Check out the awesome BUGERA lounge in Hall 8 #L80.

The show runs March 21st – March 24th 2012.

Check out the new INFINIUM series of amps including the new:

MAGICIAN INFINIUM!

TRIREC INFINIUM!

and

BVV3000 INFINIUM!

See you there!

At BUGERA we take pride in building the best products possible while also exceeding your expectations for value. Our commitment to quality starts with manufacturing every product in our own factory under our supervision, using the very best materials and processes.

Effective February 1, 2012 BUGERA is offering a free limited-warranty upgrade to a full 3 Years of coverage for products sold in selected countries. The extended coverage is available by merely registering your purchases online within 90 days of purchase. Your original proof of purchase will still be required for service, but isn’t needed at the time of registration.

The extended coverage applies only in those countries served by BUGERA owned-and-operated service centers. Residents of other countries should refer warranty issues to their local distributor found on our website. Countries which qualify for extended warranty coverage are listed below:

“After a bit of jamming, it became apparent the BUGERA could handle anything we threw at it. The tone was nice and full, without being tinny. The tube character of both heads shined, with the requisite sag and bloom from natural compression, but clear and punchy too.” — Vintage Guitar Magazine February 2012

Clicker here for the full article.

Here’s what she had to say about the past year:

I’ve been serving as a teaching artist with the Electrify Your Strings music education program, touring schools from coast to coast and teaching kids in school orchestras how to plug into their instrument and find their own creative voice. Along with this role, I’ve served on the faculty of the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp and presented clinics on electric violin and improvisation at the American String Teachers Conference. Additionally, I’ve done some performances with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and begun working with my own band, Jac&Jill. We’ve been in the studio with multiple Grammy-winning producer Bob Cutarella and we just wrapped up our Christmas extravaganza tour as support for Twisted Sister. — Bridgid Bibbens January 2012

Click for the full article — BUGERA V5

“…it does deliver a raunchy crunch tone reminiscent of ZZ Top, as well as being a very nice blues amp with the warm and responsive sound that only valves seem to give.” Sound on Sound October 2011.

6L6

The 6L6 power tube is the most popular currently used in guitar amplifiers. Another commonly used name for this tube is 5881. These are the tubes that are most commonly found in American amplifier designs, from the early days of rock to the present. The tonal qualities of the 6L6 emphasize lows and highs with a somewhat relaxed (some will call it scooped) midrange, and is equally at home pushing out sparkling and chiming cleans, swampy surf sounds, or high-gain dropped-D chugging. The versatility of the 6L6 has led many amplifiers to use these tubes as the backbone of their channel-switching amp designs, as they tend to sound great when being fed varying amounts of gain from clean, to crunch, to CRUSH. The headroom capabilities of the 6L6 are great for high-power clean setups, or to keep the low end robust in high-gain rhythm guitar scenarios.

For those of you unfamiliar with the “H-Word,” headroom refers to how hard a player can push the power section on an amp before the power section starts to compress and distort on its own, independent of the pre-amp or speakers. Many amps will stay clean with the volume knobs set low, and will start to distort as the knob is pushed into the upper regions of the dial. If your amp stays clean almost all the way up to “10,” you have a lot of headroom available.

EL34

The EL34 power tube is most commonly associated with high powered British “Stack” designs of the 70′s. Tonally the EL34 will emphasize the midrange, and the distortion characteristic will tend to be a little less smooth with a “bark” or a “roar” to it. One way that the difference between EL34 types and 6L6 types has been explained to me is that when vocally imitating a guitar sound, the EL34 tubes will make an “AHHH” type of vowel sound as opposed to an “OOOH” or “UHHH” type sound that a 6L6 will make. (I enjoy explaining it this way because singing guitar riffs really loudly is a lot of fun!) The lows on EL34 tubes are often present, but “tight” which will help the player avoid a “muddy” sound, while a bigger push in the mid-range makes it easier to to stand out in the mix while using less volume. The latter is especially helpful when trying to cut through a crowded band mix where you have to compete with another guitarist or a cape-wearing synth enthusiast with a four-tiered keyboard stand.

The EL34 still has a fair amount of clean headroom, but will break up just a little sooner than a 6L6 in many amplifier designs.

EL84 and 6V6

As you might be able to infer from their names, the EL84 and 6V6 are similar to the two tubes I discussed earlier, however they are lower output tubes and are most commonly found in “Class A” designs. While a pair of 6L6s or EL34s might generate anywhere from 40 to 65 watts in most amp designs, a pair of EL84s or 6V6s will put out anywhere from 15 to 25 watts. This means that in addition to reduced output, amps using tubes of these types will also have much lower headroom. Common applications for these tubes are in low-powered combo amps popular in recording studios, or for smaller gigs and styles of music that do not require a “wall of sound.” Blues players and classic rock types LOVE low-powered EL84 and 6V6 combos, while modern rock players are more likely to feel at home with a 6L6 or EL34-based amp.

