Hello there, and welcome back to yet another excellent guitar amp review article! This time, we will look at possibly one of the most unique-sounding guitar amps out there: Splawn Nitro!
Table of Contents
In this Splawn Nitro review, I will introduce this lovely amp manufacturer, Splawn Amps and also provide you with some original photos of the Splawn Nitro head as well as a brief sound demo video as well as my honest review!
About Splawn Amplification
Splawn Amplification, based in Dallas, North Carolina, is widely respected for crafting high-performance guitar amplifiers with outstanding tone and power. Founded by Scott Splawn in the late 1990s, the company has built a strong reputation among professional guitarists and enthusiasts for its commitment to quality, innovation, and American craftsmanship.
Before launching his own line of amplifiers, Scott was a working musician who, like many tone chasers, found himself constantly modifying and tweaking his amps—primarily Marshall heads—to get the tone he wanted. Over time, word got around about his amp mods, and local players started bringing him gear for custom work.
What truly sets Splawn apart is its unwavering focus on tube-based amplification. Embracing traditional analogue technology, Splawn amps deliver the warm, rich, and dynamic tones that guitarists seek. Each amplifier is meticulously hand-built in the USA using top-tier components, ensuring both exceptional sound and long-term reliability.
Splawn Signature Sound
The first major amp to gain traction was the Quick Rod, which debuted in the early 2000s. It was a hot-rodded, EL34-driven beast inspired by classic Marshall tones but voiced with a modern edge—tight low end, punchy mids, and aggressive high-gain potential. It became especially popular with hard rock and metal players who wanted articulate distortion without sacrificing dynamics.
The Quick Rod carved out a unique place in the market—it wasn’t just a clone or tweak; it had its own voice, and it responded extremely well to fast picking and palm-muted riffs. That signature “Splawn sound” is still a defining characteristic today.
The Splawn lineup features a variety of models designed to suit a range of genres and playing styles. From the British-inspired Quick Rod to the aggressive and modern Nitro, each amp offers versatility with multiple channels for clean, crunch, and high-gain tones. This makes them a favorite across genres—from blues and rock to hard rock and metal. Best Tools For Guitars at Stewmac.com
Beyond performance, Splawn is known for its superb build quality and durability—ideal for the rigors of touring and live performance. Equally impressive is their customer service, with a team that offers expert guidance and support to help players get the most out of their gear.
In summary, Splawn Amplification blends vintage tone with modern versatility, all wrapped in hand-crafted excellence. Their dedication to superior sound, build quality, and customer care makes them a standout in the world of boutique amplification—trusted by pros and loved by tone chasers everywhere.
Other Notable Splawn Models
Over time, Splawn expanded its lineup with models such as just mentioned above Nitro – More modern-voiced with a bigger low end and even more gain, Street Rod – A lower-wattage version of the Quick Rod, the Pro Mod – an Early model known for raw, aggressive tone, the Competition – A compact, single-channel version
Each model retains that core Splawn DNA: responsive, articulate, and unapologetically powerful!
Nitro by Splawn
Well, where to start? How did I end up featuring this extremely unique-sounding, well-built and rare amp on my blog? As some of you know, I’m based in lovely Bratislava, Slovakia! While feeding my gear addiction constantly, I often need to let some of the gear I own go to try and experience new stuff.
During some of the trades I did, I met many cool people in Bratislava and bought/sold many items. I decided to let my Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid PT-7 in Ultra Violet finish as I couldn’t relate to a 7-string, despite trying so hard :).
To be honest, I had no idea about Splawn amps, but I remember regularly bumping into comments, reviews and videos from various forums and platforms on the internet claiming that Splawn amps are one of the finest out there on the market.
Since Splawn is based in the USA and it’s a small, boutique amp maker, I could never imagine getting my hands on one! While listing my Schecter on various places as well as some local websites in Slovakia, I met a really cool guy who might be interested in my Schecter, and he was trying to sell this Splawn Nitro.
We eventually met, tried both pieces of gear and had a deal! While trying the Splawn Nitro for the first time, I was already blown away by how it sounded without even a booster or overdrive pedal in front! Check out the best guitar pickup company, Seymour Duncan here!
I absolutely did not need another amp, but hey! This is why I’m doing this, right? Experiencing gear first-hand is always going to beat the so-called experience that you may get from any online comments on a piece of gear!
Splawn Nitro Features
As Splawn Amps is basically a custom amp company, you may not be able to find identical amps to one another, even though the model names are identical. The one I got is clearly labelled as the Splawn Nitro or Nitro by Splawn.
When I checked out the Splawn Amps website, I noticed that there was almost an identical model listed there to purchase. However, there was no information on the tubes. I believe tubes and some of the functionality and design of the amps, along with the cosmetics may vary from model to model. Here I’m sharing the tech specs of Splawn Nitro taken from the official website.
