XTC, school me on the different versions

prsplayer86

Member
Okay, I've played a 101b and didn't care for it. I was playing a Diamond Heretic at the time, and the bogner just didn't hold up to the bawls that the Diamond had. Fast forward 2 ish years, and I'm now playing a Twin Jet.. I hated the thing right out of the box, but after a solid 2 hours of knob tweaking I got that "ah... so this is why people buy Bogner" lights to go off in my head. It's completely different from any other eq set up I've ever used. So this leads me to believe that my half hour of noodling on the 101B wasn't really doing it justice.

Now I'm on the cusp of probably trading into another high gainer, and the XTC is back on my radar. I tend to like my tone warmer, and thick. I did find the harmonics on the 101b lead channel with the boost to be very nice. Leads were just easier to play. That was the upside I vividly remember about it.

So, (sorry for the long novel prior to the main question .. as usual), what are the differences between the models of the XTC's? 101b, EL34's, Classic, etc. Is one meaner than the rest? What is the most aggressive model?
 
You didn't care for it so why force it? They are all similar all other versions a little less compressed but still very compressed with top end roll off. Great versatility available. It's a very tame controllable tone which is fun to play but very safe sounding. It's a cool unique sound for sure. It's a complex gain structure but yet very even sounding.
 
prsplayer86":2uidwn4j said:
Okay, I've played a 101b and didn't care for it. I was playing a Diamond Heretic at the time, and the bogner just didn't hold up to the bawls that the Diamond had. Fast forward 2 ish years, and I'm now playing a Twin Jet.. I hated the thing right out of the box, but after a solid 2 hours of knob tweaking I got that "ah... so this is why people buy Bogner" lights to go off in my head. It's completely different from any other eq set up I've ever used. So this leads me to believe that my half hour of noodling on the 101B wasn't really doing it justice.

Now I'm on the cusp of probably trading into another high gainer, and the XTC is back on my radar. I tend to like my tone warmer, and thick. I did find the harmonics on the 101b lead channel with the boost to be very nice. Leads were just easier to play. That was the upside I vividly remember about it.

So, (sorry for the long novel prior to the main question .. as usual), what are the differences between the models of the XTC's? 101b, EL34's, Classic, etc. Is one meaner than the rest? What is the most aggressive model?

The Ecstasy isn't for you man.
 
SavageRiffer":1x4zujff said:
prsplayer86":1x4zujff said:
Okay, I've played a 101b and didn't care for it. I was playing a Diamond Heretic at the time, and the bogner just didn't hold up to the bawls that the Diamond had. Fast forward 2 ish years, and I'm now playing a Twin Jet.. I hated the thing right out of the box, but after a solid 2 hours of knob tweaking I got that "ah... so this is why people buy Bogner" lights to go off in my head. It's completely different from any other eq set up I've ever used. So this leads me to believe that my half hour of noodling on the 101B wasn't really doing it justice.

Now I'm on the cusp of probably trading into another high gainer, and the XTC is back on my radar. I tend to like my tone warmer, and thick. I did find the harmonics on the 101b lead channel with the boost to be very nice. Leads were just easier to play. That was the upside I vividly remember about it.

So, (sorry for the long novel prior to the main question .. as usual), what are the differences between the models of the XTC's? 101b, EL34's, Classic, etc. Is one meaner than the rest? What is the most aggressive model?

The Ecstasy isn't for you man.
I don't know, I've heard some pretty cool tones come from these amps. I wouldn't be so quick to brush it off. Since you were able to dial in the Uber after some patience, I'd bet you could do the same with the XTC. When I had my first SLO, I was underwhelmed until I tried some crazy EQ settings and dialed the gain back and boosted a little. Then I was amazed.
 
There really isn't a whole lot of major differences in the Ecstasy's over the years. It may but worth giving it a second chance. I wall say it can be tweaker but if you don't dig the basic tone and gain structure it may not be for you but give it a shot. I have a earlier 101B with the symbol serial # and love the thing.
 
XTC's are great amps, but I don't think any of them can be described as mean and aggressive. Warm and thick yes.
If you get to try one again, try it with a V30 cab, and note that the 101b treble control is an audio taper pot, and all the good stuff happens between 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock.
The Marvel mod for the red channel with a .68uf cap can give that channel a bit more grind and cut, while maintaining all the cool saturation and harmonics.
As with the Twin Jet, use your ears and not your eyes when EQing. Reinhold is a genius, but it takes some knob twiddling to find it.
 
Don't be afraid to use the T setting - tightens the bass up a ton and you don't have to boost.
 
The Twin Jet is far meaner and more aggressive than any XTC. If the the TJ isn't mean and aggressive enough... rest assured you'll be disappointed with the XTC.

What are you're settings on the TJ? It sounds best with some very unusual and extreme settings. I really dig mine... and play very aggressive modern metal.
 
Wizard of Ozz":901fjzx9 said:
The Twin Jet is far meaner and more aggressive than any XTC. If the the TJ isn't mean and aggressive enough... rest assured you'll be disappointed with the XTC.

What are you're settings on the TJ? It sounds best with some very unusual and extreme settings. I really dig mine... and play very aggressive modern metal.

The Tj is for sure "mean enough" in my opinion. I'm just looking for a different flavor of tone is all, and thought that I owed the XTC a do over with some knob tweaking on my end. .. ha, knobs..
 
They really are a great sounding amp, and can do quite a lot of high gain stuff. I've owned several of them, and even after owning a bunch, this last one nearly got sold for being too Thick sounding until I tried some strange settings with the presence turned up a lot and the treble up higher. Now it's one of my favorite amps.
 
If you take your time with one, it can become your desert island amp for sure.I love my 20th anniv.xtc!
 
I just posted about getting an XTC. I've spent the better part of my life trying to find a tone that is close to what is in my head.

It really is an interesting thing that people are looking for tight and modern aggressive metal tones but I find that people recommend certain amps all the time, the same ones, but the majority of what we know as "modern" metal tones were not recorded with them.

My idea of the tone I'm looking for is different than most I guess.

Anyhow, having said that, so far I REALLY like the XTC I got. I've only had it for a week or so but its pretty damn incredible.

I will update as I spend more time with it.
 
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