F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 3 / G U I TA R P L AY E R . C O M 69

Super Scoop! EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT BOGNER’S ECSTASY BLUE AND ECSTASY REDTESTED BY ART THOMPSON

$299 each

Designed to replicate the tones of the Blue and Red channels of Bogner’s Ecstasy tube

amplifier, the Blue pedal aims at classic “plexi” style tones while Red is all about high-gain

aggression. Common to both are discrete class-A gain stages (Blue has four, Red five)

along with a Variac switch (simulates dropped-voltage dynamic response), a 3-way Pre

EQ switch (controls high-frequency harmonics), and a 3-way Structure switch (selects

EQ and gain structures of various Ecstasy amps). Both pedals have trimpots for preset-

ting the amount of gain and level increase for the footswitchable Boost, along with a

Mode switch: Blue’s selects lower or higher gain, whereas Red’s chooses between three

different EQ curves and gain structures.

Both pedals deliver rich, tube-sounding distortion over huge range of gain and output.

The Blue can serve up everything from bluesy, old Marshall-style grind to heavy rock

rhythm and lead tones—while Red has more of everything—including searing gain and a

huge EQ range that’ll go deep into scooped-mid territory for skull-crushing metal tones.

Amazingly, though, even at the highest gain settings, it’s quiet and the tones clean up well

with a twist of your guitar’s volume knob. I dig ’em both, but the Red has so much going

for it on the rock and metal side it earns an Editors’ Pick Award. Either way, though, these

boxes put an inimitable Bogner stamp on whatever you play them through.

What We Used to Test These Pedals

MATT BLACKETTPRS McCarty, Fender Stra-tocaster, Bad Cat Hot Cat 100, 1973 Marshall JMP 50-watt through PRS Stealth 2x12

BARRY CLEVELANDPRS Custom 24 Brazilian and Custom 22, Fender/Roland GC-1 Strato-caster, Bad Cat Hot Cat 100, Rivera Venus 6, Frac-tal Audio Axe-Fx II Mark II

DARRIN FOXFender Telecaster, Gibson SG, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Princeton Reverb

SAM HAUNGibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster, Vox AC30, Fender Blues Junior

DAVE HUNTERFano JM6 with Fralin P-90s, Gibson 1958 Les Paul Reissue, TopHat Vanderbilt 33 ampli-fier and 2x12 cab

MICHAEL MOLENDAEpiphone Dot Studio, custom LAG Jet, Fano Ret-rosphear, California Gui-tars custom Blue with single-coils, Mesa/Boogie Stiletto, Orange Tiny Terror

ART THOMPSONPRS SC58, PRS Quatro, Fender Telecaster, Gibson Les Paul, 1973 Marshall JMP 50-watt through PRS Stealth 2x12, Fender 1964 Super Reverb, Bad Cat Hot Cat 100 through Bad Cat 4x12

Originally printed in the February 2013 issue of Guitar Player. Reprinted with the permission of the Publishers of Guitar Player. Copyright 2008 NewBay Media, LLC. All rightsreserved. Guitar Player is a Music Player Network publication, 1111 Bayhill Dr., St. 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. T. 650.238.0300. Subscribe at www.musicplayer.com

guitarworld.com 85

JUNE 2013

87PRS

7-String SE

88ERNIE BALL

Music Man Armada Guitar

90MXR

Talk Box

92 REVEREND

GUITARS Bayonet Guitar

94SEYMOUR

DUNCAN Gus G Fire

Blackout system pickups

94CHAOSOUND

Anti-Effect

the gear in review

SINCE THE EARLY Nineties, Reinhold Bogner’s Ecstasy and Uberschall amps have played signifi-

cant roles in modern guitar tone, having been heard on hundreds of influential recordings and seen on numer-ous concert stages. Because Bogner amps were never inexpensive (these days an Ecstasy head sells for nearly $4,000), they’re rarely seen outside of professional rigs or studios. Fortunately, in recent years, the company has developed new products that make its signature tones more accessible to the masses.

This year, the amp maker released a new line of pedals that provide many of the distinctive sounds and innovative

features of Bogner amps in affordable stomp-box packages. The lineup currently consists of three pedals—the Ecstasy Blue, Ecstasy Red and high-gain Uberschall—that deliver a wide range of incredible tones, from vintage crunch to harmonically complex distortion. Each pedal costs about the same as a decent boutique overdrive, which means that guitarists can get all three for a mere fraction of the price of a Bogner amp. For this review, I tried out both Ecstasy pedals to compare their contrasting sonic personalities.

