The La Grange is one of the few Marshall-in-a-box pedals that gets vintage Marshall Plexi right. It hits that harmonically rich low midrange growl that sounds so fat and woolly, something many other companies, even great ones, can't. Most are too crisp and tight. This just nails it.
I ordered the La Grange after seeing this review, best drive/distortion pedal I have ever owned, I can use it in any situation going from bluestones to old school death metal...
Awesome to see the pedal can reach old school death metal tones! I bought one and am hoping to reach level of gain of say Death, Slayer. Celtic Frost etc. But I don't need any more gain than that. Do you use a boost like SD-1 or Tubescreamer in front of yours?
@@paulcowart3174 hi Paul, I sold it a few years ago. I still miss it sometimes so it left an impression on me and after a gazillion other pedals I purchased a Friedman Dirty Shirley pedal over a year ago and the Friedman is simpler to use and can cover a wide range of genres, just like the La Grange. The La Grange has a nice Boost that you can use separately, which is a plus.
That Ecstasy unboosted is the sound a red dragon makes when gargling lumberjack chains and razor blades. Makes me want the amp this is patterned after.
The best bit from when I got my Ecstasy red pedal - aside from the tone and spectacular build quality - was the handwritten serial number on the back of the (very nice) box it came in. It just felt like a super premium experience from the start. These things are absolutely worth their asking price.
I have the Bogner Red Ecstacy, I like the LaGrange. I use a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret which sounds kind of like the LaGrange. I like the versatility of the Bogner LaGrange.
Yes! a lot of people don't know but Eddies marshall had zero mods done to it other than the variac, when you brought the voltage down very low you get the brown sound. - source: Mike Soldano, took the amp apart in the 80s. found zero mods. used a variac and got the brown sound.
Per Wikipedia :) Überschall (German Überschall: supersonic) is an improvisational rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada consisting of past and present Blue Men and band members of Blue Man Group.
Great video..great pedals.. For those into the electronics: The variac reduces the supply voltage to the amplifier, so the amplifier drives into distortion quicker from the same input signal and gain setting. I don't know if it is appropriate to share here but I have a video on my channel that explains gainstacking and distortion from a signal flow and electronics perspective. (please let me know if it's not cool to mention that here Chappers).
Geez, not even through demoing the first pedal (La Grange) & I'm already sold! I'm a metalhead & that's good enough, I say! Then I hear the others... WHAT THE HECK!!!! ALL SO GOOD!!! I guess the first to last is more classic to modern. Kinda tempted to buy all 3. Well, maybe the first 2.
Of these three, I definitely liked the Bogner Ecstasy quite a bit more as it just had a ballsier, clearer high gain sound in my opinion. I just wish the Captain had kept the Variac switch on as it sounded MUCH nicer when he had it on. It's like a "ballz" switch. Beautiful tones and sustain although granted they were running top of the line guitars through those bad-boys.
Everytime Eddie Van Halen talks about the Variac e tells a different story. The last version makes sense to me: He bought a 2nd hand british specked 100W Marshall Super Lead which means it was prepared to 220V. Since in America the wall voltage is 110V he needed the Variac to raise the voltage to nearest he coud to 220V which ended up being 140V. So he run the Marshall 80 volts lower than what it was prepared to run. It implied that the volume was lower but as tubes were "starving" voltage they distorted more easily and with a little difference in tone.
That's very similar to what the Variac switch does on these pedals. They accept 9v, but up the voltage internally to something like 27v. Switching on the Variac lowers the internal voltage resulting in less headroom. You get more gain, less output, and compression or "sag".
Would you mind fixing the volume of the intro and outro? They are roughly 12dB above unity, which is ridiculous: being able to hear Chappers and Lee makes the outro *far* too loud.
Bogner Ecstasy facts. I bought my XTC in -96. In this one the B1 and B2 changes the midrange of the overdrive channels. In B1 you get a high mid boost (ca. 850Hz to about 1.2 Khz). In B2 mode the boost is cross over to top end boost/sparkle. You hear this best while the gain is between 8 O'clock and 3 O'clock. This is at least how my XTX of twenty years of good use behave. I know the XTC has been "tweaked" a bit over it's twenty pluss years of existence, but the B1 and the B2 have been a mainstay.
