I had a bogner extasy in high school, it spent most of it’s life under warranty in the shop. Sold that pos and got a car and a 5150…. That 5150 never broke once and sounded pretty damn good
Aside from the massively interesting content, you sound like the more polite, less unhinged brother of AvE the Canadian. Love it, and love the content!
Nice. Thank you for the video. I am a player and amplifier owner. I have some older Vintage Tube amplifiers. There are so many newer brands I have never owned. This troubleshooting is very helpful to know. I am serious about never using the wrong fuse size. Houses have burned down because of owners using the wrong fuse.
My first amp was a YCV40. As a teenager metal guitarist I didn't really like it and relied on effects to get my tone. Recently, being in my 30s and more educated, I really got to appreciate what a great classic tube sound it can offer. The clean channel is far more interesting than the lead. From crystal clean to hot overdrive. Only downside, it really needs to be pushed up in volume, and that's where the lack of a master volume in a 40 watts amp is crucial. You really need a load box to truly exploit its real potential.
@@mvyper mine came modded with a master volume in the presence control spot, but yeah, they absolutely kill when dimed. I just use the clean channel at high volumes cus it oberdrives so nicely.
This is the correct answer. I've tried tons of tube amps and modelers. Some have felt better to me than others for sure, but I sound exactly the same through all of them. I play a Helix now at home. Tube amps don't make any sense at home volumes. I know there are lots of solutions for that now but really they are all unsatisfactory.
Yeah. This is the one that made me freak about my newly acquired Red Bogner Shiva el34 combo and yes it has the old switching unit. No hiss or buzz but WHEN!!?? So your update was quite a relief. Thank you.
Safety related comment - it's easy to forget when you have an amp on your bench and a guitar in your lap that you are automatically touching ground with the hand holding the guitar, and if you touch B+ with your other hand you'll take a shock across the middle of your chest. It would suck to lose a great tech that way.
@@miguelscserra B+ is the high voltage that runs the output tubes. The term "B+" comes from the old days when battery operated radios (tube) had a "B" battery, which were 45v-95v depending on type. Of course, nowadays B+ refers to much higher voltage, usually 300v or more. So my comment is referring to the potentially deadly high voltages that exist in all tube amps.
Excellent info and insights as usual. I've never even played one of these amps but getting a look at what is actually inside them and how things are implemented is very very cool.
The green-chassis Shiva has been my main amp since 2005. Zero problems that entire time other than maintenance (which includes the pilot light burning out about 6-7 years ago). Those JJ E34L's made the thing sound vile. I always suspected they'd also be problematic, but the plate voltage in those things is ridiculously high. Only a handful of EL34 models wouldn't self-destruct in that thiing.
Im a retired metal guitarist i collect old marshall plxi amps my road dogs you said something that peaked my interest FLUKE my day job yep some of us kept them between gigs tours etc was as an electrician fluke are the only devices i trusted my life with cost a lot more but work the best smart boy that you use the best j watt
I had an old el34 version of this amp 20 yrs ago. I just picked up the 6l6 version on craigslist last month. It's a pretty fun amp. It won't replace my main squeeze, but it's a pretty cool piece and I'm enjoying it. The amp definitely sounds better at higher volumes with the master up a good amount IMO.
Hey, I know these PSU's.. They are still made as an OEM part for many appliances and have pretty much identical specs. I've got one right here with the model number MPE-SO6-12. It's rated for 65W passively cooled or 85W with forced air at 12V. The one you have looks smaller than mine so maybe yours is rated for 65W with forced air cooling and they keep failing because they run out of spec.
You are incredibly knowledgeable. It seems that you don’t think much of many amp brands. Can you do a video on amps of all price ranges that you think are A quality? Or you could email me a list of amps you’d recommend. Thank you.
I had one of these come to me with it was working then quit story as well. Immediately I noticed the screen resistor to one side had burt itself apart at the turret and you would never know other than the lead was black. The resistor was fine but through science and a shitty connection. It burned itself open. This was missed by a previous tech and I'm not sure how but I have pictures lol. Cheers
HT fuses unless it on the cathode they need to be 600v rated such as bussman ktk and they are pricey silver element sand filled . Also the fuses holder is large and cost a bit. Fully agree a transformer and a regulated 12volt supply .
Yup. And even good ones can only keep going for so long. I think it's a little absurd, but Rheinhold wore clear plastic pants to NAMM once. So we're operating on very different frequencies.
Preach! The screen voltage applied to the EL34s is absurd in these. The only tube currently in production that can handle the screen voltage in these is the Redbase TAD EL34.
