I need a new toy - help me pick.

[horns666]

If the Uber is what you want then get the Uber and be done with it :ROTF:

I did the same thing with the Bogner 101B, its what I wanted based on clips I heard from Bogners website. Even though I could afford one I couldnt see spending that on an amp head...bought some other cabs and amps (still have em) to hold off and I finally said eff it and got the 101B as it kept calling for me

Look on eBay to save some money...

..exactly..you can walk into ANY shop and grab a 5150/Recto...not the Bogner .

As much as I liked my 5150s (over Rectos) , they're NOT in the same league as the Uber, not even close!

I haven't heard a more tighter, "BRUTAL" tone from any amp in my life. Unlike 5150s and Rectos..the gain on the Uber is 100% usuable..and I use it all!

It's weird to buy a very expensive, high gain amp to rely on a 50 dollar stomp..that's my conviction. You do that with old Marshalls and ect..

If you want a versatile, mass production tube head, I like the JSX. But You won't see me selling my amp and buying one anytime soon.

Get an amp you're truly happy with out of the box. A Pignose is playable with a TS-9 in front of it. You can get by with almost any amp like that.

I know stomps can "tighten up" some amps mentioned. So, get a amp that doesn't require to be "tightened up".

[horns666]

like I said, I own a Dual Recto and an Uber. While its true the Mesa is a 3 channel head and is versatile, its also very finnicky to dial in. The Uber OTOH, is two channel but really thats mostly what I find myself using most of the time anyway. One clean and one distortion channel. Also, the Uber seems like you can't dial in a bad sound if you tried. And as Bill said before, although it is known for its high gain it actually does have a very nice clean channel too. I don't know how you guys are getting lost in a mix with an Uber, I still say it slays!
As for the different revisions of the Uber. I think the main difference is control of the effects loop which on the latest revision, blue and thats what I have, the control is on the back of the amp whereas the older ones I believe used the combination of channel and master volumes, not quite sure. They also changed the taper on the gain knob a bit. I've never heard a bad Uber though. Pricing is affected by whether it has a metal front grill or not. The metal front is nearly $200 more new. Anyway, on E-Bay I've seen them go from $2200-2600 used on average and occassionally someone will score one for $2000-2200, mostly with cloth front for that second price range. Lowest I've seen one sell for on E-Bay was about $1850 but thats a rare occurence! New pricing is around $2800 give or take $50, with metal front that is.

Rudy
www.wickedrocks.com

yep..

I paid 2K cash for mine approx 5 years ago. The guy lived 2.5 hours away. I went there and tried it, threw him the 2k. Unfortunately I didn't get much time to get that intimate with it..I took it right to John's rehearsal room. Since then, Ubie and I became close friends, and got to know each other very well!

I always thought my Marshall had a better lead tone. I played my Marshall last night and had a sudden change of heart..I haven't played that rig in a while.

It was like shooting a .44 mag for 2 months..then shooting a .22..still cool though.

[siggy14]

I am not starting shit and I cant find the post bill, but i am pretty sure i remember you posting once you played up against a recto and got lost in the mix or that it just swallowed your uber. That is the thing about recto's, they just swallow most any amp I have ever heard in the mix.

I also loved the uber, I think it works great in a one guitarist band, however for the price, plus the fact that it is only a 2 channel with only one function per channel, I just couldnt justify keeping it when I can get the same tone out of my recto and even better.

As to using a pedal in front, i do that with most amps anyway, I dont like the over compressed sound when you use an amps full gain. I also used a pedal in front of my uber and kept the gain lower so it wouldnt get to compressed.

It'll destroy it..it'll also destroy a Recto..

I had all three amps.

[horns666]

I am not starting shit and I cant find the post bill, but i am pretty sure i remember you posting once you played up against a recto and got lost in the mix or that it just swallowed your uber. That is the thing about recto's, they just swallow most any amp I have ever heard in the mix.

I also loved the uber, I think it works great in a one guitarist band, however for the price, plus the fact that it is only a 2 channel with only one function per channel, I just couldnt justify keeping it when I can get the same tone out of my recto and even better.

As to using a pedal in front, i do that with most amps anyway, I dont like the over compressed sound when you use an amps full gain. I also used a pedal in front of my uber and kept the gain lower so it wouldnt get to compressed.

Nope, that wasn't me.

