Quilter Bass Block v803

[John D Harris]

Post EQ changes things. I better grab that manual and check again. I don't want my EQ going to the front.

DSFDF - I like equipment that generates the sound that I want the audience to hear and that is what I want to send the FOH soundperson.

To me that gives them less room to screw my tone up - of course, they still can if they try.

I always send Post-EQ, except for those people who demand I use their DI box and I will argue and contend for not doing so, but ultimately I will concede if they won't budge (although in the past, I've had rigs that did not need PA support in most situations).

 

[darev]

I guess my issue is that what I want to hear onstage usually sounds poor out there. Conversely, I don't want to have to suffer through what sounds good up front on stage if possible. I guess I try to eq the amp for the stage.

 

[darev]

Y'all also bring up the obvious to me that I could plug into a DI first. I'll just derp my way out.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I agree and I'm not sure why that is. It's still an amp that I'm curious about though. I don't need it but I really didn't need the V803 either!

Mine showed up today so I've been putting it thru its paces in both Flat and Scooped curves. Modern mode is "meh" / okay but the Warm and Qtube voicings are worth the price of admission. Still trying to get a handle on the limiter...I would imagine it falls behind the gain, possibly the EQ. I never had a problem sending an affected SansAmp BDDI feed to the desk; the 803 shouldn't be an unreasonable challenge.

Riis

 

[SharpCat]

Mine showed up today so I've been putting it thru its paces in both Flat and Scooped curves. Modern mode is "meh" / okay but the Warm and Qtube voicings are worth the price of admission. Still trying to get a handle on the limiter...I would imagine it falls behind the gain, possibly the EQ. I never had a problem sending an affected SansAmp BDDI feed to the desk; the 803 shouldn't be an unreasonable challenge.

Riis

Will enjoy hearing your thoughts when you've got it sussed.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Will enjoy hearing your thoughts when you've got it sussed.

I'll be running thru a Hartke 4x10 HyDrive at Sunday's rehearsal. This gives me some elbow room for experimentation in a less-than-ideal environment. Per the manual, the Scoop input more closely resembles a 2-10-2 tone stack as opposed to those gosh-awful contours, enhancers, etc. I've been using a BBE BMax so it's not a foreign concept.

Riis

 

[TomB]

I'll be running thru a Hartke 4x10 HyDrive at Sunday's rehearsal. This gives me some elbow room for experimentation in a less-than-ideal environment. Per the manual, the Scoop input more closely resembles a 2-10-2 tone stack as opposed to those gosh-awful contours, enhancers, etc. I've been using a BBE BMax so it's not a foreign concept.

Riis

I find the scoop input does offer some unique opportunities. First, I agree with the manual in re "silkier highs". I'm not sure how it's done, but I like the sound, and I can move the treble knob to either side of noon depending on the room. The other trick I like with scooped input is to slightly roll off the bass control, maybe 11:00. This allows for a bass bump provided by the input itself, but also an overall shelving - the result is a very "tight " bass response. It sounds great at 1:00 as well.

Mids control seems about the same to me regardless of the input chosen., likely by design. Personally I like the single semi-parametric control, coming from a GK/ Eden history of low/high mid controls (but not a lot of time with the Fender stack).

I know this is somewhat of a repeat post, but I have a lot more time in now with the amp and I wanted to share one technique that holds across venues.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I find the scoop input does offer some unique opportunities. First, I agree with the manual in re "silkier highs". I'm not sure how it's done, but I like the sound, and I can move the treble knob to either side of noon depending on the room. The other trick I like with scooped input is to slightly roll off the bass control, maybe 11:00. This allows for a bass bump provided by the input itself, but also an overall shelving - the result is a very "tight " bass response. It sounds great at 1:00 as well.

Mids control seems about the same to me regardless of the input chosen., likely by design. Personally I like the single semi-parametric control, coming from a GK/ Eden history of low/high mid controls (but not a lot of time with the Fender stack).

I know this is somewhat of a repeat post, but I have a lot more time in now with the amp and I wanted to share one technique that holds across venues.

I, along with a handful of online reviewers, prefer the Scoop profile with some mild EQ adjustment superimposed. Then again, I also employ EBS's "Character" and TE's "Shape" both of which do similar but not same. Not sure if the limiter is kicking-in at lower gain levels (Warm / Modern) but the baked-in compression is more evident in Qtube.

Riis

 

[TomB]

I, along with a handful of online reviewers, prefer the Scoop profile with some mild EQ adjustment superimposed. Then again, I also employ EBS's "Character" and TE's "Shape" both of which do similar but not same. Not sure if the limiter is kicking-in at lower gain levels (Warm / Modern) but the baked-in compression is more evident in Qtube.

Riis

I haven't noticed limiting but it's not likely I'd hit it often anyway. I am using an Airchild compressor most of the time but more for color than dynamics.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I haven't noticed limiting but it's not likely I'd hit it often anyway. I am using an Airchild compressor most of the time but more for color than dynamics.

Hmmm…had to look-up the Airchild.

Riis

 

[TomB]

Hmmm…had to look-up the Airchild.

Riis

It's a newish pedal - modeled after the Fairchild compressor of old. …but it's not a limiter.

I do wonder what some of Quilter's marketing terms reference. Like what does "bottomless" mean? Is there an HPF in there somewhere? Does it vary by voice?

It's made to sound like magic. …and maybe it is .

