Quilter Amps

[ccroft]

I've been playing around with a .047uf Orange Drop. It works! I'm still trying to decide if I like it better than rolling down guitar tone & treble at the amp. I think I do... but I need to work it a bit longer. I'm really not going for the dark Polytone type sound BTW.

With the cap in line, I seem to like guitar tone back a touch and amp treble straight up. Without it I tend to end up with guitar tone down 1/2 and amp treble around 9:00, and there's really nothing wrong with that. Not sure I can say exactly what the diff is yet, but so far I think I prefer the cap.

I plan on trying some different cap values. Once I know what works best for me I'll talk to my amp guy about getting it inside. Maybe neuter the line/phones switch. I've never used phones out from an amp and I'd rather have a bright switch. Possibly there's room for both. We'll find out when the time comes.

I'd like to thank Jack, Juan and other testers again. I've loved my 202 for 3 1/2 years, but I think this is going to be a worthy improvement.

[Tal_175]

The capacitor hack doesn't work on my Micro pro. I tried with several caps (all came in the same package) in case some are faulty.
Micro pro's might have a different circuit. I think I'd have to use an RC filter that go between the FX send and FX return.

[Ronstuff]

After a few weeks I still like the capacitor trick. I recently played in a noisy and loud cocktail gig context with my Quilter Us superblock. In that situation I was happy to have the extra brightness on the amp. In other situations, the Cap thing helps but it remains fairly subtle. It won't radically change the EQ character and certainly not make a Quilter sound like a Polytone!
Ultimately I prefer the preamps in the Helix, and use the overdrive on the Helix in front of them.
Speaking of Polytone, I got mine out after not using it for years(Teeny Brute from early 80's). With the Helix I can do the opposite and make it sound brighter and cut some of the very intense mids on it.

Here are some recent videos playing some of my original tunes, with my Guild X-175 and Ibanez JSM-10. Quilter Us Super Block into V boutique Cabinet with Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker.
Helix as Preamp into the effects return.

[Groyniad]

this discussion is above my technical pay grade - but can I ask?

is a high capacitance 9m curly cable going to have a similar impact on eq/sound

i recently changed cheapish d'addario high cap. curly cab for a more expensive short, low capacitance, la grange klotz cable. It radically messed up my sound - making the guitar feel hard - over responsive - and brittle bright. Everything back to normal on restoring the low-fi high-capacitance lead to the set-up.

is this doing the same thing for me that e.g. changing 500k pots for 250k pots would do?

i'm using a micro pro 8'' with the 12'' hd extension cab - by far the best set up i've ever used (as long as i use this curly cable)

[ccroft]

this discussion is above my technical pay grade - but can I ask? is a high capacitance 9m curly cable going to have a similar impact on eq/sound

It's above mine as well. I'm just monkeying around. I know a curly cord is similar to turning down your tone control. I used a curly for years on stage. How that might differ from this capacitor hack? I'm still monkeying to see if it does or not. It seems... a bit different.

It's quite noticeable to me playing solo in the basement. I can see where I might want it out in an ensemble, especially with more volume and some drive. (i hope that can happen again one day...) Anyway, that's why I'm contemplating making it part of the amp with a switch.

You sound great Ron! And I've never seen anyone having as much fun laying out :-)

[ccroft]

The capacitor hack doesn't work on my Micro pro. I tried with several caps (all came in the same package) in case some are faulty.
Micro pro's might have a different circuit. I think I'd have to use an RC filter that go between the FX send and FX return.

Just one more item on the list of why you need to get that Mach3 :-) :-) :-)

[mrblues]

I have the Quilter Aviator Cub. ITs really good plugged into the Tweed, and Black, I dont like the blonde too much. But... I recently was playing in a club with a guy who had an AER, and that little box just won over my Quilter... At least to my ears. Could be the EQ settings of course, and I tried a lot of settings at home, but still couldnt get out that sound from my amp what the guy got there.

[joe142]

I love Quilter amplifiers. I don't know this specific model but I had Aviator Cub 50 and it's a great solid-state amplifier.

[pingu]

I have the Quilter Aviator Cub. ITs really good plugged into the Tweed, and Black, I dont like the blonde too much. But... I recently was playing in a club with a guy who had an AER, and that little box just won over my Quilter... At least to my ears. Could be the EQ settings of course, and I tried a lot of settings at home, but still couldnt get out that sound from my amp what the guy got there.

thats interesting
I feel ok (not great) about my AER Comp 60 ....

ok clean , no grease ....

[Tal_175]

This blog compares the frequency responses of the Cub and MicroPro models. The results confirm the Cub's brightness:
Audio Test Fun!

[ccroft]

Thanks for posting that Tal. I also found this article about the limiter from that page enlightening.

I'm going to have to experiment with gain & limiter set higher to see what happens. I've been up beyond 12:00 but lately have dialled it back.

[coyote-1]

re: capacitor trick, i wish they'd modify the circuit a little and put the bright on a switch! Sorry Woody/Jads...

I did this on a Marshall 40w combo amp. I have three separate brightness levels available. So if your Quilter is out of warranty, you could do likewise utilizing a simple DPDT switch.

EDIT: plus the addition of two different capacitors. I forget the values of them.