Acoustic Image ceasing operations.

[floatingpickup]

I just read a notice on Gollihur Music’s website, saying that that the family of the late Rick Jones has decided to cease operations of Acoustic Image. My Clarus head has been my main amp for many years and I have never found any other amp that suits me as well. One of the very positive aspects of these amps has been the excellent warranty and service provided by AI. I have never had to have mine serviced, but now it could be a problem if anything goes wrong with an AI product. I guess I need to start thinking about a backup. It’s sad to see the end of this fine company.
Acoustic Image Clarus Amplifiers - Post-Closure Clearance
Keith

[Chris236]

getting them serviced will be as easy as ever….any amp repair guy is capable. Unless it’s warranty service, no reason to send it back anyway.

[Stringswinger]

Get a Henriksen.

RIP Acoustic Image.

[P4guitar]

Geez, that's horrible news! I had two original Clarus heads worked on by Rick in January. They are great amps and Rick was a great guy. Terrible to read this.

[Cunamara]

My Clarus 2r is the best solid state amp I have ever used. Works great with my archtops, nylon strings, flattop and solidbodies. IMHO if your guitar doesn't sound good through this, it may not be a good sounding guitar...

[floatingpickup]

Get a Henriksen.

RIP Acoustic Image.

I am looking at Henriksen. I’m in no rush, since my Clarus 2R is working perfectly at this point.
Keith

[jzucker]

getting them serviced will be as easy as ever….any amp repair guy is capable. Unless it’s warranty service, no reason to send it back anyway.

No, that's not quite true. It depends on whether they are using a standard class d module like ICE power and whether a service center can get parts for it.

I recently experienced a nightmare where my Aguilar SL500 amp went up in smoke. Aguilar has been around for years and was previously known for their service. Unfortunately, sometime during the pandemic, Korg purchased them. So when I called them for service, I was referred to Korg who gave me a list of electronic servicemen in my area. I called the first 5 or 6 on the list and were told that they were unable to get parts and were having issues getting support from korg, aguilar or markbass amps due to the lack of availability of parts.

I'm not sure why AI would be significantly different. And my $899 amp sits in the back of my closet, a useless paperweight because korg would not sell the parts or service manuals directly.

I would no longer buy any SS amp where the manufacturer is not providing service , parts, repair manuals.

[Stringswinger]

In my jazz guitar journey, I became a big fan of Polytone in the mid 1970's and Acoustic Image heads (I tried one of their combo amps and was underwhelmed) in the early 2000's. Both companies are gone. I have moved on to Henriksen and Quilter. At some point those companies may cease to exist (I hope not) and I may need to move on again.

I am with JZ in that having a SS amp that has become orphaned from it's parent company entails the risk of owning an expensive paperweight. No Thanks.

Frankly, to my ears, Henriksen makes an amp that does everything (and more with the bluetooth feature) that Polytone or Acoustic Image ever did for my jazz guitar needs. If I was a bass player or used piezo pickups on my acoustic guitars, I might bemoan the loss of Acoustic Image a bit more (their amps have some features that are missing on the Henriksens), but for my needs, Henriksen gets the job done. And I have always liked the tube amp sound in addition to the SS sound and Quilter has bridged the best of both worlds. Quilter combos are too bright for my taste (as are Fender reissue tube amps) but a Quilter head with a Raezer's Edge cabinet is, IMO, jazz guitar bliss.

I have owned my last Polytone and Acoustic Image amps. I am not an amp tech and the cost of fixing those amps here in California often exceeds the value of those amps. JS is correct that, to some extent, SS guitar amps are a disposable item. I suggest disposing of them while they still have value. Unless of course, having expensive paperweights does not bother you.

[jzucker]

I can certainly understand that but I would add two points to it.

First: I can't really know who is going to be able or willing to provide service , parts, repair manuals in the future so there is inherent long term uncertainty no matter whose product.

Second, my solution is to treat SS amps as disposable from the moment I buy them. I keep my purchases below a price threshold where the real pain begins if I have to just eat the purchase price.

I do too but let's face it. SS amps are not cheap. My aguilar was $899, my quilter was $699. Quilter provides excellent service. I would no longer buy any class D boutique amp again unless it's someone still in business.

[jzucker]

In my jazz guitar journey, I became a big fan of Polytone in the mid 1970's and Acoustic Image heads (I tried one of their combo amps and was underwhelmed) in the early 2000's. Both companies are gone. I have moved on to Henriksen and Quilter. At some point those companies may cease to exist (I hope not) and I may need to move on again.

I am with JZ in that having a SS amp that has become orphaned from it's parent company entails the risk of owning an expensive paperweight. No Thanks.

Frankly, to my ears, Henriksen makes an amp that does everything (and more with the bluetooth feature) that Polytone or Acoustic Image ever did for my jazz guitar needs. If I was a bass player or used piezo pickups on my acoustic guitars, I might bemoan the loss of Acoustic Image a bit more (their amps have some features that are missing on the Henriksens), but for my needs, Henriksen gets the job done. And I have always liked the tube amp sound in addition to the SS sound and Quilter has bridged the best of both worlds. Quilter combos are too bright for my taste (as are Fender reissue tube amps) but a Quilter head with a Raezer's Edge cabinet is, IMO, jazz guitar bliss.

