Quilter Steelaire Pro Amp Review - Lots of Sounds and Pics!

[Greg Cutshaw]

See the link below for my review of the Quilter Steelaire Pro amp. I put a lot of hours into this review and as usual YMMV. As noted in the review I was finally able to get a great sound on pedal steel only after using the CH1+2 mode. I will be keeping this amp and selling a few others!

(Updated to show tilt back legs)


Click Here To See The Quilter Steelaire Review!

[Larry Dering]

Greg, Another fine review and I agree, it sounds wonderful. I may never afford one, but I am impressed. Especially like the sound with the other instruments as well. It's a keeper. Good job Greg, and thank you.

[Greg Cutshaw]

Larry, I can't afford it either! Selling a Vibro-Champ and a Princeton Reverb and a few other guitars to pay for this one. I am sure that both versions of the Steelaire have about the same sound. The light weight is a big plus!

[Doug Beaumier]

Greg, Congrats! welcome to the Quilter Club. You did a great job with the audio clips and pictures. Your Pro model sounds a lot like my Combo... clean, clear, warm, exceptionally nice mids and highs, great reverb. What more could steel guitarist want? The sound I'm hearing on your audio clips is a lot like the sound I'm hearing from my amp.

As you said, the light weight is a big plus. IMO that Must be considered in evaluating an amp overall (especially as we get older!). This coming Thursday night I have my first steel gig with the Quilter. I'm looking forward to hearing how it performs in a band situation.

[Bret Raper]

I just purchased the Quilter Steelaire Combo to play the fiddle through. It sounds great throughout the entire tonal spectrum. Clean with lots of headroom, and I love the fact that it only weighs 35 lbs. It came with a really nice cover, too!

[Greg Cutshaw]

Thanks much Doug!

Bret, my fiddle is a 5 string NS altho I do have a 4 string Ming Kiang Zhu acoustic fiddle that responds much better and sounds a lot more authentic than the NS. I finally got a permabucco bow that I think makes me fight the instrument less than the carbon fiber bow I've had for the past 10 years. What amp were you using before the Quilter? I've been using a Princeton Reverb up till now.

[Bret Raper]

I had been playing through a Genz Benz Shennandoah which sounded great, but weighed a ton. I sometimes use an Ultrasound 100 watt amp, which has a terrific natural/acoustic sound, but it lacks headroom when I play with steels and electric guitars. I really prefer an amp designed for acoustic instruments which I can run through the PA, but if I don't have a good monitor (or a sound man that's willing to turn me up in the monitor) then it makes for a long night. So far, I've really been impressed by the Quilter.

[Greg Cutshaw]

I've been wondering if using the Micropro with a 12" extension cabinet would make sense for multi-instruments. Same 200 watt power with 200 watt reserve, two speakers to spread the sound out, more gain, more tonal settings with all the presets, and a cost about equal to the combo. The Quilter extension cab ("Closed-back cabinet design for more bass extension") has a sealed back and they are stackable. There's along list of amps that are not "steel" amps that do a great job with pedal steel plus many of us play other instruments as well. The overdrive options on this amp are outstanding.

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i- ... PRO12-LIST


http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i- ... ROCAB-LIST

[Karen Sarkisian]

Greg, what delay pedal are you using with the amp ??

[Greg Cutshaw]

Karen,

No delay on any of the recordings, just reverb. You can hear a few reflections in the reverb though. The TC Electronic Flashback is what I use on some slow songs but it's not used here.

[Jack Stoner]

George Hawkins, our lead guitar player at our steel guitar club jams uses that Quilter two speaker combo. Great sound for lead guitar, never got to try it with steel.

[Jim Palenscar]

The MP200 series is a truly amazing guitar amp.

[Greg Cutshaw]

Looks like the MP 12" extension cabinet is closed back and tuned for more bass extension than the 12" MP combo amp cab. Especially if place on the floor, that could be a winner for low frequency 12 string E9/Uni or C6 notes. I notice that most steel players set their amps up on chairs or stands. More bass is available with the amp on the floor but then you can't hear the near field direct sound as well.