At home volumes, I felt all of the Ecstasy's top four ('cept for the Variac) tonal variations didn't really have a noticeable effect on what my ears were hearing. A good example of this can be heard (and seen) beginning at 19:10 with the "red" demo when Capn' starts flicking switches. I could see at "working man" volumes, those options would certainly come in handy. Reinhold builds some incredible toys but for low-volume playing, at least to my ears, the "red" was overkill and I sold it. Don't let that sway your opinion however. We each hear what we hear but I think these were designed for guitarists who are on stage and not in their living rooms, where subtle changes in tone are more difficult to notice when you're playing at 1-watt volumes. As for the gain itself, gobs of it. That much was for sure but it's definitely all Bogner...what I call that "Black Russian" gain...smooth and dark. Not for everyone but I've always been a fan of it. Knowing what I know now, I think the Überschall would have been the wiser choice for me and I may very well pick one up. Great review fellas.
Rob/Lee, when you get a minute can you just try using a set of really good gain pedals into completely clean, maybe even solid state power amp? Go into the effects return so you completely bypass the tone stack. Pedal tone only - could be an interesting idea.
At first, Ed used a light dimmer connected to the amps power cord, it's amazing he didn't get electrocuted. He later was shown the error of his ways and got a variac to lower the amps voltage in an attempt to get that wide open sound at lower volumes. Of course this was no longer required when the mighty VH began playing arenas.
I agree w Chappers. The modern tone from the red Ecstasy pedal is sweet. But, using different cab configurations probably has as much to do with tone as the drive or clean tone.
Sure there are comments on this already, but.. VH used the VARIAC to starve the valves, it doesn't necessarily give you more grain so much as it changes the gain structure of the amp, it tends to get a little saggier, and more coarse, it does mean it is also easier to drive both the pre amp and the output tubes, hence some people think of it as "more gain"
Yeah, as you decrease the voltage, the first circuit to be impacted will be the power amp (as it requires the most voltage to start with), so one of the key things you get is reduced headroom in the power-amp stage, and thus the pre-amp overdrives the power-amp more easily, resulting in the feel of "more gain". Decrease it too much, though and I would imagine it all turns to muck.
The Ectasy is by a mile the best high gain pedal I've ever had & I have had a lot of them. Cannot recommend it highly enough - never gets mushy even at full gain & it's easy to dial in a great sound with little difficulty- pricey but worth every penny.
Lol at Rob thinking a gold-plated circuit board is something particularly special. It's a process call ENIG (electroless nickel immersion gold), and is used on a huge range of stuff (like mobile/cell phones), and doesn't add any significant cost to production. Same goes for the gold plated relays (silver alloy plated is more common for signal relays). The excellent quality Nichicon caps are definitely worth points, but nothing else is really "WOW".
EXCEPT HE WASNT TALKING ABOUT CELL PHONES, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT PEDALS, ANT NOT MANY COMPANIES USE THEM, LOOK IT UP, YOU JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOURSELF SEEM SMART BUT I CAN TELL THAT IS PROBABLY NOT THE CASE BECAUSE YOU SAY 1 THING THEN SAY THE OPPOSITE, YOU SAY GOLD PLATED RELAY'S ARE NOTHING SPECIAL THEN SAY THAT SILVER RELAYS ARE MORE COMMON, MIGHT WANT TO AT LEAST MAKE SURE WHAT YOUR SAYING IS CORRECT BEFORE JUST SPEWING NONSENSE, AND THE PERSON WHO AGREED IS JUST ANOTHER BLIND TROLL LOOKING TO SEEM SMARTER THEN THEY ACTUALLY ARE, THEY PROBABLY READ YOUR COMMENT AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANT AND THOUGHT, THAT SEEMS LIKE A SMART THING TO SAY SO I'LL JUST AGREE WITH HIM WITHOUT HAVING A CLUE WHAT IT MEANS
I played through a Shiva once and it convinced me to by the Ecstasy Blue (The Ecstacy Blue and Red are modelled on Shiva channels). I'll try a new dirt box every once in a while, but they never stay on my board; the Ecstasy does everything I need. I've even used it as a clean bass pre-amp straight into a DAW.
The power of an amp is the voltage x the current running through it so if the voltage was lowered then there'd be more current going through which I guess is sort of like boosting the input signal, driving the amp harder
21:23 What the Captain is trying to tell us between the lines is that he enjoys eating ass :) You go man, enjoy all the "donkey" to your hearts content
La Grange.. Like a lot of pedals with so many knobs, you are bound to touch them and mess up your setting you spent a lot of time tweaking. They need to come out with high friction or notched so they stay locked in.
Mr.Chappman, i was wonder if you could help me with my problem. i went to the doctors after suddenly growing dreds and playing guitar at the speed of sound and was diagnosed with Dorje disease. he told me to listen to your band for four days and it i should start to go into remission for the condition. do you also suffer from dorje disease? p.s you guys are absolutely top shelf.
Nick Krisch right! Just as he was starting to play just got paid I was reading this comment and thinking how it couldn't have been any better timing to get to that comment! Then I was LMAO when I read your comment!
