What can yall tell me about Bogner 3534s?

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Matt300ZXT
Matt300ZXT
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I dont typically go for little brothers to big full powered amps like this, but there's a pretty decent deal on one in town that they are having trouble moving and may make an offer, but never played one or even an Ecstasy so nothing to compare it to.
 
I have played an Ecstasy 101b a few times, and currently own a 3534 since mid 2021. The 3534 is a lot like a stripped down 101b, but the red channel has more gain - others say it's closer to the XTC Classic in that regard. I really do like the 3534, but I've been on the fence of trading it for something else simply because of GAS.

Sounds great through V30s, sounds great through Greenbacks. Clean channel to my ears sounds much better than on the 101b.

Some people complain that theirs has a noisy FX loop. Mine has a slight amount of 'hiss', but it's not nearly loud enough for me to complain about really. If it ever does become an issue, I'll likely remove it and put in a zero-loss loop and call it a day.

Overall, it's a damn good sounding amp. Price wise, for a few/several hundred more you could probably get a 101b if you look hard enough.

What's the price on the one you're looking at?
 
damn good amp, more gain than a 101B as said above. The blue channel is pretty true to the bigger ecstasy. The red channel may actually be better for certain things. The clean channel is really good, as is the ecstasys. I had a 3534 and sold it for an 101B (i owned one previously and had a very good impression of it in my mind.) after shipping the 3534 off and plugging in the 101B I realized i probably could have just kept the smaller amp, it's that good.
 
sahlomonic said:
I have played an Ecstasy 101b a few times, and currently own a 3534 since mid 2021. The 3534 is a lot like a stripped down 101b, but the red channel has more gain - others say it's closer to the XTC Classic in that regard. I really do like the 3534, but I've been on the fence of trading it for something else simply because of GAS.

Sounds great through V30s, sounds great through Greenbacks. Clean channel to my ears sounds much better than on the 101b.

Some people complain that theirs has a noisy FX loop. Mine has a slight amount of 'hiss', but it's not nearly loud enough for me to complain about really. If it ever does become an issue, I'll likely remove it and put in a zero-loss loop and call it a day.

Overall, it's a damn good sounding amp. Price wise, for a few/several hundred more you could probably get a 101b if you look hard enough.

What's the price on the one you're looking at?
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They don't have a cash price on just the head, but 3k with a Soldano vertical 2x12 that I wouldn't be interested in.
 
How is the 3534 at higher volumes? Does it fall apart or stay tight?
 
flimz said:
How is the 3534 at higher volumes? Does it fall apart or stay tight?
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It holds together well. I believe Reinhold has said it's 40 something pushing 50 watts in reality before. It's a 2x EL-34 amp...
 
I have owned a 3534 and I liked it but a few things bothered me. The Loop was a little noisy for me. I found I loved the blue channel on the 101B more (and that is most important channel). I liked the Red Channel on the 3534 more than on the 101B. Clean channel was great. I ultimately went back to a 101B. I just think it sounded better to my ears.
 
I‘d take an EVH Iconic over the 3534 any day except for the clean channel
 
LP Freak said:
I‘d take an EVH Iconic over the 3534 any day except for the clean channel
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My brother got the 1x12 combo. Put one of my well broken-in UK Greenbacks in it and it sounds pretty damn good!
 
napalmdeath said:
My brother got the 1x12 combo. Put one of my well broken-in UK Greenbacks in it and it sounds pretty damn good!
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I run mine through 2-4x12’s with GB’s and V30’s and it sounds killer. I can’t speak for the stock speakers
 
LP Freak said:
I run mine through 2-4x12’s with GB’s and V30’s and it sounds killer. I can’t speak for the stock speakers
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It was a dramatic difference. The stock Chinese EVH wannabe wasn't up to snuff. Was kinda flat and sterile. Sure, it was new, but we both kinda went.. Ewwww.... kaka. Greenback went in, and we were like.. Holy Shit! That's legit!
 
I had one .... sold it ..... the loops are well known for not gelling with certain setups ...

 
Had one, liked it until I had an SLO 30 next to it...sold it and bought the SLO. Red channel is borderline unuseable but there is a simple gain reduction mod you can do
 
I've had two of them I like the clean channel and the red channel better than the big boy but the blue channel is so far from the 101b blue channel, not even in the same ballpark to my ears which was the reason I like Bogner 101bs the blue channel is just where it's at in that amplifier!

Edit- I should say they are great amplifiers very versatile, I don't want to sound like they're not good. Personally for all the lower wattage amps I think the Soldano SLO 30 is the one to get!
 
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Matt300ZXT said:
I dont typically go for little brothers to big full powered amps like this, but there's a pretty decent deal on one in town that they are having trouble moving and may make an offer, but never played one or even an Ecstasy so nothing to compare it to.
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You should look for an older thread on the 3534.

I believe there was something like 80+ pages with people discussing it and you will find some pretty interesting things about the amp.

I had one and I really liked it.

It had a great clean and I felt the blue and red channels were both pretty good for rhythm and leads.

The FX loop did get noisy once you moved the FX loop knob past 10 and it became extremely noisy once you reached 12, however, Bogner told me to keep the setting around 9 where you increase the separate "channel" volume and it would eliminate the noise.

It worked (not a bit of noise) and I was planning on keeping it but then my KSR Ares arrived and I purchased a Mesa Boogie Mark V for super cheap as well so I decided to sell the 3534 since I felt I had enough amps :)

It is a pretty good amp and pretty light/compact so if space/weight is an issue then it might work well for you.
 
One thing I notice about the 3534 (and the SLO-30)....I think those are the most bought and sold amps on any forum. That to me says that either it isn't something that everyone is happy with or just isn't quite what people expect given the product name.

They are both in that price range where you kind of hope it does exactly what it's bigger and more expensive sibling does. For some it works for others not so much.

Then again, there are folks who are completely happy with both so there is that.
 
If the FX loop was as good as my Shiva 20th or Friedman Little Sister I would have kept mine. Loved the Green and Blue channels. I’m not a super high gain player, so I didn’t really use the Red much.
 
I really like the 3534.
The clean channel is perfection.
The blue channel is versatile enough to cover sweet crunch to hot-rodded Marshall.
Very tasty tones on those channels.
The red channel has a ton of gain, but isn't a modern metal sound. More like a super-saturated vintage thing.
I didn't have issues with the effects loop on the 2 I owned.
The 3534 is an amp I'd consider if I gigged and wanted a versatile amp where cleans and low-mid crunch was the focus.
I'd go for something else if I wanted tight, bright and metal.
 
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