Tone within range of anybody who ever lusted after it.
Burgera's goal with the 6260 head and 6260-212 combo was to achieve the tone of a high power super lead amp, and provide it with all the virile crunch it takes to detonate the center stage. With 6L6s, this design has a very open and glassy tone; with EL34s, it takes on a more compressed and noticeably midrange character.
BUGERA captures the stunning sound of the 1960s with the V55HD, an amp whose modern touches put a wide palette of vintage tones at your fingertips. With a proud pair of 6L6 power tubes in the output stage, the V55 bathes your guitar in clean California sunshine.
Bugera did a lot of listening to obscure, long-departed Brit designs, and spent the better part of a year tweaking the hand- selected EL34s and ECC83s to give the 1960 INFINIUM its tremendous range of tonal options. They added a no- compromise post- phase- inverter master volume that can be bypassed for direct signal path and a huge output transformer with specially nested windings for increased dynamic response and clarity. The onboard FX Loop (with true bypass) is ideal for use with external FX, preamps or modeling processors, making the 1960 the go-to amplifier for massive stage sound and unbridled versatility.
The gain structure and tonal character of the 6262 / 6262-212 are built on the same fundamentals as the 6260—but more midrange, making them perfect for 80’s rock and metal. You also get fully independent control of EQ, Presence and Reverb on both channels.
Dressed in classic two-tone vinyl, running on one power and one preamp tube, and featuring bone-simple controls, the BUGERA V5 delivers a sound that’s caked in real vintage tube tone. But it also has modern features that will take your sound to places it couldn’t go — until now.
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