Bogner Uber Ultra

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ZEN Amps

ZEN Amps

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Still getting familiar with this thing, but I'm convinced of two things. One, it's lots of fun to play. Heaps of gain, tight, and mean. Two, I can't get a decent mid-gain 70's crunch out of it to save my life. Not that anyone will buy this amp for traditional Marshall tones though.

Here's a doubled riff using Ultra mode.

Drop C# Les Paul w/ Wolfetone Blisterbucker > Ultra mode > Friedman 412 with 2015 Vintage 30. I think I actually like the raging upper mid spike of this speaker with this amp. A little harsh isolated like this, but in a mix would likely would sit well:

 
Sounds great mate - The uber really sounds like a modded marshall to me, not sure if others think that but that's always what my ear has heard with these amps
 
Nice Zen. The Hair + mode is where it's at so make sure you play with it. I love this amp more than any Cameron Marshall, Diezel, VHT, Bogner, Monomyth, Mesa and any of the hundreds of others I have had. By far my favorite high gain amp ever. I have the 6L6 Ultra. Really has a fun factor that is hard to beat. Sounds killer at all volume levels. Sounds great with Greenbacks, Creambacks or V30s. Amazing amp.
 
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ZEN Amps said:
Still getting familiar with this thing, but I'm convinced of two things. One, it's lots of fun to play. Heaps of gain, tight, and mean. Two, I can't get a decent mid-gain 70's crunch out of it to save my life. Not that anyone will buy this amp for traditional Marshall tones though.

Here's a doubled riff using Ultra mode.

Drop C# Les Paul w/ Wolfetone Blisterbucker > Ultra mode > Friedman 412 with 2015 Vintage 30. I think I actually like the raging upper mid spike of this speaker with this amp. A little harsh isolated like this, but in a mix would likely would sit well:

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Heinous!
agree about the v30
and remember the uberkab came with the V30/G12T75

i really don’t like the 75 but in that cab and onstage with the right amp it cuts.
 
Bram576 said:
Mine lives on hair +. Definitely the favorite of those options.
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tonedog said:
Nice Zen. The Hair + mode is where it's at so make sure you play with it. I love this amp more than any Cameron Marshall, Diezel, VHT, Bogner, Monomyth, Mesa and any of the hundreds of others I have had. By far my favorite high gain amp ever. I have the 6L6 Ultra. Really has a fun factor that is hard to beat. Sounds killer at all volume levels. Sounds great with Greenbacks, Creambacks or V30s. Amazing amp.
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I spent some more time on Hair+ tonight, it's certainly an interesting sound. It seems to work better in the room than under the mic - will have more of a play and see where it leads.
 
@ZEN Amps

As soon as I heard the clip, I wondered if it was done Ultra mode, and then I read it in your post, hah. Ch 2 Ultra mode has got a very aggressive input low cut built in, not unlike a 5150 II.

I'd recommend checking out the Uber mode in Channel 1. To me it feels similarly tight but it has less of the cocked-wah thing that the Ultra channel can have. The Bright switch is tempting to turn on but in a mix I find Bright is better off. I also stick to Hair+ mode, but that mode is relatively scooped, so you'll want to keep your mids a bit higher than normal to compensate.

Oh, and experiment with the Treble control. Even as somebody who likes wide open, clear sounding top end, I keep the Treble on both channels of my Uber Ultra down around 9:00 on average, 11:00 at max. If it sounds too dark that way, try turning up the Presence.
 
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I can’t get past that built in boost stuck on a particular vowel sound that doesn’t change to input dynamics aspect I’m hearing here. I just didn’t want to say ‘cocked wah.”
 
Hey Zen, are you still putting out YouTube videos? I really enjoyed your demos, but realized I haven’t seen any in a while.
Actually I see one from yesterday on the Divided by 13, more to come?
 
ZEN Amps said:
I spent some more time on Hair+ tonight, it's certainly an interesting sound. It seems to work better in the room than under the mic - will have more of a play and see where it leads.
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It can sound too dark for sure. When on hair+ i usually go at least 3:00 or more in the presence dial, depth the same, density between 1:00-and 3:00 will open up the amp so it’s not so scooped. Also ch 1 is much more clanky than ch 2 so keep the treble down like @TheGreatGreen suggested.
 
thegame said:
I can’t get past that built in boost stuck on a particular vowel sound that doesn’t change to input dynamics aspect I’m hearing here. I just didn’t want to say ‘cocked wah.”
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It's not the built-in boost, that's just how the Ultra mode sounds. The boost is flat on the other channels.
 
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TheGreatGreen said:
It's not the built-in boost, that's just how the Ultra mode sounds. The boost is flat on the other channels.
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Yeah, I didn’t explain it well. I didn’t actually mean the literal built in boost feature that is on/off user switchable. I meant the inherent core voicing that is baked into the circuit of that channel.
 
thegame said:
Yeah, I didn’t explain it well. I didn’t actually mean the literal built in boost feature that is on/off user switchable. I meant the inherent core voicing that is baked into the circuit of that channel.
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Yeah the Ultra mode is interesting. I think the more you turn up the gain, the less apparent that low end filtering becomes because everything just kind of gets overwhelmed, but the channel is kind of built around that kind of sound, so doing that can work.

Personally when I use the Ultra channel, I usually crank down the Metamorph control pretty hard to get the clankiest, most metallic Meshuggah-like tone I can. For anything less aggressive than that, I'll typically stick with the other modes.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
@ZEN Amps

As soon as I heard the clip, I wondered if it was done Ultra mode, and then I read it in your post, hah. Ch 2 Ultra mode has got a very aggressive input low cut built in, not unlike a 5150 II.

I'd recommend checking out the Uber mode in Channel 1. To me it feels similarly tight but it has less of the cocked-wah thing that the Ultra channel can have. The Bright switch is tempting to turn on but in a mix I find Bright is better off. I also stick to Hair+ mode, but that mode is relatively scooped, so you'll want to keep your mids a bit higher than normal to compensate.

Oh, and experiment with the Treble control. Even as somebody who likes wide open, clear sounding top end, I keep the Treble on both channels of my Uber Ultra down around 9:00 on average, 11:00 at max. If it sounds too dark that way, try turning up the Presence.
Click to expand...
Yeah I don't use the bright switch at all really, it's very aggressive. Ok good tips, I'll keep experimenting.

stratjacket said:
Hey Zen, are you still putting out YouTube videos? I really enjoyed your demos, but realized I haven’t seen any in a while.
Actually I see one from yesterday on the Divided by 13, more to come?
Click to expand...
Yeah just getting back into it, but they'll be more stripped back - just no time for the full production. The Ultra will be up next.
 
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