Bogner help needed, XTC 101b vs 20th XTC vs Goldfinger 90

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BaRTY

BaRTY

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Help needed, folks,
Now I own the 101B and Goldfinger 90 (EL34s).
I love them both, but tonewise I favor the Goldfinger 90. It feels a tad open, less chewy, more "raw" and traditional, "marshally". Ecstasy feels a little bit compressed even on low gain. Ideal feel for me is a plexi marshall. It breathes under your fingers.

What kind of beast is a 20th Anniversary Ecstasy? Does it inherit the 101B character?
I love the Goldfinger 90, but want to understand the 20th Anniversary XTC.
 
I think the 20th Anniversary XTC is the best amp in the world, especially with the 6L6s. I miss mine terribly.

It is more open and less compressed than the 101b - I've had two of those as well, both of which were amazing. However, if you are going to use the fx loop, it does squish. The loop is a good one but it does alter the tone and feel of the amp. It is much more Marshally when you switch it out of the circuit.

The Helios is MUCH more open (to a fault almost as it sounds like a metal-panel Marshall and not a '68) and the Friedman line is going to be more Marshall tone-wise.

I only got rid of my 20th to get a Helios, which was a good amp, but it was a bad trade for me.

Here is a Strat through my old 20th:
 
Thanks, Ron. Have you tried a Goldfinger 90?
What have you got now? Did you sell Helios?
 
I have a 100B which is even more "open' than the 20th. I like the ATMA better than the XTC for what you're talking about.
 
I have both a 20th EL34 and an XTC Classic as well as an Atma. In the past I have also had the 6l6 shiva and the 20th Shiva with KT88s and a rev. blue Uber. I find the 20th to be a touch more compressed than the classic but if offers more gain as a result. Overall, an XTC is an XTC with slightly different flavors available but overall the DNA is the same I believe. The 6L6 Shiva was the most open, woody, classic sounding tone out of all the Bogners I've had but also had the least gain, it was far more suited to classic rock, blues and vintage tones. I think the Goldfinger is a substantially different animal than all of those although I dont have direct experience with it. I think the Helios is supposed to be the most Marshally Bogner though and if you are looking for hard rock or classic metal it might be your best choice outside of a Marshall.
 
Dude, I could say a lot, but all I'm going to say in response to your post is that the Goldfinger 90 is a sorely overlooked amp. It's so, so damned good yet seems to float right under most people's radar. It's one of the amps I regret letting go the most. With all the Marshall style boutique amps out there, the Goldfinger just kind of sits back like a quiet king. It blows away most boutiques out there. It can really rock, but you need a couple of pedals to really diversify with high gain because the built-in gain boost is pretty transparent and seems to function more like a clean boost. The Goldfinger is the best Bogner amp for use with the Bogner pedals too in my opinion. The XTC blue and red, Uber, Wessex, La Grange, all of them.
 
i absolutely love my Goldfinger. I just want to make sure that I made the right choice of all options. The amps I did not try are the XTC 20thA, Shivas and Helios.
 
My first Bogner was a Goldfinger 90. I loved it and thought it was a hidden treasure. Most people scooped up the 45, but I much prefer bigger power sections and bigger glass. The cleans were outstanding, as you know. I think I liked the loud 69 setting on the overdrive channel as it seemed more open and dynamic. I would hit that with a boost. Killer reverb as well. I also tried various effects in the pre loop, which I though was a great idea, albeit a bit noisy. Great amp with great features and a really cool foot switch!
After the GF90, I got a Shiva 20th. More aggressive gain. Also great cleans and reverb. A bit more compression the the GF90, but awesome fluid lead tones without needing a boost.
I now have a Helios 100, and an XTC 20th. Ive compared these 2 in other posts, but of all the Bogner amps Ive owned, the Helios is the most raw and marshally. It doesnt have the features or flexibility of the others, but it has a very cool old school mojo that is hard to resist. Not quite as polished as a Friedman BE100.
For me, the king of them all is my XTC20th with EL34s. Any time I have the opportunity to get those channel masters up around 11-12occlock, Im blown away.
 
BaRTY":1srkmaa4 said:
Thanks, Ron. Have you tried a Goldfinger 90?
What have you got now? Did you sell Helios?
Click to expand...

I did sell my Helios to get a '97 Ecstasy, which was a great amp. But now I have a Friedman BE100.

The thing that no other amp I've ever tried could match was the cleans the 20th XTC had with the 6L6s. Wow.

I hear that the GF90 is great, but I have no experience with it. I'm really a big fan of a JCM800 front-end matched with a JTM45-sounding power section.
 
flimz":56ppryge said:
My first Bogner was a Goldfinger 90. I loved it and thought it was a hidden treasure. Most people scooped up the 45, but I much prefer bigger power sections and bigger glass. The cleans were outstanding, as you know. I think I liked the loud 69 setting on the overdrive channel as it seemed more open and dynamic. I would hit that with a boost. Killer reverb as well. I also tried various effects in the pre loop, which I though was a great idea, albeit a bit noisy. Great amp with great features and a really cool foot switch!
After the GF90, I got a Shiva 20th. More aggressive gain. Also great cleans and reverb. A bit more compression the the GF90, but awesome fluid lead tones without needing a boost.
I now have a Helios 100, and an XTC 20th. Ive compared these 2 in other posts, but of all the Bogner amps Ive owned, the Helios is the most raw and marshally. It doesnt have the features or flexibility of the others, but it has a very cool old school mojo that is hard to resist. Not quite as polished as a Friedman BE100.
For me, the king of them all is my XTC20th with EL34s. Any time I have the opportunity to get those channel masters up around 11-12occlock, Im blown away.
Click to expand...

I think the Helios is actually pretty damned flexible. There is plenty of nuance in dialing in your knobs + switches + power mode. I've come to really, really appreciate my Helios 50. I struggled with the cleans for a while, but now I'm having a hard time appreciating the cleaner tones of other amps as much as I do the Helios. It's a very versatile amp in my opinion. To me, the Shiva 20th is simpler to dial in.
 
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