Bogner 412 Cabinet

I have the standard black tolex, wheat grill, white piping, 16 ohm, straight Bogner cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's. I recently bought this used, so I'm not sure how old it is. It probably is not very old because I verified that the V30's are the newer Chinese made ones. Some big pluses over today's Marshall cabs: it has metal handles with 12 screws (vs 6 screws), large gauged wiring, and insulation on the back panel. They claim the cab is made of birch, but I cannot verify that. A previous owner removed the casters and rubber feet (unfortunately), so I cannot comment on them. There are no reinforcements on the corners, but I wonder if they do that to minimize unnecessary holes in the cab for the sake of the sound... It has a small, single input jack. Although I may never need it, a good stereo jack would be nice for versatility. Fantastic cosmetics; I love the wheat grill. Due to the lack of a stereo jack, I give it a 9.

I have two amps that I've used through this head: a 100-watt Marshall DSL and a 50-watt Laney AOR Pro-Tube Series 1. I've also played my two guitars through it: an 2002 Gibson SG Special with Tom Anderson H1 (neck) and HN3+ (bridge) and a 2000 American Standard Strat with the original pickups (SSS). For pedals, I just use a BBE Boosta Grande to slam the amp's input as needed and I use a Keeley-modded Ibanez Analog Delay pedal in the effects loop.

I also have a Marshall 1960BV (straight, "vintage") cab that I've owned for a while. Most of my opinions are going to be based on a comparison to this cab. The only other cab that I've owned and played extensively through was a Park cab with some mediocre Celestion G12-35's. I think I've submitted separate reviews for both of these...

Anyway, my main rig is the Marshall DSL + SG + Boosta Grande setup. I love playing clean/dirty for fun, but at the end of the day, I'm a high-gain hard rock/metal guy. I'm much happier with the Bogner cab than the Marshall 1960BV. When I use the Marshall cab, I have to keep the presence and treble cut back because they get harsh real quick. The bass tends to be undefined, and so I keep it back. Now I have all 3 EQ knobs and the presence either dimed or close to it. This Bogner cab seems to let you crank different sections of the EQ without sounding harsh in the highs or boomy in the lows. I can throw whatever I want at it. The gain sounds a lot richer. For a while now I've wanted to sell my DSL because I wanted a wider, thicker, more complex, frothier (looking for good words here...), yet clear and articulate saturation. This Bogner cab has brought a lot of that out of the DSL. It just sounds very rich. I love it. Although I still plan to part with the DSL, I don't feel constantly unsatisfied with my sound. I've also cut back on using the Boosta Grande cuz I find that I don't need it as much.

Now for cleans (either green channel of the DSL, or the Laney with my Strat), it sounds really good. I have found that I more enjoy my Strat (it's also a recent purchase) and my Laney head now that I'm running it through this cab. It's brought that rig to life.

Well... it's a cab... I've never had one to fail, and they're way to dang big to lug around a spare. If I was a touring musician, I'd find room in the van/trailer for a spare of EVERYTHING. But I just play at my house and jam with friends occasionally, so no concern there. If I keep the Marshall cab, it's not for back up... but so I can play both amps at the same time.

I contacted the Bogner custom shop via email about getting some rubber feet. They replied back the same day. I asked if I could buy a set from Bogner so I wouldn't have to do any drilling to install them. But they don't stock them, and I guess that means they can't sell any to me. No big deal, just gotta get some generic ones off ebay or something.

I've been playing guitar now for almost 5 years. I played bass for several years before then.

I was only considering two other 4x12 cabs when I bought this one: Orange and Soldano (but more interested in Orange). I've played through an Orange and I loved it like I've loved Bogners. I never played through a Soldano, but the reviews are good and I thought perhaps the front-loaded design will make for a sturdier cab (the rear panel doesn't have to be attached with screws). I think the Bogner is the best-looking of the three, and I got a steal on it.

If it were stolen, I would definitely buy another unless I got a great deal on an Orange before that.

I'm giving a 10 for this category because you can find them used for a reasonable price.

I have a black slant 4x12 with basket weave grill and 4 vintage 30s. It has one input (16 Ohm) and 4 wheels. Wheels are detacheable, which is great, but they are rather small in diameter and of a rubber type, so they won't go well over bad surfaces and do not last very long.

It's made of birch ply with dovetail joint construction, as Marshall cabs were made way back in the good old days.

Just one input doesn't give much versatility but still a 9 for features.

It's really hard to describe what happens when you plug into one of these. It just sounds right. I have also a Hughes&Kettner Triamp 412 with Greenbacks and a Heritage ported 2x12 with a G12H30 and a V30.

