Differences Between Uberschall "Original" and Rev Green

I've been searching around for this over the past year or so and, while I've found tons of info on the differences between Rev Green and Rev Blue, I just haven't ever found much at all on the differences between the original version and Rev Green.

I know that one of the changes was to the taper of the lead channel gain, with the original getting to full on very quickly and Rev Green having a smoother transition. Other than that, I haven't seen much more than innuendo that the original and Rev Green are fairly similar sounding and feeling (Rev Blue is apparently not so much) and that the originals seem to have still been going through the last stages of tweaking with various small changes between specific amps. I know that the filter caps were on top of the chassis and the choke was in front of the PT until the Rev Blue.

Of course, all this is complicated by Bogner only releasing 100-200 of the originals before solidifying the changes into the Rev Green. So, there's just not that many to compare with.

If anyone has owned both, I would really appreciate any details, thoughts, observations, etc. Just curious to know if it was primarily the gain pot taper change or if there were any other significant tweaks. I'm primarily interested in changes to the sound and feel, but also in some slightly more technical aspects as well. I know about the volume difference between the clean and lead channels, but that's not an issue for me. I'd be more interested to find out how much drive is available on the clean channel (obviously not on the level of the TJ, but anything usable other than just clean?).

Many thanks (in no particular order) to leib10, Death by Uberschall, steve_k, Lasse Lammert, James Lugo, Ventura, and everyone else that posted to these threads for their contributions to the following...
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=103936
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=42833

Here's a link to the only YT I could find that says it's an original, not a rev green.



(I have no idea who the player is in the above clip, although it's credited to YT user xounlistedxox.)

And then there's this, posted by Ventura... too funny!

I had both... biggest difference was the gain pot change on the lead channel to a more gradual, bigger sweep on the v2.0. Also just a bit brighter sounding overall. I will also say I do not like either of these versions at all. Some love them... me, not so much. Completely overhyped. I vastly prefer the Rev Blue... or even the Twin Jet which would be my #2 pick.

I've had several over the years. There's definitely some confusion over the "green" versus the "original", but for sake of argument, if the model you have has a green pilot light, a green PC board, and states Rev.2.0 somewhere on that PC board, it's a Rev.2, aka "Rev. Green" or within the realm of "Original". To the best of my understanding, there are very few "true originals" out there - if at all - in the public domain. Their PCBs would be labelled Rev.1.0/1.1/1.A/etc. and still on green PCBs; but these were prototypes to "get" to the actual amp, which inevitably ended up being the Uberschall Rev.2 "original"; even if by name alone it dictates a former iteration.

ANYWAY...strange thing about the Rev.2s is there's inconsistencies across their board too - so three Rev.2s lined side by side will likely all sound quite different. Interesting eh?? But - FWIW - we all come to the Rev.2 temple for the same reasons. To get that one-and-only-Rev.2-heavy-balls-out-thunderous-thick-metal mayhem tone

After we've had that one-and-only-Rev.2-heavy-balls-out-thunderous-thick-metal mayhem tone we tend to start looking at other, perhaps more versatile, amps out there... And ya, my [purple modded] TwinJet walked pretty well every Rev.2 I've had - and granted it's a special TJ - it still walked the greens MUCH to my surprise. And it is more versatile for my needs (the TJ). Last Rev.2 I sold I sold to a cat in PNW who was obsessing over capturing Smashing Pumpkins "Machina" tone, on which Billy used a green (amongst others). This cat had been through a couple Rev.2s (not an easy feat) but found many of them just not "there" sonically. We connected, I mentioned to him the variations in the amps themselves - we agreed - I told him about one that I had that was special - he wanted it - he paid absolute top dollar for it (I wasn't going to let it go for FMV, sorry) with the *implicit agreement* that if he didn't like it within a week to 10 days I'd offer his cash back for my amp, minus shipping. This was 3 months ago and he loves the amp and agrees it's different than the others he'd tried, and is exactly what he wanted.

