Bogner Helios owners. Tell me your tale.

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Moshaholic

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Rezamatix":1ozoyhgu said:
So Helios has been out for a minute, who has the hundred watter? How do you like it?
Pros / Cons?

How is the 30w mode?
Tell me or show me (vids and clips are awesome)

Thanks!

I had two of them... One of the older models and one of the new version
 
I thought it was stellar at that one sound...very much like a Soldano is stellar at its sound. It did other things, but I ended up missing my Ecstasy. Video of me and THAT sound I did love: https://youtu.be/qxij6FN9PIE
 
Love mine. 100 watt from the first 20. Killer amp. 30 watt mode is great. So is 100 watt mode. I preferred the Helios to my Cantrell Friedman which was also cool but I stuck with the Ecstasy and Helios. Have had mine almost a year now.
 
Yeah...Ron's clips are killer. That's why I subscribe to his channel.
 
I love the Helios! You have to appreciate it for what it does and what it can do, not what you think it should do based on other amps. My SLO has sat covered up since my Helios purchase because I prefer that older Marshall tone these days. Most guys prefer the high gain more in the Hot input but I stay in the Plex input in 70's mode....using a OCD and a Timmy gives me all the low and high gin tones I need right now. The Helios' CON for most is that you cannot have that nice Clean channel while in the Hot input. There are some great tones in this amp....you just have to spend time with it and again, appreciate it for what it CAN do....

BTW the 30 watt JTM mode is a cool feature. Gets you a squishier tone and feel.

:thumbsup:
 
My guitarist has one. KILLER fucking amp. Very chewy and organic sounding, with that Bogner low mid growl. Perfect cross of a Bogner and a Marshall. Him and I both prefer it to his 20th Shiva and BE100.
 
Great clean stock Marshall tone when you plug into the low input. Great modded Marshall tone when you plug into the high input. The downside is that you can't switch between these two sounds. Bogner support told me that they were working on a mod for it though.
Chewy and organic as Beyond Black said, would be a good way of describing the crunch tone.
 
The only decent clips are processed ones and those tell me nothing other than someone is good at recording. Every time I get interested in checking one out, two more come up for sale for quick flips. That concerns me.
 
I just bought one a couple weeks ago .
I have an Ecstacy 101b that I have had since the mid 90's
Don't remember 95-97 ?
Also had an Uberschall rev blue , sold it to buy the Helios .
I had my Ecstacy in the shop just got it back today .
So I campared amps .
I like the Helios in hot mode 80's the best 70's mode is cool too !!
The amp is just awesome for that 80's rock / metal tone !!!
Con is as mentioned in hot mode you don't have a glassy clean .
For me n my tastes the hot input 80's mode give me eargasms !!
 
All good points. I like 70s mode hot the best. Great rock tone.

In the end I didn't like it as much as my 101b. The lack of channel switching between plexi and hot was a pain live. It also doesn't sound as fat as an Ecstasy but it was tighter (which I liked).

That one tone is really great.
 
Killcrop":37y85j9e said:
All good points. I like 70s mode hot the best. Great rock tone.

In the end I didn't like it as much as my 101b. The lack of channel switching between plexi and hot was a pain live. It also doesn't sound as fat as an Ecstasy but it was tighter (which I liked).

That one tone is really great.

What cab and speakers are you using ?
The Helios seems to really come alive with the v30 greenback combo , sounds smother with all v30's but looses that grit that I feel defines the amp .
I don't like the channel switching or lack of the plexi cleans are better then the hot cleans to me .
Still love the tone sustains forever , and very clear yet raw and gritty !!
 
Kidkramer71":3onn460s said:
Killcrop":3onn460s said:
All good points. I like 70s mode hot the best. Great rock tone.

In the end I didn't like it as much as my 101b. The lack of channel switching between plexi and hot was a pain live. It also doesn't sound as fat as an Ecstasy but it was tighter (which I liked).

That one tone is really great.

What cab and speakers are you using ?
The Helios seems to really come alive with the v30 greenback combo , sounds smother with all v30's but looses that grit that I feel defines the amp .
I don't like the channel switching or lack of the plexi cleans are better then the hot cleans to me .
Still love the tone sustains forever , and very clear yet raw and gritty !!

Bogner OS 2x12 with Scumback 25w (Greenbacks).
 
I thought I read here that someone took an A/B/ box and was able to switch between inputs
 
Think JCM800 inputs, no a-b switch will work as the signal feeds thru the low to complete the signal path and the input from the A-B box breaks the path.
 
One of the best hidden secrets out there IMHO! I have two and once you play around with the preamp tubes and bias the amp up to 70% - it just KILLZ!
 
I have a 100 watter and just love it. My "go to" amp right now.

I read how some are put off by the channel switching, but this has never really been an issue for me. Lots of versatility between the different modes and inputs. Sounds amazing at all volume levels. Couldn't be more happy. Currently using a little delay in loop and running it thru a greenback-loaded Bogner 4x12.
 
krueger":3b1rh2po said:
One of the best hidden secrets out there IMHO! I have two and once you play around with the preamp tubes and bias the amp up to 70% - it just KILLZ!
What have you done with the preamp tubes and what difference did it make?
 
Posted this clip of a gig my buddy recorded with his iPhone on another thread. It's nothing like any Boger I've ever owned. And that's why I dig it. Way more Marshall and a lot less compressed and dark. Been gigging with it and I get nothing but compliments on the amp. Compliments from some real amp snobs that wouldn't hesitate to tell me they didn't like my tone. In fact, would probably enjoy telling me they didn't like my tone. :lol: :LOL:

 
Beyond Black":1mv8d7vh said:
krueger":1mv8d7vh said:
One of the best hidden secrets out there IMHO! I have two and once you play around with the preamp tubes and bias the amp up to 70% - it just KILLZ!
What have you done with the preamp tubes and what difference did it make?

I ran EI 12AX7s and it just made it sound very "rich" and full of harmonics - I found the JJs to be a bit splatty. Think of the difference between a spitty fuzz tone and Eric Johnson's fuzz tone. My issue was that I just loved the JTM30 mode so much more than the regular mode and felt like I was missing part of the amp when I ran it there.

Here it is set the way I liked it through a Bogner 2/12 with Scumback M75s. I play first an R8 LP and then my old Frankie replica.

https://youtu.be/qxij6FN9PIE
 

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