All user reviews for the Bogner Shiva Head

The bogner Shiva is an 80 watt, el34 design. The shiva has many useful features. Tube buffered effects loop present. Foot switchable reverb and boost as well as master volume and presence controls. You also have the ability to adjust the reverb levels of each channel independently of one another. The gold piping and faceplate complement the aesthetics of the tolex and grill to imply an old school rock and roll vibe about the shiva, very fitting.

UTILIZATION

These amps can take a beating. Very rugged design quality. I enjoyed the foot switchable reverb and boost immensely in the live setting. Allows the Shiva to function as though it had a third channel. It is easy to dial in and covers plenty of sounds, though the Shiva excels at gainy tones.

SOUNDS

Played with a Gibson Les Paul Custom. Mesa 4x12. Xotic EP booster.


Boost pedals work very well with the clean channel to get dark fluid leads. I found the onboard boost to be more than adequate for any genre of aggressive music. No outside pedals necessary. The onboard reverb lent itself well to adding a Hi Fi sheen over anytone I dialed in. The Shiva does the marshall sound very well but has it's own signature thing going on. The presence knob was very responsive and was useful in shaping the flavor of the gain. I enjoyed rolling the presence off mostly and making the Shiva darker and thicker sounding.

OVERALL OPINION

The Shiva is great value in the used market. I feel that overwhelming number of competitors makes little case for the list price of the shiva at $2499. With amps like the Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic and Bogner's own Goldfinger 45 dominating at the vintage flavored rock game, it is hard to see a proper fit for the Shiva.

- Two footswitchable channels
- Boost (footswitchable)
- Reverb (optional)
- Bright switches on both channels
- Optional metal grill
- Two EL34's (also available with two 6L6's)

UTILIZATION

This is your standard two channel amp. It has a separate eq for the clean and the gain channels (although the clean channel has no mid knob). It has a global Master and Presence as well as a volume for the Boost. There is an option for Reverb as well. It also has bright switches on both channels. The amp is fairly easy to equalize. The channel switching is fast and accurate.

SOUNDS

The clean channel on this amp is really fantastic. It sounds Fenderish while doing its own thing. The clean sound is thick and rich and will satisfy most people. The gain channel is similarly thick and rich sounding. Some people might find the amp a little too dark sounding, but with the bright switches, you can get it a bit more bright. The reverb (which is option) is also fairly nice sounding. You basically have two great sounding channels with zero sonic compromises.

OVERALL OPINION

I really feel this was Reinhold Bogner's finest moment. If it where three channels and 100 watts, I would be in even more enamored with this amp. The boost does a decent enough job at emulating a third channel but if this had an actually third channel, it would be the amp the Bogner Ecstasy wants to be but never can.

It is slightly odd to me that Bogner claims that this amp puts out 80 watts via two EL34's. That seems way high to me considering the average two EL34 amp is rated at 50 watts. I'm not sure where that comes from or what it's based on.

I prefer the EL34 version over the 6L6 version because it amp tends to be a bit on the dark side and benefits from the extra mid range that the EL34's offer. Either option is great, however, the 6L6's would probably be better for single coil players.

This is a fantastic amp and the best of the Bogner lineup. I would love to get my hands on the Anniversary edition of the amp to try that out, although I am slightly worried they tried to fix what wasn't broken.

This amp is made in the United States by Bogner Amplification, a cre Socit by a German. It is available at the top, but in combo 1x12 (or 2x12 closed (open). Prampli reoit The 12AX7 six or seven if you take the reverb option. The power amplifier is team of two EL34 (as my copy) or 6L6. It dveloppe 80 watts (EL34) or 60 watts (6L6). The prampli has two channels each receiving a boost. reoit a clear channel r volume adjuster and a legalization two bands: bass and treble and a button to build frquences acute. The channel takes the same saturated Schma plus: a rglage mdiums of a gain and a SETTING THE SETTING THE volume for the boost (it is not adjustable on the clean channel). There is also a rglage Volume gnral and prsence. A switch controlling the start and stand-by and that's it for the front panel. At the rear there are two sockets for pdalier (only on versions with no reverb), an effects loop and return with two inputs (one for and one for pdalier effects in the form of pedals). The old Shiva had that between one and had to cobble together a cable with Resistors. daccder an entry to direct the power amp to plug a prampli. Only SETTING THE pr presence and master volume of Shiva are then active. Then there are two speaker outputs of a slecteur impdance (4, 8 or 16 ohms), the channel and slecteur SETTING THE level for the reverb, one per channel. The pdalier has two switches (channel and boost), plus possibly one that dclenche reverb. The head PSE approximately 20 kg and is very s well built. It exudes quality. Considering the price is a bit normal.