FEATURES The Ecstasy Blue and Ecstasy Red are based on separate channels found on the Bogner Ecstasy amp.

PLATINUMAWARD

E X C E L L E N C E

GUITARWORLD True Colors

BOGNER ECSTASY BLUE AND RED PEDALS By Chris Gil l

86 g u i t a r wo r l d • j u n e 2 0 1 3

SoundCheCk

Although they both have virtually identical features, the Blue pedal provides crunch similar to a “Plexi” Marshall along with the crush of a later JCM-style amp, while the Red’s tone is warmer and fatter, with considerably more gain on hand. Both pedals have amp-like controls consisting of volume, gain, treble, middle and bass, along with Bogner’s unique Variac on/off, Pre EQ b1/n/b2 and Structure 101/100/20th switches (representing the 101, 100 and 20th Anniversary Ecstasy models).

The Blue pedal also provides a Plexi/Blue mode switch, while the Red has a three-position mode switch with Tight, Mellow and Full settings. In addition, both pedals feature a Boost mode, complete with its own footswitch with miniature volume and gain controls.

Both pedals operate on a nine-volt battery or with a nine-volt DC/100mA adapter, which will be a relief to anyone using a multi-unit power supply and coping with today’s increasingly current-hun-gry devices. A 1/4-inch remote jack enables a remote controller to

turn the effect and boost functions on or off, allowing users to mount the pedals in a rack.

PERFORMANCE Because the Ecstasy Blue and Red are almost like amps unto themselves, it’s best to use them with amps that are dialed in to clean tones instead of an amp that’s already overdriven or distorted. I found that the Blue pedal sounded best with Fender Bassman and Twin, Hiwatt, Krank, and VHT amps. The Red pedal is compatible with an even wider variety of amps.

Both pedals deliver a wide range of tones and textures, from clean overdrive boost to sizzling distortion. The Blue pedal’s Plexi mode emphasizes upper-midrange frequencies and nails classic EVH and AC/DC tones, and the Blue mode tames the treble slightly while boosting lower mids. The Red pedal is much more aggressive, producing smooth, singing compressed high-gain tones in Mid mode and raunchy, speaker-ripping rhythms in Full mode, while Tight mode provides the detailed, focused bottom end

essential for modern metal tones.On both pedals, Variac mode

drops the output level slightly while producing a spongier feel. The Pre EQ boosts treble at the b1 setting and midrange and highs at the b2 setting, while the n set-ting is neutral. The Structure 101/100/20th switch changes the overall feel. The 101 setting pro-duces loose, Tweed tones that respond well to dynamics; 100 offers focused midrange and a tighter attack; and 20th has a mod-ern personality with harmonically complex mids and highs.

The EQ controls are very reactive and cover a wide sonic range without ever sounding artificial or unmusical. Considering all the switching options, it can take a while to dial in a particular sound that you have in mind, but along the way, you’re likely to discover satisfying tones you may not have considered before. The best feature of both pedals is that anyone can dial in his or her own signature tones with them, and, unlike other stomp boxes, sound different from other players using the same pedal.

cheat sheet

LIST PRICE $349.99 (each)MANUFACTURER Bogner Amplification, bogneramplification.com

Both pedals are configured like stand-alone amp channels, with volume, gain and three-band EQ controls.

The Boost mode features its own footswitch and separate volume and gain controls, allowing it to operate almost like a separate channel.

The Mode switch alters the tonal personality as well as the gain structure, providing vintage and modern textures.

The Structure 101/100/20th switch allows guitarists to modify the pedal’s dynamic response and tonal personality to sculpt the sound with even greater detail.

THE BOTTOM LINEOffering versatile performance and the sonic personality of separate channels in Bogner’s Ecstasy amp, the Bogner Ecstasy Blue and Ecstasy Red pedals provide an affordable gateway to Bogner’s coveted signature tones.

For video of this review, go to GuitarWorld.com/June2013

* optimized for iPhone, iPad and Android!

premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR MAY 2013 127

REVIEW > BOGNER

BOGNERECSTASY BLUE & RED OVERDRIVE PEDALSBY JORDAN WAGNER

When it comes to high-powered boutique amps, few command the

respect of the Bogner Ecstasy. The buttery cleans, extreme dynamic range, and gut-tural overdrive have enthralled fans of hot-rodded British tone since the early ’90s. For many, Ecstasy amps embody the ideal com-bination of these qualities. Unfortunately, they're quite pricey, too.

