Helios 100 - 100-watt Handwired Tube Head Review

The levithan indeed

I've had the amp close to a year. I have not encountered an amp of this magnitude. It is organic and powerful. My earlier review (Levithan) above says it all. It's everything and then some for my taste in guitar sonics.

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Best Plexi. Best Late 60s 70s and 80s Tones

I hardly ever write reviews but this hands down is my favorite amp! It"s unreal. Most amps I play have one to two good sounds in them but this one is good all around. The JTM feature is fantastic especially since there is a knob in the back to dial back in low end with punch. Every 1/2 power feature I have played thins the amp out but with this feature the amp sounds just as… read more mean as when it"s in the 100 watt mode. The Plexi Input (low) is killer. Volume diimed on the clean channel sounds just like every Plexi recorded tone you know and love. In the plexi setting the gain channel sounds are remarkable no matter where you set the gain. I used the gain full up (Plexi mode) and got my favorite 70s and 80s rock tones then boosted it with a DS1 and it"s killer. On the Hot input I start thinking my favorite is the 70s switch then I go to the 80s and I am blown away and decide that"s my favorite. I have yet to play an amp that is this versatile while good at everything and I have owned and played through just about all of them except maybe a few Metal amps. I dislike amps where you switch from clean to gain channels and the EQ is all out of balanced. The Helios is balanced so EQ sounds are the same when switching channels. I run all the tone controls at 12:30 to 1 and it sounded best to me with my Marshall G12-65 cabinet. Some amps I play can fight you but this one really sings and doesn"t get in your way. The best thing is the amp sings even when you roll your volume back. Bottom line is if you are considering it and you want original Plexi, Modded Plexi and modded JCM800 sounds get it!! Many thanks to Yuval and Sweetwater as this one is a keeper.

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Best Plexi

There are many really great Plexi clones available today. After much procrastination, and countless demos of countless amps, I finally settled on the Bogner Helios 100 as a gigging replacement for my prized Marshall. Very happy with this amp. It is pretty much plug and play with some very cool variations on the same basic theme. By utilizing the different inputs, 70's/80's mode… read more switch, punch switch, etc. it's the equivalent of having a great Plexi, and 5 or 6 other great modded Plexi's from which to choose. I don't think it is possible to get a bad sound out of this amp. It is not ultra high gain. It is a kickass 70's/80's Rock machine. I did swap out the pre amp tubes as I am not fond of the sound of JJ 12ax7's. After sampling several different replacements all of which I preferred over the JJ's, l settled on a combination of Chinese Ruby's and the EH Tung-Sol reissues in the pre amp, and Winged C el34's in the power amp.

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Marshall Plexi DNA w/hot rodded 70's/80's tones

I lived in California during the mid 80's explosion of Awesome bands with great modded Marshall tones. Working at a studio, I was fortunate enough to hear, on a daily basis, the best Marshalls with mods there were but most of the mods were proprietary to the big name bands. Well now, Reinhold Bogner has released the Helios! Think of it as a "Greatest Hits, Best Mods" amplifier… read more for people who love Van Halen to late 80's Hair Bands. It's all there.....It's not a magic box, you still have to be able to play but the amp will most definitely give you all the tones of your heroes and more! It is pretty basic but also has lots of tonal options. Sounds best with a 4x12 with 25w Celestion Greenbacks or Bogner's 4x12 cabinet in order to really accurately dial in those great tones. With the 30watt "Variac" option, you can play "Runnin' with the Devil" to "Panama" and will require plastic surgery to remove the smile from your face! Also, if you are concerned about 100watt vs 50watt because you think the 100watt is too loud, This 100watt has it's own Master Volume which still allows you the headroom and punch of the 100watt but not the neighbors calling the police side effects. In other words, go ahead and get the 100watt...you'lll thank me later......

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I love my Helios!

Everything works perfectly, and the tones are amazing. Very versatile, and she even sounds great at lower volume levels. The 30 watt setting is really sweet. Plexi, JCM 800, and JTM tones are all right there. I may sell a few of my other amps - the Helios does so much, so well.

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