Burnley, Harlow & Wessex were locations important to Rupert and Reinhold named them as a tribute to him. Watch out for the new Barrow-in-Furness delay.
But, this is not Metal Zone... Why would you not only play with the pure lovely, balanced and creamy joy that is a Metal zone? What is this? WHAT IS HAPPENING?
IT SEEMS THAT THE COOL THING TO DO NOW A DAYS IS BASH THE METAL ZONE SO ALOT OF PEOPLE DO IT CAUSE THEY WANT TO BE INCLUDED AND BE "COOL", ITS SO FUNNY THOUGH THAT PEOPLE WHO MAKE VIDEOS BASHING THE METAL ZONE ALL OWN 1, SO WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU, IT SAYS THEY PLAYED ONE FOR A WHILE THEN DECIDED THEY WANTED TO FOLLOW THE MOB BUT I BET SECRETLY THEY ALL STILL PLAY IT, YOU CAN GET KILLER TONES OUT OF 1 ESPECIALLY WITH A EQ PEDAL(WHICH EVERY GUITAR PLAYER SHOULD HAVE, ITS THE BEST INVESTMENT ANY GUITAR PLAYER CAN MAKE CAUSE IT CAN GIVE YOU THE SOUNDS OF MULTIPLE AMPS IN 1) ITS ALSO THE BEST SELLING DISTORTION PEDAL EVER AND STILL IS TO THIS DAY, PEOPLE LIE, NUMBERS DONT!
I don't have to own a pedal to know what it sounds like, we can try them at the store you know... and also, you say you can get killer tones if you use an eq, that's like saying you can eat shit if you pour sugar on it. There's nothing wrong with liking the metal zone, music is the most subjective thing in the world, but millions of people have agreed that the mz sucks, that should tell you something
Seems like the Uber might be designed for pushing a high gain amp? Having trouble dialing one in and it doesn't seem to like being pushed on the front end. Tried the little ecstasy before and it was ok, maybe the big one is better?
I had exactly the same thought when I demoed the Ecstasy VS the Uberschall a few years ago. The Ecstasy Red is way more versatile and the gain / punch of the pedal is just juicier ... I felt the Uberschall was a "one trick pony"... Ecstasy through any clean amp will give you a great high gain sound - and still be articulate...
Variac doesn't make sense to me unless there was an input *in the amp* that changed the voltage delivered to the valves or something. All electronic devices, including amps, have transformers that ensure the voltage delivered from the wall is transformed to the running voltage and wattage of the device.
Tube amp power transformers are designed, in part, according the mains power supply: altering the mains power supply via a Variac has a corresponding effect on the amp.
Hey Rob, you should get Lee to check out getting a few Analog Outfitters amps for Andertons. Recycled amps (made from un-wanted vintage Hammond parts) that just sound perfect. Great dudes running the company too. (They're all the rage in Nashville studios)
Love the La Grange! Played one a few months ago and its the best 'plexi' pedal i've played.. I want one... Haven't played the Friedman BE pedal yet though...
Great videos guys! I have a question since you have tried a lot of plexi in a box, what is the ULTIMATE best sounding: La Grange, Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe, Tech 21 Hot Rod Plexi, the new Lovepedal Purple Plexi (2016) or Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MKIII? I need it as a "always on" pedal, not just for boost (you can have any OD for that IMO), just as an amplifier that could go straight to PA, Mixer ou any Audio Interface without having to use an amp in front of it? Thanks, hope you guys can help me out!
Eddie Van Halen used the variac to reduce the voltage to the amp so it could be cranked and not be extremely loud in the studio. He was looking for extreme gain (as in distortion) before amps that could do it at low volume existed. A lot of modern boutique amps have a voltage switch for the same reason. Like a built-in variac.
I love Burnley - (from Brun Lea) - I moved here from Bristol formerly Ealing London, and love it here, great folk! We do have a very healthy music scene here. Not sure how that pedal denotes the town? Le Grange? probably the Billy Gibbons thang.
Wasn't the Van Halen story something like.. he bought a UK Marshall that wanted 240V and ran it at 110V in the US by mistake.. and really liked the sound. Then realised what happened and used a variac so he could undervolt his US Marshall heads.. but when asked of course he said he used it to overvolt them (more is more era). Then of course there were loads of fans blowing up their heads by overvolting them and he felt guilty and said actually he was using the variac to undervolt, whoops!
HI GUYS i wonder how the new friedman BE-OD pedal would go up against these bogner pedals there is a lot of buzz about the new friedman pedal but these do sound awesome to.
