NAD

[zerofivefour]

Well, It arrived last night, took me 30 minutes to unpack. Superb exceptional packing and packaging btw.
 
It looks amazing in pics but 10 times better in person than pics, don't they always?



First impressions:

OMG 

Visually stunning, beautiful tolex job, it's built like a tank and outfitted first class, the iron is heavy as heck too, and yes that New Amp Smell, as its cooking and I'm not kidding =).

Tone:

OMG...Tone and Sustain, Punchy, Chewy, Thick, with girth but not syrupy SAGtastic, ie(rectos),  and Tight.  Defined notes are what I'm getting at. No flub, I'm ecstatic.


Tracking Solos and Dirt:

Tracks solos and quick passages exactly as I was hoping. I've played boogie rectos duals and triples, (see pics), for years, and they need a boost for tight tracking.  I've also more recently, last 3-4 years, been playing a CAE 3+SE premap with a Boogie 2:90 poweramp and rack, and while tight articulate, this is tighter and just as articulate. Fuller and richer and thicker, (as heads are over a preamp/rack setup), and I'm loving it. The head just sounds HUGE. 

In contrast to the boogie rectos requiring a boost for tracking, All the Splawn QR needs a slight turn on the volume knob, in any gear and the solos fly off the fretboard precise and full, no boost required, although I'm tempted to throw a SD-1 or TS in front just to try it out, I'm betting on effortless sustain for days...

Clean: 

The clean channel, Extremely pleasantly surprised at how articulate, clear, and full the notes sound when played, albiet with my short experience with it. Bare in mind I only played with it for a few minutes, as my time was limited and I chose to live in "gain land". More on it after a few more days. 


Gears:

Loving 1st and 3rd atm. Have not given 2nd much attention just yet, not sure why to be honest, perhaps its the channel that sounds closest to my CAE 3+ preamp so I'm digging the new, but I will certainly give gear 2 its due. 

This is all with a 4x12 V-30 loaded Mesa "Traditional", (marshall sized), cabinet, which I have to say sounds Huge and thick. I am still definitley going to pickup a splawn Creamback loaded 4x12 as I always like to pair amps with the proper cabinet for best results. I believe it will offer a richness in tone that the V30s do not, I need it to hold the head off the ground any way  


This is my first el34 based amp since going with boogie's 6l6 powered amps in the mid 90s.  It does exactly what I hoped it would do.  


Option Switches:

Played for a good 2 hours, 1 last night, 1 today.  I can not believe how fast this amp tracks and I'm blown away at how thick the notes are. The mid and old/new switches really offer something. Im not entirely sure if they are filters, or not, but the are worth every penny if anyone is wondering.  The drop b+ is excellent as well. I am so glad I got all three options. I've only played for 2 hours, at what I would consider moderate-loud to loud levels. I am fortunate enough to live on 2 acres and therefore can let it rip without issues. This weekend I'm going to unleash the beast, When the family are safely out of the house. 


FX loop: Sounds great, but works a bit different than other loops I've been using. I can't  seem to get the level meter on my unit to register. The clarity and tone preservation are top notch. I'm going to call Scott and discuss this. I have not yet attached it to my large rack of stereo fx, (my 2:90 is in the shop), but Using a single rack unit sounds exceptional.

(Powering off), With an fx rack in the loop, after powering off, there is an audible ZZuupppp, (like a laser beam),  sound after powering it off. Not sure if that is normal or not. We shall see, perhaps I'll iron it out after calling Scott.


FootSwitch:

Have not figured this one out just yet, I used it for a few minutes, and took it off, as I wanted to manually run through the options, without any second guessing what was being activated etc...(no led's on the Amp indicating what is switched in/out of course). I'll have to get back on this one as well.  Can any gears be switched in/out with the FS?



To say I'm please is the understatement of the year.

This amp does everything and more than I hoped it would. It sounds better than I hoped it would. It looks better than I thought it would. Yep I'm in the honey moon period, but I've played some nice gear over the years, and this amp is Top Shelf through and through. Nothing bad to say about it.

Regrets: Only 1, and I'm being sincere. I wish I would have bought this amp years ago. Seriously. I love it.

Pics of the QR in my music room. 

Cheers,

Tom

[gtrjunior]

Congrats Tom!!! She's a beauty!!
I had mostly played in gear 2 but just recently "discovered" 3 rd gear and I love it. So rich and harmonically full. That zuuuppp noise is the charge draining off of the filter caps....mine does it too. I asked Scott about it as well and that's what he told me.
About switching gears...
When you put the switch on gear 1(on the amp) the FS switches between gears 1/2. Put the amp on gear 3 and the FS goes between gears 2/3.
Gear 2 is default so when the "mode" light is off on the FS, you're in gear 2.

