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Post by brokenfusion on Mar 15, 2010 22:06:42 GMT -5
Every amp I try sucks compared to my Quick Rod. I bought a Bogner Uberschall,Had it about two weeks. FAIL. Got rid of it.Got a Mesa Boogie DC-5, Not bad.Still on the fence with it. Got a Mesa Mark IV, now this thing is supposed to be the friggin holy grail of amps right? More knobs and switches than the space shuttle. I twisted knobs,flipped switches,swapped tubes around and played with push/pull knobs for about sixteen hours before I decided I can't get a sound i like out of it and threw in the towel on that one. Goodbye.Even tried the Spider valve for s&g's. I only needed about fifteen minutes with that thing.Nope! I figured I'd dip my toes into the modeler world so I got a VOX valvtronics VT 50.That lasted about three weeks. Only thing I really like is the Blackstar HT-5 I bought for $200! Now the Quick Rod just sounds right,no endless knob fiddling,just set it and forget it.I really tried to like all those other amps. Any other amps work for you guys??
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chops
Member
2 Roots waiting to Rock
Posts: 229
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Post by chops on Mar 15, 2010 22:31:33 GMT -5
Believe it or not, I also have a little Fender Blues Deluxe reissue (tweed) 1x12 combo that has the most killer clean tones imaginable. I couple it with a Boss Metal Core ML-2 for dirty stuff and I am quite satisfied for a little tube amp.
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Post by stratman1969 on Mar 16, 2010 5:19:02 GMT -5
I have a Traynor custom valve 50 that I use to practice. It rocks for lower volume stuff. But nothing beats my Splawn for sure
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Post by Lewis on Mar 16, 2010 6:25:25 GMT -5
I've had many throughout the years but here are the more recent:
Mesa Road King- Cool amp but way too many features and tweaking and still couldn't get it dialed in. Kind of cold and cracklely.Sold it!
I still have a Mesa 50 cal. + that I like.
Bad Cat Hot Cat 30- Loved these amps so much I bought 2 of them. Very simple and easy to dial in a great tone, fantastic build quality and great for mic'ing. I got some of my best recorded tones with these amps.
Bought a Nitro just to try it out and it blew the Cat right out the door. Sold both Cats and purchased a QR also.
Curiousity (Splawn) Killed the Cat....
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Post by rocker35 on Mar 16, 2010 7:42:17 GMT -5
I got an Engl Screamer 50 at the moment, but thats going this weekend. I might get a Blackstar HT5 mini stack for home practice and maybe a Marshall JMD50 for emergency backup.........or just say F... it and get myself a Nitro to partner my Competion ;D
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Post by ronmail65 on Mar 16, 2010 8:42:21 GMT -5
I have had the same experience as the Op. Although I've owned my PM for 3 years, I have been through many other amps since then -- I can't help experimenting. Plus I was looking for a good 1x12 combo / practice amp.
I finally decided to stop the madness last November. I have since sold all other amps except the ProMod. I purchased the Street Rod as my combo. I'm done (famous last words...)!
In this experience, the 2 biggest amp disapointments were the Mesa DR and the Bogner Alchemist. The amps I liked best were the Blackstar HT-5 (just not loud enough) and the Marshall JVM215c (too noisy on the high gain settings). The Egnater Renegade 65 was nice too - great price, great package of features for gigging, good tone, but wasn't "splawny" enough.
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Post by twilightodyssey on Mar 16, 2010 9:15:55 GMT -5
I have an old Laney Pro-Tube 30 that was my first 'real' amp, which I will never sell. Sounds pretty meh, but is convenient when I have a friend come over for a jam or something. It's also smart to have an emergency backup because you never know what can happen when you're on a gig. Currently I've been using a Bumbox Cielo for live clean and mild crunch tones and then I run the Cielo and the Quick Rod simultaneously for soloing. I match the volumes of both amps going into one or two cabs and use a Radial ABY to switch the QR in and out. Cielo: www.bumboxamps.com/30w.htmlThe Cielo is great for Bassman/JTM 45 tones and the QR, of course, rules the ruins with its Super Lead 100/JCM800 and beyond territory. Both amps are naturally voiced in a completely different, yet complimentary, fashion -- the Cielo is dark and has softer low frequency response, the 'Rod is brighter, faster, tighter.  |
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Post by sasquatch on Mar 16, 2010 10:02:22 GMT -5
I too have tried many amps over the years and am soooo happy I found Splawn! I've owned Boogies (MKIII, MKIV's, Single and Dual Rectumfrier), Musicman RD100, Fenders, Marshalls, Egnater, Framus Cobra and on and on. I was a "Boogie Guy" for years. I had several MKIV's (rack mount head, standard head and combo) at the same time and used which ever rig fit the gig. I would sometimes get frustrated with all the switches and push/pull knobs, etc. To this day I still think the searing, liquid lead tone of the MKIV is my favorite of the Boogie amps, and stands on it's own against many others if that's the sound you're going for. One of the frustrations I had with the Boogies was getting lost in the mix in a two guitar band. Too much saturation (I think). The Egnater was a constant fight and I never could find a sound I really loved. The Cobra was a lot like the Rectifiers (too much saturation) and in addition the build quality was suspect. I love my QR and fall in love with it again every time I plug in and play. I think I've gotten more compliments on my sound/tone in the last year since I've had the QR, than I have in the entire time I've been playing... a good many of 'em coming from other guitar players! Now I just need to get enough dough together to buy another QR for a back-up just in case. I just wouldn't be satisfied having to play through something else now.
