So I just got a Bogner Alchemist head...

[moltenmetalburn]

This Alchemist and its consumer response has me confused.

It's safe to say Bogner knows his tone in and out. There are legions of Bogner custom shop owners that will attest to this fact.

Bogner did design the amp himself so in the end I'm sure he released something he thinks sounds great. It was almost two years before it came out that I started hearing about it so it obviously wasn't rushed.

So why do so many people say otherwise?

I understand it was built in China so the number of duds off the line is greatly increased. the tubes are also nothing special and we all know how much effect they can have. I did read somewhere that Bogner handed selected the components the amp is built out of. he chose not to let the Chinese decide, I have seen pics that attest to this fact.

So... if Bogner thinks it sounds great and most love his tones whats the issue here?

I wonder if you played it thinking it was 3k and made in the USA if you would dislike it as much?

It seems most go to play the Alchemist expecting it to suck... I never plug into a Bogner expecting it to suck.

 

[Rogue]

I had a chance to play one at my place, with my guitar, with some healthy volume and I was really digging it. Didn't have the same experience with the one at Best Buy. I didn't get it as loud, so that may be it.

 

[glassjaw7]

They break easily. They are made by Line6, so QC isn't of the highest. (I've owned two pods and multiple L6 pedals and accessories over the years, only to have ALL of them malfunction at least once except for my pod pro )

As far as the Alchemists go, they do sound decent when they are working 100%. But like I said earlier, the first one I played was a broken POS and sounded laughably bad. That said, USA Bogner stuff is some of the highest quality gear made IMO.

 

[ejecta]

They break easily. They are made by Line6, so QC isn't of the highest. (I've owned two pods and multiple L6 pedals and accessories over the years, only to have ALL of them malfunction at least once except for my pod pro )

As far as the Alchemists go, they do sound decent when they are working 100%. But like I said earlier, the first one I played was a broken POS and sounded laughably bad. That said, USA Bogner stuff is some of the highest quality gear made IMO.

I gigged for 4 years with several Line 6 products like the DM4 and MM4 with no issues what so ever. Had a POD back in the day and had no issues with it either. Have an M13 and it has been solid for over a year.

I had two Diezel's have issues... two Bad Cat's, a Roccaforte, a Splawn, and few other boutique amps have issues. Never had issues with Bogners though.

Just giving another perspective.

 

[glassjaw7]

They break easily. They are made by Line6, so QC isn't of the highest. (I've owned two pods and multiple L6 pedals and accessories over the years, only to have ALL of them malfunction at least once except for my pod pro )

As far as the Alchemists go, they do sound decent when they are working 100%. But like I said earlier, the first one I played was a broken POS and sounded laughably bad. That said, USA Bogner stuff is some of the highest quality gear made IMO.

I gigged for 4 years with several Line 6 products like the DM4 and MM4 with no issues what so ever. Had a POD back in the day and had no issues with it either. Have an M13 and it has been solid for over a year.

I had two Diezel's have issues... two Bad Cat's, a Roccaforte, a Splawn, and few other boutique amps have issues. Never had issues with Bogners though.

Just giving another perspective.

I must be unlucky with my L6 purchases.
I baby the hell out of my gear, and my first pod's power supply melted while I was playing which in turn fried the POD. My DL4 just flat out quit working (however I fixed it and cashed in on the replacement check from GC ) My old Flextone amp took a dump on me, so I had it repaired and gave to my friend. My next pod had issues, and the worst of all of them is the old floorboard from the original pods and flextones. What a piece of shit!! EVERYONE I know with one has problems with it freezing up, buttons not working and when you step on the wah pedal with any pressure, it changes channels!

Cool that your stuff hasn't given you trouble though. Seems like the newer stuff holds up a little better.

 

[blackba]

I must be unlucky with my L6 purchases.
I baby the hell out of my gear, and my first pod's power supply melted while I was playing which in turn fried the POD. My DL4 just flat out quit working (however I fixed it and cashed in on the replacement check from GC ) My old Flextone amp took a dump on me, so I had it repaired and gave to my friend. My next pod had issues, and the worst of all of them is the old floorboard from the original pods and flextones. What a piece of shit!! EVERYONE I know with one has problems with it freezing up, buttons not working and when you step on the wah pedal with any pressure, it changes channels!

Cool that your stuff hasn't given you trouble though. Seems like the newer stuff holds up a little better.

Ouch, lots of line6 issues. The guy in my last band used a spider valve. The floorboard decided to crap out. It was warm and in the sun, but I didn't expect it to crap out. He got it exchanged at GC and the new one has worked fine. The volume on the pedal is so touchy its not even funny.

 

[nbarts]

So... if Bogner thinks it sounds great and most love his tones whats the issue here?

1st - Bogner sells it, so he should say it sounds good
2nd - even Bogner in his interview mentioned that he made the head to fit under a certain price range, so he had to compromise
3rd - Bogner wouldn't want it sounding on the level of his custom shop products, even if he could make it sounding so at that price point
4th - you can get a decent tone out of pretty much any amp, but that doesn't make it a better amp
5th - I'm disappointed in many of his new custom shop products too. Between taking care of making some money, he probably just has not enough time for development, but you can't expect the man to work his butt off his entire life so a bunch of gearheads would be happy with his amps.

 

[ejecta]

They break easily. They are made by Line6, so QC isn't of the highest. (I've owned two pods and multiple L6 pedals and accessories over the years, only to have ALL of them malfunction at least once except for my pod pro )

As far as the Alchemists go, they do sound decent when they are working 100%. But like I said earlier, the first one I played was a broken POS and sounded laughably bad. That said, USA Bogner stuff is some of the highest quality gear made IMO.

I gigged for 4 years with several Line 6 products like the DM4 and MM4 with no issues what so ever. Had a POD back in the day and had no issues with it either. Have an M13 and it has been solid for over a year.

I had two Diezel's have issues... two Bad Cat's, a Roccaforte, a Splawn, and few other boutique amps have issues. Never had issues with Bogners though.

Just giving another perspective.

I must be unlucky with my L6 purchases.
I baby the hell out of my gear, and my first pod's power supply melted while I was playing which in turn fried the POD. My DL4 just flat out quit working (however I fixed it and cashed in on the replacement check from GC ) My old Flextone amp took a dump on me, so I had it repaired and gave to my friend. My next pod had issues, and the worst of all of them is the old floorboard from the original pods and flextones. What a piece of shit!! EVERYONE I know with one has problems with it freezing up, buttons not working and when you step on the wah pedal with any pressure, it changes channels!

Cool that your stuff hasn't given you trouble though. Seems like the newer stuff holds up a little better.

Yikes that isnt good. It's massed produced stuff so the dud level increases when the numbers produced are higher, that's why I never buy that stuff used. I buy from a local store so I can take back if I need to and they take good care of me but like I said I havent had that many issues with the Line 6 stuff but I've had issues with all kinds of gear. Shit happens. I will say though.... of those amps I listed the makers were awesome with wanting to fix the problem and if I had to deal with corporate Line 6 and not the dealer... I'm sure it would be a nightmare so dealing with the small builder is probably a better experience.

 

[chunkomatic]

i played through one at GC when they first came out last year and thought it was the worst sounding tube amp i had ever heard. ever. it was so atrocious i wanted to punch a baby in the face and kick a grandma in the stomach.