[zerofivefour]

Apr 25, 2017 13:09:37 GMT -5 gtrjunior said:

Congrats Tom!!! She's a beauty!!
I had mostly played in gear 2 but just recently "discovered" 3 rd gear and I love it. So rich and harmonically full. That zuuuppp noise is the charge draining off of the filter caps....mine does it too. I asked Scott about it as well and that's what he told me.
About switching gears...
When you put the switch on gear 1(on the amp) the FS switches between gears 1/2. Put the amp on gear 3 and the FS goes between gears 2/3.
Gear 2 is default so when the "mode" light is off on the FS, you're in gear 2.

Thanks GtrJr!

Yes, It feels like Christmas!

Thanks for the clarification on the "Zuuuuuuuuppppp",    I'm glad it's normal operations and not an issue. 

I love gear 3 too. Something about gear 1, right off the bat really grabbed me.  

Thanks for explaining the footswitch gears for me. That is extremely helpful. 

Could you please tell me What the OD1/OD2 button does? Splawn's website says it cycles from, OD1 (rhythm) /OD2 (lead) mode, Does it add an opamp for more dist?, or cut the lows? or??? 


If you are using any gear in the FX loop with an input/clipping display, do you have any issues with yours displaying. My unit, does not display at all with this particular amp, which is strange.


Cheers,

Tom

[gtrjunior]

So OD 1/2 basically just adds a small gain bump. I'm not sure wether is from an op-amp circuit or if it's tube driven but it's a small but noticeable difference in saturation. I'm not aware that it changes anything tonally.
The only gear I'm running in my loop are pedals. So I can't comment on any type of input clipping. However, there is the -10/+4 switch on the loop for rack mount gear (+4 setting) and pedals (-10 setting) IIRC. I had noticed at one point that my pedals seemed to sound better at the +4 setting. I asked Scott about it and he said use whichever setting sounded better. It wouldn't hurt the amp....not sure if that still applies with rack gear though.

One more thing with the zuuuppp noise....when I got my amp the bias had drifted to a pretty cold bias. Once I rebiased the zuuuppp noise improved significantly. Also Scott recommended shutting down with the standby switch and allowing a bit of time to pass before shutting the power switch down....maybe 10 seconds or so.

[zerofivefour]

Apr 25, 2017 15:36:42 GMT -5 gtrjunior said:

So OD 1/2 basically just adds a small gain bump. I'm not sure wether is from an op-amp circuit or if it's tube driven but it's a small but noticeable difference in saturation. I'm not aware that it changes anything tonally.
The only gear I'm running in my loop are pedals. So I can't comment on any type of input clipping. However, there is the -10/+4 switch on the loop for rack mount gear (+4 setting) and pedals (-10 setting) IIRC. I had noticed at one point that my pedals seemed to sound better at the +4 setting. I asked Scott about it and he said use whichever setting sounded better. It wouldn't hurt the amp....not sure if that still applies with rack gear though.

One more thing with the zuuuppp noise....when I got my amp the bias had drifted to a pretty cold bias. Once I rebiased the zuuuppp noise improved significantly. Also Scott recommended shutting down with the standby switch and allowing a bit of time to pass before shutting the power switch down....maybe 10 seconds or so.

Thanks again, I appreciate it! 

I just got off the phone with Scott.  That guy is awesome! You can just tell he loves what he does and his customer service is incredible. He patiently took the time to answer all of my questions, some of which I'm sure he's answered 100s if not thousands of times etc...

He explained it all to me, and your spot on. 
Re: The Fx loop,

I was running it wrong, It functions a bit different than the loops I've used in the past.

When the loop is engaged the front volume becomes the FX send, (set level to feed the input of the unit and watch the clipping meter),  and the Loop Volume becomes the master/return volume. Use this as the Master. I was using it in reverse, by running the front volume low, and juicing the fx return. 

I'm just now going to fire up the rig and run the FX properly, I'll get back with my results.

Thanks again for your insight and help, much obliged!

Cheers,

Tom

[gtrjunior]

Apr 25, 2017 16:10:48 GMT -5 zerofivefour said:

Apr 25, 2017 15:36:42 GMT -5 gtrjunior said:

So OD 1/2 basically just adds a small gain bump. I'm not sure wether is from an op-amp circuit or if it's tube driven but it's a small but noticeable difference in saturation. I'm not aware that it changes anything tonally.
The only gear I'm running in my loop are pedals. So I can't comment on any type of input clipping. However, there is the -10/+4 switch on the loop for rack mount gear (+4 setting) and pedals (-10 setting) IIRC. I had noticed at one point that my pedals seemed to sound better at the +4 setting. I asked Scott about it and he said use whichever setting sounded better. It wouldn't hurt the amp....not sure if that still applies with rack gear though.