UTILIZATION

Its a pretty amp plug and play instead of his cousin lEcstasy. It sounds good right now regardless of any rglages but wonder when even a little time for any matriser. It is noted that potentiomtres pluttdroutante have a race. In addition, it is difficult to rgler reverb, since it is larrire. When the boost is engaged in the clean channel, lgalisation is down. That is why I regret not born quon SETTING THE volume boost for the clear. An example: you play with a lot daigus clear, you switch to boost the sound is a little harder. But if you play with a sound quite dark, the boost is really much stronger, which means that the correct volume gnral. Not always very practical.
The manual is simple, unfortunately in English only.

SOUNDS

Is it useful to say that a ring? The sound is the highlight of this amp, even low volume (but it samliore climbing in the towers). It is not very dynamic compress possde trs pronounced, plutt own, with relatively little dharmoniques. The light is in the lignedun Fender Bassman Marshall JTM 45 or dun, parat it (I havent compartment. It is quite beautiful fawn. The crunch (gain does trs not far) is excellent. Crmeux, never aggressive, trs warm enough mdium, cest I prfre in this amp. Also, one of the major qualities Bogner's is its ability to be heard in groups. dharmoniques Having little and a lot of mdiums he bore smoothly and I think the quality cest dun hardware professional. Jai had too damplis who had superb sound alone, but that does not sentendaient with bass and drums.
The Shiva is probably the best amp Mon in the world to play classic rock (Led Zep, AC-DC, Cream, etc.). It saccommode trs many pedals diffrent quon may add thereto, which enables the user in many situations. I am the User with a Les Paul, a Start Plus, a Gretsch Elctromatic, etc.. It is with the LP quil works best rsultats I got.

OVERALL OPINION

I prfre, cest Obviously the sound. Compar my Koch, the light is close enough, though less and less compressed pais. However, in overdrive, the Bogner is softer, more crmeux. What japprcie, cest that whatever rglage, this amp is never excessive or aggressive: daigu never too, too low or gain, etc.. Before him, jai possd among other things, an AC30 six inputs, a JCM900, a Crate V15, a Fender modeling. Perhaps it can be dun regret labsence slecteur rduire for power, or an outing with accumulation of hp as the new Duende. But what makes the most default I think cest variboost function on the clean channel.

So it's the amplification en el 34 (two for 80 watts, but it's really strange 80 watts, I assure you), there is a 6L6 version, but I do not know.
The clean channel has a volume or gain, bass, treble, and that's all that's enough!
The channel has a saturated gain, bass, mid, treble and volume, both channels arrive in a master and a general presence. The lead channel has a boost that adds gain and body sound. Tube Reverb (hummm!) and effects loop that requires a few tweaks, it must make a cable with resitance at the end, leading to reduced signal level, failing to saturate the effect. Everything is very well explained on the manufacturer's website, including the values ​​of resistors to use.

UTILIZATION

Plug and play and pan in your geule! vaiement not, is the first time that I spend so little time to balance my sound! The worst by putting everything in the middle, it sounds already very well and if you take 5 minutes is refined tout.Les the tone controls are effective, but the amp has its indentitée its own, the interest is that the it does not get lost in weak settings (who digs too much mids on his amp, which?) The effects loop is one of the best I had, if we have taken care to tinker with the cable, note and for the return loop is through the "boost amp" is a kind of internal buffer, which dates back the signal that we fell in with the special cable.
The settings of reverb in the rear is a bit boring to Triffouille on stage between songs, but with practice, it happens.

SOUNDS

Here we are, the sound, you know to give you an idea I had before this amp, a Rivera, a triamp h & k, a Marshall JCM 2000, a Carvin Legacy (which resembles very much this amp for that matter) I had the opportunity to play on a Mesa Boogie Roadking, a VHT etc ... Ben is just the best clean sound I've had, very dynamic (which is not necessarily easy to play for that matter). The lead channel can go from a crunch like tube screamer (but better) has boosted the old marshall (Inrush in the boost). I for one a little boost all with a mxr micro amp, just to have a little more sustain, but it's gluttony. Some will find that there is not enough gain or it's not modern enough, good as they want me until I pass a big truck in a mix of scene ...

OVERALL OPINION

This is the best amp I had in my life and yet I try others, I test, I compare, well I have not found better, anyway if I find better, I need it (yes I treat myself, but hey, it's my job anyway, so I right doctor eh?) I wait to test the custom audio OD100, but in the meantime: Bogner for ever!