For a few years my pedalboard saw many pedals come and go until, Bogner. I have the Ecstasy Blue, Red, Uberschall and the Burnley. I honestly do not want to try any other drive pedals. I may need a bigger boar to add the La Grange.
eventhough i own my most favorite amp, the randall thrasher, i still like to use these amp sim like pedals once in a while, i got 3 amt ones, the tech 21 omg, the isp theta, and the bogner ecstacy red pedal.....but i find that hooking them via the effects loop return in my 6505 mini head (which bypasses preamp and goes straight to power amp) sounds better....but if had to pick one, it would be the isp theta
has anyone thought about how using overdrive pedals is kind of like having a solid state pre amp section? I love OD pedals but it just strikes me odd that we get tube amps and use pedals through them
Drive pedals are a tradition which dates back to before cascaded preamp gain became common. Some people use drive pedals seemingly out of tradition, whilst others genuinely like the way they sound. Personally, I will take amp gain every time.
UBIQUITY. I cant turn on a guitar, but I've been watching yall's YT entertainment. I need to learn a cord or 2. Meanwhile, I LOVE your format. This tightwad would pay to your unique fusion of encouragement for the stringed instruments.
WIMA caps are pretty much standard, but EPCOS/TDK and Kemet caps are just as good. Nichion electrolytic caps are comparable to panasonic and other brands. i'm surprised he didn't say that he uses Alpha pots like pretty much everyone else in the industry does. gold plated 2-layer boards are also industry norms.
I love the stuff Bogner outs out. I had a Line 6 100 watt head designed by Bogner and it was one of the best sounding amps I had ever heard. I would still have it if I didn't have to sell it to pay for a lawyer (bunch of ball washing bastards) These pedals are just as good.
At the 6 minute mark, Rob plays "Just Got Paid." Fitting that he plays some goddamned ZZ Top on a La Grange pedal!!! Speaking of which, we need a Sounds Like... Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Rabbea can demo the songs, Old Man, Just Got Paid and Goin' Down to Mexico.
Bogner red ... I'm so crazy about this pedal, man !!Extremely versatile!! For me, the best higain pedal ever!
The La Grange is one of the few Marshall-in-a-box pedals that gets vintage Marshall Plexi right. It hits that harmonically rich low midrange growl that sounds so fat and woolly, something many other companies, even great ones, can't. Most are too crisp and tight. This just nails it.
Rob's playing with the LTD is healing great job in this video very informative and fun
I ordered the La Grange after seeing this review, best drive/distortion pedal I have ever owned, I can use it in any situation going from bluestones to old school death metal...
Awesome to see the pedal can reach old school death metal tones! I bought one and am hoping to reach level of gain of say Death, Slayer. Celtic Frost etc. But I don't need any more gain than that. Do you use a boost like SD-1 or Tubescreamer in front of yours?
So how has it held up and do you still use it ?? Cheers
@@paulcowart3174 hi Paul, I sold it a few years ago. I still miss it sometimes so it left an impression on me and after a gazillion other pedals I purchased a Friedman Dirty Shirley pedal over a year ago and the Friedman is simpler to use and can cover a wide range of genres, just like the La Grange. The La Grange has a nice Boost that you can use separately, which is a plus.
@@ronnierazor4302 Very cool Thanks for reply Yes the DS is what I'm decided on it seems too TS for Twang and DS for Montrose tones
so awesome you still use that guitar in videos.
Awesome editing Rory!!!
That Ecstasy unboosted is the sound a red dragon makes when gargling lumberjack chains and razor blades. Makes me want the amp this is patterned after.
I'm totally gonna get the ecstasy.
Reading this with no context is worrying
Callum • Oh xD didn't realise
Not to all of us my friend.
Tobias TK JD from The Sword uses that pedal as his main distortion. It's so versatile and sounds amazing!
the uberschall is one of those amps that make you have an uh of joy from the epic tones in it.
The best bit from when I got my Ecstasy red pedal - aside from the tone and spectacular build quality - was the handwritten serial number on the back of the (very nice) box it came in. It just felt like a super premium experience from the start. These things are absolutely worth their asking price.
I have the Bogner Red Ecstacy, I like the LaGrange. I use a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret which sounds kind of like the LaGrange. I like the versatility of the Bogner LaGrange.
Yes! a lot of people don't know but Eddies marshall had zero mods done to it other than the variac, when you brought the voltage down very low you get the brown sound. - source: Mike Soldano, took the amp apart in the 80s. found zero mods. used a variac and got the brown sound.
Per Wikipedia :) Überschall (German Überschall: supersonic) is an improvisational rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada consisting of past and present Blue Men and band members of Blue Man Group.
Great video..great pedals..
