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Post by Ayton(e) on Aug 17, 2008 10:57:16 GMT -5
 Exactly one year ago today I received my Competition, brand spanking new from North Carolina. They grow up so fast!  This was the day I shot the 'Splawn – Day 1' video. 12 months, 12,000 plays. 1,000 plays a month, that's not bad. Hopefully those are people thinking they might like to buy a Splawn. When I watch it I remember how excited I was. I remember that delicious 'new amp smell' in this room for the first couple of weeks as the hot tubes warmed up the freshly applied tolex. And the crazy, cutting, balls out tone that didn't even compare with what I'd played before. When I filmed that I didn't even know how the gears worked! Without understanding the footswitch, it could look like you were blasting 3rd Gear OD2 when you were really in 2nd Gear OD1. Now I know all my favorite sweetspots. Since swapping out the original Gov/MoW spseakers for a Gold/G12H30 mix, 3rd Gear OD1 with the gain at 3 o'clock is home base, where I always come back to, even though I still play around lots with the ultra ballsy 2nd Gear (George Bellas 'butter' tone on OD1, a mega articulate Gary Moore on OD2) and 1st for smokey Plexi needs. I try to be good and drop to 1st Gear OD1 to practice anything tricky, to make sure I'm playing it as cleanly as I can. When I used to lurk around here in early 2007, people talked about how Splawns are unforgiving, and force you to improve technically. I am pretty surprised to sit here a year into ownership and admit this is true. When everything you play is exposed by that brightness and articulation, you tighten up your chops and become a cleaner player. Well, first you get sad, and put a lot of reverb on, like you used to have on your modeling amp, wallow around like that for a while, then you knuckle down, remove all the toys, and work on getting better. I was 90% legato a year ago, because I could get away with it on mushy, compressed, veiled amps. There was almost no benefit to picking, because the attack was lost anyway. The Splawn puts everything out front, and by God you hear the difference between picking and legato. You get what Gilbert calls the "popsicle in the spokes" sound when picking well, so addictive. I'm still a sloppy hack, but less so, and improving.  Anyway, thanks to Scott and co for what remains the best amp I've ever played, and Happy Birthday, my sweet Cocoa Compo Abomo Rod. |
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Post by Ayton(e) on Aug 17, 2008 11:24:09 GMT -5
;D
The wife just came through here. "Do you know who's one today?" I asked.
"Hmmm, no. Wait – your Splawn?!"
"Yes," I said, patting his head shell, "a year ago today we got him."
"Awww," she said, "Let's push cake through his grille."
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luigi
Junior Member
Posts: 79
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Post by luigi on Aug 17, 2008 12:29:50 GMT -5
Congratulations to you Ayton and your wife!!! I bet this kid can really talk!!, around this time they usually start walking too... My son started working this summer mowing yards, because money was not enough to go out with his high end girlfriend, I offered him top money/hr by test driving the Competition and get to know it inside-out, 4 to 6 hrs everyday & and miles away from civilitation. He said it has been the best summer ever so far....!!
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Post by Jammermatt on Aug 17, 2008 13:31:50 GMT -5
LMAO! Congrats on your baby. Mine's a year and a half. I still suck, but I am much less sucky than I used to be, and the Compy has forced me to really work hard on getting better. You and your wife need to get to work on another one as soon as possible. Practice makes perfect. |
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Post by LooseCannon on Aug 17, 2008 17:30:00 GMT -5
lol ayton your wife is so cool... I agree on the new amp smell, best smell in the world. I want mine to smell like that again.
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Post by supercharged350 on Aug 17, 2008 17:39:18 GMT -5
LOL!!! Good times... |
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Post by Jammermatt on Aug 17, 2008 18:50:11 GMT -5
Ayt, perhaps this has happened to you: You're playing along and thinking, "darn, I sound pretty alright tonight." Only later on to find you've been playing in triode when you thought you were in pentode, and in 3rd Gear when you thought you were in 1st.
Just when I thought I was starting to not suck. Reality kicks me in the arse.
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Post by DonaldDemon on Aug 18, 2008 7:49:29 GMT -5
When I used to lurk around here in early 2007, people talked about how Splawns are unforgiving, and force you to improve technically. I am pretty surprised to sit here a year into ownership and admit this is true. When everything you play is exposed by that brightness and articulation, you tighten up your chops and become a cleaner player. Well, first you get sad, and put a lot of reverb on, like you used to have on your modeling amp, wallow around like that for a while, then you knuckle down, remove all the toys, and work on getting better. I was 90% legato a year ago, because I could get away with it on mushy, compressed, veiled amps. There was almost no benefit to picking, because the attack was lost anyway. The Splawn puts everything out front, and by God you hear the difference between picking and legato. You get what Gilbert calls the "popsicle in the spokes" sound when picking well, so addictive. I'm still a sloppy hack, but less so, and improving. LOL, I did the same thing. Used a lot of reverb and delay to cover up my bad technique. Now I cut out the reverb but still use delay to cover up my bad technique!  |
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Post by VomHalen on Aug 18, 2008 8:30:16 GMT -5
me too, i used to run a bit of reverb also... no longer
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Post by Jammermatt on Aug 18, 2008 11:53:15 GMT -5
VOM, the new avatar rules. What a great era!
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Post by Ayton(e) on Aug 18, 2008 12:39:49 GMT -5
Ayt, perhaps this has happened to you: You're playing along and thinking, "darn, I sound pretty alright tonight." Only later on to find you've been playing in triode when you thought you were in pentode, and in 3rd Gear when you thought you were in 1st. Just when I thought I was starting to not suck. Reality kicks me in the arse. I've had exactly this happen. BUT, on your good days, it can happen the other way around and give you an ego boost. "Man, I am flat killing it today. Bet I left the Easy Button on. Whoa, nope!" I mean, that happens to ME, you know. But I am kind of a big deal. |
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Post by LooseCannon on Aug 18, 2008 13:00:27 GMT -5
I almost never use third gear, it feels like i'm cheating  Lately i've been loving first gear od2, so much punch. |
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Post by Ayton(e) on Aug 18, 2008 14:17:04 GMT -5
It does feel like cheating, I know what you mean. But it sounds fantastic, and that is after all the purpose of an amp. |
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Post by Jammermatt on Aug 18, 2008 17:10:56 GMT -5
I mean, that happens to ME, you know. But I am kind of a big deal. LOL, I'll let that one go since it's sorta your birthday and all. |
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Post by Jammermatt on Aug 18, 2008 17:12:12 GMT -5
I almost never use third gear, it feels like i'm cheating Lately i've been loving first gear od2, so much punch. With my Jackson, it's almost always 1st gear OD2. I think that is my favorite setting. With my Paul it's 2nd gear all the way. 3rd gear is strictly for "cheating." |
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