• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Quilter Bass Block

#2,361
Hypercaffium said:
I'm eyeballing this bad boy since a while now, maybe it's time I ask you a couple of questions:

  • Can this amp be connected from line out straight into a mixer and then active monitors, without a cabinet connected? I don't use a cabinet at home, I just practice with my active monitors or headphones.
  • What's the difference between line out and DI?
  • I'm not an expert when it comes to DI in general, but I've heard some rants about the line out volume being dependent on the master volume. Which kind of problem you can have and how to solve it?
  • I can't understand if the amp have a built-in compressor of some sort and if you can work around that, maybe deactivate it?
  • I'm looking for a "netural" amp capable of being FLAT, is this a good amp for that?
  • EQ controls seems minimal, is there a control for midrange? Tell me more about controls.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

No safety issue using the amp without a cab connected. Be aware the Master will still influence the signal level.

There is some natural compression in the amp, and it cannot be deactivated. The can be set to sound fairly flat, though I noticed it rounded off some of the highs. I couldn't EQ a bright top-end back in, even with a tweeter on my cab. It isn't a major issue unless you want a very crisp, bright tone. It should be fine for most players. There is no dedicated mid boost control, and the EQ isn't exactly like a Baxandal 2-band where you can boost the mids (relatively) by cutting the highs and lows. Otherwise, the contour control will cut the mids.
 
#2,362
Hydron said:
Manual says that you can unplug the speaker output when using headphones.
Click to expand...
Good. I guess once the headhpone is plugged into the amp it mutes the speaker output? Anyway, I have headphone jacks on both mixer and monitors, so it's not a problem at all.

Mushroo said:
I can confirm 100% that you can use the Quilter BB800 into a mixer, without a cabinet attached.
Because it is a Line Out and not a DI, all of the knobs (including Master) affect the sound to the mixer. This is a good thing in your case, since presumably you want your home practice experience to be the same sound as rehearsals plugged into a cab.
Click to expand...
Yes. It's like a DI but set for "post", I guess.
Is the line out the same cable as the cannon? This is my mixer, I just want to be sure if I can use the cannon port or need an adaptor or something.
phonic-am55-3.jpg


TrevorOfDoom said:
1.The amp doesn't need a speaker load, so yes.
2.The original intent. A Line Out is for feeding another power amp, and a DI is for FOH use.
3.The worst that can happen is you'll send a super hot signal to the board. This won't happen when you're just practicing at home, but at a gig it happens. I carry a 15dB pad with me for whenever a soundguy complains, but most competent soundguys can work around it.
4.It doesn't have a built-in compressor. It has a built-in dual-stage limiter. It works and sounds and behaves like a tube amp. When tubes get hot, they start limiting the signal. Not a lot, but a bit. This amp does the same thing.
I'll put it this way: You'll never actually hear the limiter in the same way you can often hear outboard or pedalboard compressors.
The limiter is actually a large part of the magic of this amp. Whenever we've talked about the "weight" or "heft" or "slam" of this amp, it's due to the limiter.
When we talk about the magic of cranking the gain with a lower master volume to get that "feel", we're talking about the limiter.
Everyone who loves this amp, loves the limiter. Everyone.
5. This amp, with the 2 tone controls being set at Noon, is completely frequency flat. A straight horizontal line on a frequency graph. I've never found a more neutral amp.
6.Minimal EQ is also part of the magic of this amp.
Depth control has a hinge frequency of 100Hz. I think it's a shelving control, but I could be wrong.
Turn in up or down. Fairly basic.
Contour, however, is different. Counterclockwise, it's a midscoop, with the mid frequency in question being 300Hz. Clockwise, it's a shelving treble control hinged at 200Hz.
While that sounds like some questionable EQ design, it in fact is the most intuitive EQ system I've ever used.
Someone else in this thread made a comprehensive list/manual of everything the EQ can do with just those two knobs. It's kinda crazy.
Besides, if you want a "neutral" or frequency flat amp, why would you want/need it to have too many controls? ;)

I think you'd LOVE this amp if you got to try one.
Many online retailers have good return policies. I got mine through Zzounds, and they have a 45 day return policy.

I hope my answers actually helped and didn't just confuse you more.
Click to expand...
You helped a lot, yeah. Thanks.
monsterthompson said:
No safety issue using the amp without a cab connected. Be aware the Master will still influence the signal level.

