Review license provided by Nembrini Audio – All thoughts and opinion’s within this review are my own and do not reflect those of the developer or others.

INTRO

Bogner Amplification is one of the earliest boutique amp companies, born during a time when the demand for high gain amps was high. Mesa Boogie was king and Soldano and Rivera were following in their footsteps. In 1992, Reinhold Bogner unveiled what would become his flagship amp, the Bogner Ecstasy. The first variant was the 100B. He didn’t stop there and released the 101B in 1995, taking what was already an incredible design even further.

At the core of its design was the idea of achieving what split pre and power amp rigs couldn’t, which was to provide the dynamics and response that only a single circuit amp can provide. He also wanted to build an amp that could cover a huge tonal range but also provide the characteristics of vintage amps from the 60’s. This amp offers a plethora of tonal options, to cater to players’ every need.

The Nembrini Audio BG Extasy has been meticulously modelled to reproduce the sonics and versatility of this Iconic and desirable boutique amp. Let’s check it out and see how it compares to the legacy of the Ecstasy.

Experience

It’s a thing of beauty, not just because the plugin is based on the Bogner Ecstasy but because it has been so well replicated visually. The GUI is clean, crisp, and pleasant to look at. It’s easy to navigate and once I switch over to the familiar cabinet and Impulse loader section, it’s all there. I like the green and grey aesthetic of the GUI, not to overstated, and the preset menu is clean, simple and easy to use.

I was blown away from the moment I started playing through BG Extasy. I hadn’t touched anything, just loaded it up and basked in its tonal glory. Where to start though? Upon first glance, it can be a bit overwhelming, so many controls and switches, I don’t blame anyone for being intimidated. We have a lot to cover on this amp!

Cabinet & Impulse Loader

Let’s get the cabinet and loader section out of the way first. It’s very well laid out with cabinet selection, 2 mics and studio reverb. Each mic and the studio have pan control and solo, mute and phase button, to check, adjust and make sure everything is sounding the way I want it to. The mic selection is small but covers the essentials, and each mic can be set off axis.

It should come as no surprise that the default cabinet is a Bogner 4×12 Ubercab, loaded with Celestion v30’s and G12T75 to create a nice balance of lows, mids and highs to compliment the amp’s voicings.

With the Ubercab, it was very easy to dial in a great sound. I opted to go with the 421 for the G12T75 speaker and a 121 for the V30, as found in the Godfather preset because it just sounded so good compared to the usual 57/421 or 57/57 combo i would typically employ. It sounded very balanced and complimented all 3 channels really well, as well as Plexi mode.

If the Ubercab isn’t your flavor it has 5 other outstanding sounding cabinet options to choose from. As everyone likes to see, it also includes an Impulse loader for up to 3 of the several included Choptone or Seacow Cabs impulse responses. It can also be used to load external third-party impulse responses. Rounding off the cabinet/Impulse section is the ability to bypass to utilize a third party Impulse loader, or cabinet simulator plugin.

Reverb

The reverb is great for adding a little bit of in the room feel, depth, ambience and air, or for nailing the classic wet/dry studio reverb effect. It acts like a reverb chamber in a studio, where the signal would be sent to a cab at one end of the chamber, and mics would be used to capture in the chamber to capture it and the reflections, much like what was done of Van Halen 1 at Sunset Sound, very cool, and still very common for many studios to do today.

Noise Gate & Cleaner

The included Noise gate is very effective for keeping the noise to a minimum, and the cleaner does an excellent job keeping the lows and the highs in check when needed.

Power Amp Controls & Switches

Let’s move over to the amp panel to check out the power amp controls. Starting on the left it has a New/Old switch, this switches between pentode and triode mode for the power tubes. “New” position feels more open, punchy and aggressive, and has more headroom, with it set to “Old” position, it cuts the power a bit, feels less open, but smooths out a bit tonally and has less headroom. This is the first of many tonal variations in this amp.

Over to the excursion switches, the amp has A and B excursion, which correspond to the assignable presence (more on that in a second.) Excursion affects the low-end response of the negative feedback loop. It as M for medium which is a nice balance between the other two options. L is loose, which adds low-end thump, and T is tight, which tightens up the low end.

