Quilter Mach 2 12-Inch HD 200W 1x12 Combo Guitar Amplifier

Been playing Fender Showman tubes for years. This amp is lite weight and has a plethora of tones! Great sound on stage and an XLR out for big stages. Do your homework and you will find out this is an amp used by the smart musicians....

I have owned a number of tube amps in my 60 years on this earth. Fender, Marshall, Mesa, boutique, etc. This amp can stand with any of them in a live setting and is much more versatile. Its hard to make a Marshall sound like a Tweed. This Quilter can do both and more. It is very expensive for a solid state amp but I think it is worth every penny.

I am 67 and had hip surgery two years ago and have been looking for a lighter amp that still had that big Fender tube sound. I tried a few, but nothing that was even slightly lighter could get the tones I wanted. Back in the day, I was used to the sound of my Super Reverbs and most recently a Vobrolux. Still way too heavy for my hip but I just wouldn’t give up that big tube tone.After tons of research, I found out about Quilter. I emailed Pat Quilter back and forth a few times and he gave me some options that would work for me but highly recommended the Quilter Micropro Mach 2 12-inch HD for my specific needs. I listened to all the Youtube videos and read the reviews and believed that this amp just may do the job. Most all of the Youtubes on this amp did demos with lots of overdrive and to me, all amps sound similar with lots of overdrive. I use clean sounds almost all of the time. I got the amp about an hour ago and when I opened the box I had no idea that it would be this small. After I turned it on, I couldn’t believe the sound and body could be this big. It was a home run from the first strum, even with all the knobs just as they were set from the factory.If you like old classic tube amps you will LOVE this thing and you will give up nothing except some back pain. There are lots of knobs and I am still experiencing with them. Bottom line is that if you aren’t hearing the exact sound you desire from this amp, you just haven’t turned the correct knob yet.

This amp has lots of settings and tonal options that I don’t make use of because with the EQ slope off, bass, middle and treble at 12 o’clock, “Full Q” voice and a bit of onboard reverb the amp sounds amazing. I have no idea why this amp acts differently than all other amps I’ve tried (I have both tube and solid state amps), but for fingerstyle jazz guitar, this takes my playing to another level. Legato and fingerstyle single note runs are easier with this amp. My fingers all sound as clear as flatpicks. This amp is so good, it changes my technique. The sound is clear and beautiful and the amp is ridiculously lightweight. The cover is well made too and has a big pocket for cables and sheet music.I wasn’t even in the market for an amp, I’d actually just used one amp to select and purchase an archtop guitar, but when I got home and plugged into my existing rig, I briefly wondered why I don’t sound nearly as good as I did in the guitar shop. I went back the next day and purchased this amp and I couldn’t be happier.

I have never liked solid state amps but I researched this one as well as getting some recommendations from friends in the know. So far I have used this amp for rehearsals, gigging with my duo and my full band. So far it fills the bill for it all and sounds incredible. I recently bought a Mesa Fillmore 50 and wish I hadn't. The Fillmore is great but weighs a ton and I can get the sound I want out of the Quilter. Solid state finally caught up with tubes. I know you "tube only" guys won't believe this but it's true.

Lightweight, but for the price, doesn't compare with AER or Schertler.