Tonally, the EL84 has the same mid-range push as the EL34 but with slightly less low end, and enhanced highs. EL84 amps are most popular with guitarists who prefer single-coil pickups and tend to gravitate towards the “Liverpool” sound. The 6V6 was used by many of the same manufacturers that also used 6L6 types. Because of this, in some applications, a 6V6 power section will sound remarkably similar to that of a 6L6 with just a tiny hint of an EL34′s midrange.

Can I switch power tubes in my amp?

Sometimes! It all depends on what amplifier you’re using, and it is best to defer to your amplifier’s owners’ manual and/or a competent amp tech. Some amps (Such as the BUGERA 6260 or 6262, for example) can be switched from 6L6 to EL34 and back with a push of a button, while on others you run the very-real risk of frying components on the amp’s circuit board. Some amps will need to be modified to accept a different type of power tube, but in most cases my personal opinion is that most amps sound the best using the tubes they were designed around. BUGERA will soon be offering the INFINIUM series of amplifiers that will let the player select any of several power tubes with an octal base: EL34, 6L6, KT88, KT77, KT66, 6550 and more! We will be previewing the INFINIUM series of amps on this blog in the near future.

If you have any questions regarding the many different kinds of power tubes used in guitar amplifiers, please ask in the comments below!

I got involved with BUGERA through Twitter! You know, as a violinist there is not really an established tone or sound, so everybody is trying to find their own way. I plugged into the BUGERAand I just fell in love with it. So I decided to take a photo with the amp and my violin. And someone commented on Facebook, asking if I was the new BUGERA girl. And of course, I said I’m not! But then a few days went by, and they emailed me and asked if I’d like an endorsement. And I was like, well shit yeah! I’m really kind of proud of it because they are taking the average Joe player into consideration. Like somebody who wants to sound really good but doesn’t have rock star money or rock star endorsement, because it is all totally affordable and it sounds badass. — Bridgid Bibbens Guitar World July 2011.

Check out the entire interview here!

Bridgid uses the BUGERA 6262-212 and the BUGERA V55 amps.

The article also features the video we recently did with Bridgid.

Check out Harry Jackson! At only eight years old Harry can jam with the best of them. Harry started playing the guitar when he was only three years old, by age six he was jamming on stage with a Led Zeppelin tribute band. He is mostly self taught, but he has been honing his skills at the Let’s Play Rock! school in Berkshire UK.  Harry has no plans to stop playing and he loves his BUGERA amps!

We’re sure Harry has a bright future in music!

See? This guy needs a shirt. Please help.

You could win BEHRINGER gear in the BUGERA T-Shirt design contest!

We need some new swag over here at the BUGERA office. All we have left are some dusty BUGERA ballcaps. So we figured—hey, why not ask around for T-shirt ideas? After all, you guys know more about what you’d like to wear than we do. You want a shirt? You can design it your darned self!

So, sharpen your digital pencils and start sketching! It’s easy to enter:

1. Download the template HERE, and design away in the software of your choice! Stay inside the boxes, please. Note that the template is actual-size at 300 dpi., AKA BIG.
2. Upload your work of total genius to Flickr.com (you will need an account) and send us your name and e-mail address via Flickr mail.
3. IMPORTANT—add your photo to the BUGERA T-Shirt Designs Group HERE. You’re in!
4. If your design is chosen as the winner, we will also require the original high-resolution artwork from you to produce the final shirts.

Click the image above to download the .EPS template!

Designs incorporating offensive/hateful verbiage or imagery will not be considered, nor will any that contain images of competitor product. Cutoff date for submissions is Friday, May 27 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. We reserve the right to modify the winning design to ensure the practicality of printing, as well as the right to use the artwork as we see fit in other MUSIC group endeavors.

The winner will receive a prize of their choice from the following: a U-CONTROL UMX490 MIDI Controller; a XENYX X1204USB Mixer, or a EUROLIVE B205D PA System.

Please note that we are not running THIS kind of T-shirt contest:

Here are the BUGERA T-Shirt Contest Official Rules.

BUGERA MAGICIAN INFINIUM

The venue is the “Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH” hall (Address: Ludwig-Erhard-Anlange 1, 60327 Frankfurt am Main).

You can find us in hall 6.1 space C30. We will be there from April 6th through the 9th, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily. If you’ll be there, be sure to check us out to see the latest innovations…

BUGERA will be showcasing the MAGICIAN INFINIUM, TRIREC INFINIUM, the INFINIUM versions of the popular tube amps 333 & 333XL, 6260 & 6262 heads and combos, and the 1990 & 1960 combos.

For more information about Prolight + Sound, please visit www.prolight-sound.com.