Past Splawn Quick Rod Owners-What was next (Mesa content)?

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peckhart

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I had an '09 Quick Rod and matching 4x12 w/SBs for about 3 years. Played lots of gigs with it and it was a really great amp for the music we did.
From the moment I got it I knew it was different than any amp I had owned (5150s, Tremoverb, Dual Rec, Laney VH100R, H&K Triamp, Marshall DSL and VM). The clarity and power each note had was stunning and it really had a great aggressive grind to it. Punchy and tight and I personally didn't have any issue with its tight feel (ie never felt too stiff to me).

When I stopped gigging I stopped using it and took a break from playing for a bit. Getting back into it I didn't see a need for a half stack and started to want something different. A few things about the Splawn...cleans just aren't that great. For me, I just found Gear 2 to be the amps best sound and feel and I felt like the gain and EQ kind of had a narrow range of great tone. In other words, I found it lacking in versatility. Not saying its totally a one trick pony I would venture to say other people could probably get more out of it...just what I found for my taste. I also felt playing leads on it was sometimes tough. Perhaps that was the stiffness of the amp, but it seemed the higher notes just weren't as fat as I would like. Also, I would agree with what some others observe in that the high end and brightness of the amp could get kind of fatiguing on the ears after a while. EQing that high end out took off some of the mojo to me though...hence that narrow spot where it sounded right.
I want to break out of straight up rock all the time and want an amp that can cover modern rock, classic rock, blues, jam band type stuff. Tried out a Mesa Lonestar, but its just not the amount of gain and voicing I like to have on board.

So now I just got a Mesa Roadster. My past experience with a Tremoverb I guess brought me back to the Boogies and the Roadster seemed like a good modern match to the vibe the Tverb had plus a wider range of useable tones. I knew the Tverb didn't have that really refined powerful sound the QR did, but it did always sound good and I liked it in a band setting.

I have barely scratched the surface with the Roadster and I think its got some good stuff going on, but I can't help but wonder if I'll ultimately miss that special thing the QR had and just not be able to get that clarity and high quality crunchy aggressive gain w/out any flub or fizzyness going on.
I am not looking to make the Mesa sound like the QR as I expect a different voicing. Hard to put it in words but my immediate comparison is just that the QR is just a step up in quality. And it was there from the moment I first plugged in...the Roadster I think will take some tube swapping and possibly a bias mod.
Overall the Roadster is a cool and very versatile amp so I am going to work at it and try to jam with some people to see how it does in the mix.

That was a long way to get to a question I have for others that have owned a Quick Rod. Where did you go from there? Did you move to something you found better? Or just different? Whats doing it for you now?
 
The Nitro.
Take the QR, smooth the top end out, add a ton of low-mids, give it a bit more saturation, and piss it off and you have the Splawn Nitro.
 
I hear ya. Ive had my QR for about 7yrs and though Ive tried other amps I just could never bring myself to sell the QR. I myself find it very versitile with its dynamic attack and how it cleans up so nice with the volume rolled back

I do wish the cleans were better though
 
I had a 2006 QR, made with 4 preamp tubes. Kept it 6 months, sold it, bought a JVM410. Kept the JVM for a few years, bought a Friedman modded Marshall. Now I have 2 amps, a Cameron CCV and a Friedman BE-100. All great amps but for what I do, the Cameron and Friedman nail it. :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:
 
Went from QR to the Street Rod( still have it ) also Axe-FX2 and I am on the list for a Friedman SS-100!!! I am looking forward to the full California clean channel!!
 
guitarmike":31brt56q said:
I had a 2006 QR, made with 4 preamp tubes. Kept it 6 months, sold it, bought a JVM410. Kept the JVM for a few years, bought a Friedman modded Marshall. Now I have 2 amps, a Cameron CCV and a Friedman BE-100. All great amps but for what I do, the Cameron and Friedman nail it. :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:
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I had a very brief stop on a JVM410 and it was one of the worst amps I ever owned. I have absolutely no doubt that there was something very wrong with that one. It was when they first came out and it was a glowing definition of a lemon. Too bad cuz the concept of it was great and Marshall tone was exactly what I needed.
 
Mesa Mark IV replaced my Quick Rod. Much better for low volume playing. Able to go from Fender cleans to crunch to all out metal without a boost. Add in the EQ, reverb and the simul-class options, and its perfect for me. I would like to pick up another Quick Rod some day, I just really love the versatility of the Mark IV.
 