So, if I want a more classic rock tone, setting it to L (loose) gives it the big low end that vintage amps are more known for. Setting excursion to M (medium) will give it a more balanced low end suitable for 80’s and 90’s metal and rock tones, and setting it to T (tight) will help keep those chugs in check when playing modern metal and high gain applications.

The presence B selection switch allows for channel assignment of the presence B control. This is great if I want to go from a tight heavy metal tone, to hard thumping tone like AC/DC with the flip of a switch. I can have a different presence, and change the low-end response.

In position O, presence A is globally assigned to all 3 channels. Set to CH1, presence B is assigned to channel 1 and set to CH3, it’s assigned to channel 3. This also means when I assign Presence B to Ch1 or Ch3, the excursion B will be active, and presence A will be bypassed along with excursion A.

The amps overall feel, tonally, is very dynamic and rich in harmonics. It is very responsive to how I play. Understanding this is the first key to really unlocking the true potential of what this amp has to offer.

Channel 1

On to the amp tone, starting with channel 1. This is the clean channel, but don’t let that fool you, it goes from shimmering clean to gnarly pretty quick. There’s independent volume, gain, treble, middle and bass controls, as well as Gain Boost and Pre.eq which changes the channel voicing. It definitely has some Fendery twang to it especially with the Pre.eq set to B1 or B2 voicing.

The gain boost works really well for adding a little more grunt but also thickens up the tone a little bit, without getting muddy or harsh. It’s great for country, blues, and rock. It takes a normal boost/overdrive like a tube screamer great in the front, for some hard rock or metal, and also pairs well with a distortion or fuzz pedal for some raunchy stoner rock or doom tones.

For my tastes, I set Channel 1 to get a nice dirty clean fender inspired tone. I roll back the guitar volume to clean it up and added the volume back in when I want it. I preferred the gain boost on, with Pre.eq set to b2, and set it to share Presence A with channel 2. It sounds good with a little bit of chorus in front, and the studio reverb dialed in to give some depth and ambience to the sound. For some rock leads I liked adding in a boost pedal to push it, and some delay after the amp, it sounded great.

Channel 2

Switching to Channel 2 and this is where it really starts to come alive. Independent volume and gain, but it shares the treble, middle and bass controls with channel 3. It also shares the Gain boost and structure switches as well, but has an independent switch for the Pre.eq to change the voicing. Channel 2 and 3 also share an assignable Plexi mode switch.

Channel 2 is the mid gain channel, but don’t think it doesn’t have plenty of gain to spare. With the structure switch and the boost set to low, it goes from a nice dirty clean with the gain low to a nice crunch with the gain turned up. Flipping the structure switch to H adds more gain, and it starts to come to life, turning into a suitable tone for playing Van Halen or AC/DC.

Setting the gain boost CH2 & CH3 to H pushes channel 2 into mid-high gain territory, this is suitable for tight metal rhythm as well as lead work. Alternatively, the structure can also be set to low, while the boost is left on high for yet another variation of gain. On right side of the amp panel, it also has a Pre.eq Ch2 switch which gives 3 different voicings, B1 is bright and aggressive, and B2 is even brighter and aggressive, and N is the least bright of the 3.

On channel 2 I set the structure and gain boost to high, and used Pre.eq voicing B2 to add some bite. I set the gain to about 11 O’clock. I took a little bit of low end out and added in some mids and highs to give it a tight, aggressive and punchy tone, but set the Excursion to L to maintain a good low-end thump. Really enjoyed this channel. I find myself going back to it constantly, it’s definitely my favorite.

Channel 3

Much like channel 2, this channel has multiple levels of gain via the structure and Gain boost switches. This channel also starts with more gain on tap as compared to channel 2, and has a little more bottom end girth to it. Very suitable for heavy metal, modern aggressive genres, and lead work, and it should cover most high gain applications.

It has independent volume and gain controls, as well as a Pre.eq Ch3 switch to give it 3 different voicings which add varying degrees of brightness to the channel. Channel 3 can also utilize Excursion switch, and can be assigned to either presence A or B. It takes boosts/overdrives really well and adding a delay is great for getting more depth in lead work.

