All user reviews for the Bogner Alchemist 212 Combo

Allow me first to say that I am a huge Bogner fan. I love just about every amp that I have heard from Reinhold and crew and even the Line 6 amps they partnered with sound pretty good. This amp just doesn't do it for me. For the only usable tone was the uber high gain mode which was not that good. The amp was very forgiving in its attack and presence, but the gain was really fizzy. I know that Bogner's tend to have a little fizz which is totally subjective in whether you like that or not. Even still I couldn't get past the one trick pony that makes this amp.


Bogner Alchemist 212 40-watt Tube Guitar Amp Combo Features:

2 x 12" open-back combo
6L6 class-AB power section and five 12AX7 preamp tubes; selectable power section (40W or 20W)
Channel 1 (gold): Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Volume, Crunch mode, variable Bright, Deep switch
Channel 2 (mercury): Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Volume, variable Bright, Mid Shift
Shared: in parallel, Reverb Type, Reverb Level, Delay Type, Delay Level, Delay Repeats (Feedback), Tap Tempo
Premium Celestion speaker
4-button footswitch included; functions: Channel Select, Boost, Delay, Reverb

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Power 40W Class AB Power Section w/ 20W Variac Mode
Speakers 1 x 12" Celstion G12M Greenback, 1 x 12" Celestion G12M Anniversary
Effects
Reverb
EQ Treble, Middle Bass
No Amp Modeling
Preamp Tubes 5 x 12AX7
Power Tubes 2 x 6L6
Inputs 1 x Instrument
Outputs 1 x Speaker A, 1 x Speaker B Out (8 ohm pair, or single 4 ohm)
Footswitch I/O
Effects Loop
Height 26"
Width 25.75"
Depth 10.25"
Weight 80 lbs.

SOUNDS

The amp was pretty easy to figure out. It didn't take me very long to get the best tone I could get from it, but for me the amp was very lacking overall. I never played it in a band setting so I am not sure how well it would cut in the mix, but the tone was not that pleasing to the ear.

I used a Gibson Les Paul with the amp. It was a '59 VOS which was very nice and sounded great but it just couldn't get this amp to sound the way I wanted or thought a Bogner should sound like. I understand that this is on the low end for Bogners and I believe that these amps are made in China which is a big disappointment too.

OVERALL OPINION

Nothing about this amp made me feel like I was using a Bogner. I love the Twin Jet's and the XTC's but this amp just blew. It felt and sounded cheap. I couldn't dial out the cheap sound or feel to it. At new these amps come in at around $1099. Not overly expensive but not worth the money either.