A little more detail after the comparison between the different circuits of Splawns I’ve owned. I loved this amp but it was just a bit too big for my studio, it’s the largest 1x12 I’ve seen! Great tone though - a bit brighter and bassier than previous circuit iterations. Overall a fantastic amp.
In this video, I play a 1989 Kramer Baretta in Snakeskin finish
Two lovely new Marshalls arrived this week - a pair of JCM900 Mk III’s. I have had the model 2501 for a while (50w Mk III 1x12 combo), and love it, but I’ve been trying to get away from combo amps and keep the heads instead. I spotted a Mk III for a good price on Guitar Center’s listings, so I pulled the trigger. Then the very next day, another one, this time even cheaper! I figured I could return the other one if necessary, so I ordered that one too.
The first one arrived and ended up being a 2500 model, 50 watter. It’s in pretty rough shape both externally and has a loose tube socket rivet, which makes it a big question mark even at the price I got it for… I have some time in the return period to decide. I’ve already spent some time cleaning it up and it does sound great, however.
The second arrived a day later, a 2100 model, 100 watter. I have no preference between 50w and 100w, but since I have the SL-X and a 100w JCM800 2203, I think it’d be cool to have all three of them in 100w form, even if just for the sake of comparison. This one is much cleaner condition wise - hardly any rust at all. On a closer inspection, this head shell has been recovered - a few spots lifting on the back but overall a quality tolex job though it doesn’t match the factory Marshall material. The main pause on this unit is the grid resistors for the power tubes clearly burned out internally - there are some burn marks on the PCB and it has had a professional repair internally - the resistors are now mounted directly to the power tubes like a vintage Marshall would have done. A fuse was also moved to a holder for easier replacement - overall good modifications though I wish the scarring inside weren’t so visible, just for the sake of possibly selling it on later.
After some extensive A/B testing, the 50w is brighter but punchier, but overall I think the 100w has a slight edge on the tone - but that might also be related to the replaced/new components internally (it also has several new caps - I checked the values and they are the same as the factory schematic) which warm it up a bit more. The jury is still out on these two but I’m leaning towards keeping the 100w and sending back the 50w, and someone who appreciates these will get a good deal on it.
A long-form video detailing some of the history, circuit design, features, and tones this iconic amp can produce. Took a while to finish this one and it is very long at 38 minutes but I think it came out pretty well!
I spotted this online for what seemed like an incredible price for a USA made boutique amp with top of the line components. I’ve had a few smaller name amps and been really blown away by them (PWE) and some that were awful (Kruse) so I really didn’t know what to expect here.
I know it’s a cliche, but all I can say is “wow!” This is a great sounding amp, really amazing tones. Channel 1 is a very full sounding clean tone, not too sparkly but reminds me the Normal channel on a plexi. Channel 2 is crunch, and with the gain about half does a great single channel JCM800 impression with a lot of brightness and grit just like the real one sitting only a few feet away. Channel 3 is the highlight for me, of course, as a fan of high gain tones. It keeps the same core tone going from the previous channel, but now you have a standard “gain” control as well as one titled “post” which effectively is a saturation control. Tweaking these two controls back and forth already results in a variety of great tones before even touching the EQ. Count me a big fan of this amp, and it looks great with so many tubes inside through the mesh front panel, and the HUGE Mercury Magnetics transformers inside.
Another really awesome feature, which I can’t wait to play around with more, is a switch on the front panel called “OT,” short for Output Tubes. It allows you to select from A or B right on the front panel - and all tubes are running so you can switch while playing and really hear the differences between them. Basically, you can put in two different pairs of power tubes, say 6L6 and EL34, and swap between them. Currently, it has a pair of 6550’s and a pair of EL34’s, and it’s very cool to hear the differences between those. This is what I expected from the Egnater Renegade, but was disappointed in the preamp section of that amp even though the blendable power section was cool. While the Rockmod doesn’t allow me to blend the two tube types, the preamp section is fantastic so I’m totally happy with this feature.