Reinhold Bogner recently set out to provide a more affordable path for guitarists who want to tap into the Ecstasy’s potent tones. The result is the Ecstasy Blue and Red overdrive pedals—each based on a channel from the Ecstasy series. Each aims to capture the tonal nuances that made the Ecstasy 100, 101, and 20th Anniversary models so desirable.

Red vs. BlueThe Ecstasy pedals use class A circuits that eschew diodes or op-amps for overdrive clip-ping. Each circuit board is populated with select components—Japanese Nichicon and German WIMI caps, gold-plated relays, and Carling switches for true bypassing and boosting. You can also vary voltage to widen dynamic range and touch sensitivity.

Both pedals share the same simple con-trol layout: volume, treble, middle, bass, and gain knobs. Directly above these are four switches that change the gain struc-ture, response, and feel. Variac, which acts like an actual Variac transformer by lower-ing the pedal’s voltage, gives the tone more sag and pulls back the volume to more neighbor-friendly levels. The mode switch flips between lower- (plexi) and higher- (blues) gain modes on the Ecstasy Blue, and three different EQ curve and gain pre-sets on the Ecstasy Red.

Each pedal’s pre-EQ switch has two levels of presence and high-end boost, and these can be bypassed completely when set

to hear audio clips of the pedals at premierguitar.com/may2013

HEADOnline…to neutral. The coolest feature might be the 3-way switch that realigns the pedals' EQ and gain structures to match the major versions of the Ecstasy amplifier—the 100, 101, and the coveted 20th Anniversary.

Both pedals also have a footswitchable boost feature that can boost the volume and gain levels at the same time. You can inde-pendently set the amount of volume and gain boost via two small potentiometers located directly beneath the pedal’s main volume and gain knobs. The mini-boost pots also house LEDs that light up when you stomp the boost footswitch.

ECSTASY BLUEThe Ecstasy Blue excels at clear, harmoni-cally rich clean tones, purring low-gain rhythms, and biting classic-rock overdrive. Its three-dimensional tone and woody attack are astonishingly close to the Ecstasy amp's blue channel.

In plexi mode and with structure at 100, the Blue trans-formed a Fender Deluxe Reverb, embellishing the rich cleans with detailed highs and buttery-smooth lows. Raising gain to 11 o’clock and switching the pre-EQ to b1 gave the Deluxe’s trademark sparkling top end and refined

attack a little more body, and the midrange took on a much beefier quality.

Mids sound less aggressive in 101 mode, and the overall tone is smoother and a bit more compressed—much like the difference between the 100 and 101 amp revisions. With a Strat, the 101 mode’s springier low end really lends itself to blues leads that are just over the edge of breakup.

For overdriven AC/DC riffing and Zep-inspired leads, 20th Anniversary mode and a Les Paul delivered the requisite upper-mid aggression, steel-drum tightness, and velvety

RATINGS

Pros: Sounds authentically like the actual Ecstasy blue chan-nel. Three modes sound and feel like three different amps. Variable boosting is super-useful. Cons: Boosts can’t be set to cut gain and volume individually.

Tones

Versatility

Build/Design

Value

Bogner Ecstasy Blue, $299 street, bogneramplification.com

Variac on/off

Plexi and Blue modes

Boost function

Pre-EQ switch

128 PREMIER GUITAR MAY 2013 premierguitar.com

REVIEW > BOGNER

overdrive in spades. It cleaned up remark-ably well without losing volume or body when I rolled back the Paul’s volume.

The boost not only affects the gain and vol-ume, but also the presence in cleaner settings. Boosting volume from 11 to 2 o’clock made the upper mids much more prevalent and full. Pick attack also became more pronounced, without significant loss of warmth. And boost-ing the gain slightly with the volume control gave the high end a softer edge that was handy when I cranked the Deluxe into slight over-drive and slammed the front end with output from the pedal.

Though it can take a little tweaking to nail a tone that’s a match for your amp, the balance between Bogner’s brawny voicing and the Deluxe’s own sound was remark-able. The Fender’s clean tones are a great blank slate for any pedal, and the Bogner’s ability to emulate a hot-rodded Marshall without turning the Deluxe into a sputter-ing, muddy mess says a lot about how care-fully this pedal was voiced.

