Quilter Aviator Mach 3 Combo - The BEST Solid State Amp I've Played!

[@GabeHelma]

I love my Quilter 101 so much. Takes pedals so good! I have 2 valve pedals i run into it and it sounds amazing! Rivals many tube amps. Been going strong for 6 years.

[@Guitar_jd-w8x]

Yep...running my FM9 into a Quilter really helped in the "feel" dept.

[@JHPRS]

I own this amp too and I agree that it's the best solid state amp that I've ever heard also. If you get 2 of the Quilter footswitches that are made for this amp and chain them together, you can footswitch everything that can be switched :)

[@noahchristytv]

Bit the buillet - ordered mine! Seems like a lot of folks switch to quilter from tube amps, but I'm moving from digital modeling (Helix + FRFR) to analog solid state! I'm excited to have gear that doesn't need too much menus/computer stuff. I'm gonna run my HX stomp in the fx loop for wet effects!

[@SapperRJMorgan]

That thing is badass.

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

Definitely

[@JoeyJoJoJr51]

I’ve barely touched my valve amps (around 20 of them) since I got my Aviator Mach 3 a couple of years ago. The light weight, massive power, ability to sound great at any volume, and solid state reliability tick all the right boxes for me. 10 years ago I wouldn’t have even considered solid state.

[@martinlahaie6012]

You have 20 valve amps?

[@kamarienedwards1757]

Oooh what valve amps do you have a how does the sound compare?

[@JoeyJoJoJr51]

@@martinlahaie6012 Just counted them. There’s actually only 17 valve amps (only…). The current stable: 1965 Fender Bassman, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Supersonic 22, Vox AC30 Handwired, Vox AC15, Orange Rocker 30, Orange Rocker 15, Orange AD30HTC, Mesa Transatlantic 15, Peavey Classic 30, Joyo Beale Street, Marshall JTM45, Marshall Class 5, Marshall Studio Classic, Marshall Studio Vintage, Marshall Mini Jubilee, Marshall Studio JTM. Then there’s a few other Solid State/Hybrid pedal steel/bass/acoustic/other amps too - Quilter Steelaire, Orange OB1-500, Marshall AS50D, Fender Acoustasonic Junior DSP, Fender Acoustasonic Ultralight, Orange Micro Terror, Orange Terror Stamp. And the Aviator Mach 3, of course. Needless to say, too many for any sane person. If my house burnt down, I could be just as happy with just the Aviator Mach 3. Only reason I don’t sell all the others is I cringe when I think how much I’d lose on them.

[@JoeyJoJoJr51]

@@kamarienedwards1757 Just listed them in a reply to another comment on this video if you are interested in the current stable. As far as sound goes, I think for clean tones, the Aviator is excellent. Mild overdrive is also nice. Going past mild overdrive, I have to admit I do prefer real valve amps. Not quite sure how to describe it, but they just feel bigger, or maybe warmer is a better term? These days almost all of what I play is on the cleaner end of the spectrum though, so that isn’t an issue for me. I set it for my clean base tone and use pedals if I want to add overdrive or distortion. I really like having 200w of clean power on tap, but I’ve never even got close to needing it. As far as speakers, I either run it into a Celestion Copperback (250w) or an Eminence Delta Pro 12A (400w). I think the Copperback is what comes in the combo as standard (I have the head version). I think the onboard reverb is pretty decent, and I’m happy to use that instead of having a seperate reverb on my board. If you’re into really ambient stuff you’d definitely want reverb pedals. Most of all I LOVE how light it is. Now that I’m middle aged, the novelty of hauling a 40lb valve head anywhere has well and truly worn off. This thing is light as a feather. Probably the only thing I would say I don’t really like about it is the Plexi mode. I think it is pretty ordinary and doesn’t really sound anything like a Plexi to me, but as I mentioned earlier, I use pedals for my dirt tones, so that isn’t a problem for me. All the other modes sound great. If you mostly play on a dirty channel, it might not be the best option, but if you have a clean base tone and use pedals for your flavours, it’s definitely worth at least trying one

[@martinlahaie6012]

@JoeyJoJoJr51 i dont believe in hoarding ,something not right with that. I think you may have some kind of mental disorder...talk to your physician about it.

[@bryanherward4679]

Haven't looked at another amp in probably 8 years since I got my Quilter Micro Pro Mach 2...

[@MK-oz2lf]

15:56 how do you think this Plexi mode compares to actual tube Plexi voiced amps? Is it close? Can that mode do metal with a tube screamer in the front? Thanks

[@RRW276]

It sounds very good, and the quality and consistency of Quilter amps can’t be questioned. I’m curious tho, what good is a 200 watt amp? I figured that would be if you were playing SoFi Stadium or something.

