View other reviews for this product:
James... « chug chug »
Published on 12/23/11 at 15:05This is a very simply *looking* amp. 2 channels. The ones on my model are identical. I believe there are a few different models of the Uber and mine is the one with the two lead channels. I think it's a limited run. I also have the newer Twin Jet Uber.
I should mention that this amp has one of my favorite Effects loops of all time. I think this might have something to do with Bogner's design of the amp and how simple the loop implementation is. But everything sounds great in it.
UTILIZATION
Bogner manuals are usually marginally to somewhat helpful, but that's about it. The Uber manual is suprisingly better than most. That said, you are better off just dialing it in yourself. Your ears are your best manual with this amp. Typically I run my first channel on a light crunch and use my guitar volume to clean it up. The 2nd channel I usually have on full on lead. A fair warning, this is not a lead amp. It's really meant for rhythm playing in a metal genre context. If you want a lead amp the XTC is more that style.
SOUNDS
I use a Les Paul with EMG's through mine. I'm not a big fan of the Uberkab so I run it into an Orange 4x12 most of the time. It sounds better through a half stack I think. The Uber has a TON of bass on tap and it can get very thumpy before it gets muddy. It will rip your chest off like nothing else. Most of the tone controls respond fairly normally except the presence, which is the big secret of this amp. You can get a ton of voicings out of it by messing with this knob. At higher settings it sounds very Marshally, while at low settings it's like a sub boom bass machine. I can't see someone using this amp for anything other than heavy metal and the like. It's simply too mean sounding for anything else.
OVERALL OPINION
I have toured with mine and never had any issues. It gets pretty darn hot if you turn it up but still no issues there. It's heavy as all get out that's for sure. This head fits a very specific need, and I would highly recommend it for rhythm guitarists of heavy music styles. Everyone else should probably try it out and see how they like it first. It's limited in what it can do, but for what it does do it does it better than any other amp. The design is pretty unique too.
I should mention that this amp has one of my favorite Effects loops of all time. I think this might have something to do with Bogner's design of the amp and how simple the loop implementation is. But everything sounds great in it.
UTILIZATION
Bogner manuals are usually marginally to somewhat helpful, but that's about it. The Uber manual is suprisingly better than most. That said, you are better off just dialing it in yourself. Your ears are your best manual with this amp. Typically I run my first channel on a light crunch and use my guitar volume to clean it up. The 2nd channel I usually have on full on lead. A fair warning, this is not a lead amp. It's really meant for rhythm playing in a metal genre context. If you want a lead amp the XTC is more that style.
SOUNDS
I use a Les Paul with EMG's through mine. I'm not a big fan of the Uberkab so I run it into an Orange 4x12 most of the time. It sounds better through a half stack I think. The Uber has a TON of bass on tap and it can get very thumpy before it gets muddy. It will rip your chest off like nothing else. Most of the tone controls respond fairly normally except the presence, which is the big secret of this amp. You can get a ton of voicings out of it by messing with this knob. At higher settings it sounds very Marshally, while at low settings it's like a sub boom bass machine. I can't see someone using this amp for anything other than heavy metal and the like. It's simply too mean sounding for anything else.
OVERALL OPINION
I have toured with mine and never had any issues. It gets pretty darn hot if you turn it up but still no issues there. It's heavy as all get out that's for sure. This head fits a very specific need, and I would highly recommend it for rhythm guitarists of heavy music styles. Everyone else should probably try it out and see how they like it first. It's limited in what it can do, but for what it does do it does it better than any other amp. The design is pretty unique too.