uberschall questions

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

I'm a Bogner noob and I had some questions for you guys. First off, what distortion can I expect from the uber? Is it tight, focused and compressed like an ENGL, loose with a sorta growl sound like a Mesa or is it articulate and responsive ala VHT? Also does it have a solo boost? I've heard the clean channel is less than spectacular is well. What are the differences in the revisions? I'm selling my Dual Rec to get one, so also if any of you guys are trying to unload one, let me know. Thanks!

 

[Death by Uberschall]

It's not loose like a Mesa Recto, thicker tones on the low mids and bottom. Nice compression when pushed, but that varies between the different versions. It's massive, sustain for days. The Presence control is the key to tuning the amp. It's not a super high end tone control, but actually a low mid control, so you can go from a scooped metal tone to a full bodied thick tone.

The clean channel is much better than most let on to. I'm very happy with the cleans on my Rev2. Nice and warm, full tones. Is it SLO pristine or AC30 chimey? No it's not, but it does work well compared to the gain channel.

Quick rundown of versions:

Original - High plate voltage, nice power section compression, quick taper on gain control, slightly lower level clean channel

Rev2 - High plate voltage, nice power section compression, revised taper on gain control, slightly lower level clean channel

Blue - Lower plate voltage, tighter power section w/less compression, circuit changes, clean channel matched closer to gain channel level, bias test points added

Twin Jet - addition of KT88 power tubes and power section tuning, two high gain channels (although Bogner is offering a lower gain mod for channel 1)

The issue of the clean channel level on the earlier versions seems exaggerated to me as I don't have a problem. Just turn up the clean to match levels and then use the master level for amp volume control.

 

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

Thanks for all the info, bro. I really appreciate it. I've heard some insane clips of the Twin Jet, and while it sounds absolutely incredible, its quite a bit out of my price range. I only seem to see Blues for sale, is there a reason for that?

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Thanks for all the info, bro. I really appreciate it. I've heard some insane clips of the Twin Jet, and while it sounds absolutely incredible, its quite a bit out of my price range. I only seem to see Blues for sale, is there a reason for that?

No problem, glad to help.

I've been noticing "Blues" for sale also, but never really see many of the Original and Rev2 versions for sale. Is it a "pattern" or just a difference in the numbers produced? I really have no idea.

I got lucky finding mine and have not regretted one bit.

Which ever version you wind up with, you'll love the amp.

 

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

Yeah, I don't expect to be disappointed with a Bogner. I really love the clips I've heard, and the rig I ultimately want to run is an Uberschall with an ENGL Invader or SE. Also, I see you've got a Dual Rec. I had an ENGL Fireball before, and while I loved the tones I got out of it, there simply wasn't enough headroom and the shared EQ bummed me out, so I traded it for a Dual Rec. Can you compare the sounds of the Uber to the Dual?

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Yeah, I don't expect to be disappointed with a Bogner. I really love the clips I've heard, and the rig I ultimately want to run is an Uberschall with an ENGL Invader or SE. Also, I see you've got a Dual Rec. I had an ENGL Fireball before, and while I loved the tones I got out of it, there simply wasn't enough headroom and the shared EQ bummed me out, so I traded it for a Dual Rec. Can you compare the sounds of the Uber to the Dual?

It's not loose like a Mesa Recto, thicker tones on the low mids and bottom. Nice compression when pushed, but that varies between the different versions. It's massive, sustain for days. The Presence control is the key to tuning the amp. It's not a super high end tone control, but actually a low mid control, so you can go from a scooped metal tone to a full bodied thick tone.

Where you will find the DR sounds "hollow" or "flubby" on the low end, the Uberschall is full and when pushed the Uberschall compresses nicely without getting harsh sounding. Closest I can come up with for a comparison would be the Uberschall falls in between a DR and and modded JCM800.

 

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

Haha I'm completely absent minded today, and I don't know how the hell I read over that. Also, it seemed like with my Fireball, I could get a badass rhythm tone, my leads sounded thin, and when I found a really fluid, warm lead tone, my rhythms lacked character and definition. With the shared EQ, it was next to impossible to find a happy medium. With the Uber having one channel devoted to clean, and one to distortion, will I have this trouble? If somehow you've answered this already, please forgive me haha, I'm on my phone at work, so I kinda have to skim.

