New amp opinions/suggestions: Splawn Vs 5150 III Vs Bogner Vs ?

[Twinfan]

Given the money you'll be spending, and the personal nature of all gear really, you'd be a brave man to take a punt without trying anything in the flesh.

Barring the 5150 III, a quick trip East will cover all the others in one day.  Sounds like you're heading to Sounds Great and somewhere in teh city centre for the Bogner?

[Brow]

Given the money you'll be spending, and the personal nature of all gear really, you'd be a brave man to take a punt without trying anything in the flesh.

Barring the 5150 III, a quick trip East will cover all the others in one day.  Sounds like you're heading to Sounds Great and somewhere in teh city centre for the Bogner?

Nah, I have no intention of spending this much cash without trying the amp out in person!

I just need to get a list together so that I can do as much travelling as I can in 1 go and try to minimise distances etc where I can.

Sounds Great are the only Splawn stockists in the country, and the Bogner is a private sale but I haven't heard back yet so not sure how feasable that is at the minute!  :lol:

[Twinfan]

Well if you're coming to Sounds Great let me know and I'll bob along if you fancy some company, plus you can always try out my XTC on the same day  ;)

[Dmoney]

i still need to go to Sounds Great and have a heated debate on the finer points of customer service all over Gary's face.

have we mentioned an MJW custom build in this thread?
If you wanted something like a Soldano Decatone i could maybe hook you up something.

[Denim n Leather]

The ear has no memory. Just remember that if you don't get to direct A/B amps.

[asianaxeman]

For the switching options you're after u can't beat the jvm, has MIDI inputs too so if you want to add in a decent effects system like a tc nova you can change amp channels and effects with one click. Great Amp. I'm dying to try the 5150 III as well, which. Shop did u say they were on demo ?

[FELINEGUITARS]

The Egnater Mod 50 is totally sweet and with the interchangable modules  you can change it to suit your moods
Two forum guys have them (Adam B and Catalyst77) whilst I went for the rack mount version that takes 4 modules = 8 channels.

Another option is the Randall RM100 or Lynch Box
Takes 3 modules (but single channel only) but 3 killer sounds available and changeable

The prototype one I had (signed by & used by Lynch) was great but too loud for home and pretty heavy to lug around
The guy who had it off me is selling it for about £550 (without modules ) as he has gone for the 4 slot rack preamp and power amp for more versatility.

Modules are getting customised too by various guys like this one:
http://www.salvationmods.com/

[Brow]

Well if you're coming to Sounds Great let me know and I'll bob along if you fancy some company, plus you can always try out my XTC on the same day  ;)

Cheers for the offer Dave. I think I still have your mobile number from when we had the get together last Feb in Manchester. Had a new phone since then though so there's every chance I may not have due to my technical incompetence with some phones!  :lol:

i still need to go to Sounds Great and have a heated debate on the finer points of customer service all over Gary's face.

have we mentioned an MJW custom build in this thread?
If you wanted something like a Soldano Decatone i could maybe hook you up something.

I don't think a MJW has been mentioned so far no. I tried an Orion last Fenruary but didn't get too much time on it due to not wanting to hog it over other forum members.

I've never looked into Soldano to be honest. Is that 1 a channel switcher or single channel amp?

The ear has no memory. Just remember that if you don't get to direct A/B amps.

VERY good point! I'll definitely bear that in mind when I eventually get around to travelling to test amps in person  :D

For the switching options you're after u can't beat the jvm, has MIDI inputs too so if you want to add in a decent effects system like a tc nova you can change amp channels and effects with one click. Great Amp. I'm dying to try the 5150 III as well, which. Shop did u say they were on demo ?

The JVM was 1 of the 1st amps I looked into when I 1st started saving towards an amp. I looked into sound clips and while it was a good sounding amp, nothing I found really blew me away if you know what I mean?

The 5150 III I saw online was at Electro Music in Doncaster and GAK in Brighton (??) has them too.

The Egnater Mod 50 is totally sweet and with the interchangable modules  you can change it to suit your moods
Two forum guys have them (Adam B and Catalyst77) whilst I went for the rack mount version that takes 4 modules = 8 channels.

