Bogner modded amps?

cardinal

cardinal

Well-known member
Anyone have experience with one of these? Is there any way to tell if it was his work?

I bought an old Traynor from the LA area that at some point had a Bogner logo on the front (since was stolen off the front) and it definitely was modded. It’s still point-to-point/torrent board with lots of what look like mustard caps. No crazy added pcbs or extra tubes. I’m not knowledgeable enough to know what was done to the circuit. But stock it was a non-master volume JTM45 clone but now has a master volume, lot of gain, and thick, “woody” tone.

Unfortunately no signatures or writing on the amp that I see, other than the stock Traynor printing.

Any one know of any “tells” to see if it really is a Bogner mod?

I’ll try to get some pics up later for anyone interested.
 
The only tell I know of is a blue pcb that Bogner used in modding Marshalls, it was a smaller board put into the chassis next to the original Marshall pcb. I've never played one but did see one in Mpls, at Solid Body Guitars...I had a Cameron I was selling and was interested in the Bogner Marshall but it was not running, so I couldn't try it...But he pulled the chassis to show me and it was signed and dated from 90 I think..
 
Thanks! Yeah, I’ve seen the ones with the blue PCBs. This definitely does not have that. I don’t see extra tubes or diodes, and don’t know enough about amps to know where the extra gain is coming from. It has a good bit more gain on tap than my Marshall 2204, and stays smooth and defined all the way up (no fizzy mush).

I emailed Bogner but I don’t have too much hope they’ll be interested in spending much time with questions.
 
Maybe check with EXPcustom? Jason I think? He could show a pic to Mark C and he'd be able to tell, he worked for Bogner at one point....
 
Bogner mod on top. No signatures, other than the black label that says "Bogner Mod". Inside, the original board has been cut off and the original V2 is unused. He added 2 new preamp tube sockets and the preamp circuit for the new V1 and V2 is done on regular project board with solder traces. Also, a switching relay board was added. He did this mod before leaving Germany.
 

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Thanks Steve.

This one doesn’t have any craziness inside like extra boards. There’s a bright switch and another switch that seems to maybe cut mids? It’s subtle but adds something like a touch of aggression. The EQ is unusual. It’s like an SLO: need to start with everything at 2 and adjust from there.

Extremely sensitive to pickup output. Dialing up low output PAFs, the amp lets you get away with pumping up the gain and bass. But switch to a hot Duncan and it’s overwhelming, so the controls just get dialed back.

Whoever did the mod, it sounds really good. Not tight enough alone for modern metal, but it definitely nails something like, say... Facelift...
 
cardinal":2rbic6bd said:
Thanks Steve.

This one doesn’t have any craziness inside like extra boards. There’s a bright switch and another switch that seems to maybe cut mids? It’s subtle but adds something like a touch of aggression. The EQ is unusual. It’s like an SLO: need to start with everything at 2 and adjust from there.

Extremely sensitive to pickup output. Dialing up low output PAFs, the amp lets you get away with pumping up the gain and bass. But switch to a hot Duncan and it’s overwhelming, so the controls just get dialed back.

Whoever did the mod, it sounds really good. Not tight enough alone for modern metal, but it definitely nails something like, say... Facelift...
Click to expand...

He didn't do a lot of mods and according to Jorg, the ones he did do were with purpose and trying out things that originally led up to the 100b Ecstasy release. The brights, excursion controls, voicing, etc.
 
Front of the amp with an added wood front panel that was drilled for some logo. The mini switches are not stock. First seems like a bright switch, adds a touch of gain maybe. Second switch seems to add subtle attack. More noticeable when the other switch is down.
F6890348-00-F0-4043-9-CDD-3-CB5-C3-B44-E7-B.jpg


Wiring inside:
75968571-0-B51-4-FDD-998-D-D49-CFE45-D86-F.jpg


Nothing totally bonkers going on in there from what I can tell, though the potometer in there seems odd
 
steve_k":5a0zkr87 said:
cardinal":5a0zkr87 said:
Thanks Steve.

This one doesn’t have any craziness inside like extra boards. There’s a bright switch and another switch that seems to maybe cut mids? It’s subtle but adds something like a touch of aggression. The EQ is unusual. It’s like an SLO: need to start with everything at 2 and adjust from there.

Extremely sensitive to pickup output. Dialing up low output PAFs, the amp lets you get away with pumping up the gain and bass. But switch to a hot Duncan and it’s overwhelming, so the controls just get dialed back.

Whoever did the mod, it sounds really good. Not tight enough alone for modern metal, but it definitely nails something like, say... Facelift...
Click to expand...

He didn't do a lot of mods and according to Jorg, the ones he did do were with purpose and trying out things that originally led up to the 100b Ecstasy release. The brights, excursion controls, voicing, etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks again Steve. Appreciate it.
 
Oh, and for those scratching their heads at the controls: Traynor called the mid control “range expander bass” and presence was “range expander treble.” No idea why. They seem to operate that way on this amp.
 
cardinal":1vsdnb6l said:
Oh, and for those scratching their heads at the controls: Traynor called the mid control “range expander bass” and presence was “range expander treble.” No idea why. They seem to operate that way on this amp.
Click to expand...

Is that a version of the "Caveman" amp?
 
Bogner Amps is super helpful. They are waiting to confirm but they think it looks like his work. “Looks like it was filtered tighter with these big brown caps and a few minor mods in the preamp.“
 
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