The Bogner Shiva is simply one the best amplifiers ever to have been created. Reinhold is a genius when it come to getting amplifiers to give you that immediate sound gratification. His amps just sounds so good when you get these some juice and gain and will keep you playing for hours. The Shiva head is probably Bogner's closest voiced amp to a classic Marshall tone. Most of his amp have a distinct Bogner tone and very familiar British flavor to them but most of them have their own characteristics to them. This amp comes with either El34 power tubes or 6L6 power tubes. The tone i think with the El34's will be a bit more midrange focused and with distort a lot quicker than the 6L6 power tubes. You will get an even closer tone to a Marshall with this power tube arrangement.

UTILIZATION

Features

80 watt amp head
Footswitchable 2 Channel All-Tube Design
Footswitchable Boost, variable on Ch.2
Tube-buffered series FX-Loop
Ch. 1: Bass, Treble & Volume controls, Bright Switch Ch. 2: Bass, Middle, Treble, Gain and Volume controls, Bright Switch
Global Master Volume and Presence control
Functions on footswitch: channel switch, boost, reverb (reverb models only)
Power tubes EL34
Dimensions: 11-1/2"H x 24 1/2"W x 10 1/2"D
Weight: 41lb.




SOUNDS

This amp has an exceptional clean channel. However, with the El34 you won't get as good a clean channel as you would the 6L6 power tubes. The 6L6 tubes have a lot more headroom in the tone and the clean channel will stay cleaner for a lot longer of the volume sweep. The cleans are very robust and chimey. The cleans alone are enough to buy this amp. But the best part about the amp is the distortion grind.

The distortion is very thick and huge sounding. With these power tubes you will get a meatier midrange tone and the distortion will be a bit thicker than the 6L6 power tubes. It still has a nice thump in the low end and a even better sweet midrange that will fit in most if not all music. Maybe not death metal or anything but this amp can cover a lot of ground.

OVERALL OPINION

At new you can pick these amps for right at around $2050, which is one heck of a deal for a two channel boutique amplifier with 80 watts of power. The Bogner Shivas are a great rock amp and a nice introduction to the higher gain custom amps from Bogner. These are a bit high in price for a lot of people and understandable, but if you ever get a chance to plug into one of these amps you'll immediately know something you have been playing is missing.

One of the best amplifiers ever to have been created. Reinhold is a genius when it come to getting amplifiers to give you that immediate sound gratification. His amps just sounds so good when you get these some juice and gain and will keep you playing for hours. The Shiva head is probably Bogner's closest voiced amp to a classic Marshall tone. Most of his amp have a distinct Bogner tone and very familiar British flavor to them but most of them have their own characteristics to them.

Bogner Shiva Features:

Footswitchable 2-channel all-tube design
Footswitchable boost, variable on channel 2
Tube-buffered series effects loop
Channel 1: Bass, Treble, and Volume controls, Bright switch
Channel 2: Bass, Middle, Treble, Gain, and Volume controls, Bright switch
Global Master Volume and Presence controls
Functions on footswitch: Channel switch, Boost, and Reverb
80-watt EL34 power amp section

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Power 80W
No Effects
No Reverb
EQ Treble, Middle, Bass
No Amp Modeling
Preamp Tubes 4 x 12AX7
Power Tubes 2x EL34
Inputs 1 x Instrument
Outputs 2 x 1/4" Speaker Outs
Footswitch I/O
Effects Loop
Height 23"
Width 24.25"
Depth 10.5"
Weight 68 lbs.

SOUNDS

This amp has an exceptional clean channel. The cleans are very robust and chimey. The cleans alone are enough to buy this amp. But the best part about the amp is the distortion grind.

The distortion is very thick and huge sounding. It has a nice thump in the low end and a sweet midrange that will fit in most if not all music. Maybe not death metal or anything but this amp can cover a lot of ground.

OVERALL OPINION

The Bogner Shivas are a great rock amp and a nice introduction to the higher gain custom amps from Bogner. At new these amps come in at around $2300. These are a bit high in price for a lot of people and understandable, but if you ever get a chance to plug into one of these amps you'll immediately know something you have been playing is missing.

- 80 watts via duet of EL-34s (reviewed) or 60 watts via duet of 6L6s.
- Two channels (clean and overdrive) plus footswitchable boost feature.
- Clean channel controls: Bright switch, bass, treble and volume.
- Overdrive channel controls: Bright switch, bass, middle, treble, gain and volume.
- Global controls: Master volume and presence.
- Other features: Tube buffered effects loop and footswitch (channel, boost, optional reverb).

UTILIZATION

A plug-and-play amp if there ever was one, the Bogner Shiva may be one of the simplest amps available on the market these days. While the older Shivas had the tricky effects loop, this was addressed in the newer models with two outputs for either pedal or rack effects. I used the Shiva with a T.C. Electronic G-Major and never experienced any issues.

