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This forum causes gear envy for certain. After hearing some of you guys praise Quilter amps, I started looking at the on my local Craigslist. The other day, this head came up with an asking price of $600. I offered $500 which the seller accepted and last night I picked this up after my regular Thursday night gig.
I brought my 59 RI ES-175 with me as that is what I had used on the gig. I plugged in with one of the seller's cabinets and played a couple of solo jazz tunes (Darn that Dream and Days of Wine and Roses). The seller complimented my playing and told me that I sounded a lot like Joe Pass (If only I could play half as good as Pass did, I would be a happy camper). The seller than offered me a gig at a winery where he is the booking agent. The three hour gig will happen every three months (I am now in the rotation with quite a few other jazz musicians) and will pay $175 plus about $100 worth of wine. This is the first time that going out to look at gear has landed me a gig. How cool is that?
Now I have a couple of Rich Raezer built extended range cabinets (Stealth 12 ER and Stealth 10 ER) that I have had for years (I sold my Wisconsin built RE cabinets as I think the Rich built ones are better. Rich used a more expensive wood and also used hot hide glue. I think his cabinets have a bit more sustain and a slightly smoother tone). I figured the Quilter would be a good match. The match exceeded my expectations. Some say the Quilters are too bright for jazz guitar. Maybe with a Quilter cabinet they are too bright, but with a RE cabinet it is jazz guitar perfection, assuming you like a Fender tube amp sound. This solid state amp has the shimmer of a Fender Tube amp and the lush reverb is terrific. The Trem effect is very good and the overdrive effects are pretty damn good for solid state. I don't see this replacing my Henriksens as I have gotten used to carrying a 12 or 13 pound amp to the gig, but for home/studio use (and maybe the occasional gig where I can park close) this amp has a place. Consider me impressed with the handiwork of Pat Quilter.
And after I play a few of the gigs that looking at this amp got me, it won't have cost me a cent!
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04-21-2023 05:13 PM
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I have the combo version of the amp. But I prefer its tone with external cabinets over the build-in cabinet. So getting the head version is a good idea.
Last edited by Tal_175; 04-22-2023 at 07:01 PM.
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Now that’s a win win! I agree with you about REs - Rich made my early 10 in his house. He lived in a suburb of Philly and I went there to get it. It really makes my Superblock sound great, and even my Microblock 45 is giggable through it.
Your new head is also a great match for a 10” Toob (or a pair of 8 Ohm Metros for wider coverage and a slightly bigger sound). I rarely take my RE out from under the piano. It’s either a Quilter on a Toob (or 2) or my Blu 6 for most gigs other than my regular club shows.
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My two RE Cabinets weigh 30 pounds (Stealth 10ER) and 35 pounds (Stealth12ER). They do not leave the house very often and neither will this new Quilter head. My Blu 6 (11 pounds), Blu10 (20 pounds) and Bud 6 (13 pounds) are my go to gig amps and really meet all of my gigging needs today.. Even my 1964 Noverb Princeton (with a JBL D110F) rarely leaves the house because A) it is 30 pounds and B) it is an old tube amp and relying on that at a gig gives me anxiety (when I do bring it out, I also bring a backup amp).
Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
With 5 amps, my amp needs are more than met just as with 19 guitars, my guitar needs are more than met. But if we were only concerned with meeting our gear needs, as opposed to our gear wants, coming to this forum would not be much fun.
BTW, while I stand by my comment about the superiority of Rich made RE Cabinets, the Wisconsin builds are pretty damn good and they are a bargain at the price they are sold for today.
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I presume the Quilter cabinets are geared for the Rock/Country/Blues players who prefer a brighter sound. Since I already had a couple of cabinets on hand, looking for a Quilter head, rather than a combo seemed like a logical choice for me, and perhaps it is the best choice for jazz guitarists who are not seeking a "George Barnes" tone. Originally Posted by Tal_175
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It's actually very easy to separate a Mach 2 head from its cab. Just cut a piece of wood for the bottom of the head if that bothers you. Originally Posted by Tal_175
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It's actually very easy to separate a Mach 2 head from its cab. Just cut a piece of wood for the bottom of the head if that bothers you. Originally Posted by Tal_175
(Personally, I like the grab-n-go of the Q HD combo.)
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Follow up:
I used this Quilter head along with my Raezer's edge Stealth 10ER on 3 of the 4 gigs that I performed this week (I have one more gig tomorrow, it sure is nice that all the Covid BS is over, it is nice to be back to work).
The Quilter combined with a Raezer's Edge cabinet is a perfect jazz guitar amp (well it is a bit heavy, my Henriksens are not going anywhere. Tomorrow's gig requires a few blocks of walking from where I can park, so the Bud 6 will be the right tool for that job). But for me, the Quilter really does everything a Fender tube amp would do with less weight and greater reliability. The reverb is deep with a nice decay, there is a "shimmer" in the tone and it is warm at the same time.
This is my first foray into the world of Quilter amps and I am impressed. I do not like overly bright amps, so perhaps I might not like their combos, but you never know about an amp till you own one and use it on a variety of gigs (the "gig test").
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I converted my M2 12 Combo into the "HD" version, just by swapping in that Celestion BN Neo speaker. Smoothed out the tone nicely, and of course it's now much lighter, ~20lbs. Well worth the $100 upgrade. I use the 8" model for most things, but bring out the 12HD for real ball buster situations. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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My RE Stealth 10 ER weighs 30 pounds. The Quilter is only 7 pounds (maybe 8 or 9 pounds with the gig bag and cables). I have thought about putting one of those Celestion Neo speakers in the RE cabinet to get the cabinet weight down to about 20 pounds. That would make the Quilter/RE rig a more competitive choice to my Henriksen Blu 10. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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I put a Jensen Jet Tornado 10" neo in my RE 10 cab. it's a wonderful speaker for jazz, and it's significantly lighter than the stock driver Rich put in it when he made it. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
I have no idea what the original one is - there are no markings and it has a very large, weirdly shaped magnet and housing. I posted and circulated pics of it about 2 years ago when I got the Jet from Marcwhy, and no one could identify it. Rich commissioned all sorts of custom drivers for his early cabinets, some of which were one-offs to test ideas. No records or other documentation of most of these can be found. I called the current RE shop and they had no idea at all. But it's a great speaker, so I'm saving it to put in a custom cab that will live under the grand piano. And now I can carry the RE more easily.
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I have no idea what speakers are in my RE Cabinets (both made by Rich). The RE Stealth 12 ER has a 150 watt dual cone speaker (weight of the cabinet is 35 pounds) and the RE Stealth 10ER has a 250 watt Speaker with a separate tweeter (weight of the cabinet is 30 pounds). Lightening the load of either or both with a Neo speaker has crossed my mind. I will consider the Celestion that Quilter uses (and which Woody likes) and also the Jensen (that you like). I do think both cabinets sound amazing as they are, so until those weights become a deal killer, I may just leave them alone. But if a good deal comes along on one of the aforementioned Neo speakers, I will probably try one. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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