glassjaw7
Well-known member
Bumping this one - now that you've had the Classic and 20th for awhile can you you give a detailed comparison of the two?¿
Lifeson1
Member
What a setup! Tonal bliss is an understatement. Congrats, man!
GOHOINC
Well-known member
"If you're gonna compare a Hanzo sword, you compare it to every other sword ever made... that wasn't made by Hattori Hanzo."
Preemptive apologies on the novel...
They are both fantastic on their own but running them together is as close to my ideal tone as I have ever gotten. I still have a little more EQ tweaking I may do but in general I am very happy with my tone on all 3 channels currently.
I recently changed cabs on the 20th from a front loaded Diezel 4x12 with V30s and G12T75s in an X pattern, like an uberkab, to a Bogner OS212 loaded with a Creamback H75 and a M65. This made a huge difference, especially on the blue/plexi and red channels. While I liked the clean tones and plexi mode of the 20th on the front loaded cab, the red channel always sounded thinner than I like even after rolling off the presence, treble and mids, upping the bass and setting excursion to L. I got to a point that I had a good tone on all three channels but still thought my Classic/412st sounded better for dirty tones. Running the 20th through the OS212 I am much happier overall but am still in the honeymoon phase with this setup.
Here is a channel by channel run down...
Green - This is the biggest difference between the two, IMO. The 20th stays cleaner at higher gain settings and sounds much fuller than the Classic. There is definitely a difference in tonal quality but this is also enhanced by the dual excursion and presence controls available on the 20th. I'm not saying the clean on the Classic is bad, it is actually very good and usable but the 20th is still better in this regard, IMO. To get the best clean tone on the Ecstasy Classic the green channel wanted different presence and or excursion settings than the blue/red channels which isnt an option. Even if it was an option the 20th still has more clean headroom than the Classic.
Settings used: (based on a clock face)
Volume - MAX on both
Gain - 20th = 2 , Classic = Noon
Treble - 1:30
Mid - 11
Bass - 3
Pre EQ - B1
Excursion - M
Presence - 20th = 9, Classic = Noon
Blue - I always run the Classic in blue mode to take advantage of the boost as in plexi mode it is disabled. The cab change made the biggest difference here. Running the 20th through the Diezel cab I preferred to stay in Plexi mode, and share the Excursion and Presence settings with the green channel. Switching the 20th to the Bogner/Creamback cab, plexi mode was dark and muddy. To sound good it required presence settings so high that it made whichever channel I paired it with sound thin. I am now running the 20th in blue mode. As such I'd say the blue channel on the 20th and classic are very similar in core tone but the 20th is a little tighter on the bottom end so I prefer to run the 20th with excursion on L with the Classic on M.
Volume - 3:30
Gain - MAX
Treble - 1
Mid - 3
Bass - 3
Pre EQ - B1
Excursion - 20th = L, Classic = M
Presence - 1
Red - I did not care for this channel that much on the 20th running through the Diezel cab as it always sounded a little thin, but it is right at home on the Bogner cab. This has always been my favorite channel on the classic, perfect for Jerry tones... A bit more saturation and overall gain available on the 20th. Probably the most similar channel between the two. Again, the bottom end is a little tighter on the 20th and as a result I am running it with excursion on L and the classic on M.
Volume - 3:30
Gain - 1:30
Treble - 1
Mid - 3
Bass - 3
Pre EQ - B1
Excursion - 20th = L, Classic = M
Presence - 1
Preemptive apologies on the novel...
They are both fantastic on their own but running them together is as close to my ideal tone as I have ever gotten. I still have a little more EQ tweaking I may do but in general I am very happy with my tone on all 3 channels currently.
I recently changed cabs on the 20th from a front loaded Diezel 4x12 with V30s and G12T75s in an X pattern, like an uberkab, to a Bogner OS212 loaded with a Creamback H75 and a M65. This made a huge difference, especially on the blue/plexi and red channels. While I liked the clean tones and plexi mode of the 20th on the front loaded cab, the red channel always sounded thinner than I like even after rolling off the presence, treble and mids, upping the bass and setting excursion to L. I got to a point that I had a good tone on all three channels but still thought my Classic/412st sounded better for dirty tones. Running the 20th through the OS212 I am much happier overall but am still in the honeymoon phase with this setup.
