New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

[Brow]

Hey guys.

Sorry for the long post............

For the past couple of months I've been saving up to buy myself a new amp. It dawned on me that for the last few years I've not really been playing music I actually like for the most part, so I've had to change my tone from a cross between 70s/80s Rock to something to fit run of the mill light rock and pop covers.

Now i'm back doing the stuff that got me playing in the 1st place, 70s Classic Rock and 80s Rock (Guns N Roses, Bon Jovi, other 'glam' bands) I've decided to get myself a decent amp so that I can ditch alot of my OD and gain pedals and go back to alot more simpler setup.

Up until the last few days I'd pretty much decided on a Splawn as if I used either 2 two button footswitches or a switching system I could have Clean, OD 1 low gear, OD1 high gear, OD2 low gear, OD2 high gear and either of the OD2s with a volume boost for solos. This would pretty much cover any kind of OD tone I'd ever need and allow me to go down to just a wah and a tuner infront of the amp.

I've recently heard about an Egnater amp called a Tourmaster 4100 that also looks like it could do almost what the splawn can, and is also cheaper. Not that that matters too much but is always something to take into account I guess.

This is basically a post to ask an opinion of these 2 amps and also if anyone else has any other suggestions of anything else I could look into.

As for budget I currently have £1500 saved up as well as a few other bits I could use in part exchange if possible.

Thanks!

 

[d1dsj]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

Have you tried a Cornford MK50? I know it doesn't have as many options, but in terms of the style of music you're going to be playing it may just hit the spot. We play classic rock cover... everything from Bad co > Lizzy > MSG > GnR > Metallica. They clean up pretty good, have the crucniest crunch and the overdrive is a killer. You'd get a used amp and 2 x 12 0r 4 x 12 for your money. The only other amp I was thinking about was an XTC, but I was worried about service and back up. I've never had a bad sound out of my rig.

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

Thanks for the post.

I've never played a Cornford in person at all but I had considered a MK50 a while ago before I actually started saving seriously for an amp. I was also looking into the 30w and 50w Roadhosue amps, but after hearing a fair few bad reports on them, and also lack of options, I'd kinda written them off of my list.

Someone on another forum I go on has suggested the XTC too, but as I've also never used a Bogner in person, I have no idea about these either!

 

[tonefreak1527]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

That's around 2200 us, so I'd suggest a fender silverface twin and a twin tube classic

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

That's around 2200 us, so I'd suggest a fender silverface twin and a twin tube classic

Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm looking to get away from using pedals for gain, and if I was looking for a clean amp I'd deffo be going for a Fender, but I'm not sure it's what I want at the minute.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

All the bands you mentioned use a good ole Marshall, and they're easy to get where you're at.

Maybe look at the JCM 900 Dual Master MKIII....not Dual Reverb. Or, the new JVM210H 50W. Something along those lines. At least Marshall has the authentic sound.

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

All the bands you mentioned use a good ole Marshall, and they're easy to get where you're at.

Maybe look at the JCM 900 Dual Master MKIII....not Dual Reverb. Or, the new JVM210H 50W. Something along those lines. At least Marshall has the authentic sound.

Yep, thing is, I already have a good ole Marshall and it isn't doing it for me It's missing 'something' and I can't quite put my finger on it. It's recently been revalved and serviced but something is just missing if you know what I mean?

Plus it's not really versatile enough for me so I'd still need a few drive pedals to cover everything I need.

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

After the initial mention of the XTC I have a lead on 1 with an oversized 2x12 cab. I'm just waiting for an email confirmation before I say much else, so I'll have to wait and see how it works out

 

[sosomething]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

The engnator isn't a patch on a Splawn, fwiw. Those two amps are on completely different levels.

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

The engnator isn't a patch on a Splawn, fwiw. Those two amps are on completely different levels.

Thanks for your post.

I've looked more into clips of the Egnater and it seems alot more hit and miss than either the Splawn or the Bogner XTC, so I think I'll discount that 1 at this time.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

The Splawn I played was pretty close to the Marshall tone. The Egnater amps are nice, but I do have some questions about their reliablity.

I know they are hard to come by in the UK, but if you have an extra arm and a leg you can sell, the Mesa Mark V could be what you're looking for. You'll find a lot of the tones your looking for in that amp.

Bill

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

I'd go Splawn all the way and never look back. You KNOW that the Splawn will do everything you want and it is built like a brick outhouse. Sure the Egnater amps are cheaper, but I doubt they will get you to exactly the same place the Splawn will.

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've pretty much disregarded the Egnater atm as it seems alot more hit and miss (on clips atleast) than the other amps.

