The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hey Guys,

    I'm a college student and looking for an amp that won't break my back to carry around without a car.

    I'm looking into a few options to play with my Eastman T185MX.

    I'm stuck between getting a used Quilter 101 Mini Reverb
    101 Reverb | Quilter Performance Amplification

    An old Clarus 300IA head which is about the same price as a used Quilter 101 Mini Reverb ($300)

    With the Clarus I would also need to buy a reverb pedal since the old model lacks reverb.

    With either of those I'd get a used Raezer's Edge Stealth 10.

    Or a DV Mark Jazz 12 combo.

    Also I'm now looking into Evans amps.. Why are there so many options? lol


    Just wondering if anybody has played these amps and has any opinions.

    I probably wont be able to try before I buy as it is with online shopping


    Thanks!

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  3. #2

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    I think it depends on what you want to do with the amp. Most people who ask which amp to buy don't explain theiir needs.

    If you're going to play with a rhythm section, any of those amps will be powerful enough. However, if you want to sometimes use pedals or get a little edge to your sound, the Clarus probably isn't your best choice. That amp does clean and dark beautifully, period.

    Either of the other amps will take pedals well and will be a little brighter. Between the Quilter and the Evans, the Evans has more midrange and probably more bottom end. The Quilter has more of a scooped midrange to my ears and may be able to do rock and funk better, but with the right pedals the Evans will be fine.

    It would be nice if you could try the amps out, but I realize that's not always possible. Good luck, whatever you choose, and good luck in school.

  4. #3
    Ah yes sorry I guess I should explain my needs better.

    I like an amp that is able to do a dark tone pretty well. I really like Jim Hall's tone on his 1975 "Live!" album.

    It's really important that the amp is light but is able to play with a rhythm section in medium-sized venues.

    I often have to walk uphill about 10 minutes which doesn't seem like a lot but it does about half way there haha.

    Being able to play other styles like funk and take pedals well is a plus but not really required. Does the Clarus have trouble taking overdrive?

    Thank you for responding!

  5. #4

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    I use a Clarus and Stealth 10 as my main rig. I like a dark and warm sound.

    I have Demoed the Quilter amps and the DV amps in a music store and they are too bright for my taste. YMMV The Clarus/RE combo is dark and warm (has that 70's Jim Hall sound for sure).

  6. #5

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    As you I wanted a portable set up. I tried a DV Mark(not the combo but the head) and a Quilter 101 R.

    I didn´t like the DV Mark, - very odd tone stack imo and kind of one-trick-pony. So I bought the Quilter. I´m very happy with it - I get great jazz tones as well as blues and rock-tones. Overall very flexible.
    I use it with both a very small speaker cabinet - build "around" a 12" Cannabis Rex (I´m not that fond of a single 10" speaker) and a bigger box with 2*12" WGS ET65 speakers. The Quilter works very fine with both.

  7. #6
    Yeah the only thing I'm worried about with the Quilter is that from watching videos it seems that it is a very bright amp even with the treble rolled all the way off



    Maybe he could get a darker sound with the mids rolled back too? Not sure.

  8. #7

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    I played a Clarus 2R for close to ten years as my only lightweight, solid state amp. I recently bought a Quilter 101R and haven't plugged in the Clarus since. It's great sounding and not at all too bright. My treble and bass knobs are at about 11 o'clock. Mid is a hair closer to 12. I use it with a Redstone RS-8vER, same cabinet that I used with the Clarus.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ellistan
    Yeah the only thing I'm worried about with the Quilter is that from watching videos it seems that it is a very bright amp even with the treble rolled all the way off
    .
    It can be bright as a Fender BF, yes, but it is very easy to dial in a nice mellow tone too. Imo it is a very versatile amp. As a matter of fact I do not like very bright amps, (never use(d) the bright switch on a Fender, when I play one), and I can dial in what I want on the Quilter. The speaker, the guitar/pu´s , how/where you pick really impacts the sound a lot too. And in most cases Youtube is not a very good reference for judging sound quality.
    Whatever amp you choose buy it from a store with a good return policy so you can send it back if you don´t like it. (If you have to buy unseen/unheard online)

  10. #9

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    Any reason you're not interested in a Quilter combo?

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpguitar
    I played a Clarus 2R for close to ten years as my only lightweight, solid state amp. I recently bought a Quilter 101R and haven't plugged in the Clarus since. It's great sounding and not at all too bright. My treble and bass knobs are at about 11 o'clock. Mid is a hair closer to 12. I use it with a Redstone RS-8vER, same cabinet that I used with the Clarus.
    In your opinion, where does the Quilter outshine the Clarus? Like you, I've been using the Clarus 2R for some time and have been happy with it; however, I've wanted that Fender tube sound on occasion and the Clarus simply can't come close to providing that sparkly top end.

    Another thing that makes me think twice about the Quilter is that they list the 101R as having 50 watts, so how much clean headroom could I expect compared to the Clarus?

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    Any reason you're not interested in a Quilter combo?
    I've looked at a few of them. I guess the only one that would fit my needs as far as weight and volume would be the Aviator Gold 1x12 Heavy Duty. Which is actually lighter than the regular 1x12 lol

    The only reason I didn't mention them is because in videos it looks like they have more of a Wes or Grant Green kind of punchy mid tone. Obviously I don't really know but that's the sense I get from videos.

    I also like the idea of having a separate head so that if I need to I can buy a bigger or smaller cab in situations where I need more or less volume. Or just a different sound. I could disconnect the speaker of a combo amp but then I still have to lug the whole thing around if I don't want to disassemble it.

