Go Pisces! Glad you have not only one gig, but four! Let us know how your v803 does and what you liked about playing it live.
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Quilter Bass Block v803
- Thread starter gtirard
- Start date
When are these going to hit stores? I feel like there was a big surge of V803 news, and then nothing..... bassdock 12 discontinued & hardly much buzz anymore.
Are you asking when the V803 is hitting stores? They are out there now. For instance: Sweetwater You can also buy the v803 directly from Quilter: Bass Block V803 You may be asking when new Quilter bass cabinets will be announced. It does appear that only one Quilter bass cabinet is still in production at present, the BassDock 10. I've not heard anything about new cab models. It's probably time to write Pat and ask if any are forthcoming.
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First one is coming up on Sunday. Mother's Day event at a winery. That one is acoustic instruments, small PA.
They are available, at least from Thomann and Sweatwater.
We've passed the launching period, there won't be more news about it. Don't expect more "buzz", "hype" or anything, I think it's a serious product, too affordable to be trendy IMO. Just a great amp, with "the" tone. No 'wow effect', but people who own it know what I'm talking about. An amp you will love more and more everytime you play it.
Oh, WOW!!! I guess I stirred the pot a bit.......
New bass cabs -- I would like to see more than a 1x10 option, so maybe I should remain patient.
Quilter site lists GuitarCenter as being a dealer, but I've yet to see any in the GC I visit....
LET ME REPHRASE.....
I'm still very excited to try a new V803, and hopefully replace my MarkBass 151 stack.....
New bass cabs -- I would like to see more than a 1x10 option, so maybe I should remain patient.
Quilter site lists GuitarCenter as being a dealer, but I've yet to see any in the GC I visit....
LET ME REPHRASE.....
I'm still very excited to try a new V803, and hopefully replace my MarkBass 151 stack.....
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A lot of physical stores don't have enough room to store all the products they offer online, but in my town (Paris), if I know a store is an official reseller but don't have the product in stock, sometimes I ask them if they can order it for me to try, and they accept. That's how I've bought my GR Bass cab. So maybe your local GC could order it for you if you ask. Did you ask them ? Sometimes, the simple fact that a musician asks for some specific gear makes them realize there's a potential demand for it… Of course, it works better if they know you already.
The other option is to order it from an online shop that has a good return policy, like Thomann. If you don't like it, you can return it. It's even preferable sometimes, because you try the amp in context (and not in the shop).
GC is very general consumer based and profit minded.
If they can sell a $1200 head that has more brand name recognition (and more profit margin), instead of a $700 head that few people have heard of, then I think they would prefer the former.
If they can sell a $1200 head that has more brand name recognition (and more profit margin), instead of a $700 head that few people have heard of, then I think they would prefer the former.
The problem is that GC doesn't tend to stock much of either in my area. It may be different where you are. I went into one location here within the last week and all that they had was a bunch of combo amps…..
Yeah, that is what sells the most to your average bass consumer - a lot of which are beginners.
I've only owned one combo amp and it was a Fender Bassman 25. From that I quickly went to full blown amps. For me they were a much better fit. I could essentially have a rig of comparable size to a combo amp but I could also be more scalable. I could get bigger as needed. Then when gear began to get smaller & lighter while still maintaining the power I needed, I stopped looking at combo amps all together. I'm sure that someone still values combos but give me separates.
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DSFDF - as they say.
I went full circle - Combo to Preamp + Power Amp + Cab to Head + Cab to Combo.
I think the Quilter makes it very tempting to go back to Head + Cab(s) again, I'm still weighing options.
I got rid of most of my bass equipment, because I thought I was done with playing bass; I bought a classical guitar.
But the bass bug was stronger than my will, so I bought a new bass guitar and a Two Notes Opus (highly recommended - great sounding unit).
I've been trying to save money and decide where to go from here whether Head + Cab(s) or Combo or Active Cab (like GRBass).
The older I get, the more important keeping load in, setup, teardown, load out as simple as possible.
