Anyone here taken delivery of a Helios yet?

[splawner]

Sounds great Eric I think you just sold a bunch of amps for Bogner including me Best clip i heard of this amp so far....

 

[guitarrhino]

Just received delivery yesterday afternoon from King Guitars, thanks Brad!

It's a killer amp IMO guys. I didn't have time to mess around with it much, but it's a straightforward amp to dial in so far. Only got to mess with the 80s and hot input, but what a treat if you are a Bogner fan. I have family here for the long weekend, but I will get a clip and NAD thread up next week hopefully.

OP, since you are a 20th xtc owner, IMO so far of just the high gain side, it reminds me of the feel of the red channel straight in, but with more of the rawness from the blue. Kind of a ballsier JCM800 vibe with more gain, and some bogner low mid grind. Bogner fans are going to feel right at home on this thing I think.

I wasn't going to post this, but I know some of you guys are salivating for anything. I made a really quick clip for a friend before the mother in law started screaming, lol. It's a lame 30 seconds of chuggy, low moderate vol, but it's straight in, which is very rare for me. I'm a huge boost guy. The only other amps I have preferred straight in were the engl se, 20th xtc, mako dorado, ccv, and atomica. The main benefit with with this amp for me, is I've found settings where it doesn't sound like cascading distortion pedals if I want to use my boost pedals for some extra flavors.

Hot, 80s, B2, punch on, gain 2:00, bottom 2:00

Edit: this clip must really suck, I got yelled at again to turn it down, on my stinking iPhone, lol

Geez! Sounds flipping INCREDIBLE. Seriously. I want to sell everything and get me the Helios. Can't believe how BIG and tight is sounds.

 

[November5th]

That is the best clip of the Helios I have heard. The other clips I have heard made the Helios sound very raw and undefined. This is the complete opposite. I can tell you know how to dial in an amp.

 

[Erock]

hey guys, sorry for the late reply, and thanks for all the comments, really appreciate it.

Erock. Sounds great! Does this head have diode clipping? In Reinhold's video, when he switches to 80's mode, he turns the volume up to compensate for the volume loss in this mode which tells me the gain is added by diode clipping. Can you confirm?

I was trying man. I tried to reply by iphone like 3 times, got interrupted, and lost everything on refresh. It says in the manual that there is a volume drop going to 80's mode, so I would assume so. I can't confirm anything, but I would suspect it. It would completely make sense too for the feel, since I'm such a boost junkie. This thing can feel like a boosted amp. I haven't had enough time to see what levels of gain it reaches without engaging diodes, I don't even know for sure which switches do it yet, but I will get back to you on that.

I'm not sure 80's mode is all diode clipping though. B2 definitely feels like it's boosted already, but I was able to get a boosted sound I liked in N bright 80's hot mode. I don't usually like boosting with diodes in the circuit. Atomica, Old Bitch, etc.. always sounds to me like it's going thru 2 OD pedals, or a faint cocked wah when I try to boost. Even in the most neutral modes, it still sounds like the diodes are in the circuit or something. This amp reminds me a lot of how the 20th XTC feels on the red ch with B2. Does the 20th use diodes on the red channel? I really liked the feel of that amp straight in too. This amp has 5 preamp tubes compared to 3 on the OB and Atomica, so maybe a cascaded setup?

Erock,

what were all your EQ setting on that clip?

hey man, pres, bass, mid about 1:00, treble is up to maybe 2:30, gain around 2:00, Bottom around 2:00, punch engaged, hot input.

 

[glip22]

hey guys, sorry for the late reply, and thanks for all the comments, really appreciate it.

Erock. Sounds great! Does this head have diode clipping? In Reinhold's video, when he switches to 80's mode, he turns the volume up to compensate for the volume loss in this mode which tells me the gain is added by diode clipping. Can you confirm?

I was trying man. I tried to reply by iphone like 3 times, got interrupted, and lost everything on refresh. It says in the manual that there is a volume drop going to 80's mode, so I would assume so. I can't confirm anything, but I would suspect it. It would completely make sense too for the feel, since I'm such a boost junkie. This thing can feel like a boosted amp. I haven't had enough time to see what levels of gain it reaches without engaging diodes, I don't even know for sure which switches do it yet, but I will get back to you on that.

