New amp day: BOGNER SHIVA combo EL34 1X12

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I have always wanted a Mark I or now a mark V. perhaps some day in the future. not in a hurry to get one.

They'll be there when you want one I think. And from what I experienced with mine, they're pretty consistent tone-wise, not like the old Marshall stuff.

[tonemonster]

They'll be there when you want one I think. And from what I experienced with mine, they're pretty consistent tone-wise, not like the old Marshall stuff.

thats the thing........I like hot rodded marshall tones, but I am not wild about marshall amps themselves. inconsistant and unreliable. thats why I like the splawn and bogner option. great tone, great amps. not the cheesey marshall quality.

[toejam]

Very killer amp. What is the total power output on this amp? I bought a Soldano Astroverb 1x12 and have been very happy with it. I was skeptical of the 20 watts, but it gets plenty loud.

Don't kid yourself... a one-watt tube amp is loud!

[toejam]

thats the thing........I like hot rodded marshall tones, but I am not wild about marshall amps themselves. inconsistant and unreliable. thats why I like the splawn and bogner option. great tone, great amps. not the cheesey marshall quality.

Congrats on the new amp. How much of a hot rodded Marshall tone does it have, how much gain does it get? I assume you need a pedal to push it for heavier stuff?

[tonemonster]

Don't kid yourself... a one-watt tube amp is loud!

you got that right. 5 watt amps can be monsters.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, I think those are two places that can out-Marshall Marshall any day.

[tonemonster]

Congrats on the new amp. How much gain does it get? I assume you need a pedal to push it for heavier stuff?

well, here is the deal. I like alot of gain. now that depends on which amp I am using. you can all call me retarded, but I love using a compressor in front of ANYTHING I use. I use a BOSS CS 3 and a BOSS NS2 noise surpressor with it to keep it quiet at idle. With a compressor, I dont need any drive pedal. the front loading with the compressor pushes the gain stage enough to get any hot rodded marshall tone you want. I dont like using drive pedals like tube screamers, etc.. cuz I done like doing the pedal dance. the Shiva has plenty of gain for me, and I like gain. I dont even have it dimed out with the compressor on it. the gain is probably at 3:00 or so. I know alot of folks hate compressors, but I like them.

[tonemonster]

Yeah, I think those are two places that can out-Marshall Marshall any day.

to me they can. I know there are a lot of marshall disciples out there and this is blasphemy to them, but I am not a fan of marshall amps, but I like the modded tones. I just think there are better amp companies out there, and they can actually do marshall better than marshall themselves can. I just think bogner and splawn make kick ass quality amps, and have equal caliber of great customer service, unlike marshall. marshall's customer service has always sucked, and their amps are mediocre. alot of their shit is built in china these days too.

[toejam]

Very cool. I haven't used a compressor in a long time. I don't mind using some type of tube screamer pedal if I need too, though. I'm partial to my modded Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive.

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Yeah, I had a 50-watt JCM800 and it was a great amp but it seems like they're relying on the name and those "disciples" more these days.

[toejam]

marshall's customer service has always sucked, and their amps are mediocre.

Their customer service used to be great... at least for me. I got my first series Valvestate 8240 stereo chorus combo ('92) brand new back then, the footswitch went after a couple years, they sent me a new one for free, but it was the wrong one so they sent out the right one immediately. I can't remember the woman's name, but whoever was handling customer service in the mid '90s from the NY Marshall/Korg facility was awesome to deal with. That amp is still going strong today!

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

Well to be fair they had a whole different customer service division for the Valvestate line, and they wanted to take good care of their only customer.

[toejam]

Yeah, that's probably what happened.

[tonemonster]