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Post by coolarrow on Feb 4, 2008 13:01:37 GMT -5
 Well, starting off, I really liked the lower gain tones I was getting out to of the Nitro. That's not why I bought this amp though. The clean channel seems alright, but, for all I care, it may as well be a one-channel amp. After spending about an hour and a half with it on Friday night, I could not find a high gain tone I was completely satisfied with. I know this is supposed to be a darker amp, but to me it is brighter than a lot of amps I've owned. I was thinking maybe it was the KT77s that were giving me concerns - this is the first time I've played these tubes. In order to get a nice thick tone like I liked, I had to turn the resonance knob way up and that caused the low-end to be boomy and the palm mutes were not tight. I also couldn't seem to dial out a certain high-end frequency that was just grating on my nerves. After Friday night I was dejected and seriously remorseful that I sold my Engl SE to buy this amp. I was already plotting ways to trade away this amp without taking a huge $ hit. I sent a few PMs to the Windsen (shredhead34) the resident Nitro expert. He was kind enough to help me out with some things. I figured I'd try the el34s and sell it if that didn't do it for me. On Saturday, I figured I'd go buy another MXR 10-band eq to see if that would help. I put that in the loop and that cured all the issues I was having. I get a nice thick tone without the boomy low-end and that piercing high-end frequency that was giving me issues was easily fixed. So in the end, I'm pretty satisfied. The distortion is saturated yet clear. I think the saturation level lands somewhere between a VHT and ENGL - closer to the VHT. I think it's reminiscent of my old D60 with more saturation. People compare it to an uberschall but I don't think it is as saturated or has the low end of the uber - though it certainly has a lot of low end. It's definitely tighter and the clean channel is balanced better. You turn the gain up to eleven and it doesn't get muddy or fizzy. This amp is much more open sounding that I'm used to. My Diezel can be fairly compressed. Turning the resonance knob up definitely compresses/thickens the signal. The Diezel has kind of a hi-fi voicing to it so the Splawn voicing is a nice alternative. I don't think I'll ever like anything better than the Herbert's channel 2+ though. Lastly, I don't know what the difference between od1 and od2 is supposed to be. I guess it is one more gain stage. I didn't think there was a dramatic difference in sound - just more in the feel I guess. Kind of like effect of a very slight clean boost. Speaking of boosts, I boosted the amp with an OD808 and the Xotic BB preamp. I guess I just like the transparency of the BB because I always prefer that. I don't know why I keep the OD808 around. The boost does what the boost does. I just ordered a Weber Bias Rite so I'll be putting trying the el34s in it soon. |
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Post by guitarnate2000 on Feb 4, 2008 13:18:43 GMT -5
nice.... good to know what other metal guys think of the Nitro...
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Post by natemeanie on Feb 4, 2008 13:51:47 GMT -5
with regards to the od1/od2....
it seems to change the tone most when the gain is below 1 o'clock (still tons of gain even in od1, by the way). hitting od2 with the gain at these levels adds more gain and more saturation. when the gain gets passed 3 o'clock or so there is not much of a gain boost, but there is more saturation and compression.
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Post by cujo on Feb 4, 2008 22:22:20 GMT -5
this post has me nervous,the seed of doubt is now planted,and after all the nitro up for sale so quick?I also own a herbert,which has ben my fav,for yrs now.I wanted nitro to be diff,Does it sound like the you tube vid w/scott playin it by his tool box? or maybe i should have went quickrod? hmmmmmmmmmmm,im wondering,now? OPINIONS ARE WELCOME!
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Post by TJ on Feb 4, 2008 23:08:39 GMT -5
I honestly think you'd have to listen to the person making the comments clips and then judge for yourself. Not saying anybody can't play but to me....if you're going to say another amp is better than the Splawn then post a clip of your playing so we can hear it and see the caliber of player it is making the comments. In my opinion The Nitro rules and there's no need to boost it or do anything but plug in and play. I dialed in the amp in less than two minutes and thought it was great. I don't see how anyone could say this amp has a piercing high end. Wow!!! :-)
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Post by cujo on Feb 4, 2008 23:17:36 GMT -5
i ordered this after hearing the clip on youtube w/scott playin in his shop......thats what i hope it sounds like,to me it was far from high pitched,from vid it gave me an impression of an aggresively angry,very big marshall,with huge balls,something my jvm doesnt do.
