gibson5413
Well-known member
I had some free time this past week on a business trip and decided to hit a Guitar Center. Walked in and saw a couple of amps I have been wanting to try for a long time:
- Genz Benz El Diablo
- Diezel Herbert
- Splawn Quick Rod
I grabbed a Les Paul and put the three amps through a workout.
The Genz Benz El Diablo was first. I ran through each channel and thought it sounded pretty good. It didn't bowl me over by any means but it wasn't bad either. It sounded a bit stiff to me as well. I thought the gain tones were a bit buzzy to me. I must admit I didn't play this one very much. Definitely a darker sounding amp. Had a tough time connecting with it.
I moved to the Spalwn Quick Rod and had to get myself accustomed to the knobs and settings (gears and such). I don't believe this was a newer version with the updated clean (I couldn't tell if it had an effects loop but I couldn't look on the back very well). I spent about 45 mins on the QR and I must say that I was extremely impressed. In fact, I haven't had this much fun playing a new amp as I did with this one. It is a bright sounding amp with a ton of mids. I spent most of my time playing on OD 1 and 2 between the 2nd and 3rd gears. I absolutely loved the lead tones I was dialing in. I usually love delay on my lead tones but this amp sounded great a la carte. It sounded good at low volume but breathes fire when pushed. I tried playing a guitar that was down tuned as well and will say that it didn't handle it as well. Either way, I really enjoyed this amp!! I have never been too enamored with Marshall amps but this amp (hot rodded Marshall) was great.
Last was the Diezel Herbert. I have been wanting to play this one for a couple of years now and I was excited to give it a shot. The amp looks great and the build quality is spectacular. I plugged in and played for about 30 mins. I have to say that it sounded really good but it did not meet expectations. No flaming please since I am the first to admit that I did not give it enough time or play it in optimal conditions. I will say that channels 1 & 2 were really good. The clean was one of the best I've heard on a multi-channel high gainer. It definitely shimmered. Channel 2 was my favorite! Very crunchy and 3D like. I was a bit disappointed with channel 3. I thought it sounded a bit too compressed. I had a hard time connecting with it so I moved back to channel 2. The Mid Cut knob was a cool feature but found I liked it best with the mids dialed in. Again, by no means did I not like the amp. I guess I have heard so much about the amp that my expectations may have been a bit high. That immediately gave it a bit of a disadvantage on this day. Either way, the amp as a whole is a thumbs up.
The winner for me was the Splawn Quick Rod. I think that it is fitting with the style of playing I have really been in to lately. In fact, I liked it so much that I went back the next day and spent some more time on it.
I will definitely say that my next amp will either a Spalwn Quick Rod or a Cameron CCV-100.
- Genz Benz El Diablo
- Diezel Herbert
- Splawn Quick Rod
I grabbed a Les Paul and put the three amps through a workout.
The Genz Benz El Diablo was first. I ran through each channel and thought it sounded pretty good. It didn't bowl me over by any means but it wasn't bad either. It sounded a bit stiff to me as well. I thought the gain tones were a bit buzzy to me. I must admit I didn't play this one very much. Definitely a darker sounding amp. Had a tough time connecting with it.
I moved to the Spalwn Quick Rod and had to get myself accustomed to the knobs and settings (gears and such). I don't believe this was a newer version with the updated clean (I couldn't tell if it had an effects loop but I couldn't look on the back very well). I spent about 45 mins on the QR and I must say that I was extremely impressed. In fact, I haven't had this much fun playing a new amp as I did with this one. It is a bright sounding amp with a ton of mids. I spent most of my time playing on OD 1 and 2 between the 2nd and 3rd gears. I absolutely loved the lead tones I was dialing in. I usually love delay on my lead tones but this amp sounded great a la carte. It sounded good at low volume but breathes fire when pushed. I tried playing a guitar that was down tuned as well and will say that it didn't handle it as well. Either way, I really enjoyed this amp!! I have never been too enamored with Marshall amps but this amp (hot rodded Marshall) was great.
Last was the Diezel Herbert. I have been wanting to play this one for a couple of years now and I was excited to give it a shot. The amp looks great and the build quality is spectacular. I plugged in and played for about 30 mins. I have to say that it sounded really good but it did not meet expectations. No flaming please since I am the first to admit that I did not give it enough time or play it in optimal conditions. I will say that channels 1 & 2 were really good. The clean was one of the best I've heard on a multi-channel high gainer. It definitely shimmered. Channel 2 was my favorite! Very crunchy and 3D like. I was a bit disappointed with channel 3. I thought it sounded a bit too compressed. I had a hard time connecting with it so I moved back to channel 2. The Mid Cut knob was a cool feature but found I liked it best with the mids dialed in. Again, by no means did I not like the amp. I guess I have heard so much about the amp that my expectations may have been a bit high. That immediately gave it a bit of a disadvantage on this day. Either way, the amp as a whole is a thumbs up.
The winner for me was the Splawn Quick Rod. I think that it is fitting with the style of playing I have really been in to lately. In fact, I liked it so much that I went back the next day and spent some more time on it.
I will definitely say that my next amp will either a Spalwn Quick Rod or a Cameron CCV-100.
