Bogner Shiva EL34 Reverb - Playthrough/Tweaking

Signal Chain
Les Paul Supreme
Klon KTR
BOSS SD1
Maxon OD808
Bogner Shiva
Marshall 1960ax
G12m 25
SM 57 - API 512
Royer 121 - API 512

[@juniorg296]

Bought my Shiva back in May (newer model EL34 w/ reverb, bright switch per channel and tone shift on dirty channel) after watching this video. Just came back to say thanks for this demo, I couldn't love this amp more and never would've even considered it if not for you. Great tone brother! 🤘

[@acrylicrecording]

Man, that is SOOOO AWESOME!!!! Big congrats on your new amp! Glad I was able to help, that's precisely why I started making these demos. There really wasn't a lot of good just knob turning out there, showing off the range of the amps. So much of the tone is from the hands of the player and so many demos are just 2 or 3 settings of an amp with a guy ripping whatever that it doesn't really give you any idea of how the amp is. Enjoy! Glad to help :)

[@draelyc]

I’ve had this head for years. Never cared for it through the Greenback 2x12 I used to have. Sounds better through the matching Bogner 1x12 with a CL80 that I originally used with mine, and much better through the Bogner OS 2x12 with V30s that I now run it through. I like to run the gain between noon and 2 o’clock, depending on my mood. It cleans up reasonably well from the guitar’s volume that way - does so much better when the master volume is opened up and the amp’s pushing some air - but that’s not the Shiva’s best feature. I have a Suhr Badger that cleans up MUCH better. But the Shiva has this incredible low-mid thickness that’s incredibly rich and makes the amp feel amazing and so much fun to play! It really shines for heavy blues and rock. Imo, fwiw, and ymmv, of course. Nice, thorough play-through. Thanks for posting!

[@cmcarley]

I put G12H-75 in the 1x12 and OS2x12 and love the sound.

[@acrylicrecording]

Yeah definitely works better with brighter speakers as its a bit of a dark amp, especially for a "Marshall Style" amp

[@user-vl9bn5wx3j]

this is one of my favorite bogner amps theres a nice balance i find in gain and the upper mids are not over powering ill look for one also great choice for guitar les paul supreme i have a 2010 traditional with a crunch lab in the bridge im just using a mesa mark v 35 1x12 cant be too loud with it for my parents so i mostly play out in my trailer up here at our cabin at deka lake b.c. but i like too crank it sometimes when no one is around also dont want to miff off the neighbours sorry for the past when i was in my 20s 10 yrs ago with my lonestar and velvet fuzz and suhr rufus oh the good ol days cheers jeff!!!

[@acrylicrecording]

Niceee, yeah this amp can rock and lower volumes very well! Cheers

[@soapbarblues]

I also have this early EL34/reverb head and love it. Plus the Shiva size 112 with CL80. An acquaintance recommended for the gain channel to dime the bass and middle and turn off the treble. It's a pretty good sound, IMO! also an amp tech of mine figured out how to increase the boost function and I love this amp even more! Thank you for this video!

[@acrylicrecording]

Interesting!!!! I actually found the opposite, turning the bass all the way down. At least made it sound a bit more marshally which is usually what I'm after. But of course, depending on guitar and cab and ears milage varies it certainly sounds good almost wherever you put the eq!

[@soapbarblues]

@@acrylicrecording Whatever works for the tone you want. I do it both ways depending on guitar and room conditions. Cheers!

[@personalfreedom2700]

This is amp is definitely the “Brown Sound”… evh juiced marshal super lead is all over it

[@acrylicrecording]

I'd say its a bit darker/woofier than an EVH type tone, and doesnt quite have the upper harmonics sizzle/snarl but its pretty close, just voiced a bit darker IMO

[@chrisquinn9104]

I have this same amp (1x12 combo)silver back. I like the low mid growl for single note stuff, but the distortion on it’s own seems kind of harsh and even though I’ve heard raves about the ported cab, I think it sounds woofy. That said it does something pretty great in a band mix and using a pedal like a Light Speed, Southland, or KOT can smooth out some of the harshness. The clean channel sounds like a great Black Panel Fender, but doesn’t work that well for me live because it’s more of a transition from the gain channel than I can handle. Initially I wasn’t sure if the amp was working right, but it sounds like yours. I was expecting it to be kind of effortless, like a Soldano, or some other high gain amps, but it isn’t. It does reward the extra effort though and does better in a mix than in a room by itself. What do you think? Does that sound close? There aren’t as good videos on these as I’d think there would be

[@LarryMarkel]

You’re probably the only person that had the high gain sounding like it isn’t muddy. I have a very similar sound I guess because we’re both playing gibsons it seems. Sounds like an early tool tone.

[@acrylicrecording]

Yeah this amp is QUITE dark IMO actually one of my favourite settings was with the bass all the way down. Yeah I've been comparing my Les Paul with a bunch of other humbucker guitars lately and it seems that my Les Paul is just super clear and aggressive compared to some other guitars.

[@mazen2928]

Awesome 👍🏻

[@tfive1060]

I was almost gonna get one of these but it seems to be lacking in the gain department? I don’t play metal but I like a lil more sustain.

[@acrylicrecording]

Yeah, I find bogners to be pretty cut and dry without a lot of sustain, I think the anniversary edition has more gain. And I'm pretty sure Cantrell's is modded for more gain and other things. I'll also say that the tubes in this guy aren't SUPER fresh which might be a part of it. But it's not really a gainy amp. I'd compare it to a jcm800 but smoother.

