Would somebody care to summarize the various Bogner models?

B

Buck Woodson

Silver Supporting Member
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4,169
I see some guys have nothing but assorted Bogners so they must have something going for them.

I get the respect and love so many have for Bogner but I haven't gleaned much about how the various models differ.

Thanks!
 
A

AuntieDiluvian

Member
Messages
1,575
I only have experience with the XTC and Uberschall (limited).

XTC has three channels - Green, Blue, and Red. Green is almost Fender clean, blue is a very warm-voiced Marshall-sounding with slightly higher gain, and red is very high gain for lead work, lots of sustain, very smooth (think Santana tone with a bit less cut and more lower mids). There is also a "plexi" mode available for the blue channel that duplicates the classic Marshall sound. Overall, the voicing is warm to dark, very thick and meaty sounding. IMO, this is one of the best tube amps in production, and it is my go-to. I can ALWAYS get a good sound out of it, regardless of the gig.

Uberschall is a two-channel metal amp. Clean, and super-high gain designed purely for dark metal tones.

That's all I've got.
 
LaXu

LaXu

Member
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6,187
Viper 900 said:
I can summarise them all as expensive and largely unreliable
Click to expand...
Expensive sure but I don’t know where you get unreliable.

  • Goldfinger is a hybrid Fender clean, Marshall overdrive amp.
  • Helios is Marshall Superlead tones and beyond.
  • Mephisto seems to combine Vox and Fender tones.
 
the_Chris

the_Chris

It's All Been Done Before
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I’ve owned 2 EL-34 silver chassis Shivas: one reverb, one non reverb.

Good: excellent master volume, cleans stay cleaner than most amps, 2 very different sounding channels, unique tone... sound is compressed like you’re playing a recording (if that makes sense), great crunch, surprisingly chimey cleans for EL-34s, boost is handy on the overdrive side, at 80w they can be loud when pushed, runs well off of basic Chinese preamp tubes and power tubes (and Vintage 30s which are common as well), well built for a PCB amp, sits in the mix nicely, nice sag when you’re playing (not tight or overly percussive), easy to dial in for different environments (hard to make it sound bad).

Bad: not as touch sensitive as other amps I’ve owned, lower mid focus didn’t really deliver the Fender/Marshall hybrid people originally touted these amps to be, silver chassis versions needed a modified cable/adapter to use stomp boxes in the FX loop, heavy, tone lacks airiness and bite (it’s very polished/refined sounding).

I noticed the reverb circuitry cut some of the punch so I didn’t miss it when I bought the non reverb model the second time.

If you want a compressed, fat, warm/dark low mid focused amp with some clean cleans and well defined drive this is your amp.

I have nothing positive to say about Bogner’s XTC Blue pedal from a reliability standpoint, but both Shivas were gigged regularly and held up well. Hopefully they’re still made that way.

My .02 anyhow.
 
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lkft

lkft

Member
Messages
1,270
I currently have the two in the pic...20th 101B and 100W Helios. Also had a silver chassis Shiva with the gold foot switch that I sold locally with implicit instructions if the owner ever decides to sell he has to come to me first.

As Chris mentions above Bogners have a voicing that basically is in the modified Marshall JCM vein with more lower mids for a fatter, chewier tone. The tone does however tend to get lost in the mix and to compensate you have to dial a but more presence and treble than you're prob used to. Build quality is excellent and reliability isn't an issue. The amps are gig worthy and I never had any issues with mine. The cab that sounds best are the ones w/V30s I've found. Very quiet even at high gain and nice, transparent fx loop. The Shiva had a fan that ran while the amp was on and some ppl found this annoying but it never bothered me. The XTC and Helios do not. That's about all I got. Let me know if you would like more info.
 
dsmc80

dsmc80

Member
Messages
3,701
lkft said:
I currently have the two in the pic...20th 101B and 100W Helios. Also had a silver chassis Shiva with the gold foot switch that I sold locally with implicit instructions if the owner ever decides to sell he has to come to me first.

