Should I trade for a Bogner Shiva?

[Badronald]

I've got a local guy that wants to trade a Bogner Shiva head with reverb for my JCM800 and a Strat?

Any thoughts? What are your experiences with this amp.

If I go by the reviews and vids you'd think it was the Holy Grail!

I will play the amp, of course, before I do anything stupid.

 

[billm408]

I had a 6L6 NR Shiva and really wish I hadn't sold it. Similar amounts of gain as the JCM800, but has that Bogner low mid voicing so it's more chest thumping than top end bite. Great cleans and takes pedals really well. The one thing about the Shiva is that it really doesn't open up until you get it to gig volume. You can pick 'em up for about $1200-1500 used. Depending on the model of your 800 and real value of the strat, it's certainly worth a look.

I haven't played one, but have heard the 20th Anni Shiva is just awesome.

 

[Nico]

I don't know what music you play, the Ecstasy is a much better amp...

But I would not trade both things for the Shiva anyway...

 

[ericsabbath]

reissue 2203 + strat for a shiva?
fuck yes!
unless it's some expensive vintage valued strat

 

[hawkeye17]

The Shiva is a solid amp but you really have to open it up and get the power tubes working for it to shine. It doesn't have a ton of gain either so if you're into hard rock/metal there are better options imho.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

I like the Shiva, great clean channel and not a bad gain channel, wont do da brutolze modern stuff but I like the Shiva a lot myself.

 

[TeleBlaster]

Great cleans, and if it's the reverb model, the tube reverb is excellent.
If you do anything harder than Bad Company covers though, the gain channel isn't going to work for you.
You might be better off with pedals in front of the clean channel.
Not only did it not have enough gain for me, I didn't like the tone or feel of the gain channel.
Maybe with super high output pickups and a boost you could get something usable, but forget getting any high gain tones with single coils.

Overvalued and overpriced for a 1-1/2 channel amp IMO.
In a better economy you might be able to flip it and come out ahead.
But if you plan to live with it you had better see if you can borrow it for a gig first and determine if it's adequate.

 

[glassjaw7]

For me, that would be a fair trade unless your 800 and strat are "special" or rare in any way. I LOVE the shiva, and for me at least, the 800 isn't overly great. At least for what I play.

 

[TX6Strings]

I'd have to agree with most everything said here. There's no good way to boost the Shiva into hotter territory without getting overly compressed and buzzy. The clean channel is pretty damn nice but it doesn't take dirt boxes well. Personally I'd ship the 800 off to get modded.

Great cleans, and if it's the reverb model, the tube reverb is excellent.
If you do anything harder than Bad Company covers though, the gain channel isn't going to work for you.
You might be better off with pedals in front of the clean channel.
Not only did it not have enough gain for me, I didn't like the tone or feel of the gain channel.
Maybe with super high output pickups and a boost you could get something usable, but forget getting any high gain tones with single coils.

Overvalued and overpriced for a 1-1/2 channel amp IMO.
In a better economy you might be able to flip it and come out ahead.
But if you plan to live with it you had better see if you can borrow it for a gig first and determine if it's adequate.

 

[Badronald]

I'd have to agree with most everything said here. There's no good way to boost the Shiva into hotter territory without getting overly compressed and buzzy. The clean channel is pretty damn nice but it doesn't take dirt boxes well. Personally I'd ship the 800 off to get modded.

Great cleans, and if it's the reverb model, the tube reverb is excellent.
If you do anything harder than Bad Company covers though, the gain channel isn't going to work for you.
You might be better off with pedals in front of the clean channel.
Not only did it not have enough gain for me, I didn't like the tone or feel of the gain channel.
Maybe with super high output pickups and a boost you could get something usable, but forget getting any high gain tones with single coils.

Overvalued and overpriced for a 1-1/2 channel amp IMO.
In a better economy you might be able to flip it and come out ahead.
But if you plan to live with it you had better see if you can borrow it for a gig first and determine if it's adequate.

I LOVE my 800 as well as the Stratocaster in question. I'm not going to do the deal. Too much to lose for an amp I may not keep. I always come back to Marshalls so I'll just stay where I'm at. I've tried many boutique amps over the years and have sold them all only to end up back with Marshalls.

Thanks for the comments guys.