My Latest Acoustic Amp setup

[briggleman]

Well, I really wanted something very light and flexible for my acoustic setup but I got a little carried away when I heard this combination and now I lug this PA speaker around with me everywhere.

Link to Photo

[noledog]

I use a combo of Fishman Loudbox amps but my main rig is light and simple:

1. Takamine with Cooltube > Audio-Technica wireless > Carbon Copy delay > Neunaber Seraphim reverb > two Loudbox Performers.

or depending on venue:

2. Martin D18 with Baggs M80 > Bodyrez > one Loudbox Performer or Artist using the amp's on board delay...this rig is for smaller venues & intimate settings where my set list is a bit more mellow.

This rig is light, compact, powerful, versatile & sounds wonderful for my taste. I run my vocals thru one of the channels as well. I play for a living so the simplicity helps me setup/breakdown quickly after years of big pa gear, easy on the ok' back too!

eric

[briggleman]

This Quilter MicroPro Mach 2 is a sort of do it all amp. For electric and acoustic, but with only its 8" full range speaker, it was limited in the harmonics it could generate for acoustic work. Adding the 3 way PA opened up a whole new ball game. Folks, imagine a 15" woofer, horn mid-range and horn tweeter paired with the 8" full range. Its so full now. I have 200 watts to work with, 100 per channel. Trem and Reverb built in, amp emulations, 3 EQ knobs. I do own dedicated acoustic amps and they are on the sidelines now. Fun Stuff this evolution in amps and electronics.

[dannyg1]

Can you tell us which combo amps you've outgrown and describe more exactly what this Quilter combo is doing that has surpassed the others and maybe by how far?

[briggleman]

Yes, but only in my experience and my ears. I have owned and used the following; Fishman Loudbox 100 and its bigger brother the Performer. Fenders Acoustasonic 30 DSP and the Ultrasound DS4 and for a short period a Rivera. One California Blond for a period of two months. Besides using Combo amps I still have QSC K8 and K10 PA systems.

Nothing seemed to give me the tone my guitar, a Taylor GA8 with a ES ver. 2 system had while unplugged. In reality, nothing will, but you can get close or at least close to what you want your guitar to sound like when it is plugged in.

I owned a Mesa Express 5/25 12" which I used for electric work and I was looking for something to lighten the load. I auditioned the Quilter and was very impressed. However, I became more excited when I plugged my acoustic into the 8" version and discovered that it sounded very close to its natural sound. The 10 and 12 inch versions of the Quilter MicroPro's did not sound as good as the 8". I found out the 8" was a full range PA speaker while the 10 and 12 inch versions were tonally geared toward electric work.

So I purchased it. Now the accident that changed everything. While practicing with the band, our lead guitarist also does DJ gigs on the side and had an old Audio Centron PA speaker sitting in the corner. Just for fun, I ran a cable from the Quilters aux. speaker jack to the PA and it was just amazing. Literally, the entire band stopped playing and listened while I just ran scales and strummed chords. It totally blew us away how it deepened and opened up the Taylor. It is now a main stay in our setup. Most acoustic amps do not have aux. speaker jacks due to power limitations. Speakers make the amp.... no question about it. The Quilter Mach 2 allows so many flexible options with effects loops, DI out (not recommended for acoustic, another story) power to spare, two channels, built in effects, different voicing's and built in compressor circuits.

Okay, enough already. Sorry to go on but I have found what works for me.

Brad

[dannyg1]

Any chance I could get you to tell us how the quilter compares directly to the Loudbox 100? They seem as though they might be most evenly matched.