Schertler Giulia Y -- does this sound right?

Seamus42

Hi folks -- I was around on the forum some years ago, but my old account seems to have gone away. So I'm only sort of new around here! Definitely not new to playing this music.

At any rate-- I'm here to ask about a used Schertler Giulia Y I just picked up for cheap online. Buying this was a total surprise to me, as I was saving up for a new one, but the price was so right that I bit. Now I wonder if I've misstepped. I haven't played one of these before, but since it's Schertler, I took a chance.

With my Dell Arte and Bigtone pickup, it sounds nice. But it only sounds nice with the gain barely -- and I mean barely -- on. If it's anything more than that, there's a crackle in the low end, feedback, and a weird effect where, with a hard strum, the chord sort of fades in after an initially subdued attack. I've played (but not owned) a Schertler David, and this isn't something I've run into before. The volume is decent, but certainly isn't going to make anyone's ears hurt.

With my old archtop and a Krivo PAF pickup, the fade-in effect is strong. It sounds like a hard limiter on the attack, then an audible fade-in post-attack as the volume lowers. The gain has to be even lower (which would make sense, I guess, with a magnetic pickup). It's fairly frustrating. Play it GJ rhythm style, and the fade-in effect is lessened or absent.

I tried it as well with the Dell Arte and a DeArmond Rhythm Chief. That was the easiest to dial in, and sounded really nice. The fade-in happened, but could be dialed out by, again, turning the gain quite low.

So I ask you, oh Schertler players -- is the Giulia Y just a finicky amp that demands its input be properly tamed, or is something wrong here?

Thanks!

Buco

I never played one but what you're describing can not be right. Can you go to a local shop and test the new one? How is their tech support? Maybe you can call and ask. I don't know if you can still return it but at least contact a seller and explain what you think the problem might be. If they tell you that was the final sale then you can be pretty sure that they knew something was off before they sold it.

Seamus42

Well, unforttunately, very few shops carry Schertlers. The closest to me is about a 2-hour drive. Gonna get my friend with another model to check it out if I can.

I messed around with it a fair bit tonight. It actually sounds really good, but it just can't take much on the gain at all. That effect I mentioned seems to be all about the position of the gain. So who knows? Maybe it's fine.

Buco

I've never used any amp that would put what you describe as a gate/limiter effect on a signal plus you didn't experienced anything similar with David. Makes me think something is up. Could be a small problem, easily fixed and still make it worth the purchase. Like it could be that the gain pot is bad and it's in wide open position. Schertler seems committed to the customer support, maybe best bet is to talk to them. Judging by their website they are pretty approachable.

Bones

Contact Schertler directly?