I actually also own a Bogner Shiva EL34 head, for which this cab is initially made, but I got the cab much later and by coincidence (a swap deal over a 2nd hand site). Mostly I play the cab with a Fractal Audio AxeFX and a Carvin 1000W solid state amp.

The Bogner is in a different league than my other cabs. It's punchy, resonant, full bodied, articulate, agressive but also smooth in a way. It's just right and feels and sounds great. Also gives incredible controllable feedback - come on, all guitarists LOVE to have harmonic feedback :O)

I would love to have another one and be able to experiment with speakers. Mixing V30 with H30 or also putting some Golds in it, must be amazing.

I never thought a cab would make such a difference.

One of the wheels died on me just after I bought the cab used. Wheels are the weak point in terms of reliability. Other than that it seems of very rugged qquality.

I called Bogner on the past to ask questions for biasing the Shiva, they are always helpful and nice. Hope this ain't gonna change now they opened up towards the consumer segment. But you have to call the US, which is kinda annoying.

Great cab, I would get another one in a heartbeat. Will never ever play anything else anymore.

features, regarding a cab :) ....... well it has 1 input and no stereo option or ohm selector. just a 16 ohm input, what else do you need. i give it a 10 because every great amp has got a 16 ohm output.

Well i own a marshall 1960A and was looking for a second cab. I tested this cab vs a koch 412dlx and of course vs a 1960A.
I prefer the sound of the bogner over the 1960a and koch 412. The bass will really shake your feet. the midrange is just good, if u really like a scooped sound like I did when i started playing, you won't like the cab. But soon you will grow up and like the original guitar sound and thats what you get with this cab. The sound is totally balanced. The highs have a full body. Much better than g12 speakers. The koch is also nice but the sound of the bogner is more in your face than the koch or marshall. Guess its the price you pay for it.

The construction is best i have seen and the brown grill looks very very nice. Women might be complaining less if you put this one in your living room.

i dont know

I use it with a koch powertone II.
I'll make sure this one wont be stolen ;)
It's a bit pricy and hard to get used.
But come on, everything that is good has got it's price.

Its great..slant with V30's..wired in stereo. Bogner does not do alot of these according to them so I was glad to get one already set up. The constuction is amazing..down to the insulation inside. Yes they are expensive...but once you play one...its over. Turn it up and let it sing.

it puts out whatever you put into it. Woody,silky,screaming. The cab is built like a tank..but is not one dimensional ala Boogie cabs which I used for 22 years before going "up" to this. It just fills a room. I use it with a Bogner 101B head and a 2x12 oversized(see my review for this also) cab, sometimes in 3 way and sometimes in mono for medium rooms.

No problems whatsoever...but you wouldnt expect it either...its a cabinet and you buy it for the sound,projection and clarity which it excels at.

Bogner is GREAT!! Call and get a LIVE person on the phone to answer your questions/problems. Gotta love it. Expensive...very..worth the money..without a doubt. Bogner just gets it all around. they are fantastic to deal with and when you spend as much money to buy their stuff as you do...they really go the extra mile for you. Cant say enough about them.

Les Pauls, Eventide and TC EX's thru a patchmate switcher controlled by an all access. Been doing this a LONG time and blew a BOATLOAD of cash on things before finally realizing..this is it. Went to UltraSound and Rudys on 30th St. in NYC to go thru all High -end-stuff and heard it right from the start with ALL Bogner gear. Its quality!

4 - celesion V30's wired to 16 ohm. single input, 2 would have been nice, but you can't hear a stereo image from a 4x12 cab anyway, I give it a niner

Les Paul - Soldano SP77 - Mesa 20/20 - Bogner 4X12

Yeah, I'm happy with my setup. In all honesty, my first impression of this cab wasn't what I expected. At low volumes, greenbacks sound much nicer in my opinion. Then I turned it up. WOW. I heard this cab pushes far past its wattage, but I was still stunned. Running one channel of the MESA (22W) at less than halfway, I drowned out a VERY loud metal drummer. Enough said about the apparent volume. Tone wise, this cab really opened up for me when I tuned down. In standard E tuning, I found the bottom end a little weak, (FIY-I have not done the "deep" mod on my 20/20, so that could be part of it) but when the low E was dropped to D this cab became a raw beast. Best cab I've ever heard for metal or hard rock. At high volumes, this cab didn't seem to like my PRS very much, which sounds much better with a single greenback cab through the same amp. To test it another way, I replaced a SONIC 4x12 sitting under a CRATE excalibur head with the bogner. Again, holy shit. If you play metal or hard rock and haven't been sucked in to the MESA/Marshall hype, this cab is as good as it gets.