For those into the electronics: The variac reduces the supply voltage to the amplifier, so the amplifier drives into distortion quicker from the same input signal and gain setting.
I don't know if it is appropriate to share here but I have a video on my channel that explains gainstacking and distortion from a signal flow and electronics perspective. (please let me know if it's not cool to mention that here Chappers).
Gets La Grange pedal, doesn't play La Grange
he played just got paid tho
15:24 you are welcome
Haha, This is my favourite bit for sure! :D
the part where lee makes a box holy god I now know what comedy is
That La Grange is an absolute beast!
The uberschall did sound brutal when the mids were scooped and treble and bass boosted!!
Got the Uberschall pedal. It's insane. Balls to the wall gain. Metal heaven.
For some reason the framing you guys have going at the beginning of the video makes you look super badass.
Loving the Ecstasy and the La Grange is really cool too!
Geez, not even through demoing the first pedal (La Grange) & I'm already sold! I'm a metalhead & that's good enough, I say! Then I hear the others... WHAT THE HECK!!!! ALL SO GOOD!!! I guess the first to last is more classic to modern. Kinda tempted to buy all 3. Well, maybe the first 2.
Of these three, I definitely liked the Bogner Ecstasy quite a bit more as it just had a ballsier, clearer high gain sound in my opinion. I just wish the Captain had kept the Variac switch on as it sounded MUCH nicer when he had it on. It's like a "ballz" switch. Beautiful tones and sustain although granted they were running top of the line guitars through those bad-boys.
I would move to the UK if I could hang out with Rob and Lee all the time.
Glad to see the cheapo challenge guitar still in use!
Everytime Eddie Van Halen talks about the Variac e tells a different story. The last version makes sense to me: He bought a 2nd hand british specked 100W Marshall Super Lead which means it was prepared to 220V. Since in America the wall voltage is 110V he needed the Variac to raise the voltage to nearest he coud to 220V which ended up being 140V. So he run the Marshall 80 volts lower than what it was prepared to run. It implied that the volume was lower but as tubes were "starving" voltage they distorted more easily and with a little difference in tone.
That's very similar to what the Variac switch does on these pedals. They accept 9v, but up the voltage internally to something like 27v. Switching on the Variac lowers the internal voltage resulting in less headroom. You get more gain, less output, and compression or "sag".
the dance stuff on the end was EPIC! :p
I bought the Ecstasy after seeing this review. Absolutely love it! I run it through a TC Electronic Nova System into an Orange Dual Terror.
ive been waiting for this day since these pedals were released.
BTW the LED above the Boost sign, is actually a boost control knob so you can dial in the amount of db that you want your level to boost by.
3 nice little boxes (;-))
Reinhold Bogner does seem to produce some great dirt!
Thanks for sharing.
I own a red ecstasy pedal and I can confirm it sounds amazing. Turning the boost volume up by just a quarter was enough to blow away my band mates
Love Rory's editing style.
Thanks Buddy! I love your comment style! ;D
Would you mind fixing the volume of the intro and outro? They are roughly 12dB above unity, which is ridiculous: being able to hear Chappers and Lee makes the outro *far* too loud.
Bogner Ecstasy facts. I bought my XTC in -96. In this one the B1 and B2 changes the midrange of the overdrive channels. In B1 you get a high mid boost (ca. 850Hz to about 1.2 Khz). In B2 mode the boost is cross over to top end boost/sparkle. You hear this best while the gain is between 8 O'clock and 3 O'clock. This is at least how my XTX of twenty years of good use behave. I know the XTC has been "tweaked" a bit over it's twenty pluss years of existence, but the B1 and the B2 have been a mainstay.
At home volumes, I felt all of the Ecstasy's top four ('cept for the Variac) tonal variations didn't really have a noticeable effect on what my ears were hearing. A good example of this can be heard (and seen) beginning at 19:10 with the "red" demo when Capn' starts flicking switches. I could see at "working man" volumes, those options would certainly come in handy. Reinhold builds some incredible toys but for low-volume playing, at least to my ears, the "red" was overkill and I sold it. Don't let that sway your opinion however. We each hear what we hear but I think these were designed for guitarists who are on stage and not in their living rooms, where subtle changes in tone are more difficult to notice when you're playing at 1-watt volumes. As for the gain itself, gobs of it. That much was for sure but it's definitely all Bogner...what I call that "Black Russian" gain...smooth and dark. Not for everyone but I've always been a fan of it. Knowing what I know now, I think the Überschall would have been the wiser choice for me and I may very well pick one up. Great review fellas.
Have all 3 of these pedals including the Ecstasy blue....all are pure tone gold!!!