Splawn Nitro Tech Specs
| Splawn Nitro | Tech Specs |
|---|---|
| Power | 100 watts - w/ half power switch |
| Channels | 2 Channels |
| Channel 1 (clean) - independent EQ and gain controls | |
| Channel 2 (overdrive) - solo boost, OD1 (rhythm) /OD2 (lead) mode, 2 gear modes | |
| Footswitch | 3 Button Footswitch - #1 Clean/Overdrive - #2 OD1/OD2 - #3 Solo Boost |
| FX Loop | Series Effects Loop - w/ true-bypass and adjustable +4db/-10db switch |
| Loop Volume Control for low volume playing. | |
| Impedance | Selectable - 4/8/16 ohms |
| Format | Standard Full Size Head Box - 29” W x 11.5” H x 8.5” D |
| Weight | 22.5kg |
| Made in | USA |
As far as I can see, mine has four 6550 power tubes along with four 12ax7 preamp tubes. The one listed on the Splawn website doesn’t mention any tubes, also it features a 4-button footswitch instead of a 3-button one that I have. Also, mine doesn’t have a Drop B+ Variac Switch.
Power Amp tubes feature these holders that have springs to keep those tubes stable on the chassis. Preamp tubes also feature these metal covers to prevent damage and reduce the radio frequency interference.
Splawn Nitro features a pretty standard template that you may come across in other guitar tube head amps. You have your basic Power and Standby switch on the left-hand side of the front panel.
After this section, you have the overdrive channel first with dedicated Resonance and Presence controls. The EQ section is pretty basic, featuring standard Bass, Middle and Treble controls.
There is also a dedicated Solo control as well as the channel Volume control. With the Solo control, you can set the level of boost you want and then activate this via the footswitch.
Next to the Overdrive channel, you have your Clean channel featuring only Bass and Treble control as well as a dedicated Volume and Gain control. You may question why this clean channel doesn’t feature a Middle control. I was also a bit surprised in the beginning. However, the amp is voiced in a pretty sweet and musical way that you don’t even feel the need to control the mids.
As I mentioned, since these amps are usually custom-made for each customer, the features may vary. The most surprising and maybe a drawback on this particular model is that you can only switch channels and benefit from the boost function if you connect the footswitch.
There are no switches on the amp, neither on the front nor the back panel, to switch from the Clean channel to the Overdrive channel. Here, you can see the footswitch included with the amp. Ads - Check out these ads to support this web page
As you can see, it’s a 3-button one. The first footswitch is used for switching between the Clean and Overdrive channels. The second one is to switch from Overdrive 1 to Overdrive 2. You can also already set the second switch to the desired state and switch from Clean to Overdrive 1 or Overdrive 2.
And the last footswitch is used for activating the boost. The amp, when the footswitch is not connected, defaults to Overdrive 1.
As I mentioned, this is the only annoying feature of this amp. You see, there’s a built-in cable connected to the footswitch. This is actually a Y-cable, because on the other end you have a pair of TRS jacks which go to specific inputs on the back of the amp.
On the back of the amp, you have a variety of I/O sections. On the right-hand side, there is a pair of Mains and HT Fuse which you can access from the back (that’s cool!). Next to that, you have the Mains Input as well as the Voltage selector.
Yes, you heard it right! You can use this amp anywhere on the planet just by selecting the correct voltage and also use suitable power plug.
Next to this section, you have your Output Selector, which you can use to switch between different Ohm values based on the speaker you want to use. I think this is also a great feature! Instead of having multiple output jacks, you can basically set this up using a simple selector.
Speaker outputs are also placed next to that, as well as the Power Switch, which you can use to reduce the output by half. All very rigid and well-thought-out features!
Last but now least, we have the FX Loop section. There are the standard FX Send and Return jacks as well as the Level and Bypass buttons. Unfortunately, you can only activate or deactivate the loop using this mini button. It’s not footswitchable.
The Level button is used for setting the level of the FX Loop as labelled. Once you set it up for the desired level based on what you connect in there, you can also use the FX Loop level control to adjust the level of the signal going through the loop.
The last bit is the pair of footswitch inputs, which I already mentioned above. As you can see, mine has the Serial #NT108595. I couldn’t find any information on the internet regarding what Splawn Amps serial numbers mean. I sent an email to Mr Splawn but couldn’t get any response. I believe this amp was made in 2010, but this is just my assumption! 🙂
Here’s another photo to show the entire back panel. Looks like a mean machine already?
Before I give you my opinion on this amp, let’s first have a listen! I made a simple sound demo video to show you the Splawn Nitro in action!
For this video, I used several guitars, which are my Fender American Standard Stratocaster, Ibanez AR300, Ibanez RG565, FGN Boundary Odyssey and Epiphone SG Custom for this video.