I'm not sure 80's mode is all diode clipping though. B2 definitely feels like it's boosted already, but I was able to get a boosted sound I liked in N bright 80's hot mode. I don't usually like boosting with diodes in the circuit. Atomica, Old Bitch, etc.. always sounds to me like it's going thru 2 OD pedals, or a faint cocked wah when I try to boost. Even in the most neutral modes, it still sounds like the diodes are in the circuit or something. This amp reminds me a lot of how the 20th XTC feels on the red ch with B2. Does the 20th use diodes on the red channel? I really liked the feel of that amp straight in too. This amp has 5 preamp tubes compared to 3 on the OB and Atomica, so maybe a cascaded setup?

Erock,

what were all your EQ setting on that clip?

hey man, pres, bass, mid about 1:00, treble is up to maybe 2:30, gain around 2:00, Bottom around 2:00, punch engaged, hot input.

Thanks Erock.The 20th uses no diodes in the circuit from what I remember when I owned one. I agree with you 100% on the diode clipping and a boost never sounded great to my ears unless the zener value is much higher. The best place for the master is before the tone stack when using diode clipping. It's not about tech talk, it's about how cool the amp sounds. I was just wondering if the amp employed diodes for it's distortion. My guess is Reinhold is using a higher value diode(maybe 20volt) so the volume loss is not so great. That gives a nice balance of tube gain and clipping.He only turned it up a few levels to compensate. I don't know for sure though. I wasn't really interested much in this amp until you posted . But then again it was because of your clips I purchased a Wizard several years ago. Comparisons are made between this and the BE. The Helios seems to be more of a high gain Plexi circuit whereas Dave's design is more of a a high gain JCM800. Can't remember where I heard that Dave had a killer JCM800 he based his Brown Eye off of. I think RedPlate amps told me that. Some great amps out there now.

 

[Erock]

Yeah, that makes sense man, thanks for the info. I'll definitely try more settings to see what kind of tube only levels it gets. I haven't had a chance to really try out the 70s side, but I will see how far it goes and hit you up. That's interesting about the Friedman comparison, I might have to try that amp now, lol. I really love my boosted JCM too. Have you tried Henry's new high gainer yet? He's such a class act as a builder, with a killer ear. I would love to commission a build from him some time.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Yeah, that makes sense man, thanks for the info. I'll definitely try more settings to see what kind of tube only levels it gets. I haven't had a chance to really try out the 70s side, but I will see how far it goes and hit you up. That's interesting about the Friedman comparison, I might have to try that amp now, lol. I really love my boosted JCM too.

Your clip seems more comparative to Friedman than any other Helios clip I've heard, and it's my favorite one thus far.

I bet your Flux Drive(?) into the 70's mode would sound killer.

 

[Ventura]

Regardless of the implementation and employment of diode clipping, the hand-wiring and care given to the creation of this amp is pretty awesome.

This clip, regardless of the professional promo videos made, has given me a real punch-in-the-gut understanding of what the amp can and could sound like. I liked it a lot. The only other amp I'm currently interested in is the Jerry Cantrell model Friedman; but usually, as it's been in the past, the Bogner will win out.

I just love Bogner's spin on tone - diode or not

 

[tonedog]

This amp is killing me. I spent a few hours while home alone and let me say that it is everything I wanted so many other amps to be. It kills and lacks nothing. Incredible tones and as I get to know it better it is more impressive by the day. Sounds amazing with all of my guitars and pisses all over so many of the high gainers I have owned (which is many). Brilliant amp. Features are great. Tone is subjective but this is the shit for me.

 

[Erock]

Your clip seems more comparative to Friedman than any other Helios clip I've heard, and it's my favorite one thus far.

I bet your Flux Drive(?) into the 70's mode would sound killer.

Thanks brother. I'll be honest, I've never really gassed over the Friedman stuff, but all these comparisons are starting to peak my curiosity.
and you know the flux is coming
I can't wait to kick these people out of here, lol.

Regardless of the implementation and employment of diode clipping, the hand-wiring and care given to the creation of this amp is pretty awesome.

This clip, regardless of the professional promo videos made, has given me a real punch-in-the-gut understanding of what the amp can and could sound like. I liked it a lot. The only other amp I'm currently interested in is the Jerry Cantrell model Friedman; but usually, as it's been in the past, the Bogner will win out.

