I posted a review on the Gretsch pages, I'll copy and past it :
Well, I gigged it. (the Quilter head)
Not in ideal circumstances, I might add - it was a "jam", as in four people on stage who get together three times a year, and this particular bar didn't sound great at all, the stage was too small, and we were too loud. And I had a 4X10 cab with it I don't particularly like, with speakers I'm not crazy about either.
But it's a real amp, for sure. I spent both sets on the "gain knob" channel, dialed in for a little bit of breakup, and it does that very nicely. Clean when you back off your pick attack a little, breaks up when you dig in, very much like a tube amp. And it's not hard to find that sweet spot either. I tweaked knobs a little bit until about the fourth tune, left it alone after that.
Played my twin Lollar 50's P90 tele 90% of the time, a strat on a couple of tunes. Funny thing, I had every knob on that right side channel at noon - the gain, the tone controls (active, so noon is effectively "flat"), the master volume, and the treble-cut knob too. The guitar sounded as good as ever, and didn't turn into something weird feeling/sounding. It was plenty loud at these settings too, too loud for a lot of stages/places.
The reverb.....I still think it's great for a digital reverb, but it's a digital reverb. If you're used to tube-driven spring reverb...well....it's not tube driven spring reverb. I like my reverb, and usually have it turned up pretty high - turned the 'verb in the Quilter down to a little less than my usual amount after a couple of tunes, because it gets a little bit plasticky at high settings. For my taste anyway. A little too clean.
The amp is plenty bright. I understand now why Quilter ships their combos with the Celestions they have in them, which are on the darker end of the spectrum. With the speakers I had in that cab today (two Eminence copperheads, two Jensen P10Q's), I had the treble cut at halfway, treble control on the amp flat, and I did have the thought the amp probably has more treble on tap than anyone could possibly need.
FInal thought : the amp appears to be very, very transparent sounding, if that makes sense. As in : the character of the guitar you're playing really comes through, more so than with the average tube amp, and the same goes for the speakers. In my case, that translates into "I better pair this amp with speakers I really love".
I know I'm being a little vague here, but it's as if the amp doesn't have a lot of color or character of its own, and the litlte it does appear to have, veers towards the Blackface Fender side of things - which is great, but after some years of playing Fender-replica tweeds, that are pretty much all barky, woody, grunty midrange, the Quilter seemed very neutral and transparent.
Which is not a bad thing - more of an observation.
But even just after the one gig, for the silly low price, and seeing how incredibly practical it is, it really does get my vote. It's a real amp, and I'll go as far as saying I think it sounds better than a lot of tube amps that sell for more.
If you're the type who has a favorite amp that's a one trick pony with a very cool trick you particularly love, an amp that's ALL character and color that makes every guitar you plug into it sound "like that amp", the Quilter is not for you. Anyone else, it's definitely worth a try.
And here's a pic of the rig I'm describing in the review (click the pic for a full size view) :