There is some natural compression in the amp, and it cannot be deactivated. The can be set to sound fairly flat, though I noticed it rounded off some of the highs. I couldn't EQ a bright top-end back in, even with a tweeter on my cab. It isn't a major issue unless you want a very crisp, bright tone. It should be fine for most players. There is no dedicated mid boost control, and the EQ isn't exactly like a Baxandal 2-band where you can boost the mids (relatively) by cutting the highs and lows. Otherwise, the contour control will cut the mids.
Click to expand...
I usually set my amps flat and use an overdrive pedal (COG 66) to get some midrange push.
From the clips I've seen this amp doesn't seem to be dark, how much treble were you tying to get? I guess you can always use an EQ or DI pedal into the amp, if needed.
When I slap with my Ampeg I usually turn my H9 on and use a compressor+eq preset set pretty bright and it works.
 
#2,363
A caveat, which may or may not be helpful:
Most amps, including your Ampeg, are not frequency flat with all knobs at noon. Most amps (likely 99% of all amps on the market) have a built-in EQ curve to them. It’s their “voice”.
The Quilter does not. It’s completely flat with the EQ knobs at noon. It’s like plugging into a high quality DI box that just happens to react like a tube amp.
Which I love, but if you’re used to a “voiced” amp, it can take some getting used to.
But trust me, just get one. Thank me later.
 
  • Like
Reactions: son_of_mogh, Taustin Powers and CunniMingus
#2,364
Hypercaffium said:
I usually set my amps flat and use an overdrive pedal (COG 66) to get some midrange push.
From the clips I've seen this amp doesn't seem to be dark, how much treble were you tying to get? I guess you can always use an EQ or DI pedal into the amp, if needed.
When I slap with my Ampeg I usually turn my H9 on and use a compressor+eq preset set pretty bright and it works.
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to get an exceptional amount of treble when playing clean (say an ultra modern hi-fi slap/pop sound). However, I do like a bit of high end bite, particularly when playing with my fingers. I play with distortion, so I don't want anything too bright over about 4k, which could just become the "wrong kind" of nasty and harsh. I suppose it is hard to explain that without audio clips :)

I'd say that if you are using the COG 66, which isn't as bright as something like a Rat variant, then you have one of two likely outcomes:
1. You don't care about the treble brightness that this amp might roll off, so you will not find anything missing.
2. Your pedal sound is already a tad warm/dark, and the amp will round off more than you want.

My experience was that it made my Darkglass Alpha Omega sound sound less agressive than I wanted, and I couldn't EQ the cutting edge I wanted back into the sound. My Demeter VTBP M 800D had no such issues, nor did the Darkglass MT900 head I had (yeah, I had all three amps at once; it was an embarrassment of riches). I was less bothered by this when going for a clean tone. However, the fact that this amp made my "vicious" sounding dirt pedal sound less vicious, was enough for me to sell it. My educated guess is that the limiting/compression which gives this amp a thick, muscular clean tone is related to the way it took the edge off the dirt pedal, though I don't have any sort of spectrum analysis to support this. To my ears, it felt like over-compressing a dirty sound in a DAW, to the point where the distortion sounds distant and doesn't cut. Now, I've exaggerated a bit for purposes of explanation. Several users have no such issue with this amp. I believe when I posted about my concern, one or two folks agreed with my findings, and a few disputed them. YMMV.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CunniMingus and grimmchaos
#2,365
monsterthompson said:
I wasn't trying to get an exceptional amount of treble when playing clean (say an ultra modern hi-fi slap/pop sound). However, I do like a bit of high end bite, particularly when playing with my fingers. I play with distortion, so I don't want anything too bright over about 4k, which could just become the "wrong kind" of nasty and harsh. I suppose it is hard to explain that without audio clips :)

I'd say that if you are using the COG 66, which isn't as bright as something like a Rat variant, then you have one of two likely outcomes:
1. You don't care about the treble brightness that this amp might roll off, so you will not find anything missing.
2. Your pedal sound is already a tad warm/dark, and the amp will round off more than you want.

My experience was that it made my Darkglass Alpha Omega sound sound less agressive than I wanted, and I couldn't EQ the cutting edge I wanted back into the sound. My Demeter VTBP M 800D had no such issues, nor did the Darkglass MT900 head I had (yeah, I had all three amps at once; it was an embarrassment of riches). I was less bothered by this when going for a clean tone. However, the fact that this amp made my "vicious" sounding dirt pedal sound less vicious, was enough for me to sell it. My educated guess is that the limiting/compression which gives this amp a thick, muscular clean tone is related to the way it took the edge off the dirt pedal, though I don't have any sort of spectrum analysis to support this. To my ears, it felt like over-compressing a dirty sound in a DAW, to the point where the distortion sounds distant and doesn't cut. Now, I've exaggerated a bit for purposes of explanation. Several users have no such issue with this amp. I believe when I posted about my concern, one or two folks agreed with my findings, and a few disputed them. YMMV.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how this all works on your end, but I know that the BB800 doesn't start dropping treble until well after 5kHz.
I know this because I have an LPF at 4kHz that makes a huge difference on my fEarful 12/6 (which only goes up to 5kHz)
But to be fair, only Pat can answer this question.
 
