Bogner Metropolis Head. New Old Stock!
Articulate in the studio and as ferocious as an angry junkyard dog onstage, the Metropolis beckons you to rule your city…
The Trilogy is complete with our new, or should we say, vintage Metropolis. Forever classic, the chimey EL-84 tone blossoms into an extremely touch sensitive and dynamically expressive voice. Metropolis features a single channel circuit that responds to every nuance of your attack and shift of the guitars controls. When coupled with our optional specially designed combo or extension speaker cabinet the result is incredible projection and richness that must be experienced to be believed.
A kaleidoscope of tonal colors can be coaxed from Metropolis’s two distinctly voiced inputs (non-reverb model) and the five position Schizo control. Really a sonic blender control the Schizo switch alters the voicing of the amps Gain and EQ structure and combined with the individual tone, gain and master volume controls many stellar sounds await. Deep 3-D ambience is available from the tube driven reverb option. Optional Reverb “Tone and Drive” controls allow even greater control over the reverbs attack, body and tonal shape.
Features:
- Single channel all tube design
- 15 or 30 Watt EL84 Class A cathode biased power amp
- 5AR4 Tube rectifier
- Reverb and Dry (zero download) input
- Gain, Bass, Treble, Middle, Volume & Presence control
- Schizo 6 Position Tone and Gain structure switch
- Single 16 and dual 8 ohm speaker outsOptions:
- EL84 tube driven Reverb with Mix control
- Reverb Drive & Tone control + Footswitch Input
- Please note the Reverb model has no Middle tone control!
- Available as Head
- 1×12 open back combo with Celestion GB25 > 15W, Celestion V30 > 30W
- 2×12 open back combo with two Celestion GB25’s, 30W model onlyDIMENSIONS and WEIGHTS: Are subject to change anytime, Please measure your amp carefully if a Custom Case is being made. Add 3⁄4 inch for each, handle and rubber feet.
15W Head: 30W Head: 1×12 combo: 2×12 combo:
10” H 20.75” 10” H 20.75” 20.75” H 20.75” 20” H 27.25”
W 10.25” D W 10.25 D W 10.50” D W 10.50” D
38 pounds
43 pounds
50 pounds (30W – 55lbs) 69 pounds
Inputs Non-Reverb Model: There are two instrument inputs on the Metropolis, each is voiced differently. One is a normal (high, labeled X) input and the other (labeled Y) is even more open sounding. This gives you more tonal variety; we suggest you try different guitars through each input to explore new tones.
Reverb Model: Reverb circuits can load amps down at times and take a little of the openness away. That’s why we designed the Reverb model to have a normal (labeled D for Dry) and a Reverb (labeled R) input. We gave you the option to decide when you need the reverb circuit. For example, in a room that is naturally ambient you may prefer to use the Dry input. (The first series of Reverb models didn’t have a separate reverb input) On both models, the inputs are not switchable via an A/B Box due to the inner circuitry.
Tone and Schizo Controls: Even though the Metropolis is a single channel amp, it is extremely versatile and gives you a variety of different feels and sounds. The combinations of Schizo, Gain and Tone put you in charge of where you want to go. The Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence controls allow you to set a wide range of tonal variation. Go easy on the Bass and Treble they’re very effective. The Reverb model doesn’t have a Middle control because of the limited space on the front panel. It has a fixed setting of the Middle which is about half way up, if it would have the control. The Schizo switch is a Midrange Contour adjustment to enhance the sensitivity of the amp to different styles of playing, different guitars, different cabinets and different pick up configurations. Depending on your gain and tone settings, each of the Schizo functions can be made to help your guitar “speak”.
Position 1 at the far left is the brightest most open, and essentially each setting as you move to the right of the switch is darker, or fuller. Some very basic indications are given in the chart below. Again, the gain and tone settings will make a big difference, so experiment as much as you can. We start with all the settings at 12 o’clock.
Function | Description | Suggestion |
Schizo 1 | full & bright | neck pickup lead |
Schizo 2 | midrange cut | classic clean tone, spanky funk |
Schizo 3 | low & high boost | jangle crunch, middle pickup lead |
Schizo 4 | midrange boost | fat strat, humbucker growl |
Schizo 5
| low & mid boost
| bridge pickup cranked |
On the first series of Metropolis the Schizo switch was laid out differently. The sound changed more linear from position 1 to 5. Position 2 was 3. We think the new one is more versatile.
Suggestion: Turn the bass, treble and middle controls all the way down and the gain, presence and volume controls all the way up. Start on Schizo 5 position. This gives you a very grainy high gain sound (One of Reinhold Bogners favorites).
Gain and Volume: The Gain control sits between Schizo and the tone controls (in the sound chain). It doesn’t only change the gain it also interacts with your tone controls. Experiment what works best for you. The volume control decides how much of a signal you send to the power amp. In the first third of it’s total range it determines how loud your amp will be. In the last two thirds it acts more like a tone fatness control. The more you turn it up the fuller your sound gets. This is helpful if you have a big sounding guitar and like the tone/feel of a fuller fatter Schizo position but it would be too muddy or overloaded for the power amp. You could turn down the volume, from full to one third, to keep the tone from the pre amp but have the amp just as loud as before. Vise versa, if you have a thin sounding guitar and like a open Schizo position you can fatten the tone up with the volume control.
Reverb: The reverb circuit on the Metropolis sits in front of the pre-amp. It uses an EL 84 power tube to drive it and two 12AX7 pre amp tubes for the return. The Reverb control on the front panel lets you mix the reverb into the dry sound. You need to be plugged into the reverb input (upper jack) otherwise the whole reverb circuit is bypassed and your guitar signal goes directly into the pre amp. Optional “Tone and Drive” controls as well as a Footswitch input jack are available. “Tone and Drive” controls on the back of the amp chassis allow you to personalize the sound of your Reverb and “tune” it to the kind of room or musical attitude you like. Deep watery surf? Punk-a-ska-billy? Bright, tight jazz? Or just a bit of space to move around…Explore… Start with the controls at 12 o’clock. Drive does just that, drives the circuit harder as you turn the knob clockwise > sort of like a bigger room or longer reverb time. The Tone control makes it brighter or darker/sweeter> like changing the room from wood to concrete. The reverb foot- switch jack can use any standard passive on/off latching foot-switch. You definitely have a “ton” of reverb now!
On the first series of Metropolis the reverb circuit was between pre and power amp driven with two 12AX7’s and had only a reverb control.
There you have it! It’s all up to you now, be creative and push your musical imagination…For Questions call, fax or check out our webpage: www.bogneramplification.com
Be the first to review “Bogner Metropolis Head. New Old Stock!”
You must be logged in to post a review.