Bogner Über-Ultra EL34 [Updated]

  • Thread starter Thread starter Simon Dorn
  • Start date Start date
Normally I’m all about a boosted, 6 knob Marshall will win every time but for the style and tuning of the clip I actually liked the Uber better. Just had this monstrous quality to the size of it that made me feel if these had existed in 1993, Bolt Thrower would have used them on top of 4x15 cabs. I’ve not liked previous Uber’s I’ve tried in the past but I am very much a Marshall kind of guy, but I would love to tinker with this one, especially with the ability to be tighter, over previous gen’s. It’s like the Tremoverb I have. It would never be my first pick to record with but I love it in the room for fun. This Uber could be that kind of amp.
 
Normally I’m all about a boosted, 6 knob Marshall will win every time but for the style and tuning of the clip I actually liked the Uber better. Just had this monstrous quality to the size of it that made me feel if these had existed in 1993, Bolt Thrower would have used them on top of 4x15 cabs. I’ve not liked previous Uber’s I’ve tried in the past but I am very much a Marshall kind of guy, but I would love to tinker with this one, especially with the ability to be tighter, over previous gen’s. It’s like the Tremoverb I have. It would never be my first pick to record with but I love it in the room for fun. This Uber could be that kind of amp.
Absolutely!
 
Finally got my Uber Ultra. It’s gonna take me a looong time to explore all the options, but I’ll say this:

-It seems to be more mid-focused than earlier Uberschalls, with less high end on tap. That may be because of the JJ preamp tubes it came with. I’ll have to try some Shuguangs in it and see if the top end is restored.

-This thing gets LOUD really fast. It’s pretty hard to dial in a bedroom level tone because it’s almost an on/off switch using both channel and master volumes. I would prefer a more gradual taper to allow easier dialing in moderate volumes. Anybody else notice this?

-I’m still not sure what the second master volume knob is for.

-It’s a pretty noisy amp in Ultra mode, but it’s easily the tightest and most aggressive amp I’ve ever played without a boost. This thing is a metal machine, and the tone shaping options are almost endless.

-The cleans on channel one are surprisingly decent. Much better than the Twin Jet’s.


Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. It’s going to take some getting used to, but I think it’ll do most tones the earlier Uberschalls did.
 
This thing gets LOUD really fast. It’s pretty hard to dial in a bedroom level tone because it’s almost an on/off switch using both channel and master volumes. I would prefer a more gradual taper to allow easier dialing in moderate volumes. Anybody else notice this?
Is your FX loop volume in the back cranked up? If so, turn that down and you’ll get great bedroom volume tones.

Congrats on finally getting one! It’s become my all time favorite amp. It can do so much.
 
Is your FX loop volume in the back cranked up? If so, turn that down and you’ll get great bedroom volume tones.

Congrats on finally getting one! It’s become my all time favorite amp. It can do so much.
Is that even with the FX loop disengaged?
 
As stated before you gotta turn down the effects loop master to tame the amp’s loudness. It’s a Bogner thing universally. I set my XTC effects loop volume to half all of the time. I’ve never needed it set higher.
 
My Uber Ultra's FX loop volume has been set on 0, full counter-clockwise, since I bought it. Sounds great to me and is easy to dial down to night time TV volume if necessary.

Finally got my Uber Ultra. It’s gonna take me a looong time to explore all the options, but I’ll say this:

-It seems to be more mid-focused than earlier Uberschalls, with less high end on tap. That may be because of the JJ preamp tubes it came with. I’ll have to try some Shuguangs in it and see if the top end is restored.

Don't be afraid to crank the Density to scoop the mids a bit.

If you don't think the amp is bright enough, give Channel 1 Uber mode a shot. Channel 2 sounds fatter and much more American to me, where Channel 1 is much brighter, more agile, and generally more British sounding. Turn the Treble and mids down to 10:30 so it doesn't slice your ears off and you're in modded high gain Marshall territory but with way more low end on tap.
 
Yep, turning down the FX Loop level worked wonders. It's interesting because my Twin Jet's FX loop knob had no effect whatsoever unless the FX loop was engaged.
 
My Uber Ultra's FX loop volume has been set on 0, full counter-clockwise, since I bought it. Sounds great to me and is easy to dial down to night time TV volume if necessary.



Don't be afraid to crank the Density to scoop the mids a bit.

If you don't think the amp is bright enough, give Channel 1 Uber mode a shot. Channel 2 sounds fatter and much more American to me, where Channel 1 is much brighter, more agile, and generally more British sounding. Turn the Treble and mids down to 10:30 so it doesn't slice your ears off and you're in modded high gain Marshall territory but with way more low end on tap.
Cranking the density and presence knobs definitely helps. It's still lacking that upper end sizzle that my Rev 2 has. But that's okay.
 
Cranking the density and presence knobs definitely helps. It's still lacking that upper end sizzle that my Rev 2 has. But that's okay.
Yeah the amp does have ample high end but its a different frequency and not the same aggressive sizzle as the R2/Blue. Its closer to the TJ in that regard but the TJ still can get some nice sizzle. If you put an EQ in the loop and add a little 8K, you can get it back to some degree.
 
Yeah the amp does have ample high end but its a different frequency and not the same aggressive sizzle as the R2/Blue. Its closer to the TJ in that regard but the TJ still can get some nice sizzle. If you put an EQ in the loop and add a little 8K, you can get it back to some degree.
After playing around with it some more, I realized that a lot of the higher end I was getting from my Rev 2 was from my Boss SD-1 as a boost. Using the Fat, Uber, and Doom modes with the SD-1 yielded that high end I was familiar with. It sounds really, really good with a boost and the right modes, but what is crazy is how tight and aggressive it can get without a boost and the Ultra, Tight, and Focus settings engaged.
 
After playing around with it some more, I realized that a lot of the higher end I was getting from my Rev 2 was from my Boss SD-1 as a boost. Using the Fat, Uber, and Doom modes with the SD-1 yielded that high end I was familiar with. It sounds really, really good with a boost and the right modes, but what is crazy is how tight and aggressive it can get without a boost and the Ultra, Tight, and Focus settings engaged.
It can do everything the other Ubers can do and much more. They knocked it out of the park.
 
What does the second Master Volume knob do? I still haven't figured it out...
 
Switch as a volume boost for solos live my only thought.
Gotcha. Maybe that’s it.

I replaced the entire preamp section with Shuguang 12AX7Bs, and I immediately heard that top-end sizzle and aggression I was familiar with. It’s a big improvement over the JJ preamp tubes.
 
Is there an opinion on which tube type version is the most favorable?
 
Is there an opinion on which tube type version is the most favorable?
I took the EL34, because it leaves options. For either EL34, 2xEL34 + 2xKT88 or a Quartett of (in both Cases pretty low biased) KT88. But i did not keep it. :D
 
Back
Top