We've now got the agreement that - once he's done his studio project - should I want my amp back I *may* be able to buy it back, but only if it's mutually agreeable at that time.

It's an incestuous group these Rev.2 greeny original Uberschall cats we are...

If you're interested in learning more about the "purple mod" which changes the gain taper on the "cleaner" channel of the TJ, hit me up on PM and I'll tell you all about it. But bottom line - I've owned all types of Ubers - and the one that has stayed has been the purple modded TJ. I had one YEARS ago in white tolex with a matching white 412 - LOVED the look of this monstrosity - it was just pure sex. But the white was a bitch to keep clean and this was - at the time - a jamming/gigging rig, so it went down on sale and that was that.

Fast forward several years and many amps, I missed my TJ the moment it was sold. I missed the white stack too - but that's besides the point. The point is, I missed the amp. I bought a TJ, and it wasn't the same. Went to the Blue, no dice. More Rev.2s, they rocked, but weren't as versatile. Then, a local member here on the forum named Joe knew I was after a purple mod TJ and he had one - dead mint. For sale. He PM'd me and I can't tell you how fast that money was sent to him... I got my purple TJ back. Not the same one - this one's got black comet tolex - but the amp *sounds* the same at my former purple, and this is why it'll stay. Amazing gain, amazing clarity, bloom, articulation, thunderous and loud, heavy low end but not flubby, great clean up with the guitar pots, great clean up by lowering the preamp volume and gain on the amp. Really a fantastic 2 channel amp with incredible range. I reigned back the gain on mine by adding a 5751 in V1 to maintain headroom, but clean up that grit going into the circuit at the onset. What that one bottle did for the rest of the amp is history - it's so sick man... So sick

Anyway - there's you "do I spend my life in search of a Rev.2" or so I buy a Purple Mod TwinJet - or - keep your eyes open for both and when either comes along, pull the trigger. But having been down this path - I kept the TJ... YMMV.

Thanks, Wizard of Ozz and Ventura! I had pretty much guessed that anything before Rev Green was still, more or less, under development and that Rev Green was the initial outcome of the earlier amps. Anyway, here's a little back story.

I've been looking at Twin Jets and Ubers for about a year. Not too many places around here to go check one out in person. A couple of years ago, I picked up a 20th Shiva. Such a great amp, great cleans, great crunch, gets really mean when pushed. Earlier this year, I picked up a 101B. While I'm sure I'd have been happy with the 20th XTC, I went with the 101B because I thought it was closer to the XTC sounds I'd first heard back in the 90s and fell in love with (also why I chose it over an Uber or TJ). It was everything that I'd wanted it to be and so much more. I think it was sometime around then that I drank the Bogner Kool-Aid. I couldn't get the sounds that I'd heard from Ubers and TJ out of my head. I want a TJ, I don't care about cleans (I have several vintage Fenders and Voxs, and that Shiva hangs in with them), but on a certain level, I still wanted an Uber, too. I think the TJ is a similar but completely different amp with the changes to the power amp, presence in the pre-amp, and the high gain "clean" channel.

So, fast forward to this weekend when I came across an Uber in what appeared to be good condition with a rubber handle, jewel pilot light, choke in front, caps on top, attached power cable, a serial sign that I interpreted as 061, and what I considered to be a good price. Out goes the money, in comes FedEx, and now I have one. One thing, though, it's had no effect on my desire for a TJ. I still want one. Of course, I still lust after a Helios, too, but that's another topic.

What I was really wondering with in my original post was if this is a pre-Rev Green head, what are the differences between it and the Rev Green.

One thing, though... it had a red pilot light jewel. That's easy enough to change, so I'm guessing someone did at some point. No matter, though. I've got a new one on the way and with any luck, by Friday, it will be purple (all my amps that use them have purple jewels installed - just a thing).

OK, here's what I found in the chassis. I have full pics, but have cropped them to just show the relevant parts.


