The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I've been mostly averse to solid state amps. I've played some polytones, a couple of henriksens, and a schertler. The schertler was my favorite of those. With the polytones and henriksens I had the same two criticisms. Firstly, I could never get the EQ quite where I like it. Polytones always feel too dark for me. Henriksens have always had an upper midrange quality that I could never tweak to my liking. Secondly, I could never get accustomed to the immediacy and spikiness of the amp response, in contrast to the compression of tube amps. I sold my henriksen 10" blu to a friend from the forum a couple years ago and basically wrote off the genre.

    However, I started looking into lower cost solid state amps again recently when a power surge at a rehearsal place blew the power transformer of my 1963 6g2 princeton. Quilter amps have the reputation of being more fender-like than henriksens and other alternatives so that appealed to me. I had played a Quilter 101 Mini Reverb before, but the EQ was just not tuned to my liking. I couldn't tweak it to the sound I liked. I heard the EQ was improved on the latest generation of quilter amps, and a local friend had a Quilter Superblock USA 25 watt amp head that I tried out. I'm happy to say that the EQ was much easier to dial in and it had switchable voicings that included a "tweed" setting for more mids and compression. It was pretty surprising how much more tube-like it felt than any other solid state amps I'd played. Especially with the internal limiter, you can get a more tube-like response from the amp.

    After trying out my friend's Superblock I started looking for a good deal on a Quilter Aviator (which is the 50 watt 1x12" combo version of the same amp). Last week I saw a deal that was just too good to pass up and pulled the trigger on one. It arrived on Saturday and I have to say I'm super impressed. I wouldn't ever use this amp for its distortion but I have to say the "feel" of playing through it and the EQ feels pretty close to my fender tube amps. As some people have commented, this amp does tend to be a bit bright (not like nasal or overly chimey, but the treble range extends into the very high Hz range). Fortunately I had the perfect solution for that sitting in storage. I had a Tone Tubby "Blue Sky" speaker, 50w alnico with a hemp cone and cloth surround, that was in storage waiting to be sold. I had found it a little too dark for most of my amps. To give you an idea of the sound, it's a bit like a Cannabis Rex but less efficient, a little brighter, and a more compressed response. It weighs much less than the CR. Anyway, I put it into the Quilter and it pairs perfectly. Overall it makes the amp sound a bit thicker, warmer, and smoother.


    So to sum it up, Quilter managed to get me onboard with solid state amps and I'm really happy with this one. It weighs probably about 19-20lbs, I don't have a scale, but it's light enough to be basically trivial to carry around. Taking it to play with a band later this week and will see how it performs at higher volumes in the mix.

    Quilter Aviator (with Tone Tubby Alnico Speaker)-img_5286-jpg

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  3. #2

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    Glad you found a solid state amp you like. I am still enjoying your old Blu 10 and now have three Henriksens (the tone of these amps works for me with all of my guitars).

    Tube amps are fine for the studio, but for gigs? The lighter weight and better reliability of a solid state amp wins.

    And speaking of Tone Tubby, I had a 1975 Silverface Deluxe Reverb that was a bit harsh. I put a Hemp cone Tone Tubby speaker in and the harshness went away. At about 45 pounds, that Deluxe Reverb went away a few years back as well.

    You are looking at modern Gibson archtops and now have gotten a solid state amp. Welcome to my world!

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Stringswinger
    You are looking at modern Gibson archtops and now have gotten a solid state amp. Welcome to my world!
    It will be interesting to see what I do with a modern Gibson / if it lasts with me. But one thing is for sure, a modern solid state can sound killer with an old school full bodied floating dearmond archtop.

    Proof at 1:20


    The amp there is an aer, not a quilter. I'd still like to try one some day but they cost about 3x what I paid for this Quilter.

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
    It will be interesting to see what I do with a modern Gibson / if it lasts with me. But one thing is for sure, a modern solid state can sound killer with an old school full bodied floating dearmond archtop.

    Proof at 1:20


    The amp there is an aer, not a quilter. I'd still like to try one some day but they cost about 3x what I paid for this Quilter.
    Over the years, I have had four AER Compact 60 amps. I like The new Class D Henriksens way better. The twin cone speakers in the AER can be a bit harsh and they do sound "boxy".

  6. #5
    Funny: if your criticism of aer is that it's too boxy compared to henriksen and my criticism on henriksen is the same wrt quilter, then sounds like I landed in the right camp! Can't wait to get together again and to some AB'ing. And play some music I guess.

