Opinions. Looking for an affordable lower wattage tube amp

[* velcro-fly *]

A used Bogner Atma. Warm, plenty of gain, 60s,70s,80s mode. Those EL84s will sound as good as the 3534. Not to mention, being able to go to gigable 18 watts. Down to 5, or 1

Greg - this would be an awesome choice too....in fact if this guy will ship it you should jump on this :

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/d/south-cle-elum-bogner-atma-112cb/7420332218.html

 

[* velcro-fly *]

OK after checking out some videos on the atma, that amp just sounds incredible. Last question Atma vs Ecstasy 3534?

Different beasts....I still have my 3534 but honestly feel the Atma is one of the best amps Bogner has ever built. i loved mine.

 

[jchrisf]

You all are making me want a Atma.. but still in competition for me is the Son of Yeti.

 

[gbsmusic]

You all are making me want a Atma.. but still in competition for me is the Son of Yeti.

The clips really do sound good. I'm going to be on hold for a few weeks now I just bought 2 guitars I should not have bought but I had to. Gas is a bitch???????

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Had to laugh at this from Bogner's description:

"The sleekly rounded corners are perhaps the first detail noticed of Atma's unique hybrid aluminum and wood construction. Not only is it a beautiful artistic statement that's incredibly strong and durable but it also delivers detailed midrange and tonal clarity"

Maybe that's why the Splawn QR has "weird mids". If folks would have known about swapping headshells to change the mids, maybe they would have given that amp another shot...LOL!

 

[Findthetone1]

All this talk of the Atma has me reconsidering one. I always thought it had mushy low end from the clips. Am I hearing it wrong?

 

[Mailman1971]

Buddy had the PRS Tremonti mini amp head. We ran it thru two 4x12 cabs and it sounded killer!!
That’s the only experience I had with the little amps.

 

[* velcro-fly *]

Had to laugh at this from Bogner's description:

"The sleekly rounded corners are perhaps the first detail noticed of Atma's unique hybrid aluminum and wood construction. Not only is it a beautiful artistic statement that's incredibly strong and durable but it also delivers detailed midrange and tonal clarity"

Yeah, WTF ??? The toaster look was the thing I liked least about that amp, trust me I watched for a head shell to come up used that wasn't $250...at one point I looked into getting the grill powder coated black. The all black everything models made for the Japanese market are sexy AF though but rare....

 

[bikerdude2]

Remember it started life as a 2 x 84 and everyone howled so much he switched to the 2 x 34?
I know the 3534 had a really bad problem with the loop on the first big production release.
Think that soured a lot of

Yeah, WTF ??? The toaster look was the thing I liked least about that amp, trust me I watched for a head shell to come up used that wasn't $250...at one point I looked into getting the grill powder coated black. The all black everything models made for the Japanese market are sexy AF though but rare....

Agreed. Hated the look. Glad I looked past it.

 

[TheRealDonnie]

The all black everything models made for the Japanese market are sexy AF though but rare....

Shit. Hadn't even heard about them. The parts would be so easy to get painted whatever color.

Couldn't find a black one but tripped over this.
Would have been awesome for a new wave 80s band.

 

[TheRealDonnie]

For reference, something I'd done with mine that I think really helped the cosmetic was
I ripped out the larger logo on the inside and glued a smaller one outside.

 

[Devin]

From my own experience, I found the Mark 5:35 kinda sucks in a band situation. Prone to squealing and ice pick city. Might be good playing alone at lower volumes though

 

[311boogieman]

Had to laugh at this from Bogner's description:

"The sleekly rounded corners are perhaps the first detail noticed of Atma's unique hybrid aluminum and wood construction. Not only is it a beautiful artistic statement that's incredibly strong and durable but it also delivers detailed midrange and tonal clarity"

Maybe that's why the Splawn QR has "weird mids". If folks would have known about swapping headshells to change the mids, maybe they would have given that amp another shot...LOL!

Right?

My updated headshell (from dawnofadream97) defo un weirded my mids

I think the red stripes helped expand the transient frequencies and the slotted hood let it breath better. I also removed all the tube retainers, preamp shields and the entire back as well to really let her open up. Stripped her basically and then cleaned her sockets too.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Right?

My updated headshell (from dawnofadream97) defo un weirded my mids

I think the red stripes helped expand the transient frequencies and the slotted hood let it breath better. I also removed all the tube retainers, preamp shields and the entire back as well to really let her open up. Stripped her basically and then cleaned her sockets too.

Glad it fixed the "weird mids" ! Think I'll experiment with some different geometric shaped headshells to tweak the mids, lows, and highs to my liking in a few of my amps.

Oh yes, removing those tube shields and that slotted hood will definitely remove a ton of compression and let it breathe...just by doing that on an Engl, you can get it to sound as natural and open as a Wizard I hear