Bogner Ecstasy 100A Head

compared to their current-production 101B--which i've also owned in the past and dig--the 100A is a little more stripped down, with the primary differences being no assignable second presence control, no assignable second excursion switch, and a boost that only works on the red and blue channels. also, the plexi mode is only assignable to the red channel. however, the amp has two features that you don't find in the 101B, which are an air switch--a subtle but noticeable boost--and a variac switch, which lowers the AC voltage, giving you a little less volume and a slightly brighter, slightly less thick voicing.

according to the guys at bogner, the amp was made in 1992. this particular amp was originally owned by cliff cultreri, who was the president of relativity records--a label that featured steve vai, vinnie moore, joe satriani, shotgun messiah, and a few others as artists. cliff was evidently good friends with producer michael beinhorn, so this particular amp made its way onto quite a few recordings, including steve vai's "alien love secrets," jerry cantrell's "boggy depot," some hole albums, soundgarden's "superunknown" album, a spin doctors album, and a few others that escape my memory at this time.

like all ecstasys, the amp is plenty versatile, and can be dialed in for a variety of tones. i have mine set up to be like a twin in the clean channel, a matchless/vox kind of vibe in the blue channel, and a thick, woody, ballsy high-gain sound in the red channel. i play pop/funk/rock stuff--my main influences are dann huff, steve lukather, and guys of that ilk--and the amp suits what i do perfectly.

the only gripes i have about the amp are the effects loop--i found the stock series loop to be essentially unusable--and a loud popping noise when clicking the boost OFF from the footpedal. i had the former issue addressed by having reinhold bogner mod the amp for a parallel loop like the one the 101B's have, and it was well worth it--he did a fantastic job.

i use the amp in recording sessions and on live gigs--these days, i primarily play at a church twice a month, and it's no problem getting the amp cranked up to its intended level. i have to do a little changeup with the direction of the 412 cabinet, but that's no big deal.

the bogner sound is there. i've already done some extensive reviewing on the 101B, so i'll just compare this amp to the 101B that i used to have.

this amp has 6L6's in the power section and actually has a warmer, woodier tone than the 101B's that i owned in the past. the amp is less compressed and more open, though i wouldn't say dramatically so. i prefer the tone of this amp to my 101B's, but quite honestly i could make do with either amp if i needed to. the really big difference is the clean channel--in this amp, the clean channel is much more fendery and has a TON of headroom. it's hard to get the amp to break up in the clean channel, but at the same time it also has less bottom end than you get on a 101B--in the clean channel, that is. as far as dirty tones go, this amp actually has a noticeable increase in the lower midrange compared to a 101B.

UPS managed to really do a number on the amp in shipping. i shipped the amp in an ATA-approved flight case and then had the case boxed and surrounded by foam peanuts. when i got the package from UPS--a day later than they promised--it looked like a gorilla had had its way with the package and then a truck had run it over. when i pulled the head out of the flight case, two power tubes had fallen out of the sockets and were rolling around inside the amp. needless to say, i had some claim with UPS--something i wouldn't recommend, as UPS is as cheap as they get when it comes to settling things.

after UPS came out and inspected the package, they gave me the go-ahead to have bogner look at the amp. greg at bogner was kind enough to help me after hours, and the amp actually worked just fine after we popped the power tubes back in. however, later on the power tubes went bad, and i ended up having to retube the amp, anyway.

still, the amp had to endure a HUGE drop in order to have power tubes fall out--remember, it was shipped in a flight case. the fact that only the tubes were damaged is a testament to bogner's build quality.

bogner is the best when it comes to customer support. every time i've talked to them, they've stood behind their product and gone out of their way to make sure i was happy. sean, reinhold, greg, and jorg are a pleasure to deal with, and it's great knowing that they will bend over backwards to make sure you are satisfied--even when you are NOT the original owner on an amp that is 10 years old.

this is my favorite amp...one that i'm going to use forever. that about says it all.

however, were it stolen or were it in need of replacement, i wouldn't hesitate to buy another one, because i know that bogner can make me an amp that will meet or exceed this one.