Another option is the Randall RM100 or Lynch Box
Takes 3 modules (but single channel only) but 3 killer sounds available and changeable

The prototype one I had (signed by & used by Lynch) was great but too loud for home and pretty heavy to lug around
The guy who had it off me is selling it for about £550 (without modules ) as he has gone for the 4 slot rack preamp and power amp for more versatility.

Modules are getting customised too by various guys like this one:
http://www.salvationmods.com/

Cheers for the suggestion Jonathan.

I'd heard of those amps but had never looked into them. Do Randall do something very similar? A mate of mine has a Randall modular type amp and swears by it.

[Dazza1004]

I've got a 5153 and I like it, it sounds good and it's easy to dial in and versitile.

If you are going to give it a try I would advise you make sure you try it with the matching cab or at least something greenback related. I have a 2x12 with g12-65's, I hated it with V30's.

I have heard from those who have had both it's like a poor mans XTC but voiced a little more mordern and agressive, a bit of a cross between and XTC and an SLO.

[Dmoney]

the decatone has 3 channels of varying gain each with a bright switch and a shared tube buffered fx loop with wet/dry control.
It also has a shared eq for each channel.
The crunch channel is great but the overdrive isn't as good as on other soldanos (still good though!).
the channels are footswitchable
I personally wouldn't buy a new one as that means dealing with sounds great, but you can pick them up second hand for less than £1400. I happen to know someone building similar amps to the decatone.

The Bogner Ecstasy would be more versatile I think. lots more bells and whistles.
I've never played a 5150III or a Splawn. and probably never will. 

[FELINEGUITARS]

http://www.randallamplifiers.com/Amplifiers/MTS-Heads/

[Johnny Mac]

How about a Koch Supernova. 5 channels. Midi. Variable power outputs. It's a beast of an amp!

[Brow]

How about a Koch Supernova. 5 channels. Midi. Variable power outputs. It's a beast of an amp!

Yeah, it looks it!  :lol:



Do you need a degree in astro physics or something to use that!

Looks quite a cool concept but a bit out of my price range at £2k I'm afraid!

Thanks for the suggestion though!

[Jcortez]

When I was looking to get a new amp I played quite a few different ones : the 5150 III, Mesa stiletto, Marshall 2203 and the JVM 410. Out of those I liked the 5150 III the best( tight and moderately compressed, though did sag @ higher volumes)2)Marshall 2203(sparkly and crunchy, good old rocknroll tone, not compressed much @ all,not versatile enough for my applications)3)Mesa stiletto(just as much gain as the 5150, best clean channel of all the amps,versatile enough,lacked a certain roundness/fullness that I was really looking for in the gain channels)4) JVM 410(very versatile, clean channel not too bad, never could get it to come to life no matter how I adjusted it, the low gains sounded good but, the high gains sounded modeled or solid state to me. Ultimately, I went with an 09' Quickrod and could not be happier with my choice. I have never played through a Bogner or an ENGL(always wanted an EL34 Invader in my dreams) or a Framus but, I am sure they all sound badass. Good luck!

[Brow]

When I was looking to get a new amp I played quite a few different ones : the 5150 III, Mesa stiletto, Marshall 2203 and the JVM 410. Out of those I liked the 5150 III the best( tight and moderately compressed, though did sag @ higher volumes)2)Marshall 2203(sparkly and crunchy, good old rocknroll tone, not compressed much @ all,not versatile enough for my applications)3)Mesa stiletto(just as much gain as the 5150, best clean channel of all the amps,versatile enough,lacked a certain roundness/fullness that I was really looking for in the gain channels)4) JVM 410(very versatile, clean channel not too bad, never could get it to come to life no matter how I adjusted it, the low gains sounded good but, the high gains sounded modeled or solid state to me. Ultimately, I went with an 09' Quickrod and could not be happier with my choice. I have never played through a Bogner or an ENGL(always wanted an EL34 Invader in my dreams) or a Framus but, I am sure they all sound badass. Good luck!

Thanks for the info!

I'm hopefully going to try out a Bogner 101b next weekend, but if that doesn't pan out then the next 1 on my list to pick up would be a Quick Rod.

I managed to try a Cornford Roadhouse 30 at the week that was originally on my list. It was an ok sounding amp but had a very thin sound whereas I prefer something with a bit more body and power to the tone.