Front and top showing the pilot light and handle. I can't see any indication that there was ever a leather handle. The cab is in pretty good shape with only two minor scuffs.


Serial sign, which I think is 061. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


Date on transformer.


Main board shows version 2.0 and all the boards are green. So, I guess the "worst" case is that I have a pretty early Rev Green based on the version number here and serial sign.


Effects loop and footswitch board shows revision 1.1.


Stacked with its friends.

Unfortunately, I haven't had a ton of time to spend with it tonight, but from what I've heard so far... I think I'm going to really like this amp!

So, I'll leave you with one last question... any recommendations on tubes for this thing? I'm sure it needs a new set, both pre and power. The JJ EL34s look newer, but the pre-amp tubes are dated between 9/99 and 7/02 (mixture of Sovtek 12AX7LP and 12AX7LPS).

Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

Ventura":31u6fpm4 said:

Anyway - there's you "do I spend my life in search of a Rev.2" or so I buy a Purple Mod TwinJet - or - keep your eyes open for both and when either comes along, pull the trigger. But having been down this path - I kept the TJ... YMMV.

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Well, I hope I don't have to spend the rest of my life in search of a Rev 2, 'cause if I do, that means I... might... DIE... SOON!!!! ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

And yeah, I still plan on getting the TJ at some point. The Purple Mod is a change to the taper of the clean channel gain control, correct? I'll likely have some questions when I get a little closer to that... probably next year, though. Did you have any other mods done to your TJ?

ChurchHill":2jfvitdl said:

Ventura":2jfvitdl said:

Anyway - there's you "do I spend my life in search of a Rev.2" or so I buy a Purple Mod TwinJet - or - keep your eyes open for both and when either comes along, pull the trigger. But having been down this path - I kept the TJ... YMMV.

Click to expand...

Well, I hope I don't have to spend the rest of my life in search of a Rev 2, 'cause if I do, that means I... might... DIE... SOON!!!! ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!

And yeah, I still plan on getting the TJ at some point. The Purple Mod is a change to the taper of the clean channel gain control, correct? I'll likely have some questions when I get a little closer to that... probably next year, though. Did you have any other mods done to your TJ?

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Just the PurpleMod, and some work with different biasing ranges and bottles. What I have now - is the amp I wanted from the start. That's not to say I don't have others - I do - lots... But the TJ I currently own and have tweaked, sounds the way I want it to.

As for your little purchase there, ahem... WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT

You won!! That's an original alright. Can you share with us where you found this? Approximate price? Why the dude was selling or who was selling? Interested - this one could have easily been placed on Reverb and clocked a ridiculous sum of money out of the Uber purists. So, just to be certain make sure you do your research if ever you plan on selling that thing. It's worth a mint.

Nicely done!! Now go get that TJ and save the original for some collector with too much money

Ha ha ha... I'll never tell...

Actually, I found it at GC in Pittsburg. It was $1850, which was less than any of the handful of Rev Blues they had. I'm not sure they knew what it was (other than the obvious). I probably would've missed it, too, if not for the pilot light. They had a picture of the back that I was able to blow up enough to see the serial sign, so I thought, what the hell, let's see what this thing's got. I still haven't had a lot of time to play with it enough to get used to the EQ, but long enough to know that there are some great sounds in there. I don't really have any intention to sell it any time soon, but I will definitely do my research beforehand if I ever do. I do know that the few times I've seen them pop up, they seem to go really fast.

Anyway, I still can't believe that it just kinda fell into my lap and I'm looking forward to this weekend more than any other weekend for a long time just so I'll have a chance to really crank it up and put it through it's paces. HELL YEAH!!!

ChurchHill":2vzlattp said:

Ha ha ha... I'll never tell...

