UberMetalDood
New member
Before I offer at review, I need to point a couple of things out. Though I've finally settled very well on my gear as far as guitars, pickups, pedals, and Ecstasy 101B is concerned, I'm up in the air about which 2nd main amp to keep. Here's the deal... I borrowed a friend's pre-2008 Quick Rod back in 2007. Then in 2009, I bought a new Quick Rod. I also bought a Nitro w/EL34's. I loved both amps, but had an itch for Bogners and decided to give Bogner a ride before deciding to go back to Splawn. I loved the Nitro that I had. I tried the KT88 version and it was great too, but I preferred the EL34 version because it had a better midrange and the right amount of low end (I opted for regular EL34's instead of EL34B's). My Quick Rod was great too. I had nothing to complain about the Quick Rod, except that it took on kind of a dry, unforgiving feel once the tubes got all warmed up. The truth, as I later came to realize, was that my technique needed some improvement.
Fast forward to this past Thursday when my new Quick Rod showed up at my door. Its golden attributes gleaming from inside of the box, and its rugged housing built to rumble and roar. I pulled the beautiful beast from the box and played my Les Paul until the strings wore out. What astonishes me is the clean channel. I do not remember the Quick Rod EVER having such a beautiful clean channel. There has to be something different because this clean channel rivals my Goldfinger 90, and that amp has incredible cleans. The clean channel loves pedals as much as a Port City Pearl does.
It takes some adjusting to get the low-gain and mid-gain tones because it quickly goes into modded plexi and beyond, but those tones are definitely there - especially if you boost the clean channel. I've been using an Eminence Man'O'War, and although I like the speaker, it has never sounded so good. What sounds even better is when it plugged my QR into a Private Jack.
There is so much gain available, but what makes the Quick Rod so outstanding is that it has such an incredible feel for soloing. One of the biggest reasons why I love the 101B is its unique and incredibly great feel. The Goldfinger also has a great feel. You don't even need to use your right hand to play because it responds so well to your finger tips.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the outstanding harmonics the Quick Rod gives up. Oh man does it scream, squeal and squeak. You can pretty much get artificial harmonics anywhere on the fretboard, and you don't even need to have the gain past noon.
The actual sound, EQ, and overall tone of the Quick Rod is VERY, VERY much Marshall. However, it's a bit warmer and the top end doesn't get out of control when it gets gainy. It's probably a bit darker than a DSL or JVM I think. In fact, it reminds me a lot of a Blackstar Series One 100 with the ISF favoring the British side. It's a weird thing that it doesn't let you switch from gear 1 to gear 3. It only allows from gear 1 to 2, or from gear 2 to 3. That's a bit disappointing because Gear 1 makes the perfect rhythm channel, and it would be cool if you could switch to Gear 3 for searing, saturated solos. However, Gear 2 has plenty of gain for me.
Between the channels, there is not much difference except in gain. Gear 1 has a bit less low end, Gear 2 has a bit more low end and a little more upper mids. Gear 3 has a little more low mids. The tone controls seem to stay effective even when the amp is roaring very loudly.
I can't end this review without mentioning the effects loop master volume which is like a 2nd master volume. It lets the amp give you the saturation you would get if it were cranked but at pretty much any volume. It really does work well. I still think the Blackstar Series One Dynamic Power Reduction is slightly more effective, but you definitely can't complain about how well the QR FX master works.
Of course all Splawns come equipped with a 1/2 power switch. Right now, mine is set for home use which is set to 1/2 power, effects loop master around 9:00, and channel volume around 11:00. It's just loud enough that way to keep my guitar strings from coming through when recording. It has a couple of sweet spots for louder playing, but you don't need to look for sweet spots like on a vintage amp because the loop master works so well.
Lastly, I should mention that the FX loop is great. It doesn't do anything that my ears can perceive to the tone. I use effects subtly, but it seems to work well with heavy effects so I have no doubt that it can accommodate a robust pedal board.
