Now I remember...

[flimz]

Last night I brought out my 20th Shiva (EL34) and matching 4x12 (V30) to band rehearsal. I had forgotten just how awesome this rig is. I was in tonal heaven all night. Fat, smooth singing sustain. Aggressive punch and clarity. Clean tone to die for.

I didnt bring any effects, just straight in. Mine was modded to have the mode switch foot-switchable, and this worked out perfectly for me. Just a small cut in gain and increase in clarity. Kinda like rolling the volume knob down on the guitar a little. Great for more bluesy passages, or melodic sections where I need a bit more detail and string separation for strumming chords etc. I love it. And then theres that BOOST! YES! The Bogner 4x12 is so heavy, but it just slays all my other cabs.

Theres something about the Shiva where everything in the eq spectrum is so much more up front and present than some of my other amps. I didnt have to do much tweaking to get in the sweet spot. I had the treble at 12 oclock, mids at 1, bass at about 3, and the excursion at 12. The clean channel bass at 10, treble at 1 with the bright switch on. Presence at 12. I had the channel volume at 1 and master at about 11. These settings blended across the channels perfectly. And those V30s were killin it.

Just wanted to share!

 

[Rdodson]

The 20th Shiva is a fantastic amp. I loved both my EL34 & KT88 models. Incredible punch with clarity.

 

[flimz]

The 20th Shiva is a fantastic amp. I loved both my EL34 & KT88 models. Incredible punch with clarity.

Which did you prefer? EL or KT?

 

[Rdodson]

Both are good - but I think the KT88s are a better fit. The way the bias works on that makes the KT's a better fit because the bias tends to drift which messes with the EL 34's

 

[flimz]

Yeah, it seems that most people who try EL34s in this amp eventually go back to the KT88s. I think Ill give them a shot too! I was loving my tones the other night, so if KTs are even better than thats another plus!

 

[Rdodson]

The EL34s, unless you are cranked, are in a bias region that might leave them in crossover distortion range. This is not the intended sound of the Shiva. It is a cold, harsh, unmusical sound.

 

[flimz]

The EL34s, unless you are cranked, are in a bias region that might leave them in crossover distortion range. This is not the intended sound of the Shiva. It is a cold, harsh, unmusical sound.

Yes this is very true. I had the channel levels at 1 oclock and the master close to noon. It was Loud and Glorious! The Shiva is a completely different animal at band volumes.

Its weird how sometimes at home levels you dont get jazzed about certain amps. Even though the Bogner master volume is awesome for low volume playing, the true nature is only revealed at jamming levels.

 

[Rdodson]

This is particularly the case for the 20th Shiva, with the sweep resonance control. The bias drift is pretty large and that is one of the reasons KT88s were chosen. The sweet spot for EL34s is much narrower than for KT88s, which are less susceptible to being in crossover if biased a bit cold.

The EL34s, unless you are cranked, are in a bias region that might leave them in crossover distortion range. This is not the intended sound of the Shiva. It is a cold, harsh, unmusical sound.

Yes this is very true. I had the channel levels at 1 oclock and the master close to noon. It was Loud and Glorious! The Shiva is a completely different animal at band volumes.

Its weird how sometimes at home levels you dont get jazzed about certain amps. Even though the Bogner master volume is awesome for low volume playing, the true nature is only revealed at jamming levels.

 

[se7en]

Definitely go with KT88's or similar and the right bias resistor.