Bogner Wessex V1 with the highly acclaimed Neve transformer (no longer available in the V2).

His Neve 1073 and 1081 mic preamp/EQ modules introduced in the Seventies are probably responsible for more classic guitar recordings and tones than any other single other piece of gear short of perhaps the Shure SM57 mic.

Reinhold Bogner, a modern-day legend who has made his own significant contributions to guitar tone, recently joined forces with Rupert Neve to produce a trio of pedals—the Burnley, Harlow and Wessex—that take an entirely different approach to overdrive and distortion.

These pedals are inspired by the dynamic and detailed sounds of classic Neve mixing consoles, which featured custom transformer-coupled inputs and outputs. Neve designed special custom audio transformers for these pedals, which deliver studio-quality sound, dynamics and tonal dimension that transcend the typical performance capabilities of a standard stomp box.

The sound quality and performance of all three pedals is on another level compared to the average overdrive and distortion pedal. Whereas many overdrive and distortion pedals boost everything going into it, including noise, these pedals kept the noise from a particularly troublesome single-coil guitar at bay while increasing the level of notes played quite impressively. Each pedal has its own tonal personality, but it’s a personality that complements the sound of your guitar and amp rig rather than dominating it.

The Wessex offers the widest variety of tones and textures thanks to its individual treble and bass EQ controls. Clean boost is produced by cranking up the level and keeping gain at low settings, and as the gain control is turned up the personality changes from slight grit to aggressive crunch, ending up just shy of full-on high-gain distortion. The Enhance setting boosts both bass and treble without scooping out mids to maintain full-boded tone and expressive midrange. This is the most versatile pedal of the bunch, and I recommend it as a first purchase for guitarists who can only afford one.

Bogner’s Burnley, Harlow and Wessex are studio-quality pedals that greatly expand your rig’s tonal and textural range, providing incredibly expressive overdrive and distortion tones with impressive dynamics and noise-free performance.

For 2020 Bogner seems to have somewhat altered the alliance/collaboration with Rupert Neve - and possibly swapped out that celebrated transformer type for an unspecified alternative - as the formerly visible Rupert Neve branding has disappeared from the new enclosures. I can’t say whether this was due to some sort of political fallout, or Bogner no longer wanting to pay possibly excessive royalties / licensing fees to Rupert Neve Designs, or some other circuit-design reasons. Interestingly most of the sites which feature the new V2 pedals make no mention of Rupert Neve, while some still do- including Andertons. I have not seen the underside of the pedals to see whether there is any visible branding on that side per the original - but it certainly seems to indicate some key changes that the Rupert Neve branding no longer appears on the visible surfaces of the pedal.