  7. #6

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    Great story, Ompha - thanks! I just recently took the plunge on a couple alnico speakers, and I really dig 'em!

  8. #7

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    Sounds like you have found what works for you. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

  9. #8

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    Nice one! I think the Quilters are probably the most tube-like sounding SS amps on the market. I also like the fact, unlike the Tonemaster Fender amps, they're not a digital modelling amp.

    I have one of the old Quilter Aviators, with twin 10'' speakers. The old ones have a "hi-cut" control that allows you to attenuate the high trebles. Sounds like they should could have included that feature on their newer amps.

    I've replaced the speakers in mine too. It had Celestion G10 vintages, which sounded ok, but one blew out on me. I now have Jensen Tornadoes in there. It had a slight mid-range honk that couldn't be dialled out, the Tornadoes have smoothed that out, as well as made the amp quite a bit lighter.
    Last edited by entresz; 09-20-2022 at 07:24 PM.

  10. #9
    Quilter Aviator (with Tone Tubby Alnico Speaker)-img_5296-jpg

    I took this rig out to with a group tonight. It sounded great! Got lots of compliments on my tone.

    To my surprise, the rehearsal space we're at got a Fender Tonemaster Deluxe, so I couldn't help but plug in to compare. Hands down the Quilter is the better sounding amp.

  11. #10
    I am about to return my Cub because I just can’t seem to get along with it. I want to like this amp for form, weight, reliability …

    I am curious how you have yours set (input, bass, mid, treb, gain, vol, limiter)? Especially given how much people like the tone.

    Any help would be appreciated!

  12. #11
    Honestly, I really dig it on the blackface setting with the mids set to noon and bass and treble around 10 o clock. That's my setup with the L7. I've also played my 175 into it and am enjoying that setting. Remember I replaced the speaker for a much warmer one, so with the stock speaker you might try something like that but with the treble further down. I keep the limiter about halfway up because I have a heavy right hand and sometimes I need it to keep my volume from being too spiky. I set the gain to about 50% (which should sound like a tube amp that's saturating but not grinding) and then adjust the master volume to the situation.

    I also like the tweed input a lot, but I'm appreciating a cleaner tone lately.

    It's not for everyone. A lot of players are coming from the ampeg/polytone camp and prefer the henriksen sound among modern builders. I'm about the fender sound as far as amps go.

  13. #12
    That is really helpful. I typically go for a fender sound too — my particular taste is for a carved archtop through a tweed deluxe (but a black panel amp is close behind). That is what makes this particular solid state amp such an attractive option.

    I’ll give it a try and experiment a bit more before making up my mind.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Campbell_jazz
    I am about to return my Cub because I just can’t seem to get along with it. I want to like this amp for form, weight, reliability …

    I am curious how you have yours set (input, bass, mid, treb, gain, vol, limiter)? Especially given how much people like the tone.

    Any help would be appreciated!
    Maybe try dropping the mid? (Unless you like a "honkier" sound.)

  15. #14

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    My two MicroPros have been great. I handed my CC over to my wife in case I can't resist a Mach 3.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
    Quilter Aviator (with Tone Tubby Alnico Speaker)-img_5296-jpg

    To my surprise, the rehearsal space we're at got a Fender Tonemaster Deluxe, so I couldn't help but plug in to compare. Hands down the Quilter is the better sounding amp.
    Wow. I know it's hard to do, but can you elaborate? Volume? Tone? Clean? Grit?

  17. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    Wow. I know it's hard to do, but can you elaborate? Volume? Tone? Clean? Grit?
    The quilter just felt much fuller sounding and had a softer response that felt more tube like. Again I can’t tel if some of it is because I put an alnico hemp cone speaker in the quilter, but it was a big enough difference that any fomo I might have had was gone.

  18. #17

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    Omph,
    Please consider this. I am by no means a tone expert. But, my Tonemaster Twin Reverb with the legs extended and the amp tipped upward gives me the best sound I could ever imagine hearing. The fullness you speak of is easily accomplished at low volume simply by the amount air being pushed through 2 12inch speakers. But the sound is generated using a modeling "model" that makes all the sense in the world. Focus mega amounts of power only trying to emulate the sound of a Twin. Couple that with the same cabinet, dimensions and materials, you are left with an amp that just pulls it off, very convincingly. And never under estimate the multi-dimensional characteristic of the open back cabinet. You sacrifice that laser focus of a closed back, but you gain that space created by the open back. And if you want laser focus, push the cabinet closer to the wall.
    Just my .02.
    JD

  19. #18
    Joe thanks for the tips. The quilter is open back and distributes sound very evenly. I usually use 10”s for their better sound distribution but I’m very happy with how this amp disperses sound. Besides a 2x12” would be significantly beamier than the quilter even with the bigger cabinet.