One last note about the FX loop leads me back to the clean channel. I remember both my 2009 QR and Nitro both with good clean channels but needing just a hint of chorus or reverb to sound great. This Quick Rod, however, has such a nice clean channel that you can play it all the time without needing any kind of modulation. You would think on such a high gain amp that the clean channel wouldn't be as dynamic, but it is. I can noodle quietly and strike notes harder for louder volume. The absolute best cleans I have ever heard on an amp was my Ecstasy 20th anniversary (6L6). The Quick Rod isn't that good, but it isn't in need of any improvement whatsoever.
I have seen reviews where people refer to the Quick Rod as a one-trick-pony, or the clean channel as merely decent, but I couldn't disagree more. One consideration that I had when deciding to buy it was that I remember the Nitro being smoother. However, it doesn't need to be any smoother. It's the perfect blend of Marshall crunch and smoothness. It's not smooth and smoky as a Bogner Shiva, or even as refined as a Goldfinger, but it's slightly warmer and smoother than a high gain Marshall. The QR definitely offers a great deal more than just high gain. It's not a hi-fi sound in the Quick Rod, but it can lend itself to thrash extremely well. I would say the Nitro has a bit of hi-fi'ness to it and probably handles scooped death metal a little better. I have my QR sitting on top of a Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt which, as you know, is one of the best metal amps you can possibly get. I think the QR can keep up with it in the thrash department probably 90%.
The QR is not bassy. In fact, it has less bass than my Goldfinger 90, so I have to run the bass control past noon to get deep, heavy sounds. However, I generally don't like too much bass so it's perfect for me.
I'm pretty much now evaluating whether I keep the Quick Rod and sell my Goldfinger 90, or possibly go back to a Blackstar Series One 100 because I really miss that amp. The only way I will be able to decide is by spending another couple of weeks with my QR and also directly comparing it with a Series One. Considering that it's so good and has a lifetime warranty, it's the top contender right now. I'm also considering selling my Dual Rect to get a Series One, but then I'd have 3 Marshall style EL34 amps. I'm not really sure at this point. all I know is that the Quick Rod is a ton of fun to play.
By the way, I spend some time looking around the Internet and Splawn forum for Quick Rod pictures before deciding on the cab/tolex/color style to go with. Splawn hasn't made this particular combination of black and gold with the cab type so mine is a little bit unique which is cool because I don't like being like other people
Fast forward to this past Thursday when my new Quick Rod showed up at my door. Its golden attributes gleaming from inside of the box, and its rugged housing built to rumble and roar. I pulled the beautiful beast from the box and played my Les Paul until the strings wore out. What astonishes me is the clean channel. I do not remember the Quick Rod EVER having such a beautiful clean channel. There has to be something different because this clean channel rivals my Goldfinger 90, and that amp has incredible cleans. The clean channel loves pedals as much as a Port City Pearl does.
It takes some adjusting to get the low-gain and mid-gain tones because it quickly goes into modded plexi and beyond, but those tones are definitely there - especially if you boost the clean channel. I've been using an Eminence Man'O'War, and although I like the speaker, it has never sounded so good. What sounds even better is when it plugged my QR into a Private Jack.
There is so much gain available, but what makes the Quick Rod so outstanding is that it has such an incredible feel for soloing. One of the biggest reasons why I love the 101B is its unique and incredibly great feel. The Goldfinger also has a great feel. You don't even need to use your right hand to play because it responds so well to your finger tips.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the outstanding harmonics the Quick Rod gives up. Oh man does it scream, squeal and squeak. You can pretty much get artificial harmonics anywhere on the fretboard, and you don't even need to have the gain past noon.
