XTC for metal

[buriedorburned]

I'm playing in a death metal band, have been using a KH3 until recently, but our practise room got broken into and the modules got stolen. So i needed something quick to replace it, so I have an XTC on the way.

I'm not expecting it to be anything like my old KH3, but I know it has enough gain on tap. I'm going to boost it with my Maxon OD808, likely have to really cut the mids, and use the depth and presence on my RM50 to help acheive the right tight modern metal tone.

Anything else i should be considering?
Any simple mods maybe?

 

[Mattfig]

First off, sorry to hear your stuff was stolen...

Second, XTC has some gain for sure, you will have to dial it in just as you said, cut the mids, give her a nice boost in front, and you'll be happy....

 

[buriedorburned]

Thanks Matt.

Would a compressor pedal help also?
I've never used one, mainly because I always used Engl / 5150 type metal tones, so I've never felt the need for one.

 

[Mattfig]

Don't really need a compressor with the XTC, just a nice, slightly gritty, boost in front...

 

[buriedorburned]

Got the XTC today, its quite impressive.

The last one i had was in 2008 and i only played lead with it. I didnt know much about the real thing or what it could really do. I used it in combo with a blackface and Ultra XL.

Fast-forward and this (blackfaced) XTC is thick, crunchy and with a good boost it can pretty much do anything. It feels like it has a lick more gain than an SL+, but with smoother mids.
With the presence at 9 o'clock, and an OD out front, its fat, punchy and handles death metal with ease!

I'm more impressed than i thought i'd be, and ill admit that stock modules generally better than they get credit for. Sure they're not comparable to the modded stuff, but tonewise they're typically decent, and are largely far better than anything else in their price range (which happens to be high end pedals).

 

[DSey9]

The Sacred Groove XTC works great for metal.

 

[Ulf]

If it is a stock Randall XTC it is not my first choice for metal. Too fat for fast stuff, but great for slower parts. It has a lot of Bass.
The modded Ecstasy by Salvation is a different thing. It captures the idea of the Bogner sound pretty good.

 

[VitaminG]

Got the XTC today, its quite impressive.

The last one i had was in 2008 and i only played lead with it. I didnt know much about the real thing or what it could really do. I used it in combo with a blackface and Ultra XL.

Fast-forward and this (blackfaced) XTC is thick, crunchy and with a good boost it can pretty much do anything. It feels like it has a lick more gain than an SL+, but with smoother mids.
With the presence at 9 o'clock, and an OD out front, its fat, punchy and handles death metal with ease!

I'm more impressed than i thought i'd be, and ill admit that stock modules generally better than they get credit for. Sure they're not comparable to the modded stuff, but tonewise they're typically decent, and are largely far better than anything else in their price range (which happens to be high end pedals).

I found the stock XTC to be a surprisingly versatile module too. Forget my footswitch for band practice once and found that XTC cleaned up quite nicely when rolling the guitar volume down.