Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

That90'sGuy

DyzaBoyzologist
Oh yes, good vibes have finally come and I got in my red Bogner Shiva EL-34 w/ reverb head today via UPS and it arrived flawlessly. The amp head was surprisingly lightweight and it looks awesome (it'll be even more awesome when I get a red 2x12 Bogner cab for it). :fingersx:

As a lot of you guys know, I've been buying and selling quite a bit over the years. Every amp I've owned at some point had its strengths, but ultimately had something that just didn't work for me so I ended up parting with it. With the Triamp, it was too heavy, too big, too loud and I could never get 2b to sound right. With the Hot Cat, it had sweet chimey cleans, but the overdrive was way too loud and gritty. With the Fargen, the cleans weren't as Vox like as I had wanted and the clean headroom wasn't there.

This amp has the overdrive I've been searching for for years. With the gain down, it can be very open or if you turn it up around noon, it gets this sweet pushed and compressed tone (which I think is really the whole Bogner thang... it definitely has a unique signature tone). The clean took a little time dialing in to get it right for my style, but I'm very happy with the tone now, it reminds me of a sweet Marshall plexi. The boost really helps add sustain and bite to the overdrive side and kills for leads (great not needing a pedal, but I may have to experiment for the hell of it). The reverb tank sounds great to my ears and just about every amp I've ever owned had some sort of reverb. It's even footswitchable, but I love it so much it's staying on. The nice thing is that the clean and overdrive verbs are independently adjustable so you can add a light verb on the od and put on a decent amount for the cleans.

I overlooked this amp before (back when I purchased a Bad Cat Hot Cat) and I regret not owning a Shiva ealier because it really is what I've been wanting to hear. I guess the artist fanbase can't be wrong, heck, three of my favorites use the Shiva: Splender, Further Seems Forever, and Dashboard Confessional.

Time to straighten out my guitar collection and I'm done. My G.A.S. for other amps has pretty much ended. This is a honeymoon review and a half, but I really think this is a step in the right direction for my tone quest. If anyone ever sees me try to sell this for "something better", do me a favor and punch me in the face ;)

Damn, I can't believe it actually arrived perfectly. This is my lucky day :dance:
 
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Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

I want a Schiva EL34 too, sadly.. I don't have the cash.
Congrats, post clips. and pics.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

I haven't tried the Shiva 2X12 but the big 2X12 is the best cab I have ever owned. I love it.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Ooh Bludave is gonna be sooo jealous.

Congrats.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Is that the red one that was on Ebay just recently?

Congrats! I've got a secret to tell.... but not just yet. :D
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Congratulations man! Bogner Shiva does have a sweet vintage sound that is unique in itself, especially the OD channel. However, the clean channel does take a little tweaking.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Oh, the Shiva...I've spent many nights staying up dreaming about this one! Listening to those clips repeatedly and well, drooling over my laptop.

Congratulations, I hope you cherish it for a lifetime.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

I Knew it was going to kill! Its the best channel switching Amp I've ever played thru. I am going to take my time and your advice and wait until I find mine at the right price and go gor the head instead of the combo.. Now when can we expect soundclips!
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Congrats! Have you had a chance to crank it yet, or no? Make SURE you don't F'up and buy another cab. Get the Bogner cab, because it's vital to the whole rig sounding stupendous. That red Shiva ministack is gonna make every guitarist you share a stage with sound like doodoo in comparison! LOL

I'm an insufferable gear whore, and once I hit Bogner, the fun just got taken out of amp shopping, because it's the end of the road.....at least for me.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

i've yet to try out a Bogner. We don't have those around, even cornford, Carr and Soldano

These boutique amps are order to-make which no dealer in my country brings them in and stack it up waiting for someone to buy.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Congrats on what seems to be the end of your tone quest! I have yet to try out a Bogner but I've heard SO many good things!
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Gearjoneser said:
Congrats! Have you had a chance to crank it yet, or no? Make SURE you don't F'up and buy another cab. Get the Bogner cab, because it's vital to the whole rig sounding stupendous. That red Shiva ministack is gonna make every guitarist you share a stage with sound like doodoo in comparison! LOL

I'm an insufferable gear whore, and once I hit Bogner, the fun just got taken out of amp shopping, because it's the end of the road.....at least for me.

I have a black Shiva 2x12 closed back cab that's kickin' right now (it has vintage 30s in it), I can't imagine using anything else (except for the red OS Bogner 2X12, maybe an open back). I'm amazed at how light the head and the cabinet were, I don't forsee moving the gear around as being an issue (and the sound is huge, even with such a small looking setup).

I've gotten to crank the hell out of it earlier and I love it, but I'm surprised 80w isn't louder than I thought it was going to be (maybe it's just my hearing going) :chairfall

I may have to work on some clips this week due to popular demand ;) If you guys really want to know how these sound, seriously listen to Splender or Further Seems Forever. I've loved those tones and it's a perfect example of how the amp sounds. Here's Dashboard Confessional's "Hands Down" which showcases the cleans really well and some of the lighter driven overdrive sounds (you can see the Shiva in the video as well): http://www.youtube.com/?v=qhhiq0t9e-w

As far as pics, I can provide that :D

Here's my (almost) perfect rig:

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Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

The thing that makes them so desireable is that they have all the purity of single channel tube amps, but the versatility that those amps don't have. To me the 'Bogner sound' is the sound of a fully cranked Marshall at lower volumes, so the compression people talk about the sound of cranked tubes, which has nice growl at volumes that don't break your eardrums. They're loud amps though. I think my Ecstasy is 120W and while it sounds good at normal volumes, it's loud enough to sound like two Marshalls sitting next to each other.
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Huh huh huh......he said Bogner.......huh huh....
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Great! Some sound clips would be really cool, if you can manage them. It looks great, and I can only imagine how good it sounds in the room!
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

VERY COOL CHRIS.....I'm happy for ya' Brother:beerchug:

One of these days I'll get around to trying out a Bogner :rolleyes:
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

that is just too cool man!

glad you were able to get one!

it's one of my dream amps!
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Hoss said:
that is just too cool man!

glad you were able to get one!

it's one of my dream amps!
What Hoss said. I've yet to play one but plan on heading up to Jersey to do so soon. I'll throw the Knucklehead in the trunk and if I like what I hear, I'll had to trade up and throw some cash into the pot.

How bout some clips?
 
Re: Finally, I've found my sound and it's Bogner!!!

Chris: Is that a Landgraff Dynamic OVerdrive in the pics? I was planning on building a clone of one of those... after I'm done we'll have to A/B the two of them.

Awesome score.
 
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