glassjaw7":pwyhqqhj said:
So here's the real question V. For someone like myself who needs to buy ONE amp and have it do a bit of everything and do it well...what amp??? Remember that I don't have the income to buy one and then another two years later.
Honeymoon phase aside, if you started from scratch with no amps and had to buy one to cover a lot of ground, would you go VH4, Einstein, 20th XTC w/el34's, tricked out Friedman or Fortin Marshall or other??? Don't you love all these questions?
It's a totally awesome question... I would avoid the tricked out anythings - the reason for this is to me, and in my experience, modded amps, much like hotrods, have a more defined scope - hence the reason they were mods to begin with. The real question I have to answer here is pretty simple - the VH4(S) is by far one of the most amazing, versatile, quality laden amps I've ever, ever had the pleasure of playing let alone owning. I've had 4 iterations of this amp - 3 x VH4 and 1 x VH4S (if my memory serves me correct). It is by far, SUMS above other amps, and not for the reasons many people think - it's not JUST because of Channel 3, it's because its clears and cleans and crunches and means are all top-drawer, amazing tonal offerings. It's just hands down one of the best from clean to scream. James Lugo summed it up perfectly in a post somewhere else in this RT world - it's versatile and what it does, it does perfectly. The 20thA is, and this is my saying, the "Swiss Army knife" of amps. It can be a lot of amps within an amp - it can cover a ton ground, it DRIPS with tone...and, honestly, ya can't make a bad note come from it anywhere in the entire range of what it offers. It's a masterpiece. I wouldn't be able to choose JUST ONE of these amps, they're simply masters of their class. But the difference is, Diezel's VH4 has a signature tone that's really prevalent whenever the gain structure moves into the sound...it's all Diezel. It's not a plexi-wannabe, it's not a bassman wannabe, it's not a Marsha or a Splawn or a Cameron or anything else wannabe - it's a DIEZEL. And IF that Diezel tone is what tickles yer nuts, then the VH4 is by far the bees knees. BUT!!! If a wide range of awesome tones with a somewhat less "prevalent" tone is something you seek, than the 20thA is the cats pajamas 100%. Don't flame on me here dudes - the 20thA DOES have tone and man, as mentioned, it DRIPS with amazing tone - it's SICK!!!! But I can get a lot of 'other' amp sounds out of it too - sorta like some of the aforementioned ones... And if that's your thang, then the 20thA is going to rock yer pants off. Just do yerseff a favor and get the EL34 version
Hope this makes your choosing a little easier. For years worth of discovery? I'd go with the 20thA. For a
prevalent signature tone and 100% perfection in that tone, providing it's the tone you seek and desire, the V is the Mighty Kahuna!!
Peace Y'All,
V.
Thanks! 
