What Amp Should I Go With?

[Deep Purple fan]

You guys are making me upset for buying this amp. First everybody's like "get the Splawn. Get the Splawn." I buy it, then everyone's like "Ehhh...Those Splawns...They're not that great."

You tried it .....right?

It’s all relative. Compared to an Engl Blackmore, 2203X and a 2555X it was ok but had the least to offer. I was selling one of the four and the Splawn went. I saw it back on craigslist a year later. I swapped preamp tubes twice and power tubes once, professionally biased. I could never find what I thought was a great tone. I saw that the guy who bought it from me put new tubes in as well. It might have been that amp in particular and not the brand.

I bought it cause it was advertised as a brown sound machine.

 

[Ghost]

I spent months watching every video I could on YouTube looking at Marshall-voiced heads. I had a particular sound in my head I was going for. I looked at the Friedmans, Bogners, etc... They just didn't have that sound. Didn't like the harshness and raspiness of the Bogner. And I honestly don't have $3500-$4000 to drop on an amp. I discovered the Splawns and watched the videos and thought THATS IT! That's the sound! They were less expensive though. Regardless, it's a done deal so I'm getting the Splawn.

 

[chiliphil1]

I'm still trying to get over you passing the 2203X Marshall on. I found it was your best tone. However ear tastebuds vary and I can't fault you for getting where you need to be.

Yeah, I just couldn’t take the volume. The amp sits in my living room and I’ve got a wife who is very sensitive to noise so...

The thing with the 2203 was that as soon as it made noise it was too loud. That was the one and only reason I let it go.

You guys are making me upset for buying this amp. First everybody's like "get the Splawn. Get the Splawn." I buy it, then everyone's like "Ehhh...Those Splawns...They're not that great."

Definitely not my intent. The splawn amps are truly bad ass. At the time I was looking for more of a classic rock sound and the nitro just wouldn’t do it. That amp is like the love child of a hot rod plexi and a dual rectifier. It’s meant for modern heavy music and that’s not what I was going for. The one you got is classic hot rod Marshall all day, I think you’ll be very happy. I wouldn’t say a bad thing about splawn amps, just be prepared to play LOUD.

 

[solarburn]

Mother fucker I told you JVM.LOL

Let me know how the Splawn works for you. I've never played one but Derek's comments aren't uncommon about it. I just can't say other wise...yet I want you to have a great tool for what need.

 

[Ghost]

Definitely not my intent. The splawn amps are truly bad ass. At the time I was looking for more of a classic rock sound and the nitro just wouldn’t do it. That amp is like the love child of a hot rod plexi and a dual rectifier. It’s meant for modern heavy music and that’s not what I was going for. The one you got is classic hot rod Marshall all day, I think you’ll be very happy. I wouldn’t say a bad thing about splawn amps, just be prepared to play LOUD.

Okay. I feel much better then. That's exactly what I want. Something that'll do screaming Skid Row/Extreme/Ratt/VH tones. Honestly, I don't see how I can have any high end tube amp and not be able to get a good tone.

 

[Ghost]

All I know is that I just bought a really nice quality amplifier built for a solid modded Marshall tone and I'm beyond excited to get it here and start shredding. I think it will be KILLER! There's really no reason why I shouldn't be able to get a good sound out this amp.

 

[solarburn]

All I know is that I just bought a really nice quality amplifier built for a solid modded Marshall tone and I'm beyond excited to get it here and start shredding. I think it will be KILLER! There's really no reason why I shouldn't be able to get a good sound out this amp.

Stay positive and test it. Hope it does everything you want.

 

[solarburn]

Yeah, I just couldn’t take the volume. The amp sits in my living room and I’ve got a wife who is very sensitive to noise so...

The thing with the 2203 was that as soon as it made noise it was too loud. That was the one and only reason I let it go.



Definitely not my intent. The splawn amps are truly bad ass. At the time I was looking for more of a classic rock sound and the nitro just wouldn’t do it. That amp is like the love child of a hot rod plexi and a dual rectifier. It’s meant for modern heavy music and that’s not what I was going for. The one you got is classic hot rod Marshall all day, I think you’ll be very happy. I wouldn’t say a bad thing about splawn amps, just be prepared to play LOUD.

They are loud...but so am I.Lol

You need to put your girl first.

Me? I get to play loud as I want.

 

[Derek S]

I remember getting great tones out of my QR at low volumes too - it had that "loop volume" knob on the back that I've read is more than just a simple level taper, it has some other things going on...whatever it was, IMO it worked well and you don't have to send a message to deep space with the QR to get sweet home friendly tones.

 

[EndGame00]

Scott told me over the phone that his 50W amps do not sound as good as his 100W amps.

He's trying to sell you the bigger iron....

 

[EndGame00]

No Splawn-authorized dealer in my area, so I have no experience with them... I was eyeing the Super Sport when I was in the market for a clone...but settled with Fargen... Also had a Granger V20 Nitro, but ended up selling it...

The thing about boutique amps are you really need to do a lot of homework and research before putting down the initial down payment...