While it’s not secret that Splawn Amps have gone through a number of revisions and circuit changes over the years, I haven’t seen many direct comparisons. Since I have three from a wide range of years, I thought I’d record some clips of the amps at different settings to show how different they sound.
First up, the 2006 Quick Rod. This amp has the offset input jack and 3x 12AX7 preamp tubes. The clean channel gets dirtier if the overdrive channel’s gain is turned off, so I turned it way down for this video. It’s a bit of a quirk of this amp, but you can’t have a pristine clean and a high gain sound footswitchable - you have to sacrifice your clean tone for the high gain overdrive tone. That said, this is still my favorite of the three.
Second, a 2008 Quick Rod, which has a much darker/smoother circuit and an additional preamp tube for the clean channel, bringing the total to 4x 12AX7’s.
Last, a 2018 Street Rod, while a slightly different design and lower wattage than the QR’s it is an almost identical circuit and the most up-to-date version I have.
Enjoy!
In this video, I play this sweet Charvel Model 4 in Rainbow Crackle finish
I’ve been occasionally looking for good deals on Mesa amps to add to my collection lately, and after acquiring a Mark V (and being thrilled by it) I started to look at some of other models in the range. I’m covered on Rectifiers, but I have little to no experience with the Electradyne, Royal Atlantic, and Triple Crown models. From what I understand, these share a similar architecture and design ideology.
After spotting a TC-50 on Guitar Center’s used listings for a very good price - and an interesting color I couldn’t quite place (it looked creme to me in the pictures), I snagged it.
Instead of creme or tan like I expected, it’s GOLD tolex! Combined with the carbon fiber front (both top and bottom) and gold piping, it’s quite the striking look. I’m pleased that it’s a bit of a darker gold, so its not too flashy or bright like “gold tolex” would lead you to believe.
I’ve already spent some time dialing it in and my first impressions are good, but not mind blowing. As with any amp, I think it’s important to spend some time with it, try different speakers and settings, as well as guitars, so anything I say below could change as I get more time with it. The spring reverb is fantastic though - no complaints there.
The drive channels sound a bit like a Mark series amp, especially with the “tight” switch turned on, but the EQ structure is different - more like dialing a Marshall amp. Set to the “normal” setting, it gets a little flubbier in the bass but also fuller - really akin to a rectifier style amp. The “tight” switch does not only affect the bass though, it adds some hair and midrange grit to the tone as well - it’s really more accurate to call it a “voicing” switch than anything else. The tone flows nicely from Channel 2 to 3, you can keep the same core tone and change EQ, gain, or volume and it still sounds like the same amp, which is a plus. The Mark V can be a bit of a “3 amps in one box” whereas the TC50 is definitely just “one amp with 3 gain levels.”
The Cleans and “drive” mode on the clean channel are superb right off the bat - it’s the drive channels that will take a little more time to get along with. With the presence dialed back, or alternatively the treble down and presence up, it is easy to dial a great classic rock crunch on this channel, or a full sounding dirty clean.
I finally have a single channel, master volume, Super Lead Mark II amp. The full 100 watter too, and a reissue to boot.
This is a hell of an amp, and I can see why this has been the tone people lust after for years, build amps based around, modify to their liking, and so on. This amp is dynamic, punchy, full sounding, and has this incredible elasticity and flow to the notes that is impossible to really describe without experiencing.
There’s not much to cover since it’s such a simple design, based on the early plexi circuits but using cascaded gain stages (and the voicing shaped to accommodate that), the JCM800 2203 is a staple of modern rock tones and possible the most famous and most recorded amp of all time (for overdriven tones, at least). A simple front panel has six knobs - presence, treble, mids, bass, volume, and preamp gain. Two inputs, a high and a low (skips one of the three gain stages). These are invariably run with the preamp gain set to max, but if desired can be set lower for surprisingly great sounding clean tones. Compared to the split channel JCM800s I have, this one feels like the mids are a little more relaxed, the amp just a tiny bit more mild, but with an even wider spectrum of sound. Contrasting with the JVM410 I got around the same time, this amp is the total opposite - it’s extremely touch sensitive and has very present ultra-highs, but without being piercing, and deep full lows that extend beyond any lows coming out of the JVM.
