Ditched the Splawn Quick Rod

[jgcable]

The Quickrod is NOT designed for home use. Its designed to be used LIVE in a LIVE AND LOUD HARD ROCK OR METAL BAND SETTING. That's why it has midrange.
EVERYTHING you mentioned that you hated about the amp (with the exception of the weird footswitch layout) ARE EXACTLY what live players are looking for in an amp.

Caveat Emptor... stay away from SOLDANO, FREYETTE, ENGL or ANY MARSHALL PLEXI, Carvin Legacy, X100B, You will hate those amps too.



Stick with modeling for home use and stop needlessly cooking tubes at super low volumes.

[PowerTube]

The Quickrod is NOT designed for home use. Its designed to be used LIVE in a LIVE AND LOUD HARD ROCK OR METAL BAND SETTING. That's why it has midrange.
EVERYTHING you mentioned that you hated about the amp (with the exception of the weird footswitch layout) ARE EXACTLY what live players are looking for in an amp.

Caveat Emptor... stay away from SOLDANO, FREYETTE, ENGL or ANY MARSHALL PLEXI, Carvin Legacy, X100B, You will hate those amps too.



Stick with modeling for home use and stop needlessly cooking tubes at super low volumes.

I disagree. I can tame any tube amp, and I mean ANY amp, for low-volume playing at home. I did it for years with my JCM 800 and I did it just fine with the Splawn. Before the JCM 800, I did it for years with an original X100B and it was no problem. It's really no big trick. Volume was never my complaint about it anyway and if it was, I would have never considered the Splawn in the first place.

That super-present midrange is great for cutting through the rest of the band and cutting through in a mix. All fine and good. I even brought the stiffness under control by hitting the front with an Elextro-Harmonix Metal Muff. But the feel just wasn't there for me. No matter what I tried, it had no real warmth and "feel." My Marshall had it. My X100B had it. But this amp didn't. It felt cold and clinical. Both the JCM 800 and the X100B gave me great clarity and warmth; the Splawn only gave me clarity. Those amps also had a bit of a volume spike, but they didn't go from whisper quiet to shaking the walls with such a tiny increment of change.

I'm not going to settle for a Line 6 Spider or whatever at home just because someone says that I should. I've done the "100 watts across a 4x12" at home for many years of my life and I know my sound well. I want to try the 50-watt JVM205H next if I can find one.

The big rig concept isn't about volume or the taming thereof; it's about tone, depth, and overall feel. It also offers versatility if I do happen to play out again.

[jgcable]

I disagree. I can tame any tube amp, and I mean ANY amp, for low-volume playing at home. I did it for years with my JCM 800 and I did it just fine with the Splawn. Before the JCM 800, I did it for years with an original X100B and it was no problem. It's really no big trick. Volume was never my complaint about it anyway and if it was, I would have never considered the Splawn in the first place.

That super-present midrange is great for cutting through the rest of the band and cutting through in a mix. All fine and good. I even brought the stiffness under control by hitting the front with an Elextro-Harmonix Metal Muff. But the feel just wasn't there for me. No matter what I tried, it had no real warmth and "feel." My Marshall had it. My X100B had it. But this amp didn't. It felt cold and clinical. Both the JCM 800 and the X100B gave me great clarity and warmth; the Splawn only gave me clarity. Those amps also had a bit of a volume spike, but they didn't go from whisper quiet to shaking the walls with such a tiny increment of change.

I'm not going to settle for a Line 6 Spider or whatever at home just because someone says that I should. I've done the "100 watts across a 4x12" at home for many years of my life and I know my sound well. I want to try the 50-watt JVM205H next if I can find one.

The big rig concept isn't about volume or the taming thereof; it's about tone, depth, and overall feel. It also offers versatility if I do happen to play out again.

