The official don't buy this amp if you play at home list...

[PowerTube]

I could be wrong on this, but it seems to be another of a long series of "I play in a band professionally for beer and gas money, and you don't".

To each, their own. Personally I would encourage all who work in well-paying jobs to try all of the amps on this so-called list. Fuck practice amps. Play tube amps with at least one 4x12. At home.

I use a 4210 and 2210 JCM800 all the time at home, and they sound fantastic at all volumes. I also have a mid 70's 100W four-holder that I play at home but that's bordering 911 if you're not careful. It can be done though without an attenuator and is heavenly through a couple of greenback cabinets.

Yep. I think you nailed it. There's something about the tonal depth of a 4x12 that you just can't get from a single speaker. I love my old Flextone II in the living room. It's great for sitting around playing while watching TV or whatnot, but I would never perform on stage with it.

My 2210 sounded killer at low volumes with pedals. I got rid of it for two reasons; it was a one-trick pony and the pedals caused a lot of hiss. But it sounded amazing across a 4x12, and this was even a shitty KMD 4x12.

[Shawn Lutz]

Read the names on the heads......suitable for both live and home use. This picture is from my home



Not sure where your going here but there are amps out there that work well in both situations but yes, the sweetness comes from pushing the volume tubes and cranking.

[jgcable]

The never ending re-occurring issue I have with the JCF after over 15,000 posts is I constantly forget that the people on this forum aren't really listeners. Instead.. they do what they want to do and even though they ask the questions.. they don't listen to the answers.
I wish.. when I was in my teens and 20's there was such a thing as the internet where you could ask questions and get answers from pro players. Instead... we learned by buying Carvin gear because you could return it in 10 days. We learned by trial and error. Mainly error.

Now we have the luxury of asking any question we want and getting pro's to answer them. Ask John P from Dream Theater what amp he uses at home. Ask any pro what they jam on at home. It ain't full stack tube amps. Trust me.

You have no idea what your high gain high power 1/2 or full stack all tube monster rig ACTUALLY sounds like or what it was intended for UNLESS you play live in a band. That could be jamming at home with a band or gigs.

You don't buy a 200 mph Hayabusa and complain that it doesn't run that good when you ride it around your neighborhood in a 20 mph zone.
I am trying to help you guys out.
I am talking specifically SPLAWN QUICKROD now. If you think that amp was developed, designed and intended to be played at home you are sadly mistaken. It was designed for live performance.

[jgcable]

Read the names on the heads......suitable for both live and home use. This picture is from my home



Not sure where your going here but there are amps out there that work well in both situations but yes, the sweetness comes from pushing the volume tubes and cranking.

Shawn.. you are a total show off. That's the greatest picture in the history of the JCF and has been since Brett posted his warehouse full of boutique exotic guitars. That's old school JCF baby....

[jgcable]

Yep. I think you nailed it. There's something about the tonal depth of a 4x12 that you just can't get from a single speaker. I love my old Flextone II in the living room. It's great for sitting around playing while watching TV or whatnot, but I would never perform on stage with it.

My 2210 sounded killer at low volumes with pedals. I got rid of it for two reasons; it was a one-trick pony and the pedals caused a lot of hiss. But it sounded amazing across a 4x12, and this was even a shitty KMD 4x12.

I get total depth from an open backed Peavey Triple X 60 watt combo which is a 1 x 12 combo. The trick... a BBE Sonic Stomp in the loop. I get palm muted tight bottom end chunk-o-rama with that rig. Its awesome. Just about every Peavey Ultra open back combo thumps. Line 6 Flextone 2 and 3's thump pretty good.
You don't need a 4 x 12.

[Axewielder]

Another issue I have is loud amps in small rooms. You get a room 20' across with 10' ceilings and a 4x12 cab roaring away with nothing to absorb the sound, and it just sounds like ass to me. It's hard to describe, but it's like this tight plate-reverby mess.

[Shawn Lutz]

I agree the QR wasn't designed for bedroom use. I have an older one, it is super loud, it sounds decent at lower levels but better the louder it goes.

