Quilter DirectAmp

[Tommy Detamore]

This is a cool new pedal being released today by Quilter Labs!

Link to product info

It is a portable amp simulator, along the lines of the popular SuperBlock, but with more features. Of particular interest is the capability of inserting a stereo audio signal, either via a 1/8” cable or Bluetooth, for silent practicing.

I received an advance unit to evaluate last week and the Bluetooth feature is great and so easy to use. No more excuses for me not to learn that pesky intro lick!

I’m still exploring all of the amp, speaker, and gain selections but so far I would say it is a very impressive device. I have long been a Superblock US fan for direct steel guitar recording, but this bad boy might kick it to the curb!

[Samuel Phillippe]

Is it available and if so at what suggested retail price?

Sam

[Mark Eaton]

Is it available and if so at what suggested retail price?

Sam

It’s $399 and available. Click on Tommy’s link in his post above - it’s all there.

[Samuel Phillippe]

Thanx Mark, guess I didn't read everything....dumb me.
Sam

[Jon Jaffe]

I downloaded the manual from the Quilter website. It looks pretty good, but when I printed it out, it was in barely 6-point type. I upscaled the PDF to a printable version that's downloadable from this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0pqs1asg ... fixbn&dl=0

I trust that in the real manual, the typeface is not so small.

[Mike DiAlesandro]

I received an email from Quilter yesterday morning launching the sales of this new pedal, and decided to give it a try. I have been quite impressed with the original 101 amp, and later a Steelaire.

And...I have been wanting to try the ampless idea, as I see it more and more with some of the bands I play with. This seems to be a reasonably priced unit, that I am hoping will provide a nice preamp/sim to run into the board.

Since it has reverb built in, I want to try it without any effect pedals and see if it's a good standalone unit as well.

A lot lighter than lugging an amp, that I basically have been using as just a monitor for myself, as everything goes into the sound system.

Should arrive Friday.

[Harry Johansen]

Can this unit be used with Tone Block 202?

[Jon Jaffe]

Yes, you can plug from the ballanced line to the input of the Tone Block, or the return loop of the Tone Block with a dummy plug in the send.

[Harry Johansen]

Thanks for replying. Had a discussion with a friend about this.

[Mike DiAlesandro]

I have used this Direct Amp at rehearsal and can say you can get a variety of nice sounds for steel guitar, having the reverb built-in is a nice feature.

My initial thought was this is real nice for it's intentions as a preamp/direct box into a board.

My only wish is that there was a 1/4 unbalanced out to run into an amp, but Jon Jaffe posted above of a simple workaround.

The singer guitarist I was rehearsing with today, liked it so much I think he is going to purchase one himself.

Here's a photo of sample settings that I thought sounded nice, going straight into a board.

[Jon Jaffe]

I have used the Quilter Direct Amp on two live gigs. One was a stage mix, and the other was reinforced. It did not disappoint me. My settings were similar to Mike's, although I did not use the amp or speaker simulation modes. Maybe I will in the future. On the stage mix, I only had the onboard reverb. For the reinforced mix, I used a delay in the effect loop after the volume pedal. I plugged my guitar into the input and used the effect loop for my volume pedal and delay. Pat Quilter told me in an email that I should plug my volume pedal directly into the amp input. This would involve fewer cords, and I'll try it in the future.

One quirky thing I found was that in mono mode, the effects loop for my volume pedal only worked on the left return of the loop.

On the positive side, both balanced line outputs proved invaluable. I sent one to my powered speaker and one to the board, which was converted to a quarter-inch plug. They sounded the same to my ear. Also, the boost channel is very controllable and has a pleasing effect.

[Susan Alcorn (deceased)]

I'm really curious about the Quilter Direct Amp. For live gigs, I often use a Tone Block 202 (easier to deal with than my tube amp) and have used it for recording.

The price is sort of affordable and similar to other brands on the market, but it's not cheap. For me to purchase something, it has to make a noticeable improvement in the sound.

For that reason, I have some questions. For recording, how does the Direct Amp compare (sonically) to other similar preamps like Iridium, Magellan, or the Sesh 400? Also for direct recording, would it sound better than the Tone Block (which, for that purpose, I like but don't love)? Like most of us perhaps, I am not looking for the AC30 or Marshall sound

As a preamp for live gigs, why would one choose the Direct Amp, as opposed to the others listed above, as a preamp for the Tone Block? How is it different?

I realize that the answers are pretty subjective, but before shelling out that kind of money (a lot for me these days), I'd like to know what other steel players' experiences have been.

Thanks.

[Jon Jaffe]

I use the Direct Amp and the Superblock US for live events. I use the super block for stage mix and the Direct Amp for gigs that have reinforced sound. I have them both going into a Fender Tonemaster 12 powered speaker. Although this powered speaker has a balanced line out, I use one of the line out in the Direct Amp to the mixer and one to my speaker. It has two lines out for stereo, one right and one left, but bifurcating to a mixer and an on stage speaker works fine. And I have more control of the EQ on the monitors. I have yet to use the Direct Amp to record, but the combination of Superblock US, or Direct Amp and the Fender Tonemaster 12 powered speaker is the quietest combination I have ever heard.

The reverb on the Direct Amp is very lush compared to the Superblock US, and the choice of amp and speaker combinations is about, double but it's not overly complicated to configure.

The Superblock US has a built-in power amplifier that's surprisingly robust, but I only use it for practice. I have used the boost function of the.Direct Amp a couple of times and it was nice but geared to the six string guitar.

All of the big box music stores, such as Sweetwater have generous return policies so try it and return it if you don't like it.

[Susan Alcorn (deceased)]

Thanks for the for the helpful information, Jon, especially if I were to use it playing live - goin into the TB 202, how would the sound change? But if I were to buy one, it would mostly be to use for recording direct. So I'm curious about how the Direct Amp would sound different from the Tone Block 202 since they're both Quilters.

[Jon Jaffe]

I initially bought the SuperBlockUS to use in the Return of the 202 installed in the TT12 speaker because the controls on the TT were hard to reach in the tilt-back configuration. Then I discovered the Fender-powered speaker. Regarding the Directamp versus the Quilter 202, I think the following things are different. The reverb is much more lush. It has more subtle character changes via the internal speaker and amp configurations. It has stereo output as well as a stereo effects loop. I also think that the 202 has more headroom.

[Susan Alcorn (deceased)]

Thanks, Jon.

[Mike DiAlesandro]

RIP Susan, may your steel guitar adventures influence more steel players to take the path less traveled when in question.

I have gotten to know the Quilter Direct Amp much better since I purchased it and I have to say it can really sound quite excellent.

The key (for me) was to max out the master volume (Like most amps), and adjust from there. It made all the difference.

As with any ampless settings, you are at the mercy of the sound man in the real world. I brought this to play a benefit for the LA Fires in Cleveland a few weeks ago, and long story short, the sound guy was tired by the time we got up to play our 3 songs, and was in a big hurry and didn't give me much of any volume thru the monitors.

The guys I were playing with had Fishman amps on stage going into the board, so let's leave it at I basically played by sight with no monitor, and everything piped into the mains. NOT FUN...


Anyway, here is a short practice clip of the Quilter with it's reverb, no other effects. I'm using a Show Pro w/ Nick Fryer's "bucker pickup" wound at 17.5K

https://steelguitarsohio.com/Qui-directamp.mp3