ZEN Amps YouTube thread - Friedman Dirty Shirley 40W vid up

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Wow, is Splawn the new Nickleback? :giggle:

All good guys, I don't see any hate here and I certainly don't take any offense at all. Hearing different opinions is why we post here so no probs, especially when it's all respectful.

Funny thing is that I had QR years back and it had that quacky midrange many people mention and it was very sensitive to different cabs. This orange one seems different has much less of that spike going on. Pretty sure it hasn't been modded but maybe Scott tweaked the circuit over the years?

Yeah V30's are not well suited to this amp, but gotta say everyone was pleasantly surprised otherwise. She's not biased particularly hot which I think also helps.

And for sure 'aggressive' is all relative - probably more accurate to say more 'modern', whatever the hell that means.

I've often wondered if you guys didn't know it was a Splawn if you would have the exact same opinions about it?

Everyone is entitled to not like it for a myriad of reasons but people really seem like they don't want to admit that a Splawn amp can hold it's own in the Modded Marshall category regardless of price range. Maybe Zen captured how the amp sounds?...I don't think he is masking any shortcomings of the amps he has demonstrated so far with amp studio voodoo.

Even if I knew true voodoo, I wouldn't practice it! The whole point of our channel is to showcase (to the best of our abilities) how these suckers sound in a controlled environment / consistent miking / no post-sweetening etc. The miking in particular for those reference clips is identical each time so is a reasonable A/B source.

Thanks for checking it out though guys and again really appreciate the support and feedback ?
 
Wow, is Splawn the new Nickleback? :giggle:

All good guys, I don't see any hate here and I certainly don't take any offense at all. Hearing different opinions is why we post here so no probs, especially when it's all respectful.

Funny thing is that I had QR years back and it had that quacky midrange many people mention and it was very sensitive to different cabs. This orange one seems different has much less of that spike going on. Pretty sure it hasn't been modded but maybe Scott tweaked the circuit over the years?

Yeah V30's are not well suited to this amp, but gotta say everyone was pleasantly surprised otherwise. She's not biased particularly hot which I think also helps.

And for sure 'aggressive' is all relative - probably more accurate to say more 'modern', whatever the hell that means.



Even if I knew true voodoo, I wouldn't practice it! The whole point of our channel is to showcase (to the best of our abilities) how these suckers sound in a controlled environment / consistent miking / no post-sweetening etc. The miking in particular for those reference clips is identical each time so is a reasonable A/B source.

Thanks for checking it out though guys and again really appreciate the support and feedback ?
Zen, thank YOU! Your channel is awesome and probably the truest representations of amps and speakers I can recall ever hearing! Keep it up. ?
 
Wow, is Splawn the new Nickleback? :giggle:

All good guys, I don't see any hate here and I certainly don't take any offense at all. Hearing different opinions is why we post here so no probs, especially when it's all respectful.

Funny thing is that I had QR years back and it had that quacky midrange many people mention and it was very sensitive to different cabs. This orange one seems different has much less of that spike going on. Pretty sure it hasn't been modded but maybe Scott tweaked the circuit over the years?

Yeah V30's are not well suited to this amp, but gotta say everyone was pleasantly surprised otherwise. She's not biased particularly hot which I think also helps.

And for sure 'aggressive' is all relative - probably more accurate to say more 'modern', whatever the hell that means.



Even if I knew true voodoo, I wouldn't practice it! The whole point of our channel is to showcase (to the best of our abilities) how these suckers sound in a controlled environment / consistent miking / no post-sweetening etc. The miking in particular for those reference clips is identical each time so is a reasonable A/B source.

Thanks for checking it out though guys and again really appreciate the support and feedback ?
I’ve spoken to Splawn lately over the phone and he’s admitted he’s taken the feedback he’s received over the years and the circuits out now are changed from years past. He isn’t soldano where the same circuit from original release is what’s out now - he takes feedback and fixes shit because he takes pride in his amps. He told me the amps he’s putting out now are some of the absolute best amps he’s ever made. He’s using a completely different transformer company than anyone else currently and loves them.
 
I’ve spoken to Splawn lately over the phone and he’s admitted he’s taken the feedback he’s received over the years and the circuits out now are changed from years past. He isn’t soldano where the same circuit from original release is what’s out now - he takes feedback and fixes shit because he takes pride in his amps. He told me the amps he’s putting out now are some of the absolute best amps he’s ever made. He’s using a completely different transformer company than anyone else currently and loves them.
Interesting. I don't know how old our current one is but yeah it certainly sounds quite different to my mid 00's model.
 
I thought your video info insert showed it was a 2010 model?
Hmm, coulda been a typo or maybe relating to one of the guitars. Might check in with previous owner, but he bought it used so it's all unclear. Could be dateable by serial or something else but haven't looked into it.
 
Hmm, coulda been a typo or maybe relating to one of the guitars. Might check in with previous owner, but he bought it used so it's all unclear. Could be dateable by serial or something else but haven't looked into it.
Yeah I may have just seen 2010 in your info insert which may have pertained to some speakers and not the amp.
 
I had an early QR and it was an interesting amp. The gain was nice, but the overall tone was narrow in the middle. No low end, and not open. Closed off and choked. I played one of my worst gigs with that amp. Not a good memory.
 
I've owned my 2005 QuickRod for about six years now. There is definitely no lack of bottom end on mine. I usually have the bass set around 10-O-clock. I do know that the 2005/2006 models were more aggressively voiced. Now that did come at the expense of a clean channel. While I technically have a clean channel it is so tied to the gain channel that you get a lot of bleed over. So I treat mine as a single channel amp.