 

[John D Harris]

It's a newish pedal - modeled after the Fairchild compressor of old. …but it's not a limiter.

I do wonder what some of Quilter's marketing terms reference. Like what does "bottomless" mean? Is there an HPF in there somewhere? Does it vary by voice?

It's made to sound like magic. …and maybe it is .

I suspect that it means it approaches the actual limits of its power in a graceful way that is neither harsh nor overly squishy, i.e. just quits getting louder!

 

[gtirard]

I've always been intrigued by the limiter function built into the gain control of the Quilter Bass Block. So I made this little experience: I re-amped the same simple bass line with different gain levels (3, 5, 8 and 10) in order to visualise how the limiter affects the waveform in my DAW. Of course, I've normalised the tracks so that the volume is equal between them.



If you look at the waveforms on the DAW, you see from top to bottom the same bass line reamped with gain settings of 3, 5, 8 and 10.
You can compare the waveform, the effect of the limiter in pretty obvious.
On the left, you can see me changing the gain setting, and the red led lights up when the limiter enters in action.

 

[John D Harris]

I've always been intrigued by the limiter function built into the gain control of the Quilter Bass Block. So I made this little experience: I re-amped the same simple bass line with different gain levels (3, 5, 8 and 10) in order to visualise how the limiter affects the waveform in my DAW. Of course, I've normalised the tracks so that the volume is equal between them.



If you look at the waveforms on the DAW, you see from top to bottom the same bass line reamped with gain settings of 3, 5, 8 and 10.
You can compare the waveform, the effect of the limiter in pretty obvious.
On the left, you can see me changing the gain setting, and the red led lights up when the limiter enters in action.

View attachment 7273007

Very cool!

 

[pisces_bass]

Played three sets with my three piece rock band yesterday at an outdoor event. We do Americana, old country, and classic rock. I play passive 4-string basses. Here's my current thoughts on the V803 in my situation. The scoop input, warm, and qtube settings are great. I leave all the EQ at noon (leave it to Quilter to know where to start) and run the gain at 4. My Tone Hammer DI in AGS-mode provides HPF/LPF and mids control. I could get by without the TH but I really like how Aguilar handles mids and the extra gain pushes the Quilter to bring out the character of the various voices. I take the DI off the Quilter to the board, which captures the TH settings, all the amp voicing, and applies a cab sim to the PA. I rely on the limiter function and extra gain from the TH to provide subtle compression and breakup. Add a drive pedal as needed. That sound coming through my BF Super Twin at gig volume makes me happy.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Played three sets with my three piece rock band yesterday at an outdoor event. We do Americana, old country, and classic rock. I play passive 4-string basses. Here's my current thoughts on the V803 in my situation. The scoop input, warm, and qtube settings are great. I leave all the EQ at noon (leave it to Quilter to know where to start) and run the gain at 4. My Tone Hammer DI in AGS-mode provides HPF/LPF and mids control. I could get by without the TH but I really like how Aguilar handles mids and the extra gain pushes the Quilter to bring out the character of the various voices. I take the DI off the Quilter to the board, which captures the TH settings, all the amp voicing, and applies a cab sim to the PA. I rely on the limiter function and extra gain from the TH to provide subtle compression and breakup. Add a drive pedal as needed. That sound coming through my BF Super Twin at gig volume makes me happy.

Very nice! Did the same with only a BFR compressor (...occas chorus) on the front-end thru a HyDrive 4x10. In all fairness, I should have switched out from Scoop to Full Range for the second half of the evening. I'm of the impression the Scoop, like any number of contours & enhancers, sounds great when solo'd but loses some desired substance at gig volume.

Riis

 

[TomB]

Very nice! Did the same with only a BFR compressor (...occas chorus) on the front-end thru a HyDrive 4x10. In all fairness, I should have switched out from Scoop to Full Range for the second half of the evening. I'm of the impression the Scoop, like any number of contours & enhancers, sounds great when solo'd but loses some desired substance at gig volume.

Riis

This is why I've gotten into rolling off the bass control when using the scooped input. I never found that "enhance" type features hurt the highs(depending on your cab), but it can bollux the lows, which can then bollux the FOH. When I cut the lows in scooped input, it results in a "notch" that gives a tight but clear low mid out in the house. I haven't found that spot in the flat input, but then I haven't given it a fair shake, either - I should. I do admit that my RevSound 210 is part of the magic. …what a cab!

 

[gtirard]

(Here's another example of the stupid things I do in order to kill time on a rainy sunday)

I really love the "scoop" input of the Quilter.
On most other amps, if there's a mid-scoop option it's too much: nice at bedroom level, but useless in rehearsals and gigs.
So I was wondering how the mid-scoop option was designed in the Quilter v803.

I used my Daw, re-amped the same track twice with the regular and the scoop input, compared the frequency curves, and calculated the difference between the two with the plugin Voxengo CurveEQ.

The result is disappointingly simple: the 803's scoop corresponds to -5db at 630 hz roughly.

The next step would be to try to reproduce the same mid-scoop with another amp, using its parametric mids…

 

[TomB]

That's fascinating - thanks. Might I ask how your amp's EQ points were set for these runs? …and which voicing you chose?

 

[gtirard]

That's fascinating - thanks. Might I ask how your amp's EQ points were set for these runs? …and which voicing you chose?

All EQ knobs at noon, with the modern voicing.

Edit: I didn't try, but I'm pretty sure the result would be identical with the 2 other voicings.