Bogner Metropolis 212 Combo

This amp has been decribed as a one trick pony with a shizo switch for different sounds. That all may depend on if your fingers can do more than one trick. I have been playing for 33years all over the world. Name the amp I have owned or used it. With all things understood, everyone has their own idea of the perfect sound and this might not be for you. The reverb on this can give any vintage freak a rude awakening. With four EL-84's and 2x12 geenbacks. WOW.

This amp is at least the most articulate expression of any combos ever. The clean can be offensive if need be. At higher volumes you are entering the vintage ac-30 territory, but it still has a magic that no other amp has had. My main guitars are 63 strat, Anderson Drop top,69 les paul custom, and a Prs McCarty with a solid rosewood neck which in conjunction with this amp the lower strings sounds more like a grand piano. It has no noise what so ever. I use an aray of pedals depending on what I need to play Fulltone mosfet, Barber smallfry, barber LTD and a fulltone tape echo. All with a voodoo pedal power. Oh by the way did I mention this amp cuts thur any mix. I do admit from time to time I use other amps but always turnaround to wish my metropolis was on stage behind me. (I do not work for bogner noe am I being paid to say this) and this is the only reveiw I ever ever given.

So far so good in 4 years of using this amp. But I do miss a stand by sqwitch.

Never needed any

I do own other gear vintage fender amps, a vox AC-30 and a matchless. If it was stolen I would find another one. A word of warning if you a not a super accurate player and dont care about being in perfect tune, this might not be for you.

I don?t know what year mine was made. But let me tell you this - this amp rocks - I tested this amp next to a matchless DC-30 and ended up with this bogner instead.

I play rock, metal, jazz, funk, pop etc. I have loads of pedals in front of it to obtain my audio goals. I would say that this amp is very AC-30ish with a fender reverb in it. I love it.

Built like a tank - starts up everytime. I bought this to have an amp I could count on everytime. I use to gig with a 1964 Vox AC30 - which broke down while on tour in France - that?s when I decided to leave my vintage amps in the studio and play newer ones live.

would know - haven?t had any problems yet.

I play this amp in stereo with an Orange 80 watt Overdrive head with a 4-12 Orange Cap. These 2 amps together sounds fantastic. I?ve found the sound I?ve been looking for and I can obtain nearly everysound I want.

30 watts Class A power with 4 x EL84, single channel, tube rectifier, no fx loop, reverb and 5-position schizo switch, comes with 2 Celestion Greenbacks.

Schizo controls mostly midrange contour, with #2 and #5 positions having a little more gain than the others.

The volume control works like a regular volume up through the first third of its range. After that, it has more to do with harmonic content. Higher settings are brilliant, but it does get loud.

The Bass and Treble controls work the preamp.
The Presence control works the power amp.
This creates some interesting interactive possibilities, and I will have to explore those with more time.

Its hard to give a rating for the Features. What it has suits this amp very, very well. However, its not like other amps that have channel switching and an fx loop. For me, its not an issue. Live or in the studio, I can get what I want.

I play blues, rock, and modern praise/black gospel music. This amp produces Vox AC30 type tones. The Schizo switch is a major feature, as it shapes the midrange contour of the amp's voicing, and allows for a very broad range of tones. Position 1 is pretty much for "ultra-chime" clean tones. 2 has more mids, a slight boost in gain, and is great for big, funky tones. 3 boosts highs and lows. 4 boosts midrange, and is great for Les Paul grind, and fat Strat tones. 5 is higher gain, and gives a big boost to the lower mids.

At the church, I used Schizo 3 with the gain at 3/4 with the Strat Plus, which uses Texas Hot Antiquities. The tone was exceptional. Set like that, it has some breakup, but astounding clarity and harmonic finesse. Cutting power chords was great, and I used a Kendrick Buffalo Pfuz to play leads. The combination works well, and the leads were long-sustaining with a beautiful silvery type of edge. It was an excellant singing type of voice.

I also used the Les Paul on Schizo 4, with the gain again at about 3/4. It has a great growl, without getting saturated. The high end had a great bite, and it was really responsive to whatever input I gave it.

I notice that you have to set effects levels much lower with this amp. I used a Boss DD-2 ahead of the preamp, and the level had to be adjusted down to about 8 o'clock. The Buffalo Pfuz (normally set at noon and noon for the gain and volume) was set down to about 9 & 9 o'clock.

The Schizo is not foot-switchable. It's no big deal. You have to look over your song list ahead of time, and maybe make a note or two on which setting to use, but that didn't bother me in the least.

SOMETHING THAT REALLY GOT MY ATTENTION: This amp has an incredible presence, and cuts through the mix like no other I have ever used. And, its the way that it does it that impresses me. I have used an SLO-100 since 1991. Its big and ballsy with a great sound. It cuts through the mix forcefully. Even though the Metropolis is not a high gain amp, it was much more present in the overall mix, and that's at a 3500 seat sanctuary. People could hear it during sound check above the mix even when they were out in the hall. Its a majestic, and joyful type of presence that's just hard to describe, but its very real. I've never had someone come in from the foyer just to find out what I was playing through, but they did.

Bogner is noted for great quality, and I don't doubt it. It has a lifetime warranty. The amp is a recent purchase.

Super nice guys at Bogner. Very knowledgeable. I spent about an hour or so talking with Greg V. about settings, tubes, gigs in LA, Austin, Memphis, and Nashville.

I have been playing about 30 years. I also use the SLO-100, which is a great amp. The Metropolis is expensive, but its amazing. This is the first amp since buying the SLO-100 in 1991 that really just knocked me out. I did a/b this with a Shiva, but the subtly of the Metropolis was the clincher.