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Custom Bogner Amp used on CoE, Self Titled, and more AMA

[DELETED]

Campfire Attention Holder
Nov 11, 2019
149
358
Hey everyone, I wanted to start a thread about an amp that is very special and likely isn't very well known. I'm lucky enough to own a prototype/custom Bogner amplifier that was used on the recordings of City of Evil, Self Titled, and Diamonds In The Rough. It may have been used on some other Avenged things as well, but I can't entirely say. If you have any questions about this amp, please ask away.

I bought this amp earlier this year from Fred Archambault, who engineered Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold, Diamonds In The Rough, and Nightmare. Fred told me that this amp was blended with an Uberschall (and possibly other amps depending on the period) to get a lot of the tones on their records. This amp has 2 sisters. One is the original which is owned by Reinhold Bogner and is kept at Bogner's shop in North Hollywood, and the other is owned by producer Mudrock, who produced Waking The Fallen and City of Evil. Fred sold it because he primarily uses a Kemper in the studio now, and he knew that I would take good care of it. This amp was used on almost everything that Fred has worked on up until this point, including Atreyu, Alice Cooper, Nonpoint, and many more.

Here's the story of this amp that I've concluded after talking to Fred and Reinhold Bogner:

This amp is often referred to as the "Caveman" although if you google Bogner Caveman, you'll see a completely different amp. Bogner came out with an official Caveman for a short period of time before discontinuing it. However, this amp may predate that one and is entirely different. It's nicknamed the "Caveman" because the original amp that Reinhold made had hieroglyphs and symbols on the control panel of the amp rather than traditional letters and clear markings. The amp was a one off that Reinhold made and sat in Bogner's shop. Bogner would allow some record producers and their teams to borrow some of the amps at the shop to use on records, this one being one of them. Apparently, this thing was used a lot and was always being borrowed, which prompted Mudrock to request his own to be made. The problem was, Reinhold didn't really remember how he made the original amp, which is why it took a while for Mudrock to get his own. Bogner pretty much had to reverse engineer it, which gives some slight electrical variances to the other 2 made. Mudrock eventually received his around the time of City of Evil. Fred's came slightly later, or possibly a similar time, when he was at Bogner's shop and noticed the amp's chasis on the bench. When Fred asked Reinhold what it was, he told him and offered to him when it was completed.

Fred thinks that this amp was Bogner's version of a Dumble amp, although that isn't confirmed. Sonically the qualities that stick out the most to me are the unique gain structure, unique midrange, and unique attack this amp has. There's only one channel, it's a relatively primitive amp in terms of features. The amp doesn't really get clean, at about 9 o'clock it's already a bit distorted and lightly crunchy. To get high gain that I like, I set it around 3 o'clock. No one knows how many watts it is, Reinhold guesses about 140. The serial number on the back is "Mudrock 2 for Fred".

Apparently, Rick Rubin's team would borrow this amp and it was the main tone on Slipknot's Vol. 3 record.


Hope this all made some sense. Again, please ask anything you'd like to know about it.



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William B.

Hot Topic Tourer
  • Nov 11, 2019
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    Your very lucky, I had a good guitar once, I guess it was a limited version. I took it to the shop before I sold it ( shouldn't have sold it ) I somehow cracked the neck a little, I don't remember how, just looked at my guitar neck and saw the crack one day. I sold it with the plans of buy a cheap guitar and earning money to buy a newer better guitar. Never happened, I ended up getting only 50 at a time over months. My uncle told me never to sell my guitar, what did I do?
     

    [DELETED]

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Nov 11, 2019
    149
    358
    Your very lucky, I had a good guitar once, I guess it was a limited version. I took it to the shop before I sold it ( shouldn't have sold it ) I somehow cracked the neck a little, I don't remember how, just looked at my guitar neck and saw the crack one day. I sold it with the plans of buy a cheap guitar and earning money to buy a newer better guitar. Never happened, I ended up getting only 50 at a time over months. My uncle told me never to sell my guitar, what did I do?
    I don't want to deviate too far from the thread topic, but I would say try to find another guitar you want. A lot of sites like Sweetwater or even sometimes on Reverb will let you pay for your guitar in payments over a 2 year period or something. Other than that, find a cheap one on Craigslist.
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    [DELETED]

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Nov 11, 2019
    149
    358
    Dude, who did you blow to get all this goodness???

    Great story, by the way. Vol 3 is one of my favorite records, and probably the only Slipknot record I like front to back.

    Fortunately, I didn't have to pay with my mouth, just my wallet lol. But it cost a pretty penny. Bogners are already expensive enough when they arent super rare. My most expensive amp, with the least amount of features and channels.

    Definitely a great record!
     
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    Reactions: Ed Seith

    [DELETED]

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Nov 11, 2019
    149
    358
    I do believe, my man, that you're setting yourself up for having a shootout video demanded of you by the SGS membership...
    This and the Hellwin are 2 completely different beasts for sure, but I'd be down to make some sort of video in the future. I gotta figure out the best way I can capture the sound of both of these without pissing off my neighbors lol. I'll see what I can do!
     

    [DELETED]

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Nov 11, 2019
    149
    358
    Another amp with a completely unique sound. Absolutely loved that amp! I remember using this on the crunch rhythm part of Seize the Day on COE with a Les Paul.
    Wow, I didn't even know that you used it as well! It really is unique, I have a hard time describing it to others. There's really nothing to compare it to
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    Awex Came

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Legend
    May 23, 2021
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    Do you know if there are any kemper profiles of the amp?
    There are a few that Mudrock put out, but this was in the early days of Kemper so I don’t think it’s that great of a profile that really reflects the amp. I made a few DI profiles of it for my own personal use, but I might redo them. Fred was thinking about making some, but he sold the amp to me so I’m not sure if that would happen
     

    DXMG503

    New Student
    Nov 11, 2019
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    There are a few that Mudrock put out, but this was in the early days of Kemper so I don’t think it’s that great of a profile that really reflects the amp. I made a few DI profiles of it for my own personal use, but I might redo them. Fred was thinking about making some, but he sold the amp to me so I’m not sure if that would happen
    Can you tell me how you’d categorize this amp, very generally?

    I know that’s a tough question to answer when it’s so unique, but in my mind most could be broadly categorized as:
    -High gain (5150, Bogner, Diezel)
    -High gain Marshall (Friedman, Marshall JVM, Hellwin)
    -Crunch/overdrive (JCM 800, Plexi, Vox)

    I know that’s pretty oversimplified.
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    Awex Came

    Campfire Attention Holder
    Legend
    May 23, 2021
    239
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    736
    Can you tell me how you’d categorize this amp, very generally?

    I know that’s a tough question to answer when it’s so unique, but in my mind most could be broadly categorized as:
    -High gain (5150, Bogner, Diezel)
    -High gain Marshall (Friedman, Marshall JVM, Hellwin)
    -Crunch/overdrive (JCM 800, Plexi, Vox)

    I know that’s pretty oversimplified.
    I would say somewhere between Crunch/overdrive to High Gain Marshall. Definitely not High gain like 5150. I'll try to record something soon
     
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    Reactions: DXMG503