Which 20th XTC is right for me

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Dazza1004

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I am going to bite the bullet and order a 20th XTC as a divorce present to myself. Here in the UK they are well over £3000.00 which translates to about $5000.00 US Dollars, but hey, you only live once and I've wanted one for about the past 7 years.

Question is, should I go for the EL34 or 6L6 ?

I think the EL34's will work best with the band, we do hard rock covers, but the thing that attracted me to the amp in the first place was the Vai style smooth lead tones which I suspect would be best from the 6l6.

What do you guys think.

Also, can the EL34 version be ordered with KT77's from the factory (been reading Ventura's post !!) ?

Cheers
 
Get EL 34's no doubt about it!

You can't order 77's they come in either 34's or 6l6's
 
EL34s and when they get tired, replace with Gold Lion KT77s :D

You won't be let down with the EL34 version, it's golden...

Sorry about the divorce mate. Good choice in amps though :rock: :rock: :rock:

V.
 
34's... I'm very happy with mine. Are you getting the class A mod?
 
Dazza1004":1uj1u3tt said:
se7en":1uj1u3tt said:
Are you getting the class A mod?
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What's that do then ?
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It's a toggle option that allows the amp to be run in Class A or in Class AB mode - it's an expensive option, but it's well worth it - at least to me - as I love the sonic palette that true Class A affords me. FWIW, Class A is what a lot of the older vintage amps used to run, it gave them a distintive tone, especially in dirt mode or clean. AB was engineered as a more efficient method of vacuum tube use, and it is. However it changed the tone inherent from what was known as strict Class A sounding amps.

Peace,
V.
 
Cheers for all the info.

I will find out how much the A/AB switch but to be honest, it's already expensive enough !!

Just waiting for my new credit card to show up then I will be ordering.

What speakers do you guys use with yours ?, I've got an orange 2x12 with G12-65's and a Diamond 4x12 with V30 / G12H in a X.
 
Dazza1004":1763jhzo said:
Cheers for all the info.

I will find out how much the A/AB switch but to be honest, it's already expensive enough !!

Just waiting for my new credit card to show up then I will be ordering.

What speakers do you guys use with yours ?, I've got an orange 2x12 with G12-65's and a Diamond 4x12 with V30 / G12H in a X.
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Betcha that amp is gonna sound terrific through the 4x12 loaded with those specific speakers :thumbsup:

V.
 
Ventura":1620qq8u said:
Dazza1004":1620qq8u said:
Cheers for all the info.

I will find out how much the A/AB switch but to be honest, it's already expensive enough !!

Just waiting for my new credit card to show up then I will be ordering.

What speakers do you guys use with yours ?, I've got an orange 2x12 with G12-65's and a Diamond 4x12 with V30 / G12H in a X.
Click to expand...
Betcha that amp is gonna sound terrific through the 4x12 loaded with those specific speakers :thumbsup:

V.
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I have those same speakers in a Bogner 4x12...you'll be impressed for sure...
 
xtc 20th owners, does the amp take high gain pedals well on the guitar input and/or the send/return loop ? Also those that have owned/played a Slo ; how would you compare the tone to the xtc 20th ? Does the xtc 20th have alot of headroom on any of its channels?
 
pstar":3dmasgab said:
xtc 20th owners, does the amp take high gain pedals well on the guitar input and/or the send/return loop ? Also those that have owned/played a Slo ; how would you compare the tone to the xtc 20th ? Does the xtc 20th have alot of headroom on any of its channels?
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Um, this is a tough one to answer without kinda going WTF?!?!?! :dunno:

I guess the reason I say that is the SLO and the 20thA are COMPLETELY different animals. First off, I'd have to question WHY you'd want to stick any high gain stomp in front of an amp that sounds pretty near f*ckin' perfect as is on its RED channel. Secondly, the one thing that Bogner prides itself on is phat, chewy, gnarling, tone - you wouldn't want to compress that with any given stomp without first knowing what you're getting into. I'd say, give 'er, on the clean channel, but even that's a sweet sounding channel once perfectly EQ'd.

As for headroom, it'll shake walls. It's a non master volume amp, so what you dial is what you get. The 20thA loaded with EL34s or KT77s has a lot of charm. The clean channel is a lot more shiny with the 77s. The Blue channel will lay down with any plexi or modded plex out there - IMHO. and the red channel will blow yer socks off when in capable hands.

The whole tonequest thing is a very personal journey, you may find nothing about the 20thA that you like, especially if you're going for more of an SLO kinda feel. Then again, I started out as a surgical, tight, pseudo hi-fi amp diggin' kinda guy. The 20thA had me going back a bit to more toneful songs and writing, just serious wad outta the amp :D So ya, not sure how to answer your question. But approaching the tone basics of the amp with questions about what kinda dirt you can stick in front of it is kinda akin to asking about lowering a Ferrari and putting bling chrome rims on it. It might be your schtick, but you're missing the point of the amp ;)

Peace,
V.
 
a couple owners who had the xtc felt there was not enough gain/satuation. I have a couple killer high gain pedals i will use when needed, but require good headroom. check put some of my old tones, see sven gali, ther is a few concert clips, videos floated online.
 
pstar":2za0lkgk said:
a couple owners who had the xtc felt there was not enough gain/satuation. I have a couple killer high gain pedals i will use when needed, but require good headroom. check put some of my old tones, see sven gali, ther is a few concert clips, videos floated online.
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Well, if people think the amp isn't high enough in the gain department, then perhaps they're looking at the wrong Bogner. Maybe look at the TwinJet or Rev.Blue Uberschall. The Shiva's got some serious older-school high gain on top too. The Uber is more nu-metal, but man, that amp is seriously a fine, fine amp in getting all sorts of tone - and it's BLOODY loud. I actually am a bit pissed I sold my brand new Twin Jet, it was a solid amp, I just didn't use it as much as I could have or should have.

Ya, I mean, there are some pedals that work well with the 20thA - for instance, the OCD or the BB Pre. I also use this unique little gem called the Mk.4:23Pro by Creation Audio Labs. It's a pure clean boost with, get this, 30dB of headroom. It basically drives the shit out of the front end of an amp - and the natural overdrive it creates is unlike ANYTHING I've ever had the pleasure of hearing :yes: I recommended it to a couple peeps on this forum and they've been blown away ever since getting it. Anyway, sorry for the blast - needless to say, quality amp like the 20thA needs a sweet stomp up front. And sometimes, as in the case of the Mk.4:23, it's not even dirt it wants, just awesome clean boost to create its own inherent OD.

Peace :thumbsup:
V.
 
pstar":2aw3uvlo said:
a couple owners who had the xtc felt there was not enough gain/satuation. I have a couple killer high gain pedals i will use when needed, but require good headroom. check put some of my old tones, see sven gali, ther is a few concert clips, videos floated online.
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The 20th has more than enough gain, though the 101b sometimes lacked. I think the 20th would take pedals well (better than the 101b IMO), but there's enough gain that I doubt you'll need them.
 
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