I disagree with John's ego doing talking at times Althougth I have some decent amps I do crank/open them when I feel like it but you know what my practice amp is? I don't use one, I practice unplugged a lot of the times and I have a few SS practice amps and a J-station. What is funny is I hear the tone my head wants to hear even when I'm not plugged in. Funny I can go a few days unplugged and when I finally do plug in it takes me a while to get used to the gain/distortion again.

[PowerTube]

Let me be 100% crystal clear in what I'm saying here, just so nobody misunderstands. My issue with the Quick Rod was NOT the amount of volume, and it was NOT an issue to tame that volume. My main issue is that the tone just didn't appeal to me. Period.

1. I played it at low volumes using pedals. I wasn't impressed.

2. I played it at higher (4-5-ish) volume without the pedals. I wasn't impressed.

3. It was stiff, just as I had been warned about. I softened it up with a boost in the front, but it was still lifeless feeling.

4. The midrange was WAY too overdone for my taste. Yes, I understand that midrange is what cuts through. And yes, I also understand that some players love that. I don't.

5. The clean channel sucked out loud (no pun intended). It was harsh and "clunky" sounding.

6. The footswitch configuration is strange and non-intuitive, in my opinion.

7. The volume spike is ridiculous, again, as I had been warned in advance.

8. The entire Master Loop Volume concept, in my opinion, is a weird workaround for a problem (see #7) that shouldn't exist in the first place.

So as you can see, there are a myriad of reasons why the Quick Rod wasn't for me. But what I'm reading is, "You idiot! You bought an amp THAT POWERFUL to use at home?!?!?!"

Once and for all, the power of the amp was ZERO problem for me. None. Zilch. Nada. I've easily "tamed" two 100-watt tube amps in the past.

But the short answer is that I just didn't like the Quick Rod.

[z1n]

Shawn you are cheating! 2 of your heads are empty! :P

[pianoguyy]

The never ending re-occurring issue I have with the JCF after over 15,000 posts is I constantly forget that the people on this forum aren't really listeners. Instead.. they do what they want to do and even though they ask the questions.. they don't listen to the answers.
I wish.. when I was in my teens and 20's there was such a thing as the internet where you could ask questions and get answers from pro players. Instead... we learned by buying Carvin gear because you could return it in 10 days. We learned by trial and error. Mainly error.

Now we have the luxury of asking any question we want and getting pro's to answer them. Ask John P from Dream Theater what amp he uses at home. Ask any pro what they jam on at home. It ain't full stack tube amps. Trust me.

You have no idea what your high gain high power 1/2 or full stack all tube monster rig ACTUALLY sounds like or what it was intended for UNLESS you play live in a band. That could be jamming at home with a band or gigs.

You don't buy a 200 mph Hayabusa and complain that it doesn't run that good when you ride it around your neighborhood in a 20 mph zone.
I am trying to help you guys out.
I am talking specifically SPLAWN QUICKROD now. If you think that amp was developed, designed and intended to be played at home you are sadly mistaken. It was designed for live performance.

I have nothing to add, I just like what you had to say. So, by quoting it in a reply, it gets printed a 2nd time in case someone missed it the first time.

[Shawn Lutz]

Shawn you are cheating! 2 of your heads are empty! :P

yeah...those are quietest amps ever LOL. I no longer have the Purple one and may get rid of the black shell too.

[DonP]

I do agree in general.

and you can add the DSL100 to the list.

Nope. At least I like the DSL100 for home playing with a 4x12. I think they figured out how to make it sound good at lower volumes. It does need to be turned up enough to get the speakers flapping. I think I'm around 3 or 4 on the master, with all other controls DIMED.

[PowerTube]

I would never argue that these amps don't sound better with some volume on them. That's obvious. All I'm saying is that it's not "pointless" or whatever to have one for home playing.

[VitaminG]

Shawn you are cheating! 2 of your heads are empty! :P

yep. totally fake

[jgcable]

We can agree to disagree even though I am right!

I have been thinking about it and since you hated the Splawn you may love a straight up Marshall DSL or TSL. You might want to look at Hughes and Kettner too... just not the Switchblade which is a VERY generic sounding amp.