Buzz Bin
NEW, HIP, AND UNDER THE RADAR
BOUTIQUE BAD-ASS
Several months ago, a friend called and said, "There's some guy in North Carlona who's building an amp that nails Eddie's brown sound." That "guy" turned out to be Scott Splawn, a boutique amp builder who's particularly talented with Marshall circuits. Splawn's hand-built 100-watt Quick-Rod head is based on several Marshall-style circuits and housed in your choice of Marshall-esque cabinets. But, as I had been advised, it's the amp's ability to uncannily replicate Van Halen's brown sound that has made it, and Splawn, a sensation almost overnight.
In a nod to the spirit of hot rodding, the Quick-Rod's three high-gain modes are called "gears." Each has two gain settings, giving the amp a total of six hih-gain modes. First gear is where you'll find the beautifully tight,woody, and three-dimensional approximation of Van Halen's early tone. Second and Third gears progressively add gain and are tuned more for modern metal, but the amp never loses its laserlike focus and precise articulation. Blues-men will also be overwhelmed by the amp's Clean channel: It's stinging attack and cavernous resonance combine for one of the most inspiring tones in its class. From vinatage "Plexi" blues to the hottest modified JCM800 distortion, the solawn Quick-Rod serves up a connoisseur's cornucopia of Marshall-inspired tone.
-(Eric Kirkland)
From Guitar World August '07
