Quilter Bass Block

[B-line]

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!

Hi Charlie; thanks back at you!

I'm fortunate to have a bass studio at home where I can play at high volume, so I've run this amp pretty hard. It's very quiet; it seems like the fan runs as soon as I power up, at least that's what I think the minimal sound I hear is. If the fan is set to run only at a certain internal temperature; then I haven't reached that point yet- And I have played loud and hard with it!

There is a pop when the mute is engaged; I don't see this as being an issue though; it seems to be simply the sound of a control engaging; no worries.

Only complaint- lack of a tuner out on the rear panel. I'm used to plugging my Korg mini-tuner into both my G-K and MarkBass rigs.
Again, not any kind of deal-breaker; one of the 1/4" inputs in front can be used for tuner in.

In about an hour I'll start my "Morning Bass Workout"; I'll break out my old-school (passive of course) P-Bass. I think it will match well with the Bass Block.

 

[CharlieC]

Hi Charlie; thanks back at you!

I'm fortunate to have a bass studio at home where I can play at high volume, so I've run this amp pretty hard. It's very quiet; it seems like the fan runs as soon as I power up, at least that's what I think the minimal sound I hear is. If the fan is set to run only at a certain internal temperature; then I haven't reached that point yet- And I have played loud and hard with it!

There is a pop when the mute is engaged; I don't see this as being an issue though; it seems to be simply the sound of a control engaging; no worries.

Only complaint- lack of a tuner out on the rear panel. I'm used to plugging my Korg mini-tuner into both my G-K and MarkBass rigs.
Again, not any kind of deal-breaker; one of the 1/4" inputs in front can be used for tuner in.

In about an hour I'll start my "Morning Bass Workout"; I'll break out my old-school (passive of course) P-Bass. I think it will match well with the Bass Block.

It sounds then like the fan runs quietly from power-up and at a constant speed (as your hard use should have spun it faster if it were temperature moderated.)

The Mute pop is a circuit artifact apparently common to this amp (and not an anomaly.)

Cheers!

 

[Stu_Bass]

Hi Charlie; thanks back at you!

I'm fortunate to have a bass studio at home where I can play at high volume, so I've run this amp pretty hard. It's very quiet; it seems like the fan runs as soon as I power up, at least that's what I think the minimal sound I hear is. If the fan is set to run only at a certain internal temperature; then I haven't reached that point yet- And I have played loud and hard with it!

There is a pop when the mute is engaged; I don't see this as being an issue though; it seems to be simply the sound of a control engaging; no worries.

Only complaint- lack of a tuner out on the rear panel. I'm used to plugging my Korg mini-tuner into both my G-K and MarkBass rigs.
Again, not any kind of deal-breaker; one of the 1/4" inputs in front can be used for tuner in.

In about an hour I'll start my "Morning Bass Workout"; I'll break out my old-school (passive of course) P-Bass. I think it will match well with the Bass Block.

Be cautious when using the active in as a tuner send. I've experienced loading of my signal when doing this. Shortly after I got my Thunderfunk I ran the line in as tuner send and noticed that the amp lost a lot of its high mids. Unplugging the tuner brought them back. I don't know if the BB800 is buffered and won't be home for a few days to test it. I'd go with the line out on back and an XLR to 1/4" TS cable

 

[B-line]

Thanks for the heads-up Stu-Bass.

Along with the issues you mention, I find it obtrusive using one of the front panel instrument inputs on the Bass Block for tuner in- It gets in my way;

I'm going to go back to using my old, reliable, 9-volt battery- sucking Boss TU-2 as a stand -alone! (I don't use a pedalboard anymore).
That takes care of that issue.

The Bass Block power and tone more than make up for this minor inconvenience,

 

[Stu_Bass]

Off topic but worth a look. Reverb offers a clip on tuner for a flat $4 fee. It used to be $1 but alas no more. Either way it's a decent tuner and $4 is still cheap, no?
Reverb Clip-On Tuner

 

[CharlieC]

Have any of you existing BB800 owners made the Power On pilot light "wink" yet? (or worse?)

From what I understand, this signals thermal limiting in the amplifier.

 

[Mike Barry]

Have any of you existing BB800 owners made the Power On pilot light "wink" yet? (or worse?)

From what I understand, this signals thermal limiting in the amplifier.

