Uberschall Review

The Uberschall features a Classic clean channel with volume, gain, bass, middle, treble and presence controls. Pound all your pedal effects into this channel, the harder you hit it the more it smiles to show you its fangs.

Features:	8.3
Sound:	9
Reliability:	9.7
Impression:	9.7
Overall rating:	9.2
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	29

overall: 9.3

Featured review by: SideshowRaven24, on february 05, 2008

Purchased from: Guitar Center

Features: This particular Bogner Uberschall head was made around 2006. It has two easy to use channels with a huge LED strip illuminating all of the words above. These also indicate which channel you are on. This is very convenient onstage. It has a fantastic effects loop which barely colors the tone at all when engaged. Delays sound much better after tweaking. It runs in either mono or stereo and has an ohm selector knob (kind of hard to turn). Since mine was used, it didn't come with a footswitch. I use basically all of the features as they are basic and practical. The amp is 120 watts tube, so it is obviously loud enough to handle any gig. // 9

Sound: I use an Epiphone Les Paul Custom and a Fender Jaguar HH through two big pedalboards and an old peavy cab. My Bogner puts up with them great. I usually play experimental, hardcore, progressive, and anything else thrown at me. This head can do all of that stuff and more after minor tweaking. The clean channel is dead silent with unwanted noise, and it is very quiet unless you turn up the gain knob. It LOVES effects pedals, so this channel really shines when you throw in some reverb and delay. Even at high volumes, this baby pretty much stays crystal clear. The distortion channel is definitely the high point of this amp. Even without any boost pedals, it delivers everything from a bluesy crunch to the most brutal metal tones on the market. Watch out for that bass knob though, this amp can deliver the low end! The amp basically defines every note you play and makes it Shine, even at the high gain settings. The feedback is very controllable, and sounds unreal when used at appropriate times. Not exaggerating, this is probably my favorite amp on the market, mesas being second. // 9

Reliability & Durability: This head seems to be built like a tank except for the Bogner logo. Then again, it is on a woven grille since it was custom made. It has never broken down on me once, and delivers gig after gig, night after night. This thing is my baby, and I would be crushed if anything happened to it. Nothing will though, with proper care (and a roadcase I plan on getting soon). // 9

Impression: The Uberschall is suited for just about any music style to my ears (don't believe that it is a metal amp). I have been playing or about 3 years now and I found this used at Guitar Center. After the first note I had to have it. I have no regrets what'soever getting it, as it is my favorite piece of gear. If it were stolen or lost, I would have no idea what I would do. I couldn't get another one because of the price, and would probably have to settle with a much cheaper head for the time being. In my personal opinion, this is the best head on the market. If you have the money, please don't hesitate! // 10

overall: 9

Reviewed by: Mizati20, on october 09, 2008

Purchased from: Harmony Central Forums

Features: I hate reading reviews from someone Who is completely in love with their gear, so they deliberately make a reason to ignore a flaw or shortcoming, I will try and be as honest and thorough as possible, hopefully someone Who is considering this head will get some use out of this review.

I believe this particular Uberschall was made in 2007 though I would have to check the serial number to be certain. It is in perfect shape with the metal grille option. The head itself is a 120 watt head carrying 4 power tubes (el34) and 6 pre-amp tubes (chinese Sovtek). It has two channels, a very basic clean and a high gain. I will be completely honest in that I am so happy with this head it prompted me to write my first review ever. However, this is not a very versatile amp, the two channels do what they say they do. The clean channel is very basic, almost sterile, is very good at handling effects and can be changed quite a bit via the tube buffered effects loop. The high gain channel is why I purchased the head, I listen to all types of music, but when I sit down with a guitar, I want to play the heavy stuff. The gain channel is breathtaking, you can get nice chunky rock rhythms or some of the nastiest compressed distortion I have heard without effects. Footswitch was included, has an ohm selector on the back, effects send level which can also be a boost if not using any. There isn't too much I wish the head had, maybe the option for MIDI controlling. The lack of multiple channels and no reverb or MIDI switching, and a fairly sterile clean channel is why I rated this at a 7 for versatility. The gain channel is the saving grace, just because it has incredible distortion and I love it, that doesnt't make it versatile. // 7