[@milanmilicevic4618]

You can remove amp and plug in 2x 4x12 for example 🙂

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

What good? I dunno. Lots of pedal steel and slide players like Quilter so I assume the REALLY high headroom is a big plus for them. I rarely put that Speaker Output above 50% myself

[@JoeyJoJoJr51]

As the saying goes, better to have the power and not need it than need it and not have it.

[@sharkair2839]

its solid state, it requires more power than a tube amp.

[@philf4086]

It's a little confusing how the 2 channels work - do you have to plug into one or the other separately? Does the footswitch do something to help this? Good video, thanks!

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

It’s two separate inputs so you can plug two things in at once. The manual recommends plugging into input 1 and switching between them. There’s a switch between the inputs to change channels

[@RulgertGhostalker]

the Hughes & Kettner Stopman is a good bare bones solid state tube emulation....but that Aviator Mach 3 looks pretty feature packed, more flexible, more gain, more power, and in a consolidated amp package......the H&K has the sag control, which would be something like the different amp circuits, but since I can't afford either right now, i would tend to the low hanging fruit.

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

I do agree the H&K has some good features but my Black Spirit has broken down TWICE in the last year. It’s been nice of H&K to repair it but for an amp that exclusively got used in the studio? That shouldn’t happen

[@RulgertGhostalker]

@@SeanPierceJohnson oh for sure that shouldn't happen to a pampered amp .. i like the stomp, but i don't own one yet.

[@RulgertGhostalker]

@@SeanPierceJohnson the quilter stuff must be tough as nails, it's all good words about those I ever hear ... that's worth the extra, for sure.

[@lperry65]

Thanks for the video, do you still use the Black Spirit 200?

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

Glad you like it. To your question: absolutely not. That thing has broken down on me twice in the last year and a half. And it stays in the studio, I don’t take it out. Just POOF gone…

[@maclarke74]

How does this amp do at bedroom level volumes?

[@shanemcconnell1736]

My friend is a good guitar player, he brought over his quilter? It sounded like an amp with two packing blankets thrown over it?

[@lorelei2002]

Even better than the jazz chorus? I'll watch intently

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

The Jazz Chorus is indeed a great amp. But comparatively it’s a one-trick pony.

[@TeleCaster66]

I had a Quilter briefly. I found it had no punch when playing in a band situation.

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

That’s too bad. Appreciate you sharing

[@bryanherward4679]

which one?

[@VanjaSpirin]

There is some logical question. There are a lot of solid state pedals which mimic tube amps perfectly. Why can't somebody make solid state amp like that? This drive sound is sooo typically harsh, uncompressed and "transistory" unpleasant. The only exception in this ballpark is Boss Katana.

[@RRW276]

That is a *very* good question. Can’t believe I’ve never thought of that or heard anyone else discuss it. Would be a great topic…

[@VanjaSpirin]

@@RRW276 Another thing. If wou connect Tonex or NAM pedal to solid state amp, it will sound like tube amp. Why are no Tonex or NAM amps?

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

Well I’d argue that lots of newer solid state is doing exactly that. But once you incorporate NAM players or ToneX it’s digital modeling, not analog solid state.

[@Severinate]

Orange Crush amps are analog (apart from the reverb) and sound dam good.

[@2122banks]

Blackstar ID 260 4 on stereo amp.

[@rebeccagarner2576]

We have this amp over here… It’s fantastic. You have to learn how to dial in what you want. Read The Manual 👈🏼 There’s important information in there on how to get the sound you want out of this amp. We fight over this amp over here…😂🤣

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

The manual is VERY helpful. Gives you a good idea of what the GAIN, LIMITER, and DIST BOOST controls are doing and how they interact

[@rebeccagarner2576]

@ A necessary learning curve. I even went to Quilter’s website and read the manual twice before I ever bought it. This helped to cut down on frustration and wasted time. I also want to shake the hand and say thank you to whoever is responsible for writing such an understandable and well organized manual. 🙏🏻

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

@@rebeccagarner2576 oh FOR SURE! plain english, no technical mumbo-jumbo

[@internetmoney221]

You live right beside quilter and that may influence your perception

[@SeanPierceJohnson]

It’s a gear company, not a sports team

[@cameronwalshguitar]

I have the Quilter 101 Reverb. Amazing amp. I have beautiful tube amps but I'm also in love with Patrick Quilters work

[@gazpali]

I don't personally think this sounds anything like a tube amp

[@Frank-vi6xz]

Well, to me, I don't think so. You need to play the laney Foundry Amp and also a solid state with fewer knows and better tone. Check it out.

[@drewrichardson8733]

I love my Quilter but I've been very curious about the Laney Foundry series.