I bought this thing at 30th st guitars in NYC in December of last year. After paying for it, I was completely broke and couldn't afford a Taxi or Van service to get it home. I pushed this beast from 30th st to 23rd, carried it to the F train, took it on the train to Brooklyn, and wheeled it another 8 blocks in the snow. Suffice to say, the sidewalks are not smooth at all and it was bumping around the whole time. Nothing came loose. Then, I had to carry it up the stairs of a 4th floor walk up, and it hit many things along the way. Still, no scratches, nothing loose. I opened it up and saw why: excellent craftsmanship, solid construction. and 4 million screws just to open the cab up. These guys know whats up.
While I switch cabs depending on music style, I will never buy anything else for metal or rock. This cab is rock solid, loud as hell, and damn purty.

Called with a quick question, got a quick answer.

The best rock/metal cab you can buy. That is, if you can afford one.

Bogner Slant 4x12 with Clestion V30 speakers, 16 Ohms.

Black toelx with tan grillcloth, white logo, heavy duty handles.

Options: Say what? its a cab, it has a single input jack

Gave an 9 because it would be nice to have the ability to run in stereo or mono. Sounds so nice it makes you forget about that real quick.

Whatever you heard about these cabs are true, they sound fabulous. They have a nice warm, open tone with a lot in the middle and bottom end. The high end doesn't sound piercingly bright. Very full sounding cab as well. I tried this cab with 3 different amps 1) a VHT Pitbull Fifty CL head w/ EQ and reverb 2) a 1983 Marshall JCM 800 2203 head 3) a Mesa/Boogie DC-5 widebody combo. This cab sounds great with all three of them. I play primarily hard rock, melodic metal and neo-classical type. Mostly overdriven or distortion, and not too much clean playing so I cannot really say how well it sounds as that is not my domain, it did however sound nice when I tried the DC-5 clean channel. It shined with all 3 amps distortion channel or lead channels. Not definition and clarity was apparent. I think you'd have a hard time making it sound bad. I used several Charvel and Jackson Floyded and humbucker strats.

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Haven't had it long enough but this cab is heavy and very well built.

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I was a bit skeptical on everyone's opinion on these cabs and thought it was just some sort of higher end snobbery. When I found this slightly used but in new condition (still had the string from where the tag was on it) for $575.00 I jumped on it, I knew I could sell it if I didn't like the sound of it. This cab isn't going anywhere, it is that good. One of the better cabs I have played through.

Believe the hype folks, I thought it was BS too but my ears have proven me wrong. Great cab.

The feature of this cabinet is moving lots of toneful air and giving your nuts a little "how do you do". He He. Seriously, the features that set it apart from lesser cabs is 4 Celestion Vin 30's, birch ply fingerjointed construction including the solid back panel, which is also lined with thick insulation to kill standing waves and vibration, metal handles, removable casters, METAL input jack (yes!) very heavy gauge internal wiring that is soldered. No corner caps, so you'll have to have cases (you should anyway). I would have liked to have a stereo option and more choices of grillcloth. The cane front looks nice, but the retro look isn't for everyone, so along with black, they should have given the option of saltpepper, checkerboard, etc.
The cane front is their trademark and black is an option.

I have a 95 Ecstasy 101B metalfront head (made by Reinholdt) that I use to cover my favorite classic tones from sparkling clean to plexi to modded Jose Arredondo Marshall tone. I can also dial in brutal and crushing metal tones, which you'd expect an expensive Bogner cab to handle. It does! Beautifully. There's a quality in Marshall cabs that you can only explain to a guy that has owned old Greenback cabs to new Marshall 1960's. It's a springy resonance that feels really good under your fingers and has no harsh peaks or boominess. That's the Bogner 4-12. I also have a Marshall Jubilee 4-12 w/Vintage 30s, so I was able to do a perfect A/B test between them as well as with my other guitarist's Mesa Recto w/Vintage 30's. Keep in mind, I'm splitting hairs here. All these cabs sound pretty good.
MARSHALL 1960A w/Vin 30 - Highs are clear but kinda crunchy and a little "metally", mids are a tad bit honky and a little choked off from the plywood back, plastic parts etc. Lows are good but not as defined as the other two. Super low chunk vibrates the cab more than the other two.
MESA tolexed 4-12 Recto w/Vin 30. Loud, nice lows, metallic highs, less vintage vibe in the mids, authoritative sound, but not sweet or resonant. If only their head sounded as good as their cab! LOL
BOGNER cane front 4-12 Vin 30. Sweet resonant singing highs, fat clear complex mids, bouncy full roomfilling lows that never fart out.
The only negative might be that some Marshall lovers still prefer that grindier high end of 1960AV's. This cab has a smoother high end more reminiscent of early Marshall basketweaves or checkerboard cabs with 65W Celestions.