Sound: I use a Schecter Hellraiser and a Jackson SL2H Soloist with active and passive pickups respectively. I honestly prefer passive pickups, but for some reason, my Hellraiser is the only guitar I've heard that sounds fantastic with the actives. I purchased the head to satisfy my need for gain, and it does that perfectly. For how much gain this head has on tap, it is near dead quite, my passive pickups make a bit more noise, I pulled out my old Boss Noise Supressor and it killed everything, I don't really use it, but thought it was a good point to make. The clean has plenty of headroom and sounds great with effects. The gain channel can get quite a few different types of distortion, pretty much an entire array of genres from rock to metal, I have even played some jazz and blues through it. I almost forgot the LOW END RESPONSE. Oh my the bass this thing can produce. Palm mutes take on a whole new roll with this head. Roll the presence knob around and you'll be very surprised. The presence knob doesnt't operate the same as most amplifiers and it tells you right in the manual, a bit difficult to explain, but by far my favorite knob on the amplifier. This is the only amp I have play that has so much gain that can ALL be used. It doesnt't flub out or get harsh, it literally just tightens and thickens up the sound as the gain knob turns clockwise. I have played most of the boutique and high end amplifiers out there, Framus, Engl, Splawn, Mako, tons of different Mesa's including the amazing Mark IV, and in my opinion this has by far the best sound for very heavy distortion. Meaning super tight compressed in your face sounds, if that isn't what your after, maybe look elsewhere, because even at lower gain levels, the sound is still fairly tight and compressed. Get's a 9, there is no such thing as a perfect 10 sounding amp. // 9

Reliability & Durability: The amp has amazing build quality, very heavy as well for just a head. The carrying strap is very sturdy and feels as though it could sustain much more than just the weight of the head itself. The metal grille in the front is a nice touch, I honestly prefer the clothe grille since I think it looks nicer when matched with a cab, but this is a personal preference and I would much rather have a head with a metal grille, than wait 3 months for Bogner to build me one. I would not gig with a backup regardless of what amplifier/gear I use. Nobody can predict what can happen, and yes this may be a perfectly constructed amp, but it is still relying on a few tubes of glass with filaments inside them, so for that reason, always have a backup. // 10

Impression: The overall impression of this amplifier so far is everything I expected and a bit more, I do believe I am a Bogner man now (for the time being anyhow) if the amplifier were lost or stolen I would purchase another whenever possible. Only thing I would change is I would probably save the extra money for the matching Uberkab, I have a Standard Mesa cab now, sounds great, but I have heard very good things about the Uberkab.

Hope this review helps. If you play several types of music and needs MIDI controlling or possibly built in reverb, possibly look into something else. If you are a distortion addict and want nothing more than to be able to shake your house with some palm mutes, than the Uberschall may just be the way to go. // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: Ventor, on june 06, 2008

Price paid: $ 1850

Purchased from: Second hand

Features: The Uberschall an all tube (6 pre, 4 power) 120w amplifier, hand made in the US. It has excellent build quality with high end components. It's is very heavy, you don't want to haul this baby for longer than 10 minutes. The model I have is the first blue rev. series (with symbols serial #) and a metal grille. It sounds brighter than the early Uberschalls. The Uberschall has 2 channels, clean & lead with the basic controls (channel volume, presence, treble, mid, bass & gain). Nothing more nothing less so it's very basic. The controls interact very well with each other, so you can get any sound you want, from blues to death metal. The effects loop is tube powered, and has a volume knob, so you can use it as a boost during solos or clean parts. It comes with a footswitch to Switch channels and turn on/off the fx loop. The footswitch is sturdy and the knobs feel very solid. For the rest: it has bias points for easy biassing, the head is switchable between 4, 8 or 16 ohm and it has 2 speaker outputs (not stereo). // 9

Sound: The clean channel is quite silent compared to the lead channel on the same settings, but you can match volumes quite easily. You have a lot of clean headroom, and only when you turn the gain & channel volume way up you get a smooth overdriven sound.
The lead channel is what this baby is all about. The low end of this thing is massive, unlike any other amp I've heard or played. It might be considered a high gain amp, but unlike most other brands the gain is 100% usable. Turn the gain all the way up on an Engl or 5150 and it sounds like crap. Not on the Bogner, as it stays tight and defined as ever with the gain maxed. You will also not need a tube screamer or any other pedal in front of it to tighten it up. In fact, any pedals in front of the amp will take kill the particular sound of this amp. It works best with (rack-)effects in the loop.
As mentioned before, the controls interact well and sometimes in unexpected ways, so you have a huge range of possible sounds. This is definately not a metal only amp. It does sound good on about any setting. Even when scooping the mids you can still cut through the mix well enough. The presence control is quite important as it shapes the sound between the bass & mid range. I play on a Jackson KV2 with Lace Drop & Gain pickups, tuned to B. Pickup choice is quite important here as this amp will very much accentuate the sound coming out of your guitar (be it good or bad). It is also quite unforgiving for player errors. Playing this amp made me a better guitarist, because any mistakes or sloppy playing WILL be noticed by your public/band or in the studio. For example, artificial harmonics seems to be more difficult to nail on this amp, but when you do. The pre-amp is quiet compared to other high gain amps (Engl, Peavey) // 9

