New Quilter Mini amp!!!

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 6 Sep 2015 6:37 pm

The Tone Block owners are going to flip when they see this:

http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/pr ... -mini-head

This is officially #1 on my want list!

Paul Stauskas · Post by **Paul Stauskas** » 6 Sep 2015 10:28 pm

Wow, anyone using this currently?

Dennis Anderson · Post by **Dennis Anderson** » 7 Sep 2015 5:40 am

The first shipments are arriving at dealers this week. I've ordered one because I've been playing a Quilter Aviator head for two years and love it. As a result I've sold my Evans, an Alessandro tube amp, and a Dumble clone. I play some lap steel and electric dobro, but mostly Archtop jazz and Telecaster stuff. I'm convinced of Quilter's build quality, tone, and versatility. Of course the price looked pretty good too.

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 7 Sep 2015 6:45 am

If 50 watts is all you need...then great.

Dennis Anderson · Post by **Dennis Anderson** » 7 Sep 2015 8:29 am

The Jazz and Surf (blackface fender) settings are actually 100 watts. Don't ask me how they do it. We'll see how it works out, but it should be fine for my purposes.

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 7 Sep 2015 8:58 am

Key words are "up to" 100 watts. Standard jargon for momentary peak output....not really RMS output.

Dennis Anderson · Post by **Dennis Anderson** » 7 Sep 2015 9:15 am

Gotcha... thanks!

Dennis Anderson · Post by **Dennis Anderson** » 7 Sep 2015 9:31 am

Gotcha... thanks!

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 7 Sep 2015 9:44 am

If you need more power, at this price point, you could buy two and put together a pretty nice stereo setup, or have one unit set for steel and the other for lap or guitar. Is it the same casing as the tone block? Then you could mount it on the dedicated rackmount plate.

I already have a Steelaire, but if it would have been available a few months ago, I probably would have bought this instead. The one drawback for me is no XLR direct out although it does have an headphone out. Very cool unit. It's so small, it could probably fit in a pedalboard setup.

Bill Moore (RIP) · Post by **Bill Moore (RIP)** » 7 Sep 2015 12:04 pm

For the same price, you could have a GK MB200 or a Carvin BX250. The MB 200 has 200 watts, the Carvin has 250 at 4 ohms. All 3 are lightweight, class D amps, I'd say the Quilter is overpriced a bit, compared to the other two.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 7 Sep 2015 5:00 pm

Agree with Bill about the Carvin which has far more EQ and power! The Carvin stuff has a lot more features with the same class D amp technology. The Quilter does have better build quality but for a steel I'd want the increased power and EQ.

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 7 Sep 2015 5:44 pm

If you're like me and prefer an amp "voicing" though the class D bass amps don't cut it.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 7 Sep 2015 5:46 pm

Greg Cutshaw wrote: .. the Carvin which has far more .. power!

Carvin has more watts but they use smaller watts. So listen and compare.

Alex Cattaneo · Post by **Alex Cattaneo** » 7 Sep 2015 6:24 pm

This particular Quilter, like the Micropro, seems to have several amp voicings and is probably better suited for guitar or lap steel than a bass amp. I tried the GK mb200 and it didn't do anything for me. Haven't tried the Carvin, but it's obviously designed for bass, which can work for pedal steel, but maybe not so much for guitar or lap. Anyhow, it's nice to have options, and at 300$ for an amp made in the US, I don't think this particular model qualifies as overpriced.

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 7 Sep 2015 6:31 pm

Earnest Bovine wrote:
Greg Cutshaw wrote: .. the Carvin which has far more .. power!
Carvin has more watts but they use smaller watts. So listen and compare.

Can't comment on those 2 specifically but several of the new generation of class d bass amps don't put out their advertised wattages.

Bill Moore (RIP) · Post by **Bill Moore (RIP)** » 7 Sep 2015 7:04 pm

I own 3 Carvin bass amps, the BX500, BX250 and the MB250 combo amp. All of them are very versatile, very loud and powerful, if needed, have extensive EQ options, and sound very good with my pedal steel guitars. I also have two MB200 amps, I like them pretty well, but I like the Carvins more. If we are talking about value, my opinion is; the Carvin bass amps offer more of it. The Quilter amps are probably very good, I've never tried any of them, but the mark-up is much higher than the Carvin products. So it seems to me, anyway.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 7 Sep 2015 7:19 pm

Given the range of EQ provided in the Carvin series they can hardly be classified as being just bass amps even though they are advertised as such. I would put the versatility, gain, tone and power of the $399 Carvin BX500 up against the $1500 range Quilter Steelaire in fact! Great value in the Carvin line! The Carvin amps meet their published RMS power output in watts based on the reviews I've seen. I think it would be great to see a side by side shoot out of the Carvin and Quilter amps with identical speaker setups!

