Bogner Ecstasy 3534 50-watt 3-channel Tube Head

Four footswitch-accessible sounds with ample tone-shaping

You can conjure a myriad of tones from the Ecstasy 3534. For starters, its four footswitch-accessible sounds range from glassy, ​​high-headroom cleans to blistering, high-gain cacophony — plus all points in between. Channel 1 features independent Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, and Gain controls for complete tone shaping; Channels 2 and 3 include shared Treble, Middle, and Bass controls, along with independent Volume and Gain controls. A 3-way pre-EQ switch for each channel controls the openness and presence of higher-range harmonics, while a Boost switch injects your playing with extra drive and grind. You also get a 3-way Excursion switch to control speaker cabinet damping, and a global Presence control that enables you to custom-tailor your overall sound.

Streamlined yet eminently powerful feature set

The Bogner Ecstasy 3534 includes the pro-level features you need. It has everything you need to make it the heart of your rig. It boasts four stages of ECC83 (12AX7)-driven preamp gain that are piped into a dual-EL34-fueled power section. The organic, British-tinged tube saturation this guitar amp head generates infuses every note you play with ear-grabbing textures that demand attention. Integrating your pedalboard and outboard effects into the XTC 3534 is a breeze, thanks to its overhauled, lower-noise, op-amp-buffered effects loop. And both onstage and in the studio, the Ecstasy 3534's line-level output makes feeding an IR loader easy.

Reinhold Bogner: the man behind the amps

Although Reinhold Bogner began designing and building amplifiers long before leaving Germany for the US in 1989, his career really took off soon after arriving in Los Angeles. He quickly gained the trust of many influential players including Steve Stevens, Dann Huff, Allan Holdsworth, Mike Landau, and Steve Vai, who sought out his skill at modifying and custom building their amps. Eddie Van Halen entrusted Reinhold to overhaul and revitalize his number one Marshall Plexi — with great results. Soon after, Bogner Amplification was born, and the rest, they say, is history.