PDC
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Posts: 85
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Post by PDC on Jun 14, 2020 17:16:33 GMT -5
So I ran into this video of Leon Todd doing a demo of the Nitro: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iQFra1etIk and towards the end of the video he is putting a boost pedal in front of the amp. Frankly, I have never put any sort of pedal in front of my Splawns because I’ve never thought they needed any more gain. But I fooled around with it this afternoon, and I gotta say, I really REALLY like it! I typically run the gain around 2:00 - 3:00 on the dial which is probably around 7 or 8. But with the gain rolled back to around noon, I find I can push quite a bit more presence and treble through the tone stack without any sense of ‘harshness’ or annoying tendency toward feedback (which I would struggle with when the gain on the amp was higher) I would compare the gain at noon on the amp to maybe a VH 1984 level of gain: lots of string separation and articulation and easy harmonics with the added presence and treble. Then I put my old tried and true Tube Screamer in front of the amp with all the controls at noon - straight up. This is about the amount of gain I would usually ‘feel’ with the gain on the amp at the 3:00ish position. But it is definitely smoother and a lot easier to control with amp’s gain at noon and the TS in front. Zero howling - squealing feedback and lots of clarity with the pushed presence and treble. Lead lines practically play themselves - and with my hand across the strings at the bridge, I can wind the guitar volume all the way up and its just dead silent. This really reminds me of my brief stint with a JCM800, when I always used my TS in front of the amp. This is like a whole new world! I swear, I will post some vids now that I’ve got the tone dialed in. |
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Post by gtrjunior on Jun 14, 2020 17:42:45 GMT -5
I’ve been boosting my QR with a Friedman Buxom Boost for a while now.
I’m basically doing exactly what you are.
Gain on the amp rolled down and the boost somewhere around 10-11 o’clock. The Friedman has the added benefit of a 3 band eq which is very versatile.
I will say however, that just the other day Scott posted a clip of his band Dreamer on Instagram. He had amazing tone. I asked what he was doing.
He basically said Gear 1, gain at 3:00 with no boost in front of the amp.
He was running in stereo with a slight chorus to fatten up the sound. The tone didn’t sound chorus-y at all. It was very subtle. And lastly he was running a delay at about 300 ms.
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PDC
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Posts: 85
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Post by PDC on Jun 14, 2020 17:59:53 GMT -5
I have an easier time controlling the gain from the amp on my QR - the Nitro can get a little wild. I really like 1st Gear / OD2 (for a bit more low end) and gain right at 3:00. The QR is just so versatile. The Nitro is an absolute beast, but more of a one trick pony. Sort of like a QR hard-wired on 3rd Gear.
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Post by gtrjunior on Jun 14, 2020 19:40:02 GMT -5
I havent actually tried the settings Scott described yet because my QR isn’t setup atm. I have a guy modding my crybaby with an on/off LED. But as soon as I can I’m going to see if I can replicate the tone he had in that clip. www.instagram.com/tv/CBN8pnCHCKl/?igshid=38jy4n99valu |
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PDC
Junior Member
Posts: 85
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Post by PDC on Jun 15, 2020 7:34:37 GMT -5
Yeah - that sounds really, really good. Splawns just have this quality that makes them sit so nice in a live mix or in a recording situation with bass, drums and cymbals. I think that may be why some other brands of amp have moved more units than Splawn - Splawns are just really ‘honest’ - if you have your technique dialed in, you will sound like a God through a Splawn. But if you don’t, a Splawn isn’t going to do you any flavors the way that some of the gainier, super compressed amps on the market will. These days, so few people actually play ‘live’ with any regularity that they want their big 50/100 watt heads to sound like glorified Versions of their bedroom practice amps. And that type of tone just gets swallowed whole on stage with a band.
When I was at GIT I had the privilege of meeting Dan Huff right at the time he was recording the GIANT album. Now this is a guy who had played on more records than anyone can count - he had his sound and chops dialed in to the nth degree. But the producer kept having him dial more and more gain out of his guitar sound for that record. He said it felt like playing naked - but then the producer let him hear the exact same song in the control room first with his original tone and with the the dialed back tone. Dan said the difference was just night and day - the less pushed guitar tone was simply H U G E compared to the gainier, sizzlier version of the exact same tracks. I have heard similar anecdotes from many different players over the years. Splawn seems to fill that bill from get go.
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Post by gtrjunior on Jun 15, 2020 9:43:26 GMT -5
Yeah, agreed son all counts.
I use a Blackstar HT-20 Studio in my practice/computer room. It’s a great little amp but it’s also very forgiving.
It’s really easy to let gain and compression mask playing mistakes/technique flaws. Believe me....I know!!! Haha!
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Post by gtrjunior on Jun 16, 2020 5:51:30 GMT -5
So last night at band practice I tried a couple of things.
I set the amp as Scott described to me above and it sounded glorious.
I added the buxom boost but turned down the boost knob considerably from where I had it. I also kept the tone controls at noon. It really let the midrange character of the amp shine. Pinch harmonics were a breeze and it cut through the mix like a hot knife through butter.
For the last few months I had been using a little bit of chorus to try to fatten up the tone.
My bass player told me he thought I didn’t need the chorus, that my tone was already fat enough ....so I turned it off and he was right. Much better without the chorus.
I also fiddled with my delay setting a little. I bumped up to 850 ms with a few repeats for solos...wow! It really fills out the background and create a nice ambiance. I’m also going to fiddle with about 300 ms for my basic rhythm sound.
I’ll need to spend some time dialing it in and then setting up my pedal
switcher’s midi control to make the changes in the various patches I want it in.
Hopefully I’ll have a little time this weekend.
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PDC
Junior Member
Posts: 85
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Post by PDC on Jul 5, 2020 6:59:51 GMT -5
This might be a good topic for a separate thread - but to me - your description of trying new settings and discovering new ‘sounds’ with your gear is the part of this pursuit that is so rewarding and enjoyable. God knows I am LONG past that time when I did this in order to play out for a living. My last lil project fizzled when our bass player just announced he was burned out on music (?). But I still play / practice just as much as I did 25 years ago when I was playing 4 nights a week 50 weeks a year. Sometimes I wonder if I’m weird (or pathetic) but I just love the feel of a guitar across my lap - I love the way it feels when your left and right hands ‘sync’ and everything starts to feel easy. I love the sound of a driven amp. And I love goofing around with my amps and gear.
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Post by cvogue on Jul 5, 2020 14:42:39 GMT -5
I havent actually tried the settings Scott described yet because my QR isn’t setup atm. I have a guy modding my crybaby with an on/off LED. But as soon as I can I’m going to see if I can replicate the tone he had in that clip. www.instagram.com/tv/CBN8pnCHCKl/?igshid=38jy4n99valuDevout Christians playing Ozzy... awesome!! My born again Christian roommate from college probably wouldn't have approved, but that's his problem!  That tone is to die for... I don't know that I would use that in my current band, we're less gainy but if needed those settings are fantastic. |
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