Another Amp Discussion Thread, This One for a Small Amp

[MBDiagMan]

Yeah Steve, if it comes to that it will for sure be the best amp for the money he will ever get.

Thanks again

[AcouStickistNS]

I have one of the Quilter Micro Pro's, the 12" speaker model. Great little amp at low volume and it gets mighty loud. Expensive little bugger, but the light weight great and tone make it worth it. In comparison I once had a Mesa Boogie Mark V combo which was a larger amp - I like the Quilter far better. Plus I can plug my acoustics into the clean channel. And no tubes to burn out either. I know a couple of guys that often perform with these amps.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by MBDiagMan

...I don’t mind spending some money for the right setup, but my thinking is to limit the money I put into this...

Originally Posted by AcouStickistNS

I have one of the Quilter Micro Pro's, the 12" speaker model. Great little amp at low volume and it gets mighty loud. Expensive little bugger...

Heard lots of good things about the Quilters - had a Steelaire on my radar for a while now as a replacement for my 65-pound '65 Super RI, since I'm not getting any younger - but I got the impression the OP was trying to keep it under $500 if possible; FWIW the Aviator Gold 8" might be a good (and lightweight) option, for a few bucks more than the final cost of a fully-modded V22 Infinium...

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by AcouStickistNS

I have one of the Quilter Micro Pro's, the 12" speaker model. Great little amp at low volume and it gets mighty loud. Expensive little bugger, but the light weight great and tone make it worth it. In comparison I once had a Mesa Boogie Mark V combo which was a larger amp - I like the Quilter far better. Plus I can plug my acoustics into the clean channel. And no tubes to burn out either. I know a couple of guys that often perform with these amps.

Interesting can you get a bit more specific about why you like the Quilter over the Mark V ?

[AcouStickistNS]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Interesting can you get a bit more specific about why you like the Quilter over the Mark V ?

The main reason is it sounds great at low volume. The Mark was tough to play at home without getting real loud. But when I take it elsewhere outside the house, I'm blown away as to how good it sounds turned up. There's also a selector switch that emulates other types of amps, Brown, Tweed, etc. Lately, I've noticed that when paired up with my PRS with the rotary switch, I'm using more of the five pickups selections as the sound is completely different to the MB and some other amps I've used. I tended to favor only two of the five positions on my PRS, with the Quilter I now find myself using all 5. So I'm getting more out of the guitar.

My only beef with the clean channel is I wish there were better EQ options, you only get a single tone switch; it doesn't run through the main channel's eq. Not bad though, my acoustic double neck sounds pretty good through it. My Martin, not as well. But I bought it mainly for the PRS.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by AcouStickistNS

The main reason is it sounds great at low volume. The Mark was tough to play at home without getting real loud. But when I take it elsewhere outside the house, I'm blown away as to how good it sounds turned up. There's also a selector switch that emulates other types of amps, Brown, Tweed, etc. Lately, I've noticed that when paired up with my PRS with the rotary switch, I'm using more of the five pickups selections as the sound is completely different to the MB and some other amps I've used. I tended to favor only two of the five positions on my PRS, with the Quilter I now find myself using all 5. So I'm getting more out of the guitar.

My only beef with the clean channel is I wish there were better EQ options, you only get a single tone switch; it doesn't run through the main channel's eq. Not bad though, my acoustic double neck sounds pretty good through it. My Martin, not as well. But I bought it mainly for the PRS.

Thanks, very interesting

[MBDiagMan]

Well, the Brown truck dropped off the Bugera this afternoon. By the time I got it unpacked and connected I only had about ten minutes with it before I had to go to town for a meeting. My first impression was that it is fabulous. It will take a lot longer to ring it out and get familiar with it, but it sure seems like it is a fabulous unit. It is actually more than I expected or wanted, but that’s okay.

I will report back in a week or two after I have had a good bit of time with it.

Thanks very much for the recommendation Steve!

Edit: I just spent another half hour or so and am very happy with what I hear. My Les Paul will be here tomorrow. I am anxious to hear how the humbuckers sound on it.

[Steve DeRosa]

My pleasure - use it well, often, and LOUD...

[Yamaha Man]

Well I checked into the Bugera and it seems like a nice amp for the money so I ordered a used one off of Reverb.com. I'm thinking I can use it to play out with at the senior center. I'm going to compare it to the Katana 50 I already have and see which one I like better.....I heard a couple of You Tube demo video's and it did sound good....It looks like it would be easy to move around, so it may work out for me...we'll see....