For channel 3 I found myself using relatively the same settings as channel 2, but I did set the excursion switch to M to cut a little bit of the low-end, to tighten up the sound and set the Pre.eq to B1 instead of B2, to cut a little bit of the harshness. I kept the gain at about noon. Very aggressive but thick sounding, much more gain than I need but it’s great to have when it is needed.

Plexi Mode

While this is not an independent channel, it deserves to be treated at least as a half channel, since it takes the place of either Channel 2 or 3 when activated, depending on which channel is selected via the Plexi mode switch. When this mode is assigned to a channel, it bypasses the structure, and gain boost, but still utilizes Pre.eq and Excursion switches and is affected by the new/old switch, to give several flavors of plexi tone goodness.

It definitely has a Plexi feel when the volume is dime’d and the gain is dialed up, this covers the classic rock tones for sure, and with a boost it can achieve some great early 80’s tones as well. Running it without a boost, I would set the Excursion switch to M or T, but with an overdrive, I recommend setting it to L, and using using the overdrive to tighten up the low end. Doing this will yield a tight, yet thick and chewy sounding tone, with a satisfyingly level of thump in the low end, without being to overpowering.

I assigned Plexi mode to channel 3, because it was far more gain than I needed. I dime’d the volume and set the gain to about 2 O’clock with the excursion set to L. I kept the amp set to New because I liked the open feel it gave and set the Pre.eq to B2 for a brighter more aggressive British bite.

To compensate for the high volume, I reduced the output volume of the plugin to about -20dB (this will vary for you) and then matched the volume of channel 1 and 2, to channel 3’s level. I liked using Plexi mode with a boost, it just gave it that little bit extra snarl, it sounded great. It’s definitely my second favorite tone in this amp after channel 2.

Notes & Suggestions

Each channel, the way I have it configured, sounds great with a boost in the front. I use a tube screamer type overdrive, with the tone set to about 1 O’clock, level to about 3 O’clock and the drive rolled completely off. in most cases for rhythm, I leave the overdrive off, and turn it on for leads. I also sometimes use a delay set to give a little slap back, and run it into an external reverb.

I highly suggest referencing the manual to get a better understanding of how all the controls operate, and how best to apply them for your tonal needs.

I also suggest grabbing the 808 Overdrive, Clon Minotaur as well as the free Analog Rack plugins, available free for download from Nembrini Audio!

UPS/DOWNS

The BG Extasy feels and sounds great! The amp itself has so much variety in tone, the options are endless! It comes with a great selection of cabinets and impulses to fulfill most needs, and can utilize third party impulses to further accommodate your taste in cabinets.

The cabinet section is fully bypass-able if you want to use an external cabinet or Impulse loader which is always a great thing to see. The cleaner is there when you need it, and the Noise gate is effective and manages the bothersome hiss and noise when running at high gain levels.

The GUI is clean, simplistic, and very easy use. It’s familiar and what we have come to expect from Nembrini Audio.

One could say it lacks features like a boost/overdrive, or delay, compared to similar products on the market, but the amp does have built-in boost controls, and the reverb works well and sounds great.

The price is set a tad high but fair for the market and the level of quality and tone it offers, the BG Extasy is priced at $137.00 but as usual is offered with a generous into price of $39.00 (intro price ends September 19th 2021) and IOS AUV3 is priced at $19.99 but also available for $9.99 intro pricing through the apple store a swell.

Conclusion

The BG Extasy feels tonally, very dynamic, rich in harmonics and very responsive to how you play. It sounds fantastic and very much sounds like the real Bogner Ecstasy 101B, for a fraction of the $3800 price tag. Nembrini Audio is already known for its high-quality sounding amp sims and plugins, and they have taken that to the next level with this one.

It truly is a pleasure to play, and I will definitely continue putting it through its paces, and seeing what I can come up with for tones. I look forward to seeing what Igor, and Nembrini Audio has in store for us next! As usual Nembrini Audio offers a free fully unrestricted trial, go check it out and decide if it’s right for you!

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Legal Disclaimer:

Ecstasy is a registered trademark of Bogner Amplification. BG Extasy was developed by Nembrini Audio SRL based on its own modelling techniques. Bogner Amplification has not endorsed nor sponsored the BG Extasy in any manner, nor licensed any intellectual property for use in this product.