As Chris mentions above Bogners have a voicing that basically is in the modified Marshall JCM vein with more lower mids for a fatter, chewier tone. The tone does however tend to get lost in the mix and to compensate you have to dial a but more presence and treble than you're prob used to. Build quality is excellent and reliability isn't an issue. The amps are gig worthy and I never had any issues with mine. The cab that sounds best are the ones w/V30s I've found. Very quiet even at high gain and nice, transparent fx loop. The Shiva had a fan that ran while the amp was on and some ppl found this annoying but it never bothered me. The XTC and Helios do not. That's about all I got. Let me know if you would like more info.
Click to expand...
Nice AT as well. :aok
 
Killcrop

Killcrop

Silver Supporting Member
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11,519
Shiva- beautiful cleans, exceptional reverb. Thick crunch channel. Lots of gain and sustain.
Ecstasy- One of the best amps ever made. Its a lead players amp that once you get to know it, can do about anything.
New Yorker- Tweed Deluxe with some flexible voicing.
Palermo-Raunchy Brownface/Marshall tones in a small little package. Loud and open.
Ubershall-Metal.
Goldfinger-Really nice shiva like cleans. Very interesting Marshall based lead channel. Loop options worth looking into.
Helios-Hot rod Marshall tones but with a Bogner flavor. Not your typical Bogner offering. Very in your face like an old Marshall.
3534-Lower wattage version of the Ecstasy. Less features but can get in the sweet spot with a lot less volume.
Barcelona- Big open cleans. Pedal platform. Fender based voicing.
 
RockStarNick

RockStarNick

Gold Supporting Member
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3,632
Killcrop said:
Shiva- beautiful cleans, exceptional reverb. Thick crunch channel. Lots of gain and sustain.
Ecstasy- One of the best amps ever made. Its a lead players amp that once you get to know it, can do about anything.
New Yorker- Tweed Deluxe with some flexible voicing.
Palermo-Raunchy Brownface/Marshall tones in a small little package. Loud and open.
Ubershall-Metal.
Goldfinger-Really nice shiva like cleans. Very interesting Marshall based lead channel. Loop options worth looking into.
Helios-Hot rod Marshall tones but with a Bogner flavor. Not your typical Bogner offering. Very in your face like an old Marshall.
3534-Lower wattage version of the Ecstasy. Less features but can get in the sweet spot with a lot less volume.
Barcelona- Big open cleans. Pedal platform. Fender based voicing.
Click to expand...
Killcrop Nailed it.

I'll add:
20th Shiva: Tighter and brighter. More upper mid focus. Diode-clipping option for more modern gain.
20th XTC: Same great versatility as the 101B, more upper mid focus, less gain on blue, more clarity on red.
Metropolis: discontinued. Like a BadCat/Vox/Orange hybrid with thick Bogner mids. Loud as all heck.
 
a1briz

a1briz

Gold Supporting Member
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1,731
I had a Shiva 20th wish I still had. Master volume was excellent. Fx Loop excellent, quiet and took pedals well. Best cleans of any amp I've owned. Gain channel has lots of tone tweaking options. Like others have said, modded JCM800-like, but also different from typical Marshall bark. The 20th has a lot of gain for nice leads and can do metal. Great Great amp.

Had an Ecstacy 101b. Loved the amp, one super versatile amp. Above descriptions nailed it. Unfortunately was not playing out when I had it and so was too much for home use without attenuation imo. I can't wait to see more reviews of the 3534 as I am really looking forward to this one.

Would love to try a Goldfinger SL to compare with my Friedman.
 
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SleepingSG

SleepingSG

Member
Messages
437
I wanted an atmos. I couldn’t find anyone describing bogner without describing another amp, so I figured I should just get the ‘real’ amp instead. If I had money for a shiva or Uber though different story. That’s where Bogner is Bogner.
 
Coli

Coli

Silver Supporting Member
Messages
1,300
My Goldfinger is my current go to gigger
I will ad that the Duende 30 watt 6L6 amp is a killer-got the Fender/Marshall thing happening...great tremolo lightweight head that pairs well with v30's and EV ( iuse mine thru a Boogie Thiele usually...or v30 loaded 2 x 12)
My Uber sounds fantastic with the gain on lead channel low- can cover classic and hard rock tones...of course it crushes with more gain
 
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