You'll be luckier to find a post of me being born again...

Yeah, alot of dudes are using stomps in the same manner. Thinking of trying one myself for shits and giggles. I played this amp for 5 years without one..so why start now.

I like that dude from "Fall Out Boy's" approach. I don't like his band much, but you may. He uses a Bogner Uberschall with two Mesa cabs, and that's it..

He's in the March 2006 issue of GW.."Vulgar Display Of Power" in the back of the book.

I don't think you gave the Uber much of a chance..you had it for a pretty short time. It took me some time and tung sol preamp (by chance) tubes to NAIL the tone I really love!

Besides, we really don't go for the same style of music as well...so, whatever works for you.

[khabibissell]

Nope, that wasn't me.

You'll be luckier to find a post of me being born again...

Yeah, alot of dudes are using stomps in the same manner. Thinking of trying one myself for shits and giggles. I played this amp for 5 years without one..so why start now.

I like that dude from "Fall Out Boy's" approach. I don't like his band much, but you may. He uses a Bogner Uberschall with two Mesa cabs, and that's it..

He's in the March 2006 issue of GW.."Vulgar Display Of Power" in the back of the book.

I don't think you gave the Uber much of a chance..you had it for a pretty short time. It took me some time and tung sol preamp (by chance) tubes to NAIL the tone I really love!

Besides, we really don't go for the same style of music as well...so, whatever works for you.

I used to use a SD1 or Bad Monkey in front of my single rectifier, but since I bought the dual, I plug straight in. I can't even use a wah in front of it now... you can definitely here the change in tone and dynamics if anything is inline between the guitar and amp. I'm going to get some 10 -12ft George L's to plug in my effects to see if it helps.

How much gain do you guys use? The Dual gets a pretty crushing sound in the modern mode with the gain at about 12 o'clock. Usable or not, I can't imagine needing more. Normally, I have my rhythm channel set up with less mids (11 - 1130 o'clock) and the gain set at 11 - 12 o'clock. For solos, Vintage, more mids (12 - 1 o'clock), and more gain (1 o'clock max which is plenty, IMO anyway). When I used a stomp in front, I had the gain at 0 and the level high and lowered the gain on the amp.

Also, it seems like adding treble gives the impression of more gain and "brootallzzz" to your tone. I guess it does in effect since higher EQ settings do increase the gain in use.

[khabibissell]

Then again, the above post is kinda pointless... Every amp is different anyway. I hear you can wind the gain up on the VHT's too and it doesn't sound overly saturated.

I did like the tone on the demos you posted Bill.

[horns666]

Hey Steve, I hear you about anything being in line. I use a wah on ocassion, when recording, but that's it. I use Monster cable, the cheaper ones..

The gain on my Uber is ALWAYS all the way up..it's absolutely perfect that way...anything less won't do!

When I had the 5150s..the most I could push the gain was at 6, or slightly passed that...anything more turns to mush.

On the Recto, It was approx 12:30..but I was never happy with it. I just played one recently and was reminded instantly what I didn't like about it. My dude (you know who) sounds great with his...but he's sounds great with anything.

The JSX..you can take the gain all the way on the Ultra channel..it holds up pretty tight. John thought so too..Cleveland John and I have very similar taste in tone and styles. Similar, but not exact..but who is.

John plays fuggin' LOUD with his VHT2150/CAE+3..and the Bogner sounded great with it!

[horns666]

Then again, the above post is kinda pointless... Every amp is different anyway. I hear you can wind the gain up on the VHT's too and it doesn't sound overly saturated.

I did like the tone on the demos you posted Bill.

I discovered that too with the VHTs..

..and thanks.

You gotta be your own judge with this stuff..Zeegs is a metal dude, for the most part. I'd think he'd like to play my rig..I wish he could!

[Wizard of Ozz]

I've owned 2 brand-new Uberschalls (2n & 3rd (blue) revisions) and eventually sold both. As siggy mentioned above, a Dual Recto with a good boost (level up/gain down) thru the Recto's lead channel will get you very close to the Uber's tone. And for the money, you're getting more amp. The Uber's price is high for a two channel amp, only one of which (lead channel) is even useable IMHO.

BTW: If you want a modern metal killer, definitely checkout a Diezel Herbert. It simply outshines the Uber in every area possible.