I've played a fully loaded 2018 model. It was more Friedman voiced than mine. Scott definitely has his own take on where the mids frequency is located. Its not as round a warm as a Marshall JCM 800 for sure. You either like it or you don't.
 
these demos are phenomenal! Subscribed...

think you'll stick with high-gain (ish) stuff or is there a plan for the cleaner side (Fender)? just curious, as all the guys you have demo'n are PLAYERS man... great job at giving plenty of opportunity to love or not love an amp
 
Great demo as always. :cheers:

Best demo channel out there period.

Splawns do vary from period to period and do not shine with V30s or low volume. If you played one in a V30 loaded cab at lowish volumes it will sounded choked off for sure. Unlike other popular amps around here. But they are a love/hate amp for sure I get it. I have not played one of the newer ones but would love to try.

Hmm, coulda been a typo or maybe relating to one of the guitars. Might check in with previous owner, but he bought it used so it's all unclear. Could be dateable by serial or something else but haven't looked into it.
I will look for that if you have the serial handy.
 
these demos are phenomenal! Subscribed...

think you'll stick with high-gain (ish) stuff or is there a plan for the cleaner side (Fender)? just curious, as all the guys you have demo'n are PLAYERS man... great job at giving plenty of opportunity to love or not love an amp

The Friedman Buxom Betty video they did was fuckin great IMO as far as cleaner/low gain stuff goes. The Hiwatt too
 
I liked the 2018 QR that I had for a bit but I didn't love it. Mainly for the same reason that is pointed out at one point in text format during the video. Smoother sounding more along the lines of Friedman and Bogner. I prefer a little more of the high mid thing that the QR seemed to smooth out and also I found the amp to have way too much low end. For me anyway.

I would try another one but it would most likely be one of the 50W versions.
 
I liked the 2018 QR that I had for a bit but I didn't love it. Mainly for the same reason that is pointed out at one point in text format during the video. Smoother sounding more along the lines of Friedman and Bogner. I prefer a little more of the high mid thing that the QR seemed to smooth out and also I found the amp to have way too much low end. For me anyway.

I would try another one but it would most likely be one of the 50W versions.

A friend of mine just dumped Wizards for a brand new Quick Rod recently for the high mids, missing in the Wizards.
Too far for me to drive to try it out though… never tried a Splawn.
 
I actually really liked the sound of the QR demo - it definitely sounds VERY different (which to many equates to 'better' or 'worse') depending on the speakers its paired with in the vid. I did not see the Old/New or Mid/Cut switches and I can vouch for the fact that those voicing options really do have a significant impact on where the mids are coming in. That said, switching cabs and speakers clearly has an even more noticeable effect on the midrange and overall tone than the voicing switches do through a single cab or type of speaker. Overall I really thought the amp sounded damned good at the various gain and tone-stack settings. You could really hear how much more gain the amp has on tap as you move form 1st to 3rd gear. Leads sounded really nice - like the amp wasn't fighting with you so to speak as some of the very early QRs were known for. I still have my 50 watt Fully-Loaded QR - I sold the Fully Loaded Nitro only because it was a bit redundant with 3rd gear on the QR. My biggest gripe about the amp is that it does not clean up as sweetly with the volume knob on the guitar and the clean channel is a bit sterile. Great demo.
 
I doubt a Quick Rod would provide a very satisfying experience for the female players out there.
 
Great demo as always. :cheers:

Best demo channel out there period.

Splawns do vary from period to period and do not shine with V30s or low volume. If you played one in a V30 loaded cab at lowish volumes it will sounded choked off for sure. Unlike other popular amps around here. But they are a love/hate amp for sure I get it. I have not played one of the newer ones but would love to try.
Thanks man, that means a lot!

Agreed with the V30/low volume thing. Cranked up a bit through M's or H's it actually slays in the room.

A friend of mine just dumped Wizards for a brand new Quick Rod recently for the high mids, missing in the Wizards.
Too far for me to drive to try it out though… never tried a Splawn.
Yeah I could actually see that, they are voiced quite differently in those upper-mids. A few of our guys preferred the Splawn and XTC over the MC for similar reasons.

these demos are phenomenal! Subscribed...

think you'll stick with high-gain (ish) stuff or is there a plan for the cleaner side (Fender)? just curious, as all the guys you have demo'n are PLAYERS man... great job at giving plenty of opportunity to love or not love an amp
Welcome aboard - as @Devin mentioned there is a bit of clean stuff in there, but it's not as much fun! A few amps we've broken into clean & dirty videos as there was a lot to cover, so keep an eye out for any 'Part 2' ones. The XTC and VH4 are upcoming and will probably be done like this.

I will look for that if you have the serial handy.
Ok thanks man, it's QR1111278 if that helps?
 
Thanks man, that means a lot!

Agreed with the V30/low volume thing. Cranked up a bit through M's or H's it actually slays in the room.


Yeah I could actually see that, they are voiced quite differently in those upper-mids. A few of our guys preferred the Splawn and XTC over the MC for similar reasons.


Welcome aboard - as @Devin mentioned there is a bit of clean stuff in there, but it's not as much fun! A few amps we've broken into clean & dirty videos as there was a lot to cover, so keep an eye out for any 'Part 2' ones. The XTC and VH4 are upcoming and will probably be done like this.


Ok thanks man, it's QR1111278 if that helps?

Pretty sure yours is a 2011.

First and second digits are the model. (QR)
3rd is the wattage. (1 = 100)
4th and 5th digits are the year made and the remaining are the number of amps produced at that time. (11 = 2011) w 1,278 made.

For instance if your serial number is QR109996 this would be a Quick Rod 100 watt built in 2009 and was the 996th amp built.

For another example. Mine is QR108634

So Quick Rod
100w
2008
634th built

https://splawnfans.proboards.com/thread/10134/read-serial-number
 
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