“Marshall crunch, Vox chime, and Fender warmth. Supercharge your rig with a whole studio in your pedalboard”: Quilter’s latest pedal amp crams classic tones into a single stompbox – could it be your ’board’s new best friend?
The DirectAmp studio-in-a-pedal is designed to be travel-friendly and goes directly into mixing desks and recording devices, promising huge tonal scope
(Image credit: Quilter Amplification)
Quilter Amplification has introduced the DirectAmp, which it says could become your pedalboard's new best friend.
A stereo amp and cab simulator slow dancing together inside a stompbox housing, its creators reckon it will “supercharge your rig”.
It doesn't have a power amp or a speaker as it's designed to go directly into mixing desks, headphones, and recording devices. Three pre-amps and three speaker simulations are on offer, with Reverb, Gain, Limiter, and Boost controls augmenting a three-band EQ.
Gain dials in “sparkling cleans to face-melting overdrive” tones, while the Limiter helps tighten tones even when the volume is cranked. The spring-type Reverb, meanwhile, allows players to dial in a little depth and ambience when used in Stereo mode.
Of its three amp voices, Quilter has channeled the essence of three classic amplifier makers, promising “Marshall crunch, Vox chime, and Fender warmth” in one box.
The Marshall amp tone is specifically based on a JMP tube amp, with the Vox simulation striving for AC15 flavors. The Fender mode doesn’t specify its source material, but the cab and speaker options help deliver a mix of classic Fender vibes – it can get pretty spanky in Closed Back mode.
The trio of amps can be paired with the user’s choice of Celestion Classic Lead 80, Celestion Vintage 30, and Jensen speaker simulations.
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Moreover, Closed Back, Open Back and FRFR cab modes are all options, giving a breadth of tweakability – “It’s like having a whole studio in your pedalboard,” says Quilter.
A Mono FX Send and Stereo FX Return make it stage-ready by seamlessly integrating into a player’s pedalboard, and an XLR Stereo Output takes that a step further.
(Image credit: Quilter Amplification)
For those wanting to jam alone, a TRS stereo headphone output is also included, as is wireless connectivity, meaning phones and tablets can link via Bluetooth for playing along to music. Quilter says its “all-new, industry-leading” wireless input accepts Apple lossless, and APTX codecs.
At 8.25" x 5" x 1.625" and weighing 2.17 lbs, the DirectAmp is far smaller and lighter than lugging three amps around with you, and its 9V power requirements make it a universal, utilitarian machine.
The Quilter DirectAmp is available today and costs $399; a fairly reasonable price considering the tonal versatility it puts at the player’s fingertips.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
