Splawn Amps?

[JammerMatt]

Re: Splawn Amps?

Hmm .... I am metal head too but I want just more of the same, meaning I am really happy with my tone for rythm and for leads, so would you say Splawn would not be for me? and what marshall this splawn is close to tone wise?
LRD, congrats man, **** it I want more amps....

Naw, I wouldn't say it's not for you. I don't know how to best describe it, but OD2 is just more OD1 goodness. It doesn't seem to change the tone so much as the gain.

What are they like? Well, being I've never played but 1 Marshall in my life (an 800), to my ears first gear sounds like a modded Plexi (I'm going with how I hear the early VH albums). Gear 2 is like a modded 800. Gear 3 is like a super-modded 800. That's just my ears though.

Just as a disclaimer though. Gear 1 does not sound like a non-modded plexi - it has way more gain than that. All the gears are quite gainy, so to my ears at least a "stock" Marshall doesn't live there. But, probably someone more talented than me can get them to sound like a stock Marshall by dialing down the gain, and playing technique.

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: Splawn Amps?

Jammer,
Hmm .... thank you... I am still think of JTM45 type tone for my "M" sound in the future.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Splawn Amps?

Thanks for the info, Matt.

1st Gear has WAY more gain than a stock plexi. In fact, I wonder how close the clean channel is to JTM tone? I've never played one, but I've heard clips. I need to bust out the Custom loaded LP to see if it starts to break up at higher gain settings.

If you're into more Marshall voiced tones, it would make a great metal amp.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Splawn Amps?

I find the Splawns have a very Plexi-like tone signature and EQ curve, but with faaaar more available gain and bass. You can dial your Splawn to punch holes in the wall with bass if you so choose. That's more than I use on mine, but one thing to note is that even with the bass knob dimed (and that's CHEST THUMPING bass) it never mushes out or sounds muffled.

The tone stays tight no matter what you do to these things.

I also never realized that the solo boost on the footswitch (which is the BEST boost I've ever seen or heard for louder leads) automatically kicked the amp to OD2. It just never occurred to me. Again, mine is older, so I'm not actually sure it works that way. I get a volume boost by hitting "solo" even on the clean channel, and it's just a louder clean tone, so I'm thinking the solo boost on mine is just volume and a little extra saturation and that's it.