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NAD - Splawn!


LucSulla

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That is the most fun name to say.  

@RobB successfully talked me into giving this sucker a spin instead of getting a Marshall studio series.  I'm glad he did because it is EXACTLY what I was looking for.  Nearest thing I can compare it to is a Friedman Smallbox, though, to be honest, I may like it more.

The more I play it, the more I am thinking about maybe picking up the large version of this and dumping the BE-50.  The Friedman is a bitchin' amp, but man, this does exactly what I like a much more modest price tag.  

Either way, even if it's a little bit of a honeymoon thing, the fact it even made moving that amp along cross my mind says a lot.  
 

084A045A-FC49-4BB6-97E7-0FB9CE939A8E.JPG

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Probably the best, "do-it-all", amp I've owned. Perfect for gigging and loud enough for any situation. No gigs in the Bay Area in the foreseeable future, so off it went.

I recently jammed with a bud's metal band. He, of the full-stack, Recto-tribe, laughed when I loaded my gear in; "WTF is UP with peewee, there?" After the first song ("20,000 Feet", Saxon) he stood and stared at that little Splawn. 2hrs (and many beers/bong hits) later, the drummer sez: "DOOD! Why don't your rig sound like Rob's Marshall?"

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6 minutes ago, bubs_42 said:

I know Murkat had/has one, I had one for a short while. 

How did it compare to the Budda?

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20 minutes ago, Travis said:

How did it compare to the Budda?

I have a pre-Peavey Budda SD II 18.  

I like the Splawn better.  That being said, I can see a world where the Budda gets sent to Jeff Bober for a refresh and they both become the heart of a stereo rig.

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11 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

I have a pre-Peavey Budda SD II 18.  

I like the Splawn better.  That being said, I can see a world where the Budda gets sent to Jeff Bober for a refresh and they both become the heart of a stereo rig.

Would love to hear your thoughts on what you like better between the two. Similar styles but the Splawn does it better?  Splawn has a different sound that you prefer?  

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15 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

I have a pre-Peavey Budda SD II 18.  

I had an SDII 18. Different amps. The Budda excelled as a raging rock amp. I found it harder to get a good volume balance between channels. Maybe there was a mod to address that? You could dial controls to get a pretty good Vox-ish on the Budda. At high volume, both compress differently. The SD11 sounds more (for lack of a better term), “classic rock-ish”, and the Splawn goes into full-on, JCM800 squishiness.

The Splawn has more features than the SDII 18. That ain’t a knock on the Budda  They’re both great amps

 

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Just now, RobB said:

I had a SDII 18. Different amps. The Budda excelled as a raging rock amp. I found it harder to get a good volume balance between channels. Maybe there was a mod to address that? You could dial controls to get a pretty good Vox-ish on the Budda. At high volume, both compress differently. The SD11 sounds more (for lack of a better term), “classic rock-ish”, and the Splawn goes into full-on, JCM800 squishiness.

The Splawn has more features than the SDII 18. That ain’t a knock on the Budda  They’re both great amps

 

Thanks for that. I’m digging my SDII 30. It definitely does rock, classic for sure.  Boost and an overdrive and it’ll get a bit more rude. Will have to check the YouTubes on that Splawn to get more familiar with the features. 

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1 minute ago, RobB said:

I had a SDII 18. Different amps. The Budda excelled as a raging rock amp. I found it harder to get a good volume balance between channels. Maybe there was a mod to address that? You could dial controls to get a pretty good Vox-ish on the Budda. At high volume, both compress differently. The SD11 sounds more (for lack of a better term), “classic rock-ish”, and the Splawn goes into full-on, JCM800 squishiness.

The Splawn has more features than the SDII 18. That ain’t a knock on the Budda  They’re both great amps

 

I agree with all of this.  I may get a mod so the clean and drive channels balance better.  Additionally, the Budda is quite a bit louder, and the master volume for the clean channel isn't nearly as linear.  That channel gets from mild to wild with the quickness.  It's never bothered me *that* much because I used to have a Mesa Mark III that has similar issues balancing all the channels.  I had it modded to be a true three channel amp.  Otherwise, you pretty much had to pick either the clean or rhythm channel because you weren't using both.  

The Budda isn't nearly that bad, but it is a problem, one I may have correct if I send it in.  I also find the compression different.  The Budda does compress at higher volume a lot like the more refined, boutique versions of Marshall circuits out there.  It's not bad; it's just a different flavor.  I can hear the Vox-ish thing Rob mentioned too, and there is a Vox-meets-Marshall thing to that amp now that he mentioned.  

The Spawn reminds me a helluvalot of what it is supposed to be - good clean channel with a hot rod Plexi mode and a hot rod JCM 800 mode with boosts for both.  It sounds and responds pretty much exactly what you would imagine 22 watt versions of those amps would sound and feel like.  Distortion is way less compressed, though the Master Volume is great.  The sound holds together very well as the volume goes up.  Also seems to start getting some push from the power tubes at a much lower volume than the Budda does.  

I'm definitely not knocking the Budda though.  Instead of selling it, I'm thinking about actually dumping a little money into it by, like I said, sending it back to it's daddy for a once over.  Marshalls set to shake and bake are just my thing, so I like the Splawn ever so slightly more.  That's not to say the Budda doesn't do an equally cool think in just a little bit different flavor. 

