BOGNER Ecstasy - Versatile Clean to Gain Monster

In today's video, Paul from The Studio Rats is joined by guitar monster Lee Abraham to check out the Bogner Ecstasy 101B Guitar Amplifier.
To download TONEX Captures of this fantastic Amp Go To
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To download QUAD CORTEX Captures of this fantastic Amp Go To
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This 100 watt beast of a guitar amp is probably one of the most versatile guitar amplifiers you can buy as it does fantastic cleans to overdriven filth at a click of a button. The question is, IS THIS ENOUGH GAIN FOR LEE?
The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.

[@nekkon1989]

I get a bogner listening to those tones

[@TheRodge2112]

😂😂😂

[@Docksidestudio1]

Careful, this is a family show

[@RobvandenBoogaard]

Always a treat when Lee joins!

[@ronabrams63]

This is the best tone you've ever gotten of any amp you've played on your channel!

[@TheStudioRats]

Cheers Ron, it’s a bit too much gain for me but it is a great amp.

[@frankcrack777]

I very like videos with Lee! Greetings

[@clydebillingsworth8574]

Lee - I appreciate you and your different take. Don't cave and settle for less. I would've loved to see more of your playing and really slamming that amp for all it's worth. Cheers

[@TheStudioRats]

I keep telling him to start a channel.

[@johnoakleymusic]

@@TheStudioRatsI actually think that’s a great idea as he has a great personality, it would hopefully give him more confidence (of which he deserves as he’s far better than he believes and plays far more than respectably) plus would potentially be more relatable to the common player and their standards (purely because Paul is so good it makes you sick!(that’s a compliment)). Lee you should definitely go for it buddy

[@eguilherme1]

Classic for a reason! Love mine, one of my favorites. TSR killing it lately with great content, thank you!

[@lelandgaunt7130]

Are they decent at lower volumes or like most, you have to crank it?

[@Tone-Quest]

As always BIG love for the Paul and Lee videos. I think a lot of it would depend on what type of music Lee is playing or covering as to the amount of gain he would need. I love a lot of gain/sustain too, but overtime I think sometimes a little less gain sounds better and just a heavy.

[@Hagstrom4ever]

Between the Ecstasy and the Uberschall, I've ever liked the Ecstasy the most. More musical, even if I play metal, the second channel has enough gain. What a masterpiece of an amp.

[@DavidBeebee]

Bucket list amp for me this one. At 16 there was nothing more I wanted than an Ibanez Jem and and an Ecstasy! Lovely tones guys.

[@SdruhCram]

Great video, I’m late to this! I’ve owned my first Ecstasy 101B for 17 years and I still have it, and this week I’ve added the latest incarnation of the Ecstasy, the Pandora, to the ranks of Bogner amps I own (six in total). The Ecstasy is hands down my all time favourite amp. A couple of hopefully helpful points. I’ve heard folks complain about the clean channel, but there are ways to get Fender cleans out of it, essentially maxing out the volume and controlling the volume on the gain. The blue channel is home to my all time favourite drive tones, the woodiness is addictive! My original 101B has what is known as the Marvel mod on the red channel. This is a three way switch on the back panel which gives you the pre 2004 red channel tones (essentially the blue channel with more gain), post 2004, more gain and highs, and the Cameron mod, which gives the amp more high mids. The other complaint some make is that they feel the amp sounds like it has a blanket over it. I feel this is a misunderstanding over how the treble control on the drive channels works - it is logarithmic, so to get the treble content that you would on a Marshall with the treble set to 10 o’clock, you’d set the treble on the Ecstasy at 2 o’clock or higher, Leon Todd covers this in one of his videos on the 101B.

[@-jk-2580]

Maybe some of the best Bogner-tones I’ve ever heard. Great job!

[@shorerocks]

Lee is right. Never enough.

