Splawn Amps

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seanseanhd

Member
I looking at the Splawn line and can't decide between the quick rod and the Nitro. I play classic Rock to Metal. currently have Dual Rec but missing the mid range punch of the Marshall style amps what is your opinions.
 
I've owned a Quick Rod, and Competition. I liked the Competition more, because of simplicity, but both killer. Can't go wrong!!
 
The Quick Rod is geared more towards what you are looking for. The Nitro is geared more toward metal.
 
I Love the Quickrod. Never even tried the Nitro because the QR covers all the ground I need to cover. Especially since the “new” options give you SO much versatility and ability to change sounds on the fly.
The QR’s 4 button footswitch gives you the ability change use Clean/Dirty, OD1/OD2, 2 of the 3 gears, AND the Solo boost.
I have used the QR in a variety of bands, playing anything from AC/DC to Iron Maiden to Grand Funk Railroad to Montrose to Judas Priest.
This amp KILLS at VH and if you feel like you need an extra kick, it will take pedals well too.

Anyway, obviously I’m a fan boy and even have one of my 4 QR’s for sale in my own thread.
If you need the “metal” you can go with the Nitro, any Splawn will be AMAZING...yet if you want to be able to cover a variety of tones with a single amp, the QR is an EXCELLENT choice.

Best of luck
 
Another vote for the Quick Rod. I had both a Nitro and a Quick Rod at the same time, and ended up selling the Nitro and sticking with the QR.

For what its worth, I'm a long time Mesa fan and have had just about every revision of Rectifier. The QR is my favorite high gain amp I've ever played. It'll do the classic rock thing really well, and I honestly like the metal tones of the QR more than the Nitro. Just tighter and punchier overall.

 
The QR is a spectacular amp if you like tightness and raw rock tones, my fave along with the Yeti/Chupa. In forum and communities is often compared to the Friedman BE, but it's really another thing.
 
My third Splawn head is my favorite! It's a 50 watt Competition in a small head box with the New/Old mini toggle... It's my goto gig amp while my Friedman and Marshall hold up in the home studio, all are fantastic but!! dollar per pound the Splawn is tops!
 
I owned a Nitro the first year Scott introduced them. I never could bond with it and ended up selling it six months later. Earlier this year I picked up a used 2013 QR with the drop B+ mod and LOVED it. I had a few problems with it (my/previous owners fault) and had to send it back to Scott. Long story short he’s sending me a brand new one with all the updates, and I’m really excited to get it. I own a 2014 BE100 and while they’re both in the modded Marshall vein the Splawn really gives the Friedman a run for its money and even excels beyond the Friedman at certain things. The Nitro’s more nu-Metal where the QR is more classic Marshall but can handle hard rock and metal easily.
 
Amazing amps. I have the B+ Pro Stock, which I am selling (will post this weekend). the B+ drops the overall wattage a bit down to like 80watts, according to Scott. It's a Marshall Killer, and I've owned several Marshalls as well as a Bogners, Budda. I've tried other great amps like the Smallbox, BE-100, Cherry Bomb, and my Splawn did what I liked at a much lower price. Still, those other amps are amazing.

Splawns are dynamic and responsive. They can be picky with some speakers, I found. They are SUPER quiet for high gain; when I first got mine it has a bit of a hiss, but that seemed to dissolve quickly after a few days. The loop Volume allowed me to get my tone at small to big clubs. I live in a small apartment, and it was OK for apartment use, but it's not an apartment amp. But no amp over 5 watts is an apartment amp, IMO.

I was going to get another 50w Splawn, but I've decided to go the modeler route.

I called Scott a few months back and he said the QR/PS can do Nitro whereas the Nitro has a harder time doing the QR sound.

Scott can do some custom options on his amps as well. One CANNOT go wrong with a Splawn.
 
I`ve never played a Nitro but love the Quick Rod , if you don`t need a clean a channel the Competiton might be one to consider
 
I am a huge Mesa fan but since I got a QR years ago, it's been my main amp. I have some really cool Mesa's, SLO, XTC, etc but the Splawn is my go to amp. I love it.
 
I've owned a few Splawns. My favorite was a QR with KT88s. It had the B+ or normal switch on it too. I preferred it in non-B+ mode. That amp smoked the el34 QR B+ I had and my el34 & Kt88 Nitros. I only sold that amp because my Fryette did all the QR could do an more.
 
Owned 3 QR, 2005/2006/2012. And a 2008 competition. All sounded different. Not loads different, just slightly depending on glass and QR are picky to cabs/speakers. They have a lot of oomph and resonance to them. Scott is a great guy to do business with and stands by his work
 
mhenson42":123r4ilx said:
I've owned a few Splawns. My favorite was a QR with KT88s. It had the B+ or normal switch on it too. I preferred it in non-B+ mode. That amp smoked the el34 QR B+ I had and my el34 & Kt88 Nitros. I only sold that amp because my Fryette did all the QR could do an more.
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Yeah my Sig: X cops most of the tones I like in my QR too. It's crazy but I have been a VHT guy for about 10 years now and when I first got my QR, I noticed they "felt" very similar. Had my QR since 2013 when I ordered it new. It just recently sold.
 
I was just offered a Super Sport for the Archon I'm selling/trading but have no experience with Splawns. Will the Super Sport get me into modern metal like say Deftones, Meshuggah, Periphery territory? Judging by the comments, the QR sounds like a contender as well.
 
I think the 50watt/EL34 SS will get you there for sure. I used mine with a boosts to get super tight metal tones, but I can get Deftones without a boost with my Pro Stock. I'm a huge Deftones fan.
 
Apex1Rg7X":s86s56s9 said:
I was just offered a Super Sport for the Archon I'm selling/trading but have no experience with Splawns. Will the Super Sport get me into modern metal like say Deftones, Meshuggah, Periphery territory? Judging by the comments, the QR sounds like a contender as well.
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I will say that depends on you. I play death metal with my Quick Rod without using a boost but it still feels more like a modded Marshall and not really super modern. Maybe with something like the Precision Drive or a parametric EQ.
 
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