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Post by LooseCannon on Mar 17, 2010 0:25:32 GMT -5
I've had many throughout the years but here are the more recent: Mesa Road King- Cool amp but way too many features and tweaking and still couldn't get it dialed in. Kind of cold and cracklely.Sold it! I still have a Mesa 50 cal. + that I like. Bad Cat Hot Cat 30- Loved these amps so much I bought 2 of them. Very simple and easy to dial in a great tone, fantastic build quality and great for mic'ing. I got some of my best recorded tones with these amps. Bought a Nitro just to try it out and it blew the Cat right out the door. Sold both Cats and purchased a QR also. Curiousity (Splawn) Killed the Cat.... I've played a Bad Cat once- awsome amp!! I wouldn't compare it to a Nitro- totally different. One amp i'm thinking of buying is the Egnater Rebel 20, it sounds really good and I like its small size and weight. I've also played the Blackstar HT-5 and the Marshall Haze 15 and they sounded like crap, though they might sound better with a good cab since the stock cabs look pretty lousy. The Egnater Cab seems well built. |
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Post by bubbastain on Mar 17, 2010 2:52:02 GMT -5
Over the last few years i've owned Carvin legacy, Marshall DSL100, Peavey XXX, Peavey 3120, Peavey 5150, Laney AOR50 and just the other day picked up a 1990 JCM 900 MKiii 50 watt head. Back in the early nineties my gigging rig consisted of a 50 watt Dual Reverb head, Marshall tube power amp and two Marshall 4x12s. One powered by the head and the other by the power amp. For the time is was the sound I wanted. So I picked up this 900, cleaned it up and replaced the tubes(kt77 and EH pre's). Had my friend over with his DSL50 and we tested side by side each with a Marshall 4x12 w/Vintage 30s and GT75s in an X pattern. We got some really good sounds out of both and were very happy. As happy as we were with the sounds I suggested that i now plug in the Splawn Competition. I said it would be unfair. And it was. The Splawn sounded enormous compared to the Marshalls. A completely different level. So I will be selling the 900. I just wanted to play with it a little. My mainstays are the Splawn and my 6505+. I love the way they both sound separately or together.
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Post by brokenfusion on Mar 17, 2010 9:13:03 GMT -5
I play the Blackstar through a Marshall 4x12 and it sounds great.Especially with a little delay and reverb in the loop. I can't
imagine that it sounds very good through the 10" cab they offer.
6505 or the 5150 is one amp I never got to try. I am also interested in the Soldano Hot Rod 50+. Anyone have the Soldano?
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Post by Lewis on Mar 17, 2010 10:40:00 GMT -5
Bad Cat Hot Cat 30- Loved these amps so much I bought 2 of them. Very simple and easy to dial in a great tone, fantastic build quality and great for mic'ing. I got some of my best recorded tones with these amps. Bought a Nitro just to try it out and it blew the Cat right out the door. Sold both Cats and purchased a QR also. Curiousity (Splawn) Killed the Cat.... I've played a Bad Cat once- awsome amp!! I wouldn't compare it to a Nitro- totally different. You're right, 2 completely different amps but one had to go so I had no choice but to compare. |
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Post by philm on Mar 21, 2010 20:48:36 GMT -5
Bogner 101B. I've been through every amp known to man over the last 3 years and settled on this one, I dig it.
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Post by brokenfusion on Apr 9, 2010 21:21:59 GMT -5
I just picked up a Mesa Stiletto Deuce II. Its a pretty cool amp so far. Lots of cool tones in it.
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Post by splatter on Apr 10, 2010 23:22:02 GMT -5
I bought a mesa lonestar about a month ago . It sounded good ,however the clean sounded kinda dry and the bottom end farted out like all mesa's.Then I did a bias mod on the amp . replaced the load resistor with a bias pot so that I can adjust the bias and man what a difference . Now the clean is a shimmery as any fender and the gain channel rocks . It even fixed the farty bottom end . Honestly I haven't played my QR hardly at all since . I was amazed at how cold the mesa was biased . It was running at about 30%.
Its still apples and oranges though . The mesa can't sound like the QR and the QR can't sound like the mesa the voicing is completely different . The mesa has a thick rich sound to it that I have been looking for . It lacks the clarity of the QR though.
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