One more thing with the zuuuppp noise....when I got my amp the bias had drifted to a pretty cold bias. Once I rebiased the zuuuppp noise improved significantly. Also Scott recommended shutting down with the standby switch and allowing a bit of time to pass before shutting the power switch down....maybe 10 seconds or so.

Thanks again, I appreciate it! 

I just got off the phone with Scott.  That guy is awesome! You can just tell he loves what he does and his customer service is incredible. He patiently took the time to answer all of my questions, some of which I'm sure he's answered 100s if not thousands of times etc...

He explained it all to me, and your spot on. 
Re: The Fx loop,

I was running it wrong, It functions a bit different than the loops I've used in the past.

When the loop is engaged the front volume becomes the FX send, (set level to feed the input of the unit and watch the clipping meter),  and the Loop Volume becomes the master/return volume. Use this as the Master. I was using it in reverse, by running the front volume low, and juicing the fx return. 

I'm just now going to fire up the rig and run the FX properly, I'll get back with my results.

Thanks again for your insight and help, much obliged!

Cheers,

Tom

Cool! Glad you got the info from the man himself! I'm looking forward t you're results.

[briman]

Yeah mine makes the zooop noise too lol. I think i actually started a thread on that a few months back. As Gtrjunior said, just put amp on stanby for about 8 seconds before switching off.
Congrats Tom! Enjoy! Wait until you really crank it.......your gonna have ear orgasms!!
That thing looks so cool! Pretty sure you are never going to buy another amp!!

[zerofivefour]

Apr 25, 2017 17:26:19 GMT -5 briman said:

Yeah mine makes the zooop noise too lol. I think i actually started a thread on that a few months back. As Gtrjunior said, just put amp on stanby for about 8 seconds before switching off.
Congrats Tom! Enjoy! Wait until you really crank it.......your gonna have ear orgasms!!
That thing looks so cool! Pretty sure you are never going to buy another amp!!

Briman,

Thanks for the kind words. I think it looks cool too. While it's Not what I originally spec'd out for looks, I'm glad I was able to change directions as I like it even better.

This weekend I am going to Crank the puppy LOUD and then I'm going to hit the solo boost   ! 
Your're right, I think this definitely ends the tone pursuit for me.

Cheers,

Tom

[zerofivefour]

Apr 25, 2017 16:45:34 GMT -5 gtrjunior said:

Apr 25, 2017 16:10:48 GMT -5 zerofivefour said:

Cool! Glad you got the info from the man himself! I'm looking forward t you're results.

Cranked it Very Loud: Concert level,  (ear fatigue was the result, as well as Ear Orgasms, as Briman mentioned)    ), for a good 2 hours yesterday.
FX loop running properly. Everything sounds perfect. I'm using an old Rocktron Xpression sparingly for simple delays and phased delays.  I might hook up the Lexicon for better effects today, if I have time. The Xpression, has an all Analog signal path reducing any tone suckage and is not integrated into my rack making it easier to use with the QR atm. 

I have to tell you that, the V 30's in the Mesa Traditional 8 ohm Cabinet sound so good to me. They sound Gnarly, Raunchy, punchy, and Thick. note definition is Phat and sustains as good as anything I've used.  Incidentally I have absolutley NO HONK. Still tempted to get a 16 ohm creamback loaded cab. But the V-30s sound so good. Also wondering how the two cabs would sound together. That's assuming I can run an 8 ohm, and 16 ohm cab together. 

I'm using 2 Alder body Charvels with FR, one with the stock JB, and another with the RTM, (warren DeMartini sig pickup which is supposed to be a modified JB of sorts, albiet with a different magnet.)  They both offer excellent results, but I lean towards the stock JB. Where the RTM is balanced overall, more muscular and thick perhaps, the stock JB is searing and Rings notes with its classic raunch and gnarly mid spike, I like the mid bump of the JB for sure. 

I am experiencing Zero Honk. It sounds so good, that I wonder if I am just a V 30 guy, or if the Mesa V 30s counter the "honkyness". Either way I have no complaints with the V 30s. 

Running in all 3 gears, but favoring Gear 1 for now. They are all amazing, as all of you know, I'm sure.

