In my humble opinion the Mesa won this shoot out, which is not surprising given it was designed more for this style of high gain music than the Bogner. The Bogner wins hands down in the "vintage" hot rod category of tones. It also wins on feel under the fingers IMO. And if you dial them back to medium gain, the Mesa really falls into the dust - that is where the Bogner really shines with its barkier, woodier midrange presence. Extreme high gain, modern tone - Mesa wins. Medium - high down to lower gain, vintage hot rod tones - Bogner wins - no contest. Again, just my personal opinion based on my experience and tastes in regard to these two amps. Both sound very good in this demo, BTW. Enjoyed it. Well done. Thank you for sharing!
That Bogner is the best amp on the planet right now, short of the SLO. That Uber-percussive midrange punch of that Bogner is absolutely stellar. Being a hot-rodded Marshall style amp, IMO it sounds better on it’s plexi mode, with the gain pulled back a bit. It makes you want to play power chords all day long. I’ve never heard Boogie be able to capture that. Short of the older CII+, Boogies just don’t do it for me……a bit too refined maybe. That said, I’ve never been a big Bogner fan either….but, that Helios is spectacular.
I despise Mesa amps except for the old MKII coliseums, but it was close to the Bogner. The Bogner is a real boutique amp, the mesa is a mass produced amp. Higher quality than some, but not in the same league as a Bogner, Friedman etc etc.
Once you get the gained turned up like Emil has in these videos (and with an added tubescreamer too) they both sound pretty similar so I'm guessing it comes down to feel. Emil, which do you think has the most usable, flexible tones right out of the box (without any pedals)? And, how would you compare their master volumes and ability to produce good tone at lower volumes? I've been thinking about getting an Eclipse for that hot-rodded Marshall meets Bogner sound.
I do prefer the mesa but they're both great at any volyme. Main sound is generated in the pre amp but I guess the bogner can get closer to classic marshall sound and you can play low gain and crank master for plexi stuff.