I know it's not the best idea in the world for me to mainly be going on sound clips when looking at spending this much on an amp, it's just that there's no shops within a few hours drive that have anything like what I want, so I have to draw up a list of amps to try to track down to try in person.

At the minute I think I'm down to 3 amps:

Bogner Ecstasy 101b - If I can get it for the price I've seen it for. Otherwise it's out of my price range, like the Mark V etc.

Splawn Quick Rod

EVH 5150 III

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

You should go amp shopping, see what you can actually get hold of.
After my experience with the Cornford Roadhouse not doing it for me I'd not buy another amp without hearing it first.
Problem is where to find them. I'd love to try a splawn mind, they sound like great amps but you just don't see many over here.
Rule one, never rule out the Marshall option. If the shop you're in has something second hand then give it a whirl, might be just the job.
You should also try Hayden, not sure if they're really set up for what you want, but you never know until you try.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

Oh, are you looking for a head/cab, just head or a combo?

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

The Splawn sounds like you want a Marshall to sound like. I'm convinced all the Marshall tones we know and love are a result of ear splitting volumes, modded amps, pedals and studio work. Especially the post "classic era" from about EVH to the present. If you want those mid to high gain Marshall tones especially the 80's hard rock tone, Splawn gets it without all the fuss. The area it falls short on IS the Plexi tone. The clean channel is far to finicky for me, and even the OD1 First Gear is higher gain than a Plexi. Great for modded Plexi tones, but not for that semi clean pushed Plexi thing.

From reading reviews, it seems like the Boger may be the ULTIMATE Marshall amp, but it also costs a lot more too. So... For me, between the Splawn and the JCM800 I'm good. Maybe I could sell both and get an Xtc, but I'm happy where I stand.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

The only authorised dealers I can find for Splawn in the Uk are Sounds Great Music up in Cheadle.

 

[John_L]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

Try the new AER amp which might not exist or a vintage Marshall.

 

[Brow]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

You should go amp shopping, see what you can actually get hold of.
After my experience with the Cornford Roadhouse not doing it for me I'd not buy another amp without hearing it first.
Problem is where to find them. I'd love to try a splawn mind, they sound like great amps but you just don't see many over here.
Rule one, never rule out the Marshall option. If the shop you're in has something second hand then give it a whirl, might be just the job.
You should also try Hayden, not sure if they're really set up for what you want, but you never know until you try.

Until I saw/read your experiences with the Cornford I was all set to get a Roadhouse too but your experiences with it changed my mind slightly! I have a twin channel JCM800 2210 head that I've had since I was 15 and while it's a good sounding amp, I guess my tastes have evolved, even if ever so slightly, and something is missing from it's tone.

My main problem with amp shopping is that Splawns, Egnaters, MESAs, Blackstars etc I'd consider are in Cheshire, the 5150 III is in Doncaster and the Bogner may be in Manchester so that means I need a list of possible amps before I'm in a position to do all the travelling I'd have to do to do any testing.

I REALLY hate bugging you all and questioning everything, but I don't really have much other choice at the minute :banghead:

Oh, are you looking for a head/cab, just head or a combo?

My original plan was to get a multi channel combo so I can downsize my pedalboard and also downsize gear I take to gigs and rehearsals etc.

Thing is, there's been something 'not quite right' with every combo I've tried. I can't put my finger on what it is.

I use a 1x12 90% of the time so it's not that I'm going from a 4x12 to a combo and miss the bass thump etc.

The Splawn sounds like you want a Marshall to sound like. I'm convinced all the Marshall tones we know and love are a result of ear splitting volumes, modded amps, pedals and studio work. Especially the post "classic era" from about EVH to the present. If you want those mid to high gain Marshall tones especially the 80's hard rock tone, Splawn gets it without all the fuss. The area it falls short on IS the Plexi tone. The clean channel is far to finicky for me, and even the OD1 First Gear is higher gain than a Plexi. Great for modded Plexi tones, but not for that semi clean pushed Plexi thing.

From reading reviews, it seems like the Boger may be the ULTIMATE Marshall amp, but it also costs a lot more too. So... For me, between the Splawn and the JCM800 I'm good. Maybe I could sell both and get an Xtc, but I'm happy where I stand.

Thanks for the info.

I've always liked the 70s vintage Marshall tone, so I guess I'm looking for an amp that can cover that (if possible), but also allow me to get the 80s modded marshall mid/high gain style tone too.

I dunno, maybe I'm asking too much of 1 amp? :scratchch

 

[Stef]

Re: New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs Egnater

I've always liked the 70s vintage Marshall tone, so I guess I'm looking for an amp that can cover that (if possible), but also allow me to get the 80s modded marshall mid/high gain style tone too.

I dunno, maybe I'm asking too much of 1 amp? :scratchch

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