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Post by fretsman on Sept 25, 2005 11:44:05 GMT -5
Well, looks like I will be taking a little road trip today to see Derek Bernier from RockSolidAmps.com. I spoke to Scott the other day and he told me about Derek. Turns out I am only about an hour from him. He has one of the new Quick Rods that I can plug into. None of the cabinets though. That sucks because I have read good things about Scott's cabinets with the Eminence speakers in them and I really wanted to get to hear them. Derek said he had a bunch of cabs to plug into so I will ask him to pick one that he thinks comes the closest to the Splawn. Today will be the test to see if everything I have read about the Splaws is true. I wish I had my custom Strat finished. Guess my Wolfgang will have to do. Not that the Wolfgang sucks or anything, on the contrary, I love that guitar. It's just that the pickups on the Wolfie are very hot and I wanted to hear the tone of the amp using the Duncan EVH pickup I will be ordering for the Strat. I will post my findings... Road trip on a lazy Sunday afternoon + Amp testing = Sweetness  |
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Post by motrock on Sept 25, 2005 17:52:20 GMT -5
Who is doing your custom strat?
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Post by fretsman on Sept 29, 2005 16:20:58 GMT -5
So I went to test out the Splawn. I am sorry to say that I was a bit disappointed, but not because of the amp itself. First I wanted to say that Derek from RockSolidAmps.com is a great person to deal with. Actually took time out on a Sunday to let me invade his music room and let me fool around a bit with the amp. Cool guy and a great musician as well. I would recommend him to anyone who might be thinking about a Splawn. Ok, now to the amp. As I mentioned above, my only guitar right now is a USA Wolfgang Special flat-top with the stock pickups, which are very hot. Best way to describe it is that the guitar sounded twangy. Even Derek didn't like the tone. He also described it as twangy. Now, we were using the cabinet he had wired up which was loaded with greenbacks which in Derek's opinion have a bit more mid-rangy tone than the Splawn's do, but defiantly not twangy. Derek plugged in one of his guitars, a sweet Charvel that was striped like a Van Halen 1 - black and yellow "Bumble Bee" design. The pickup on it is no where as hot as the one on the Wolfie. It sounded great. So much better. Brown sound bliss. So my problem was not the amp, but the combination of the amp and my guitar. Do any of you who own a QR play a Wolfgang? Or use a guitar with hot pickups on it? Perhaps the Splawns just didn't like very hot pickups? I believe Scott mentioned that he likes a lower output pickup himself. As I mentioned above, I will be putting together a custom guitar soon that will have a Duncan EVH pickup in it. I was even thinking of putting one in the Wolfie as well, or at least try one in it to experiment with the tone. When I finish the new guitar I will be calling Derek again to see if he will let me try the Splawn again. This time I will also ask him to let me try it using a different cab. He has a Bogner and a Mojave. I would have asked him to let me try those out but I didn't want to abuse his hospitality . |
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Post by fretsman on Sept 29, 2005 16:32:19 GMT -5
Who is doing your custom strat? I am putting it together myself actually. It's going to be a Kramer Baretta type guitar with a banana head stock. I will be attempting the custom paint job as well . |
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Post by morecowbell on Sept 29, 2005 18:08:07 GMT -5
I have a QR, and I don't think they have trouble with high output pickups. I think what you're experiencing is similar to what I experienced once I got my QR, that it's such a responsive amp that you notice all sorts of tone nuances that you never noticed before, body wood, pickups, etc. I'm going through that now in fact; my main guitar has had a Duncan Screamin Demon that I've been happy with, but now that I've used my QR for a month or so I'm noticing a high endy character in the pickup that was never so noticeable with my other amps (including a Splawn marshall). Not because the QR is a trebly amp (it's not), but because it really brings out whatever you put into it. It doesn't sound "bad" with the Demons, it's still musical because it's an awesome amp, it's got more high end than I prefer. So what you're probably noticing is a tone character of something about that Wolfgang (maybe the pickups) that is not to your liking but it's been somewhat obscured before now.
I guess it's a 2 edged sword, great clarity is great once you have the right ingredients, but anything odd in the chain's going to come through as well, and you'll notice it big time.
I ordered a Rio Grand BBQ for my main guitar today to replace the Demon. I tried a JB which sounds real good but a little hot for my tastes.
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Post by Axemane on Sept 29, 2005 21:54:26 GMT -5
I have a Splawn modded Marshall Super Lead and a Quick Rod and they both sound great with low/medium output pickups and hotter pickups. I use DiMarzio Virtual Vintage in some of my strats and they sound great,although I usually like to turn the gain up a notch or two.
