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Quilter Bass Block v803

#201
gtirard said:
I'm also impatient to know how the "Warm" and "Qtube" voices compare to the "VINT" voice of the Quilter Interbass.
I suppose that the 803 Warm setting = Interbass VINT setting, and the Qtube is even grittier, but I'll check this tomorrow.
With the Interbass, if I select the "FR" setting I'm thinking "I prefer this one", and when I switch to "VINT", I'm like "No, I prefer that one". So I guess I will love and use the 3 voices of the 803.

Also, I had the feeling that the "Scoop" input was aimed for home practice in order to compensate for the lack of low end at bedroom volume (like the "loudness" control in old Hi-Fi amps), and not very usable at gig level, but I saw comments on YouTube saying it was more intended to emulate the SVT vibe (regarless of the volume), so I'll have to check that at next rehearsal…
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I'd say in general Warm = VINT. I haven't A/Bed them directly (actually I don't think I've even touched the IB since the 803 arrived!) but they are definitely in the same ballpark. I think the gain is more dynamic on the 803 than the IB so that you can get a wider variety of tones from the 803 WARM setting by varying your right hand technique.

Qtube is nice and gritty. It's very usable if, say, a whole song or whole set requires that. But I'm finding that warm is my sweet spot and when I need a bump in drive/distortion/fuzz for just a part of a song, I get that from a pedal.
 
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#202
As a long time guitar player, I've taken up bass and for amps it's between a Fender Rumble, Ampeg Venture V7 + 1x15 or the Quilter V803. I'm going for late 50's early 60's vintage tones (blues, rhythm + blues, jump swing, 50's rock n roll) on P-Bass
 
#204
deff said:
Anyone hear anything on how long until Quilter is shipping more units?
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You might want to order one direct from Quilter, assuming they have not sold all they had left on hand.

I see that ZString is sold out. I should have asked for commissions for posting a link to them :(

Looks like the v803 is a hit!
 
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#206
gtirard said:
Interesting!

Mine arrives tomorrow.

I will compare it against Jad Freer Sisma (hybrid amp), I can't wait to see if the 803 can replace it entirely.

When I bought Sisma 2 years ago, I was looking for more tone flexibility over my beloved BB800, no doubt I would have bought the 803 directly if it had been available at the time.

The question in the next couple of weeks will be: should I keep both, or sell the Sisma?
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I'll buy the Sisma from you.

It better be cheap, and you pay shipping. :)
 
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#212
Eneade said:
So how is it @gtirard ?
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I received it the morning, so I could only test it at home quickly at low volume. So far so good, I can confirm all the good reports I have read already from the first owners. It's a dream amp: all the qualities of the BB800, less the defaults, plus the versatility.
It looks much better in real life than on photos. I was concerned by the very small knobs but the spacing between them is perfect.

2 quicks comments:
  1. I wouldn't say that it "feels like 3 amps in 1" like I saw in a YT vid. It's better than that, because the 3 "voices" share the same gain, EQ and master volume, so you can switch between them without a drop or bump in perceived volume. I have no preference between them, they're all good and I'm sure I will be using the 3, depending on the song. The combination of the 3 voices + EQ + scoop input covers all the range of tones from super clean to a strong SVT character, and it seems to be impossible to get a bad tone out of it.
  2. I'm a web designer pro, and I think that the most difficult design challenge is to make a feature rich product feel straightforward, simple and elegant. It requires the courage to make strong choices. Kudos to the Quilter team on that regard, this amp is very well thought out, you can feel the attention to every detail. They made very smart choices to select just the right features in order to offer versatility and simplicity.
Y'all really make me want to buy one.
And at the same time, I don't see what I could not already do with the Bergantino B|Amp.
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Yes. Don't buy it, you might be disappointed: I'm sure you can already do more things with the B|Amp than you could with the 803.
But I'm glad to own an amp that covers all my needs and nothing more, and I'm glad that it's not digital because it makes it less prone to obsolescence.

Quilter-Bass-Block-v803-and-Barefaced-Super-Compact-01.jpgQuilter-Bass-Block-v803-and-Barefaced-Super-Compact-02.jpg
 
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#213
I have some reading to do.

I took in my SWR Workingman 15 to a local repair shop yesterday. It's suffering from the old "Crackling" disease, and may have to be put out of my misery.

The Quilter blocks were one item that the shop owner suggested, when I asked for ideas on a replacement amp.

I think any of the Quilter products might be vast overkill for my use case though. I only play at home.
 
#214
Deleted member 409896 said:
I have some reading to do.

I took in my SWR Workingman 15 to a local repair shop yesterday. It's suffering from the old "Crackling" disease, and may have to be put out of my misery.

The Quilter blocks were one item that the shop owner suggested, when I asked for ideas on a replacement amp.

I think any of the Quilter products might be vast overkill for my use case though. I only play at home.
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The Quilter Interbass is ideal for home practice. There's no fan, so it's completely silent.

The "FR" voice of the Interbass is equivalent to the "Modern" voice of the 803, and the "VINT" voice is equivalent to the "Warm" voice of the 803.

All you miss in the Interbass compared to the 803 is:
  • The "Qtube" voice, the semi parametric mid, and the "Scoop" input, nothing mandatory
  • Unnecessary watts
And if you need to take it to a rehearsal, jam session or small gig, you will find that's it's much louder than you may think
 
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#215
Thanks for that. Like seemingly every repair shop, he's backed up by 5-6 weeks, so I won't even know if I need to get a different amp for most of 2 months.

I could use a practice amp, in the meantime. Doesn't need to play loudly without headphones, or really at all without headphones.
 
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#216
Just arrived. Got 3 shows this weekend so will put it thru its paces, Friday and Saturday will be thru a Supertwin and then Sunday will be the rig pictured (stripped down trio)

I've only turned it on and flipped a few switches so far but I suspect for me it'll be the scoop input and warm setting, but who knows until I get with the band. Can't wait!



Quilter.png
 
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#218
TomB said:
Does anyone know: is the "bottomless limiting" featured on these amps similar to an HPF function? Does it provide reduction of infrasonics? …just curious.
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No. It's a limiter, it only prevents saturation by limiting the level before saturation. It does it in a very musical way.
I think there is also so some sort fixed internal HPF like on many amps, but we don't know the frequency and the slope.

So, it's not like a Mesa, no variable HPF.
 
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#219
gtirard said:
No. It's a limiter, it only prevents saturation by limiting the level before saturation. It does it in a very musical way.
I think there is also so some sort fixed internal HPF like on many amps, but we don't know the frequency and the slope.

So, it's not like a Mesa, no variable HPF.
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Thanks for that info. It would be nice to know for sure about the fixed HPF - typically around 30hz? I don't fiddle with the one on my Mesa. I keep it around 50 or so.
 
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