Stil own my Splawn Quick Rod - I think the clean channel is close to useless. But, I like the cleans I can get rolling off the volume - I bought a Soldano Hotrod 50+ that I liked so much a took the plunge and bought a SLO. Some people don't like the SLO cleans, but I love them - at least on crunch setting - I never use the "clean"

So love my Soldano's, but still love my Splawn. I do really like the Roadster too - was considering one for a long time, but bought a Mini-Rec that gives me my Mesa Fix. I sold my Dual Rec and my Mark IV after getting the Mini-Rec.
 
Owned a 2006 QR for 5 years....At the time I had a Single Rec which I scored for a great deal. I got a hair up my ass and traded the Splawn cuz I thought the Recto would be fine. It was a great amp for at home jammin. The splawn's cleans were okay...not terrible, but not great. I didn't care for the loop. Felt a little tone suckage to my ears.

Went to Baron after that. Ended up full circle...sold the Baron, and got a 2012 Quickrod. Thing smokes. Cleans are AWESOME. and the thing sounds killer even at really low levels. My old one I had to use an effects unit and attenuator to get it down to bedroom tones. This new one, don't have to. Just have a Strymon in the loop and I go between gear 1 and 2. I love it. Now it is my only amp, and I don't really look at amps anymore....just stompboxes and guitars. haha :rock:
 
I have an older QR. I simply LOVE it for what it does. I like both gear 1 and 2 (mostly really LOVE gear1), with the OD2 as well. I sold a '72 modded Marshall to buy it back then and never regretted it. I can't say that the clean channel is great, but at the time it wasn't so important.

So, I have many other heads now, Bogner 20th XTC, SLO, Diezel Herbert and Hagen, Mark IV and V and even a few pre's. I really like ALL these amps. Herbert is outstanding (plus it has midi capability), the 20th XTC is also freaking amazing. I like the Mesa's too, they have great versatiity. The SLO is the SLO, again a classic tone that holds up to this day. Still used by may BIG names.

Anyway, I have kept the Splawn QR all along. Just love plugging into it and ripping! I have considered buying a newer model, with updated cleans, 4 button footswitch and the ability to have usable tone at a variety of volumes. I think that would be a great upgrade.

In the end, I didn't and won't sell my QR because it does what it does VERY well. Plus Scott is an excellent guy to deal with and bends over backward to help. Always get great service from Scott and his team.

If you like the QR tone, I would consider just buying a newer model. You will have all the options. Of course, these other amps have their own character and sound amazing in their own right. Guess it will depend on what you want, voicing wise, ability to integrate effects, etc.

Good Luck, the search for tone never ends :lol: :LOL:
 
Never owned a Splawn, but based on your criteria and experience I would have ran straight to a Mark V if I were you.
 
Im in the same boat! I love my 2007 Quickrod. It excels at that 1 particular thing its good at.
I picked up a Mesa Roadster and its really working out better for me. It just does so much more. Some people think it has too many options, but its exactly what I needed. Beautiful cleans to brutal gain. I had the Mark V for a while, but I didnt gel with that amp.

By the way...experimenting with different preamp tubes in the Roadster is the key to that amp. For instance, a Tung Sol in V1 totally opens up the tone.
 
I loved my '09 Quick Rod, only sold it after I had my Cameron modded Chupa for a couple of weeks and was able to A/B them at will. The Chupa simply did what the QR did plus more, whereas I couldn't get that from the Splawn. It does that one thing nice but that's about it. The chupa also has a good bit more saturation at the ready, where with the Splawn, I needed a pedal to add to the playability at times (mostly when soloing higher up on the neck, the dry/tightness did not lend itself handy in that dept, I simply prefer more juciness in the mids when playing single notes). Speaking of mids, they are easier on the ears with the Chupa in a mix vs the QR. The cleans were better as well. So yeah, as much as I dug the QR (kept it for three years), I finally stumbled onto something that topped it in every way (for my needs). I've never regretted selling the QR..and that's not a knock on it - I simply found something even better because the are both great amps fwiw.
 
Thanks for all the great input guys!
My QR didn't go far and if I wanted it back I could get it. I could probably just trade the Roadster for it.

I would love to be able to get new amps w/out having to sell, but $$ doesn't allow that these days. Maybe down the road a bit when the wife goes back to work and the kids are older, but for now its sell to buy for me.
That said I would love to try some Bogner, Deizel or Soldano stuff, but most of them are a bit expensive for me right now.
Going to try some tubes in the Roadster today.
 
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