Splawn Amps!

[Anonymous]

First, I have no affiliation with this builder, so please understand that I am just a fan.

Many of you know how much of a Carol-Ann fan boy I am, but I do appreciate the tones of many amps. I have owned a ton and have worked on a ton. From vintage 50's amps to modern Deizel's, H&K's, Cornford's, etc...

Anyway, today I visited my friend chubtone for a little while and played through a Splawn Quickrod with a Charvel loaded with an Arcane Brownbucker in the bridge and was blown away by the tone of the amp again. This amp does what I consider the finest hot-rodded Marshall tone, but with a fuller, meatier upper mid-range focus. The articulation was phenomenal! I love the amp in the lowest gain setting (1st gear, doubt I would ever venture into the higher gears). And, there really is nothing like the fullness of 100 watt iron, even at lower settings. Anyway, some people have commented how this amp gets you a lot for your money. Well it is true. This amp is world class IMO. I hope to own a Splawn Pro Stock (QR minus the clean channel) some time this year. I love the amp that much!

If Michael Wagener gushes about this amp, I can't be in bad company...

 

[Rev]

I have had mine for a long while now and the honeymoon has never left. Every time I plug it in I smile. I just got a 2x12 from Rhodes loaded with Weber 1265's and I've never been happier with the amp. I need a solid Custom Charvel now to pair with it.

 

[joepete77]

I have been thinking of trying one out again but am unsure. Many years ago, before splawn had his own amp line, I had a Marshall anniversary 100watt plexi that was sent to splawn to have his top of the line mods at that time with mercury trannies and choke, kt88, 3 channels with solo boost and many other add ons and options. When I got it back although it was cool what he did with it, I didnt like the tone of the amp at all. It seemed very modern voiced and didnt retain any of the Marshall character that I love not to mention it was noisy and the higher gain channels were ultra compressed. I couldnt understand how anyone could turn the gain over say half. I ended up not using it and selling it on ebay. Since then I have heard a few clips of the quick rod and was impressed somewhat, do these still have the marshall voicing and character? Would it sound different then the amp I had modded above?

 

[Vrad]

Yep... My Splawn QR made me sell my Bogner. LOL!
Great amps. If you haven't had a chance to try it with the Splawn 4x12 with the SB25's I would HIGHLY recommend you do so.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

I thought the quick rod I owned was killer!

 

[Shawn Lutz]

They have great hot rodded Marshall tone. I love my QR but not enough to sell my VHT, Bogner Marshall and Mesa/Boogie amps

I have the old version QuickRod, loud sumbitch with plenty of tone..

 

[Lord Toneking]

I had a buddy come over thurs nite and he heard my Splawn and LOVED it....then he played through it and HATED it Said he liked his tone better, which is an ancient digitech RP-1 and a ss poweramp

You must have a good grip on your playing and know how to get your guitar to be "one" with your amp with the Splawn stuff imo. He wanted more distortion...or something I told him to just play and trust that the amp sounds good...but for once your shitty playing isnt being hidden by gobs of solid state distortion. It was a true eye opener for him

There's a bit of a technique to playing these dry and focused amps, and he just didnt have it. He's a decent player but just couldnt get a handle on it. Heck, I suck and am still struggling at times. Not poking fun at him really, just stating the obvious for why some people just dont like Splawns. A good player will make the amp shine...an average or below average player will probably not jive to well with it. Give it time and it will make you a much much better player...then you will appreciate what the amp really is

make sense? ...Im rambling

 

[Anonymous]

I had a buddy come over thurs nite and he heard my Splawn and LOVED it....then he played through it and HATED it Said he liked his tone better, which is an ancient digitech RP-1 and a ss poweramp

You must have a good grip on your playing and know how to get your guitar to be "one" with your amp with the Splawn stuff imo. He wanted more distortion...or something I told him to just play and trust that the amp sounds good...but for once your shitty playing isnt being hidden by gobs of solid state distortion. It was a true eye opener for him

There's a bit of a technique to playing these dry and focused amps, and he just didnt have it. He's a decent player but just couldnt get a handle on it. Heck, I suck and am still struggling at times. Not poking fun at him really, just stating the obvious for why some people just dont like Splawns. A good player will make the amp shine...an average or below average player will probably not jive to well with it. Give it time and it will make you a much much better player...then you will appreciate what the amp really is

make sense? ...Im rambling

I totally agree with you. My Carol-Ann is the same way. Splawns and CA's will give you the middle finger if you aren't able to play the amp like an instrument. It seems to me that the better quality amps out there (and there are many) are like this. The Splawn and my CA OD2 remind me of a horse I used to own. He was a grumpy old horse that needed a confident rider to steer him. Anyone who was tentative would get a very rough ride and get thrown off.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

I heard the newest ones are more like the older 3 pre models which would be a good thing imo. I had one of the 1st 4 pre models and it didn't sound as good as the 3 pre's imo so I eventually moved it.

 

[GtarLover]

I have had my Splawn QR for quite a while now. It has gone in and out of regular use. Recently, I have been going through another check-in with all my gear and realizinig that I LOVE THIS AMP!! I couldn't agree more with fusionbear, it is THE BEST hot rodded Marshall tone I have heard, period, and then has more. I sold my '72 modded Marshall to buy it and I don't regret it. I still have other amps, but this one has been with me for a while and I don't see it going anywhere. Maybe use it in combination with something else, but it will be here.