    The reason I mentioned the DV Mark combo is because it's so cheap that I don't really lose much if I just want to get a different amp altogether.

    I know it's just a video but I really like the tone that this guy is getting out of the Clarus.


    Also Barry Greene uses one here and it sounds great to my ear.


    So I guess right now I'm leaning towards the Clarus but I'm still weighing out my options.

    Is the Clarus just not capable of taking pedals and doing other styles?

  13. #12

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    I’ve really been tempted to get one of these. Check it out if you haven’t already. Pretty pricey though:

    The Amp: 50W Guitar Amplifier pedal by Milkman Sound

  14. #13

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    I really like the DV Mark Little Jazz. It's light, relatively cheap, and sounds very good. I have a Clarus and RE Stealth 10ER, and I use that at home, but when I go out I take the Little Jazz. It sounds just about as good as the Clarus/RE rig, very similar, and it can get very loud. The tone stack, IME, is just like any other modern amp, including the Clarus, but certainly not like a Fender. 12 0'clock is flat, just as it should be. The DV Mark Jazz 12 might be a fine amp, but I've never tried one. I bought the Little Jazz for portability, and it has that, but I was really surprised that it sounds so good. Several members here own one, and they all seem to like it a lot. I tried both the Quilter 101 and the 101 Reverb, and could not get an acceptable tone out of either. I tried the RE cab and a couple of others, and the Quilter just didn't sound like a jazz amp to me, none of them. I also have a GK MB200 that I like a lot, but it's fairly bright, brighter than some may prefer. I tend to go back and forth between the Clarus and the MB200, as my taste changes from time to time. But as I said, the only amp I've taken out in a long time has been the Little Jazz.

  15. #14
    Yeah man watching this the DV Jazz 12 sounds pretty damn good.



    So hard to choose an amp. Really wish I could try them all haha.

  16. #15

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    You can try the DV Mark amps at Guitar Center. They may not have them in stock, but you can order one or two in.

  17. #16
    Can the DV Jazz 12 really get loud enough to compete with drummers and horn players at only 50 watts?

    Anybody care to chime in?

    Seriously considering ordering one but afraid to pull the trigger and end up with something that doesn't have enough volume and headroom.

  18. #17

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    I have the Little Jazz, one 8" speaker, and it's loud enough to compete with a loud drummer and 5 or 6 loud rock-oriented guitars. I never had it past 50% volume, and I was as loud as anyone, with the guitar volume 50-75%, so I expect the Jazz 12 could do the job. The Little Jazz speaker is very efficient. I don't know about the Jazz 12, but I would expect similar efficiency. Perhaps someone who has the 12 can chime in with actual data.

  19. #18
    That's crazy that even the Little Jazz can get that loud.

    I guess wattage doesn't necessarily equal loudness. Always thought solid state amps needed crazy wattage to get loud enough.

  20. #19

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    I always wore earplugs at that jam, I couldn't handle the volume without them. I stopped going because of the volume, and the rock orientation. You don't need a huge amount of wattage as long as the speaker is efficient. I think one major reason I could be heard was that I had a lot of mids, and the Fenders and Strats had none, so the midrange frequencies were all mine. But I was loud, at any frequency range. I do not like playing that loud, and so I eventually quit that goatrope.

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ellistan
    Yeah the only thing I'm worried about with the Quilter is that from watching videos it seems that it is a very bright amp even with the treble rolled all the way off



    Maybe he could get a darker sound with the mids rolled back too? Not sure.
    ....a picture of a Quilter 101 there for sure...with nothing plugged into it???

  22. #21

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    Lets see.......college student.

    You might want to earn some money playing styles of music that involve distortion. I think 2 out of 3 of your choices won't be appropriate. The quilter will. Maybe it won't be the "best" jazz amp but it will do it well enough and it will do all other styles too.

    Just something to think about.

    Good luck.


  23. #22

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    milkman the amp sounded good.


  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger
    I use a Clarus and Stealth 10 as my main rig. I like a dark and warm sound.

    I have Demoed the Quilter amps and the DV amps in a music store and they are too bright for my taste. YMMV The Clarus/RE combo is dark and warm (has that 70's Jim Hall sound for sure).
    +1 What Stringswinger said about the Clarus/RE combo. I have the Clarus head with an 8" RE speaker. If I were to buy it again I would get the 10 inch. Clean, dark, warm. For sure you can get the tone you are chasing from that setup. The others might be great too but I have not tried them.

  25. #24

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    +1. I tried two different variants of the Quilter 101, and could not get a sound I could live with. My old AI Clarus version 1.0 sounds far better. I tried them all through my RE Stealth 10, plus others, and what I play every day is the Clarus into the RE. I don't take that rig out, though. The DV Mark Little Jazz sounds very nearly as good, and is far more portable.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by bluefonia
    As you I wanted a portable set up. I tried a DV Mark(not the combo but the head) and a Quilter 101 R.

    I didn´t like the DV Mark, - very odd tone stack imo and kind of one-trick-pony. So I bought the Quilter. I´m very happy with it - I get great jazz tones as well as blues and rock-tones. Overall very flexible.
    I use it with both a very small speaker cabinet - build "around" a 12" Cannabis Rex (I´m not that fond of a single 10" speaker) and a bigger box with 2*12" WGS ET65 speakers. The Quilter works very fine with both.
    Blue, I’m thinking about doing the same thing with the C. Rex and considering mini-heads. Do you have any video/sound clips of the small box?