Helix Talk

[paisleywookiee]

BURN THE HERETIC!

I curse you to a lifetime of only using HX Native and Walrus Audio Fundamental pedals.

I'm okay with the former, not so much the latter.

 

[Baba]

^ Man loves his pubes.

 

[dk_ace]

The Ecstasy amp is really that good?

I’ve never thought so, I don’t see why people like that weird low mid thing that they do. But clearly some people like it….

D

 

[James Freeman]

Yeah, that's why I asked.
It seems like a Marshall "best of", similar to the JVM410.

 

[mavrick102000]

It's still different enough. The lower mids can be mostly dialed out of the real amp, you just have to dial a bit further than 2 o'clock on the mids.

I really loved the blue channel on the AxeFx and FAS Modern and quite a few of the Marshall flavors as well.

Anything L6 puts into the Helix is gravy at this point if I'm being honest. I have a Tonex Pedal also, so I have more than enough selections of amp tones, but I'm always willing to have more, as long as I have a place to hoard/store them.

I'd rather see some more flexibility in the configuration options, preset save and recall perspective.

 

[James Freeman]

I see a lot of snubber caps on the preamp plate resistors in the schematic, the amp is probably dark AF.
Aside from that, it's literally a Fender, Plexi, and a hot-rodded JCM800.

 

[mavrick102000]

I see a lot of snubber caps on the preamp plate resistors in the schematic, the amp is probably dark AF.
Aside from that, it's literally a Fender, Plexi, and a hot-rodded JCM800.

Correct - and good versions of each - but not everyone's preference.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

Definitely a dark amp, and the weird pot tapers mean you have to really crank the treble and presence to get it sounding “normal”. The fun of it for me is the versatility, lots of fun switches and modes to get lost in. Also a wide range of gain and different tones available

 

[James Freeman]

weird pot tapers

That can make or break how an amp 'feels' to dial in.
Can be especially bad if the pot crams all the useful sounds in a small area.

5150 is notorious for having the wrong taper Presence control.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

That can make or break how an amp 'feels' to dial in.
Can be especially bad if the pot crams all the useful sounds in a small area.

5150 is notorious for having the wrong taper Presence control.

Bogner are even worse for having pots where a large range of the taper doesn’t sound good and all the best sounds are bunched up in a small area. I think that’s largely the case with (at least) the treble pot on the ecstasy, and I’m finding that to be the case with the mid pot on the Uberschall. It does lead to some different sounds, I don’t really like that Fractal “corrected” the pot tapers as it changes the experience of how the amp was designed.

 

[laxu]

That can make or break how an amp 'feels' to dial in.
Can be especially bad if the pot crams all the useful sounds in a small area.

5150 is notorious for having the wrong taper Presence control.

In my experience Bogners don't have that sort of problem, they just have weird deal with the treble knob. I'm guessing Reinholdt Bogner doesn't like his amps super bright or the way he does it results in something that just happens to work for the sound.

With the Bogner Goldfinger 45 SL I had, I pretty much always ran the OD channel treble at higher settings than on some amps. It also was an amp that worked best with brighter speakers to have better range for the treble.

Hair-trigger volume controls are my biggest pet peeve of some amps.

 

[norminal]

In my experience, Bogner pot tapers are similar to those of a home stereo. I don’t think they are dark at all if you turn them past noon.

 

[dronerstone]

In my experience, Bogner pot tapers are similar to those of a home stereo. I don’t think they are dark at all if you turn them past noon.

Active EQ w/ flat at 12 o clock maybe?

 

[ragingplatypi]

I can’t hear about Bogner now without thinking about whip-its. Thanks @Whizzinby

 

[Whizzinby]

I can’t hear about Bogner now without thinking about whip-its. Thanks @Whizzinby

 

[Whizzinby]

With the Synergy Ecstasy module I got some absolutely fantastic dirty clean tones.

It’s definitely got that midrange woof, but slap it with a TS and profit. I never used it for brootz as I just paired with higher gain models for that, but it does awesome rock and 80’s esque thrash tones all day. Bogner is awesome.

 

[Orvillain]

I've only just realised that @Whizzinby's username is "whizz'n by" rather than "whizz in beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" which is how I've been reading it for so long.

I'm sticking with my interpt.

 

[James Freeman]

I don’t really like that Fractal “corrected” the pot tapers as it changes the experience of how the amp was designed.

That can be a very interesting discussion.

 

[dk_ace]

I see a lot of snubber caps on the preamp plate resistors in the schematic, the amp is probably dark AF.
Aside from that, it's literally a Fender, Plexi, and a hot-rodded JCM800.

That’s probably the think I don’t like more than anything, I find all the bogner stuff really dark. I like relatively bright stuff, so it just isn’t my thing. I’d take a real Marshall any day.

D

 

[norminal]

I like these quotes from Cliff Chase. Pretty much sums up my personal experience with Bogner amps:

“People think Bogners are dark but they really aren't. The reason they seem that way is the pot tapers. Most people assume knobs should be set somewhere around noon. If you do this on a Bogner it's like turning the treble way down on a Marshall. Close your eyes and adjust the tone controls with your ears. Don't be afraid to turn them way up or way down." [206]

"Human nature is to put the knobs near noon. We are reticent to deviate much from noon. Amp designers exploit this and use different tapers to change the sound of their amps WITH THE KNOBS AT NOON. A prime example are Bogner amps. Everyone says "Bogner amps are dark". No they aren't. But he uses a Log10A taper for the treble pot. It's a standard Marshall tone stack. Usually a linear taper pot is used for the treble. The treble knob at 5.0 (noon) on a Bogner is equivalent to the treble knob at 1.0 on a Marshall. People put the knob at 5.0 and go "wow, this amp is dark". No it isn't. If you turned the treble up to 8 or 9 it would sound a lot like a Plexi but humans are reticent to turn the knobs to extremes. Amp designers know this and exploit it to give their amps a "signature sound"." [207]