Rob is really cooking that La Grange mine will arrive today
Rob/Lee, when you get a minute can you just try using a set of really good gain pedals into completely clean, maybe even solid state power amp? Go into the effects return so you completely bypass the tone stack. Pedal tone only - could be an interesting idea.
At first, Ed used a light dimmer connected to the amps power cord, it's amazing he didn't get electrocuted. He later was shown the error of his ways and got a variac to lower the amps voltage in an attempt to get that wide open sound at lower volumes. Of course this was no longer required when the mighty VH began playing arenas.
I agree w Chappers. The modern tone from the red Ecstasy pedal is sweet. But, using different cab configurations probably has as much to do with tone as the drive or clean tone.
Sure there are comments on this already, but..
VH used the VARIAC to starve the valves, it doesn't necessarily give you more grain so much as it changes the gain structure of the amp, it tends to get a little saggier, and more coarse, it does mean it is also easier to drive both the pre amp and the output tubes, hence some people think of it as "more gain"
Yeah, as you decrease the voltage, the first circuit to be impacted will be the power amp (as it requires the most voltage to start with), so one of the key things you get is reduced headroom in the power-amp stage, and thus the pre-amp overdrives the power-amp more easily, resulting in the feel of "more gain". Decrease it too much, though and I would imagine it all turns to muck.
That Ecstasy pedal - Holy fucking shit.
I have both of the Überschall and the Ecstasy Red,and now i want the La Grange .__. Rob,I'm sold !
The Ectasy is by a mile the best high gain pedal I've ever had & I have had a lot of them. Cannot recommend it highly enough - never gets mushy even at full gain & it's easy to dial in a great sound with little difficulty- pricey but worth every penny.
Lol at Rob thinking a gold-plated circuit board is something particularly special. It's a process call ENIG (electroless nickel immersion gold), and is used on a huge range of stuff (like mobile/cell phones), and doesn't add any significant cost to production. Same goes for the gold plated relays (silver alloy plated is more common for signal relays). The excellent quality Nichicon caps are definitely worth points, but nothing else is really "WOW".
Thank you!
EXCEPT HE WASNT TALKING ABOUT CELL PHONES, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT PEDALS, ANT NOT MANY COMPANIES USE THEM, LOOK IT UP, YOU JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOURSELF SEEM SMART BUT I CAN TELL THAT IS PROBABLY NOT THE CASE BECAUSE YOU SAY 1 THING THEN SAY THE OPPOSITE, YOU SAY GOLD PLATED RELAY'S ARE NOTHING SPECIAL THEN SAY THAT SILVER RELAYS ARE MORE COMMON, MIGHT WANT TO AT LEAST MAKE SURE WHAT YOUR SAYING IS CORRECT BEFORE JUST SPEWING NONSENSE, AND THE PERSON WHO AGREED IS JUST ANOTHER BLIND TROLL LOOKING TO SEEM SMARTER THEN THEY ACTUALLY ARE, THEY PROBABLY READ YOUR COMMENT AND HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT ACTUALLY MEANT AND THOUGHT, THAT SEEMS LIKE A SMART THING TO SAY SO I'LL JUST AGREE WITH HIM WITHOUT HAVING A CLUE WHAT IT MEANS
+MB215 who shat in your coffee
MB215 The Boss Metal Zone is garbage. I have a feeling you like them and i do not know why ....
I played through a Shiva once and it convinced me to by the Ecstasy Blue (The Ecstacy Blue and Red are modelled on Shiva channels). I'll try a new dirt box every once in a while, but they never stay on my board; the Ecstasy does everything I need. I've even used it as a clean bass pre-amp straight into a DAW.
The power of an amp is the voltage x the current running through it so if the voltage was lowered then there'd be more current going through which I guess is sort of like boosting the input signal, driving the amp harder
@ 20:05 holy f thats such a good tone coming from a pedal, wow!
21:23 What the Captain is trying to tell us between the lines is that he enjoys eating ass :) You go man, enjoy all the "donkey" to your hearts content
Nice demo. I'd love to see a video comparison between Friedman Be OD and JHS AT..
La Grange.. Like a lot of pedals with so many knobs, you are bound to touch them and mess up your setting you spent a lot of time tweaking. They need to come out with high friction or notched so they stay locked in.
Mr.Chappman, i was wonder if you could help me with my problem. i went to the doctors after suddenly growing dreds and playing guitar at the speed of sound and was diagnosed with Dorje disease. he told me to listen to your band for four days and it i should start to go into remission for the condition. do you also suffer from dorje disease? p.s you guys are absolutely top shelf.
I personally prefer the ecstasy. Sounds great, imo.