You are a good guy and I appreciate your posts and comments but you are wrong about this. I have been playing LIVE in metal bands since 1979. I have never taken anytime off. I know what I am talking about when it comes to amp tone. Ask anybody. My live guitar tone is something mere mortals could only dream of. Cold and clinical is what any super high gain high wattage amp playing through a 4 x 12 cab at home at low volumes will sound like. Put that same cold and clinical sounding amp in a live and lout setting with a pounding bass player and drummer and that's where you will appreciate everything that amp can do. Simply put... I would venture a guess and say that 99% of the high gain rock guitar players that play live would love that amp. Would they have other amps they like more? Sure but they would still love the Quickrod.
Regarding your JCM800.... depends on the model. I think the JCM900 is better for home use. Regarding the X100B? At low home volumes that amp is buzzy and almost sounds like a fuzz box. Its extremely loud and very hard to tame unless you use pedals. It has a stellar clean channel though. I owned at least 5 of them at one point or another.

[jgcable]

Let me qualify everything I am saying with this....

I am NOT considering using distortion boxes in front of the amp. FOR ME.. and me only... if I am buying a $2000.00 high gain tube amp the LAST THING I wan't to do is put a solid state distortion box in front of it. If you are doing that.. stick with a modeling amp.

Sure you can tame any amp by throwing a distortion box in front of it but I just don't see the point. Just my .02...

[xenophobe]

I've done the "100 watts across a 4x12" at home for many years of my life and I know my sound well. I want to try the 50-watt JVM205H next if I can find one.

The big rig concept isn't about volume or the taming thereof; it's about tone, depth, and overall feel. It also offers versatility if I do happen to play out again.

The big rig concept IS about volume. It's about having that tone, depth and feel that you're looking for at stage/rehearsal volume and being able to cut through bass and drums without being drowned out.

And 100w + 4x12 for home use... that all depends on what actual volume levels you're playing at. 100w + 4x12 is just absolutely insane if all you want is good bedroom or "don't disturb the neighbors" tone. It's overkill to say the least ...and if you're willing to settle for half-assed tone with boutique amps, you're on the right track. One of my close friends has the same attitude you do. He's gone through every high end amp you can think of trying to get that half stack look to work at in-home volume levels without an attenuator. Just the fact someone would use an attenuator is pretty much proof that you're expecting too much from a piece of gear that isn't suited for what you really want.

Just because you CAN drive a Formula 1 car to work doesn't mean that you should... unless you absolutely want to. But if you do, you shouldn't really complain that it doesn't handle street traffic well.

[jgcable]

The big rig concept IS about volume. It's about having that tone, depth and feel that you're looking for at stage/rehearsal volume and being able to cut through bass and drums without being drowned out.

And 100w + 4x12 for home use... that all depends on what actual volume levels you're playing at. 100w + 4x12 is just absolutely insane if all you want is good bedroom or "don't disturb the neighbors" tone. It's overkill to say the least ...and if you're willing to settle for half-assed tone with boutique amps, you're on the right track. One of my close friends has the same attitude you do. He's gone through every high end amp you can think of trying to get that half stack look to work at in-home volume levels without an attenuator. Just the fact someone would use an attenuator is pretty much proof that you're expecting too much from a piece of gear that isn't suited for what you really want.

Just because you CAN drive a Formula 1 car to work doesn't mean that you should... unless you absolutely want to. But if you do, you shouldn't really complain that it doesn't handle street traffic well.

You said it as well as it could be said!
I think I may have a TV SHOW in the making.. INTERVENTION... FOR GUITAR PLAYERS. Its as if they are in denial.
Let me be the first to say that having a half stack or a full stack in your house is COOL AS HELL... providing its either for decoration and the occasional romp so that the cops come OR.... its there because that's where you store it in between LIVE SHOWS.

Regarding the car reference... let me pose this...

RANT ON.... I shopped for 6 months for a super high performance car and I settled on 900 horsepower Mustang Cobra with a double shot of nitrous and I AM HAVING serious buyer remorse. Why? Well, the speed limit in my town is only 35 and the car just doesn't run or sound that good at 35 so I took it to a local shop and they pulled 6 of the 8 spark plugs out of it and they plugged up half of the exhaust and told me to leave the emergency brake on at all times. Now the car just isn't that fun to drive and it doesn't sound that good either. Maybe I should have bought something that was SUITED for the town I live in.

RANT OFF.....