The actual sound, EQ, and overall tone of the Quick Rod is VERY, VERY much Marshall. However, it's a bit warmer and the top end doesn't get out of control when it gets gainy. It's probably a bit darker than a DSL or JVM I think. In fact, it reminds me a lot of a Blackstar Series One 100 with the ISF favoring the British side. It's a weird thing that it doesn't let you switch from gear 1 to gear 3. It only allows from gear 1 to 2, or from gear 2 to 3. That's a bit disappointing because Gear 1 makes the perfect rhythm channel, and it would be cool if you could switch to Gear 3 for searing, saturated solos. However, Gear 2 has plenty of gain for me.
Between the channels, there is not much difference except in gain. Gear 1 has a bit less low end, Gear 2 has a bit more low end and a little more upper mids. Gear 3 has a little more low mids. The tone controls seem to stay effective even when the amp is roaring very loudly.
I can't end this review without mentioning the effects loop master volume which is like a 2nd master volume. It lets the amp give you the saturation you would get if it were cranked but at pretty much any volume. It really does work well. I still think the Blackstar Series One Dynamic Power Reduction is slightly more effective, but you definitely can't complain about how well the QR FX master works.
Of course all Splawns come equipped with a 1/2 power switch. Right now, mine is set for home use which is set to 1/2 power, effects loop master around 9:00, and channel volume around 11:00. It's just loud enough that way to keep my guitar strings from coming through when recording. It has a couple of sweet spots for louder playing, but you don't need to look for sweet spots like on a vintage amp because the loop master works so well.
Lastly, I should mention that the FX loop is great. It doesn't do anything that my ears can perceive to the tone. I use effects subtly, but it seems to work well with heavy effects so I have no doubt that it can accommodate a robust pedal board.
One last note about the FX loop leads me back to the clean channel. I remember both my 2009 QR and Nitro both with good clean channels but needing just a hint of chorus or reverb to sound great. This Quick Rod, however, has such a nice clean channel that you can play it all the time without needing any kind of modulation. You would think on such a high gain amp that the clean channel wouldn't be as dynamic, but it is. I can noodle quietly and strike notes harder for louder volume. The absolute best cleans I have ever heard on an amp was my Ecstasy 20th anniversary (6L6). The Quick Rod isn't that good, but it isn't in need of any improvement whatsoever.
I have seen reviews where people refer to the Quick Rod as a one-trick-pony, or the clean channel as merely decent, but I couldn't disagree more. One consideration that I had when deciding to buy it was that I remember the Nitro being smoother. However, it doesn't need to be any smoother. It's the perfect blend of Marshall crunch and smoothness. It's not smooth and smoky as a Bogner Shiva, or even as refined as a Goldfinger, but it's slightly warmer and smoother than a high gain Marshall. The QR definitely offers a great deal more than just high gain. It's not a hi-fi sound in the Quick Rod, but it can lend itself to thrash extremely well. I would say the Nitro has a bit of hi-fi'ness to it and probably handles scooped death metal a little better. I have my QR sitting on top of a Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt which, as you know, is one of the best metal amps you can possibly get. I think the QR can keep up with it in the thrash department probably 90%.
The QR is not bassy. In fact, it has less bass than my Goldfinger 90, so I have to run the bass control past noon to get deep, heavy sounds. However, I generally don't like too much bass so it's perfect for me.
I'm pretty much now evaluating whether I keep the Quick Rod and sell my Goldfinger 90, or possibly go back to a Blackstar Series One 100 because I really miss that amp. The only way I will be able to decide is by spending another couple of weeks with my QR and also directly comparing it with a Series One. Considering that it's so good and has a lifetime warranty, it's the top contender right now. I'm also considering selling my Dual Rect to get a Series One, but then I'd have 3 Marshall style EL34 amps. I'm not really sure at this point. all I know is that the Quick Rod is a ton of fun to play.
By the way, I spend some time looking around the Internet and Splawn forum for Quick Rod pictures before deciding on the cab/tolex/color style to go with. Splawn hasn't made this particular combination of black and gold with the cab type so mine is a little bit unique which is cool because I don't like being like other people
