Worth the money and then some

My Marshall JTM30 had been misbehaving, and finally stopped putting out sound almost a year ago - which means no power section for my beloved ADA MP-1 preamp! Called around and found that fixing it will cost at least $200 - $300, and take months :( After trying everything I could think of to get a decent guitar sound at apartment-level volume, I finally decided it would be faster (and easier on the wallet, thanks to zZounds' EZ Pay) to just get another small amp with a series FX loop to stand in while I save up to fix the Marshall. I took a few weeks researching options and going through review videos, and this looked like the one to beat.

So I ordered it, waited FOREVER for FedEx to get it here (not zZounds' fault at all, they shipped it almost as soon as I ordered), and eagerly unboxed this adorable little amp. Plugged it into the Celestion Heritage G12 in the Marshall, plugged my Duncan-loaded Ibanez Xiphos into the front end, and powered up….. At which point my fiancee came into the room to say "Babe, the neighbors are gonna call the cops... Is that all the way up?" It was at about 2 (as in, 8 o'clock) on the master volume dial, with the other controls all at 12 o'clock. For only 30 solid-state watts, it's LOUD!

So, I backed off the volume most of the way, and started fiddling with the other controls. In the interest of not writing a full novel, I'll leave the detailed descriptions of what each control does to someone else, but I will say that this sucker sounds RAD. While I've always had a soft spot for a good solid-state amp, I don't generally expect them to sound like a tube amp, but this one really does replicate a lot of that feel! It obviously doesn't sound EXACTLY like a tube amp, but it does a good enough impression that casual listeners won't know the difference - and again, the feel is more tube-y than any transistor amp I've ever played, and even some tube amps.

One of the reasons I chose this over the Friedman, Soldano, or Diezel models is versatility. Every review and video I found noted that the others have a decent range of medium-high to ultra-filthy levels of gain, but only the Bogner will let you get anywhere near a clean tone. I haven't tried the others to confirm this, but I CAN confirm that the Bogner provides a mostly-clean tone with the gain control almost all the way down, and with some careful tweaking of the EQ and switch settings, there's a lot of range there. You can get convincing jazz, blues, or even (shudder) country tones if you want to, but I was just looking for a nice Fender-y chime - and I got it!

Of course, that's not why we're buying an amp based on the Ecstasy's Red channel, are we? The dirty sounds are well-represented, and I was again impressed with the versatility here. The toggle switches, gain knob, and 4-band EQ will get you everywhere from Mesa to Marshall to extreme modern metal. All those switches look intimidating at first glance, but after a few minutes you'll be able to dial in just about anything you can imagine. I've literally pulled tones from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and today out of this thing without changing guitars - taking the time to get to know how it responds will be amply rewarded. I've read a few reviews complaining that this amp doesn't put out enough low end, and I would ask those reviewers what cab and speakers they're using. The single Celestion G12 that I'm plugged into is delivering plenty of whatever frequencies I ask for.

Finally, the reason I justified a new amp to myself: I have also been using it as a power amp for my ADA MP-1 rackmount preamp. If anything, it's BETTER than the tube amp I was using before, just because the Bogner's effects loop is post-EQ (unlike the Marshall). Plus, the solid-state power amp provides much more headroom that allows the MP-1's legendary clean tones to shimmer and sparkle like they were intended to, and the dirty sounds rip with authority that the Marshall's Class-A power section can't match.

I can go on and on about how wicked this amp is, but this is probably enough for one review. The TL:DR version is: It's killer. If you think you should buy it, I agree with you.