@@davidfuller581 Those pants were a thing way back in the late 70s early 80s... They were marketed to women as a "latest fashion"... See what I did there?? Yeah, I'll admit it... I can be a total a$$hole... Lol! BTW, Bogners are even worse to work on than Mesas, so I'm a bit biased...
Noticed someone butchered the screws when you were checking fuses {nice sharp camera} and what appeared as a tiny blister on each of the 2 brown caps between the silver and black ones. Is that just deformed plastic ?
Ty for sharing another useful video! Way off topic but I need an answer and I know you can provide it. There are videos out there stating that the outside foil side of caps ( some have marks, most don't) particularly orange drops and such, should be attached to the lower impedance side in a circuit. How important, if at all, is this in guitar amplifiers? Thanks for all of the videos. I learn something everyday.
It can make a difference in some parts of some circuits. In other parts of circuits, particularly low gain amps, not so much. It's a difficult thing to blind test in a circuit, and careful lead dress can lessen the need. Almost all pre-68 Fenders observed this rule. Few Marshalls ever have. People love both.
Thanks. Different models of Bogner use very different construction methods. So I don't want to over-generalize. I'm overall not a fan of the Shiva construction but neither is it riddled with huge flaws other than the switching low voltage supply I mentioned. If a resistor or diode fails you can usually replace it without pulling the board. But when one of the radial caps fails you have to take the amp completely apart to pull the board. Makes for a very expensive repair, though it should only be needed every 15-20 years.
I have 3. All are extremely solid and reliable and sound fantastic. but I could just be lucky. They are simpler than the Shiva though. A Metropolis, Brixton and Mojado.
I have owned the post 2002 6L6 dual reverb model for 20 years. They had a hand wired front end and they didn't have the Volume 2 knob for the boost volume. I actually sent mine back to Bogner to get it modded like the new ones. The older Shiva's also need a ducking cable to run the effects loop. But I also think they were exempt from that one failure component because the author said some of the older Shivas didn't have it. I gigged with the amp about three times a month average for 20 years. It has never failed on the road of its own accord. One time I got a speaker cable caught back inside the head and yanked it out inadvertently pulling on a power tube and messing up the tube socket. Also, for some reason I lost my reverb tank and used an inexpensive rebuild kit from Accutronics to rebuild it. It was a real simple repair. But other than keeping decent tubes in it and keeping it tuned and biased, that thing was really built for the road and 100% reliable. At one point I think it lived for 10 years in my rock and roll trailer in my attached garage up in Buffalo, New York. It was a dry trailer and a dry garage, but it often got down in the mid 30s during the winter. It was a bulletproof little machine and the circuit boards it had were built to FAA specs. No fooling, you could fly the thing. ( 3/32 thick circuit boards supported every 2 inches, soldered both sides with 4 oz. copper traces - compared to a modern Marshall which is 1/16 inch circuit board supported every 4 in, soldered one side, with 2 oz copper traces, if I remember correctly) I just had it tuned up again and hopefully that will be my rig till the day I die. That is the most beautiful sounding amp for the classic rock type music I was playing that I could ever hope for. My tone search ended right there 20 years ago. I've never wanted anything else since.
The 12v board is reason enough to forget this amplifier and to forget the Bogner brand altogether. Just get a Marshall that can be repaired and move on with your life.
Hey Lyle, have you ever had a Bogner Helios on your table? I’m thinking about getting a 50 watt model but am a little hesitant given the situation over at Bogner (they don’t seem to be responding to emails or answering the phone; probably overwhelmed with pandemic backlog). I just want a reliable Marshall-like amp that can be easily serviced. Thoughts?
How does ULC or CSA approve this? I'm an electrician and deal with stupid things concerning CSA and approval of equipment. Can't believe they allow them to sharpy either the 2 or 3... Almost funny
Me too. Unless it's the transformer or some unobtainable device, they're usually quit fixable. Most common is the electrolytic caps and/or the power MOSFET. Sometimes it's the high value resistor used to kick things off. It's nearly always something in the power stage and not the complex control logic. Yes, it requires a bit of learning, but for someone at his skill level, he should pick it up pretty quick. A ESR meter to test caps and a ring tester for coils would be a good choice if this is going to be frequent. Yeah, I can understand why he's prefer to replace, but when it's unobtainable, that doesn't leave the player any choices.
I love love love being second guessed. The old ones burned. Big chunks missing from the PCB. Also also wik: I charge more for one hour than the proper replacement part costs (used to cost at least when it was available).
@@PsionicAudio You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred. (Buckack!) ;) Hey, it means we care. Burnt board - wow. That's a bad design. Yeah, I get that you want to buy rather than repair, but it sounded like the customer was left without an amp. Since it seems this just supplies some common voltages, there's nothing that can be stuffed in to replace it? Maybe something that doesn't catch fire when it fails?