Reliability & Durability: It has never broken down on me (or anyone I know Who has one), but I've only played it for a month or 2. It has done a few gigs already and had no problems with it what'soever. It has been stress tested as in I put a 3:1 mismatched load on it (24 ohm load on 8 ohm head) at maximum volume and the output transformer held up well. Bogner is known for their reliability and build quality so I don't expect any problems with it. // 10

Impression: I play in a death metal band, with quite some technical riffs (not only tremolo picking), and it's perfect. I've been playing for almost 8 years now and used to play on a Valvestate 8100 series. If it was lost or stolen I'd hunt them down and put them out of their misery. I would buy a new one if it got lost. // 9

Comments

[M13M]

Looks like a pretty good amp

[webbtje]

I'm surprised this wasn't reviewed before. Awesome amp; if it's good enough for the Behemoth tone, it's damn well good enough for me.

[cloud041089]

it's not a metal amp? doesnt a7x use this? they're not metal, but they've got an awesome heavy tone.

[Spoony_Bard]

I think he means don't think that these are only made for metal. They're ****ing brutal. I love these heads.

[cloud041089]

ah, makes sense now.

[-Led-Zeppelin-]

lol bogner is 1 letter different from my last name, it basically looks like it

[Widow6]

-Led-Zeppelin- wrote:

lol bogner is 1 letter different from my last name, it basically looks like it

Dear lord I hope your last name isn't boner.

Amazing amps, though. They're phenomenal with metal, not much else though

[RG_FANMAN]

Damn, I want one of these really, really bad. Too bad the head alone would be my amp budget. :-p I'm glad to see a review for this amp that says it can do all sorts of styles...most harmony central reviews say it's only a brutal death metal amp with a horrid clean channel. Sure as hell does sound that way (literally)! Does Teppei from Thrice use one of these?

[qotsa1998]

Claudio from Coheed and cambria used one of these for awhile, most likely on the first album. I kno Synister Gates uses one of these as well. Most ppl put this amp in the same category as a Triple Rec and a 5150. Don't these things cost an arm and a leg tho?

[Sound Mind]

qotsa1998 wrote:

Claudio from Coheed and cambria used one of these for awhile, most likely on the first album. I kno Synister Gates uses one of these as well. Most ppl put this amp in the same category as a Triple Rec and a 5150. Don't these things cost an arm and a leg tho?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio_Sanchez
he still uses Uberschalls.

[Raaaaar]

these pwn most metal amps..the rivera knucklehead, diezels etc..high end Engls, Mesa Mark iv, triple recto and this are my favourites.

[SideshowRaven24]

RG_FANMAN wrote:

Damn, I want one of these really, really bad. Too bad the head alone would be my amp budget. :-p I'm glad to see a review for this amp that says it can do all sorts of styles...most harmony central reviews say it's only a brutal death metal amp with a horrid clean channel. Sure as hell does sound that way (literally)! Does Teppei from Thrice use one of these?

you could try the combo out. i personally love the cleans. And im pretty sure teppei uses one. Seeing them soon!

[schecter ftw]

How much do these things start at?? I'm considering getting one.

[SideshowRaven24]

schecter ftw wrote:

How much do these things start at?? I'm considering getting one.

i got mine used for 2500. Get ready to spend a solid 3000 new, mine was just a gift from god haha.

[RG_FANMAN]

SideshowRaven24 wrote:

RG_FANMAN wrote:

Damn, I want one of these really, really bad. Too bad the head alone would be my amp budget. :-p I'm glad to see a review for this amp that says it can do all sorts of styles...most harmony central reviews say it's only a brutal death metal amp with a horrid clean channel. Sure as hell does sound that way (literally)! Does Teppei from Thrice use one of these?


you could try the combo out. i personally love the cleans. And im pretty sure teppei uses one. Seeing them soon!

They make a combo version? really? And i meant to say it sure as hell DOESN'T sound that way. I've listened to the soundclips of the Uber's cleans on the bogner website, and they seemed to go from classical-style clean, to heavy blues crunch.

BTW, from looking at your profile, you seem to play similar music to me, although I do have a habit of playing a lot of heavier stuff in addition (SYL to Mastodon to Converge for a very vague idea). Can the Uber handle it all?

[Logan_B]

So i was lookin at this and what would be an average price of it.....do you think it would sound good with an Ibanez GRG170DX with D'Addario Light Top Heavy Bottoms?...im trying to replicate either an Avenged Sevenfold sound or Alter Bridge

[Ventor]

qotsa1998 wrote:

Claudio from Coheed and cambria used one of these for awhile, most likely on the first album. I kno Synister Gates uses one of these as well. Most ppl put this amp in the same category as a Triple Rec and a 5150. Don't these things cost an arm and a leg tho?