 

[Ghost]

Welp, my Splawn is scheduled to arrive tomorrow! I'm going to pick up a 1960a cab tonight from a guy on CL $250. Tomorrow will be a rocking day for me! (hopefully)

 

[saxon68]

I've got a band in the making and I'm now faced with the task of putting together a good live rig. The band is original hard rock similar in style to 80s metal. There are several routes I can go but I'm not sure which is best. Here are the ones I'm looking at.

• Splawn Quick Rod: This has been the amp I've wanted for quite some time now. Honestly, I'd probably never need another amp if I had this one. But they're very expensive and I'm on a budget. Which leads me to my next choice...

• Blackstar: I would either get the HT40 or HT60. They seem well made and versatile. However, I don't think their sound matches the Splawn. Maybe some here can advise on these amps?

• Marshall DSL40C: If I got this amp I would probably have to use a boost pedal in front of it to get that extra saturation, but I honestly don't really like these amps. They just fall flat with me for some reason.

The Splawn is the one I really want, but it's difficult for me to save up enough for one. The Blackstars are more in my price range which makes them more attractive. I need an amp asap because of my band, so I've got a tough decision to make. I've currently got the money to purchase one of the blackstars, but I don't know if I want to do it or not. I really want the Splawn, but I don't currently have enough to swing that much, even for one of the used ones.

What do you guys think?

Have you considered solid state? I got this as a practice amp and it blew me away, this is me playing on mine:



Great 80s metal sound.

 

[chiliphil1]

Have you considered solid state? I got this as a practice amp and it blew me away, this is me playing on mine:



Great 80s metal sound.

I’ve got the little katana mini, must agree that’s a pretty sweet little amp.

 

[saxon68]

I’ve got the little katana mini, must agree that’s a pretty sweet little amp.

Traded mine for a 4x12 cabinet, was a no brainer for me.

That being said, if I had it to do again from the beginning, I'd have grabbed the Katana head and the new 2x12 they have. 8 channels with the new firmware adding banks, plus you can configure with USB? I'd use that over my tube head. I LOVE my tube head, but the Katana is just stupid easy and zero maintenance. And way cheap.

 

[Ghost]

Got the Splawn! What a monster of an amp! The only issue is that he put that gray "basket weave" looking grill cloth on it! Wtf? Why the hell did he do that? I didn't tell him to do that. The amp I bought was a demo he sold to me at cost that was originally in a plexi box. I told him I wanted it to look like an 800. I figured he would know what that meant. Why did he put that grill cloth on there? Why didn't he use black? Oh well, I guess I can spray paint it?

 

[Ghost]

Also, can someone tell me how to set the impedance on the amp? What should I be plugged into on the amp and the cab? Every online source on impedance I view is way too complicated. They want to give you the history of Isaac Newton developing calculus, Darwin's theory of natural selection, quantum mechanics, relativity, and everything else besides just telling you where to plug the damn cable... I just want to know where to plug the fucking cable in my amp! Lmfao...

 

[chiliphil1]

Got the Splawn! What a monster of an amp! The only issue is that he put that gray "basket weave" looking grill cloth on it! Wtf? Why the hell did he do that? I didn't tell him to do that. The amp I bought was a demo he sold to me at cost that was originally in a plexi box. I told him I wanted it to look like an 800. I figured he would know what that meant. Why did he put that grill cloth on there? Why didn't he use black? Oh well, I guess I can spray paint it?

That’s weird. You may want to give him a call, he may be willing to swap head boxes with you or maybe offer a discount. If you had ordered one designed to your spec I would expect him to make it right. Given that you bought one already made hopefully he will at least be willing to help you out a little.

Also, can someone tell me how to set the impedance on the amp? What should I be plugged into on the amp and the cab? Every online source on impedance I view is way too complicated. They want to give you the history of Isaac Newton developing calculus, Darwin's theory of natural selection, quantum mechanics, relativity, and everything else besides just telling you where to plug the damn cable... I just want to know where to plug the fucking cable in my amp! Lmfao...

Ok, so what you want to do is to plug the cable into the cabinet, figure out what it is rated either 4,8, or 16 ohms. Whatever the cab is plug into the speaker out on the amp and turn the knob to the number that matches what the cabinet says.

 

[el_bastardo]

So you bought a demo that's already been made and you're upset about how it looks? Lol.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Also, can someone tell me how to set the impedance on the amp? What should I be plugged into on the amp and the cab? Every online source on impedance I view is way too complicated. They want to give you the history of Isaac Newton developing calculus, Darwin's theory of natural selection, quantum mechanics, relativity, and everything else besides just telling you where to plug the damn cable... I just want to know where to plug the fucking cable in my amp! Lmfao...

Part of the reason for the theory, which really isn't that complicated, is so that if you want to add another cabinet, or run 2 speakers out of the 4 when set to stereo mode on cab you'll be able to figure it out and kow what to do.
Part of it should be obvious - if the cab has a mono switch and says 16 ohms, then set the amp to...you guessed it,..16 ohms. I'm not trying to be a dick here but with an expensive tube amp one should learn how to deal with impedance.