One post was asking about the modern sound vs the Marshall sound. IMO the Splawn gets both, not just one or the other. The 3 gears give you the option for more gain staging, yet that gear 1 sound...it's the BOMB!!! It's VH I & II no question!!

Just my 2 cents

 

[marvcus]

Congrats.

I had a Splawn Pro Mod back in about 2004 or so. It was a great amp - ran V30s with it. The non-boosted tone (channel 2) I would describe
as VH 1984 tone. Sounded exactly like "Drop Dead Legs." Very LOUD amp.

I eventually sold it because (1) it had a little more compression than I typically like and (2) I wanted a little better clean channel. Not sure
if those issues have been addressed since then, as I know others had felt the same.

From what I see on the webz, it seems the one to have is the QR. The Pro Mod was basically that with KT88s vs. the QR's EL-34s.

 

[grooveHT]

Yep... My Splawn QR made me sell my Bogner. LOL!
Great amps. If you haven't had a chance to try it with the Splawn 4x12 with the SB25's I would HIGHLY recommend you do so.

But, does it come with weird mids? Because, if not, I am going elsewhere Mr. Internet Sauve!

 

[Anonymous]

Congrats.

I had a Splawn Pro Mod back in about 2004 or so. It was a great amp - ran V30s with it. The non-boosted tone (channel 2) I would describe
as VH 1984 tone. Sounded exactly like "Drop Dead Legs." Very LOUD amp.

I eventually sold it because (1) it had a little more compression than I typically like and (2) I wanted a little better clean channel. Not sure
if those issues have been addressed since then, as I know others had felt the same.

From what I see on the webz, it seems the one to have is the QR. The Pro Mod was basically that with KT88s vs. the QR's EL-34s.

Most people don't realize that even though KT88's dissipate more power, they have a softer attack. That is probably the compression you were feeling. But the QR/PS's are tight as can be in gear 1 and even 2. I like the amp in gear 1, OD2, with the gain set at 3 O'clock. That is more than enough gain for me and is very articulate, yet sings beautifully when you have a bit of volume going...

Even on the latest models, the clean channel is just ok. I would never buy a Splawn for the clean channel. I would rather hoof another amp and cab dedicated to clean tones only.

 

[Metlupass2]

I've got a QR and love it. Mine has my favorite headshell and knobs too. Its an older 3 preamp tube, but I had a newer Splawn fx loop with the volume installed so I get the best of both versions.

 

[Anonymous]

Very nice! I will use my attenuator with mine... Just to take -4 db off so the amp is in the working zone and the neighbors don't get blasted...

 

[Metlupass2]

That was before I had the new volume loop put in. If you get one with it, then you won't need an attenuator.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I wouldn't mind hearing a Quick Rod with the volume knob in the loop on a 4x12 with Small Blocks. The Street Rod i had was..egh, but i didn't hear it on a good 4x12.

 

[Doubleneck]

I had a 2010 QR, really liked Gear 1 at lower volumes with the loop volume engaged, but sounded thin/hollow at band volumes. I could never get a good balance between the clean channel & the distortion channel, also the clean channels EQ controls affected the sound on the distortion side of the amp.

I really wanted the amp to work for me because Gear 1 is awesome & the customer service is incredible.

 

[Ben Hur]

I thought the quick rod I owned was killer!

i bought rick's quickrod on here a few months ago. agreed. it is killer! i hear alot of people say the Splawn amps aren't versatile. depends on what you need i guess. tone is subjective, of course. i play more modern rock and i can get that huge produced breaking ben/creed/alterbridge/seether guitar sound really easy. the palm mutes are super tight, which is a big deal for me. i can also back it down and play worship type stuff at church and it sounds great. i haven't found a tone on it that sucks, i even like the clean channel. when i was looking for amps, i wanted a Diezel, just couldn't afford one. i don't have the extra options a Diezel would offer (extra channels, midi, etc..), but for 1/3 the price i'm damn close on tone. i couldn't be happier!

i have also heard people say there is some variance in how good their clean channels are, mine is an 2006 and it's great. i have also heard that the loop volume you get now will suck your tone dry and lifeless. more than likely a subjective thing imho. most of the clips i found online don't do the amp full justice for what it can do. it's mostly lead stuff, solo stuff, 80's stuff. i bought mine going off of lots of opinions that it could do more modern stuff and it delivers

 

[Shiny_Surface]

also the clean channels EQ controls affected the sound on the distortion side of the amp.

I noticed this on my Nitro as well which is one of the reasons I sold it.

The thing about the EQ crossover on Splawns or at least my old Nitro was that it can be subtle and hard to miss but certain eq knobs in certain ranges will expose the EQ channel bleed more and really make it quite noticeable.

It wasn't until I was experimenting with the EQ one day and turned a particular knob to a higher setting and all of a sudden there it was. Sold the amp shortly after that.

You never read about the EQ crossover either, it's one of those things that isn't exactly volunteered up front and you have to find out for yourself.

Scott is a great guy to deal with though and keeps evolving the amps.

I still have my Splawn 4x12 which is one of the best cabs I've ever owned, great value for the money imo.