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 8 Sep 2015 6:44 am

I have the Carvin BX 500. I am running it with a Telonics speaker cabinet. The sound is just great.but at the moment, it is my only amp. I am nervous not having a back up, but that is going to change as soon as I have the money.

I have a Rack Rider rack mount power supply. I am eventually going to get one of the Carvin ones because it has an LED that shows the voltage that you are getting. Also, it has 10 outlets and you can have everything plugged in, then just flip the Carvin power supply to on. It systematically turns each outlet on one at a time with a 3 second delay between each one and produces no popping sound. Also has voltage spike protection. Not too expensive at $169.00

I have a friend holding a 6 space SKB rack case for me and I have a Telonics speaker cabinet.

So here will be my "dream" rig before long:

SKB rack case with the Carvin power supply, the Carvin BX 500, a Steelaire Rack mount, and room left for my Black Box and Wet Reverb, held by velcro, and the Telonics cabinet which I have. The case will be light weight, the cabinet is light weight, so the only heavy thing I will have will be the steel. I can pre-wire most of my gear, so setup will be much faster. Plus, having the rack case right next to me is priceless.

I will do a comparison between the BX500 and the Steelaire rack when I can afford the Steelaire.

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 8 Sep 2015 9:24 am

Long time bass player here.

Carvin makes a good value product. Quilter makes a good quality product. Go look for pro sound outfits running Carvin. Not many. Now go look for ones running QSC (Quilters former company).

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 8 Sep 2015 9:47 am

Quilter sells through dealers, who add their markup. Carvin sells only direct to the artist. If Carvin were selling through dealers, the price would probably almost double.

When I was into PA, I had QSC power amps and found them to be very good and reliable. This is another reason I feel comfortable getting a Steelaire.

I am amazed at all the features that are on my Carvin BX 500 for the price.

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 8 Sep 2015 10:11 am

or you could find an ltd400 for around $300 and actually have a 'good' steel sound and all the power you need. if you can't lift it get a hand truck.

Dustin Rhodes · Post by **Dustin Rhodes** » 8 Sep 2015 10:43 am

chris ivey wrote:or you could find an ltd400 for around $300 and actually have a 'good' steel sound and all the power you need. if you can't lift it get a hand truck.

Or I could have the quilter mini amp on my pedal board and have something that would work for 6 string or steel and have the head separate from the cab which sometimes is in a completely separate room.

Dennis Anderson · Post by **Dennis Anderson** » 14 Sep 2015 6:36 am

This is a review I posted on the Jazz guitar forum. I am not a pedal steel player...
Don't think it would have enough power for that.

Okay... first of all, I am not affiliated with Quilter in any way. Second of all, I am not a professional, but consider myself to be a fairly competent... let's say a decent guitarist who loves to practice 1-2 hours a day. I've been on the hunt for guitars, amps, pedals, etc in a serious way for the last ten years.

I've been playing a Quilter Aviator head for one and a half years and have liked it so much that I've sold my Evans, my Ceriatone Dumble clone, and an Alessandro Rottweiler combo.

I've had the Quilter 101 mini for three days now. I mainly use RE cabinets. Been playing a Heritage Eagle and Gibson 335 with the 101 mini driving both a Twin 8 and a Stealth 10. Sounds full and rich with plenty of brilliance. Really nice. The AI Clarus produces a solid woody jazz tone, but to my ears, compared to the Quilter, it sounds somewhat flat and uninspiring. The Quilters give more sparkle and dimensionality. The Jazz setting on the 101 mini sounds fine to my ears and the hi-cut feature works well. I don't mind the Tri-Q eq setup at all. Works for me. Plenty of power for my purposes.

I've also played a Tele and a Strat through an RE NY 8 which I really like for single coils. In my humble opinion it seems they've improved the overdrive capabilities and tone from the first generation Aviator. The full-q and tweed voices seem to work best with the overdrive.

The Quilter/Raezer's Edge combination is working really well for me. The 101 mini might have a little less bottom end... but overall compares well with the more powerful Aviator head.

These are my initial impressions... YMMV.

Bob Grado · Post by **Bob Grado** » 2 Oct 2015 7:03 am

I've decided to make this purchase. Is there a dealer who currently has the 101 mini amp in stock?

Dennis Anderson · Post by **Dennis Anderson** » 2 Oct 2015 12:18 pm

I'd check out quilterlabs.com for dealers in your area. Not affiliated... just a happy owner.

The Steel Guitar Forum

New Quilter Mini amp!!!

New Quilter Mini amp!!!

New Quilter Mini Amp

New Quilter Mini Amp