with this switch at the Open position, the Gain
control at a modest setting, and the Master
Volume set at the 2 o’clock. Striking an open
G chord, I knew immediately that I was in for a
great time with this amp. The attack, definition
and high-end spank commonly associated with
low-wattage amps was entirely present, and it
was stunning. The high end had a very pleasing
sheen to it, which was complemented with a
great, throaty upper midrange. Ed Quidley recommends that users set the Gain to the highest
setting they’ll need for the type of music they
play, and then rely on the guitar’s volume control for cleaner sounds. Switching to a Nash ’ 63
Strat-style guitar, I set the Gain to 3 o’clock and
the guitar’s volume control halfway down. That
brilliant clean was still as glistening as ever, albeit
with the added frequencies of the Nash’s single-
coil pickups. Maxing the guitar’s volume control
caused the Quidley to react exactly as it should
have: no added volume, but plenty of added
overdrive. All too often, amplifier designs are
hampered by the issue of input sensitivity, and
some players still like to use the old-school tech-
nique of gain cleanup with the onboard volume
control. With the right guitar and amp combina-
tion that method can sound much more natural
and vibrant than a channel-switching setup,
but often the overall volume itself is dropped
or raised too much. The Quidley didn’t exhibit
this behavior at all; in fact it did better than my
prized ’ 73 Marshall head. The accompanying
2x12 cabinet, loaded with Mojo BV30 speakers,
even included a optional built-in power attenu-
ator for dialing down the volume when needed.
After playing with a few different settings, I was
very pleased to hear that it didn’t succumb to
low-end frequency roll off, which some power
attenuators suffer from.
Flipping the loop switch to Closed produced
almost a night-and-day difference. The
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PREMIER GUITAR FEBRUARY 2010 141
