Quilter Bass Block

[tombowlus]

Tom,

Thanks for the invite to "bug" you! Consider yourself bugged! LOL

BTW, checking out Bass Gear Mag. Pretty nice rag you have there!

Got it, and thanks!

 

[Jacobflyin]

I just ordered mine Bass Block and it will be powering my Ampeg 8x10E so I will post asap on my feeling of the amp.
I am going from a Hartke LH1000 with a Ampeg preamp only because the Hartke sounded very plain by it's self. I am hoping the Quilter will let me remove the Ampeg pre amp from my signal chain and give me much more room on my pedal board.

 

[basscapes]

I just ordered mine Bass Block and it will be powering my Ampeg 8x10E so I will post asap on my feeling of the amp.
I am going from a Hartke LH1000 with a Ampeg preamp only because the Hartke sounded very plain by it's self. I am hoping the Quilter will let me remove the Ampeg pre amp from my signal chain and give me much more room on my pedal board.

That sounds like a good plan. BTW, Which Ampeg pre do you have?

 

[Jacobflyin]

That sounds like a good plan. BTW, Which Ampeg pre do you have?

I have the Ampeg SCR-DI and it works fine just not what I am looking for.
I am going to try and fit the Bass Block on my pedal board and just run a 20ft speakon cable to the bass cab. if it works out like I want I will have all my controls for tone and pedals in one easy location and less cables running across the floor.

 

[LozzieG74]

While the bag that comes with the BB800 is decent, I decided to do a case up with the amp and one that also holds all of my power and signal leads, microphones and (most importantly..) my drink holder.

It does take away from the small and lightweight aspect of the amp however this setup reduces 3 bags down to one case and is a lot easier to carry it all around. I still use the bag to take it to work and home etc.

 

[Rockbobmel]

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice...........

 

[LozzieG74]

I have the Ampeg SCR-DI and it works fine just not what I am looking for.
I am going to try and fit the Bass Block on my pedal board and just run a 20ft speakon cable to the bass cab. if it works out like I want I will have all my controls for tone and pedals in one easy location and less cables running across the floor.

I hate having cables all over the place but TBH I personally I prefer to have the amp on my cabinet as opposed to the floor (easier for an old guy like me to adjust the volume on the fly!).

I ended up recently purchasing a couple of these leads that supply power and signal in the one cable. I plan to modify one with jacks on the ends to go from my board to the front input on the BB800 and swap the other ones XLR's around to go from my board (Bass Fly Rig) to the rear input of the BB800.

SWAMP Combo XLR and IEC AU Plug Power + Microphone Cable - 5m

I'm sure you can get similar units in the US for your 110V plugs/power, it might be worth a look to reduce your cables down!

 

[John D Harris]

I have the Ampeg SCR-DI and it works fine just not what I am looking for.
I am going to try and fit the Bass Block on my pedal board and just run a 20ft speakon cable to the bass cab. if it works out like I want I will have all my controls for tone and pedals in one easy location and less cables running across the floor.

IMO, long speaker cable runs should be avoided if possible - 2nd law of thermodynamics (electrical power lost to heat).

 

[jcerio]

I have,got to drag my Aggie SL-112s to my local dealer and try this out. I might just have to buy a third can and make a mighty mini stack!

 

[Stu_Bass]

I hate having cables all over the place but TBH I personally I prefer to have the amp on my cabinet as opposed to the floor (easier for an old guy like me to adjust the volume on the fly!).

I ended up recently purchasing a couple of these leads that supply power and signal in the one cable. I plan to modify one with jacks on the ends to go from my board to the front input on the BB800 and swap the other ones XLR's around to go from my board (Bass Fly Rig) to the rear input of the BB800.

SWAMP Combo XLR and IEC AU Plug Power + Microphone Cable - 5m

I'm sure you can get similar units in the US for your 110V plugs/power, it might be worth a look to reduce your cables down!

i think the bundling of cables such as this is illegal in the USA. No high voltage AC with low level signal cables. I recently found this and am going to try it: Pedal Python
I also have an older version of this system that works well for me:Ultimate Pedal Cabling Solution

 

[Linnin]

I played the Bass Block in band practice last night, and it sounded great. I had been playing through a new Fender Bassman 800 (tube front end, 800-watt ICEpower module) and Bassman Neo 410 (both in for review), and when I switched to the BB800, I was struck by how similar the Quilter sounded to the Bassman 800 (which I had set up to be fairly "flat"). They both do a nice job of being full, stout, balanced, somewhat (but not unduly) warm, and yet clear and articulate.

Bravo! Your opinion I trust. I am most familiar with the Bassman 500, so that experience is applicable. The two control front end of the Quilter BB is very intriguing to say the least.

 

[Linnin]

I've used the fourth-generation prototype a few times (I have a connection).

 

[PaperbackRyder]

It's about time someone did the contour type control like this. Always been a scoop control which to me equates to a "bass disappearance" knob. One if the thing I like about my ToneHammer island the drive knob which turns the response from a smile to a frown. Tightens up the sound and helps me tune the amp to the room and/or band.
Looks like the Quilter can dial it either way. And has a 1m(?) ohm input which may or may not play nice with my uprights full circle.
I have no complaints about the Aguilar, mind you. But for $599 this may be worth a try.

