Bogner Shiva reviews?

[jab]

can anyone comment on the Shiva and its applicability to classic rock? Can't find it anywhere but the descriptions sound good thus far.

 

[Turumbar82]

I have never played one but I saw this video recently and from the sounds it would work well for classic rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7vJ2qFgzrg

 

[Old BF Shred]

The tone is amazingly close to what a friend of mine gets with a '70's Gibson SG and a 55 watt Nomad.
And it's fresh in my mind as he just filled in for our other guitar player, who was out of town, during a gig last Friday.

Maybe it's the 'Gibson factor' I hear, but........
Of course hard to tell when it's on You Tube. Live is probably another matter!

 

[Turumbar82]

yeah you definitely have to take any youtube video with a grain of salt.

This is on the bogner page

http://www.bogneramplification.com/customshop/MP3.php

There are some decent mp3's on there.

Unfortunately I have never been able to play a Shiva in person to give you a good description of how it sounds but maybe those mp3's will help alittle.

 

[gonzo]

THE SHIVA...

one of my all time favorite amps, i'd be willing to trade my Mark2B for one.

i happen to like both the EL34 and the 6L6 versions...

the one i got to jam thru, was the 6L6, i tried the EL34 in a music store.

if you really like the marshall grind quality, go with the el34's


the shiva, has a deep beautiful clean channel, one of the best clean channels i've ever heard, probably similar but less headroom, than a 101B


the Drive channel, has a chewy 3d quality to it, that i cannot get out of my boogie.

it's different, not better/worse, but different.

with single coils and humbuckers, it's a brilliant amp.

the 6l6 was a head, the EL34 i tried was a 2x12 combo, with celestion blues in it, which was another awesome part of it.

 

[HIgh Gain Junkie]

The Shiva is perfect for classic rock tones and can nail the Eddie Van Halen "brown tone" quite well too. It is a great amp with an amazing clean channel and it can cover a lot of tones...unless you are looking for a metal amp!

 

[jesserides2005]

I've got an '07 Shiva 6L6 head & it's a great amp for country/classic rock & metal ala Iron Maiden era. The best part about it is that it does not let you hide behind too much gain and forces you to execute clean chops! It's a wonderful amp!

 

[babow2]

+1 on HighGainJunkie's comments.
I owned a 1x12 Shiva with 6L6's and Reverb. I had the best clean tone of any amp I have ever owned or played. Period, end of discussion. The Lonestar comes in second. The lead channel is a gorgeous, rich classic rock monster. It just drips with amazing tonal quality. There is not a bad tone in the amp and I regret selling it. However, I had the older version that required an odd cable for the FX loop, and the loop definitely sucked some tone. Also, the combo weighs a flipping ton- kind of like a RoadKing combo. So, between the weight and the FX loop situation, I sold it.

I am always on the lookout for a newer model in head format. The Shiva has to be one of the best sounding amps out there in the traditional rock vein. I would take it over any of my Mesas dating back 20+years (MkIIB, MkIV, Road King, Lonestar, Rectoverb, Nomad, Heartbreaker and even my original Fender Dual Showman that Randy Smith modded at Prune Music in the pre-Mesa days).

If you buy, definitely get the newer version with the bright switches, variable boost and new FX loop. Huge improvements all. And unless you are into S&M, consider a head/cab, not the combo.
Good luck,
Brent

 

[jab]

just can't find a shiva to play anywhere and I don't have the nards to order one blind. Someday I'll come across one.

 

[DudewithFr0]

can anyone comment on the Shiva and its applicability to classic rock? Can't find it anywhere but the descriptions sound good thus far.

I have a friend that has one and it sounds amazing. Perfect for VH and journey tunes

 

[MesallicA]

i just did a gig the other night as a back up for an up n coming artist. I had Bogner himself bring a few different amps, ubershell and shiva among em. I liked the shiva alot and used it for the gig. It was kinda cool having bogner himself dialing my amp in.

It sounded great for rock tones, and it had plenty enough gain for me.

 

[Turumbar82]

i just did a gig the other night as a back up for an up n coming artist. I had Bogner himself bring a few different amps, ubershell and shiva among em. I liked the shiva alot and used it for the gig. It was kinda cool having bogner himself dialing my amp in.