This particular unit is a 2005 reissue, complete with a factory effects loop, but still sporting the silver back grille (as opposed to modern Marshall’s black).
No other features on this one - just one great channel, a nice loop, and some of the best rock tones I’ve ever heard. Also no surprise that this is one of the best pedal platforms out there, it can be taken into extreme metal territory with a boost or distortion pedal and all of the characteristics of the pedal shine through as well, enhanced and colored by the amp perfectly. I have had a Joyo Ultimate Drive (OCD clone) for years now and thought it was awful until I heard it through this amp. My SD-1 and Tubescreamers sound great as well, and I can imagine any unique overdrives would have their full potential realized through an amp like this one.
Definitely a long term keeper - and it looks great stacked on top of my JCM800 2210 and JCM800 1960A cabinet!
Since I’m going through the whole range of Marshall amps anyway, I knew I’d have to try the JVM eventually. I never got the appeal of the 2 channel models, so when this four channel popped up for around the same price I went for it.
I’ve heard these compared to JCM800’s, supposedly sharing the same power amp design and similar topology in the 3-gain stage mods of the crunch channel, or green mode of OD1.
Well I have to report that is not at all the case. The JVM is definitely a versatile amp with some great tones, but it is no JCM800 replacement, at least not for me, and not even close to replacing my split channel 800s.
OD1 is very close sounding to my TSL head, nearly identical in fact, but more congested than that amp. Something about the overdrive channels of the JVM is that all of the frequencies seem to be condensed a little to a more focused spectrum - it has less deep bass and less “air” highs than the TSL, or my JCM800’s. On top of that, this amp has as much gain as the TSL has at max around 1 O’clock, but it also has far more background noise - and I’d never call the TSL a “quiet” amp. I’m not sure why they decided to do this, I’d think a smoother taper on the gain controls would be much more usable.
OD2 can get a pretty close to rectifier tone, but with a squishier, more saturated attack to the bass notes. I’m not the biggest fan because the same issue with the focused frequency spectrum means I preferred my actual rectifiers, but I can see how a JVM410 would be a killer amp for a cover band - you could do 80s metal on OD1 right up to Nu-metal recto tones on OD2 all with a couple of taps on the footswitch.
My favorite mode on this amp is Clean Red, which oddly uses all 4 gain stages but stays just a tad overdriven and clear. I find this mode to be the most similar to my Plexi’s normal channel, which is funny because my actual Plexi uses only 2 gain stages.
Crunch felt a bit underwhelming as well, it just doesn’t have the punch of… flow? of the JCM800’s. A certain je ne sais quoi that the 800’s have that this amp does not on any mode. Again, red mode was my favorite here.
I can compliment the digital reverb, which was very close to my TSL’s real spring reverb when A/Bing these amps. The TSL was just a tiny bit bouncier on the clean tones, for example playing surf style music, but for most tones and especially on distortion channels to add some weight it was functionally identical.
With so many other fantastic Marshalls in my collection, and no plans to ever drop down to only one or two amps ever again, I’m not sure where this amp fits in. I think this is another one to be returned - but it was fun to try out for a little while.
Grab one on Reverb here: Marshall JVM on Reverb
Put together some comparison clips playing some heavy riffs through all three of these amps. They all have that strong Orange midrange but quite a few differences in overall gain and voicing, especially noticeable in the top end.
I’m not sure which one is my favorite - probably the Thunderverb Channel A for me.
I just put together this video showcasing some of the details, features, and tones this awesome metal amp can produce. Too bad these are discontinued, and hard to find at that! I searched a long time to get a hold of this one and it was well worth it.