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Post by TJ on Feb 4, 2008 23:50:28 GMT -5
i ordered this after hearing the clip on youtube w/scott playin in his shop......thats what i hope it sounds like,to me it was far from high pitched,from vid it gave me an impression of an aggresively angry,very big marshall,with huge balls,something my jvm doesnt do. I was standing right there when that vid was made and that's exactly what it sounds like. Don't worry you're going to be crazy pleased with that amp. |
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Post by coolarrow on Feb 4, 2008 23:56:23 GMT -5
I honestly think you'd have to listen to the person making the comments clips and then judge for yourself. Not saying anybody can't play but to me....if you're going to say another amp is better than the Splawn then post a clip of your playing so we can hear it and see the caliber of player it is making the comments. In my opinion The Nitro rules and there's no need to boost it or do anything but plug in and play. I dialed in the amp in less than two minutes and thought it was great. I don't see how anyone could say this amp has a piercing high end. Wow!!! :-) At the price point of the amps I own, whether one amp is better than another is solely about personal preference. No need to get bent out of shape because someone doesn't like something as much as you do. I wrote what I felt and heard. To some people other amps are better than Splawns - maybe not to you. I've been playing on/off for about 20 years and owned numerous high-end amps from Mesa, VHT, Bogner, ENGL, Rivera, Diezels, EVH, among others. The Diezel Herbet is and likely will be my all time favorite amp. Fortunately, I have the means to be able to buy whatever amps I want, so I can own several amps. I too ordered the Nitro because of the video with Scott playing in his workshop. I didn't immediately get the sound I was expecting to get which disappointed me. The could be to a variety of factors other than the amp. That being said, I'm getting more used to the tone of the Nitro and spent about 2 and a half hours with the Nitro tonight. I finally have it where I like it. Really like it.  It is a really different amp from what I've been playing of late (ENGL SE and Diezel Herbert) so it took me awhile to get used to it. I don't think I'll be in a hurry to try out the el34s now either. Crabby - I definately won't be selling my Nitro. I may even pick up a Splawn cab with the eminence speakers. My cabs now have celestions. I do think it gives me something really different from my Herbert and the Mesa Roadster I'll have tomorrow and the VHT Sig X that I'll have in the coming weeks. |
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Post by windsen on Feb 5, 2008 0:04:09 GMT -5
matt, real glad to hear you're really starting to dig the amp. there are so many variables that come into play when trying to compare amps. it did take me some time to get to know the amp and find where it really sounds awesome for me but i absolutely love my nitro more than ever. the nitro sounds killer through the splawn cabs. i remember playing my nitro through ans's mesa cab w/ v30s and his diezel cab with v30s and i felt like both cabs gave off more high end than my splawn cabs. the governors are much smoother in the high end but have that great punchy tightness that goes perfectly with the nitro.
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Post by coolarrow on Feb 5, 2008 0:11:28 GMT -5
matt, real glad to hear you're really starting to dig the amp. there are so many variables that come into play when trying to compare amps. it did take me some time to get to know the amp and find where it really sounds awesome for me but i absolutely love my nitro more than ever. the nitro sounds killer through the splawn cabs. i remember playing my nitro through ans's mesa cab w/ v30s and his diezel cab with v30s and i felt like both cabs gave off more high end than my splawn cabs. the governors are much smoother in the high end but have that great punchy tightness that goes perfectly with the nitro. Tonight was the first time I spent the entire time playing the Nitro rather than tweaking it. I'm playing it through my v30 diezel cab which definately accentuates the highs alittle. I've been thinking about putting weber beam blockers in it to see what it does. The eq is helping tame the highs. Some people may like those highs, but I hate it. I want a dark, dark tone. That's just what I like to hear. I'm now pretty excited about the amp. It is definately an awesome amp. |
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Post by windsen on Feb 5, 2008 1:03:56 GMT -5
cool man. yea im surprised you described it has a bright amp. the nitro is a very very dark amp to me but everyone hears different things =) it also depends on the context of where you're coming from. i was used to playing brighter amps where as you've been playing very dark amps.
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Post by shreder75 on Feb 5, 2008 10:41:32 GMT -5
I honestly think you'd have to listen to the person making the comments clips and then judge for yourself. Not saying anybody can't play but to me....if you're going to say another amp is better than the Splawn then post a clip of your playing so we can hear it and see the caliber of player it is making the comments. In my opinion The Nitro rules and there's no need to boost it or do anything but plug in and play. I dialed in the amp in less than two minutes and thought it was great. I don't see how anyone could say this amp has a piercing high end. Wow!!! :-) TJ!!! |
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Post by magh8 on Feb 5, 2008 10:41:47 GMT -5
well I will have mine wednesday and will be running it thru my 2 vaders.I hated the tone of my powerball with V30 cabs(dark amp+V30's = anoying highs IMO) but with the vaders it is the shiznit.I will let you guys know how the Vaders feel about the Nitro...
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Post by VomHalen on Feb 5, 2008 11:23:59 GMT -5
i ordered this after hearing the clip on youtube w/scott playin in his shop......thats what i hope it sounds like,to me it was far from high pitched,from vid it gave me an impression of an aggresively angry,very big marshall,with huge balls,something my jvm doesnt do. I was standing right there when that vid was made and that's exactly what it sounds like. Don't worry you're going to be crazy pleased with that amp. i was standing right there too... that's what the amp sounds like. when i tell you all 3 of us shat ourselves when we heard it i'm not kidding....that was about 3pm in the afternoon...we talked about that amp NON STOP until the next day at the con when everyone was able to run through it...and sh!t their own pants |
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Post by coolarrow on Feb 5, 2008 12:17:51 GMT -5
^what cab/speakers was he playing through in that clip?
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It is a really different amp from what I've been playing of late (ENGL SE and Diezel Herbert) so it took me awhile to get used to it. I don't think I'll be in a hurry to try out the el34s now either.