I just love Bogner's spin on tone - diode or not

Mo, you are going to love this amp. I know you are already a bogner fan, and I know what amps you have already. This thing has a wicked feel like the 20th x, but barks more like a marshall. The only amp I've sold over the last 5 years that I missed later was the 20th, and this was the perfect remedy.

This amp is killing me. I spent a few hours while home alone and let me say that it is everything I wanted so many other amps to be. It kills and lacks nothing. Incredible tones and as I get to know it better it is more impressive by the day. Sounds amazing with all of my guitars and pisses all over so many of the high gainers I have owned (which is many). Brilliant amp. Features are great. Tone is subjective but this is the shit for me.

I know man, I've been trying to control my enthusiasm because of the honeymoon, but it's hard not to get excited. It's just one of those amps that is a blast to play, where you forget you're even supposed to be checking out settings.

 

[Ventura]

Regardless of the implementation and employment of diode clipping, the hand-wiring and care given to the creation of this amp is pretty awesome.

This clip, regardless of the professional promo videos made, has given me a real punch-in-the-gut understanding of what the amp can and could sound like. I liked it a lot. The only other amp I'm currently interested in is the Jerry Cantrell model Friedman; but usually, as it's been in the past, the Bogner will win out.

I just love Bogner's spin on tone - diode or not

Mo, you are going to love this amp. I know you are already a bogner fan, and I know what amps you have already. This thing has a wicked feel like the 20th x, but barks more like a marshall. The only amp I've sold over the last 5 years that I missed later was the 20th, and this was the perfect remedy.

Ya man, seems as though it's the shiznit... I had a feeling when this amp was released that it was going to be the bomb for Bogner lovers. I know a lot of people say "ya ya, another mod-Marshall wannabe/Friedman spin" on tone; but tone is something that Bogner takes very personally - and with that - comes the Bogner feel and uniqueness.

I'm keen.

Thanks for a great post erock!!
Mojo

 

[steve_k]

I hear many similarities of an original CCV in the Helios. What do you think, Eric?

 

[tonedog]

Steve K. better than the original
CCV or any of the Cameron modded Marshalls I owned or my friend owns.

Not that similar at all.

 

[steve_k]

Steve K. better than the original
CCV or any of the Cameron modded Marshalls I owned or my friend owns.

Not that similar at all.

Thanks for the input. Hard to tell from the vids. But, thought there was some overlap.

 

[tonedog]

There may be some overlaps but I had several Camerons and none of them quite got there for me. This one feels and sounds perfect. If you get a chance to try one let me know what you think.

 

[Erock]

Hi Steve, I've always heard some similarities in the Cameron and bogner stuff. You can tell reinhold had a big influence on marks work. It's got that boosted feel, and that thick punchy lowend like the ccv. Where it differs to me, is this seems less saturated, and a little more raw. Like if you could take ch2 feel and girth, and give it some ch1 chime and bark. I think you would dig it man.

 

[steve_k]

Hi Steve, I've always heard some similarities in the Cameron and bogner stuff. You can tell reinhold had a big influence on marks work. It's got that boosted feel, and that thick punchy lowend like the ccv. Where it differs to me, is this seems less saturated, and a little more raw. Like if you could take ch2 feel and girth, and give it some ch1 chime and bark. I think you would dig it man.

Thanks Eric. That's sort of what I thought I was hearing.

 

[SLOgriff]

Hey Erock, how's the master volume on the Helios? Is there a lot of headroom on this amp or do you have to crank the master to get a decent volume? In the Bogner videos it looked like the amp was cranked but not that loud.

 

[philb]

You guys have to stop, I'm starting to gas for the Helios even though I have a Friedman

 

[Erock]

Hey Erock, how's the master volume on the Helios? Is there a lot of headroom on this amp or do you have to crank the master to get a decent volume? In the Bogner videos it looked like the amp was cranked but not that loud.

I really like the master on this amp. The highest gain hot 80's is the lowest vol setting. It's got a nice sweep for lower vol under 9:00, where it gets great low vol tones. It starts to thump around 10:00, and by 12:00-1:00, it's moving enough air to play with a drummer IMO. The other settings all get progressively louder faster, with the bypass eq setting being the shortest sweep between off and ear bleed.