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Haha I'm completely absent minded today, and I don't know how the hell I read over that. Also, it seemed like with my Fireball, I could get a badass rhythm tone, my leads sounded thin, and when I found a really fluid, warm lead tone, my rhythms lacked character and definition. With the shared EQ, it was next to impossible to find a happy medium. With the Uber having one channel devoted to clean, and one to distortion, will I have this trouble? If somehow you've answered this already, please forgive me haha, I'm on my phone at work, so I kinda have to skim.

I run EMG 81/85 pups, and I can honestly say that I can go from my rhythm tone to a lead line without changing anything and both sound great.

 

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

Very good. I'll probably be running blackouts or an 81/7 60/7 combo in live situations when I get the Uber, so that should be super. Also, what tubes are you using in yours? Both power and preamp. I've read about people putting kt88's in their rev blues, which intrigues me a lot!

 

[Death by Uberschall]

Very good. I'll probably be running blackouts or an 81/7 60/7 combo in live situations when I get the Uber, so that should be super. Also, what tubes are you using in yours? Both power and preamp. I've read about people putting kt88's in their rev blues, which intrigues me a lot!

JJ E34L power tubes - try these before you mod the amp for KT88's

v1 Tung-sol 12AX7 re-issue
v2 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen
v3 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen
v4 JJ EC803S
v5 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen - balanced
v6 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen - balanced

 

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

Very good. I'll probably be running blackouts or an 81/7 60/7 combo in live situations when I get the Uber, so that should be super. Also, what tubes are you using in yours? Both power and preamp. I've read about people putting kt88's in their rev blues, which intrigues me a lot!

JJ E34L power tubes - try these before you mod the amp for KT88's

v1 Tung-sol 12AX7 re-issue
v2 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen
v3 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen
v4 JJ EC803S
v5 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen - balanced
v6 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen - balanced

Yeah I planned on giving the EL34s their fair trial cause all the amps I've ever are owned use 6l6s, so I've got zero experience with EL34s and have no idea what to expect from them.

 

[TheMagicEight]

Very good. I'll probably be running blackouts or an 81/7 60/7 combo in live situations when I get the Uber, so that should be super. Also, what tubes are you using in yours? Both power and preamp. I've read about people putting kt88's in their rev blues, which intrigues me a lot!

JJ E34L power tubes - try these before you mod the amp for KT88's

v1 Tung-sol 12AX7 re-issue
v2 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen
v3 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen
v4 JJ EC803S
v5 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen - balanced
v6 Shuguang 12AX7 9th gen - balanced

Not sure what you've tested with your Uber, but in the short while I've owned my Twin Jet I've found the Chinese preamp tubes to be fizzy and undefined. I switched mine out for some NOS tubes, but I think a mix of Sovtek LPS, Tung-Sol Reissue and Tung-Sol ECC803S would be a vast improvement over the Chinese. Anyway, if you haven't tried switching out the Chinese, it's worth a listen; if you have and like the Chinese more, to each his tone!

Yeah I planned on giving the EL34s their fair trial cause all the amps I've ever are owned use 6l6s, so I've got zero experience with EL34s and have no idea what to expect from them.

I'm loving the KT88s on my Twin Jet, but I'm curious as hell about the EL34s! I'd imagine they would have more of a midrange growl, and though they probably aren't as tight, I'd imagine the EL34s would work very well in a recording situation or in a band. One of these days when I have too much free time on my hands, I'm going to tear open my Bogners and put EL34s in the Twin Jet and KT88s in the Ecstasy! Honestly though, I'm not expecting to like either of those combinations as much as their stock configurations...

 

[mattTHERIPPERsanchez]

Yeah I've been curious about EL34s for awhile myself, KT88s as well. I have zero experience with both of them, so I'd like to give em a shot. I hear a lot of dudes, especially the VHT guys running the UL, talkin up the KT88s like they're godly, which makes me more curious.

I'm after an All Shall Perish or Unearth type sound, and from the things I've read and small amount of clips I've heard, the Uber can give me that.