A while back I promised to check out one of the new Bogner pedals (there are three) and report back here. Because I have a hard rock project on tap, I started with the Burnley, a distortion pedal. I'll get straight to the point: for my taste and needs, this is the finest sounding distortion pedal I've ever used, hands down. And it sounds phenomenal with the DG30.
Background: In general, I haven't cared much for distortion pedals, and haven't bought many., though I've tried a bunch. I usually like ODs and Clean Boosts. I occasionally need distortion boxes on projects, but I always wind up disappointed and sell them off. Welp, here's the gigantic exception to the rule. This pedal sounds more like an amp than a pedal. A good amp.
The pedal is simple. There are three knobs and a switch. There's volume, gain and a tone knob that makes the pedal brighter or darker. The switch takes the pedal from Tight and more aggressive, to Fat, and sweeter, with a bigger bottom end and a more syrupy feel. In Tight mode, I was able to get nice sounds whether the gain was up or nearly off, where it could double as a clean boost! But where the pedal shined with my guitar, lovingly known as The Hammer Of The Gods, a McCarty Singlecut made for the PRS artist program (not an Artist model, it's a Private Stock grade guitar made to send out to artists, of which I am not one), was in Fat mode.
Boys, it is rich, buttery, amp-like, sweet, and so juicy sounding that I had a hard time putting the guitar down. The pedal has the girth of a very good 100 watt amp when run through the DG30. There is none of that typical grindy transistor nonsense, even though it's a transistor pedal. It's oh-so-smooth. Great harmonics, great touch sensitivity, pinch harmonics sound delicious.
What distinguishes these pedals is that Reinhold Bogner engaged the services of the famed recording console and microphone designer Rupert Neve, to make a small transformer for the pedal, something that is very unusual (In fact, other than the JHS pedal that apes a Neve console, I don't know of any others).
Rupert Neve has always been an advocate of transformer-equipped gear. Just as with guitar amps, a good transformer can make all the difference in studio gear. Typically Neve's equipment has very high bandwidth, low noise, and a big sound with a solid low end and a 3D kind of high end without being harsh. This is something he attributes to his choice of transformers. Even his mics get special transformers, and of course his consoles are known for them. Neve is the father of high bandwidth equipment that covers frequencies the ears can't identify, but he claims we hear it in the audible range (as sensation, as interaction between harmonics, etc).
Neve consoles and other gear have been legendary since the late 60s, and Rupert is in his 80s now, but the man can hear. His original Focusrite console took things a step further in the early 90s, and the starting price - starting price, mind you - was a cool 1 million dollars. Only a handful were made before Focusrite said, "We're not gonna sell a lot of million dollar consoles, let's also make stuff other studios can buy." There's one at Ocean Way in LA still. It's in demand for big-time record projects after more than 20 years, and used Neve consoles still command top dollar.
Transformers also reduce noise induced between pieces of gear connected to each other, and well designed ones can help with grounding issues. In any case, the Burnley sounds fantastic. It doesn't sound like any other distortion pedal I've tried.
Finally, it's built well. I mean, really well. The outer casing is machined aluminum, it looks like money, and the knobs are solid, turn with the feel of high end hi fi gear, and while I cheaped out and went with the all-aluminum version, big spenders can get real bubinga wood on top for an extra $50.
Oh, and there's a light that changes color depending on how hard you pick!
Here's a pic of where the pedal sits in my chain. The guitar signal goes first into a Suhr buffer, which splits the signal to both the Peterson strobe tuner, and to the Xotic BB. I've got the Xotic set up more as an OD in the pic, with a bright, natural sound.
From there it hits the Burnley, and while the gain knob is set pretty low, the way I have the DG set up, trust me, it smokes. Coming out of the burnley it goes to a true bypass loop box, that I use with digital pedals (right now they're not on the board) so I can stay all-analog, and switch the digital stuff in when I need it, and bypass it without tone suck when I don't.
Background: In general, I haven't cared much for distortion pedals, and haven't bought many., though I've tried a bunch. I usually like ODs and Clean Boosts. I occasionally need distortion boxes on projects, but I always wind up disappointed and sell them off. Welp, here's the gigantic exception to the rule. This pedal sounds more like an amp than a pedal. A good amp.
The pedal is simple. There are three knobs and a switch. There's volume, gain and a tone knob that makes the pedal brighter or darker. The switch takes the pedal from Tight and more aggressive, to Fat, and sweeter, with a bigger bottom end and a more syrupy feel. In Tight mode, I was able to get nice sounds whether the gain was up or nearly off, where it could double as a clean boost! But where the pedal shined with my guitar, lovingly known as The Hammer Of The Gods, a McCarty Singlecut made for the PRS artist program (not an Artist model, it's a Private Stock grade guitar made to send out to artists, of which I am not one), was in Fat mode.
Boys, it is rich, buttery, amp-like, sweet, and so juicy sounding that I had a hard time putting the guitar down. The pedal has the girth of a very good 100 watt amp when run through the DG30. There is none of that typical grindy transistor nonsense, even though it's a transistor pedal. It's oh-so-smooth. Great harmonics, great touch sensitivity, pinch harmonics sound delicious.
What distinguishes these pedals is that Reinhold Bogner engaged the services of the famed recording console and microphone designer Rupert Neve, to make a small transformer for the pedal, something that is very unusual (In fact, other than the JHS pedal that apes a Neve console, I don't know of any others).
Rupert Neve has always been an advocate of transformer-equipped gear. Just as with guitar amps, a good transformer can make all the difference in studio gear. Typically Neve's equipment has very high bandwidth, low noise, and a big sound with a solid low end and a 3D kind of high end without being harsh. This is something he attributes to his choice of transformers. Even his mics get special transformers, and of course his consoles are known for them. Neve is the father of high bandwidth equipment that covers frequencies the ears can't identify, but he claims we hear it in the audible range (as sensation, as interaction between harmonics, etc).
Neve consoles and other gear have been legendary since the late 60s, and Rupert is in his 80s now, but the man can hear. His original Focusrite console took things a step further in the early 90s, and the starting price - starting price, mind you - was a cool 1 million dollars. Only a handful were made before Focusrite said, "We're not gonna sell a lot of million dollar consoles, let's also make stuff other studios can buy." There's one at Ocean Way in LA still. It's in demand for big-time record projects after more than 20 years, and used Neve consoles still command top dollar.
Transformers also reduce noise induced between pieces of gear connected to each other, and well designed ones can help with grounding issues. In any case, the Burnley sounds fantastic. It doesn't sound like any other distortion pedal I've tried.
Finally, it's built well. I mean, really well. The outer casing is machined aluminum, it looks like money, and the knobs are solid, turn with the feel of high end hi fi gear, and while I cheaped out and went with the all-aluminum version, big spenders can get real bubinga wood on top for an extra $50.
Oh, and there's a light that changes color depending on how hard you pick!
Here's a pic of where the pedal sits in my chain. The guitar signal goes first into a Suhr buffer, which splits the signal to both the Peterson strobe tuner, and to the Xotic BB. I've got the Xotic set up more as an OD in the pic, with a bright, natural sound.
From there it hits the Burnley, and while the gain knob is set pretty low, the way I have the DG set up, trust me, it smokes. Coming out of the burnley it goes to a true bypass loop box, that I use with digital pedals (right now they're not on the board) so I can stay all-analog, and switch the digital stuff in when I need it, and bypass it without tone suck when I don't.
Last edited:
