New Quilter bass amp!

[Heisenbass]

I can't help it. The whole discussion seems pretty much futile to me. You've got a BB800. You've got a BB802. Love it or leave it. And leave the risk to Quilter. It's a commercial company. It's their decision.

Disclaimer: I am playing a BB802 into a Barefaced Big Baby 2. Happy camper so far. Oh, and I've got a TRS to XLS cable, just in case

 

[shwashwa]

With an XLR out, accompanied by the pre/post switch of course. And put Speakons on their cabs. And redesigned or abandoned that BlockDock business so you could actually use both of the preceding things.

I'd give an 803 a fair look. The whole BlockDock thing on the cabs holds no value or interest for me.

Oh I love the concept, as a matter of fact I just ordered one and it should be here on Friday. Gives me the option of having a really awesome combo amp, popping the head out and using it with whatever cab I want, or stacking it on top of another bass dock for a nice stack. Perfect for me and the different sized gigs that I play actually. Do you see the point? The point is there were two threads asking quilter for things, and they delivered. A lot of people are happy. For those that are not happy there are other products that will surely make them happy.

 

[Richard Lindsey]

I can't help it. The whole discussion seems pretty much futile to me. You've got a BB800. You've got a BB802. Love it or leave it. And leave the risk to Quilter. It's a commercial company. It's their decision.

Why shouldn't you complain about something you don't like, or praise something you do like--about a particular amp ... on an Amps and Cabs forum? Where else should you do it?

Why shouldn't you request an improvement ... especially when we know the company visits this site and has in the past specifically requested input?

 

[Richard Lindsey]

Oh I love the concept, as a matter of fact I just ordered one and it should be here on Friday. Gives me the option of having a really awesome combo amp, popping the head out and using it with whatever cab I want, or stacking it on top of another bass dock for a nice stack. Perfect for me and the different sized gigs that I play actually. Do you see the point? The point is there were two threads asking quilter for things, and they delivered. A lot of people are happy. For those that are not happy there are other products that will surely make them happy.

No, I see the point. The BlockDock concept makes some people happy and others not. And that's cool. I don't care for it because it saves little if any weight on the cabs, doesn't improve (or, to be fair, hurt) the sound of the cabs, places the amp controls in a less easily visible (hence worse) orientation, and at least on some models hinders the use of a rear XLR out and Speakon connection. The combo thing doesn't mean anything to me, because the small cabs I use are already more portable than any BlockDock would be while sounding arguably as good or better. My argument is that that whole thing could have been implemented in ways that kept all the convenience for BlockDock fans without causing inconvenience for not-fans. But it wasn't.

Also, I think you're missing the fact that Quilter DIDN'T in fact deliver a simple power amp like the thread requested. They could have but didn't. Some TBers asked for that, but it seems that's not what Pat Quilter was interested in making and selling. The title of that original thread doesn't mean anything, because what was actually delivered was a bass head, not a power amp. So it's not surprising that some of us want it to do what a bass head at that price point should be able to do.

 

[Heisenbass]

What I am trying to say. There are reasonings behind a certain design. They might not be obvious to the customer. It boils down to an offering. If it's not attractive enough, the company won't generate sustainable business out of it. It may not comply with your specific needs. But what percentage of the whole potential customer base do you think you are? As a producer of whatever, you won't be able to please everyone. That's just the way it is.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I do recall some posts and some discussion way back asking for a small power amp platform. Of course, what TBers were asking and what Quilter was thinking weren't necessarily the same thing. I don't know if Quilter had already been thinking of a bass amp or not; they might have been, since the guitar amps were starting to do well. Nevertheless, it's clear that when they put the BB800 on the the market they were no longer--if they ever had been--thinking of it as something mainly intended as a power amp but wanted it to be something gigging bassists would use as a bass head on its own. Which I know you, I, and many other folks have done. That's why I don't think the original inspiration, if such it was, matters any more.

I started one of those threads, searching with no luck to find a half rack power amp. That's why I find the idea that Quilter did this in response to TB threads to be more than a stretch. It would be like attributing the Interbass to TB when it clearly sprang from the guitar version they already made.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Look at the title of the thread. Poweramp. Look at the subject of the thread, Poweramp. All I'm saying is this is where the idea originated so it's not hard to understand what was produced. if you're not looking for a small form-factor power amp then maybe this is not the amp for you

Look at what they made. It ignored most of the suggestions.

 

[Brad Johnson]

And when you look at the content of that thread and you see what was produced, I would say quilter did an amazing job of giving us exactly what we asked for

What's amazing is that the response to the request for a no frills small format power amp is exactly what you think the BB series are.

They're bass amps. Full featured for many of us. And discussing any of this is not a punishment. They're discussions.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Why shouldn't you complain about something you don't like, or praise something you do like--about a particular amp ... on an Amps and Cabs forum? Where else should you do it?

Why shouldn't you request an improvement ... especially when we know the company visits this site and has in the past specifically requested input?

Some seem to feel that the only legit conversation is their own.

If any of this bothers folks, they don't have to watch. Is that too obvious?