 

[kasbrey]

Looks like the Quilter can dial it either way. And has a 1m(?) ohm input which may or may not play nice with my uprights full circle.

According to the manual it's 2m ohm.

 

[Jacobflyin]

IMO, long speaker cable runs should be avoided if possible - 2nd law of thermodynamics (electrical power lost to heat).

I was thinking the Fact that on the power out side of the amp you have less RF interference having a longer speaker cable would be better then a long guitar cable. I was not thinking of the heat that could be generated. But with that said most speaker cables in a large venue are much longer then the 20 ft and the power amps are much more powerful then I will be using so I don't think there should be much problem. Worst case I go back to setting my amp on top of the cab.

But if my idea works then all I will have is, Pedal board, bass case, and Cab to move around and less cables to worry about.

 

[John D Harris]

I was thinking the Fact that on the power out side of the amp you have less RF interference having a longer speaker cable would be better then a long guitar cable. I was not thinking of the heat that could be generated. But with that said most speaker cables in a large venue are much longer then the 20 ft and the power amps are much more powerful then I will be using so I don't think there should be much problem. Worst case I go back to setting my amp on top of the cab.

But if my idea works then all I will have is, Pedal board, bass case, and Cab to move around and less cables to worry about.

Whatever works for you.
I'm not part of the Speaker Cable Fascist Party!

 

[middy]

IMO, long speaker cable runs should be avoided if possible - 2nd law of thermodynamics (electrical power lost to heat).

Long speaker cable runs will pick up a lot less noise than long signal cable runs. The power loss is negligible at 10-30 feet.

 

[B-line]

I'm very happy with this amp- Mine arrived today, and I spent about 4 hours playing through it and getting familiar with it.
I plugged it into my Bergantino HS410 cab, and broke out my G&L M2000.

This amp is LOUD- loud, with lots of headroom and a tight and defined tone; uncolored and I think unique.
I found it easy, as others have mentioned, to dial in variances in the tones I wanted to hear. The simple eq on the amp along with the 3-band pre-amp on my M2K gave me all the range of tones I needed.

The Quilter site gives detailed specs and explains the design concept of this rig in quite technical terms. I'm not a Sound Engineer, but I do understand the approach Mr Quilter took, and the terminology he uses regarding a "stiff" power section for bass being best makes perfect sense.
I can feel the "stiffness" and punch as I play.

One other comment:
I've never been interested in using a rack rig, so although I certainly was aware of QSC amps, I never looked into the product or Company...

What a story!
Pat Quilter is a real renaissance man, founding and still serving as a CEO of a major audio company. (All of this while enjoying playing steel guitar, throwing tomahawks and such!)
His IQ in audio engineering and otherwise must be off the charts- a natural over-achiever! Seems like a very enlightened guy as well.

I was not even aware of Quilter Performance Amplification until I saw the BB800 release announced in No Treble, followed by looking into this thread on TB, so thanks to the OP and others who have made some fine posts in this thread.

I feel -after using this rig, and having played through many others-that the design and performance might even make it an important new product in the bass amp market.

Unfortunately; no upcoming gigs for me on the calender (yet) where I will REALLY get the full benefits of this product; hopefully soon!

 

[CharlieC]

I'm very happy with this amp- Mine arrived today, and I spent about 4 hours playing through it and getting familiar with it.
I plugged it into my Bergantino HS410 cab, and broke out my G&L M2000.

This amp is LOUD- loud, with lots of headroom and a tight and defined tone; uncolored and I think unique.
I found it easy, as others have mentioned, to dial in variances in the tones I wanted to hear. The simple eq on the amp along with the 3-band pre-amp on my M2K gave me all the range of tones I needed.

The Quilter site gives detailed specs and explains the design concept of this rig in quite technical terms. I'm not a Sound Engineer, but I do understand the approach Mr Quilter took, and the terminology he uses regarding a "stiff" power section for bass being best makes perfect sense.
I can feel the "stiffness" and punch as I play.

One other comment:
I've never been interested in using a rack rig, so although I certainly was aware of QSC amps, I never looked into the product or Company...

What a story!
Pat Quilter is a real renaissance man, founding and still serving as a CEO of a major audio company. (All of this while enjoying playing steel guitar, throwing tomahawks and such!)
His IQ in audio engineering and otherwise must be off the charts- a natural over-achiever! Seems like a very enlightened guy as well.

I was not even aware of Quilter Performance Amplification until I saw the BB800 release announced in No Treble, followed by looking into this thread on TB, so thanks to the OP and others who have made some fine posts in this thread.

I feel -after using this rig, and having played through many others-that the design and performance might even make it an important new product in the bass amp market.

Unfortunately; no upcoming gigs for me on the calender (yet) where I will REALLY get the full benefits of this product; hopefully soon!

Great review and post!

I am curious as to the following on your BB800:

How loud is the cooling fan? Does it turn on with the unit or only when required?

Does your Mute button generate a signal "pop" when switched?

Thanks in advance!

 

[kasbrey]

I think I posted earlier in this thread that My BB800 had a slight whine from the fan. I feel I must update to say that the fan must have broken in as it is now very quiet. It does come on immediately.
My mute button is pop free.