Current Settings are:

Pres: 1 o'clock 

Bass: 3 o'clock

Mid: 12 o'clock

Treble: 2 o'clock

Gain, Varies, up to 2 o'clock

Mid, using up and down, depending on song (favoring down). 
Old, New, Using both equally. NO favorite just yet. 
Drop B + using it ON exclusively (forgot it was an option during the 2 hours as I was enjoying the amp so much). I'll have to experiment more with it off. 

Have not used the Footswitch options of Solo boost or OD1/OD2 at all, as I've wanted free reign of all 3 gears for experimentation purposes. Perhaps I'll put it on today and check those features out as well as use the clean channel a bit. The vol knob roll off is surprisingly good, so I've just been doing that for clean passages. 


As I mentioned above, All of the optional features are well worth the cost IMHO. THe Mid, Old/new, and Drop B+. Worth every penny. Running them in various positions really adds sonic options that work better for certain types of songs, musical styles etc... So glad I orderd it fully loaded.


Cheers,

Tom

[gtrjunior]

Great!! Fwiw, you might consider 2 Creamback a in an X pattern with the V30's in you're current cab....you'll save a few bucks.

[splawndude]

Congrats 054Tom on your new amp.

Looks delish

If you like it now with the Mesa Trad V30 cab wait until you get a Creamback or Small Block type cab. I remember talking to you about this before. I honestly can't stand my QR into my V30 loaded Mesa 4x12 so you have nothing but tonal improvements ahead of you my friend.

What tubes shipped with it. That is another area of improvement you can mess with later. Lots of threads on that topic too.

The shutdown sound was addressed already but yeah, the standby switch first will help with that and you can also just turn the volume off but it is normal (in lots of tube amps actually).

Interesting information regarding the loop volume. Good to know - even though I don't have that feature.

I like to boost my QR

Try a little verb or delay on clean

Try setting Treble to '0'

Set Solo slightly above volume knob and mess with that a bit

Scott is awesome to deal with - glad everything went smooth.

Welcome to the Splawn family and board. I always get pumped up when I read a new review like yours from someone who has never played one before. Exciting.

[zerofivefour]

Apr 27, 2017 11:57:55 GMT -5 splawndude said:

Congrats 054Tom on your new amp.

Looks delish

If you like it now with the Mesa Trad V30 cab wait until you get a Creamback or Small Block type cab. I remember talking to you about this before. I honestly can't stand my QR into my V30 loaded Mesa 4x12 so you have nothing but tonal improvements ahead of you my friend.

What tubes shipped with it. That is another area of improvement you can mess with later. Lots of threads on that topic too.

The shutdown sound was addressed already but yeah, the standby switch first will help with that and you can also just turn the volume off but it is normal (in lots of tube amps actually).

Interesting information regarding the loop volume. Good to know - even though I don't have that feature.

I like to boost my QR

Try a little verb or delay on clean

Try setting Treble to '0'

Set Solo slightly above volume knob and mess with that a bit

Scott is awesome to deal with - glad everything went smooth.

Welcome to the Splawn family and board. I always get pumped up when I read a new review like yours from someone who has never played one before. Exciting.

SplawnDude,


Thanks for the kind words and for the cabinet feedback. You're absolutely right! I simply have to get the 16 ohm cabinet, and It has to be loaded with the Creambacks and/or smallblocks etc... I have considered an X pattern as GtrJr suggested as well, it's a great idea btw =), cheers to GrtJr. But I'm leaning towards a 4x12 fully loaded wcreambacks.


I've long since been a proponent of having the "right" cabinet for the amp. Many folks that try boogies, pair them with the "wrong" cabinet and never hear it in it's "natural' state. The state it was designed around. I have to believe the QR was designed around a 16 ohm cab with a greenback variant. Again, SplawnDude, you're right!


My decision to get the QR was spurred on by a desire to Jump kneck-deep into M style amps, and the 16 ohm cab with a greenback variant just completes the package so to speak.


Also, After talking to Scott, he also convinced me, (wasn't that hard lol), that a 16 ohm cabinet match with the QR transformer in the head would just make more sense and make the amp sound its best.


So thanks for the suggestion, feedback, and further motivation. Truly appreciate it.


Re: Tubes, EL34B, Upon inspection it appears they are VA, Valve Art, shuguang factory Chinese. I just googled them and read one thread stating they are basically 6l6 in disguise, not sure if that is true. If so that's bizzarre.


splawnfans.proboards.com/thread/9718/valve-art-el34bs-experienced-reviews


Cleans:


I've been adding some delay to the cleans, and it sounds great. As soon as I get my Lexicon integrated, the verbs are going in too!


Thanks again SplawnDude!


Cheers,


Tom

[splawndude]

Yep. My RectoVerb (Single Rec) is amazing with my Trad 4x12