[@tfive1060]

@@acrylicrecording Cool. Thanks for the feedback

[@juniorg296]

@@acrylicrecording to my (limited) knowledge, Cantrell's is hotrodded with a higher value bright cap and biased super hot. I think your JCM comparison is spot on. That was my go-to before getting my Shiva this year. It's the same/very similar tonally but just a lot smoother and beefier IMO.

[@mikeferris408]

Id love to own 1 of these.. thinking about buying 1 very very soon!

[@acrylicrecording]

Great choice! They rock

[@dwayneanderson7108]

It's nice. But with this amp I think the 6l6s suit it better. Kinda like the 101b sounds better with el34s than 6l6s...

[@acrylicrecording]

Funny because I would say the opposite. I think the shiva could sound great with 6L6s, but I think it's voiced much more for EL34's. Where my 101b when I had it just seemed to always be too bright and stiff which would've helped if it had 6L6s but just preferences of course.

[@loganchanley]

Exactly. What application? I own both silver chassis.

[@kevinsaliba2427]

Does anyone find this head doesn't clean up nice with volume down on guitar? To me it's only sounds good with everything up

[@acrylicrecording]

I pretty much never roll my volumes down much more than a bit maybe if I’m on stage, so I’m not entirely sure but with how this amp feels I think that makes sense. I also find the only things that really work well with rolling your guitars volume down is like a fuzz face or a non master volume amp like a JMP or many fenders.

[@draelyc]

I’ve found that cleaning up from the guitar’s volume isn’t the Shiva’s *best* feature, but I recently spent a few weeks rolling preamp tubes and ended up with MUCH better results in terms of how well it does clean up. So I would say experiment with different preamp tubes for sure. You might be pleasantly surprised. Ftr, I ended up with a NOS JAN/Phillips 12AX7WA in V1 & Chinese 9th Gen (which is supposedly what Reinhold used to voice the amp & recommends) for V2 & V3. I also have treble bleed mods in all my guitars, which I find is an absolute must, since I prefer to set my amps for a good crunch & ride the volume knob for clean & in between tones.

[@jpanagotopulos]

What pedal are you using @ 8:07?

[@acrylicrecording]

Sounds like the KTR, but not 100% sure.

[@blueserman]

Только не понятно, какие педали когда звучат

[@acrylicrecording]

Yeah, I don’t think it’s that important, but of a boost here and there, they’re mostly all off

[@B2Rockin]

How do you think this stacks up with the new Friedman amps? Have to say I think the Shiva is a timeless amp. Amazing demo man, thank you!!

[@cmcarley]

I have a Shiva and a BE-100. Both are great amps but different. The Shiva has a thicker sound but not as high gain. The Shiva and the Dirty Shirley are probably closest in comparison. Really good for classic rock.

[@B2Rockin]

@@cmcarley thanks man! The Shiva sounds like it can get more heavy than the dirty Shirley, more Mesa like if I’m not mistaken, correct me if I’m wrong. I’m dying to try all 3! Huge JCM 800 fan myself, curious which of the 3 gets closest to the 800 as well. Rock on!

[@cmcarley]

@@B2Rockin the Shiva has a mid shift switch that can make it sound more modern, but I don’t think it sounds like a Mesa, at least not a dual rectifier. The Shiva is a great amp and what I like most is that I don’t feel the need to constantly tweak the settings to get the sound I want. If someone is mostly into metal, I don’t think this would be the right amp though. The 20th anniversary one has more gain, but I have never played one.

[@B2Rockin]

@@cmcarley that is great feedback, thank you man!! Hope I get to try one of these one day, sounds amazing. Also seem hard to come by. Cheers! 🤘🏻

[@acrylicrecording]

@@B2Rockin I haven't played too many Friedmans but I haven't been a huge fan of most of the BE's too mushy and saturated for my tastes. I do like the Dirty Shirley though! I'd say the jcm800 is muchhhh brighter and a bit dryer/punchier than the shiva, the shiva has more gain for sure but not by a whole lot. I think the comment that the shiva is similar to a Dirty Shirley makes sense in terms of feel though the shiva just has more gain and is a bit more modern and versatile. The gain is smooth kinda like a mesa but I wouldn't really use that comparison maybe the vintage channel of a rectifier is a bit similar, generally darker and squishy feeling.

[@joshuadillon4396]

The darker overall character could be remedied a little with different cab

[@acrylicrecording]

Yeah this is through a 1960ax with UK greenbacks. Pretty neutral cab, I’m planning on a video with my v30 cab which is a lot brighter. The dark comment was mostly in the compassion to most of my other amps, this is one of the darkest.

[@chillpillology]

or single coils …. but might need a boost tho

[@valle4483]

Great sounding amp, would definitely buy one if it wasn't so pcb.

[@acrylicrecording]

If it wasn't so printed circuit board?

[@valle4483]

@@acrylicrecording Yep. Would gladly buy if it had chassi mounted pots and tube sockets like a marshall 1987x for instance. An amp for $2000+ sould have it.

[@green1201]

@@valle4483 Big deal. It's makes zero difference on tone. Zero. Anyone who tells you different is full of it.

[@valle4483]

@@green1201 I agree with you fully there. It's more the repairability and reliability that worries me with everything being board mounted. Though apparently the power tubes are chassi mounted in this amp and that's very nice.

[@tgunmusicchannel1973]

Cork sniffer?