Bogner Alchemist – Turning Lead Guitar Into Gold

Even from childhood, in his indigenous Germany, Reinhold Bogner was now skillfully welding his soldering iron to produce his own guitar amplifiers. Soon after he moved to Los Angeles, his styles and amp modifications began to draw in well-known names from the six-string environment like Steve Vai, Steve Stevens, and Eddie Van Halen. So when it was introduced that he was putting out an amp made in Line6’s factories that would cost much less than $1500, it designed a big sounds.

This new model, termed the Alchemist, a handsome-hunting 40W tube-amp, is specifically what we are going to be testing. It will come in a few types: two combos: the 1st geared up with a 12-inch loudspeaker and the next with two various 12-inch speakers and an amp head + 2×12 cabinet. This assessment is about the 2×12 combo product.

It truly is rather bulky, (two 12-inch speakers just take up a little bit of house!) large (80 lbs), and has a extremely wonderful neo-classic search to it. Every thing seems to be sound and all set to consider a beating. Even although it is really created in Line6’s stores, it can be still a Bogner! Other far more costly types of the model thus become “Custom made Shop” class. As for seems to be and finish, the grid, the symbol, knobs and modest diodes all appear well produced and give the amp a respectable appear. Every little thing about the amp exudes the good quality of the model.

But let us see if the Alchemist can genuinely remodel lead into gold …

Inside of the alembic

One appear at the specs is sufficient to see that it is really truly bought 40-Watts (course-AB electricity) beneath the hood, but you can also decrease the electrical power by fifty percent. This is extremely helpful when you want to keep in good relations with your neighbors although pushing the amp a very little… Very careful on the other hand, due to the fact even at 20 watts, the Alchemist provides some significant audio! As for tubes, it really is got two 6L6 energy tubes and 5 12AX7 preamp tubes rather vintage. As for the two 12-inch speakers, this amp features a Celestion G12M Dollar and a G12H Anniversary Celestion. This configuration is instead intriguing, since you will be capable to get two fairly different seems all through recording: wonderful contact! The Alchemist hence involves conventional, but excellent, components.

In conditions of inputs and outputs, there’s of study course the guitar-in on the entrance panel, furthermore two speaker outputs (8/16 Ohms and 4 Ohms) on the back panel. An XLR link is applied to hook up a 4-button foot swap (bundled) to control channels, improve, hold off, and reverb. And lastly, you can find an Fx loop and blend knob. Observe that the loop is buffered and non-by passable so the “dry” signal in no way leaves the amp, so as to not to degrade the signal with an exterior factor.

Mixing the Components

As for settings, keep in head that the amplifier supplies two channels: the “Gold” channel which is meant to excel at clear and crunch appears, and the “Mercury” channel, which turns to higher gains. For the first channel there are typical knobs: attain, bass, mid, treble, volume, in addition a variety of switches: Clear/Crunch, Brilliant, and Deep (to incorporate small-mids and base-conclude). Higher than the Gold/Mercury switch there is a Raise switch which, when applied to the Gold channel, provides attain and thickness (with far more low-mids to your audio). On the Mercury channel, the boost provides get and fattens your audio with no necessarily escalating its quantity. For this 2nd channel, there are also get, quantity, and EQ knobs but also a Punch swap which, when set to the remaining, gives a extra basic Californian tone, and when established to the appropriate, a much more British large-get tone. The Mid Shift swap will slash mid frequencies.

In phrases of results, the Alchemist features a hold off (with a faucet delay button that lets you promptly adjust its pace to tempo) with three forms: ducking (rapid cuts), analog, and tape (tape hold off). It’s also probable to regulate the quantity of repetitions by means of the ‘Repeats’ knob. The amp also features a few reverbs: spring, corridor, and plate selectable through the appropriate change.

Offered the amount of switches, there must be a large amount of sonic “alchemy” achievable … Let us check it out!

The Seem

For starters, you can choose a seem at Bogner’s website, which has a lot of audio samples. You can hear that the Alchemist sounds terrific when performed with solitary-coil pickups and a bit overdriven … It fairly nicely reproduces the standard Stratocaster audio and the Nocaster Twang! No trouble with crunch seems and the amp responds properly to picking variations (thanks to the tubes …): a excellent flick of the wrist gets the Alchemist to crunch in a good way, tasty! This definitely adds extra expressiveness to one’s actively playing. The example with a Les Paul would not do justice to this outstanding instrument, its characteristic roundness is missing a little little bit…

The samples recorded with a Hamer reveal a alternatively fats and gritty seem, but slightly muddy, which may make sure you some and annoy other folks … It truly is a issue of flavor! This amp is suggested far more for supporters of stoner rock instead than shredders who normally desire a very exact and chopping seem. The amp has a inclination to drop definition in the reduced-mids. You get the perception that it responds far more like a vintage amp relatively than a modern-day hi-gain amp.

With regard to my personal sound samples, a Gretsch G5129 was applied, equipped with DeArmond one coil pickups and a Sennheiser MD421 microphone put in entrance of the amp. A idea for mic placement with this amp: there is certainly a wooden bar put vertically in the middle of each individual speaker, which is effortless as a marker for inserting the mics in front of the speaker cones, due to the fact the covering is opaque.  As I am not permitted to publish on this posting backlinks which point to my sound samples, you can check out them out on the unique Bogner Alchemist write-up published on en.audiofanzine.com.  You can hear a definite difference amongst the two speakers which in flip multiplies the tone possibilities.

Not too several surprises, the samples confirm what was mentioned over. The delays are fairly vintage sounding and can give your seem a pleasant coloring if employed sparingly. Exact for the reverts: rather good sounding and really suitable for most circumstances. These audio illustrations were developed to permit the reader to hear the variance among each change of the amp.

Bogner set out to make an available amp and it looks he’s succeeded. We are in the presence of an amplifier that fees much less than $1500 (for the 2×12 design) with two channels with really unique personalities and two speakers that considerably grow its sonic palette. Add to that a tiny neo-vintage appear, a cleanse sound that crunches as it need to and a unwanted fat distorted tone and you get an amp that is created to you should.

Conclusion

Of course, individuals who like to complain will say that it weighs a ton, that you may need tweezers to tweak the small switches, and that it is difficult to get a modern-day shred-like distortion tone out of it. They wouldn’t be mistaken. But the Alchemist has temperament, and that suggests it possibly will not likely remember to everyone … But what guitar amp does?  The significant pluses:

• A Bogner for less than $1500!
• Producing Quality
• Superior clean/crunch sounds
• Two distinct speakers
• A wide variety of tone options
• The decision of 40 or 20 watts
• The appear
• Good quality of the reverb and delay

Drawbacks…

• Not uncomplicated to have: major and bulky
• Switches: smaller and not simple to get to
• Distortion sounds that is not going to enchantment to everybody!