I've got a pair of tilt back legs coming for the Steelarie Pro. Interestingly they are made of ALUMINUM and very light, not adding much weight to the amp.

http://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/pr ... ck-leg-kit

[Greg Cutshaw]

I have added a few blurbs from Pat Quilter to my review (with his permission) which give some insight into the tube like sound this amp:

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Quilter%20St ... 20Pro.html

[George Macdonald]

I really like the tilt back leg accessory. Now if they would just add an aux. input for tracks, I would strongly consider it. I know you could use the second input, but that would put reverb on both the steel and the tracks. I'm probably in the minority, but I use professional quality tracks To play solos at Church









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[Richard Tipple]

[Dennis Lee]

No disrespect, but I still like the FSK the best in your sound-bite comparisons.

[Greg Cutshaw]

The Steel King has been great in the studio! It tends to be a lot more harsh on the high notes, at higher volumes on a gig, and any amount of bass cranked in tends to bottom out the power amp and distort all the notes at higher volume levels. Heavy too, but the casters help. The Steel King is a bargain on the used market for $350 - $550 price range. Now if someone would just come and get mine! I'm gonna get the tilt back legs installed this Saturday and try the Quilter that way for comparison.

[Jimmie Misenheimer]

I played a show with Bret Raper last night. While he ALWAYS sounds good, he sounded "out of this world" last night. That new amp is a killer!! Jimmie

[Len Amaral]

Thank you Greg for a detailed thoughtful review of this amp and all your reviews are on target.

I have more amps than I need but not as many as I want.

Regards,

Lenny

[Dennis Lee]

Is the only difference in the two the removable amp? For $500 less, I am interested in the Combo, but please elaborate on the differences, as $500 is quite a difference. Am I still getting the same components and capabilities with the Combo?
Thanks,
Dennis

[Greg Cutshaw]

The difference in price is $400. The Pro model is a bit taller and deeper. I did read a review on the Quilter site where someone had tried both models and decided to go with the Pro thinking it had a bit more bass response. I have a hard time believing there's much difference in sound between the pro and combo. Amp placement will give you tons of bass with either.

All of the premium units are over $1500. The Walker Stereo Steel is $1800, the Web 6-14-E reissue was going for $1800-$2100, the Quilter Steelaire for $1400-$1800, a Revelation pre-amp based rack system with effects, rack and two loaded speaker cabs is in that price range, the Milkman Half and Half is also in that price range as is the Telonics. All fine amp systems. My reviews are just another point of information and they certainly aren't performed in a live gig situation. Others have commented on these units in a live situation so read my reviews and all the others, try what you can, then decide. If you want low weight that does rule out some of the premium systems. I believe the sound is king with weight becoming a bigger consideration every year with most of us.

I certainly am not wanting to become a "fanboy" of any one system. I just reviewed what I decided to buy, and was happy with, and also compared it to what I have owned in the past.

I assume that most of you don't live close to me but if you are able to stop by, you are welcome to try out the Quilter at my house. If you're going to spend over a few hundred on an amp, make sure it's either returnable if you don't end up liking it or that you have tried it out personally.

[Doug Beaumier]

Tomorrow night I have my first gig with the Quilter combo. I'm not taking any effects, no black box, no delay, no outboard reverb, no Hilton pedal. Just my Emmons steel directly into the amp. Sho-Bud volume pedal patched into the VP send/return of the amp. Wish me luck!

[Dennis Lee]

Let me know the outcome, Doug, as I'm teetering on the brink here, getting more and more interested in the Combo version. Hoping you come back with a glowing review.

[Marco Schouten]

The combo is very easy to carry, not only because it is light-weight, but also because the cabinet is not very deep, so your arm can hang straight down. I can imagine that the Pro is a bit more difficult to carry because of the deeper cabinet, I haven't tried the Pro, but I'm comparing with my Evans, which also has a deeper cabinet. Hope I make sense....