Actually, I found it at GC in Pittsburg. It was $1850, which was less than any of the handful of Rev Blues they had. I'm not sure they knew what it was (other than the obvious). I probably would've missed it, too, if not for the pilot light. They had a picture of the back that I was able to blow up enough to see the serial sign, so I thought, what the hell, let's see what this thing's got. I still haven't had a lot of time to play with it enough to get used to the EQ, but long enough to know that there are some great sounds in there. I don't really have any intention to sell it any time soon, but I will definitely do my research beforehand if I ever do. I do know that the few times I've seen them pop up, they seem to go really fast.

Anyway, I still can't believe that it just kinda fell into my lap and I'm looking forward to this weekend more than any other weekend for a long time just so I'll have a chance to really crank it up and put it through it's paces. HELL YEAH!!!

Click to expand...

Nice score! I was eyeing that Amp this Saturday, but no worries I got something else on the way!

ChurchHill":tz3t1vi8 said:

Ha ha ha... I'll never tell...

Actually, I found it at GC in Pittsburg. It was $1850...

Click to expand...

I was gonna say, this reeks of "chain store chaos". You scored big time on that amp - providing of course it's fully operational and all the pots are quiet and such, but ya, these are the kinds of scores you have to be on the button and watching for. That amp would fetch $2800-$3000USD quite quickly off Reverb; likely more. If there's another global Rev.2 revolution, likely $4000USD or more

Anyway - enjoy the shit out of it... You lucked out. I just hope for your sake it's one of the better sounding Rev.2s

Good score and that is Definitely an "Original", version one or as many call them "Rev Green". The rev 2 starts "around" #150.

One just sold on Reverb for $2,500. Plus you got the metal grill, awesome deal.

It is a shame they all sound different though. I love my rev 2 quite a bit but have never been able to A/B them with other's.

SomedudeinTX":kggxps5n said:

Nice score! I was eyeing that Amp this Saturday, but no worries I got something else on the way!

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Just curious... what's incoming?

Ventura":2rzi6snl said:

I was gonna say, this reeks of "chain store chaos". You scored big time on that amp - providing of course it's fully operational and all the pots are quiet and such, but ya, these are the kinds of scores you have to be on the button and watching for. That amp would fetch $2800-$3000USD quite quickly off Reverb; likely more. If there's another global Rev.2 revolution, likely $4000USD or more

Anyway - enjoy the shit out of it... You lucked out. I just hope for your sake it's one of the better sounding Rev.2s

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LOL! At least GC's good for something...

Yeah, it's all perfectly functional. I was expecting to have to clean the pots, but they're dead quiet. It needs new tubes, but I was expecting that, too. It's in really good condition, but it's obviously been used, likely gigged regularly, but really taken care of. It feels like a well-played and well-loved amp, and even with the older glass, to me, it sounds freakin' awesome!

maddnotez":37hkwk82 said:

Good score and that is Definitely an "Original", version one or as many call them "Rev Green". The rev 2 starts "around" #150.

One just sold on Reverb for $2,500. Plus you got the metal grill, awesome deal.

It is a shame they all sound different though. I love my rev 2 quite a bit but have never been able to A/B them with other's.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, I love the metal grills. I've got one for my XTC, too, just haven't installed it yet.

I'd love to find out what changes were made over time between the early Rev Greens and the Rev 2s. I'm just curious, probably the technician in me, not really wanting to reverse engineer anything. Probably a difficult task, though, considering how few of the early Rev Greens there are.

You're not too far away from where I am, just down I-70 a few hours. Maybe at some point, we could A/B these two. It'd be really cool if we could get a few others involved and have something like a Midwest amp fest. I know a couple of guys around KC that might be interested in that, too. Anyway, just an idea.

Congrats on a great find. I've never played an original Uber before, but some of them sound pretty cool.

ChurchHill":nh97qe06 said:

maddnotez":nh97qe06 said:

Good score and that is Definitely an "Original", version one or as many call them "Rev Green". The rev 2 starts "around" #150.

One just sold on Reverb for $2,500. Plus you got the metal grill, awesome deal.