The Uberschall blows both those amps away. I recently acquired one and compared to a 5150 from a friend the sound quality is so much better.

[SideshowRaven24]

RG_FANMAN wrote:

SideshowRaven24 wrote:

RG_FANMAN wrote:

Damn, I want one of these really, really bad. Too bad the head alone would be my amp budget. :-p I'm glad to see a review for this amp that says it can do all sorts of styles...most harmony central reviews say it's only a brutal death metal amp with a horrid clean channel. Sure as hell does sound that way (literally)! Does Teppei from Thrice use one of these?


you could try the combo out. i personally love the cleans. And im pretty sure teppei uses one. Seeing them soon!

They make a combo version? really? And i meant to say it sure as hell DOESN'T sound that way. I've listened to the soundclips of the Uber's cleans on the bogner website, and they seemed to go from classical-style clean, to heavy blues crunch.

BTW, from looking at your profile, you seem to play similar music to me, although I do have a habit of playing a lot of heavier stuff in addition (SYL to Mastodon to Converge for a very vague idea). Can the Uber handle it all?

oh yeah, it sure can handle it all. a word of advice; to get the truly best distortion, put an ibanez tube screamer and a boss noise supressor first in your pedal chain, and keep them on when the distortion channel is on. That would be ideal for your Converge or Mastodon sound. Are you seriously considering picking one up? If so, we can start a little club haha.

[SideshowRaven24]

Logan_B wrote:

So i was lookin at this and what would be an average price of it.....do you think it would sound good with an Ibanez GRG170DX with D'Addario Light Top Heavy Bottoms?...im trying to replicate either an Avenged Sevenfold sound or Alter Bridge

most definitely.

[Ventor]

SideshowRaven24 wrote:

RG_FANMAN wrote:

oh yeah, it sure can handle it all. a word of advice; to get the truly best distortion, put an ibanez tube screamer and a boss noise supressor first in your pedal chain, and keep them on when the distortion channel is on. That would be ideal for your Converge or Mastodon sound. Are you seriously considering picking one up? If so, we can start a little club haha.

An Uberschall does not need a TS at all, it has enough gain and it's all 100% usable, unlike other high gain amps. I play it with maxed gain all the time and it stays tight as hell. This is one of the only amps that does not need stompboxes (except a noisegate). Only thing you might need is some effects (delay, reverb, chorus, ...) in the effects loop.

[shadow__666]

Is there something wrong with the fact I want to have sex with this amp?

[face_the_fear]

shadow__666 wrote:

Is there something wrong with the fact I want to have sex with this amp?

NO! Not at all!

[Sonicxlover]

8.2 user rating? You guys are disgusting, I believe the Line 6 Spider is rated higher than this.

[Untamed_Horizon]

lol line 6 is so overrated right now...

[Sonicxlover]

I was saying that this was ranked lower than a bad amp.

[b-rock34]

I thought I wanted a Bogner Ecstasy really, really bad. I was thinking about pulling the trigger and actually buying the thing the other day (they're mega-expensive). But, I had only played one for a few minutes once...drunk. So, I went over and gave it a good test ride. I hate to say it, but I couldn't get a pleasant tone out of the thing. It's got like a 100 knobs and switches and I tried 'em all. I jammed for over an hour straight...still nothing. Plenty of distortion, really clean cleans, Les Paul Custom, Clapton Strat...but no warmth whatsoever. Maybe my expectations were just too high. Maybe I was having a bad guitar day. Maybe the weather was affecting it. Trust me, I wanted to love it. Oh well. Maybe I'll take a look at a Soldano SLO.

[[travis]]

I know Syn uses a Bogner combined with another amp for his sound, or rhythm tone. I want to get a Bogner, but they cost a hell of a lot of money. Almost more than a Marshall.

[ticklemeemo]

Syn uses an Uberschall for distortion and a Bogner Caveman for cleans.
This is my dream amp, I absolutely love the tone.

[synystergates92]

Logan_B wrote:

So i was lookin at this and what would be an average price of it.....do you think it would sound good with an Ibanez GRG170DX with D'Addario Light Top Heavy Bottoms?...im trying to replicate either an Avenged Sevenfold sound or Alter Bridge

I have the Synyster Gates Custom and i'm also trying to replicate the sound Syn has. I'm thinking about buying the Bogner Uberschall but it is very expencive. somebody who knows what else i need to create that perfect Avenged Sevenfold sound ? Read something about Boss SuperOverdrive SD-1, and some compressors and stuff... anybody who knows anything else ?