XTC 101b Blue vs 20th Anniversary Blue
- Thread starter peckhart
- Start date
Ventura
Well-known member
Standard 101B is an EL34 based rig, the 20thA defaulted to 6L6 in its design - so right off the bat, we need to determine apples to apples... I ordered my 20thA in EL34 format. I've played other 101Bs and also a 100B from the early days (not mine). They were all a bit different and whatnot. But going from a 101B EL34 to the 20thA EL34 wasn't too big a stretch at all sonically - the 20thA just offered more sound sculpting options on it - especially with the 1/2 power, Class A/AB modes, and micro adjust front panel switches.
My 20thA has had me do a lot of things (like play as much as possible whenever I can), but the one thing it hasn't had me do is look for another XTC
YMMV
Mo
My 20thA has had me do a lot of things (like play as much as possible whenever I can), but the one thing it hasn't had me do is look for another XTC
YMMV
Mo
Good to hear. I have been enjoying the amp so far. Would love to play a 101b, but don't have a real bad itch to actually buy one.
I have been playing Splawn Quickrods for a number of years now. I had a chance to play the new QR rig next to the XTC rig the other day. Those Quickrods are awesome amps too! I can't really say either one is better. The QR is more aggressive for sure and I do like that a lot. Its draw back is it is just not as versatile. XTC wins on the clean channel hands down. And it can achieve a lot of different gain levels with great tone where the QR is really best pretty much balls out.
I'll probably bounce back and forth between them just to mix it up and have a different flavor at times.
I have been playing Splawn Quickrods for a number of years now. I had a chance to play the new QR rig next to the XTC rig the other day. Those Quickrods are awesome amps too! I can't really say either one is better. The QR is more aggressive for sure and I do like that a lot. Its draw back is it is just not as versatile. XTC wins on the clean channel hands down. And it can achieve a lot of different gain levels with great tone where the QR is really best pretty much balls out.
I'll probably bounce back and forth between them just to mix it up and have a different flavor at times.
I agree to an extent Ventura. What happens to me is I tend to have a guitar in my hand more when I have new or different gear that I am messing around with...say to A/B some amps...than I do w/out new toys. The flip side of it is that I tend to just play whatever and don't lock into learning new songs for the band or practicing something specific.
So like right now I am behind the 8 ball on a new batch of tunes I need to learn cuz I have been farting around with comparing and dialing stuff in.
So like right now I am behind the 8 ball on a new batch of tunes I need to learn cuz I have been farting around with comparing and dialing stuff in.
Ventura
Well-known member
peckhart":1uc0isjn said:
totally getcha and would never 'dis ya, man... Was just a personal observation of mine - and a very candid one at that. I flipped and held so much gear over the years?? Borderline insanity. Did it do anything for my playing? Not so much - did a lot for my fiddling and tweaking though. But having just come back from almost 3 years of NOT playing guitars and amps, and just recently getting 3 of my 4 main rigs re-tubed and tuned up; I found I kinda locked into the tones I wanted on each channel, and started getting busy from there. If I had to knock it all down, out of the 4 amps, 1 x 4 channel preamp, I have 15 channels to choose from in total. After my re-tubing frenzy on the weekend? If I had to pick just ONE channel from ONE amp, I could totally do it.I would have thought this an impossibility some three years ago...
I've come to realize - for me - less is more
I had the same question when I owned the 101b and wondered how much better the 20th would be. I bought the 20th and sold it and had to find another 101b. To my ears- IMHO, the blue channel on the 101b is what everyone loves and talks about. the 20th blue channel was a disappointment for me. The 20th's blue channel sounded thinner with more mids (in a bad way) and had less gain. To me the 20th is a compromise of the blue channel to get a better red channel. A lot of people love the 20th but I didn't, if you love the blue channel of your 101b then don't buy a 20th IMHO save your money.
D
Deleted member 17525
Guest
I had a 20th (6L6) and a Classic at the same time.
20th had better cleans but there's a raw-ness to the Classic in the OD Channels that I preferred over the 20th. The Classic kinda reminds me of a good EL-34 Shiva but with more gain available.
20th had better cleans but there's a raw-ness to the Classic in the OD Channels that I preferred over the 20th. The Classic kinda reminds me of a good EL-34 Shiva but with more gain available.
D
Deleted member 17525
Guest
jamme61":2kzm2ulf said:
For what it's worth, I liked both the Blue and Red channel better on my XTC Classic.
Clean channel on the 20th was way better (6L6) for Fender cleans. No ghost notes on the 20th when using the "Old" setting. Those were the only 2 areas where I thought it was considerably better than a 101B or a Classic.
Still own the Classic, 20th is gone.