It is a shame they all sound different though. I love my rev 2 quite a bit but have never been able to A/B them with other's.

Click to expand...

Thanks! Yeah, I love the metal grills. I've got one for my XTC, too, just haven't installed it yet.

I'd love to find out what changes were made over time between the early Rev Greens and the Rev 2s. I'm just curious, probably the technician in me, not really wanting to reverse engineer anything. Probably a difficult task, though, considering how few of the early Rev Greens there are.

You're not too far away from where I am, just down I-70 a few hours. Maybe at some point, we could A/B these two. It'd be really cool if we could get a few others involved and have something like a Midwest amp fest. I know a couple of guys around KC that might be interested in that, too. Anyway, just an idea.

Click to expand...

I would be down. I actually know some guys over there as well. We just had an amp fest this past summer in KC with maybe 20 or so people and tons of killer gear.

The downside to those amp fests; I went home and spent $800 on something that I HAD to have after trying.

leib10":146jjrv9 said:

Congrats on a great find. I've never played an original Uber before, but some of them sound pretty cool.

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Thanks lieb10! I hadn't, either, so I don't have a lot to compare this to, but it sounds like I expected it to. I'm definitely enjoying it!

Thanks, also, for all the great info you've shared over the years. A lot of what I know about Ubers has come from this forum and I greatly appreciate all I've learned from you and all the others.

maddnotez":2c756vkn said:

I would be down. I actually know some guys over there as well. We just had an amp fest this past summer in KC with maybe 20 or so people and tons of killer gear.

The downside to those amp fests; I went home and spent $800 on something that I HAD to have after trying.

Click to expand...

Wish I would've known about that 6 months ago! Been kind of a crazy year and, well, so it goes. Anyway, yeah, I would love to do another, here, St. Louis, points between or elsewhere.

Oh, I might know a thing or two about the downside... LOL! It's a risk I'd just have to take.

ChurchHill":3hx91hz1 said:

leib10":3hx91hz1 said:

Congrats on a great find. I've never played an original Uber before, but some of them sound pretty cool.

Click to expand...

Thanks lieb10! I hadn't, either, so I don't have a lot to compare this to, but it sounds like I expected it to. I'm definitely enjoying it!

Thanks, also, for all the great info you've shared over the years. A lot of what I know about Ubers has come from this forum and I greatly appreciate all I've learned from you and all the others.

Click to expand...

Sure thing! I'm really glad to be able to help. It's been an interesting journey with Uberschalls, but for me the search has ended because I don't see myself parting with my Rev 2 or Twin Jet!

ChurchHill":37t2x68w said:

Ha ha ha... I'll never tell...

Actually, I found it at GC in Pittsburg. It was $1850, which was less than any of the handful of Rev Blues they had. I'm not sure they knew what it was (other than the obvious). I probably would've missed it, too, if not for the pilot light. They had a picture of the back that I was able to blow up enough to see the serial sign, so I thought, what the hell, let's see what this thing's got. I still haven't had a lot of time to play with it enough to get used to the EQ, but long enough to know that there are some great sounds in there. I don't really have any intention to sell it any time soon, but I will definitely do my research beforehand if I ever do. I do know that the few times I've seen them pop up, they seem to go really fast.

Anyway, I still can't believe that it just kinda fell into my lap and I'm looking forward to this weekend more than any other weekend for a long time just so I'll have a chance to really crank it up and put it through it's paces. HELL YEAH!!!

Click to expand...

................I sat down with that amp in that GC for bout 2 hours and said to myself" nobody in here is even looking at it let alone demoing it,It'll be here tomorrow"..Tommorow came,I went to buy,and you'all know how this ends-it was gone....But...there is a silver lining here, a bit later, I bought 2-dead mint 1966' Princeton reverbs off a lady in a church for dirt cheap,bought a drip edge 68 bandmaster at the same GC that was dead mint,in the original box,and then went on to score a 1984 mesa mkiic+...its all good