How does the Shiva do at low volumes? + a few other question

[Marshall Freak]

I don't mean bedroom volumes or anything like that, but for playing with guys using 20 watt amps etc, does the master volume work well enough to get it down to that kind of level, and still sound good? I've had 3 XTC's and they were all pretty decent at low volume, but I've never played a Shiva. Hows the tone compared to an XTC? Does it do low gain stuff well? Does it take pedals well?

 

[strungup]

Hey Chris I think the newer version with the bright switches would have solved some of the problems you were struggling with. I liked the older version a lot and I love this newer one.

I think the master volume works very well. I can play with the kids sleeping and get good tone not as good as if its bumped a little but very nice tone. I can get great tone around TV volumes.

OD pedals when I had an older version like Chris had I didn't find any pedals that worked well with the amp but i didn't try a bunch. The newer version is still picky about pedals but some pedals sound amazing with the amp

I can't comment on the XTC since I never played one.

Lower gain up through hard rock the shiva does very well. If you play mostly heavy stuff you might find the gain a little lacking. To my friend with the boost on the gain is almost there but not enough. To me its awesome.

I think the shiva is a love it or hate it type of tone. The more I play it the more I love it.

 

[RockStarNick]

I loved the tone from my Shiva, but in my opinion, it HAD to be cranked in order to really sound like it was "supposed" to.

Didn't really, really love it at bedroom/lower volumes at all.

 

[ratter]

The Duende is a great choice for lower-gain, lower-wattage Bogner tone. It didn't have enough gain for me when I had one but apparently the newer revision has more.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

I don't mean bedroom volumes or anything like that, but for playing with guys using 20 watt amps etc, does the master volume work well enough to get it down to that kind of level, and still sound good? I've had 3 XTC's and they were all pretty decent at low volume, but I've never played a Shiva. Hows the tone compared to an XTC? Does it do low gain stuff well? Does it take pedals well?

My old one really came alive at louder than bedroom volumes.

 

[strungup]

I agree with the coming to life when the volume is turned up but he is talking about playing with 20 watt amps not bedroom volumes if I understand him correctly. I think at those volumes the shiva will be shinning. When I use it at bedroom volumes it is not glorious but it doesn't suck either....

 

[Rampage]

The Shivas that I had definitely liked volume, however they weren't as bad as some amps I have either owned or played. At practice volumes you can get them to breathe a bit, however you won't be able to get the same compression out of the power section as you would a 20 watter.

The Shiva does the lower gain thing very well. I consider it to be like a darker, more polished Marshall. There isn't a ton of gain on tap, but you can go anywhere from a slightly overdriven blues tone to the hard rock/'80s metal thing.

These amps also love pedals out front. Forget about needing some boutique OD. Whip an unmodified Boss DS-1 out front and it will sound great. I felt reverb worked really well out front, and delay didn't even sound all that bad. The loop on the newer models ('07 and later) works well for both rack gear and pedals, although I never tried both simultaneously.

 

[TX6Strings]

Yeah it'll sound pretty good at reasonable levels.

Pick up an Alchemist for half the price...it'll do the same thing and more.

 

[orangekick]

My Shiva sounds good at low volumes, it sounds best once I start to get the volume past 9:00. It is easily the best master volume amp that I own.

 

[Marshall Freak]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not talking about bedroom volume at all, but playing with cranked eighteen to twenty watt amps, (Marshall 2061 and/or Reinhardt eighteen) So, extremely low volume wasn't what I was talking about.


I wish I had the money to just get another XTC since I know it would work. but right now, it's not in the cards.

 

[Marshall Freak]

One other question, any opinions on a Strat into a Shiva?

 

[Marshall Freak]

Well... I'm not sure people will agree with me, but I'll say it anyway. I thought the Shiva was weird. It would either be muffled or too "harsh" in the highs. I had a bitch of a time finding a middle ground. It's a very compressed amp and the distortion channel didn't seem to take OD pedal well for me. It would seriously squash the tone. I much preferred the amp without pedals. But even then, I never loved it.

I've never owned an XTC, but have heard a 101B a few times. To me, the XTC definitely sounds better. Not sure I can explain why, though.

I tried to talk myself into liking the Shiva, but it was kinda disappointing to me.

I can kind of hear that harshness in some of the vids and clips. Ironically, I hear less of it in your vids than the others, maybe it's because you'd been trying to dial it out?

 

[TX6Strings]

it didn't have a punchy low end wallop.

+1 and it didn't have enough gain for me for certainly things. I never found a pedal I liked boosting the gain channel with either...it only compressed it more and made it buzzy.

 

[Marshall Freak]

I was secretly kinda hoping it had something similar to the XTC blue channel, for the lead channel.

I guess I need to play one first, and there aren't any within 4 hours of me.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not talking about bedroom volume at all, but playing with cranked eighteen to twenty watt amps, (Marshall 2061 and/or Reinhardt eighteen) So, extremely low volume wasn't what I was talking about.

It would do fine in that situation imo unless you're looking for powertube distortion.

 

[billm408]

I was secretly kinda hoping it had something similar to the XTC blue channel, for the lead channel.

I've owned both (still have the 101B) and the as nice as the Shiva is, you won't get the blue channel tones from a Shiva. Different voicing and dynamics. Also agree that the Shiva needs to be at gig levels for the gain channel to come to life. Otherwise, the clean side takes pedals really well if you're drowning out the other amps. IME, if you've got that XTC Blue channel tone in your head... you'll be disappointed with anything else.

 

[strungup]

Well... I'm not sure people will agree with me, but I'll say it anyway. I thought the Shiva was weird. It would either be muffled or too "harsh" in the highs. I had a bitch of a time finding a middle ground. It's a very compressed amp and the distortion channel didn't seem to take OD pedal well for me. It would seriously squash the tone. I much preferred the amp without pedals. But even then, I never loved it.

I've never owned an XTC, but have heard a 101B a few times. To me, the XTC definitely sounds better. Not sure I can explain why, though.

I tried to talk myself into liking the Shiva, but it was kinda disappointing to me.

I can kind of hear that harshness in some of the vids and clips. Ironically, I hear less of it in your vids than the others, maybe it's because you'd been trying to dial it out?

I don't like many of the shiva clips on youtube but there are a few good ones like Chris's ... This guy just posted a few new ones and this is pretty close to how I have my shiva sounding

https://www.youtube.com/user/manublock

 

[BigR]

The Duende is a great choice for lower-gain, lower-wattage Bogner tone. It didn't have enough gain for me when I had one but apparently the newer revision has more.

+1. I haven't played the older version, but my late '07/early '08 model has plenty of gain, more than I generally need, and I'm usually a high gain player.