Even from childhood, in his native Germany, Reinhold Bogner was already skillfully soldering his soldering iron to create his own guitar amplifiers. After moving to Los Angeles, his amp models and mods began to attract famous names from the six-string world, including Steve Vai, Steve Stevens, and Eddie Van Halen. So when it was announced that he was bringing out a Line6 factory-made amp that would cost less than $1500, it made a lot of noise.
This new model, called the Alchemist, a handsome 40W tube amp, is exactly what we’ll be testing. It comes in three models: two combos: the first equipped with a 12-inch speaker and the second with two different 12-inch speakers; and a 2×12 amp head + cabinet. This review is about the 2×12 combo model.
It’s quite bulky (two 12-inch speakers take up a bit of space), heavy (80 pounds), and has a very nice neo-vintage look. Everything looks solid and ready to take a beating. Although it is made in Line6 stores, it is still a Bogner! Other more expensive models of the brand therefore pass to the “Custom Shop” class. In terms of appearance and finish, the grille, logo, knobs and small diodes all look well done and give the amp a respectable look. Everything about the amp exudes brand quality.
But let’s see if the Alchemist can really turn lead into gold…
inside the alembic
A look at the specs is enough to see that it really does have 40 watts (class AB power) under the hood, but you can also cut the power in half. This is very useful when you want to keep good relations with your neighbors while pushing the amp a bit… Be careful though, because even at 20 watts, the Alchemist produces some serious sound! Tube-wise, it has two 6L6 power tubes and five 12AX7 preamp tubes; pretty classic As for the two 12-inch speakers, this amp features a Celestion G12M Greenback and a Celestion G12H Anniversary. This setup is quite interesting, because you will be able to get two quite different sounds during recording – nice touch! The Alchemist therefore includes conventional components, but of quality.
In terms of inputs and outputs, of course, there’s the guitar input on the front panel, plus two speaker outputs (8/16 ohm and 4 ohm) on the rear panel. An XLR connection is used to connect a 4-button footswitch (included) to control channels, boost, delay, and reverb. Lastly, there is an effects loop and a mix knob. Note that the loop is protected and cannot be passed, so the “dry” signal never leaves the amplifier, so as not to degrade the signal with an external element.
Mixing the Elements
As for the setup, keep in mind that the amp provides two channels: the “Gold” channel, which is meant to excel at clean and crunch sounds, and the “Mercury” channel, which converts to higher gains. For the first channel there are typical knobs: Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume, plus several switches: Clean/Crunch, Bright and Deep (to add low mids and bass). Above the Gold/Mercury switch is a Boost switch which, when applied to the Gold channel, adds gain and thickness (with more low mids to your sound). On the Mercury channel, the boost adds gain and fattens your sound without necessarily increasing its volume. For this second channel, there are also Gain, Volume and EQ knobs, but also a Punch switch which, when set to the left, gives a more vintage Californian tone, and when set to the right, a more hi-gain tone. British. The Mid Shift switch will cut the mid frequencies.
As for effects, the Alchemist features a delay (with a tap delay button that allows you to quickly adjust its speed to the tempo) with three types: fade (quick cuts), analog, and tape (tape delay). It is also possible to adjust the number of repetitions via the ‘Repetitions’ knob. The amp also features three reverbs: spring, hall and plate selectable via the appropriate switch.
Given the number of switches, there should be a lot of sonic “alchemy” possible… Let’s see!
Sound
To get started, you can take a look at Bogner’s website, which has lots of audio samples. You’ll hear the Alchemist sound great when played with slightly overdriven single coil pickups… It reproduces the typical Stratocaster and Nocaster Twang sound very well! No problem with crunch sounds and the amp responds well to picking variations (thanks to the tubes…): a good flick of the wrist makes the Alchemist crunch in a nice way, tasty! This undoubtedly adds more expressiveness to the performance. The example with a Les Paul does not do justice to this magnificent instrument, it lacks a bit of its characteristic roundness…
Samples recorded with a Hamer reveal a rather fat and gritty sound, but slightly muddy, which may please some and annoy others… It’s a matter of taste! This amp is recommended more for lovers of stoner rock than for shredders who tend to prefer a very precise and cutting sound. The amp tends to lose definition in the lower mids. It seems to respond more like an old amp than a modern high gain amp.
For my own sound samples, a Gretsch G5129 was used, equipped with DeArmond single-coil pickups and a Sennheiser MD421 microphone placed in front of the amp. A tip for microphone placement with this amp: There is a wooden bar placed vertically in the center of each speaker, which is convenient as a marker for placing the microphones in front of the speaker cones, since the cover is opaque. Since I am not allowed to post links to my sound samples in this article, you can refer to the original Bogner Alchemist article on en.audiofanzine.com. You can hear a clear difference between the two speakers which in turn multiplies the tone possibilities.
Not too many surprises, the samples confirm what was said above. Delays are quite classic sounding and can give your sound a nice color if used sparingly. Same thing for reverts: they sound pretty good and are well suited for most situations. These sound examples were designed to allow the reader to hear the difference between each switch on the amplifier.
Bogner set out to make an accessible amp and it looks like he succeeded. This is an amp that costs less than $1,500 (for the 2×12 model) with two channels with very different personalities and two speakers that greatly expand your sonic palette. Add to that a little neo-vintage look, a clean sound that crunches like it should, and a thick, distorted tone and you have an amp designed to please.
conclusion
Of course, those who love to complain will say that it weighs a ton, that you’ll need tweezers to adjust the little switches, and that it’s impossible to get a modern distortion tone. They wouldn’t be wrong. But the Alchemist has personality, and that means he probably won’t please everyone… But what guitar amp does he make? The great advantages:
- A Bogner for less than $1,500!
- manufacturing quality
- Good clean/crunch sounds
- two different speakers
- A wide range of tone possibilities.
- The choice of 40 or 20 watts
- The look
- Reverb quality and delay.
Drawbacks…
- Not easy to carry: heavy and bulky.
- Switches: small and difficult to access
- Distortion sounds that won’t appeal to everyone!