    Not trying to piss on the fender by any means, it’s still a good amp. But I really think quilter is onto something special that isn’t digital modeling.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Campbell_jazz
    That is really helpful. I typically go for a fender sound too — my particular taste is for a carved archtop through a tweed deluxe (but a black panel amp is close behind). That is what makes this particular solid state amp such an attractive option.

    I’ll give it a try and experiment a bit more before making up my mind.
    This amp is definitely a “use your ears, not your eyes” amp. You may have to use EQ knob settings that might seem ridiculous on a Fender amp. For a thick, tweed-deluxe type clean, use the 57 setting and push the gain to around 55-65% or higher. Back off on the guitar volume to clean it up. Keep the bass past 50% as well. You need to play with the interaction of the tone knobs to get the mid’s “center” frequency close to that of a tweed deluxe, then lower the treble and make slight adjustments from there.

    The EQ interactivity on this amp is extremely sensitive—small adjustments to knobs can change the sound quite a bit.

  21. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    The EQ interactivity on this amp is extremely sensitive—small adjustments to knobs can change the sound quite a bit.
    This.

    Its one thing that has pros and cons. On the one hand I tend to like a set up that just sounds good with minimal tweaking, and I like amps that sounds good no matter what you do with the knobs. On the other hand I can appreciate the need for more sensitive eq on an amp that’s going to be in different rooms.

    The tone master deluxe reverb also doesn’t have a mid knob so it’s substantially less flexible tonally.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
    Joe thanks for the tips. The quilter is open back and distributes sound very evenly. I usually use 10”s for their better sound distribution but I’m very happy with how this amp disperses sound. Besides a 2x12” would be significantly beamier than the quilter even with the bigger cabinet.

    Not trying to piss on the fender by any means, it’s still a good amp. But I really think quilter is onto something special that isn’t digital modeling.
    Got it buddy. I didn’t realize your amp has an open back. Now I want to try a Quilter like the one you have now!
    Congratulations. Your contributions in this forum are priceless.
    Joe D

  23. #22
    Joe, ditto times a million.

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by omphalopsychos

    I took this rig out to with a group tonight. It sounded great! Got lots of compliments on my tone.

    To my surprise, the rehearsal space we're at got a Fender Tonemaster Deluxe, so I couldn't help but plug in to compare. Hands down the Quilter is the better sounding amp.
    Interesting -- I tried the Aviator Cub and Tonemaster Deluxe side by side in a store (with my own guitar, FWIW), and I thought the TMDR sounded better than the Quilter's BF setting. To me, it just flat out sounded like a Deluxe Reverb, and the Quilter BF sounded good, but like something else. I liked the Quilter's Tweed setting a lot, though. I wonder how much of your preference for the Quilter comes from the speaker swap.

  25. #24
    I know from changing speakers on almost all my amps (even the “good ones”) that speakers are probably the biggest influence on tone of any modification. It’s almost like swapping the pickups in the guitar. So maybe it's the case that this speaker is what makes the amp kick ass, or maybe I found the sweet spot on the dials. Maybe in the end it comes to taste (probably this).

    I’ll be sure to play them both some more since it's gonna be sitting next to my amp on thursday nights for a while.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
    I know from changing speakers on almost all my amps (even the “good ones”) that speakers are probably the biggest influence on tone of any modification. It’s almost like swapping the pickups in the guitar. So maybe it's the case that this speaker is what makes the amp kick ass, or maybe I found the sweet spot on the dials. Maybe in the end it comes to taste (probably this).

    I’ll be sure to play them both some more since it's gonna be sitting next to my amp on thursday nights for a while.
    Does the Cub have a speaker output? My Superblock US (very similar amp, in pedal format, sans cab) sounds really great through a variety of cabs. Everything from a Toob 6.5” to an closed-back Bandmaster cab loaded with a 15” Weber. Lately I’ve been using a 2x10 with WGS G10a alnicos. The amp is not perfect, but no tube amp is either—this rig definitely hangs with my Ampeg Gemini II and my Twin in many ways.