Nitrobattery
Well-known member
Huh, what you're describing is the exact opposite of what my QR sounds like. I'd email Scott.
311boogieman
Well-known member
Bloodstorm":2xyd2st4 said:
Have you contacted Scott yet?
Do you know how to swap a tube?
I wrote a tutorial on how to bias a Splawn amp (and other similar amps) if you are interested.
What other tube amps do you own (have owned)?
B
Bloodstorm
Banned
New member
Ok I get what y'all are saying about how it comes alive when you crank it up to 8 or so. Just tried it and it was pretty good, but I still don't think it beats the EVH EL34. I don't know. It just seems finicky and something's not there that I'm looking for. Not really sure how to explain it. Sometimes it's on, sometimes it's not. It could be the speakers, idk. I think I'd rather have an amp that is easier to use/dial in.
H
harddriver
Well-known member
Bloodstorm":3l4wolz7 said:
Splawns are not hard to dial in, I've never found them to be finicky, I did prefer my Splawn modded Marshall to my 2004 Quickrod. There was nothing wrong with the amp I just preferred my modded one... it all comes down to taste.
If you want hard to dial in buy a Mesa Boogie Mark III, IV or V. Sounds like you need to ask Mr. Splawn if he will accept a return or maybe SFW will trade you his EVH since you seem to have bonded with the EVH tone. Sometimes players don't gel with certain amps maybe the Splawn tone isn't for you, some people buy very expensive amps that they don't gel with, hence all the flipping.
M
meanstreet
Member
My Quick Rod has a TON of low end. Keep the Bass knob at around 10:00 or lower and it sounds perfect, any more than that and it sounds WAY too bass heavy. It seems odd to set my bass so low and opposite of how you set the EQ on many amps, but that’s where it sounds best to me. My Mid is set around 1:00 and my Treb and Presence are both around 11:00 (or lower, depending on the room). Mix with your ears, not with your eyes!
scottosan
Well-known member
The g12t-75s are a horrible match for that amp. They put a blanket over everything
hammered
Well-known member
harddriver":3rdwnq5o said:
Yeah it just might not be the OPs thing . I`ve had a Quick Rod , Competition and currently have two EL34 Super Sports . Loved em , love em and easy to dial in for the most part. I also had a 50 watt EVH and it was much brighter maybe bordering on harsh and tighter the Splawns , really cool amp but i had a love hate relationship with it . I also had a Soldano HR25 , the clips I've heard blew me away but I could not gel with that amp at all , to my ears both the Splawns and EVH 5150 devoured it . Different strokes different folks
napalmdeath
Well-known member
scottosan":1l5af198 said:
I agree. I found Greenbacks the way to go.
B
Bloodstorm
Banned
New member
Just to be clear, the only EVH I liked was the EL34. It was not as modern-voiced as the other 5150s. It was more british-voiced (at least to my ears), but had a modern take on british voicing. It just had this super fat, screaming tone for miles and miles. Sounded and played phenomenal. It also had reverb built into it I think, which is something the Splawn doesn't have. Little detail, but important to me. I could show up to a gig or rehearsal with that amp and nothing else, plug in, and just play the hell out of it without pedals or other gear...super easy. Not sure if the EVH EL34 would sound like that through my cab though.
Metlupass2
Well-known member
Run an eq pedal. I remember having the same issue as you when I got one a long time ago and didn't know anything about tube amps.
I eventually just rubbed my schlong all over the amp and sold it to cecilbag
I eventually just rubbed my schlong all over the amp and sold it to cecilbag
232cap
Well-known member
Metlupass2":1xkwh8ir said:Run an eq pedal. I remember having the same issue as you when I got one a long time ago and didn't know anything about tube amps.
I eventually just rubbed my schlong all over the amp and sold it to cecilbag
the rossness
Well-known member
Bloodstorm":2xhr3byg said:
I've had 2 QR's, I have a 50 watt 5153 and had one of the first 100 watt 5153's.
QR's and the 5153 sound nothing alike. They feel nothing alike. The QR is a stiff as hell amp and its loud as hell. Like, a crazy loud old marshall plexi on 11 type of loud amp. At low volumes, its dull. Maybe that's what you've been experiencing. If you expect the QR to sound good at low volumes, you bought the wrong amp. A good attenuator will help. I'd look into Fryette and Rivera for attenuators. So plug the attenuator in, crank the hell out of the QR and let er' rip!
Mr. Willy
Well-known member
Sounds like there’s something wrong with the amp. I’d try replacing the preamp valves first, one by one. If that doesn’t work, I’d replace the power tubes. If that doesn’t work, I’d let an experienced tech look it over. Sounds like you’re not getting an accurate reading of the amp because there’s something wrong with it. If that’s the case, there’s no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. Even if you get it working properly and any potential problems fixed and still don’t like it, you can sell it with confidence knowing that it’s functioning properly.