[@johnoakleymusic]

I do enjoy these Lee and Paul videos. Lovely amount of respect both directions and nice to hear and see different styles utilising the same settings etc. Gives us more information that way as we don’t all play the same. I think Lee should try less gain but only sometimes. If he enjoys lots of gain fine but just dabble with less when applicable and he may learn to enjoy it as much in certain scenarios. As for normal diet, just be healthy mate. Don’t worry about the scales just stay active. Great vid boys as always Thankyou. Always a pleasure to watch. ❤

[@MrSpillify]

Paul’s comment around 9:55 is exactly what I loved and what drove me nuts about the XTC. It’s not just gain; it’s also how compressed they are. I would sound good on a bad day and not any better on a good day. Still, I’ve never found an amp that does singing leads better.

[@Macmax7077]

Best amp ever!

[@johnblack1675]

Ive had a bogner 10 years and i buy amps to see if i can find sounds i cant get.... its still unbeaten.

[@chasingtone2022]

This sounds amazing!! I am a massive fan of Bogner amps. I have a 20th Anni Shiva and it is a beast!!

[@TheRodge2112]

Love Lee!

[@timp.9582]

That lick at 9:44 Paul always makes it look so easy. Great amp, imo better than the SLO100. Thanks for the demo!

[@TheStudioRats]

You should hear the amount of times I completely mess it up.

[@timp.9582]

@@TheStudioRats funny guy!

[@theprisonier]

I have an ecstasy 30w, a combo 100w, all the first batch ecstasy pedal. This is a crazy sound, for all kind of music. Mega demo. Normally they sound to compress but this one demo is good. 👍

[@joewyatt8371]

Great Sounding Amp! Great playing Paul!

[@Gibbo1050]

Totally get what Lee is saying regarding solos. I don't gig anymore but do a few jam nights where backline is provided. Unfortunately, you're limited to how much you can fiddle with amps etc to try and get a decent tone for a solo. The amount of times of been wringing the neck thinking " come on, sustain a bit!!" is incredible. It's quite disheartening and as a result you don't play as well (in my opinion). Cracking video, thinking about one of those little Tonex pedals just so I can get some of your captures.

[@ronmoes42]

I had a simular fender strat an HSS deluxe and back then I would be like him, but over the years I found that an strat with SSS pickups sound the best to me, You can play what you want if your chops are developing and you want people to hear the extentions or chords with open strings, and that just is not possible when you have loads of hi gain in t he signal...On a side note, back then I used a 0.10 set, now I exclusively use a 0.09 to 0.42 set and never have to worry about wet calluses breaking off my fingers. For me the change of the strings to a lighter gauge and swtich from a jazz III pickup to a tortex yellow 0.73 pick made a huge difference in my playing. By the way good luck with you package sales, it sound terrific! I must be the biggest Steve Lukather fan, listening weekly to his guitar playing... cheers

[@jeffroq]

Great Vid guys. Lee - That defo sounds like a Thornbucker in that Suhr, for me the last word in humbuckers. Ive just bought a ToneX so guess what my 1st pack purchase is going to be?

[@mendelrocks]

Right gain, right grin!

[@sledgehammer80sband37]

Great video. Lee's Bridge pickup is all wrong for what he's trying to do. The les paul is so much clearer with that amp :)

[@johnoakleymusic]

I agree the Les Paul suited it far better in this setup scenario

[@felipefarias7654]

I bought a Bogner 101A 20th anniversary a couple of month ago. What an amazing amp, my favorite so far. Supposedly it’s a bit more modern due to its power section. More highs and bottom end. Would love to play it back to back against the 101B.

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

This amp has such a rich sound.

[@frankhachenberg6305]

It is for "Sound Richies" 🤘🤩

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

That amp is bad ass. Tell Lee his playing is fine and I agree. More gain because more is more. 😂. . Seriously though. I like a lot of gain for the 80s type hard rock and blues rock I play and that amp would be perfect. Do you guys / Studio Rats have anything like that high gain tone for the Boss IR2 or IR200? I really would love that and I love Boss and Roland products. Thanks so much. Great video and killer killer amp. From the heartland ! South Central Indiana. USA. Tim... ❤🤘♥️🤘♥️

[@johnboy10]

It would be great to hear the Tonex Captures back to back with the real amp. Still waiting for my Tonex one to arrive.

