Nitro Splawn or Friedman Brown Eye anyone have both?

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craigbeckta

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Hey,

Just wondering if anyone has or has played...

A Splawn Nitro and a Friedman Brown Eye?

The clips on the web both sound great.

If so, which one do you prefer?

Why?

What speaker or cab combination sounds
best to your ears?

Craig
 
I haven't played the brown eye(marsha) but I've owned 2 Friedman Kitchen Sinks.. In my opinion, hands down Friedman over the Nitro. Im not saying the Nitro is a bad amp but it just seemed very cold,sterile and soul less to me.. Very LOUD but there is just something off with the mids and voice of the amp.

Friedmans just have a great Jose tone with the clipped circuits. Mids are a bit darker I think than say a Cameron Jose of Fortin Cali but it is still articulate and harmonic. I would take a Friedman 7 days a week and twice on Sunday to a Splawn Nitro. Cheerz and good luck
 
...oh... and as far as speakers with Friedmans.. I have scumback m75/h75 xpatterned in a CAA 4x12 which I love. I find Greenbacks or Gh1230's seem to work well too. Can't go wrong with StoneAge, Bogner, CAA, Mills Cabs
 
I have heard demos of the Splawn Nitro
on YouTube that sound quite good.

I guess you have to hear them in person.

Craig
 
Owned a quick rod & pro mod & had a possible trade for a nitro at one point...the nitro to me sounded way to over saturated & sterile. Just very lifeless, I strongly prefered the Quick Rod then, now I play the Naked & have played the Marsha lots of times...Marsha for the win man, without a doubt. It's more lively, toneful, saturated but in a very intelligent & useful way...Marsha for the win bud hands down
-Brent
 
I absolutely love my Super Comp (single channel Nitro). However, I didn't really care for the Pro Mod or Competition I owned (they were early models).

FWIW, there have been tweaks to the original Nitro design. I have never heard an older one, but judging on how my Super Comp sounds...........I would guess that many of the Nitro complaints stem from the older voicing. I read people saying they are too bassy and not enough "soul". I don't have those problems at all. And I sure wouldn't call it oversaturated. I play old school metal with the gain around 12:00-1:00 and its very open sounding/articulate gain. The single channel Super Comp also has the "Mode" switch which supposedly puts it closer to the Quick Rod voice............I prefer this mode.
 
Never have payed the Nitro, but I own a BE/Marsha and a KS and it would be hard to imagine the Nitro even coming close.
 
I played Steve K's Friedman thing and liked it....Anything splawn I can't stand...tried em all
 
I owned a Nitro and it went away from here and how. I could get one single sound from it and after that NO! maybe each person can get their own thing going with an amp. But I paid $1950.00 for the amp new and was fortunate to get my $1950.00 back. :yes:
On the other hand the Friedman modded JCM 800 I have is one of the greatest amps I have ever played and owned. The amp has feel. :rock:
It has multiple choices for tones. You have a good control for more than one single thing. Now in all fairness, these two amps are not apples and oranges to start with, they are in my eyes made for different styles of music. And the Flag ship of Splawn's product lines would be the Quickrod not the Nitro. But between the two Amps you(OP) asked about, Friedman is my vote also.
Not based on a type of music but on the variety, control, and feel.
Those things are important to me because I don't want to play night after night and not have the feel between my rig and myself and my playing. Without that it's just playing scales :lol: :LOL:
 
What is the best Marshall for the
Kitchen Sink Mod?

Plexi?

JMP?

JCM800?

Or is the Friedman Brown Eye
the best option?

Do they sound similar to a
Soldano SLO with the mods?

I suppose if you could get a
deal on an old Marshall that
might be the cheaper option.

Let me know...

Craig
 
Right now there are a few amps for sale that are already modded by Dave Friedman.
So if you are looking then you are in luck. :yes:
 
shoot,NO CONTEST!!! ...FRIEDMAN "BROWN EYE" over the others that you've mentioned(and i've played them all ;) )
 
I've played them all. I own two Quick Rods, a Nitro, and a Chupacabra 50. Dave's work is stellar but it's all about what sound you're looking for. Switching my Nitro to KT88's made it way more bottom - heavy and saturated (I changed it back.). I'm trying to get the exact specifications from Scott to mod one of my Quick Rods to KT88's to check that out. Both are currently EL34B.

If you want more classic Marshall, go with Friedman. If you want a more modern sound go with Nitro.
 
The Friedman Browneye with Dave's custom spec'd transformers- Incredible. These are 2 completely different amps and are miles apart. Pony up and get the browneye.
Peace, Wade
 
craigbeckta":9l1wts8z said:
What is the best Marshall for the
Kitchen Sink Mod?

Plexi?

JMP?

JCM800?

Or is the Friedman Brown Eye
the best option?

Do they sound similar to a
Soldano SLO with the mods?

I suppose if you could get a
deal on an old Marshall that
might be the cheaper option.

Let me know...

Craig
Click to expand...

The older the better in my opinion. My 1975 with KC sounds a tad smoother than my 1981 JCM 800. Side by side after 10 minutes of A/B I can't tell them apart.

If you like Friedman's take on modded Marshalls you will do good with the Brown eye or a modded Marshall.
 
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