RG955TT":qmn6wuy0 said:
Reza.
That clip does sounds good to me, closer to what I play etc. Mo, thanks for all the info. I also have a XTC 20th EL34 like you so that is my reference point. Can you tell me how the 2 amps differ to you? That would help me put my finger on it (Hagen) better. Thanks
You bet man, it's gonna be a brief though...
The EL34 20thA is a killer amp that - to me - really encapsulates the 70s, 80s, and into the 90s style of crunch, crush and heavy rock and a bit'o metal. It's the best Swiss Army knife of amps I have ever had the pleasure of owning and playing - Class A-AB, Full Power/Half Power, Old/New, yada yada yada....not to mention the excursions and all this wickedly cool shaping capability. The XTC is loose and greasy. It's a great players amp that can do a ton of great tones - a TON!!! It feels great to play, it's got lots of punch and volume, and really sounds rich. I like the amp with the KT77s (Gold Lion) as it added a level of overtones to the amp. It's like the best modded bionic Marshall'esque amp in the world. In my humble opine.
The Hagen for me was Peter's shift into taking the signature Diezel tone we've all grown to love, and made IT a bit greasy and loose too. But not sloppy. It's a slippery sounding and playing amp if you want it to be. I come from a couple years of VH4 and VH4S experience. I love that amp. But it's really a revealing amp if you're not on your game, and it's also not forgiving in its response to playing. It's a brutal, thunderous, percussive, surgical amp. Not dry, amazingly 3D, beautifully rich, dead quiet, but it's all about that Ch.3 siggy Diezel tone - and it's very surgical. Not like a VHT/Fryette, as they're super dry, but in its own way, the VH4 is "THE" VH4 and Diezel tone, and it's hard to grease it up (hell, I can't think of another descriptor for this, sorry). So, when the Hagen came out, I got one, and I love it. It's easier to play, easier to let it "play itself", reacts nicely to feedback call and response. If the VH4 was The Terminator (you know, one word militant answers, crushingly powerful and potent, and direct), the Hagen is a bit like Wolverine (my gawd this is a horrible comparo)... Has a sense of humor, playful, but also throws a killer mackdaddy beating down when need be and does it with a smile.
The VH4 is straight faced when it destroys the stage. The Hagen has a smirk.
Does that make ANY sense?
Bottom line, my musical pursuits have moved away from the calculative chugga chugga style of music, into a more bluesy based heavier style, I like a little more personality and looseness. Honestly, I also wanted to meld two amps together to match up sonically. I was going with the Hagen and the 20thA, but I actually prefer the VH4 and the 20thA. They're more different, therefore, more complementary. The Hagen has the same properties I love in the 20thA, but with Diezel's touch to it.
I'm done.
Mo
