A question about el34 Shiva heads

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billboogie

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Played a 20th recently and really liked it....I would prefer an older one because of the lower gain structure...Any particular years better than others???
 
Have you played a regular EL34 model Shiva? They are very different from the 20th IMO, not just less available gain. You might want to play one first.
 
Thank you I.plan to. There is a used one at a GC not too far from me, I will play that one tonight. I liked some of the.clips.I.was listening to last night. Definitely prefer the el34 clips more than the 6L6 version. I hear the.difference between the clean channel from the older models and the 20th. Both gain channels on each model were different but I was very happy with the tone of the.older model. Hell I thought little Barcelona model was sounding good as well. I'm digging the mojo from the Bogner lineup and I want some.

Bill
 
Look for an older silver chassis first run (no bright buttons)
The traffic green chassis are the most frequently out there.
I would really a/b with a 20th though. A lot more gain and more
options.
 
fishyfishfish":3cwek6z0 said:
Look for an older silver chassis first run (no bright buttons)
The traffic green chassis are the most frequently out there.
I would really a/b with a 20th though. A lot more gain and more
options.
Click to expand...

Okay I've see a couple of the silver chassis on Evilbay. Yeah the 20th does have the bells and whistles. I play rock and I don't use much gain at all, I do have a couple of high gainers now so I am good there I was hoping to save a few bucks and still get some Bogner love.
 
Anybody??? Anybody?????? Nobody can tell me anything about these amps????? Information is greatly appreciated........
 
I have had several and I think the green chassis sound really great and have the usable FX loop instead of the wierd cable you have to build/use on the early ones. Mine were all EL34 head versions, cleans were really amazing and the drive channel has that vintage drive and feel, plenty of gain and volume for just about any type of music. With a BB infront you can really get some high gain tones and cool drive sounds on the clean channel...HEAVY has hell and run very hot, you have to run =C='s or you will just eat power tubes...
 
billboogie":3g25uayf said:
Thank you I.plan to. There is a used one at a GC not too far from me, I will play that one tonight. I liked some of the.clips.I.was listening to last night. Definitely prefer the el34 clips more than the 6L6 version. I hear the.difference between the clean channel from the older models and the 20th. Both gain channels on each model were different but I was very happy with the tone of the.older model. Hell I thought little Barcelona model was sounding good as well. I'm digging the mojo from the Bogner lineup and I want some.

Bill
Click to expand...

The standard Shiva's are great amps. Love their singing lead tones and squishy feel.

Keep in mind that anything at a GC could be screwed up so if it's not what you think it should be you may need to find somewhere else to try a Shiva.
 
Thank you guys.....Yes the one at GC was beat up a little so I didn't try it last night.....going to try a combo tonight.....I am leaning towards the later model heads with the bright switches and boost feature....Thanks again

Bill
 
While I'm not a Shiva expert, I have pretty good experience in the different models. Here's some info, in no particular order:

- The gain structure on the 20th is identical to the Regular EL34 - IF you have the "mode" switch dis-engaged. Same basic gain taper. But activating the gain "mode" just about doubles the saturation.

- The older Silver Panel ones sound great, but be prepared to deal with a very finicky and cumbersome effects loop situation.

- The EL34: Chimey, vintage EL34, Bassman-esque cleans. Warm, crunchy gain. Pleasantly fuzzy top end. Smooth.

- The KT88 20ths: Big, bold, glassy cleans. Tight, big, punchy gain, lots of bite. Very bold sounding. Modern, not a lot of "flex" feel from the power section.

- EL34 modded 20th: While not exactly a "best of both worlds", the EL34s add some haze and chime to the cleans, and take away some of the extreme bass and treble from the gain channel. Basically, makes it a less in your face version of the 20th, slightly more vintage. That's what I'm rocking, and I dig it.

- Keep in mind that anything "20th" from Bogner is going to have more upper-mid presence than the regular offerings. They added in some bite to go along with the growl.
 
Thank you Nick that is very helpful......I'm staying away from the silver faced models because I need a good loop.........looking forward to playing one tonight, so far I have only played the 20th/ kt88s....Has anyone tried different power tube types in an el34 model???
 
Try the loop out with what you are going to use, some like it and
Some don't. I don't use my loop so doesn't matter, but it does bring
Out some mixed opinions
 
When I test tonight I am bringing my board with me as well as my main 2x12..Thanks again

Bill
 
billboogie":1c0wgg27 said:
Thank you Nick that is very helpful......I'm staying away from the silver faced models because I need a good loop.........looking forward to playing one tonight, so far I have only played the 20th/ kt88s....Has anyone tried different power tube types in an el34 model???
Click to expand...
Shiva's are great amps...especially the the 20th Ann. The loop on all the models is pretty disappointing though.
 
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