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Quilter Bass Block v803

#641
Gig report: first outing with the V803. The amp did great. This was a winery event in Yakima, WA. Me, fiddle/vocals, acoustic guitar/vocals, and mandolin. We set up outdoors on a wrap-around porch of an old farm house. The good- solid sound with my acoustic bass guitar. I used the flat input, modern voice, and left all the EQ at noon. I put my THDI in front of the amp to clean up some fret noise but took the DI off the V803. The bad - weather/wind issues. We were booked to play 2-5pm. The wind was problematic. And it was colder than forecast. So we soldiered through the first set with some technical challenges like the fiddle players pedal board failing, wind-induced feedback between tunes, and trouble getting a decent mix in the monitor. By the third set it was warmer and the wind backed off. The sound issues resolved but I think we were all a little frayed by the setbacks. Still, we got through our commitment and we had some good moments, considering it was the first gig with this lineup and we pulled out 40 tunes with 4 rehearsals over the last month.
 
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#642
Been digging this!!! Not gigging right now, but me and my basement warrior's love it!!!!
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#650
I was one of the early adopters of the BB800. Thought it looked fun at first, but eventually got tired of the red stripes on top. I prefer the understated looks of the V803. Wasn't crazy about the TMB layout myself, but it goes with the package. BB800 was and is still quite a remarkable bass amp. V803 is not night-and-day better sonically and performance-wise than BB800, not by a long shot, but the looks and the features and tone-shaping of V803 are better. Ah, also the fan..
 
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#651
All fine and of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder and such, but that's not the issue. Fact is that the knobs on the BB800, being white with a clear black indicator line plus the text being on top of the knobs instead of under them is far more functional. Especially on a stage with little light the BB800 lay out works whereas the 803 lacks clarity, beautiful as it may be.
 
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#653
Hnz said:
All fine and of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder and such. But fact is that the knobs on the BB800, being white with a clear black indicator line plus the text being on top of the knobs instead of under, as on the 803 is far more functional. Especially on a stage with little light the BB800 lay out works whereas the 803 lacks clarity.
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This.

I like how the brush metal of the 803 looks, but the 800 and 802 offered better legibility on stage.

It's ironic that they've put the labels under the knobs on the 803 for better legibility when it's used vertically on the back of the BassDock, and now these cabs are discontinued :crying:

Too bad Quilter didn't anticipate that move, they should have a kept the labels on top.

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#654
John D Harris said:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I think it looks less garish.
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I'm not talking about beauty or garishness.

The thin black typeface on the silver panel is objectively less visible than the bold white font on the black panel of the previous version. The new knobs' pointer barely sticks out of the knob's base and the black markers on the panel look unfortunately similar to the pointers.

I have a Rumble and it's extremely easy to read the labels and see where the knobs are set on dark stages.

I have similar issues with numbered knobs on guitars. I've never been able to read those numbers on stage.
 
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#655
As an owner of both a BB800 and a V803, I'd agree that settings are easier to read on the former, and I do prefer that look if asked to choose. But I also don't much care. In my use case, I typically arrange my settings before the gig starts and never touch them again. So I don't need to see where the settings are from a distance, and I don't need to tweak them much, if at all, over the course of a three-set gig. So the difference in legibility makes little, or really no, practical difference to me. YMMV.

As a side note, I never thought the Block Dock concept made much sense for bass. It made the controls harder to see (for those who frequently consulted them), it made it impossible to use a Speakon-Speakon cable, it had to have made the cabs harder to build, and it didn't save any net weight for the gear schlep.
 
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#656
gtirard said:
This.

I like how the brush metal of the 803 looks, but the 800 and 802 offered better legibility on stage.

It's ironic that they've put the labels under the knobs on the 803 for better legibility when it's used vertically on the back of the BassDock, and now these cabs are discontinued :crying:

Too bad Quilter didn't anticipate that move, they should have a kept the labels on top.

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I bought the old stock bassdock 12 from my local shop shortly after acquiring the v803, and agree with your assessment! This is the best "combo" amp I've ever had!
 
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#657
Richard Lindsey said:
As a side note, I never thought the Block Dock concept made much sense for bass. It made the controls harder to see (for those who frequently consulted them), it made it impossible to use a Speakon-Speakon cable, it had to have made the cabs harder to build, and it didn't save any net weight for the gear schlep.
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I used to agree with your assessment. Since I've starting using my v803 and bassdock 12 in combo mode, I've been very happy with its size and sound. I do wish the weight was about 10lbs lighter. However, I haven't found another combo that puts out the quality of sound and volume that I like in a smaller, lighter package.
 
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#658
Tony G said:
I used to agree with your assessment. Since I've starting using my v803 and bassdock 12 in combo mode, I've been very happy with its size and sound. I do wish the weight was about 10lbs lighter. However, I haven't found another combo that puts out the quality of sound and volume that I like in a smaller, lighter package.
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That's all good. I'm certainly not bagging on Quilter quality; I'm a fan and own or have owned numerous pieces of Quilter gear. I would just, with the utmost respect, point out that if you had a non-docking setup, the cab would be lighter, you could use a Speakon cable, and the sound would be no worse. But if what you've got works for you, then keep on keeping on!
 
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#659
Richard Lindsey said:
That's all good. I'm certainly not bagging on Quilter quality; I'm a fan and own or have owned numerous pieces of Quilter gear. I would just, with the utmost respect, point out that if you had a non-docking setup, the cab would be lighter, you could use a Speakon cable, and the sound would be no worse. But if what you've got works for you, then keep on keeping on!
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Haha, I've had that thought as well. When I decided to buy the cab, my first thought was this is heavy even without the amp attached, lol. I've gotten used to the weight as a tradeoff for enjoying the quality and ease of use.

Also, while I've typically preferred speakon cables in my many other rigs over the years, I don't mind that this uses 1/4". Is there a particular benefit of using speakons other than their locking ability?
 
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