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Post by flgearnut on Dec 13, 2010 22:08:59 GMT -5
Ok a while back I posted that my Nitro was having tone issues. The low end when palm muting is anything but tight and defined. Its extremely loose, thuddy, and dark. Ive tried a ton of different EQ settings and the only thing that tightens it up is running my maxon boost ALL THE TIME. While id use the boost anyway, I dont like the fact the amp sounds borderline unuseable without the boost.
to update, today I received a brand new quartet of KT88's from the guys at splawn. I popped em in and while they gave the amp better headroom than the old tubes, the amp still hasnt tightened up any on the OD channel. My preamp tubes arent even a year old yet and I havent touched the bias from the factory either. I'm just wondering what else my options are. Its getting to the point I dont wanna play through the amp much and im about ready to sell it off and get something else.
Any advice? Ive thought about trying JJ high gain pre's but dont know if that 60 dollar expense will solve anything. Would the bias being off make this happen?
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ksefan
Junior Member
Posts: 69
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Post by ksefan on Dec 13, 2010 22:25:30 GMT -5
you might honestly want to send it back to splawn to see if somethings wrong. a boosted nitro with kt88's into a stiletto 412 shouldn't sound flubby at all!
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Post by flgearnut on Dec 13, 2010 22:35:43 GMT -5
the amp doesnt sound flubby when boosted, but as soon as I kick the maxon off, its like "whoa wtf happened to the tight gain i just had."
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Post by speedemon on Dec 14, 2010 4:45:28 GMT -5
Damn,
I am gonna start keeping a tally of posts of people bitching about their Splawns with some variant or reference to a Northern California amplifier company famous for their muddy sounding amps. lol
If you examine all the "shiny happy people" posts, you will find a common formula;
Splawn amp + splawn speaker = happy guitar player
I never met Scott, so I know "@#$% all about the guy, but something just tells me he sells speakers for some other reason than to twist an extra $400 out of us all.
Good luck!
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Post by Ayton(e) on Dec 14, 2010 10:24:45 GMT -5
This is strange, though. Splawns are crazy tight by nature. For years there were no Splawn speakers and the amps were still super tight. I wouldn't be ready to chuck another $400 at the problem if I were FLGearnut, I'd want to love the amp, then spend some money making it better.
Could it be the cab itself? Other than that, I'm having some memory of Nitro people saying the Resonance control works backwards or something? Which is pretty much the tightness control on these, isn't it?
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Post by sasquatch on Dec 14, 2010 10:32:41 GMT -5
I would check the bias and also try swapping around the preamp tubes. You may have a finicky preamp tube in the V1 slot and it's just not up to snuff. As for the bias... it can drift over time and with wear and tear on the tubes. Even if you kept the original tube boxes and got another set with identical ratings, I would check it anyway since the amp doesn't sound right.
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Post by flgearnut on Dec 14, 2010 14:42:32 GMT -5
the quartet that came with the amp from the factory had values of 29, 30, 31, and 34...the quartet i received from splawn yesterday all had values of 31. I called Josh @ splawn about that and he said the reason Scott sent out all 31's is because that was a value range right in the middle of what the bias of my amp was set at, so it wouldnt run too hot or too cold. I would take his expertise over anybody elses since he built the darn thing lol
Like I said earlier, the new PT's made a small difference in the tone but its still not what one would expect from this amp. And to the guy who said a mesa cab is to blame for the muddy tone...check out what KSE is using on tour and tell me their tone sounds like ass. Nitros and V30 loaded mesa cabs.
Does the pre in the V1 slot have ANY impact on the OD channel? I thought that tube was only for the clean channel.
Oh and one last thing. Any amp that HAS to have a certain speaker to sound good isnt an amp worth having. Thats like saying my Honda can only use motor oil made of liquified dead kittens and wont accept Castrol.
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Post by splawndude on Dec 14, 2010 18:46:36 GMT -5
OK
If I can speak freely for a minute. Your first tread on this said the amp sounded like sh!t. Now you are saying it sounds like ass.
To me, you have not yet tried the obvious things that have already been suggested in your first thread. Bias Your Amp and Try Some Different Preamp Tubes.