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Welcome to the family. I have a Street Rod w 4 button footswitch and creamback celestion (Factory)  also a Budda Superdrive II (Pre Peavey as well) Have had the Budda for 12-13 years and Splawn for 3-4. Granted the Street rod has a different power section and extra gear 1-3 than the SS but to me the Budda and Splawn are completely different animals. Both Marshallesque for sure but different eras.

 

 

 

The Budda seems more classic with a Fendery clean. Cranking up the clean channel volume gets into what I think of as 60’s 70’s Plexi realm. Drive channel can start there and then go well into 80’s territory. Modern setting also give the illusion of more gain but the Budda is very smooth sounding. Gets a pretty nice EVH Brown tone imo. Just retubed this one and it changed quite a bit going from JJ long plate pres to the new production “Mullard”4004 pres. The Mullard power tubes with the old JJ pres sounded much more rounded. Tamed some of the mids that seemed to get overbearing after a while, also made the hair trigger volume control slightly better. Master volume is hair trigger and goes from no sound to pretty loud quickly. The Budda is probably the lightest 12” speaker combo out there, total grab and go. Seems to go through power tubes a little more quickly than some. As mentioned, can sometimes be difficult to balance the volume between channels depending on your settings. If you keep the clean channel lower and 100% clean, it’s not an issue.

 

 

 

The Splawn other than the weight is phenomenal. I cross shopped the Friedman Runt 20 and 50 before going with the Splawn. Probably not a fair comparison to their upper tier offerings but neither was the price. The Splawn buried the Runt in either case as the Runt seemed to not be able to handle the bottom end very well, even with lower settings on the ones I tried. The Splawn master volume is hands down the best I’ve seen and can be used in conjunction with the slave for even more control. You get a fantastic tone at super quite volume levels. Like an SLO 100 the louder it gets the better it sounds though. Hard to believe but the 40 watt Splawn is a better bedroom amp than the 18 watt Budda. Clean is more similar to a really good Marshall clean. (Some would ask if there is such a thing) I think so though. Gain wise you have to set it really low on gear one and you are already in AC/DC realm. There is more gain on tap than most anyone would need. It has more of a cutting tone than the Budda, still pleasant though. It has it’s own take on a Marshall. Tons of flexibility with three gears and two overdrives for each. You could easily play modern Metal on gear three. I’m a gain freak and hardly use 3rd gear or rarely exceed 12:00 – 2:00 on the gain. Other than the back surgery weight, this would be a killer gigging amp with all of the switching and solo boost. It’s a chest thumper when the volume is up and is reminiscent of the 4x12 days. It hits like a big iron amp and when I’ve taken it to jam sessions sounds huge and unlike a combo.   

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Congrats!

I used to have a Splawn SS combo. Great amp. Powerful little sucker. Gigged with it and it sounded awesome. I eventually sold it.

Also owned several Budda SuperDrives and still own an SD30II

Both are great amps but they are very different. The Splawn is definitely more in the Marshall JCM800 camp. Budda has a fatter, darker tone.

 

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I'm not sure if the Bogner Shiva, Friedman Small Box, or this amp is the best Amp I've ever owned.   The fact that it rates right there with those two should tell you a lot.  This thing is dirt simple and savage.  You probably couldn't do death metal straight in (nor did any of those cats back in the day without something up front), but it does everything from slightly dirty rock through stoner metal stuff - say Kyuss or Corrosion of Conformity - like it's its damn job.  

The damn 1x12 combo also thumps harder than a lot of amps through a 4x12.  

Black magic. 

On 1/12/2021 at 6:40 AM, HoboMan said:

Congrats!

I used to have a Splawn SS combo. Great amp. Powerful little sucker. Gigged with it and it sounded awesome. I eventually sold it.

Also owned several Budda SuperDrives and still own an SD30II

Your old post on TGP about them is one of the things that sold me, well that and that I think @RobBand I have some major overlap in our taste in guitars and amps from what I can tell over the years.  If I had the money, that EBMM he has up right now would be on its way here now. 

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5 hours ago, LucSulla said:

I'm not sure if the Bogner Shiva, Friedman Small Box, or this amp is the best Amp I've ever owned.   The fact that it rates right there with those two should tell you a lot.  This thing is dirt simple and savage.  You probably couldn't do death metal straight in (nor did any of those cats back in the day without something up front), but it does everything from slightly dirty rock through stoner metal stuff - say Kyuss or Corrosion of Conformity - like it's its damn job.  

The damn 1x12 combo also thumps harder than a lot of amps through a 4x12.  

Black magic. 

Your old post on TGP about them is one of the things that sold me, well that and that I think @RobBand I have some major overlap in our taste in guitars and amps from what I can tell over the years.  If I had the money, that EBMM he has up right now would be on its way here now. 

 

Yeah, I'm sure I raved about it on TGP. I regret selling miine. Maybe one day I'll get another. Would like to get a mini head.

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Congratulations!.. I'm a huge Splawn fan... I have a 22 watt 6V6 Mini SS head and a 50 watt el34 Quick Rod head...  what Splawn did with the 6V6 tube is amazing!.. and if you like your SS, wait till you get a Quick Rod...

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