Splawn Nitro EL34B Playthrough

Bad.Seed

Bad.Seed

Well-known member
Did a demo of the Nitro I just picked up!

I've owned a couple and always preferred the Quick Rod, but I think I'm gonna give it another good run.

For some reason, the Nitro has always just seemed unbalanced to my ear. Tons of lows, no lower mids at all, and then a huge spike in the upper mids that make the amp seem massive, yet thin at the same time.

I really wish I could honestly have Scott modify the amp to balance the EQ a little more, because I really enjoy the ease of play the Nitro has under the fingers vs a Quick Rod. He won't do it for me though, unfortunately.

I will preface this video by saying I was having tuning issues and the amp was humming, so I wasn't having the best time in the world here, but I did enjoy the amp none the less. LOL

 
Nitro is a beast.
Good demo as always.
I thought it sounded fine with everything at noon.
I trust your judgement because you've been through so many amps.
I've never played a Nitro lol.
But there are plenty of Nitro clips out there that sound awesome.
In other words, I didn't hear some of the things you complained about.
But then again ^ see above comments.
I prefer the QR circuit as well.
Thanks for posting.
 
I also ran the QRs I had with treble near or at zero just like the MW Dual Recto. That's where they sounded best to my ears.
 
Would never want to be seen as ‘hijacking’ - just trying to contribute here. I used to own this head and I am thrilled to see it and hear it again - especially in such good hands! Kyle always finds the best tones any amp has to offer and his playing is always tight and aggressive. When I owned this baby, I had a pair of Straight Front 4x12 cabs: A V-30 loaded Bogner and a Creamback 65 loaded Splawn. The amp always sounded fuller, and ‘drier’ and tighter with the Creambacks and always sounded a bit ‘squishy’ and hollowed out with the V-30s. I also rolled a few different sets of tubes through this head and found that JJ-E34-L (Groove Tube E34-LS) seemed to firm up the low end noticeably. I sold this when I was funding a fully loaded 50 watt Nitro. The Old/New and Mid/Cut switches really push the missing low mids back into the tone. This video makes me nostalgic and makes me sort of wish I still had this beast in the stable!!!
 
I enjoy splawn amps in general, but just to add my two cents as I've had this conversation with multiple guitarists who've had a similar experience.

Most splawns are weird for me EQ wise, but the nitro is the weirdest. That's just personal preference - many people sound great on a Nitro.

Anyways, it feels like theyre very tight because of the lack of low mids, but that the depth control is always on "10" no matter what the depth control is set to. The low mids that are there seem to track very well, but the "depth" effect is not very tight and doesn't track as well. This is very apparent on recording for things like fast palm muted triplets.

In my experience the nitro is very good for shearing, aggressive sounding leads that cut thru the mix because of this EQ peculiarity; the high mids scream, without hollowing out all the lows. But on the flipside, its not my first choice at all for heavy thrashy rhythm stuff, because of the Nitro's peculiar and idiosyncratic EQ.
 
Kyle,
Hope you're well.. what are the boosts you're using on the mini board you've got there? I can see a TS at the end (is it?)

I really like the one you're using in that clip at 13:00. 2nd one from the left. its nice roundness to the overall sound.

Thanks
 
I've always wanted a Splawn Nitro to go with my Splawn cab hahaha, I'd love to play one first.

I suppose I could snag a used one and not lose any dough!

Thanks for the vid!
 
Bad.Seed said:
Did a demo of the Nitro I just picked up!

I've owned a couple and always preferred the Quick Rod, but I think I'm gonna give it another good run.

For some reason, the Nitro has always just seemed unbalanced to my ear. Tons of lows, no lower mids at all, and then a huge spike in the upper mids that make the amp seem massive, yet thin at the same time.

I really wish I could honestly have Scott modify the amp to balance the EQ a little more, because I really enjoy the ease of play the Nitro has under the fingers vs a Quick Rod. He won't do it for me though, unfortunately.

I will preface this video by saying I was having tuning issues and the amp was humming, so I wasn't having the best time in the world here, but I did enjoy the amp none the less. LOL

Click to expand...

Tuning issues? Dude, try tuning the guitar bruh!!! Just kidding.
 
Duke of Metal said:
Kyle,
Hope you're well.. what are the boosts you're using on the mini board you've got there? I can see a TS at the end (is it?)

I really like the one you're using in that clip at 13:00. 2nd one from the left. its nice roundness to the overall sound.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Thanks man! That is the KHDK Ghoul Screamer, absolutely killer boost pedal!
 
cant say im digging this amp at all. im hearing it total opposite of what you are describing, it sounds like all low mids to me and no high end bite at all
 
I really wish I could honestly have Scott modify the amp to balance the EQ a little more, because I really enjoy the ease of play the Nitro has under the fingers vs a Quick Rod. He won't do it for me though, unfortunately.

I had a Streetrod 2nd hand that was having some issues and wasn't happy with the EQ of the amp. Reached out to Scott and asked about him possibly modding or updates and no dice. He builds by the numbers unlike Friedman. Won't buy a Splawn again....
 
I‘ve had nothing but positive interactions with Scott Splawn. Always accessible and very helpful. My first exposure to Splawn was a very close friend of mine who currently plays with a major signed touring act. He had a Competition at a local gig and I got called up on stage to play a coupe of tunes and I was absolutely blown away. I was a devoted Mesa guy at the time with a pair of Mark IIIs and a Dual Rec. My buddies Competition blew my tone off the stage. SO much articulation and string separation - but still SOOPER greasy and slippery under the fingers. I immediately commissioned a brand new 100 watt Drop B+ Quickrod (Pre Old/New - Mid/Cut options) and absolutely NEVER connected or bonded with that amp. I then bought the Nitro that is in this thread and absolutely loved it with E34-L tubes through a Creamback loaded 4x12. I sold it (and my original 100 watt QR) because I was leaning toward lower wattage amps and Scott had released the Old/New and Mid/Cut options. I now own a 50 watt Fully Loaded QR and 50 watt fully loaded Nitro and I absolutely love them both. My current QR has that greasiness and slippery feel under the fingers that my 100 watt QR just absolutely lacked. But it still has that crazee Splawn articulation and string separation that makes his amps sound so huge in a live or recorded mix. I have had a harder time bonding with the 50 watt Nitro - and actually had it listed here about a year ago. But after rolling several sets of pre and power tubes through it and really working through the settings, I am totally attached to the Nitro and would never let either of my current 50 watt Splawns go. I have heard several Splawn clips that I love and several that make me scratch my head. But I can tell you that the tone stack is extremely reactive - where many amps tone stacks just seem to passively cut a little or a little more of the lows, mids and highs. Splawns have super ‘active’ tone stacks and super ‘inter’ active tone stacks - a pinch more of the lows really affects the mids - a touch more mids has a pronounced effect on the highs. They are also very speaker sensitive: mine sounded too mushy and compressed through Vintage 30s and sounded much more firm through Creambacks. They are not everyone’s cup of tea - but with patience and a willingness to try different tubes, speakers and settings, they are capable of flat laying it down in a band mix.
 
RaceU4her said:
cant say im digging this amp at all. im hearing it total opposite of what you are describing, it sounds like all low mids to me and no high end bite at all
Click to expand...
Didn't quite track the way it sounded in the room. You'd have to play it for yourself before coming to any conclusions
 
RaceU4her said:
cant say im digging this amp at all. im hearing it total opposite of what you are describing, it sounds like all low mids to me and no high end bite at all
Click to expand...
Didn't quite track the way it sounded in the room. You'd have to play it for yourself before coming to any conclusions
 
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