SOUNDS

The Shiva has a wonderful array of classic and modern tones on tap. The first thing I noticed about this amplifier was the clean channel. I have owned many amplifiers, boutique and otherwise. I can say that, of the amplifiers I have owned, the Shiva has the best cleans. Considering that the amplifier is a channel switcher and runs on EL-34s, this is quite the accomplishment. While the Shiva’s cleans may not be as pristine as amplifiers such as the Fender Twin, the cleans do offer a jangly character that will keep even the most heavy metal-centric player on the channel.

While the cleans are exceptional, the Shiva’s prowess is overdrive. My recommendation for anyone playing the Shiva is to do the old Marshall trick: Set all of the controls at noon (perhaps not the volume) and begin playing. It is my belief that you will have a much harder time finding bad tones present in this amplifier than you will in finding excellent ones. The beauty of the Shiva is that it takes what Marshall did in the ‘70s and ‘80s and adds some modern appointments so that the user can achieve tones ranging from classic rock to heavy metal (the utilization of the boost feature works wonders here).

One thing is constant, though: Swirling notes. It is hard to describe, but the Shiva has a midrange character that results in what sounds like a light swirling of each note and chord that creates a very harmonically rich tone. Also, if you are like me and dislike Celestion Vintage 30s with most amps, you should try them with the Shiva. I used the Shiva in conjunction with a Bogner Oversized 2x12 loaded with Vintage 30s and I must say that my impression of the Vintage 30 speaker changed immediately.

OVERALL OPINION

Let me begin this section with a little story. After approximately six months, I began noticing a microphonic ringing that would start after thirty minutes of play. Thinking this was a tube issue, I purchased a new duet of SED Winged C EL-34s (Bogner’s recommendation to handle the high voltages of the Shiva) and several Chinese 12AX7s. I replaced the original tubes and biased the amplifier, but to no avail: The ringing was still present. I brought the amplifier to my trusted amplifier technician who found a microphonic component in the footswitch’s power supply. Fortunately, the guys at Bogner were very helpful in diagnosing this problem and mailed a new power supply out to my tech very quickly. This new supply did the trick and I never heard the ringing again.

While I was not happy with the fact that a $2,000 amplifier had an issue so early on, the guys at Bogner were extremely helpful and made the whole situation a breeze. You could say that an experience such as this would leave someone displeased; however, Bogner cannot control what happens to an amplifier after it leaves one of their dealers. All that Bogner can control is customer service, and they do very well. Between the quality of the amplifier and the quality of the people at Bogner, I am a very happy customer.

80W all-tube-amp
-2 EL34 tubes (80w then why?)
-6 Lamps preamps (including 2 for the loop)
-Effects loop with send 2 (1 for a pedal and rack)
-2 Channels (clean crunch) + boost
-1 Bright button per channel
Eq bass and treble volume to clean
Eq mid-bass and treble gain normal volume boost
Joint-master and presence
Reverb-optional (no reverb on mine.
-Change channels by a switch on the back or by footswitch.
- Impedance switch (4, 8 or 16 ohm)

UTILIZATION

First, the sound was on, no need to bother with the settings as opposed to mesa for example while having effective eq.
In the absence of clean setting lyrics is not a handicap.

No need for manual, it's a style amp plug and play.

SOUNDS

Level sound, we have a clean exceptionally beautiful.
There is heat, sharp crystalline dynamics.
The button will take bright something really nice.
Cruncher can be at an end but it makes the sound too greasy for my taste

-The crunch channel is typed with a grain marshall vintage little tight enough fat.
Mostly blues rock sound.
We start from a clean messed a big slobbery overdrive a bit depending on gain setting (the sound is very mushy and sensitive to the precise scope of picks).
It is quite dynamic and reveals its potential as a group as it drills into the mix by giving the body and power dynamics without invading anyone.

What I like about this amp is that the buttons are still very bright music while on most amps I tried, it becomes too aggressive.
Attendance is also very effective without becoming aggressive quickly.
By putting a slight boost upstream we can start banging in the rock metal.

"I am puzzled about the boost on the clean cut that the eq and it can not handle the volume.
Of the crunch, we add a slight amount of gain, its a little more edge and volume adjustment of boost is pretty convenient.

Side-effects loop, I'm not the best judge of that is but it seemed well, I think we do not lose the momentum (unless you connect a multi-purpose zoom)
It will just increase the master because the volume is somewhat lower.

OVERALL OPINION

Amp expensive but worth it.

One thing to note, this amp even at high volume is not aggressive (even with v30), always stocky, dynamic, precise.
A perfect amp stage thanks to the flexibility of the master, his simple settings.
The sound quality of vintage with modern flexibility.

From what I've tried, the only comparable amp mesa boogie mark is 2C, which had a similar dynamic, but we have to look for a moment on the amp to properly address it.
I have not been convinced by the grain crunch too stiff and aggressive.