 

[JohnnyBottom]

But are there detents or not ? damn it

 

[DJ Bebop]

This:


And This:

 

[DavesnothereCA]

This:
[Pics of Mesa Subway WD-800]

~


and of course GAS !
~

 

[shwashwa]

so, my bassdock 12 came this morning. so far have only played it in the house, and only with upright, but im playing it in the room where i spend many hours practicing and where i try all my gear, so i can give it a pretty apples to apples comparison with regards to what i want to hear and what im used to hearing. so far i really love it. very easy to get my sound. very full but still articulate. not muddy at all. ive had an audiokenesis thunderchild 12 in the recent past, and id say this thing easily sounds as good, but at a fraction of the price, and, so far, without all the buzzing and rattling problems ive had with all of the components in the massive crossover of the thunderchild. something else i think might be happening too is i like to put a wedge under the front of my speakers to angle up so i can hear my intonation better. because of the location of the port, in the back and on the bottom, i dont feel like im losing floor coupling. i may even be gaining some. is this possible? im not feeling the loss of low end like i do with some speakers in the same room. of course this is just my house... will try it on 2 gigs this weekend

 

[Richard Lindsey]

so, my bassdock 12 came this morning. so far have only played it in the house, and only with upright, but im playing it in the room where i spend many hours practicing and where i try all my gear, so i can give it a pretty apples to apples comparison with regards to what i want to hear and what im used to hearing. so far i really love it. very easy to get my sound. very full but still articulate. not muddy at all. ive had an audiokenesis thunderchild 12 in the recent past, and id say this thing easily sounds as good, but at a fraction of the price, and, so far, without all the buzzing and rattling problems ive had with all of the components in the massive crossover of the thunderchild. something else i think might be happening too is i like to put a wedge under the front of my speakers to angle up so i can hear my intonation better. because of the location of the port, in the back and on the bottom, i dont feel like im losing floor coupling. i may even be gaining some. is this possible? im not feeling the loss of low end like i do with some speakers in the same room. of course this is just my house... will try it on 2 gigs this weekend

Congrats, sounds like this rig suits you really well.

That can indeed be an issue with smaller speakers on the floor, I mean not hearing yourself as well as you like as much of the directional sound whizzes by your lower leg. If the cab doesn't have an angled front baffle, like my MAS 1,8 or my Acme B-1W wedge, the wedge is a time-honored solution, as is the lowly milk crate. I just bought one of these the other day to put under my non-wedge B-1 but haven't been able to bring myself to use it on the gig ... yet:

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[shwashwa]

Congrats, sounds like this rig suits you really well.

That can indeed be an issue with smaller speakers on the floor, I mean not hearing yourself as well as you like as much of the directional sound whizzes by your lower leg. If the cab doesn't have an angled front baffle, like my MAS 1,8 or my Acme B-1W wedge, the wedge is a time-honored solution, as is the lowly milk crate. I just bought one of these the other day to put under my non-wedge B-1 but haven't been able to bring myself to use it on the gig ... yet:

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Oh yes I know directionality can be a thing, I had a mas one eight also but unfortunately had problems in the engineering when Mike was redesigning it but while it was actually working, I did notice that even putting it on its back cut the low and slightly because of the port was now facing up and not coupling with the floor. Granted it was not much but it was there slightly. but this one I'm really not noticing it at all and I'm wondering if that's because even though the cabinet is angled up, the port is still on the floor retaining that low end support

 

[Richard Lindsey]

Oh yes I know directionality can be a thing, I had a mas one eight also but unfortunately had problems in the engineering when Mike was redesigning it but while it was actually working, I did notice that even putting it on its back cut the low and slightly because of the port was now facing up and not coupling with the floor. Granted it was not much but it was there slightly. but this one I'm really not noticing it at all and I'm wondering if that's because even though the cabinet is angled up, the port is still on the floor retaining that low end support

Hm, I dunno. I always assumed that ports in cabs were designed to give the designer's intended response without factoring in any coupling with the floor, which would be gravy if it occurs. But maybe I'm wrong.

It occurs to that *maybe* one reason it seemed like there was less bass when you put the 1,8 on its back was that you heard the treble frequencies better, which shifted the treble-bass balance toward the high end without actually reducing the amount of bass the cab was putting out. Or maybe the reason was exactly what you thought it was....

 

[shwashwa]

Hm, I dunno. I always assumed that ports in cabs were designed to give the designer's intended response without factoring in any coupling with the floor, which would be gravy if it occurs. But maybe I'm wrong.

It occurs to that *maybe* one reason it seemed like there was less bass when you put the 1,8 on its back was that you heard the treble frequencies better, which shifted the treble-bass balance toward the high end without actually reducing the amount of bass the cab was putting out. Or maybe the reason was exactly what you thought it was....

With regards to perceiving the loss of low-end as just really being able to hear the highs and mids better, I suppose that is possible, but if it was happening, would that not also be happening with the quilter speaker?

 

[Richard Lindsey]

With regards to perceiving the loss of low-end as just really being able to hear the highs and mids better, I suppose that is possible, but if it was happening, would that not also be happening with the quilter speaker?

Yeah, you would think so ... if the angles of the front baffles were roughly the same, and you were standing in roughly the same position. When you put the wedge under the Quilter, was it tilted back as much as the 1,8 was when you put it on its back? Also, the two cabs may not have had the same amount of treble output from the get-go. If the MAS had more treble to begin with (I'm not saying it necessarily did), then you would notice the difference more when you could hear it better. Just a theory.

 

[shwashwa]

Ya , interesting. Looking forward to the gig tonight

 

[Richard Lindsey]

Ya , interesting. Looking forward to the gig tonight

Curious to hear your impressions afterward. Despite appearances, I'm close to being a Quilter fanboi, but I haven't been able to check out their bass cabs.