Rivera KTRE and Bogner Uberschall

[Sdrizis89]

Starting my search for a new amp. Currently have a Line 6 spider valve (bogner designed) head and a JCM900 dual reverb head. Line 6 is fun but cannot find the i want. JCM900, well its awesome but doesn't cut it. Looking for high-gain, lots of bass (tight), lots of clarity and if it were versitile it would be a plus. Please feel free to mention other amps as well but these two have drawn my interest over the last couple of weeks based on research. Obviously trying them is the only way to find out for yourself but thats not too much of an option for me being that its hard to find a shop that carries them. If anyone owns these amps, please try and give me a description of their pros and cons if possible. Thanks

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Honestly, those amps are pretty close alike, IMO. EL34 power section, 2 channels (both of their clean and gain channels are praised highly) and a footswitchable FX loop (The Rivera has a plus here, since the FX loop can either be assigned on the clean channel, gain channel, or both).

They should both easily handle what you want, but I'd pesonally go for the Knucklehead. It'll have a better clean channel (the owner worked for Fender for awhile), you could switch the FX loop between the channels, and its $700 less.

 

[cwhitey2]

I was in your shoes last year, I had a spider valve and ended up selling it for a 3120. I couldn't find the tone i wanted with all the amp choices the SV had. The 3120 is tight and clear with a nice low end depending on the cab. You should look into one of those if you haven't played one yet.

 

[amarshism]

The bogner is a dry amp with a ton of gain on tap. I haven't been able to get a tight low end out of it yet but the mid range clarity on single notes is certainly impressive.

 

[MF_Kitten]

Dude. Engl Fireball. You want screaming clarity and tight low end with a raw feel to it? BAM that's what you're getting!

 

[Sdrizis89]

Thanks for the responses!

Fireball is interesting as well..need to research it a bit. Im actually going to see jeff loomis tonight and correct me if im wrong but i think he play an Engl. \

 

[incinerated_guitar]

Thanks for the responses!

Fireball is interesting as well..need to research it a bit. Im actually going to see jeff loomis tonight and correct me if im wrong but i think he play an Engl. \

He plays the SE670 if im not mistaken. Those sound waaaayyyy better than the fireball IMO. I view the fireball as the entry level amp of engl, and the SE670 is the badass of their amps.

 

[amarshism]

His recorded tone has always been rectifier or 5150 FYI. So don't buy engl off the back of his recorded works.

 

[mike0]

His live tone was pretty sick, though i didn't see any engls on stage, only three axe ultras and a rectifier, and to be honest i'm not sure which he was playing out of. But i didn't hear much of what you are looking for in his tone, he hardly played any rhythm stuff and was mostly soloing the whole time, needless to say it was awesome. I'd mention a vht ultra lead, those amps are super tight, crystal clear, and versatile; but in my experience the amount of bass and low end you get out of vht amps really depends on the cab you're playing it out of. not that that doesn't apply to other amps, just seems more apparent to me with vhts. If those are too dry for you than an engl wouldn't be a bad bet for you at all. No experience with the uber or k tre so i can't comment on those

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Obviously trying them is the only way to find out for yourself but thats not too much of an option for me being that its hard to find a shop that carries them.

Have you tried calling local shops? Bogner has over 20 authorized dealers in the great NY and NJ area, and Rivera has around half that. It may be worth making some phone calls or doing some driving, as this is a ~$3k purchase you're looking to make.

 

[Sdrizis89]

Yeah, im rounding up a couple of shops i can go to and try some of these heads out. I've actually havent listened to loomis too much but im excited to see him live.
What about the other rivera's such at k100 and kr-7?

 

[Aevolve]

Thanks for the responses!

Fireball is interesting as well..need to research it a bit. Im actually going to see jeff loomis tonight and correct me if im wrong but i think he play an Engl. \

When I saw him on this tour here in Atlanta both he and his rhythm guitarist were playing through Axe-Fx Ultras. I know they were on and I was watching the input levels bounce as they played.

 

[Sdrizis89]

When I saw him on this tour here in Atlanta both he and his rhythm guitarist were playing through Axe-Fx Ultras. I know they were on and I was watching the input levels bounce as they played.

Alot of people are using them live. Friend of mine just tried one and said he was impressed. got to try it out one day.

 

[VESmedic]

His recorded tone has always been rectifier or 5150 FYI. So don't buy engl off the back of his recorded works.

This is, pretty much, completely untrue. His early tones were a mesa MarkIV, also a triaxis/ 2:90 rig. DHIADW, enemies of reality etc was a boosted rectifier yes, but since then, it is been pretty much all Engl, as well as KRANK. Yes, for those that forgot, he was an avid krank user for awhile when they were throwing out endorsements left and right. His recorded tones have never been a 5150...

 

[TGN]

I read that the new album was recorded through an EVH 5150 III.