[@garywaddell6309]

As much as I used to love a lot of gain, I’ve come to realize too much gain is used to hide our mistakes 😊 but I still love hearing Lee and Paul play. The levels in Paul’s LP really push that drive. I think the Suhr lacks the punch to push it over the edge. That said I prefer a nice clean overdrive like that of Tom Quayle

[@TheStudioRats]

Mr Quayle is a monster player.

[@Funkybassuk]

Those cleans are absolutely wonderful! I also liked the “perfect” Lee sound. I wasn’t into the in between tones, strangely.

[@TheStudioRats]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@che2335]

Is it as good as the Friedman 100B? Its my goto.

[@IamMusicNerd]

The Ecstasy is fantastic. They made an Ecstasy module for Synergy that is incredible as well. Bogner makes great stuff.

[@harleyelkins3273]

I feel like the horse made this 😂😉 very cool 😊

[@vanscool]

Excellent! How did you record this? What is the signal chain? Were you using an IR? It looks like your volumes are set around 11 o’clock. I own this very amp and I can attest. Standing in front of that amp, at that volume, would most likely end in sterilization.

[@huskylove-666]

I’d be looking for a bogner definitely. And a pair of Paul’s hands

[@TheStudioRats]

Even i wouldn’t want my hands, you don’t know where they’ve been!

[@WakadooPlaypen]

I have an Ecstasy, EL34, Im on their artist roster, its great for my higher gain rock shows.

[@TheStudioRats]

Nice

[@robertcarey3383]

I agree with Lee Channel 3 with boost was almost there.......just needed a SD1 in front to tighten it up a little. I was not familiar with Boger amps but the sound of channel 3 boosted reminds me of Judas Preist "Electric Eye" I LOVE THAT SOUND!!!!

[@adamjones8218]

I like quite a bit of modern high gain, (but I also like classic tones like Paul) but it's tricky to dial in on the Red Channel of this amp to get what Lee is describing. The Excursion switches need to be set just right to bring out the frequencies, and then dialed in to get earlier compression. Honestly, I primarily live on the Blue channel and use the Red Channel for some occasional leads. Also the pot for the Mids is not a standard taper, it keeps the low mids forward until 8-10 on the dial, - cool sound alone, but you can get lost in a band mix. The tone/feel I believe Lee wants is the response from a 5150 III 50W blue channel boosted with a green pedal or fav overdrive. EL34 version for more British sound/feel or the 6L6 Stealth for more American thud. The EL34 version has the better clean channel IMO. Plenty of decent free captures on ToneNet for him to test. The Red channel on these amps are similar in that they have extreme levels of gain unless you're significantly downtuned or playing a 7+ string extended range instrument which consumes a bit of the gain due to physics.

[@BenjaminGoude]

My ideal amp would have a marshall clean tone for channel 1, Ecstacy channel 2 with less drive for channel 2, and 5150 channel 2 for channel 3. Basically, my JCM 2000 but switch the channel 2 with a 5150 channel 2.

[@andymarsal]

love both SRV and palmmutin.. try findin one good amp for it

[@jacksonrepetskimusic]

Sounds so good!! Really want to see you guys check out a Revv G50!!

[@TheStudioRats]

I’d love to check out a G5

[@TheStudioRats]

Sorry a G50

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

I take it you've not tried a Blackstar HT Stage Mk1? The gain channels are phenomenal.

[@rumy6871]

Paul cheating on the strat with a Les Paul, oh my!

[@josephbenz4913]

I think Lee needs the Ubershall Ultra 😈

[@TheStudioRats]

👍🏼

[@raptor74707]

I think the problem is Lee's pick-ups, not the amp. And Paul, if you are on channel 3 why would you even consider dynamics :) It should be brutal, and punchy, not gentle and caring. I love you both.

[@stephenwhitney5576]

I would love to see lee vs paul and the goal is $1000 dollars for a direct rig and see who wins.

