Bogner Shiva 1x12 vs. Mesa Boogie Rect-o-verb 1x12

[Superuser]

I'm in the market for a used tube amp and I'm stuck between 2 amps.
I think the Bogner goes for about $1,500+ used and the Mesa about $850 used.

I'm looking for creamy tone with a nice blackface vibe on the clean-side and rich creamy fat leads that are just shy of metal on the lead channel.

how do these combo amps stack up versus each other?

[Uthark]

Why donīt you try the Mesa LoneStar Special?

[rgr]

If you can afford the Bogner, they aren't even in the same class.

[Superuser]

Originally Posted by rgr

If you can afford the Bogner, they aren't even in the same class.

rgr, thanks for the reply. Please elaborate on your opinion. Do have experience with both amps?

Thanks

[Gresh]

Also give rivera combos a spin. Great clean a la Fender and lead/crunch that tends to sit right between mesa and marshall. Great amps, built like tanks too. A little hard to find though.

[Drew]

They're two COMPLETELY different amps - the Bogner is very "modded marshall," and a bit more vintage-y, while the Recto is, well, a Rectifier, and is very contemporary sounding.

If you're willing to drop the cash on the Bogner, it might be closer to what you're looking for, but Uthark's right, a Lone Star might be a better comparison here.

-D

[rgr]

I'm more of a Marshall tone fan, I've owned a Recto Head, a Mark IV, a Soldano, and quite a few Marshalls (nothing newer than an old EL-34 JCM900), I've also played a Bogner Ecstacy (wish I could afford one). I have to admit, I'm not a fan of Rectos or Mark IVs, they have nice rhythm sounds and the clean on the Mark IV was great, but I didn't like the lead tones, they tend to get lost. The high end is "thin" on the Rectos, and the Mark IV (for me, I know there are a lot of fans here) didn't have the harmonic content of a good Marshall type amp. My favorite amp that I've had was a Soldano HR50+, great sounding amp. I also like a head and 2-12 cab (don't have much use for hauling 4-12s at the moment) better than combos. I also think they are easier to move around, sure it's 2 pieces, but easier to carry one in each hand than a heavy combo. I also like the closed back sound.

Sorry about digressing OT, the Shiva is a stripped down Ecstacy, with a few other goodies, like the Schizo switch. I've heard them and they sound great, personally I would try to get an EL-34 version, again, that's the Marshall lover in me.

Hope this helps, but most important is that it sounds good to you, there are some great sounding recordings done with Mesas, they just don't seem to cut if for me.

Edit: I just looked up the Bogner site, the Shiva doesn't have the Schizo swith, that was on the Caveman which is discontinued, the Shiva has a boost function. Still a great amp! There are lots of sound files at www.bogneramplification.com.

Roger

[VanWyck]

I agree with Gresh, try a Rivera - sounds in line with what you want. I owned a 55-12 and regret selling it. I found that the Rivera excelled in a classic rock kind of setting, and would describe the tone as "high fidelity" (try one you'll see what I mean). My current amp is a Rect-O-Verb head with a Recto cabinet. It gives me more fluid drive for solos, and seems to cover a larger tonal spectrum than the Rivera.

Try the Lonestar, too!!

I haven't played a Bogner...