I have owned my last Polytone and Acoustic Image amps. I am not an amp tech and the cost of fixing those amps here in California often exceeds the value of those amps. JS is correct that, to some extent, SS guitar amps are a disposable item. I suggest disposing of them while they still have value. Unless of course, having expensive paperweights does not bother you.

Which RE cab do you use? A while back I bought the SS RE head and a new T8T cab but I found that even at 4ohm, the speakers were so inefficient that I couldn't get enough volume.

[Stringswinger]

Which RE cab do you use? A while back I bought the SS RE head and a new T8T cab but I found that even at 4ohm, the speakers were so inefficient that I couldn't get enough volume.

I am using a Rich Raezer made Stealth 10ER (Thanks again Danny W. for selling it to me!). With my Quilter Mach 2 head, there is enough volume available to cause hearing damage. HTH.

[jzucker]

I am using a Rich Raezer made Stealth 10ER (Thanks again Danny W. for selling it to me!). With my Quilter Mach 2 head, there is enough volume available to cause hearing damage. HTH.

I'm using the quilter 202 now. It's a little bright for me through the regular input but mostly I use it with my helix in front and going into the effect return. I love them though. They are a class company.

[sgosnell]

I guess my old Clarus Series I, with a lifetime warranty, has become an orphan. I had it serviced once by AI, for just shipping costs, and it has been reliable for many years. I don't use it a lot any more, but it's a good backup. Nothing lasts forever. Henriksen won't live forever either, and his amps are a large investment. What money I have won't be of much use in the coffin, though.

[jzucker]

I guess my old Clarus Series I, with a lifetime warranty, has become an orphan. I had it serviced once by AI, for just shipping costs, and it has been reliable for many years. I don't use it a lot any more, but it's a good backup. Nothing lasts forever. Henriksen won't live forever either, and his amps are a large investment. What money I have won't be of much use in the coffin, though.

There's a difference between AI and henriksen/quilter. The latter use standard power amp modules which can be replaced by almost anyone. Don't know if AI switched but their amp modules were engineered fully in house for the most part. With henriksen/quilter you can always get parts direct from the manufacturer. They also have support manuals and test points available from what I was told. Not so with companies like Aguilar/Korg. Korg won't even sell you replacement parts. The ICE Module that is in my amp sells for $250 but Korg charges $500 to replace it and none of their authorized repair facilities would even touch the aguilar...

[Stringswinger]

I'm using the quilter 202 now. It's a little bright for me through the regular input but mostly I use it with my helix in front and going into the effect return. I love them though. They are a class company.

I suspect that if you ran your Quilter into a traditional RE cabinet (Stealth 10 or Stealth 12), you might like it, even going straight into the regular input.

Everything I have heard about customer service from Quilter and Henriksen has been positive. I had great customer service from Acoustic Image, but that is now in the past. While I loved my Polytone amps back in the day, their service was less than stellar.

BTW JZ, I agree with your tone control assessments of Acoustic Image and (pre Class D) Henriksens. They were not ideal for guitars, but as luck would have it, I was able to get the sound I wanted out of them. I do think the new Henriksens are much improved in that regard.

[bluejaybill]

In my jazz guitar journey, I became a big fan of Polytone in the mid 1970's and Acoustic Image heads (I tried one of their combo amps and was underwhelmed) in the early 2000's. Both companies are gone. I have moved on to Henriksen and Quilter. At some point those companies may cease to exist (I hope not) and I may need to move on again.

I am with JZ in that having a SS amp that has become orphaned from it's parent company entails the risk of owning an expensive paperweight. No Thanks.

Frankly, to my ears, Henriksen makes an amp that does everything (and more with the bluetooth feature) that Polytone or Acoustic Image ever did for my jazz guitar needs. If I was a bass player or used piezo pickups on my acoustic guitars, I might bemoan the loss of Acoustic Image a bit more (their amps have some features that are missing on the Henriksens), but for my needs, Henriksen gets the job done. And I have always liked the tube amp sound in addition to the SS sound and Quilter has bridged the best of both worlds. Quilter combos are too bright for my taste (as are Fender reissue tube amps) but a Quilter head with a Raezer's Edge cabinet is, IMO, jazz guitar bliss.

I have owned my last Polytone and Acoustic Image amps. I am not an amp tech and the cost of fixing those amps here in California often exceeds the value of those amps. JS is correct that, to some extent, SS guitar amps are a disposable item. I suggest disposing of them while they still have value. Unless of course, having expensive paperweights does not bother you.

All true, but couldn't this same fate befall Henriksen? Yes they are in business now, but that could change. That's one thing that has held me back from buying one, especially at the price point. Quilter or DV Mark I would feel less worried about failure, because of the price.