Interesting, my Ecstasy Red, I find, is bright as hell. Always run the treble way down. Also b1 and b2 are different bright caps.
should have played some ZZ top with the lagrange.
Scott, if you're gonna make a comment like that, at least be able to recognize a ZZ top song.
Nick Krisch right! Just as he was starting to play just got paid I was reading this comment and thinking how it couldn't have been any better timing to get to that comment! Then I was LMAO when I read your comment!
Burnley, Harlow & Wessex were locations important to Rupert and Reinhold named them as a tribute to him. Watch out for the new Barrow-in-Furness delay.
Burnley is where they make all Neve sound equipment including desks, Wessex is where the first Neve desk was installed, not sure about Harlow?
I would love the Ecstasy through my JCM800, my God, that would be brutal...
But, this is not Metal Zone... Why would you not only play with the pure lovely, balanced and creamy joy that is a Metal zone? What is this? WHAT IS HAPPENING?
if cancer was a pedal, it would be better than the metal zone
stop lying to people, metal zone is the only pedal you'll ever need...maybe 5 of them tbh
Alonso Mendoza Geez, you must think quite fondly of cancer!
IT SEEMS THAT THE COOL THING TO DO NOW A DAYS IS BASH THE METAL ZONE SO ALOT OF PEOPLE DO IT CAUSE THEY WANT TO BE INCLUDED AND BE "COOL", ITS SO FUNNY THOUGH THAT PEOPLE WHO MAKE VIDEOS BASHING THE METAL ZONE ALL OWN 1, SO WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU, IT SAYS THEY PLAYED ONE FOR A WHILE THEN DECIDED THEY WANTED TO FOLLOW THE MOB BUT I BET SECRETLY THEY ALL STILL PLAY IT, YOU CAN GET KILLER TONES OUT OF 1 ESPECIALLY WITH A EQ PEDAL(WHICH EVERY GUITAR PLAYER SHOULD HAVE, ITS THE BEST INVESTMENT ANY GUITAR PLAYER CAN MAKE CAUSE IT CAN GIVE YOU THE SOUNDS OF MULTIPLE AMPS IN 1) ITS ALSO THE BEST SELLING DISTORTION PEDAL EVER AND STILL IS TO THIS DAY, PEOPLE LIE, NUMBERS DONT!
I don't have to own a pedal to know what it sounds like, we can try them at the store you know... and also, you say you can get killer tones if you use an eq, that's like saying you can eat shit if you pour sugar on it. There's nothing wrong with liking the metal zone, music is the most subjective thing in the world, but millions of people have agreed that the mz sucks, that should tell you something
if you tried to use a variac to increase voltage you'd blow your filter caps and it would explode.
I swear i can predict when rob will play Too Weak. Awesome review!
I couldn't decide between the grange and the ecstasy. Then, another thought dawned on to me: what about both?
I like the LTD Tele through La Grange. Does the Tele have a scalloped fretboard? Never mind. I remember that video... thought it looked familiar!
Seems like the Uber might be designed for pushing a high gain amp? Having trouble dialing one in and it doesn't seem to like being pushed on the front end. Tried the little ecstasy before and it was ok, maybe the big one is better?
I had exactly the same thought when I demoed the Ecstasy VS the Uberschall a few years ago. The Ecstasy Red is way more versatile and the gain / punch of the pedal is just juicier ... I felt the Uberschall was a "one trick pony"... Ecstasy through any clean amp will give you a great high gain sound - and still be articulate...
Great review guys informative and funny
Yay for Tunnels & Trolls! Love T&T!
La.grange probably best overdrive/distortion i ve ever heard
Variac doesn't make sense to me unless there was an input *in the amp* that changed the voltage delivered to the valves or something. All electronic devices, including amps, have transformers that ensure the voltage delivered from the wall is transformed to the running voltage and wattage of the device.
Tube amp power transformers are designed, in part, according the mains power supply: altering the mains power supply via a Variac has a corresponding effect on the amp.
Hey Rob, you should get Lee to check out getting a few Analog Outfitters amps for Andertons. Recycled amps (made from un-wanted vintage Hammond parts) that just sound perfect. Great dudes running the company too. (They're all the rage in Nashville studios)
Love the La Grange! Played one a few months ago and its the best 'plexi' pedal i've played.. I want one...
Haven't played the Friedman BE pedal yet though...
Oops, guess I should have seen the video to the end :) Good on you Captn'!
