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I am considering getting a Genzler Acousic Array. Since you own both the Pro and Mini I am curious which one you would prefer if you could only pick one. I dont play out so I am leaning towards the Mini. Thanks
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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11-04-2023 11:01 PM
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I haven't owned the amps you mentioned, but I'll add this in case it's helpful.
I like the sound of the Little Jazz amp. But, it's not quite loud enough for some gigs.
On a couple of outdoor gigs I went Guitar > Boss ME80 > Little Jazz > Yamaha mixer (which also had a mic for announcements running into it) > Mackie SRM350.
I used my usual settings on the LJ and turned off the speaker, which I didn't need. The Yamaha mixer rolled off some bass.
I thought it sounded like the LJ but capable of going as loud as I ever want to play. I was very happy with the result.
But, it's a lot of gear and the Mackie is borrowed, so I just bought an Alto FX310 and am working without the mixer. Reg uses a similar powered speaker as part of his setup and sounds terrific.
So it's Guitar > ME80 (rolling off some bass with the EQ section) > LJ > Alto. It sounds okay at home (a little icier than the Mackie, to try to put it into words), but I'll make my final decision after playing it in some different settings.
Some advantages of this system:
1. It sounds like the LJ, which is good.
2. No element weighs more than 18 lbs.
3. If one amplifier fails, I can get by with the other.
4. If I add the mixer back in I can use it for vocals/announcements.
5. The Alto is about $160 and sounds pretty good. The LJ was recently on sale for $200, but seems to be back up to $350 or $400.
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I've owned many solid state amps, Aer, Phil Jones, Acoustic Image, Roland, Polytone, Boss, Henriksen, etc, and many tube amps as well, mostly Fenders over the years. Have gigged most of the other brands as well (like Quilter), but never got to own one. The D class power amps have made really a difference in what a small amp can do.
I don't think any solid state amp can do the tube amp thing, but they are still a good sound, a great tool to have, and if there's one genre that they excel in, it's the jazz genre. The closest to tube I've had was the Henriksen.
From solid state, I've kept the Zt Lunchbox for the ultimate in portability and an Aer. There was an old thread where I posted a bunch of videos from gigs with most of these amps, maybe I need to find them and do a thread.
I mostly gig with small tube amps these days, but when gigging was more frantic a few years back, I would do a bunch of gigs with solid state. So my opinion is that, if one is looking for the ultimate tone, tubes are still it by far. But if convenience is a factor, for any reason, solid state will do a gig with flying colors.
Then there's also digital solutions, which I've always had one along for theater gigs, home recordings and lessons. I can live with it, but to be honest I dislike it to the point where I maybe wouldn't even want to play electric guitar if it was the only sound solution. I currently have a Boss Gt1000 core for digital.
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If you’re going for a Fender Clean tone, you should go for the Quilter. And while the new Cub 50 is fairly loud, go for the more powerful Tone Block 202 or an older Aviator combo with a 100 watts. You can always turn down,but you might need the extra headroom for outdoors or with a Loud Band!
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+1 on this suggestion. The Tone Block 202 has the best sounding Fender emulation of the several Quilters I've played, including the Aviator and Cub. The FullQ voice is also very useful, depending on the guitar.
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I think it’s important to have the right tool for the right job. I have a Clarus, Bud 10, Quilter, and tube amps. For rock and American gigs, the tubes get the call and the quilter is the backup. For jazz gigs, the Bud or the Clarus are my top choices. The Bud is new to me but I am really enjoying it, much more than the Clarus I have had for about 5 years. I have found the Clarus to be somewhat sterile sounding. The Bud sounds much warmer and richer, but still had the immediacy of a ss amp.
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Well All I can say is I e been gigging Quilter Aviators for almost 10 years in everything from bars,concerts,churches etc. Overall I would never go back to tube amps because of the convenience and consistency of tone at every venue.
Tubes are basically a pain in the ass from changing them, finding wall voltage that is consistent, not to mention the weight of the transformers,Lol!
If I didn’t have to move it and had the $$$ I would love to gig with the Mesa Boogie JP2-C and 2X12” cab. But it ain’t gonna happen at my age, Lol!
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I’m really sorry I missed this request. I’ve sold the cab, but here are a few pics. You can see the yellow of the sign inside the edge around the bottom and inside the top edge of the side panels in the pic of the back. This was one of those huge black arrow signs on reflective yellow backing. I used a press brake to cut the panels as exact duplicates of the GK MB150 combo (which I also had at the time). So I had a GK half stack, and it sounded great. Originally Posted by Herbie
The handle assembly is removable, and the top space takes a stock MB150 head (which I used to buy used for $75 and carry as spares). All mounting holes are exactly where they are on a real one. The plug in the bottom was where I started to install an adjustable port. But it sounded so good that I stopped before I made it worse. Yes, that’s a real GK grille. And the Bag End driver is still in it.
I played through it Saturday at the Philly Guitar Show using my SBUS. I’ve been “accompanying” my old friend and colleague Bruce Kaminsky at his show booths for years, helping him demo his Kydd Basses (of which he’s the inventor, builder, vendor, and world class player). He’s also the owner of this cab now. It attracted a lot of attention and great comments on how fine it sounds.
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I have a Quilter micro pro 2 and Fender Princeton 64 custom (handwired model). I sometimes run the Quilter through the cabinet of the Princeton when I'm using it at home. So I have a good feel for how close Quilter comes to a Fender. Of course I did compare them.
When I'm immersed into the sound of the amp in my living room playing by myself, Quilter sounds quite a bit duller than the tube Fender. Is it psycho-acoustics? I don't think so. The best way of course is to do direct A/B comparison without moving around the cables. Unfortunately I don't have an A/B pedal for speaker output. I do have an A/B pedal but that's only for amp inputs. I'm not gonna get a speaker A/B pedal just to compare them better as what I'm hearing is pretty unmistakable.
Quilter also has acoustic input (unmodelled), I can A/B its unmodeled input with its modeled input. What their modelling does can easily be achieved with pedals like Tech 21 blonde into any good SS amp.
So you can think of Quilter as a very good and powerful SS amp with some decent tone shaping and modeling options built-in conveniently in a very light and compact package. It's a practical tool. When you play live with other instruments, there are so many other factors. Sometimes I get a lot of praise for my tone when I play with ZT lunchbox junior which doesn't pass the "livingroom" test without some pedal modeling help, lol. If you're just gonna play at home then get a Princeton or a VibroChamp, Quilter is not the right tool for that.
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A key difference between most SS amps used in jazz and tube amps is that the SS amps are usually closed back designs. Speaker size and orientation makes quite a difference IMO. My 12" Henriksen Alfresco open back sounds a lot less SS than most SS for this reason (and the 12" speaker). I believe Raezer's Edge now offer open vs. closed back alternatives as well...I've been tempted but have too many amps...WAY too many for how often I play outside my practice room.
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A key difference between most SS amps used in jazz and tube amps is that the SS amps are usually closed back designs. Speaker size and orientation makes quite a difference IMO. My 12" Henriksen Alfresco open back sounds a lot less SS than most SS for this reason (and the 12" speaker). I believe Raezer's Edge now offer open vs. closed back alternatives as well...I've been tempted but have too many amps...WAY too many for how often I play outside my practice room.
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