So far I've played over a dozen gigs on the BB800 with no thermal limiting "winking" incidents. My last gig was a large outdoor event; the amp was running a 4ohm load, (two 8 ohm cabs), with the Master set wide open at 800 watts. The sound was Killer...!

BTW, the sound company, after hearing the amps direct out packed up their Countryman direct box and gave me and the amp two thumbs up...

 

[Jacobflyin]

I receive my BB800 today and tonight I will be testing it was a Ampeg 8x10 4ohm cab, Avatar neo b212 8 ohm cab and a Eden 210 8ohm cab and then the Avatar and Eden stacked. I am so excited to see what this little guy can do.

 

[basscapes]

I receive my BB800 today and tonight I will be testing it was a Ampeg 8x10 4ohm cab, Avatar neo b212 8 ohm cab and a Eden 210 8ohm cab and then the Avatar and Eden stacked. I am so excited to see what this little guy can do.

As you may have read previously in this thread, I am anxiously awaiting opinions (yours and a few others here) regarding what this little "miracle amp" can do through the Ampeg 810 at 4 ohms!

 

[TomB]

As a confirmed GK enthusiast, I'm addicted to the nuanced high-mid control that GK amps offer. For those BB800 users who also know the GK signature sound, how does this amp compare? Can you get a crisp high end with the BB800 if that's what you want? Thx!

 

[B-line]

TomB-
I'm a GK enthusiast as well, having owned a 400RB back in the day, and currently having an MB Fusion 500 among my arsenal of heads.

To my ears, these are differently voiced amps.

The BB800 has its own signature sound IMO; hard to compare to anything else I've used; also hard to describe it's sonic qualities with words!

I would say that the Quilter is a bit more "flat", with less pronounced and less "round" bass frequencies than GK, if that makes sense.

There's also quite a bit less eq on the BB as compared to my GK.

That's not to say the BB is a one-trick pony;- there's a good amount of tone shaping available from the Depth and Contour knobs.

However, if you're wanting the GK signature tone, I'm not sure you'll get exactly that from
the Bass Block.
You will get what IMO is tight, punchy, and stiff, very pleasing to my ears.

Hope that helps!

 

[TomB]

TomB-
I'm a GK enthusiast as well, having owned a 400RB back in the day, and currently having an MB Fusion 500 among my arsenal of heads.

To my ears, these are differently voiced amps.

The BB800 has its own signature sound IMO; hard to compare to anything else I've used; also hard to describe it's sonic qualities with words!

I would say that the Quilter is a bit more "flat", with less pronounced and less "round" bass frequencies than GK, if that makes sense.

There's also quite a bit less eq on the BB as compared to my GK.

That's not to say the BB is a one-trick pony;- there's a good amount of tone shaping available from the Depth and Contour knobs.

However, if you're wanting the GK signature tone, I'm not sure you'll get exactly that from
the Bass Block.
You will get what IMO is tight, punchy, and stiff, very pleasing to my ears.

Hope that helps!

Yes, it does help. My question was meant to be specifically about the high-mids and highs part of the BB sound. The manual suggests that highs starts subdued and become "old school" from there as you go clockwise. I'm concerned about clarity & presence in a dense mix without being loud, something at which the GK EQ excels. Any insights are appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Jacobflyin]

I receive my BB800 today and tonight I will be testing it was a Ampeg 8x10 4ohm cab, Avatar neo b212 8 ohm cab and a Eden 210 8ohm cab and then the Avatar and Eden stacked. I am so excited to see what this little guy can do.

So USPS strikes again. I guess I will have to wait till next week now. the address got mixed up and it did not get delivered.

 

[B-line]

TomB, you're welcome.
I hope I didn't dissuade you from trying the BB800; you might hear it in a whole different way than I do!
I bought mine from a Retailer offering a no-questions asked 45-day return window, so I knew there would be no risk; if it didn't do what I like; back it would go!

It is, however staying, (so is my GK MB Fusion which I've had for several years).

Closest comparable overall tone I can compare the BB800 to is my Ashdown CTM-100, oddly enough.
There's a difference of 2x KT88's and about...40 lbs.between the two, but there are similarities in some of what I hear.

And Jacobflyn; I feel your pain. It's a nightmare when something goes astray with the USPS; almost impossible to speak to anyone,
I hope you get your rig soon!

 

[Bassometer]

I am very interested in the BB 800. I just sold a head and I have a few bucks to invest into a new sound. My problem is that I have to request that a demo BB800 be sent to my local music shop so I can try it. I want to make sure that it fits my tone print before I make them go through the effort of getting it in.