Great videos guys! I have a question since you have tried a lot of plexi in a box, what is the ULTIMATE best sounding: La Grange, Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe, Tech 21 Hot Rod Plexi, the new Lovepedal Purple Plexi (2016) or Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MKIII? I need it as a "always on" pedal, not just for boost (you can have any OD for that IMO), just as an amplifier that could go straight to PA, Mixer ou any Audio Interface without having to use an amp in front of it? Thanks, hope you guys can help me out!
as always (it could be boring be careful) it's a good job guys. thx.
Eddie Van Halen used the variac to reduce the voltage to the amp so it could be cranked and not be extremely loud in the studio. He was looking for extreme gain (as in distortion) before amps that could do it at low volume existed. A lot of modern boutique amps have a voltage switch for the same reason. Like a built-in variac.
Ecstasy sounds awesome...
I love Burnley - (from Brun Lea) - I moved here from Bristol formerly Ealing London, and love it here, great folk! We do have a very healthy music scene here. Not sure how that pedal denotes the town? Le Grange? probably the Billy Gibbons thang.
Wasn't the Van Halen story something like.. he bought a UK Marshall that wanted 240V and ran it at 110V in the US by mistake.. and really liked the sound. Then realised what happened and used a variac so he could undervolt his US Marshall heads.. but when asked of course he said he used it to overvolt them (more is more era). Then of course there were loads of fans blowing up their heads by overvolting them and he felt guilty and said actually he was using the variac to undervolt, whoops!
Überschall does in fact mean supersonic.
The 101b is the Ecstasy my favorite. Mine is from the mid 90's. Never cared for the Uber. It has one sound, does it well.
I'm sure the Apolo 11, has less nobs than the "La Grange" and reached the moon
...allegedly
HI GUYS i wonder how the new friedman BE-OD pedal would go up against these bogner pedals there is a lot of buzz about the new friedman pedal but these do sound awesome to.
Good Demo, I tried the Ecstasy Red & ended up with the Goosoniqueworx 7thvn, which is supposedly a cross between a Marshall & a Bogner.
Can you get the Metallica sounds out of the ubershcall ?
For a few years my pedalboard saw many pedals come and go until, Bogner. I have the Ecstasy Blue, Red, Uberschall and the Burnley. I honestly do not want to try any other drive pedals. I may need a bigger boar to add the La Grange.
eventhough i own my most favorite amp, the randall thrasher, i still like to use these amp sim like pedals once in a while, i got 3 amt ones, the tech 21 omg, the isp theta, and the bogner ecstacy red pedal.....but i find that hooking them via the effects loop return in my 6505 mini head (which bypasses preamp and goes straight to power amp) sounds better....but if had to pick one, it would be the isp theta
Good to hear that...I just got an ISP Theta. Great pedal.
awesome test :)
There is a demo Ecstasy Blue pedal done by a guy named Sam Vilo. It's 20 minutes of guitar heaven.
what sweet tele right there
has anyone thought about how using overdrive pedals is kind of like having a solid state pre amp section? I love OD pedals but it just strikes me odd that we get tube amps and use pedals through them
Drive pedals are a tradition which dates back to before cascaded preamp gain became common. Some people use drive pedals seemingly out of tradition, whilst others genuinely like the way they sound.
Personally, I will take amp gain every time.
UBIQUITY. I cant turn on a guitar, but I've been watching yall's YT entertainment. I need to learn a cord or 2. Meanwhile, I LOVE your format. This tightwad would pay to your unique fusion of encouragement for the stringed instruments.
WIMA caps are pretty much standard, but EPCOS/TDK and Kemet caps are just as good. Nichion electrolytic caps are comparable to panasonic and other brands. i'm surprised he didn't say that he uses Alpha pots like pretty much everyone else in the industry does. gold plated 2-layer boards are also industry norms.
You guys should review the 2017 Gibson Les Paul line.
They will, just wait for it
If you wanted tone like Justin Derrico (he uses the Bogner Shiva) which pedal would you go for? La Grange or Ecstasy Red?
is that the scalloped tele from the modded guitar challange 2 years ago?
Yep.
nice to see he actually use it :)
what song is the riff from that rob plays at 19:00?
Dorje - catalyst. It's his band!
We love you Bernly, We do!
I've been to Bognar Regis for Butlins :) Does that count?
Lols.
Did Lee have a stroke at 23:49
I love the stuff Bogner outs out. I had a Line 6 100 watt head designed by Bogner and it was one of the best sounding amps I had ever heard. I would still have it if I didn't have to sell it to pay for a lawyer (bunch of ball washing bastards) These pedals are just as good.
At the 6 minute mark, Rob plays "Just Got Paid." Fitting that he plays some goddamned ZZ Top on a La Grange pedal!!!
Speaking of which, we need a Sounds Like... Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. Rabbea can demo the songs, Old Man, Just Got Paid and Goin' Down to Mexico.