Splawn Quickrod

I've been on a search for a long time for a new amp. I've been a Mesa guy since I bought my first Dual in 1995. Then a couple years after that it was the Triaxis\2:90 combo. I just wanted something different and inspiring. And something that was more appropriate for what I'm doing now... So it was a Stiletto or Splawn. I got lucky and scored a Quickrod after an eternity of waiting.

Ease of use:5
Well its a 3 channel head, pretty easy to use. Just turn everything to 12 o'clock and you are off. The 3 button foot switch is pretty self explanatory clean, od1/od2, and solo. Pretty simple yet many tonal options.

Features:3
100 watts, 4 Mullard EL34's and 4 JJ 12ax7's so right out of the gate you get top quality tubes. Heyboer transformers, all components are grade A, no cutting corners. Series FX loop, all the modern amenities you expect to have. Its has 3 different gain modes called "gears" so the higher the gear the more saturation. There are amps with more bells and whistles, so while the Splawn is not feature packed like an ENGL SE , it has enough to work with almost any application.

Reliability: n\a
I'll tell you in a couple years but So far so good. Scott Splawn from what I understand is a really easy going guy. He seems to care about each and every amp he sends out that has his name on it. The amp is stellar no weird pops, noises, scratchy pots, loose hardware or anything of that sort. No plastic to be seen all Jacks and switches are the superior metal variant.

Value:5
Well at $1850 it is not a cheap amp but its also not too expensive. Considering its not mass produced I'd say its a great deal. Each amp is built as the customer orders it and there are many options to choose from.You can get a traditional Plexi or JCM style head box, all sorts of different Tolex and piping color options. I got the lexan front panel. You choose chassis color, knob type, and pretty much any aspect of the amp. Lots of love and attention to detail goes into then assembly of these amps. A boutique amp at a non boutique price.. I'd consider it one of the best deals going but as anything made to order you have to wait 12 weeks for delivery.

Expressiveness\Sounds:5
This amp gets its soul from the Marshall JCM800 design but goes further by re-voicing it for a more modern sound while still retaining that old school tone we love and oh yea more GAIN. The clean channel is nice and smooth and gets really fat as you nudge the gain up. Not sterile at all it has lots of character unlike some other amp's clean channels. OD channels are beautiful. So freaking tight and explosive. I have been using gear 3 OD 1. I pretty much nail FF Demanufacture tone but its tighter. I kick in OD2 for leads, talk about sustain. It is extremely dynamic and reactive to pick attack, this is not the super saturated compressed black metal tone you have been looking for. It is brutally unforgiving so work on those chops. I'm really happy and impressed with this amp. So glad I waited and didn't pick up that Stiletto.

Overall:4

This amp is perfect for me but I could see where it would not be for others. If you are looking for over the top brutal Death metal uber distortion you should probably look someplace else. If you are looking for tight, percussive, and organic tone check one out. It might be the answer you are looking for.

here is a demo video of Scott Splawn and his amp line up. The guy is also a really good player.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer...35533212&hl=en

Official Website:
Splawn Amps - guitar amplifiers, hand build tube amps, Marshall Mods and custom cabinets,Jackson Guitars,Charvel Guitars,Celestion Speakers,Eminence Redcoat Speakers,Rio Grande Pickups,Mullard Tubes,brown sound,