There's only a few rules regarding reliability of guitar cabs.
1. Don't let any sharp objects or microphones punch a hole in the front. Don't jam your headstock through the cloth in a mock Hendrix raveup.
2. Don't let a bassist put his 1000W head on your 280W cab and start playing funk!!
3. Make sure the ohms selector on your head is set for 16 ohms, like the cab.

Luckily, I live a few blocks from the Bogner shop, so it's convenient to deal with them, however, their stuff is built so well, I've never even been there yet! Nice on the phone though! I've seen lots of PA speakers and horns get blown, but have never seen a 4-12 blow up!
If you have....It means you did something you weren't supposed to.

There's not much to say that my A/B/C comparison didn't already say.
I will say that I've owned every great amp in existence after playing/buying/selling/trading amps since the mid 80's. This includes every great Marshall, Fender, Matchless, Tophat, Vox, Victoria, and Blues Pearl. I still own many of them, but have to say that my metalfront Ecstasy #138 and cane front 4-12 is the "KING" of them all! That, in stereo with my 96 Matchless Chieftain 2-12 is the best sounding rig on earth....Including YOURS sonnyboy! He He He.

No ohm selector switch. My salesman at Make n' Music (Chicago, IL) said it was a 16 ohm cabinet and to go out from my 8 ohm output on my Mesa Single Rectifier. I guess this is not a problem. Both the 4 and 8 ohm outputs sound the same and as long as the cabinet ohms are a higher # than the amp's, nothing will be harmed, right?
The Tolex covering seems tight but a few of the seams on the corners look a little sloppy. I am extremely critical of appearances so readers should take that into account. Also, the white bordering around the front grill could have been in-laid with greater precision. It's kinda curvy n' bumpy if ya get my drift.
Why not put hardcore metal corners on it to match the hardcore metal handles? I think this would enhance the appearance. Personally, I'm a big fan of the metal handles, the plastic ones on my Marshall 1960A probably caused dead spots in the reverberation of the cabinet side walls. Also, this cab weighs about 120 lbs., so the metal handles serve a practical purpose too.
This cab has removal wheels which are a nice feature but they don't roll as smooth as my Marshall 1960A. I think they sit loosely in the slots they slide in and wobble when you move it making for a less efficient motion. This is a sacrifice I don't mind because I like the idea of being able to set it down on the rubber bumpers for greater reverberation on my hardwood floor.
Overall, for the price and reputation, this cabinet could have a better/more polished outward appearance.

It sounds far superior to my Marshall 1960A. It positively has tighter bass (this is a bottom/straight-front cab) and the highs are clearer and fuller-not as squeaky/squealy as the 1960A. The midrange frequencies are great. Although, It should be noted that Bogners have Vintage 30's which are 60 watts each and have a larger magnet than the 75-watt Celestions in the 1960A. So, regardless of the cabinet design, much of the sound difference is due to the same make/different model speakers. Also, the total wattage capacity of the cab dropped by 20% (300 watt Marshall: 4*75/ 240 watt Bogner:4*60) which means my 50-watt Rectifier should be driving the speakers more efficiently. Technically, this should result in a clearer tone with a little more umph, right?
I haven't played a Marshall with Vintage 30's but I'm sure they don't sound as good because of the cheaper cabinet design; e.g., particle board rear and 3-ply plywood instead of 5-ply w/Bogner and plywood rear. These features, including the metal handles, cannot help but produce better sound because there's simply more there to reverberate.
Bottom line: this cabinet sounds beautiful and is worth my money.

It's obvious this cab could tip over and survive, but from what height and onto what surface is anyone's guess.

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I've been on elec. guitar for 12 years. I use a Jackson DR2 and a Carvin DC127. I hate my whammy bar on my Jackson, so I had it blocked. I love ebony fretboards and .10 guage D'Addario strings.
If my Bogner was stolen, I would definitely replace it. I might also be tempted to try a Mesa or a Rivera.
Marshall is a bunch of hype. They've been making their cabinets cheaper over the years compared to the '68 Marshall that the Bogner is modeled after. I guess it's just another case of corporate values: profit margins rule and instruments suffer. Marshall should be ashamed that they're being shown-up by the new guy in a craft they originated! In short, life is too short for sub-par Marshall tone and craftsmanship. Peace!