[MBDiagMan]

Sounds good MM, it will be interesting to hear your review and comparison.

As far as moving it around, it is a little bigger and heavier than I expected, but I am accustomed to something bigger, so by comparison it seems quite portable. It seems to be a well built unit, so the weight usually is a penalty for the high quality I suppose. Hope it works for you and please post your review.

I hope the Seniors enjoy your time. My 93 year old Mom is in assisted living. My son has played the piano and sang songs with them, but has never had a guitar with him at the time. They thoroughly enjoy having live music of any kind or level of quality. I am sure that the residents where you play appreciate it very much.

[Yamaha Man]

I don't play at a nursing home, I play at a community sponsored senior center that is open to the public of any age, but geared towards seniors. It's open and free to the public and we usually draw between 50-100 people. I play with about 12 other musicians at each of the two centers I play at. One of the centers is a mid sized gymnasium which can use amplification. I'm trying out different amps to see which is best suited for the gig. So far, the Rosette sounds the best, but I am open to trying out different amps. Tonight I'm planning on trying out the Katana 50, and next week the Bugera. I'd prefer to leave the Rosette at home, safe and sound and bring out a less expensive amp. We'll see.

The audience really enjoys the music and seeing the different guitars and hearing different amps. It keeps the shows interesting. Last night I even had one of my fans video taping my performance, to show her friends...so my recent purchases have paid off. Last night I played my blue Gretsch guitar and it looked fabulous on the video !! Tonight I'm playing the red 12 string Gretsch thru the Katana...

[MBDiagMan]

Sounds great MM!

I am just starting to get familiar with the Bugera, but I understand how Steve can make use of it for a 700 seat venue. I haven’t experimented with it much yet, but on the back there is a switch for pentode or triode. The triode is supposed to give more power, but once I experiment I might find that it provides distortion instead of additional clean power. Anyway, I think it will give the volume you need for the venue you describe.

Enjoy and let us know how well it fills the bill.

[Yamaha Man]

I'm more concerned about getting a good tone out of the amp vrs more volume. I get plenty of volume with the VOX AC4TV but the tone is weak. The Rosette has excellent tone and lots of volume, way more than I need as most of the other musicians are playing acoustically, only a couple bring small amps. So at this point my question is which will be better sounding, the Katana or the Bugera ...??? One amp will go to the gigs with me and stay in my van, while the other will stay at home for recordings. The third amp may be used for electric guitar only.

[MBDiagMan]

MM,

I think the tone is great, but if you want to change it, Steve has lots of experience modifying this amp and is quite helpful. I will play it awhile and see if I want to modify it. Mine is a later model that may not need as much his earlier one.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by MBDiagMan

...I am just starting to get familiar with the Bugera...I haven’t experimented with it much yet, but on the back there is a switch for pentode or triode. The triode is supposed to give more power, but once I experiment I might find that it provides distortion instead of additional clean power...

Actually, just the reverse is true - pentode mode will provide the most headroom/clean power (BTW, you want to turn the amp completely off before switching modes). Without getting into the electronic theory here - and using (very) general comparisons/reference points most folks around here should understand - triode mode is, in addition to being lower output (15W vs. 22W in pentode), a softer/spongier tone, more akin to a '50s tweed Fender Princeton or early-60s pre-Top Boost Vox AC15; conversely, pentode mode is bolder and punchier/more immediate, with a broader dynamic range - think blackface Deluxe Reverb or blue-check mid-60s Ampeg Gemini I...

As I said before I'm also mostly a clean-tone guy - I'll kick in the OD when necessary for some bluesy crunch, but that's about it - so I work almost exclusively in pentode mode which, with the ultra-efficient Swamp Thang speaker and upgraded tubes, indeed provides me with the power to handle a 700-seat house; if you're into the softer side of things - or paradoxically looking for a more singing, classic British-style distortion at OSHA-approved SPL readings - the triode mode will deliver. What I really love about this amp is that it's a first-class discovery platform, the way amps were done back when, and the more you experiment with combinations of power mode, OD/clean, mid-boost, and EQ the more useful tones you're going to find; although it doesn't provide the push-button instant gratification of a modern modeling amp, from a pure musical point of view you get to learn first-hand exactly how your favorite tones are built - and I'd suggest blocking out some quality time with your new V22 and finding out for yourself what the tube-amp magic is all about...