One man ampfest...I have a Diezel, Splawn, and Bray on loan!

PeteLaramee

PeteLaramee

Well-known member
EightmanVT offered up his Diezel Einstein, Splawn Quickrod, and Bray modded Marshall. He has a bunch of amps so he let me borrow these before he sells them. Besides being an all around nice guy and an excellent player his generosity is second to none. :thumbsup:

I played the Diezel first (and most) and really liked it. First was the clean mode (mode 1 on the bottom channel) and I was very pleased. This is my first experience with any Diezel and I was surprised how good the clean was. Mode 2 added gain to what seemed to be the same or similar voicing and made a good crunch sound. Mode 3 added even more gain and brought it into high gain territory. I liked all 3 modes on the bottom channel but when I REALLY liked the top channel. High gain and more modern voicing than mode 3 on the bottom. I loved the depth in the mids. It made me think of the OD2 channel of the JMP1 with the bass shift on. I'm not saying the gain and tone sounded just alike, but the feel and depth of the mids were very similar. If this channel had better attack I could see this being my main amp. The gain on all channels/modes was liquid and was pretty easy to play. I played the Diezel for about 75 minutes.

I then plugged into my JVM again. My thoughts on the JVM I posted a few weeks remain unchanged. I really like the clean and love OD2. The other 2 channels are good but not my flavor. I played this for about 30 minutes.

To keep everything in check I plugged into my DSL with the deluxe voodoo mod and it is still the cat's ass. I just love that fucking thing.

Time was starting to run out and I quickly went through the Quickrod. To be honest I didn't like it that much but keep in mind I didn't play it for more than 20 minutes. I only tried Dimarzio equipped guitars and I'm finding more and more amps are displeasing to me while using Dimarzios. If any of you Splawn guys read this please give me some suggested settings and tell me what guitars/pickups you use.

I then plugged into the Bray modded plexi re-issue but quickly realized the knob functions were changed. I didn't have the time to figure out how each knob functioned so I put everything on 10 for a few minutes and peeled the paint off the walls. I simply don't like stock plexis or anything of the sort, but Petey Likey this one. I have an email in to Malcolm so he can give me the low down and I'll give it another test (along with the Splawn) tomorrow.
 
Hehe...I should have given you a guitar with Duncans too....at least to give something to compare against those Dimarzios you have. I personally think SDs bite a little better...at least with the marshall voiced amps. Looking forward to hearing more impressions from your ampfest!! :thumbsup:
 
Put all the eq knobs on the Splawn at 12 o'clock and the gain between 12 o-clock and 3 o'clock depending on which gear your in. I'm not a big DiMarzio fan, but with Duncan '59's, Customs and JB's the Splawn kicks butt IMHO.

Turn that volume knob on the Splawn up to about 10 o'clock too. In the pic that volume knob is too low. Do you have a cab with Greenbacks or G12H30's? The Splawn likes those speakers. Some other speakers don't sound that great with the Splawn.
 
Chub's about right for the Splawn.


i run about like that except i back the bass down to about 10:00.



might try and turn the treble up pretty high on 2nd gear and see if you like that.
 
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Chubtone":76b58 said:
Put all the eq knobs on the Splawn at 12 o'clock and the gain between 12 o-clock and 3 o'clock depending on which gear your in. I'm not a big DiMarzio fan, but with Duncan '59's, Customs and JB's the Splawn kicks butt IMHO.

Turn that volume knob on the Splawn up to about 10 o'clock too. In the pic that volume knob is too low. Do you have a cab with Greenbacks or G12H30's? The Splawn likes those speakers. Some other speakers don't sound that great with the Splawn.
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The pics were taken before I played the amps. I did try the eq at noon and my VHT D412 has H30s in there. I'm going to grab a few old 6 strings I no longer play, one has SDs and one has emgs. I'm finding dimarzios have an "under-ring" for lack of a better term. The Splawn seemed pretty open and had a lot of bass so I'm hoping it was just the combination of the 2.
 
I have some suggestions for getting more 'attack' with Einstein. First, run effects through the parallell loop- for whatever reason it gets sharper, much louder, and brighter tone than not using any effects loop at all. I mix the wet in to about 40%.
Second,pop in 2 6L6 to mix with 2 El34s will give you a brighter top end and more lows to mix with the EL34 mids. The cleans sound even better as well with this combo.
I love the tone I get with my Petrucci- definitely gets the most 'attack'.
Less so with my Zakk Wylde Epiphone with EMGs- it's a bit creamier.
It's still not as biting and aggressive as JVM tone..but just turn it up and see what happens. :eek:
 
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simbasa":82abc said:
I have some suggestions for getting more 'attack' with Einstein. First, run effects through the parallell loop- for whatever reason it gets sharper, much louder, and brighter tone than not using any effects loop at all. I mix the wet in to about 40%.
Second,pop in 2 6L6 to mix with 2 El34s will give you a brighter top end and more lows to mix with the EL34 mids. The cleans sound even better as well with this combo.
I love the tone I get with my Petrucci- definitely gets the most 'attack'.
Less so with my Zakk Wylde Epiphone with EMGs- it's a bit creamier.
It's still not as biting and aggressive as JVM tone..but just turn it up and see what happens. :eek:
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I'll give the parallel loop a shot instead of the series. I'll also try a few other guitars. I gave up on 6L6s long ago. They never gave me any satisfaction until I threw some off a roof and watched them smash.
 
I would also add about the Splawn, turn the effects loop off it can make the amp sound harsh at lower volume levels.

At gig level it doesn't change the tone as much though.
 
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crwnedblasphemy":209c1 said:
:irresistible: Hey Eight....interested in the Bray.....over here please!
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Shoot me a PM or e-mail at mamason@vt.edu - I'll be holding a firesale on amps pretty soon - Likely selling the CAA OD-100 SE/SH, Bray Marshall and Splawn - and debating selling the Einstein. I need to get them all in the same room for a family photo first though.
 
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