New Power tubes is not going to fix the problem you've had all along. BTW - tubes don't have a bias. Amps do. You need to bias the amp anytime you change power tubes and as mentioned, an amp's bias will drift over time. I'd recommend biasing the amp twice a year with or without new power tubes.
Today's production preamp tubes suck compared to the old ones (NOS). 'New' preamp tubes do not guarantee anything so you have to be patient and somewhat lucky. No one is saying that you need to spend $60 on a set of new preamp tubes. As with any amp, you need to be preparred (IMO) to get a new preamp tube every now and then. They are $10 - $20 for a new one and a bit more for a NOS tube. I am currently experimenting with a JAN Phillips 5751 (12AX7 replacement) in V1 as well as in V4 (PI) and it works great in either. I also have the original JJ pre's that were there when I bought my Splawn used several years ago and they still sound great.
V1 has dual purposes in most cascading gain amps. The first half of the tube is for cleans and the second half if your first gain stage.
My suggestion, again, is to bias your amp to '31' or bias your amp until it sounds best for you. Swap V1 and V2 (or V3) for now and see what happens. Buy 1 JJ online for now.
If those 2 things do not help, then send your amp to Splawn because there would something wrong with it. I won't comment on the Mesa cab thing only to say that I have heard countless times that Mesa cabs and Vintage 30s are not the best combination with Nitros but those things alone should not be causing your issue.
I do not own a Nitro but I have friends that have. I have a Quick Rod and it is very tight - even with an Avatar cab and Celestion speakers (G12H30 and CL80). I have a biasing tutorial in the FAQ section and I would also be willing to help you bias if you send me a PM.
Good luck!
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Post by MetalHeart on Dec 14, 2010 19:26:31 GMT -5
Dude,I had the same problem. FlubCity! Sh1t & Azz are closely related  Tubes,all of them is the only thing that fixed my problem. All were about 3 months or so old. Its no biggie,tubes go bad and if you have luck like mine  Getcha some JJ's for the pres and mullards, or SEDs for the power. You will be happy, trust me. I'm gonna say this one more time...........cheap azz chinese tubes!!!!! ;D |
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Post by splawndude on Dec 14, 2010 23:04:20 GMT -5
I'm getting NOS preamp tubes from here on out.
I'm going to say this one more time.............Bias your amp.
LOL
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Post by sasquatch on Dec 15, 2010 10:55:43 GMT -5
Does the pre in the V1 slot have ANY impact on the OD channel? I thought that tube was only for the clean channel. V1 and V2 do most, if not all the work as far as gain is concerned if I'm not mistaken. Half of V1 is for clean and half is for first stage of gain. Half of V2 is for second stage of gain and the other half either OD2 or solo or something like that. In any event... it's worth moving the pre's from 3 and 4 into 1 and 2 to see if that helps. Or, even buying one new preamp tube and trying it in both V1 and V2. |
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Post by porkchops on Dec 15, 2010 12:52:45 GMT -5
It's been a while since I used KT88's but don't they bias somewhere in the 50's? Values in the 30's sound like EL34's bias range.
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Post by sasquatch on Dec 15, 2010 13:04:15 GMT -5
It's been a while since I used KT88's but don't they bias somewhere in the 50's? Values in the 30's sound like EL34's bias range. Pretty sure you're right about that! |
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Post by DonaldDemon on Dec 15, 2010 17:05:54 GMT -5
Damn, I am gonna start keeping a tally of posts of people bitching about their Splawns with some variant or reference to a Northern California amplifier company famous for their muddy sounding amps. lol If you examine all the "shiny happy people" posts, you will find a common formula; Splawn amp + splawn speaker = happy guitar player I never met Scott, so I know "@#$% all about the guy, but something just tells me he sells speakers for some other reason than to twist an extra $400 out of us all. Good luck! B-I-N-G-O was his name-o |
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Post by DonaldDemon on Dec 15, 2010 17:09:17 GMT -5
It's been a while since I used KT88's but don't they bias somewhere in the 50's? Values in the 30's sound like EL34's bias range. Yep. Redo the bias. KT88s should be between 48-52 depending on your plate voltage |
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