Pretty much the only amp EQ tweaking I've ever done is occasionally rolling off lows in an extra-boomy room and that knob on the BB800 covers it.
Sure beats putting the cab up on a stand or a milk crate!
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Sure beats putting the cab up on a stand or a milk crate!
IME some HPF of some sort is good - essential even - for an upright bass piezo signal. (I have my fDeck zip tied to the tailpiece right now...)
In all my years I've never once used it for electric bass, or felt any need to.
Whatever backline you encounter out there, it's a pretty sure bet that the EQ will be at least as flexible - and very likely more so than the BB800. 3 or 4 band is almost universal - including some sort of "low" knob for combatting boom (I can't think of a single commercially available unit out there right now that wouldn't have at least that.)
Question for the BB800 users: I'm loving the sound of my Ampeg PF20T as a preamp into the Quilter's Line In. However, the PF20T is pretty bulky to carry around just as a preamp/DI. I'm looking for something that will get me "in the ballpark" of vintage Ampeg-y tone, but in a small pedal format that will fit in the pocket of my gig bag. I'm leaning toward the Tech 21 Sansamp VT DI, but I'm very open to other suggestions. Thoughts? I know the Q-Strip gets a lot of love from Quilter users, but is it capable of tubey warmth/compression?
RMI Sonic Spark (no DI though) and Two Notes LeBass (channel A especially)for the pillowy "lack of mids" tone or a DHA VT1 EQ to thicken up and cut through.
Some great suggestions; I'll do my research!
Question: Hypothetically, let's say I went with something like the RMI Sonic Spark that lacks an XLR output. What's the best way to connect a 1/4" only preamp to the BB800's XLR Line In? I guess I would need an adapter or "dongle"? Any issues with gain or impedance in doing so?
I used to own a Sonic Spark and regret selling it now. I have a standard 1/4" jack to XLR lead that works well as long as the pedal has enough gain for the BB800. As I recall, the Sonic Spark had plenty of gain but I never got to try it like this with the BB800. My Zoom B3n has enough gain with this lead, certainly.
Why not run the pedal into the BB800?
Crank the master volume so the limiter doesn’t really come on, and you should be okay.
Crank the master volume so the limiter doesn’t really come on, and you should be okay.
Great question. The simple answer is that, I've always been kind of "meh" about the Quilter preamp, and was looking to bypass it completely by running a different preamp into the Line In.
However I think I've flip-flopped my opinion within the past 24 hours. Last night I went to a blues/rock jam. I've been playing with these guys for ages, so they are familiar with how my sound has evolved through the years. The feedback I got from my friends was superlative: they said my tone through the Quilter was, without a doubt, the best my bass has EVER sounded to them. My conclusion is, the tonal qualities I don't care for at bedroom/practice volume, those same qualities sound great cranked up in a band mix. I'm still finding the preamp section to be not particularly user-friendly, but once I took a little time and dialed in that "sweet spot" it was amazing! So maybe I will put the preamp search on hold and keep exploring the sounds I can get from the Quilter.
P.S. I think another reason the mix sounded good last night is that the guitarist switched from a Fender Twin to one of those little 5 watt Bugera combos. By lightening up his guitar tone, I think he also inadvertently helped my bass sound better!
If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it is that the bedroom/showroom tone can be very deceptive, indeed. (Goes both ways too - sometimes a thing that seems fabulous at the store goes dead as a doornail, onstage.)
I am also slowly realizing how everything definitely affects everything else. If a bunch of other people in the group play too busy or too loud or are into junky-sounding gear and/or if the soundman is a knucklehead, a good amp head might not be able to overcome all that (even my old Holy Grail Ampeg V-4B).
That's why when I tested one of these, we turned it waaaaay up to make sure it still sounded good. It did and then some, I'm ditching some pedals and just going with a couple of goofy pedals and then just the amp.
Yep.
That’s how i came to love the Quilter, and flat frequency responce, in general.
I spent enough time on stage and in studios fighting for “my tone”, and it was a great tone IMO, but it didn’t always work.
I found, more and more, that a warm, flat signal pretty much always worked. It made FOH’s life easier, and meant i had less need to fiddle with EQ or monitor mixes.
And you’re right on with your assumption, “what works solo often doesn’t work in the mix, and what works in the mix often doesn’t work solo.”
Changes the way you listen to new gear.
Long time reader, first time commenter joining the chorus of praise for the BB800!
I was looking at this and a Peavey MiniMax and once I plugged in the BB800 at practice, the drummer and I had one of those "oh yeah!" moments. With the gain almost dimed, everything sounded totally massive, with every note having a huge, deep sound without being muddy at all (drummer said that everything sounded really clear). It was the first time I could actually feel everything I played. Prior to this, I was just playing out of whatever amp was at the rehearsal space/gig (usually a Peavey MK III or Acoustic B200H out of a Harkte 4x10 or Acoustic 1x15, respectively) to mixed results.
We're a three-piece doom metal band and tune low (C#) so this amp really seems to bring out the heaviness and holds its own against a huge guitar sound. I've found it really responds well to all the dirt I throw at it too - I run a Damnation Audio MBD-1 into a Tone Hammer DI into a Abominable OCD (or some other permutation of that order) and it never chokes up. I plug directly into the Active input and turn the Depth a few clicks CW and the Contour a few clicks CCW just to add some extra low end and clarity.
We've got a show coming up next weekend, so really looking forward to seeing how this sounds out in the wild!
I was looking at this and a Peavey MiniMax and once I plugged in the BB800 at practice, the drummer and I had one of those "oh yeah!" moments. With the gain almost dimed, everything sounded totally massive, with every note having a huge, deep sound without being muddy at all (drummer said that everything sounded really clear). It was the first time I could actually feel everything I played. Prior to this, I was just playing out of whatever amp was at the rehearsal space/gig (usually a Peavey MK III or Acoustic B200H out of a Harkte 4x10 or Acoustic 1x15, respectively) to mixed results.
We're a three-piece doom metal band and tune low (C#) so this amp really seems to bring out the heaviness and holds its own against a huge guitar sound. I've found it really responds well to all the dirt I throw at it too - I run a Damnation Audio MBD-1 into a Tone Hammer DI into a Abominable OCD (or some other permutation of that order) and it never chokes up. I plug directly into the Active input and turn the Depth a few clicks CW and the Contour a few clicks CCW just to add some extra low end and clarity.
We've got a show coming up next weekend, so really looking forward to seeing how this sounds out in the wild!
I’m sold! Love the Bass Block!
Simple and remarkably effective. Thank you, Goodnight!!
Simple and remarkably effective. Thank you, Goodnight!!
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
RS410VT wired for 4ohm =
H.E.A.V.E.N.
I'm having interests in the bb800. Is the line out really sensible to the increase of the master vol. If I increase the master by a click or 2, does it make a huge difference for the foh . I usually don't modify my volume during a gig but ...
Yup, that really is how it's designed. Makes a lot of sense, too, from the perspective of using the bb800 as a tone shaping device. For example if you turn up the Gain to get more "hair" then you can reduce the Master to compensate. Otherwise, hypothetically if the Master did NOT affect the Line Out, when you turn up the Gain, for tone shaping purposes, you'd be way too loud in front of house.
The bb800 doesn't have a "true" DI so if you want or need that, just put a Radial, Countryman, etc. between your bass and the amp. This is the industry standard practice that will make most soundmen happy.
