OK, School me on the Shiva

Hey new to this forum (Been lurking for a while) and doing a little amp shopping and wondering about the Shiva.
I am not really a metal player any more so I need a good, all around head/combo for gigs, takes pedals well (Wedding band) and can still do a Gary Moore/Skyes type leads (with a booster if needed) and sounds good at low volumes.
I would like to play the damn thing but the nearest dealer is a two hour drive and it would be easier to explain a new girlfriend than shopping for a new amp.
SO, what is the skinny? Any help is really appreciated.

I woulnd't say it sounds bad at low volume, but I find it hard to play unless it's turned up. When it's cranked it gets real fluid and loads of added upper harmonics and all, but it's a damn loud bugger then.

yeah check out the 20th anniversary shiva. Can pretty much nail what your describing or a Bogner Duende

I have a Shiva and a Shiva 20th anniversary. Although the 20th Anniversary is an incredible amp, I still love my Shiva just as much. The cleans on the Shiva vs Shiva 20th are different. I like the cleans on my regular Shiva better. They're janglier and more alive sounding. It happens to be one of my all-time favorite clean sounds. The cleans on the Shiva 20th are almost as good; thicker and a little warmer sounding.

The overdrive on the Shiva is awesome. I bought it basically to replace my Marshall, and that's basically how I use it - as my Marshall type sound. It has great low end and a little dark sounding. I don't have to struggle with the treble response like I did with my Marshalls, although I like to keep my bright switches on all the time on both channels.

Superb amp. Not a whole lot of gain. It doesn't rely on lots of preamp gain to get the sound. You will need an OD to push it a bit if you're using single coils. Humbuckers push it enough to get a good amount of distortion but for liquid lead tones, you might push it a little. I use a Maxon VOP9 on mine.

Yeah so definitely get a Shiva man. I don't know anyone who didn't like the Shiva. About the only complaint I ever heard was it didn't have enough gain, and that was coming from one of those Line 6 POD guys. Even if you don't get to try one out, I would tell you that you would most likely love it if you just went ahead and bought one.

Not alot of gain???? I came across this video and it sounds pretty gainy to me

yngzaklynch":2xb6mmih said:

Not alot of gain???? I came across this video and it sounds pretty gainy to me

Click to expand...

Dude that's the 20th anniversary Shiva you're listening to. The regular Shiva, which I was referring to, doesn't have as much gain as the 20th anniversary model.