BUILDER PROFILE
Splawn’s most popular amp,
the 2-channel, 100-watt Quick
Rod, is voiced for hot-rodded
’80s tones, and its overdrive
channel features Hot Rod
Plexi, Hot Rod 800, and Super
Hot Rod 800 modes.
Scott Splawn
tells how his four-person
operation evolved from modding
his own plexis to customizing stock
Marshalls as a dealer and finally to building
“brown sound” wonders for players like Steve
Stevens and prolific metal producer Adam Dutkiewicz.
BY ADAM PERLMUTTER
When Scott Splawn started playing guitar at
age 12 in the early ’80s, Eddie Van Halen’s
now-coveted “brown sound” had just
begun to exert an inescapable influence on
hard rock and heavy metal guitarists. Three
decades later, that sound is a benchmark
for the high-powered tube amplifiers that
Splawn makes in Dallas, North Carolina.
Splawn developed his designs by modding
old and new Marshall amps and learning
through trial and error how these legendary
heads could be made even more crushing
and versatile—all while running his own
music store, Splawn Guitars, and gigging
extensively with local bands.
For the past six years, Splawn and a small
crew have been making killer amps—mostly
in the head-and-cabinet style—all by hand
from start to finish. These flexible amps have
earned some high-profile devotees, includ-
ing Steve Stevens, Dokken’s Jon Levin, and
Killswitch Engage’s Adam Dutkiewicz.
Splawn’s amp shop is behind the storefront
of his eponymous guitar boutique, which
is crammed with axes by Charvel, ESP, and
other metal-approved makers—instruments
perfectly suited for his aggressive stacks.
While the guitar world at large has been
catching on to Splawn amplifiers, many
of the store’s local visitors are completely
unaware of what’s going on in back. “A lot
of customers have never even heard of our
amplifiers,” says Splawn.
We recently chatted with Splawn to learn
more about the genesis and evolution of
his amps, which, given the company’s growing league of enthusiasts, certain North
Carolinians will likely learn more about soon.
How did you get into modifying
amplifiers?
In the mid ’90s, I opened Splawn Guitars,
where I sold instruments and did repair
work on stringed instruments. I wanted to
also be able to work on tube amps, so I
studied up on them by reading how-to and
electronics books. This gave me a decent
knowledge of how amps work and how to
repair them. Then I started doing mods
on some of my own old Marshalls, to give
them some extra gain. As I was working
on an amp, I’d take it to rehearsals and
gigs—I played in a bunch of cover bands
and Christian rock groups—to see how
it worked in context. By experimenting I
learned to make the best-sounding mods
I could. Once I got my customized amps
sounding like I wanted, I took them to the
shop, where customers would check them