The VerdictThe Ecstasy Blue is a fantastic pedal for both clean tone shaping and low to mod-erate overdrive. Bogner has captured the natural response, note-to-note clarity, and robust overdrive that made the Ecstasy’s blue channel a hit with blues and rock gui-tarists. Its ability to get you so convincingly in the Ecstasy’s sonic ballpark at a fraction of the price is nothing short of remarkable.

ECSTASY REDBogner’s little red devil aims to capture the searing overdrive that made Bogner a household name among fans of heavy guitar. And for all intents and purposes, it succeeds. It puts many of the nuances that distinguish the Ecstasy amp's thick and chewy overdrive at your fingertips, and the extremely sensitive EQ section can help you drastically reshape its voice. The note-to-note clarity and dynamics are just as remarkable as the Ecstasy Blue’s, though the cost of massive gain can be noisier output.

With a Twin Reverb and the Ecstasy Red set to its 100 mode and a low-gain setting, the pedal generated the barking midrange and juicy low end that defined the original Ecstasy. Every note had enormous body, sustained smoothly, and teetered at the edge of luscious feedback. Lighter pick attack revealed even more detail in the midrange

and created a jelly-like bounce in the low end—a defining characteristic of Bogner’s amps.

Things got more ferocious when I turned the gain to 1 o’clock and engaged the b1 presence boost, unleashing a roaring overdrive perfect for dropped tunings. The 101 mode increases compression and smooths out top end slightly, but retains enough power in the high-mids for Alice in Chains-style hard rock. Even at super high-gain settings where most overdrive and distortion pedals begin to mush out, Red's drive remained fluid, dynamic, and powerful. And switch-ing variac on added a touch of brown sound with looser mids and slower attack that begged for EVH-style playing.

The pedal’s 101 and 20th Anniversary modes unleash the most unrelenting and aggressive tones. The midrange is more snarling in the 20th Anniversary mode than in 100 or 101 mode, and a harder pick attack lends a grittier edge to the highs. Increasing the gain in the 101 and 20th Anniversary modes also seemed to make the already sensitive EQ even more reactive.

When I accidentally moved the treble control from 1 o’clock to 11 o’clock, I thought I’d rolled back the tone knob on my Les Paul. The only control out of the three that seemed to have less of an effect in high-gain settings was the bass control, though it still had plenty of range. The pedal’s only major drawback was how much hiss was present when I had the boost gain set above 3 o’clock. I had no issues with feedback, but the white noise was some-what excessive, and I was often tempted to dig out my noise suppressor to clamp down on the hiss.

While the Ecstasy Red has plenty of overdrive to satisfy the heavier proclivities of most players, it isn’t really designed with

the scooped-mid crowd in mind. I was able to get some seriously heavy tones by scoop-ing the mids down to around 9 o’clock, but since the circuit is dedicated to generat-ing that brawny mid voicing, some of the pedal’s body and detail are lost in these scooped-mid environs. Keeping the mids at 11 o’clock or above highlights the pedal’s strengths. At the end of the day, this is a pedal for heavy players who cut their teeth on hot-rodded British style amps, and really understand how important great midrange presence is in crafting the best heavy tones.

The VerdictIf you’re a rocker who has drooled at the thought of owning an Ecstasy amp but can’t cough up the required cash, you should take a close look at the Ecstasy Red pedal. Bogner has done an amazing job replicating the tone, feel, definition, and response of all three of the Ecstasy’s variants. Granted, you’ll need a good, blank slate of a tube amp to make the most of these pedals. But considering how inaccessibly priced most of these amps are for the average player, laying down $300 for the company’s flagship over-drive tones seems like a fair price to pay for the next best thing.

RATINGS

Pros: Infuses clean tones with the signature Ecstasy high-gain sound exceptionally well. Very responsive to pick attack and playing dynamics. Wide-ranging, sensitive EQ. Three modes have noticeable differences, like having three amps in one. Cons: Boost has some background hiss at higher gain settings.

Tones

Versatility

Build/Design

Value

Bogner Ecstasy Red, $299 street, bogneramplification.com

Tight/mellow/low voice switch

Boost function

Vintage guitar Apri l 2013 Vintageguitar.com

Gear Reviews

red, Wild, and Blue Bogner’s Ecstasy Pedals

Both the Bogner Blue and Red Ec-stasy were tested with a ’67 Telecaster, a reissue Les Paul, and a Strat played through a 1965 Deluxe Reverb, a Dr Z Carmen Ghia, and a recent Vox AC15. With the reissue Paul plugged into the Bogner Blue and the Deluxe, and with everything set at noon, twist-ing and twirling the pedal’s various knobs result in an enjoyable variety of Marshall-esque tones. The Gain knob, for example, goes from barely clean to a full, biting drive. The pedal operates cleanly and with an extremely low noise floor, while the passive three-band EQ’s range makes dialing in different guitars fun and keeps with the pedal’s amp theme. The pedal is also notably touch-responsive. Even at high gain settings with the humbucker-equipped Paul, by simply softening his or her touch, the player achieves a clean tone. Conversely, digging in results in nice sizzle and grit.