[PowerTube]

You are a good guy and I appreciate your posts and comments but you are wrong about this. I have been playing LIVE in metal bands since 1979. I have never taken anytime off. I know what I am talking about when it comes to amp tone. Ask anybody. My live guitar tone is something mere mortals could only dream of. Cold and clinical is what any super high gain high wattage amp playing through a 4 x 12 cab at home at low volumes will sound like. Put that same cold and clinical sounding amp in a live and lout setting with a pounding bass player and drummer and that's where you will appreciate everything that amp can do. Simply put... I would venture a guess and say that 99% of the high gain rock guitar players that play live would love that amp. Would they have other amps they like more? Sure but they would still love the Quickrod.
Regarding your JCM800.... depends on the model. I think the JCM900 is better for home use. Regarding the X100B? At low home volumes that amp is buzzy and almost sounds like a fuzz box. Its extremely loud and very hard to tame unless you use pedals. It has a stellar clean channel though. I owned at least 5 of them at one point or another.

Maybe we're saying different things. If you're saying that it's not practical to really open up a 100-watt tube amp at home, then I agree. But what I'm talking about is taming it with pedals, but still having that nice, warm tube saturation. My JCM 800 and X100B both sounded great at home at low volume. I liked the JCM 800 just a bit better and that's why I traded the X100B against it. The Vetta is more versatile and has nice cleans, so I bought it and eventually sold the JCM 800.

I understand where you're coming from. I really do. I realize that most tube amps sound best and really shine somewhere between 3 and 5 on the volume knob. However, with the right boost and the right EQ, I can totally get that warm, clear-but-saturated, edge of feedback, singing, stinging tone at low volumes.

Let me try to describe my beef with the Quick Rod in different terms.

The clean channel sounded like an exact replica of my JCM 800 as I remember it. That is to say, it sucks ass. And this is the "new, improved" clean channel I keep hearing people talk about. Granted, not a lot of people buy a Quick Rod for its pristine, sparkling, Fender-like clean, but if this was going to be my main amp to replace the Vetta, it needed to be a lot better than it is.

The overdrive was nothing special. I played an ENGL head recently (forget which model), a 5150 III 50-watt, and a new Marshall DSL 100. The overdrive on all three of these was just as good as the Splawn, and none of the three had that stiffness to them. In fact, I played the 5150 III at VERY low volume in the store and the overdrive sounded nice.

It's supposed to be voiced like a hot-rodded Plexi, a hot-rodded JCM 800, and a super hot-rodded JCM 800. After hearing all three gears, I thought "meh."

The effects loop master volume, in my opinion, is just a weird concept. Why not just put a volume pot on the front with less of an extreme taper? I'm pretty convinced that it can be done.

I agree with you about the X100B sounding buzzy at low volumes. That's where pedals come in. My JCM 800 was the 2210 model, 100 watts, 2-channel and reverb.

Once while my young sons weren't around, I put the Splawn on about 4 and stood several yards away with a long cable. I stepped back and forth and tried different EQ settings, tweaked this, tweaked that, and it just sounded like a cold fish to me. I think that's really my best overall synopsis: I see it as a cold fish, both in sound and feel.

[Larz]

Do you like the Mesa sound? Have you ever tried the Dual Rec Roadster in like a 2x12 combo set up? It is pretty diverse with the four channels and three settings per channel, reverb and each channel is switchable from 100w to 50w and has master volume. If you like clean, mid-gain and the the mesa rectifier sound it has a lot to offer. I think it sounds good around the house at lower and mid- levels and can be brought out to play at a show as well or in any band setting, assuming you can carry 98 pound combo amps easily, lol. At least it has wheels. The certain guitar centers carrying the Mesa line usually have them.

Just a thought.

[chrisolson]

Get a Kemper. There are a PILE of Splawn & JVM Profiles on there.

[PowerTube]

Do you like the Mesa sound? Have you ever tried the Dual Rec Roadster in like a 2x12 combo set up? It is pretty diverse with the four channels and three settings per channel, reverb and each channel is switchable from 100w to 50w and has master volume. If you like clean, mid-gain and the the mesa rectifier sound it has a lot to offer. I think it sounds good around the house at lower and mid- levels and can be brought out to play at a show as well or in any band setting, assuming you can carry 98 pound combo amps easily, lol. At least it has wheels. The certain guitar centers carrying the Mesa line usually have them.

Just a thought.

I appreciate the suggestion, but no, Mesa never really did much for me.

