Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

I am looking for another British flavored amp that isn't like my Friedman JJ-100. I want something brighter and slightly drier and voiced better for more extreme metal like 80s death metal and black metal and stuff like Megadeth and Iced Earth. Does the Suhr have enough gain to do what I want it to without adding an OD? Is the Splawn too stiff and dry? I want some sag but not as much as my Friedman, and definitely brighter than it.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Have you looked at the Victory range - the Kraken sounds like it might be the closest to what you want.


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Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Neither of those amps will have more gain on tap than the JJ

Ditto that.

Look into VHT Pitbull Ultralead, Diezel amps, any number of Engl models, etc. The Suhr and Splawn amps that you have listed are for 80s hair metal... not thrash, black metal, etc.

I owned an Ultralead with the EQ and it would probably nail what you are looking for. The Splawn QR that I had was a great amp and worked very well for stuff like AIC (about as well as the Friedmans that I had). But the Splawn has too much sag for the tight tones that you are looking for. Not Friedman levels, but still more about the 80s brown sound.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

I believe the Friedman Butterslax Bill Kelliher has the most gain of the line
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Ditto that.

Look into VHT Pitbull Ultralead, Diezel amps, any number of Engl models, etc. The Suhr and Splawn amps that you have listed are for 80s hair metal... not thrash, black metal, etc.

I owned an Ultralead with the EQ and it would probably nail what you are looking for. The Splawn QR that I had was a great amp and worked very well for stuff like AIC (about as well as the Friedmans that I had). But the Splawn has too much sag for the tight tones that you are looking for. Not Friedman levels, but still more about the 80s brown sound.

I am currently selling a VH4. Won't the other Diezels and the ENGLs be too modern sounding? I want something similar to 80s death and black metal, not the later stuff. The VHT has my attention though.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Usually solid state or jcm 800s/900s, but they usually boosted them and had their heads modded. I just want that sound without having to mod the head or run a boost.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Best one around for real death metal/thrash...


I've got a Laboga The Beast Plus 30W head & it cranks out excellent old school death metal tones as well..no boosts required. The Mr. Hector is bigger & more versatile though.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Best one around for real death metal/thrash...


I've got a Laboga The Beast Plus 30W head & it cranks out excellent old school death metal tones as well..no boosts required. The Mr. Hector is bigger & more versatile though.

My KSR can do what the Laboga do and then some. I want something more British sounding. That clip sounded more like a dry 5150 to me.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

I am currently selling a VH4. Won't the other Diezels and the ENGLs be too modern sounding? I want something similar to 80s death and black metal, not the later stuff. The VHT has my attention though.

Hmmm... I gotchya. I was focused on the metal thing and was missing your point. Honestly, I've never been into death/black/thrash metal... 80s or now. So my opinion is mostly based on the amps that I have experienced.

The VHT might get what you want. I wonder if the VHT Deliverance 120 might do it?

But as has been mentioned... those tones recorded with Marshalls that had been tightened-up and gain added. Usually the 2203. I wonder if the Kerry King JCM800 model with a tight, gain/boost pedal. I wonder if a JCM2000 DSL100 might get you there with a good pedal as well. I had the DSL50 and I could see where that could be tweaked for those tones. The 100 would have more headroom and less sag.

Some of those tones were also acheived with the Mesa models of the day. That was about it for high-gain tones of the 80s: Marshall and Mesa.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

I’ve got a Quickrod but I’m not exactly what 80’s death metal tones sound like. It wasn’t my jam back then. But if you post a clip or have any specific questions about the QR HMU.
I also have a modded JCM 800 for reference too.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Try the Marshall TSL series heads. They sound more vintage Marshall then the DSL'S and can be found for cheap. I put KT77'S in mine and its a monster. No boost needed. Also the Kerry King 2203 has a built in boost and a nice noise gate. I added an FX loop to mine just to tweak it some more. Its pretty much Seasons in the Abyss without the added loop. Killer amp but more versatile with the loop. Also try the Soldano Avenger, another no boost needed Brit style head.
 
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Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Really depends on what band's/sound's your'e talking about. In the really early days every band had it's own distinct & very 'different from the next band' sort of sound. Bolt Thrower's tone was completely different from Death's which was different from Suffo's which was different from Asphyx's, .Autopsy's, Carcass's, Morbid Angel's, Autopsy's, Obituary's, Entombed's etc.. they were all pretty radically different tone's actually before things started to get totally homogenized like the stuff you hear today..

A lot of the saturation in their tones also depended on how they were running the bass as well..distorted or clean & apart from boosted Valvestate's/SS amp's/Peavey's/JCM 800's some of those guitar guys plugged into bass amp's/cab's too..

It's not like these days where every deathcore band out there uses the exact same (6505) EQ setting or Axe FX preset.

I have a Cicognani Brutus Live head with 5881's that work's great for raw/primitive death metal (among other things) & the gain comes from the amp..no boost. It is British voiced as well. 30 watts may not seem like a lot ...but 30 Class A watt's is actually plenty loud. I gig with it often.

 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Ignore the folks who tell you a QR can't do '80s death metal. Look up live vids of the band "Oath of Cruelty"; one of their guitarists uses a KT88 Pro Stock (which was the one-channel version of the QR) when he plays live, and he gets an absolutely lethal death/thrash tone out of it.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Ignore the folks who tell you a QR can't do '80s death metal. Look up live vids of the band "Oath of Cruelty"; one of their guitarists uses a KT88 Pro Stock (which was the one-channel version of the QR) when he plays live, and he gets an absolutely lethal death/thrash tone out of it.

I find my QR can cover a lot of musical ground. From classic Marshall tones to outright brutal high gain. Best amp I’ve ever owned.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

I think you want a Marshall JVM, bro.
Those are bright, tight and will do death metal all day long.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

I think you want a Marshall JVM, bro.
Those are bright, tight and will do death metal all day long.

I didn't like how modern they sounded when I played one years ago. Old School death metal doesn't sound much like the newer stuff imo.
 
Re: Suhr PT100 vs Splawn Quick Rod

Laney VH100R then? Those have terrible resale so they're usually cheap used...
 
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