Ideally, I could just plug in what I've got to a good PA, but you cannot count on that situation long term.
Medical bills and vehicle maintenance have put a crimp in my savings, anyway, I'm still considering.
For the Head + Cab option, I'd love a BBV803 + either - a Barefaced Super Compact or a GRBass AT 210V+ Cab (I like what I've heard of the GK Neo IV 115 as well - though just a tad more voiced than the other two cabs mentioned).
I know gtirard will recommend Barefaced! 
The guys here use their V803s with all kinds of cabs. Probably just a few are using Quilter cabs.
By the way, no word yet from Pat on any plans for new Q cabs. May not be getting back into it, or it's still a closely guarded secret. Pat usually will drop hints, like he did with V803. Apparently they are moving on from the two prior lines. It could be they didn't sell well enough to reintroduce them after the existing stock sold. I'm hoping they will come out with some new ones.
My thought is that they sold a lot of Bass Blocks as backup heads, and also for traveling use with backline cabinets. Neither kind of customer bought Q cabinets, usually.
The guys here use their V803s with all kinds of cabs. Probably just a few are using Quilter cabs.
By the way, no word yet from Pat on any plans for new Q cabs. May not be getting back into it, or it's still a closely guarded secret. Pat usually will drop hints, like he did with V803. Apparently they are moving on from the two prior lines. It could be they didn't sell well enough to reintroduce them after the existing stock sold. I'm hoping they will come out with some new ones.
My thought is that they sold a lot of Bass Blocks as backup heads, and also for traveling use with backline cabinets. Neither kind of customer bought Q cabinets, usually.
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I'm sure Pat has so many irons in the fire (especially, QSC) that it's a bit of a grind developing further Quilter products.
They discontinued both the previous 800 models before they put the V803 out and there was a lengthy gap between the two.
Very possible that the new cabs may somewhat follow a similar path.
I think people were skeptical about the Quilter bass cabs being in the same league as companies like Bergantino, but I remember people saying that they had listened to both and preferred the Quilter cabs.
A big problem, as mentioned just recently, is the difficulty of auditioning Quilter stuff before buying, so it's usually a leap of faith based on word of mouth.
My understanding has been that Pat has had little or nothing to do with QSC Audio for years, basically ever since Quilter Labs started. I could be wrong, though.
I did not know that.
Looked it up - apparently retired from QSC around 2010.
'Assumptions' - right?
Some of you may have also written Pat. I did hear from him, and he was pretty frank in his answer, it wasn't like he was being vague for the sake of new products.
Basically, he said don't expect new Quilter cabinets unless they are part of a new combo- so no more standalone cabinets. He said the Quilter expertise is more in the electronics and the amps, not cabinets, and they were not selling enough to consider reintroducing them. So you who have a Quilter cab have got something possibly valuable over time. Quilter does have some of the Bassdock 10's left if you order directly from them.
I don't see any Quilter cabinets at Sweetwater. I would imagine there are still some new ones out there somewhere if one searches a bit. But maybe not.
Most people who bought Quilter guitar and bass amps have been using them with the cabinets of their choice. I have been playing my V803 into my Mesa Subway 1x15 at home and enjoying it immensely. I can't wait to try that combination out playing live.
Basically, he said don't expect new Quilter cabinets unless they are part of a new combo- so no more standalone cabinets. He said the Quilter expertise is more in the electronics and the amps, not cabinets, and they were not selling enough to consider reintroducing them. So you who have a Quilter cab have got something possibly valuable over time. Quilter does have some of the Bassdock 10's left if you order directly from them.
I don't see any Quilter cabinets at Sweetwater. I would imagine there are still some new ones out there somewhere if one searches a bit. But maybe not.
Most people who bought Quilter guitar and bass amps have been using them with the cabinets of their choice. I have been playing my V803 into my Mesa Subway 1x15 at home and enjoying it immensely. I can't wait to try that combination out playing live.
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