SNEAK PEEK
Bogner Alchemist
After years of dedicated and scrupulous attention to detail in his homeland
of Germany, Reinhold Bogner made the
life-changing move to Los Angeles in
1989. Reinhold quickly made a name for
himself with his original take on classic
guitar tone. On the heels of repairing and
modifying amplifiers for Steve Stevens, Allan
Holdsworth, and Steve Vai, he was challenged with overhauling and revitalizing
Eddie Van Halen’s #1 Marshall Plexi. His success with Eddie and others helped vault the
status of Bogner Amplification.
Bogner amps are all built on the same
principles; quality craftsmanship through
sophisticated arrangement of simple circuits,
currents, metal and wood. The end result is
a versatile amp with numerous effects and
tonal options, not to mention meticulous
controls. All of this combined allows players
ultimate authority over their sound. And the
Alchemist is no different.
The new Alchemist features a matched
pair of 6L6 power tubes and five 12AX7/
ECC83 tubes in the preamp. Also included
on all Alchemist models are two channels;
Gold—channel one—and Mercury—channel
two. The Gold (left) features a clean start and
gears up simmering tones as the CRUNCH
switch is enabled. The Crunch channel breaks
up like a Tweed, but has bottom end similar to a Hiwatt®—a great rhythm or blues
channel. The Mercury picks up from there,
offering crunchier rhythms and lead tones
from the famous white-hot Bogner gain.
Both channels have knobs for Gain, Treble,
Middle, Bass and Volume so you customize
each channel.
Options include:
• 1x12 or 2x12 open-back Combo, Head,
2x12 open-back Extension Cabinet
• Switchable 20-watt variac mode
• Crunch mode and Deep switch—adds low
mid depth and bottom end (channel 1)
• Mid Shift—allows for more intricate tone
adjustments at varying volumes (channel 2)
• Punch Switch—switches between Fender-style and British-flavored tones (channel 2)
• Bright Switch for both channels
• Shared in parallel; Reverb Type, Reverb
Level, Delay Type, Delay Level, Delay Repeats
(Feedback), Tap Tempo
• Premium Celestion® speakers
• Four-button footswitch included: Channel
Select, Boost, Delay, Reverb
The innovative Delay setting features three
different modes: Ducking, Analog and Tape.
The Ducking is a digital delay. The mix level
automatically responds to your playing volume, reducing the level of the delay while you
are playing, and increasing the level when you
stop. The Analog is a model of a classic analog delay pedal, providing a classically warm,
personality-rich sound with subtle modulation.
The Tape provides classic darkening echoes,
and the organic variations typical of classic
tape echo units. Also, the built-in Reverb
effects feature studio grade digital processing. The 3-position switch has three choices:
Plate, Hall and Spring.
Whether you’re looking for some ear-splitting
crunch, a sweet touch of the Brown sound or
classic cleans of a Fender amp, it all can be
found under the hood of Bogner’s latest creation, the Alchemist. Like all its other predecessors, each Alchemist has Reinhold’s stamp
of approval and signature configurations. With
all of his sweat, time and hard work invested
in the project, Reinhold can only wish one
thing upon plugging into his latest amplifier.
