Quilter BB arrived today!
The story is: My main amp is a SWR Mo' Bass which I LOVE. But between me and the previous owner this amp has been working constantly for - i think - 16 years without a single visit to a tech, but by a pair of months every now and then some noises and squeaking are being heard so I've started searching for a backup amp just in case...
First choices were another mo' bass or an headlite, but since in my area they're nowhere to be found, I've started looking for something small and light.
My final options were:
1) an EBS Redimar 750 for 550 used
2) a quilter amp for the same price new.
Choosed the Quilter, beacuse of warranty and the option of sending it back. Plus videos seemed promising and reviews were great.
Plugged in my trusty SOB (1x15) and Goliath III (4x10).
First impression was not that good. It somewhat recalled the sound I'm used to, but highs were gone. All mids and no highs. Something to make appear Billy Sheean like a scooped sound guy. I've spent some time tweaking the knobs and I've found some cool and vintage sounds, but not something I crave and not sure something I'm going to use a lot.
After the first “meh” impression I've connected a GK Plex first in the line in and then in the input. Well, defintely GREAT result there. Same when tried with a zoom B3n. Lots of lovely sounds and i liked a lot the limiting effect of the Quilter. Just Wow.
As a standalone amp maybe it isn't my cup of tea, but obviously I need to spend more time with it and see how things evolve (and maybe have some suggestion from you? ^^ ). Love it with other pre though.
At first I was thinking of sending it back, but it's small, powerful and sounds great with other pres, plus I diggin' the idea of having around something that sounds totally different from my “regular” sound.
I'm used to run amps flat and make changes with the pre in my bass, but seems these time I need to make an exception. Though I don't know if it's even possible, do some of you know if there is a way to approach this kind of tone with this amp?
And concerning heat. My room is hot, so I've played running a fan just behind the Quilter BB. It gets warm nonetheless. Between the Quilter and the GK Plex seemed like I was playing a tube amp ^^
How much does the Quilter runs hot? Do some of you had any problems playing open gigs in summer or anything heat-releated?