NAD_ KT77 Splawn Content

MetalHeadMike

Well-known member
So I picked up this Quickrod Drob B+ a couple weeks ago but unfortunately had a PT redplate on me the second day after getting it. It sat for a week until I was able to get some replacements. I picked up a quad of JJ KT77s from a member hear on a trade (Thanks Apophis :thumbsup: ) and got around to installing/biasing them last night.

Well I can't really compare to the stock EL34Bs that were in the amp when I got it considering I only had a few hours playtime before a tube took out a fuse and left it dead in the water, but I can say that the JJ KT77 do not disappoint in this amp :rock:

This amp is just flat out MASSIVE sounding! Its got such a 3 dimensional quality to it that is hard to get across in a description, you just have to be in the room. The low end is HUGE as in almost if not equal to Diezel Herbert huge.

I've read lots of old posts where people describe the mids as "weird" and I guess to some extent I can see where some might consider them weird, but as a metal head I can only describe the mids on this amp as :D :rock: :D :rock: :D :rock: :D :rock: They are aggressive, articulate, sharp, blistering and just straight up in your face. Right up my alley!

Consequently, the mids knob is the most powerful tone shaping knob in the eq section and there is a huge range of tone available from this knob alone. You can easily darken the tone up considerably with this knob but all the while the amp still has enough cut, attack and clarity. Or you can crank the mids knob and it just flat out screams. Oddly enough I find myself with the mids at noon or 1'ish and treble and presence at 0 or just cracked open and it sounds great.

The gain structure is unlike anything I've played/heard. Can go from a more open crunchy roar to ultra saturated yet not compressed. I don't know how else to describe it other than to say its seems very saturated and "wet" if that makes any sense. I love it! For comparison, I'd say the Savage was super saturated if you set the gain that way, but very "dry" in comparison and a lot more compressed.

The amp is tight but there is a welcome amount of sag and give. As much as I loved my Savage 120, I always felt I was fighting it. It just felt very stiff whereas the this amp just has a really really nice feel under the fingers.

Hear is a quick and dirty recording of some chugga chug bullshit while I was biasing it last night:

https://soundcloud.com/user-549632051/d ... uickrodwav



FWw8nm0l.jpg
 
Thanks gents! This amp is sick! Have not played an amp with low end like this other than the Herbert I had. The KT77s definitely add to that massive bottom.
 
Decided to pick up another cable so I could hook up my G12k100 loaded 2x12 parallel with the EVH 412 and man this amp through those two cabs is sonic annihilation! Running two 16 ohm cabs at 8 ohms gave even a touch more sag in response. I think the feel/response of this amp is what I wanted out of many past amps but they just couldn't get me there; so eassssssyyyyy to play.
 
BrokenFusion":18a9nj40 said:
What did you bias the Kt77s at? I would be interested in giving them a try.

Scott said not to go over 32mA. I Wound up at 30mA and think they sound great. I couldn't believe these JJs biased up within 0.3 mA of each other.
 
If you want to tighten the low end up just a bit your Splawn will love a Maxon OD808. :thumbsup: I know my Splawn modded Marshall does.
 
Back around 2006 I had a Splawn Competition and got it with KT77s. Loved it! Those tubes bring out low end and low mids in an amp. Great tubes!
 
Lord Toneking":b5o3kprh said:
Congrats! If your ears can take it, get that volume past 9:00 and hear it roar!

Thank you, thank you!

Been there and beyond my friend and ROAR it does :rock:

romanianreaper":b5o3kprh said:
Back around 2006 I had a Splawn Competition and got it with KT77s. Loved it! Those tubes bring out low end and low mids in an amp. Great tubes!

Yeap. The kt77 seem to accentuate those super sub-low frequencies in this amp. Not sure if they react similarly in other amps, but the low end now has a deep deep frequency range in the lows. Still tight though :thumbsup:

harddriver":b5o3kprh said:
If you want to tighten the low end up just a bit your Splawn will love a Maxon OD808. :thumbsup: I know my Splawn modded Marshall does.

:thumbsup: I tend to "clean" boost every amp for my metal tones and have always just used the Ts9 I've had forever. Seems to do the trick. I'm addicted to that tight, tight low end with that added sharp attack in the mids ya get from using pedals like that.
 
bigangryguitar":1jlr9ll9 said:
Splawn makes one heck of an amp! Love my Pro Mod! Congrats on the amp!

Thanks bud! Yeah its another amp I heard of, but it wasn't on my radar. I saw this one hit the classifieds and it just looked interesting. Sooooooo glad I took a chance on it. I think its kinda turning out to be pretty close to "the" tone in my head kind of an amp. Very pleased!
 
MetalHeadMike":3hvqcmv6 said:
bigangryguitar":3hvqcmv6 said:
Splawn makes one heck of an amp! Love my Pro Mod! Congrats on the amp!

Thanks bud! Yeah its another amp I heard of, but it wasn't on my radar. I saw this one hit the classifieds and it just looked interesting. Sooooooo glad I took a chance on it. I think its kinda turning out to be pretty close to "the" tone in my head kind of an amp. Very pleased!

I had played a few over the years and always dig them. Didn’t realize how amazing it was until I got it with my guitars/cabs.
 
Been thinking about picking up a Splawn for a couple of years, kind of an on again off again thing. Never played through one, just haven't run across them. Just so you know... this thread is NOT helping... LOL! This may be moving to the top of my list... I'm not even going to mention the Ares... GAS is such a cruel mistress. :LOL: :LOL:

Congrats on this one, too!!

:rock:
 
bigangryguitar":1xp733ue said:
MetalHeadMike":1xp733ue said:
bigangryguitar":1xp733ue said:
Splawn makes one heck of an amp! Love my Pro Mod! Congrats on the amp!

Thanks bud! Yeah its another amp I heard of, but it wasn't on my radar. I saw this one hit the classifieds and it just looked interesting. Sooooooo glad I took a chance on it. I think its kinda turning out to be pretty close to "the" tone in my head kind of an amp. Very pleased!

I had played a few over the years and always dig them. Didn’t realize how amazing it was until I got it with my guitars/cabs.

Don't know why I never considered one before, always read great things about them :dunno: Glad I came across this one.

ChurchHill":1xp733ue said:
Been thinking about picking up a Splawn for a couple of years, kind of an on again off again thing. Never played through one, just haven't run across them. Just so you know... this thread is NOT helping... LOL! This may be moving to the top of my list... I'm not even going to mention the Ares... GAS is such a cruel mistress. :LOL: :LOL:

Congrats on this one, too!!


:rock:

Thanks man! Jeez, Ares.....Splawn....damn that's tough. The Ares is such a unique animal; it really is AMAZING for metal. And so far the QR is mind blowingly amazing too. If I was forced to off one right now I'd :bash: trying to make that decision.

GAS is a bitch for sure. I'm Gassing HARD for a new RAN guitar, but the wife made it clear that her new kitchen comes before any more gear :aww: In all reality I could buy whatever I want, and she would be fine with it (I'm REALLY lucky in terms of how utterly awesome my wife is!), but I have to hook her up with what she wants and spread the love.
 
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