My
Splawn Quick Rod arrived via FedEx today! I didn't have a guitar at work today, strangely enough, so I will be bringing one in tomorrow. I also didn't have time to even put the valves into the amp or even turn it on. Tomorrow I will get around to doing the most basic assessment and will report back.
What
can I tell you about the amp?
First of all, it was packed magnificently. The amp itself was wrapped in shrinkwrap with all the corners and edges protected by styrafoam or thick cardboard. This was placed in a thick cardboard box. That entire box was floated inside another outer box. The entire thing arrived in mint condition however, without even a scuff mark on the outer box.
The amp itself looks
A M A Z I N G!!! Build quality is phenomenal!
This is a stock photo of the amp:
The front panel, from left to right has the power and standby switches, which are these industrial toggles like you would see on a Roccaforte, not rocker switches. Next to that are all the controls for the gain channel: EQ, gain, channel volume, and boost. (More on the boost in a moment) All of the knobs are black vintage against white plexiglass. Next comes the 3 position voicing switch, labeled
First Gear, Second Gear and
Third Gear. The clean channel has it's own EQ. On the far right are the master volume and single input.
The fit and finish on the amp are
INSANE! The tolex is beautifully wrapped, accented with white piping. The grille area is a large piece of white plexiglass with the Rising Sun graphic. The chasis is topped off with a leather strap handle with
chrome (or stainless steel) ends. Class!
The back of the chasis has a wire mesh over the top portion where you can see the valves and the
massive transformers. (The amp weighs about 60 lbs). The valves are packed seperately inside the tube cage. The rear panel has two inputs for the footswitch, two outputs for loudspeaker attachments, a DI out, FX loop, 1/2 power switch, and IEC mains jack.
Packed seperately is the metal footwitch, which has an elegant curved top, which is then covered with a white plate that matches the panel on the amp. Again: CLASS! There are 3 switches on it: Clean, OD, and Boost.
The boost is a pure volume boost for the OD channel, not another gain stage. So, all you do is set your rhythm volume, dial in the amount of boost you want for your solos, and voila! You are done! No more running a boost pedal through the FX loop!
Scott Splawn promised me the amp in 4 weeks, and he delivered it in 4 weeks
to the day. Everything about the amp just screams quality and attention to detail.
Tomorrow: Pics and the first run through! Watch this space for details!