Here is a channel by channel run down...
Green - This is the biggest difference between the two, IMO. The 20th stays cleaner at higher gain settings and sounds much fuller than the Classic. There is definitely a difference in tonal quality but this is also enhanced by the dual excursion and presence controls available on the 20th. I'm not saying the clean on the Classic is bad, it is actually very good and usable but the 20th is still better in this regard, IMO. To get the best clean tone on the Ecstasy Classic the green channel wanted different presence and or excursion settings than the blue/red channels which isnt an option. Even if it was an option the 20th still has more clean headroom than the Classic.
Settings used: (based on a clock face)
Volume - MAX on both
Gain - 20th = 2 , Classic = Noon
Treble - 1:30
Mid - 11
Bass - 3
Pre EQ - B1
Excursion - M
Presence - 20th = 9, Classic = Noon
Blue - I always run the Classic in blue mode to take advantage of the boost as in plexi mode it is disabled. The cab change made the biggest difference here. Running the 20th through the Diezel cab I preferred to stay in Plexi mode, and share the Excursion and Presence settings with the green channel. Switching the 20th to the Bogner/Creamback cab, plexi mode was dark and muddy. To sound good it required presence settings so high that it made whichever channel I paired it with sound thin. I am now running the 20th in blue mode. As such I'd say the blue channel on the 20th and classic are very similar in core tone but the 20th is a little tighter on the bottom end so I prefer to run the 20th with excursion on L with the Classic on M.
Volume - 3:30
Gain - MAX
Treble - 1
Mid - 3
Bass - 3
Pre EQ - B1
Excursion - 20th = L, Classic = M
Presence - 1
Red - I did not care for this channel that much on the 20th running through the Diezel cab as it always sounded a little thin, but it is right at home on the Bogner cab. This has always been my favorite channel on the classic, perfect for Jerry tones... A bit more saturation and overall gain available on the 20th. Probably the most similar channel between the two. Again, the bottom end is a little tighter on the 20th and as a result I am running it with excursion on L and the classic on M.
Volume - 3:30
Gain - 1:30
Treble - 1
Mid - 3
Bass - 3
Pre EQ - B1
Excursion - 20th = L, Classic = M
Presence - 1
glassjaw7
Well-known member
Cool, thank you for that. I'm really enjoying my Classic but you know..grass is always greener! A great clean is very important to me but I am pretty satisfied with the Classic green (not quite as good as the Mesa clean I am used to but still very good)
I can't imagine anything topping the Blue channel on this amp and I agree that Red is awesome on the Classic, although I would like a hair more tightness and upper mid punch. Might try the Cameron or "20th" mod on the Red. Going to MN this weekend and I'm hoping Willies has a 20th in stock. Thanks
I can't imagine anything topping the Blue channel on this amp and I agree that Red is awesome on the Classic, although I would like a hair more tightness and upper mid punch. Might try the Cameron or "20th" mod on the Red. Going to MN this weekend and I'm hoping Willies has a 20th in stock. Thanks
GOHOINC
Well-known member
No problem. I've heard from and read that a number of folks who had the Classic and got a 20th wound up going back to the Classic. Most of them said the same thing, they preferred the feel of the classic. My guess is that the tighter bottom end of the 20th made the difference. I've also read that alot of people love the classic but would love a bit more gain out of it. The blue and red channels are so incredibly similar in tone that the only way feasible to push more gain out them and keep a good articulate tone is to tighten up the bottom so you pick your poison I suppose. I think its really too hard to pick between the two so running both is the only viable option that I can see... 
Ventura
Well-known member
Love my EL34 20thA-XTC....
Killer amp!!!! Glad you're loving it man - it's a masterpiece!!
Peace,
V.
Killer amp!!!! Glad you're loving it man - it's a masterpiece!!
Peace,
V.
Atropos_Project
New member
I miss my 20th, and that headshell is fantastic. May you enjoy the hell out of it!