R
Racerxrated
Well-known member
232cap":g2afd2ix said:Metlupass2":g2afd2ix said:Run an eq pedal. I remember having the same issue as you when I got one a long time ago and didn't know anything about tube amps.
I eventually just rubbed my schlong all over the amp and sold it to cecilbag
So THAT'S why.....he seemed to have a little PTSD.....I mean he loves the QR, but when he talked about it......
Rev
Active member
Try this: turn on the effects loop and put it down to 0. Then crank your master volume on the front up to 12 noon. Then use your loop as your overall master volume. This should get you the tone you seek without foundation shaking volume levels.
Metlupass2
Well-known member
Racerxrated":11a3xsga said:232cap":11a3xsga said:Metlupass2":11a3xsga said:Run an eq pedal. I remember having the same issue as you when I got one a long time ago and didn't know anything about tube amps.
I eventually just rubbed my schlong all over the amp and sold it to cecilbag
So THAT'S why.....he seemed to have a little PTSD.....I mean he loves the QR, but when he talked about it......
Make sure he doesn't read this thread.
311boogieman
Well-known member
All I'm saying, like most others, is this:
If you don't like the Splawn tone and feel - fine. We get that.
But you can't really judge appropriately if the amp is having issues. Regardless of the brand.
Every EVH I've played was awesome in it's own right. I happen to also be a huge EVH fanboi both the gear and the master who created it. But gear, as you know, is subjective. Amps sometimes need a tube roll. Sometimes they pair better with different speakers. Sometimes they need a bias adjustment. Sometimes they need fresh matched power tubes. Sometimes they need an EQ pedal or an OD pedal....blah bla blah.
So whatever you end up doing - just know you may have to do some tweaking.
If I went down to my mancave right now and my amp sounded dull or flubby or unresponsive I would immediately suspect a bad preamp tube or bias drift. No biggie. I'd fix it.
So you know, V2 preamp is the input stage of your amp so there's that. I prefer JJs. I personally favor 5751 NOS tubes for the Phase Inverter tube. Swap some things around and maybe hit the tube pins with some deoxit contact cleaner. I also favor an EQ pedal in the loop as well as tubescreamer type pedal up front run on 'clean' boost. Believe it or not, I run the treble on '0'. Bass and Presence around 10 oclock. I've had good luck with JJ, Mullard and SED =C= power tubes and 32 mA seems to be the sweet spot for the bias. Small block, or similar, speakers.
YMMV
If you don't like the Splawn tone and feel - fine. We get that.
But you can't really judge appropriately if the amp is having issues. Regardless of the brand.
Every EVH I've played was awesome in it's own right. I happen to also be a huge EVH fanboi both the gear and the master who created it. But gear, as you know, is subjective. Amps sometimes need a tube roll. Sometimes they pair better with different speakers. Sometimes they need a bias adjustment. Sometimes they need fresh matched power tubes. Sometimes they need an EQ pedal or an OD pedal....blah bla blah.
So whatever you end up doing - just know you may have to do some tweaking.
If I went down to my mancave right now and my amp sounded dull or flubby or unresponsive I would immediately suspect a bad preamp tube or bias drift. No biggie. I'd fix it.
So you know, V2 preamp is the input stage of your amp so there's that. I prefer JJs. I personally favor 5751 NOS tubes for the Phase Inverter tube. Swap some things around and maybe hit the tube pins with some deoxit contact cleaner. I also favor an EQ pedal in the loop as well as tubescreamer type pedal up front run on 'clean' boost. Believe it or not, I run the treble on '0'. Bass and Presence around 10 oclock. I've had good luck with JJ, Mullard and SED =C= power tubes and 32 mA seems to be the sweet spot for the bias. Small block, or similar, speakers.
YMMV
Marshall Freak
Well-known member
Talk to Scott splawn and have it fixed. Ive had several quick rods and street rods and one I had sounded like You described. I tried setting bias. Changing all the tubes. Different speakers. I had to run the presence all the way up to get it to where it wasnt muddy. I gave up and ebayed it. I probably should have gotten ahold of splawn and had it worked on but I had moved on to a different amp atthe tine.
It shouldn't sound like that, send it in and have it fixed.
It shouldn't sound like that, send it in and have it fixed.
Jeff Hilligan
Well-known member
Amazes me...I would never, I mean never ask for online fanboy and others to help with a problem with an amp.
CALL SCOTT AND GET YOUR PROBLEM SOLVED. ANY OTHER IS OPINION IMO.
CALL SCOTT AND GET YOUR PROBLEM SOLVED. ANY OTHER IS OPINION IMO.
Chris6870
Well-known member
Heres a quick thing you can check. See if all your power tubes are hot to the touch. I had an issue with mine where the power tube socket pins got stretched from a certain make of tubes. When I switched to Rubys all the tube pins were not making contact. It sounded off. I discovered the problem because a few of the tubes were only warm while others were hot. Its a simple fix but it took me a while to figure it out.