I also used my Two Notes Captor X SE, RME Babyface PRO FS, Genelec 8020 monitors and Valhalla Room Reverb as well. Music Plugin Deals at Pluginboutique.com
On the clean channel, I occasionally used my Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium Raw, and on the Overdrive channel, I used my Boss SD-1 for boosting only. However, I missed marking the exact moments for everything. As I kind of lost the sense of time while playing this wonderful sounding amp, I couldn’t focus on these details! 🙂
Also, on the Overdrive channel, I engaged the MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato for a brief part, and last but not least, I engaged the Dunlop MC-404 CAE Wah on a section while soloing, which you will notice.
Hope you enjoy the sounds of Splawn Nitro!
Splawn Nitro Sound Demo (no talking)
Splawn Nitro Review
As I mentioned, I had never thought of testing this amp one day, and it just happened! I was immediately blown away while trying the amp and really looking forward to testing this more often.
At that time, I also had my Marshall JVM410HJS Satriani model tube guitar amp, and I realised I was playing the Splawn Nitro more and more often than anything else.
First of all, you should know that this is not a clone of any amp. Based on my experience, I would say the Overdrive channels sound like possibly the sweetest spot of any Marshall + Mesa Boogie combination. The voicing is so sweet, and it just wants to make you play without any interruption.
Even though, based on your gain settings, you may need a boost to squeeze the tones out of it, most of the time you will not need a boost on this monster amp. The bottom end is tight enough for any chugging and rhythm playing with even higher gain settings.
Sometimes I felt like I needed to boost a particular setting to make it even tighter, but often, I decided not to. I think Splawn Nitro features one of the best, the most unique and sweet-sounding gain textures and voicings I have ever come across. Ads - Check out these ads to support this web page
Most people would focus on the high-gain/overdrive channel on this amp. However, you should not ignore the sweet and musical clean channel as well. I heard some people comment on the amp, stating that it’s very difficult to adjust a good tone. Honestly, I don’t know what they are talking about!
It’s one of the easiest to adjust preamp section and it’s almost impossible to make this amp sound bad and not musical. The clean channel is big, bold, fat and juicy. You can pretty much get any kind of clean texture out of this channel as well as a nice crunchy/overdriven sounds by pushing either the clean channel volume or the dedicated gain control.
As you can hear from the demo video, I engaged the Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium Raw, which is one of the best overdrives out there for Klon/Dumble-style guitar tones. I think it works perfectly good with pedals
I also really dig how the clean channel goes into the overdrive and crunch sounds. You can basically get a fully clean guitar tone and an overdrive, or get a full-blown crunch channel or mildly overdriven sound on top of your choice of overdrive or lead settings on the second channel. So, the amp offers a lot of flexibility.
The transition from clean to overdrive and crunch territory, and how these textures are transitioning into the overdrive circuit on the second channel, is so musical.
I also had the chance to engage my favourite Dunlop MC-404 CAE Wah pedal on the overdrive channel and was pretty much blown away by how it reacted. Everything sounded so musical! IK Multimedia Tonex - Cutting Edge Guitar Tones!
I’d also like to share another video in which I used my Splawn Nitro on a guitar cover that I played, featuring one of the Turkish bands I love a lot, Egoist. Here, I used my FGN Boundary Odyssey and only the Boss SD-1 (as a booster). I hope you like this too!
Egoist – Egoist Cover (Artık Yeter)
Verdict
Overall, I can recommend Splawn Nitro amp with full confidence to any of my readers here! This amp features one of the most musical, unique-sounding clean, crunch, and overdrive sounds in a very easy-to-use template.
The only drawback of this design is the mandatory footswitch connection if you want to switch channels and modes, as well as the lack of an FX Loop switch that one may need to control.
As I mentioned, I got this amp out of a trade, and I couldn’t imagine I ever had the chance to try one out in the EU. Since Splawn Amps is a small, boutique amp manufacturer, it’s always going to be a hassle to get your hands on one here.
If you want to purchase it in the EU, I’d suggest you check out the Splawn – Amplifiers & Guitars and try to get this facilitated via their official EU dealer. Unfortunately, last time I checked the EU dealer, I did not see any Splawn Amps listed there.
I can also recommend that you check out Reverb.com regularly, as well as your local ad listing websites.
Check out Splawn Nitro on Reverb here
Even though it is not easy to find Splawn products here, I’m still hopeful that maybe one day we may have more options in the EU. On top of that, I’d really love to see a rack preamp featuring all the Splawn original preamp circuits included! I’d probably buy it immediately :).
I know most guitar players are not even aware of this brand. But I still wanted to feature it on my blog. Maybe more people will become aware of Splawn’s wonderful amps one day, and Mr Splawn can manufacture more products! I hope you enjoy this Splawn Nitro review article, the product photos and my videos featuring this wonderful amp!
Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!
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