This is one big checkmark in the plus column for tube amps, the classic designs are always fixable. The only parts that might be hard to find are the transformers, but there are companies make acceptable replacements.

[bluejaybill]

I guess my old Clarus Series I, with a lifetime warranty, has become an orphan. I had it serviced once by AI, for just shipping costs, and it has been reliable for many years. I don't use it a lot any more, but it's a good backup. Nothing lasts forever. Henriksen won't live forever either, and his amps are a large investment. What money I have won't be of much use in the coffin, though.

No, but at least the small one would fit in there with you!

[Stringswinger]

All true, but couldn't this same fate befall Henriksen? Yes they are in business now, but that could change. That's one thing that has held me back from buying one, especially at the price point. Quilter or DV Mark I would feel less worried about failure, because of the price.

This is one big checkmark in the plus column for tube amps, the classic designs are always fixable. The only parts that might be hard to find are the transformers, but there are companies make acceptable replacements.

Totally agreed about the classic, point to point tube amps. They can be rebuilt longer than we can.

Regarding Henriksen; The Company is on it's second generation of ownership, unlike Polytone and Acoustic Image (both of which did not survive their founders), so the way I see it, so far, so good. In the early 1980's, a new Polytone Mini-Brute would set you back about $200, which is pretty close to $1,000 in today's money . A new Henriksen Blu 10 is a bit more than that, but still in the ballpark for a quality, American built amp. DV Marks are cheaply built and are probably not worth repairing. Quilters? A good choice to be sure. I have probably done at least as many gigs with my Blu 6 as i paid dollars to buy it. I have gotten my money's worth already.

[Chris236]

Hmmm, I don’t care for AI amps, or Henriksen for that matter, but wonder how many proprietary parts are under the hood in the hand made amps. Ive had Polytone amps repaired a few times over decades by a local amp guy and it hasn’t been either a problem or expensive despite them being out of business.

[Chris236]

In my jazz guitar journey, I became a big fan of Polytone in the mid 1970's and Acoustic Image heads (I tried one of their combo amps and was underwhelmed) in the early 2000's. Both companies are gone. I have moved on to Henriksen and Quilter. At some point those companies may cease to exist (I hope not) and I may need to move on again.

I am with JZ in that having a SS amp that has become orphaned from it's parent company entails the risk of owning an expensive paperweight. No Thanks.

Frankly, to my ears, Henriksen makes an amp that does everything (and more with the bluetooth feature) that Polytone or Acoustic Image ever did for my jazz guitar needs. If I was a bass player or used piezo pickups on my acoustic guitars, I might bemoan the loss of Acoustic Image a bit more (their amps have some features that are missing on the Henriksens), but for my needs, Henriksen gets the job done. And I have always liked the tube amp sound in addition to the SS sound and Quilter has bridged the best of both worlds. Quilter combos are too bright for my taste (as are Fender reissue tube amps) but a Quilter head with a Raezer's Edge cabinet is, IMO, jazz guitar bliss.

I have owned my last Polytone and Acoustic Image amps. I am not an amp tech and the cost of fixing those amps here in California often exceeds the value of those amps. JS is correct that, to some extent, SS guitar amps are a disposable item. I suggest disposing of them while they still have value. Unless of course, having expensive paperweights does not bother you.

sillyness

[sgcim]

It's very sad to see AI go, but I never paid much for my AI amps, because I got them used. I only paid $400 for my Corus.
I recently picked up a Henrickson Jazzamp for only $250, and it seems to be more versatile than my AI in terms of treble response, and taking an OD pedal.

[medblues]

I looked at their website. They announce Rick Jones' passing but don't comment on the company's closure

[jzucker]

For now I've broken it down to 3 components: a preamp of some sort, a class D power amp, and a passive speaker. For the power amp, I'm using a Hotone Loudster. It's pretty cheap but I don't need a whole lot of volume. I bought and sold one and then decided I had made a mistake and bought a second one. I have a RE NY8 coming soon and I think the Hotone will power it just fine.

BTW, for playing at home (the overwhelming majority of what I do), I find that there's nothing that works better for me than playing direct into my recording interface into an amp sim on my computer and my little Genelec powered monitors. It's just an incredible satisfying setup at low volume levels.

in a similar fashion, I use the helix. I go into the effect return of the quilter and if the helix dies, the quilter sounds good on it's own, though brighter than i like. The helix sounds great for direct recording. I run my setup through various 1x12 cabs.

[jads57]

Well my 2 cents, I’ve never had any problems with any of the several Quilter amps I’ve owned for over 6 to 8 years. And the headache of tube amps from retuning, heavy weight, unreliable power source issues, etc.

No thanks! Quilter should be good to go for the next 25 years or as long as I’ll ever need them,Lol!

[Cunamara]

BTW JZ, I agree with your tone control assessments of Acoustic Image and (pre Class D) Henriksens. They were not ideal for guitars, but as luck would have it, I was able to get the sound I wanted out of them.

Depends on the sound one is chasing.