Quilter Amp

[Plato5v]

I wonder if anyone has an opinion on these amps particularly the ones with the 8 inch speaker.

 

I found one review by bobsteingraber. His written review was very positive but then he only gave it 2 1/2 stars which is not very good. This did not appear consistent with his written review.

[WRGKMC]

I visited their website and they have a long list of musicians there. I didn't read anything as being an endorsement, and out of the whole batch of around 50 names I only recognize 2 or three names.

 

Gear companies make endorsements with musicians. They give them free gear in return for using their name. Johnny Winter was in that list but anyone who knows his work knows Johnny used his Music Man amps exclusively for recording and live shows. Someone may have given him an amp for an endorsement, but who knows weather he ever plugged the thing in to try it out. Same goes for everyone else on that list.

 

An amp with an 8" speaker barely cuts it for recording due to the fact a speaker that small just doesn't move enough air to produce good bass response. I wouldn't even bother using one for live shows unless the cab had 4 x 8's and even then it might be good for leads only. 8" just don't thump enough to keep up with the bass guitar. There are very few options for 8" guitar speakers as well. Most are for low wattage practice amps. The head in that amp produces 100W continuous so finding a good 100w 8" speaker that's actually efficient is going to be something special made. I cant recall any 8's over 25W I've seen by any of the big manufacturers.

[Plato5v]

Thanks for the response. I hear what you are saying. I have a Lunchbox amp and while many would not care for the somewhat thin sound it gives it is quite nice for those times that one does not want a heavy amp to carry. It does have enough loudness for small rooms. However it did not cost near as much as one of these Quilter Amp and while they have more effects I just wondered if they were worth a $1000.00.

[WRGKMC]

Yea, That's what I say too. For a grand I can choose many better options, and a solid state amp probably wouldn't be one of them.

[MesaMonster]

I was shocked by the price too.

[Richard Guy]

Buying full page ads in the trade mags is very expensive. They also have to pay for those airline employees time. I guess their marketing expenses dictates what the amps cost.

[brodiebrodie]

You Guys really need to try one,

I have a Quilter Aviator 8, I have been playing for thirty years and have always been a Valve amp player , I have a music man and an original 1962 AC30. I bought the Quilter on a recommendation as the AC30 is becoming just too heavy to lug in and out of venues. I had it shipped from the US ( I am in the UK) . Now, I have had transistor amps before and never really liked them, so this was a bit of a gamble.. but .. it really is an amazing amp ! I now gig with it all the time. In all honesty sometimes the 8 inch speaker doesn't have quite enough spread on a bigger stage so I sometimes add a 1x12 cab and this is really enough . Its great to have an amp that delivers consistently good tone at any volume. As the Pro's on this site will know, sound engineers are driving stage volume down and it is difficult to run the fantastic amps of the past (like the AC30) at the volume they require to sound great. Is the Quilter better that the AC30? no its probably not.. but at a fraction of the weight it comes close enough !

In fact the other members of my band stay the prefer it.. So.. don't be dinosaurs and give one a go.. you might like it !

[RavinDave]

I have a Quilter MicroPro 200 12” with a 12” extension cab. I loved the sound so much I wanted more and so I added an Aviator head that I’m running thru a MB 1-12” extension cab. My Mesa Boogies are in mothballs now. With these two, I’m running stereo with a fairly nice board full of nicer than average gear and I’ve found sonic nirvana. Sonic nirvana has a good foundation.

 

The Class D technology used in QSC (guess where the Q comes from) amps is incredibly clean and it’s ‘run you outta the room’ powerful. I’ve never gone above noon on the dial…but I know the headroom is there if I need it. And the MicroPro 200 12” weighs in at 23 freakin’ pounds. I’m 60 years old and let me tell you how much that means to me.

 

The first time I heard one of these was here in St. Louis at a blues club and Big Mike Aguirre was playing a Strat thru it with nothing else. The sound was really rich and powerful and needed nothing more than Mike’s touch to tell me I needed to investigate these things. A snapshot with my phone and a quick google and the next thing I knew I had one.

 

I’ve been through amps of all types over the years. There’s not been a single one that I’d rather have than a Quilter. A friend, that is interested, was over last week and we plugged several different guitars into my rig and he was as amazed as I have been. His remark was that these amps let the sound of the guitar comes thru. He’s right and the effects I use are just frosting on the cake.

 

I’m not a paid shill for Quilter, I think just about any Quilter owner will tell you basically the same thing I have. If you’re concerned about the price tag just remember that you’re supposed to get what you pay for. Between the product and the company I think I’ve made quite a bargain. As cliches go…beauty is in the ear of the beholder. My 2 cents worth. Thanks.

 

[cBc]

I've owned a Micro Pro 200 8" model for over a year now, and all I have to add to those commenting on price & size of driver - go play thru one for a while. It's a whole new game out there...These little amps speak with authority & have tone to burn. I sold off all my other amps, since I no longer had a need for them.

[giffenf]

If you haven't tried one, you really should before forming an opinion. I like tube amps, too, but I also own two MicroPros, one with the 8" and a head so I can mix and match speaker cabinets. This amp is like no other solid-state amp I've tried. The 8 can be plenty loud for live gigs, not to mention recording. I usually use the 1x12 cabinet with the 8 when I play out, but on more than one occasion I have forgotten to plug in the 12 and didn't notice. I can dial in a good tone with this amp faster than most other amps I've tried (it got a lot easier after I broke down and read the manual), and for some songs we do, I've found an overdrive tone with just the amp that sounds better to my ears than any of my OD pedals.

 

My favorite combination is the head with two cabs I assembled, one with the 12" version of the 8" Celestion speaker that comes in the combo, and another one with a 15" Eminence Big Ben. And if you really need it louder than that, use its XLR direct out and feed it to the house mix. No need to stick a mic in front of it.

 

If you try it and still don't like it, then cool, there's nothing wrong with that, but dismissing it out of hand without giving it a try is unfair to the amp, the people who build it (oh yeah, did anyone mention it's built entirely in Southern California?), and maybe to you because you don't really know what you're missing.