The bridge pickups I use in my super strats are
DiMarzio Evolution,Super Distortion
Seymour Duncan Custom 5,Distortion,Invader,JB,Hot Rails
PRS HFS
They all sound fantastic and yet they all sound different,just like each guitar I use has it's own type sound.All subtle but still different.
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Post by motrock on Sept 29, 2005 21:59:16 GMT -5
I have a QR, and I don't think they have trouble with high output pickups. I think what you're experiencing is similar to what I experienced once I got my QR, that it's such a responsive amp that you notice all sorts of tone nuances that you never noticed before, body wood, pickups, etc. I'm going through that now in fact; my main guitar has had a Duncan Screamin Demon that I've been happy with, but now that I've used my QR for a month or so I'm noticing a high endy character in the pickup that was never so noticeable with my other amps (including a Splawn marshall). Not because the QR is a trebly amp (it's not), but because it really brings out whatever you put into it. It doesn't sound "bad" with the Demons, it's still musical because it's an awesome amp, it's got more high end than I prefer. So what you're probably noticing is a tone character of something about that Wolfgang (maybe the pickups) that is not to your liking but it's been somewhat obscured before now. I guess it's a 2 edged sword, great clarity is great once you have the right ingredients, but anything odd in the chain's going to come through as well, and you'll notice it big time. I ordered a Rio Grand BBQ for my main guitar today to replace the Demon. I tried a JB which sounds real good but a little hot for my tastes. Man, you really summed it up! I have a Wolfgang that I have been using with my Splawn Marshall. The Wolfgang sounds like crap though it. It doesn't have the bottom end. I ordered a Mansel Guitar, set up to exactly what Scott told me works for him and Dirty Craig. I think that the guitar is a main ingredient that can't be ignored. Try plugging an Ibanez RG in to a Splawn Marshall with KT88s. Talk about mud! YUCK! LOL Scotts and Dirty Craigs clips are so good because they have the right guitar for the amp...........according to their ears! ;D |
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Post by morecowbell on Sept 30, 2005 9:35:36 GMT -5
[quote author=motrock board=quick thread=1127666645 post=1128049156Man, you really summed it up! I have a Wolfgang that I have been using with my Splawn Marshall. The Wolfgang sounds like crap though it. It doesn't have the bottom end. I ordered a Mansel Guitar, set up to exactly what Scott told me works for him and Dirty Craig. I think that the guitar is a main ingredient that can't be ignored. Try plugging an Ibanez RG in to a Splawn Marshall with KT88s. Talk about mud! YUCK! LOL Scotts and Dirty Craigs clips are so good because they have the right guitar for the amp...........according to their ears! ;D[/quote]
I guess that's the stuff that keeps me chasing my own tail sometimes, changing one link in the chain can end up causing you to change other things as well. Then when you finally get everything settled, it's awesome and worth it but getting there can be frustrating.
Did you get your Mansel yet? I'm curious what "setup" you were referring to, can you elaborate on details? My main guitar is an old '86 USA Jackson (#5070 San Dimas era) with a poplar body, which I've been in love with.....well, since the 80's. Coincidently enough, I mentioned that guitar to Scott, and he perked right up, apparently he's real familiar with those and is a big fan.
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Post by motrock on Sept 30, 2005 9:49:40 GMT -5
I won't get the Mansel till like mid November. Its the same one that Craig got, just the purple tiger. Here is some of my features:
C shaped solid maple neck w/ maple fretboard
mahogony body
gold hardware
GraphTech Saddle Savers on the Floyd Rose
Purple Tiger paint job
I am getting excited. Next I have to get rid of my Marshall so I can get the new Quick Rod!
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Post by Dirrty Craig on Sept 30, 2005 11:48:04 GMT -5
Hey fretsman,
Both of my DirrtyCraig clips on the Splawn site were recorded with the Wolfgang.
If you want hear a Splawn QR and Cab, your welcome to come over to my place anytime and jam through it. I also rehearse most Mondays, and you could here it full volume with band.
I live in the LakeMary Sanford area just north of Orlando and I reherase IN Orlando.
I also have some gigs coming up locally where you can hear the cab and head in action.
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Post by TuskerKevin on Oct 1, 2005 7:48:57 GMT -5
Hi everyone!
This is my first post! i have an early version of the QR....i love it! i play both an original Music Man EVH and a Wolfgang with the Duncan EVH pickup. Both sound great to my ears!! I play into a recto two twelve cab......works for me!
Thanks!
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Post by shreder75 on Oct 1, 2005 9:19:52 GMT -5
Hi everyone! This is my first post! i have an early version of the QR....i love it! i play both an original Music Man EVH and a Wolfgang with the Duncan EVH pickup. Both sound great to my ears!! I play into a recto two twelve cab......works for me! Thanks! wanna buy an axis with duncans to round out your collection? lol welcome to the board =) |
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