It sounded great for rock tones, and it had plenty enough gain for me.

Where was your gig at?

 

[Rezamatix]

can anyone comment on the Shiva and its applicability to classic rock? Can't find it anywhere but the descriptions sound good thus far.

Awesome amp for classic rock, exactly why I sold it to buy a Mesa Mark V. I really dug the Shiva but it didnt get heavy enough for me. Its highest gain sounds kinda end at southern rock bliss, but no metal. So i dumped it. If you want classic rock tones go for it. I had the reverb head with the EL34s. 80 watts great tone, but it wasnt as versatile as the mark v , also the effects loop is great, super clean on one channel and nice classic rock distortion on the other, it also has a nice boost function on each channel... I would say its a good buy, but not the amp for me.

 

[MesallicA]

i just did a gig the other night as a back up for an up n coming artist. I had Bogner himself bring a few different amps, ubershell and shiva among em. I liked the shiva alot and used it for the gig. It was kinda cool having bogner himself dialing my amp in.

It sounded great for rock tones, and it had plenty enough gain for me.

Where was your gig at?

West L.A music 'bandshell' Santa monica

im living in hollywood, ignore my location title, i never got round to changing it.

 

[fishyfishfish]

Well after months of shopping, I ended up with a Shiva and all I can say is "WOW" The great part (Or bad part) is that it will not cover your mistakes in any way shape or form. More than enough gain for everything up to Death Metal, very active EQ and seems to spit out every little nuance of your playing, and sounds good from the bedroom to the stage.

 

[HIgh Gain Junkie]

Well after months of shopping, I ended up with a Shiva and all I can say is "WOW" The great part (Or bad part) is that it will not cover your mistakes in any way shape or form. More than enough gain for everything up to Death Metal, very active EQ and seems to spit out every little nuance of your playing, and sounds good from the bedroom to the stage.

Glad to hear you finally got one! I just traded mine for an ElectraDyne and while I do miss the beautiful cleans the Shiva had, I'm much happier with the overdrive tones of the ED. I will own another Shiva one day especially if I can ever afford one the new 20th anniversary models that has more gain to it. Killer amps for sure!

 

[dodger916]

Well after months of shopping, I ended up with a Shiva and all I can say is "WOW" The great part (Or bad part) is that it will not cover your mistakes in any way shape or form. More than enough gain for everything up to Death Metal, very active EQ and seems to spit out every little nuance of your playing, and sounds good from the bedroom to the stage.

Where did you demo it?

 

[fishyfishfish]

Demoed a 20th annv. at Tone Merchants, along with the new Duende, and played the plain old Shiva at The Amp Shop and took it home. Was looking for a simple set and forget amp that would be more in the Marshall vein.

 

[rabies]

I'm interested so how close can u get to Marshall jcm 800?

 

[fishyfishfish]

OK after having it for about a year I can say that it is my favorite amp so far. loop is for rack gear only(even though they put a -10 out on the back for pedals) I found a fix for the pedal side of the loop in which you add a line driver or micro amp type booster just before the return if using the loop with pedals, but it was much easier to get a cheep rack unit for delays or play with the reverb. As far as being like a JCM800 type sound yes and kind of. It is like one but has more complex chewy tone in the mids, kind of plexi sounding with a modern twist. Needs a booster to get it to chugg or into the Dokken/Lynch Ratt tones. My favorite is a SD1 and a BB-Preamp. I used a TS9, AC Booster, EP Booster, Fulltone Fulldrive, Ego Booster, Micro amp, and for straight up eighty's early 90's metal tones the SD1 is it.. To me the amp sounds best with V30 or V30 G12h30 mix, or cab with Greenbacks, I have yet to try Scumbacks, but that is my next stop after work picks up.
If I had to do it again I would go with a Duende 30 watt combo, but the only reason is because of weight (Combo weighs more than my old lonestar, like 95lbs) and I really have had the amp on 10:00 on the master at the loudest gig so far, so I think that a 50 watter is overkill for me, and my back Go to Bob Savage web page, he has some honest sounding clips of the Shiva and Uber.