  • Like
Reactions: blip, CunniMingus and Chauffer
#2,366
TrevorOfDoom said:
I'm not sure how this all works on your end, but I know that the BB800 doesn't start dropping treble until well after 5kHz.
I know this because I have an LPF at 4kHz that makes a huge difference on my fEarful 12/6 (which only goes up to 5kHz)
But to be fair, only Pat can answer this question.
Click to expand...
... this is why my guess is that my issue had more to do with the compression character of the amp than the "flatness" of it. The amp didn't sound "dark" as much as it felt like the higher frequencies were softer and not as snappy as would have I expected.
I'm using a Barefaced BB2 cab, for reference.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CunniMingus and husky123
#2,367
monsterthompson said:
... this is why my guess is that my issue had more to do with the compression character of the amp than the "flatness" of it. The amp didn't sound "dark" as much as it felt like the higher frequencies were softer and not as snappy as would have I expected.
I'm using a Barefaced BB2 cab, for reference.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. Makes sense, then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: monsterthompson
#2,368
monsterthompson said:
I'd say that if you are using the COG 66, which isn't as bright as something like a Rat variant, then you have one of two likely outcomes:
1. You don't care about the treble brightness that this amp might roll off, so you will not find anything missing.
2. Your pedal sound is already a tad warm/dark, and the amp will round off more than you want.
Click to expand...
The 66 is based on the Rat and there's a switch to boost treble. It can be pretty bright into my Ampeg Ba-108, which is dark by nature. It replaced a Darklass B3K which is a little bit darker sounding, smoother and more "refined". The 66 is more "transpaernt" and raw.
If the BB800 tends to "fix" some frequencies when compressing it can be good for cleans, but if you're planning to use it as a pedal platform I guess you can have some problems, maybe?
I play everything from classic stuff to heavily distorted music, electronic stuff (think octave down into fuzz into modulation into bit crusher) so I want to be sure to hear the sound of my pedals.
 
#2,369
Hypercaffium said:
The 66 is based on the Rat and there's a switch to boost treble. It can be pretty bright into my Ampeg Ba-108, which is dark by nature. It replaced a Darklass B3K which is a little bit darker sounding, smoother and more "refined". The 66 is more "transpaernt" and raw.
If the BB800 tends to "fix" some frequencies when compressing it can be good for cleans, but if you're planning to use it as a pedal platform I guess you can have some problems, maybe?
I play everything from classic stuff to heavily distorted music, electronic stuff (think octave down into fuzz into modulation into bit crusher) so I want to be sure to hear the sound of my pedals.
Click to expand...


I thought the 66 is their OCD clone. The TK 421 X was their Rat based pedal. I had the 66 Mini and it was definitely more like an OCD than a Rat.
 
#2,373
Cuniliguns said:
Where's this post? I'ver read them all and did not found it
Click to expand...

Maybe this one?

Inara said:
I posted a bit ago about how to boost mids with the EQ. I've expanded it a bit to cover further options. Of course, this is nothing new or ground breaking for people who have played with the amp a bit. I thought I'd post it here in case people find this thread when researching the amp and have questions about the EQ. So, if you're reading this thread and wondering how a two-knob EQ can work for electric bass, here goes.

First, I'll just note that the Depth and Contour knobs interact very musically, and have detents at each position. Each detent makes a noticeable difference to the tone, in a very musical and intuitive way once you play with it a bit.

Second, whereas most manufacturers' "Contour" knobs are "off" at zero and progressively scoop the mids when turned clockwise, the Quilter Contour knob is different. It's flat at noon and does these two things: rotating counter-clockwise from noon gives a mid scoop, and rotating clockwise from noon leaves bass and mids alone while cutting treble, giving a more "vintage" effect.

With that being said, what I've found is that you have all of these general EQ options from just the interactions of the two knobs plus the master volume:

Flat: both knobs at noon (all the following options start from this flat setting)
Boost bass: Depth knob clockwise
Cut bass: Depth knob counter-clockwise, adjust master up to compensate for lost volume
Boost treble: Contour and Depth knobs counter-clockwise, adjust master up to compensate for lost volume
Cut treble: Contour knob clockwise
Boost mids: Depth knob counter-clockwise, Contour knob clockwise, adjust master up to compensate for lost volume
Cut (scoop) mids: Contour knob counter-clockwise

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chauffer, Cuniliguns and CunniMingus

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back