Funny you should say that about the wheels. I bought a used Flextone II combo from GC online. When it arrived, a previous owner had installed wheels on it. I loved the idea so much that I installed wheels on my other Flextone.

[ZL1hawk]

That sucks PowerTube! Sorry the QR didn't jive with ya. Every amp presents its own unique challenges and demands on its player, wait and see what happens to me when my Bogner shows up. I get obsessed and refuse to stop playing until I find just the right settings. It can be a nightmare especially after tearing it up on a Nitro for the last 5 years or so.

Hopefully you get what you're looking for.

[PowerTube]

That sucks PowerTube! Sorry the QR didn't jive with ya. Every amp presents its own unique challenges and demands on its player, wait and see what happens to me when my Bogner shows up. I get obsessed and refuse to stop playing until I find just the right settings. It can be a nightmare especially after tearing it up on a Nitro for the last 5 years or so.

Hopefully you get what you're looking for.

Thanks. Yeah, there are a lot of things that go into the mix and I'm not sure we can even define all of them.

Best of luck with the Bogner.

[roodyrocker]

One thing to watch out for when playing amps, and this was mentioned when you said you plugged in and stood 3-4 feet away, is the tone is quite different standing there vs. kneeling in front of the cab. It makes a huge difference and the tone coming from the speakers while kneeling level with them is what an audience hears if you were playing live because that's where mic placement would be going into the PA. What we hear on stage standing above speaker height is quite different.
I know you said you don't want the hassle of sending amps back with things such as 10 day return policies but given the fact that you want to play your amp before buying that's not such an unreasonable thing. I mean, if there aren't any dealers around you I'd buy it and try and send it back if it doesn't work for you. In the long run it will save you time and money.
Mesa was mentioned earlier. If you were going to try one of those I'd say check out the Mark V. It has a 3 channel combination ranging from nice cleans to good distortion. GC was blowing those out a while back too. Don't know if they still have any in their chain but that's an amp you can try out if they do. For live playing I'm not a big fan of Line 6 stuff. It's ok for home noodling around but years ago I sold off my rack Pod stuff and when we run live sound for other bands using Line 6 amps, mainly combos, I've never been all that impressed with the tone.

[PowerTube]

One thing to watch out for when playing amps, and this was mentioned when you said you plugged in and stood 3-4 feet away, is the tone is quite different standing there vs. kneeling in front of the cab. It makes a huge difference and the tone coming from the speakers while kneeling level with them is what an audience hears if you were playing live because that's where mic placement would be going into the PA. What we hear on stage standing above speaker height is quite different.
I know you said you don't want the hassle of sending amps back with things such as 10 day return policies but given the fact that you want to play your amp before buying that's not such an unreasonable thing. I mean, if there aren't any dealers around you I'd buy it and try and send it back if it doesn't work for you. In the long run it will save you time and money.
Mesa was mentioned earlier. If you were going to try one of those I'd say check out the Mark V. It has a 3 channel combination ranging from nice cleans to good distortion. GC was blowing those out a while back too. Don't know if they still have any in their chain but that's an amp you can try out if they do. For live playing I'm not a big fan of Line 6 stuff. It's ok for home noodling around but years ago I sold off my rack Pod stuff and when we run live sound for other bands using Line 6 amps, mainly combos, I've never been all that impressed with the tone.

In my original threads about Splawn, I really wanted to get a used Quick Rod from GC because of their return policy. That offers some protection in case it doesn't work out. But nothing ever showed up for over a month, I found a deal elsewhere, and took it. Huge mistake, and I do mean HUGE.

A lot of people keep recommending Mesa. They haven't really grabbed me in the past, but I have limited experience with them. I have to admit that the Stiletto sounds good in the videos I've watched. My local GC doesn't carry anything by them in the store. I might explore them further.

I used my Vetta live (mic'ed) to perform the national anthem a couple of times and it sounded great. However..... I doubt I would even try it with a band around me because I doubt that it would cut through very well. Even if it did I don't think it would sound that great.

[Shawn Lutz]

Sorry you have a bad experience with the QR, not all amps are for everyone. I haven't tried their newer stuff but I have one of the first QR's with the shared QR and no gears...nice amp and moderate to loud levels, not too bad lower either for me.