[horns666]

My friend that toured with Ripper liked the Bogner better than the Deizel, He liked the Framus as well..so, go figure. He ended up with a 6505 (5150)..but I prefer the JSX. He didn't want to drop the coin on one even with the discount..so.

Comparing a Recto to a Uber is apples to oranges..they're not even close. To me, that's comparing a LP to a Strat..well, they're both guitars.

Some people love DSL's..C-John and I found them completely unusable for our needs.

The only way the Uber sounds "right" to me is with the gain completely maxed. I confirmed this with anyone who's heard/played my set up...

This goes to show, taste in tone is as subjective as anything else I guess. Which is good..because it would be boring if we all liked the same exact stuff..

I'd love to try the Deizel, maybe I would like it better than the Uber..I would like to try the Framus as well.

The Uber is clearly leading the poll. But I really don't know if you can actually poll the right amp for you..that is something you're going to have to discover.

We can offer our "opinions"..Siggy, Steve, Rudy, Shawn, mine..and everyone else on this thread..

[zeegler]

I discovered that too with the VHTs..

..and thanks.

You gotta be your own judge with this stuff..Zeegs is a metal dude, for the most part. I'd think he'd like to play my rig..I wish he could!

Right you are Bill. I wish I could try out your rig too. Maybe one day. My Dad lives in Chicago (Joliet actually) and when I go visit him, I normally drive through Detroit, but I could always go the long way, and go through Cleveland. Or, even better, I'll probably be hitting Cedar Point next year with the wife and kid. You feel like some company?

If I do stop by, you gotta take me for a spin in that yellow beastie too.

[zeegler]

The Uber on ebay right now is nice, but the guy doesn't have the footswitch. What the fuck happened to the footswitch is what I wanna know.

[siggy14]

actualy very untrue, i put side by side a recto to my uber, using my uber cab for both amps and with a stomp they were almost identical, with the mesa having a little more bottem end, this is what made me end up selling my uber. I figured if i can get that tone out of a recto plus get all the different recto tones I love, i might as well keep the recto. And I did own the uber for almost a year.

I actualy believe you didnt have enough time with a recto or had one of the original revisions, like you said one of your fav players gets his best tone from a recto!

Comparing a Recto to a Uber is apples to oranges..they're not even close. To me, that's comparing a LP to a Strat..well, they're both guitars.

[siggy14]

Actualy I love old fall out boy, when they used strickly recto's. There tone on the last album is just so buzzy and live in the mix the guy that uses the bogner is very buzzy, I have seen them twice this year. Where the lead singer still uses a recto and he sounds good, but of course since the second guitarist does most of the leads they always have him up in the mix so the whole time all you hear is this buzz.

I actually thought he was still using Kranks, because he went to them for awhile, he is a gear whore and I am actually surprized when you just told me he is using a uber now and it sounds that buzzy, honestly I think the guy cant EQ an amp because i did not think an uber could sound that bad!But then again that interview is from 2006 so maybe he did the switch to kranks after that and it might explan it.

I like that dude from "Fall Out Boy's" approach. I don't like his band much, but you may. He uses a Bogner Uberschall with two Mesa cabs, and that's it..

He's in the March 2006 issue of GW.."Vulgar Display Of Power" in the back of the book.

I don't think you gave the Uber much of a chance..you had it for a pretty short time. It took me some time and tung sol preamp (by chance) tubes to NAIL the tone I really love!

Besides, we really don't go for the same style of music as well...so, whatever works for you.

[Wizard of Ozz]

Comparing a Recto to a Uber is apples to oranges..they're not even close. To me, that's comparing a LP to a Strat..well, they're both guitars.

Not really. Reinhold Bogner used a 1994 Dual Rectifier to help him dial in the tone of the Uber while it was still in the prototype/development stage. There was actually a point where he was very frustrated by the "amazing agressive tone" of the Recto (Reinhold's words here, not mine) and he had to keep tweaking his design until he was happy with the resulting frist series production model. The Uber is a cool amp, but it has very limited capabilities, and is definitely not a bang for your buck buy.

Just for a price-to-feature comparison a new 2007 Uberschall sells for $2600, a new 2007 XTC 101b sells for $3300. For the extra cash you get an extra channel, 2 footswitchable gain boosts, a bunch more tone shaping features, and a much better sounding series/parallel fx loop. If the Uber sold for around $1800+/-, it would be a different story...