NAD: Bogner Snorkler 50

  • Thread starter Thread starter braintheory
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pickslide said:
Can an Ecstacy (101b) get pretty close to the sound of the snorkler?
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I agree w/ @braintheory. It's a totally different amp. The Snorkler has a much smaller low end than the XTC and is less polished. The XTC also doesn't have that raw midrange that the Snorkler does, especially that spike around 3-4k that gives the Snorkler "that sound." I mean, you could maybe put a 10-band EQ in the loop of your XTC and get a little closer on that point but I think it would still end up different. The plate driven tone stack in the Snorkler makes it wild and raw (and very cool IMO). It will have a much higher noise floor than the XTC because of this.
 
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pickslide said:
Totally understand that. I had a 3534 and really liked it, but missed that Marshall bite so I sold it and got a 76 Superlead which scratches that itch nicely.
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This to me is more aggressive than the XTC’s. Not the same type of sound as a stock Marshall like that, but closer to that end of the spectrum than XTC’s are IME
 
The Snorkler is very alive sounding. If you run the lower left switch to the left and the right hand switch to the right and dial back the treble and presence to 9:00 and bass and depth around 2:00 you get into the lower mid smoothness of the Ecstasy but the Snorkler is still livelier. I love that setting with both gains at 3:00. Big fat singing exploding tones.Harmonics and feedback at will and what a cool sound. I am using a Hendrix 4X12 A cab with G12Cs. Loud little fucker too. That said it kills at low volume too.
 
tonedog said:
The Snorkler is very alive sounding. If you run the lower left switch to the left and the right hand switch to the right and dial back the treble and presence to 9:00 and bass and depth around 2:00 you get into the lower mid smoothness of the Ecstasy but the Snorkler is still livelier. I love that setting with both gains at 3:00. Big fat singing exploding tones.Harmonics and feedback at will and what a cool sound. I am using a Hendrix 4X12 A cab with G12Cs. Loud little fucker too. That said it kills at low volume too.
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All this 110%. It feels so alive (which I describe as a more organic, natural, raw quality), while the XTC’s, 20thA Shiva, and UU I was discussing before are to me more muted, dead or sterile in comparison (whatever way one wants to describe it) and I always saw that as a real negative quality for what I want in my amps and a big part of why I usually prefer vintage gear so much more, but not the case with this Snorkler thankfully. It’s a real breath of fresh from how uninspiring most recent amps are. It is loud like you said too with a good MV

It has a surprising amount of range too with its eq like you said that can capture a lot of what the XTC and Shiva’s can do if desired minus their polished and more muted response. I already had no desire to revisit the XTC’s or Shiva’s since getting the ‘90’s caveman and even less now since getting the Snorkler. I can see G12C’s being a great fit for it too. Fwiw, I like the 20w Greenbacks even more and they also sound great with the Snorkler
 
braintheory said:
Not to me. I found it smoother, more polite, more modern leaning, and capable of more saturation maybe on the red ch. The Snorkler seems more raw, gritty, in your face/upfront/less background-y, midrange-y and chewier. Both have the signature low mid chewy Bogner sound, but the Snorkler has it most of any Bogner I've tried. The XTC would though sound bigger with more extended lows and headroom from its stronger power section and I believe higher plate voltage along with it. The Snorkler also has a stickier feel that is still liquid, while the 101B's feel were more just liquid and smooth from what I remember of them. I find the Snorkler's feel I think a bit more connected, but both have great feel as does the early Uber's, hate the feel of the UU
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I agree as well. If you push the treble and presence on the 101B you can get close, but the Snorkler is still more aggressive to my ears. At the very least, it's worth checking out.
 
How does the Snorkler compare to a Helios? I have a 100w but the clips I’ve heard didn’t make me think the Snork was much different from what I can get out of the Helios. Hard to tell from clips though.
 
The Snorkler has higher gain and is not quite as refined. The Snorkler is leaner sounding, brighter, more alive and has a different flavor or different flavors within its two channels. Both great amps.
 
Killcrop said:
How does the Snorkler compare to a Helios? I have a 100w but the clips I’ve heard didn’t make me think the Snork was much different from what I can get out of the Helios. Hard to tell from clips though.
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They are pretty different. The Helios is more like a late ‘70’s JMP2203. The Snorkler can get in that ballpark, but is naturally chewier in a way the Helios can’t do and the feel is different too. I think the Snorkler can get closer to the Helios than the Helios can to the Snorkler, but they’re different. Both very good amps, but am more impressed with the Snorkler
 
braintheory said:
They are pretty different. The Helios is more like a late ‘70’s JMP2203. The Snorkler can get in that ballpark, but is naturally chewier in a way the Helios can’t do and the feel is different too. I think the Snorkler can get closer to the Helios than the Helios can to the Snorkler, but they’re different. Both very good amps, but am more impressed with the Snorkler
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Helios also uses diode clipping. Snorkler does not, from what I understand.
 
Are these settings for real use of the amp ? Bogners aren't brightest amp in the world but those treble/mid/presence setting seems to be excessive even for Bogner's.


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Not likely. The volume is off. I could not stand that much presence and treble on mine but to each their own.
 
bubucci said:
Are these settings for real use of the amp ? Bogners aren't brightest amp in the world but those treble/mid/presence setting seems to be excessive even for Bogner's.


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Bogner's are extremely bright amps by design. To combat this, Reinhold uses audio taper treble pots to cut the top end. The treble pot in that picture is equal to a linear pot found in most amps set to 11:00 to 12:00.
 
How flexible is channel 1? Most of the demos online are gained out. Can channel 1 do plexi type of crunch?
 
I love rolling old tubes and this amp definitely has my interest.
 
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