[@maxs.5163]

He had to try Rivera or Bad cat Lynx, or Driftwood Nightmare, with Boss sd1, he will be much more satisfied

[@martinsutcliffe5824]

If you think that’s a bit much, keep away from the uberschall. Makes the XTC sound quaint and a bit twee

[@MrHitthespot]

Does it get any better than that?

[@ivicapavlovic3879]

Please test the Überschall, I think it has a little bit more gain,....

[@adamjones8218]

LOL just a little bit.😆

[@martinclayton7260]

Turn the gain down, and the volume up!

[@adamjones8218]

Lee is not wanting power amp saturation, he is describing pre-amp saturation which is the opposite - master @ ish or lower and pre amp gain higher and then balance to taste.

[@fuegosatsuma868]

why do all your demos sound exactly the same ??

[@johnoakleymusic]

They play certain riffs in many videos so you can hear the differences between gear using those riffs. That’s their Control / Constant if you like across their gear changes. I think it’s very helpful as you can then hear the nuances and changes the different amps and guitars give using those preset riffs.

[@RapttorX]

8:30 lol

[@capitanvonchickenpants8492]

Sounds like my boss katana.....

[@johnoakleymusic]

Yeah ok…

[@johnoakleymusic]

I have a boss katana and have some brilliant patches but they’re still not as good as that

[@fritzhieke7209]

Why are you shaking the guitar back and forth?

[@TheStudioRats]

If your talking about vibrato then it’s… vibrato if you’re talking about the slight movement when I’m playing - I’m not a statue.

[@fritzhieke7209]

@@TheStudioRats no I mean 3:40 - 3:43, that weird shaking. What's the purpose? Kind regards.

[@mikefrench2499]

Has Lee tried a Marshall JVM? My amp of choice for hi-gain. One of the main reasons is because it has channel and master volume, so can get the same gain at any level.

[@zachtheguitarmaniac]

Post grunge? The amp can feel and sound any way you want it… it’s not really stuck in any era

[@marvinmartin3438]

Dude, I need this amp! Isit true bypass? Does it have a sweet spot? Is it transgender friendly? Covid compatible? Can it get Eddy's "" negro sound"? Asking for a friend

[@lelandgaunt7130]

It will do it all, but if you have purple and green hair, you have to step on the "Raised By A Single Mother" button on the back of the footswitch. It will lower the gain and bass so you can cry and whine and still be heard over the amp so your mother's 3 boyfriends can hear your crying...

[@rumy6871]

Lee needs a Friedman BE-100.

[@Docksidestudio1]

He absolutely does yes…… crowdfunder page?

[@shawscustomguitarservices212]

Let it’s either the Bogner or the EVH 5150. Check out the 5150 you guys.

[@StephaneBergeronPixelyzed]

FWIW, The Uberschall has more gain than this ;)

[@jeffwheeler3504]

Terrific video and, as good as it is, just begins to touch the surface of what the Ecstasy can do - and how it can be molded to suit virtually any player. I’ve had mine for 20 years or so and, despite all the amps and pedals I’ve gigged and recorded with, none of them can do all that this machine can. You can get better cleans with some tools, and better metal gains elsewhere, but it’s difficult to find great cleans, crunch and hi gain from one amp the way you can with the Ecstasy, provided you’re willing to take the time to understand and appreciate it (and it does take some time). And if that weren’t enough, it takes pedals EXTREMELY well. The name well signifies the amp behind it.

[@jottieman]

Always has been…just expensive

[@pacific-midwest]

My favorite amplifier - the 101B has been my go-to amp for two years now. The price made me throw up at first - but since its arrival, I have gradually sold every other amp and cut down significantly on my pedals. I am curious if Lee's love for gain comes from his appreciation for modelers (which still, in my opinion, excel in the extremes of clean and gain)?

[@nabilcharbel4136]

A monster amp indeed, awesome playing as usual, took me back 30 years, cracking demo, thx for you both, cheers.

[@TheStudioRats]

Cheers Nabs

[@limpeacock573]

Great video. You could tell you guys were having fun. Cheers!

[@frankhachenberg6305]

Yes Just 4k€ or so. Really affordable 😅