The Doom Room: ILF Edition

[ShaunNecro]

The new Quilter 101 gets rave reviews on the surf rock guitar forum I frequent and those are even more rabid about vintage tube amps. All my gear has been refined down to very clean, neutral eq pedal platforms, so I've been interested in picking up at least one of their models for a while.

Surfguitar101?

[emptyparadigm]

Howdy fellers. Thought I'd chime in because I recently found a good deal on a used Quilter Toneblock 201 and would report on it here for those who might be interested.

It was purchased expressly as a loud/cleanish pedal platform with the hopes it could replace an Orange AD140 I've been using. I don't mind schlepping around big heavy gear (to a degree), but bonus points if I don't have to. I'm pleased to report that it really, really excels in that regard. I'm 42yo and have been doing this big-loud-dumb rock thing for a long time now, so I've had a bunch of amps for this very purpose over the years — Sound City, vintage Plexis, other Oranges, 800s, Sunns, Sovteks, etc. Not at all trying to brag, just providing some context and my sonic expectations.

I run the Quilter as part of a bi-amped rig in which I also run an early-90s Dual Rectifier (w/ no dirt pedal and set only fairly crunchy). I was concerned that it may not be able to keep up with the mountain of gear that the rest of the band uses, but now I worry that they may not be able to keep with ME, heheh. And the loudest I've dared to run it is 70watts on the master. It's really a freak of technology.

My 2¢ … if you're in the market for something like this, absolutely go for it. Now that I've had my hands on it, I would even say that they're probably even worth what they're asking new. It's kind of exciting that technology has come this far, to make a truly good sounding SS amplifier (a very subjective statement, of course). If you'd have asked me before, I would've told you that solid state amplifiers are really mostly a compromise of convenience and da tube tonez are where it's at. I suppose this is probably still the case if one is not slamming their amps with fuzz or other dirt. But if one is, the future is here!


PS: They are kind of ugly — big, horsey logos and bad construction graphics and such. But nothing some black gaffing tape doesn't help fix.

Dude. Let me come over and jam on it. I've been thinking about picking one of these up, but was wary about buying it without anyone having really doomed on it.

[Kacey Y]

Surfguitar101?

Yup. I've just been lurking lately though. Been busy selling our house and my gear has been packed up for a while, so I haven't had my mind on music much.

[maggot]

I've been considering a quilter 101 or 201 as well. I'm playing an Acoustic 150 right now, but it's on permanent loan - I don't really own it. I either plug a bunch of fuzz into it or slave it to a Laney Pro Tube 30 combo. I don't play loud by doom standards (more like regular-rock loud) so I bet the 101 would do the trick.

[Krosis]

I'm really considering a Quilter too especially given the reception they've received. I just can't justify another amp right now but I'll be looking at them for the future.

[samzadgan]

i think once i sell my thunderverb, as part of the belt tightening, i might buy one of these quilter 201's. Right now there's a Sunn Beta lead for the same price, so if i sell quick then it would be the sunn, but otherwise, the Quilter is the next best thing.

[louderthangod]

Surfguitar101?

Yup. I've just been lurking lately though. Been busy selling our house and my gear has been packed up for a while, so I haven't had my mind on music much.

I used to go there a lot. I love surf music, especially when it has a psych twist but I've pretty much given up on ever doing a surf project.

[ShaunNecro]

Surfguitar101?

Yup. I've just been lurking lately though. Been busy selling our house and my gear has been packed up for a while, so I haven't had my mind on music much.

I used to go there a lot. I love surf music, especially when it has a psych twist but I've pretty much given up on ever doing a surf project.

I used to post there a ton back when I played bass in my surf trio. Once that dissolved I stopped posting on there so much. Still go back there every once in a while to check it out.

[Jäke]

Yeah, just let me know and we can link up for a hands-on demonstration sometime, Ben.

Anyone thinking about the Quilter 101 as opposed to the 201, I have to imagine it'd be enough to hang with a loud band. I mean, a lot will depend on you speaker cab's efficiencies and your tunings (I'm at drop-A) and your bandmate's volumes, etc., but point being...they're pretty damn loud little suckers.

[t-rey]

Alright dudes. We've gotten our rental home straightened out, but there is a serious lack of room for my gear. The garage will be used for storage, so even there isn't really an option. This got me thinking about downsizing to one amp and one cab - cant even keep everything stacked since shit will have to be in a closet and set up each time I play. So that got me thinking about going full dad-mode and selling both amps and both cabs to fund a pedal friendly combo amp.

What the fuck? That's crazy right? Or is it? I probably cut my amps on once a month, and the idea of having a combo that I can probably leave out is more appealing than dragging everything out each time I play.

What do, doombros? Keep one amp/cab and deal with the storage issue or go for a combo and reassess gear once we have a permanent spot?

Any combo suggestions? Peavey Classic 30, Laney Lionheart, Mesa Studio 22, hell even something like a Fender Execelsior might be cool. Do Vox's get along with non-rat dirt? I've always liked their clean tone...

[odontophobia]

Mesa F-30 has headphone output, might be nice to have. I love my F-100, it's awesome. Use it with headphones frequently.

[t-rey]

Hmmm...haven't considered headphone outs and whatnot before. What kind of drive does the F series have - more recto or mark?

You've got a little one now, right?

[samzadgan]

Mesa F amps are awesome...great pedal platforms and cleans are some of the best...up there with high end and vintage fenders. From memory I didn't think much of the drive channel, I guess for rock it's ok...but it takes pedals really well, and I know you have that side covered...so you should be sweet

[t-rey]

I'll definitely be checking out the Mesas Fs once I get settled into the new place. Also buying myself a new tv for the trouble...exciting times.

Also, here's my (current) neighbor's band. Obvious Weedeater influences, but doesn't prevent it from being very rad:

[samzadgan]

So I have a question for my American doom bro's...has anyone played an acoustic 126 1x15 combo with guitar? What's it like...on par with the other Acoustic amps? A friend of a friend has one for $60...so absolute bargain...and for that price, if it's nice, I'd get a nice head sleeve made for it and turn it into a head.