Players prompted by curiosity to pop the back off the Bogner Blue Ecstasy will be amazed at the amount of circuitry involved compared to a run-of-the-mill dirt box. Two large

piggybacked circuit boards are accompanied by a

fair amount of

feature amp-like layouts including Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, and Gain knobs. Beneath the knobs are Boost and On/Off footswitches, along with mini pots for Gain and Volume that are activated when the Boost footswitch is depressed. Four mini toggles are assigned Variac (see below); Mode (Tight/Mellow/Full on the Red, and Plexi/Blue on the Blue); Pre EQ (b1/n/b2); and Structure for 101/100/20th gain settings based on the corresponding Ecstasy amplifier chan-nel. Both pedals can be powered with a 9-volt battery or DC supply.

to say that pedal-building is in vogue is to make one of the biggest understatements of the decade. Daily, it seems, new Hammond-boxed three-knob wonders promise unwitting guitarists the one missing piece that they need to get noticed. With such a jaundiced view, the timing is right to have the scales removed from our pedal-weary eyes.

Enter Reinhold Bogner, the man who birthed one of the most lauded amp lines of the late-’80s and early-’90s boutique amp explosion. In the two decades since, Bogner has worked tire-lessly to improve and expand his line. Most recently, he has introduced three pedals: the Ecstasy Blue, the Ecstasy Red, and the Uberschall. The former two represent Bogner’s efforts to mine the finely honed tones of the Blue and Red channels on his flagship Ecstasy amplifier.

The Bogner Blue and Red p e d a l s

goop and a plastic cover

that appears to serve as a dam

to hold more goop over a certain area

of the board. Presumably the cover and goop protect some of the design, create some level of mystery, or both. Although they certainly aren’t willing to remove all of the mystery, the folks at Bogner do indicate that the pedal’s headroom and amp-like responsive-ness are due to a number of factors, including a lack of op-amp buffer

and clipping diodes, internal circuitry greater than 9 volts, and four stages of class-A gain.

Back to the pedal’s exterior, activat-ing the Boost footswitch changes the gain and volume settings to those of their respective mini pots. Boost has very nice gain and volume-boost levels, allowing the player to simply make their drive tone louder and increase the gain/dirt level.

Moving on to the Variac mini toggle, flipping from off to on creates a small thump as the internal voltages and overall level are lowered a bit. Bumping the Level knob to compensate results in the more compressed and squishy tones of the Variac setting. The Plexi/Blue switch changes the tone and gain levels ever so slightly, moving from vintage (Plexi) to more modern (Blue), while the Pre EQ toggle allows the op-tion of tonal shaping before the drive stage, and Structure allows the player to choose the era of Ecstasy amp desired.

The Red Ecstasy exhibits the high-gain, hot-rodded tones that have made the Bogner amps the choice among tone-conscience rockers. And that’s a good thing – these higher gain tones sound unlike any other high-gain dirt box. Via its complement of knobs and switches, the Red Ecstasy has all the same amp-like touch-sensitivity and tone-tweaking abilities as the Blue Ecstasy, just at higher gain levels. Even those who don’t favor high-gain pedals will find themselves pulled in by the Red’s full range gain settings. Although the tone is quite saturated at high set-tings, it never evokes the desire to don spandex (perhaps leather, though).

Both pedals worked exceptionally well with the guitars and amps on hand for testing. The tone-shaping switches and knobs allowed easy dialing in of each guitar, and unlike many drive units, both were friendly with any amp with which they were paired.

But what really sets both the Bogner Blue and Red Ecstasy apart from the horde of drive pedals on the market are their unique abilities to sound and react like great amplifiers. Instead of sucking away touch-sensitivity and dynamics, they enhance them while offering a wide tonal range that inexplicably gives an amp a second channel of brilliant musical drive tones. Though the prices are relatively high, unmatched tone and build quality should make them must-haves for many. – Zac Childs

Bogner ecstasy pedalsPrice: $299.99 (each, retail)Info: bogneramplification.com