Amps NAD: Quilter Aviator Cub Amp

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
Well, new to me, anyway. Got a killer trade deal on this (used) little gem from my local music shop, in exchange for an acoustic-only amp I wasn't using. I plan for it to be my go-to "schlep to open mics and local jams" amp. Easier to drag around than my Quilter Mach 2 head plus cab, and not as worrisome to me as my irreplaceable Nace Pro-18. It should be perfect for the limited-size venues I tend to play.

Not over-burdened with fiddly knobs and controls, either.

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BraylonJennings

It's all blues
Very good! I like all three voicing but usually stay on the blackface. You can also split your guitar signal and run into multiple amp inputs letting you blend the BF with the tweed or blonde. Back off the gain and it's OK with acoustics. I'll be interested in your impressions after you have some time with it.
Congrats
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
Very good! I like all three voicing but usually stay on the blackface. You can also split your guitar signal and run into multiple amp inputs letting you blend the BF with the tweed or blonde. Back off the gain and it's OK with acoustics. I'll be interested in your impressions after you have some time with it.
Congrats
It's been kind of a busy weekend with family (and new cat) stuff, but I managed to squeeze in some quality time after lunch today with this beastie. I love it! I did all my experiments with the PRS Hollowbody II Piezo.

I also prefer the blackface voicing, but all three work well. The tweed is nice at maximizing the effect of upping the gain a little. I ordered a Y cable so I fully intend to experiment with combining the voicings as you suggest. I really loved how clear and articulate the tone was in both blonde and blackface even when the gain was maxed out.

My two favorite things thus far are to start with either the gain or the speaker volume completely dimed, and the other one fully off, then bring that other one up gradually until the volume level reached what I want. Those are now my full-dirt and full-clean settings and both sound so damned nice. The limiter control is starting to make more sense to me now, as on full-dirt I was able to mess around with that and it makes a marked difference in how the breakup sounds.

I didn't bother to touch the EQ. It sounded so good with all three dials at noon.

I played with both the magnetic pickups and the piezo, and even with a ton of gain the piezo sounded really cool. On full-clean with the blackface voicing the acoustic/electric tones out of the PRS were crisp and sparkling.

I haven't tried it with pedals yet but that's coming soon.

I don't think I could be happier with this amp! :Beer:
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
Oh, I also tried the trick mentioned in the user manual of piping an external signal into the effects loop return jack. I played some videos on my laptop and ran that through the amp and it worked really well.
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
No disrespect to my Mach 2, by any means, but that amp has so many voicing combinations and I understand less than 10% of them because I know almost nothing about different amps and why they matter. In practice I just leave the voicing on "surf" and if I use the boost at all it's on "loud" and all the rest of the array of options and controls and what-nots are lost on me. I really appreciate the fresh simplicity of the Cub, where I only really have one major choice to make and they all sound great right out the gate.
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
So, picked up a Y splitter yesterday and started messing around with blending the inputs. I think I like the Tweed plus Blackface the best. Without knowing a ton about how the signal processing works, I’m thinking the Tweed is a mid hump and the Blackface is a mid scoop? That would complement each other nicely, methinks.

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PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
So, picked up a Y splitter yesterday and started messing around with blending the inputs. I think I like the Tweed plus Blackface the best. Without knowing a ton about how the signal processing works, I’m thinking the Tweed is a mid hump and the Blackface is a mid scoop? That would complement each other nicely, methinks.

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Just plug 'em both in and let 'em fight it out! I like your strategy.
 

Dr. Ron

Nuthin’ But The Blues!
Congrats Mark! I know what you mean about the Mach 2. I seem to be forever chasing the next sound, Soooooo many combinations.
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
Congrats Mark! I know what you mean about the Mach 2. I seem to be forever chasing the next sound, Soooooo many combinations.
I get major decision paralysis when I’m faced with amps, pedals, and guitars with what feels like too many options. I’m a geek at heart in many ways but for this I mainly want a few straight ahead options.
 
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TexBill

Blues in Texas
Congrats Mark. Sounds like you made a great deal on the Cub. Hope it all works out to your satisfaction...
Also, good to know the Mach 2 has an abundance of options. I would be in the same boat had I been able to get the one from the estate of a late member. That was mainly an offer to help out his sister. She decided to give it away instead.
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
Congrats Mark. Sounds like you made a great deal on the Cub. Hope it all works out to your satisfaction...
Also, good to know the Mach 2 has an abundance of options. I would be in the same boat had I been able to get the one from the estate of a late member. That was mainly an offer to help out his sister. She decided to give it away instead.
Understandable. Rancid was a large part of why I gave Quilter amps a look.
 

MikeR

Guitar Challenged
Staff member
Those Cubs are pretty nice. I sold my MicroPro Mach 2 and replaced it with a Tone Block 202, but mainly because I wanted its FRFR input option to use with a modeller, while still giving me normal guitar amp flexibility. Got my first Quilter amp in 2015 (the 101 Mini Amp Head) and have loved them ever since. Great combination of clean sound, light weight and power!
 
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