Right now I'm enjoying my Tone Hammer 350 but it just doesn't not have enough steam for larger gigs ( although it is impressively loud for 350w)

The more reviews of this head the better, keep it up, thanks.

 

[B-line]

My question was meant to be specifically about the high-mids and highs part of the BB sound. The manual suggests that highs starts subdued and become "old school" from there as you go clockwise. I'm concerned about clarity & presence in a dense mix without being loud, something at which the GK EQ excels. Any insights are appreciated.

Hey, Tom; I'll try & give that a shot...To my ears, (and other users may hear things differently), the BassBlock has what I could call almost a "default" tone. First off- it's inherently strong and loud, even at low volume. As soon as powered up, even with Gain & Master set at minimums, there it is: Kind of an in-you-face presence. I keep thinking of "stiff" as Mr Quilter describes what his ideal for powering a bass amp should be. I'd add "tight" as my own description.

The GK eq is extensive, as you know. The high/low-mids and treble freqs can be set to great levels; add "Presence" and play with the Contour control(s) and the sky is the limit, let alone what your instrument preamp can add!

Not so much range with the BB800, IMO. There are noticeable differences in tone when rotating both Contour and Depth settings, but again-to my ears- The distinct and signature flat, (in a good sense) stiff, and punchy overall character remains the same- A good thing IMO, of course; even when playing my active basses with powerful pre-amps.

I'd be oversimplifying to say that the BassBlocks knobs are simply mid-scoop and adding +/- Bass or Treble. They actually are very musically voiced within the overall sound of the BassBlock.

I haven't yet played with a Rhythm section with my BB, however I think I can safely say that it will retain both clarity and tone presence at all volume levels.


I think that players looking for a strong hi-fi sound might not like the BassBlock. The again..They just might!

 

[kasbrey]

Yes, it does help. My question was meant to be specifically about the high-mids and highs part of the BB sound. The manual suggests that highs starts subdued and become "old school" from there as you go clockwise. I'm concerned about clarity & presence in a dense mix without being loud, something at which the GK EQ excels. Any insights are appreciated. Thank you.

I don't have any specific experience with GK but I have had plenty of time to to get to know the BB800 and have gigged and rehearsed using a couple of different cabs. The two controls are set out to give an almost graphical representation of the waveform from HPF with the Deep knob counter clockwise to the contour control's LPF when moved clockwise. In between settings the Deep knob clockwise operates in the traditional bass control manner but the contour control operates the opposite way to a traditional treble knob.
Moving the contour to the left from flat effectively dips the low mids and, used sparingly with the HPF on the deep control, has the effect of boosting highs and high mids relatively. Using the two controls you can effectively "draw" the waveform that you require and then adjust the Gain or Master to compensate.

The starting point of the amp's flat tone is very important and accurately reflects the signal you put in. I have had no problems cutting through the mix in the gigs and rehearsals that I've done with the BB800 and have used the EQ to compensate for room and cab with great success. What you don't seem to be able to achieve with the EQ are those extreme unusable settings.
The best way I can explain the EQ is like a much more powerful VLE and VPF controls on a Markbass head for those familiar.

 

[basscapes]

I don't have any specific experience with GK but I have had plenty of time to to get to know the BB800 and have gigged and rehearsed using a couple of different cabs. The two controls are set out to give an almost graphical representation of the waveform from HPF with the Deep knob counter clockwise to the contour control's LPF when moved clockwise. In between settings the Deep knob clockwise operates in the traditional bass control manner but the contour control operates the opposite way to a traditional treble knob.
Moving the contour to the left from flat effectively dips the low mids and, used sparingly with the HPF on the deep control, has the effect of boosting highs and high mids relatively. Using the two controls you can effectively "draw" the waveform that you require and then adjust the Gain or Master to compensate.

The starting point of the amp's flat tone is very important and accurately reflects the signal you put in. I have had no problems cutting through the mix in the gigs and rehearsals that I've done with the BB800 and have used the EQ to compensate for room and cab with great success. What you don't seem to be able to achieve with the EQ are those extreme unusable settings.
The best way I can explain the EQ is like a much more powerful VLE and VPF controls on a Markbass head for those familiar.

That makes it all the more intriguing to me- I use an SWR ST-800 power amp as my "bass amp", prefering to use an MXR81 preamp, EMG EXB (in its own 1590B on the pedalboard) and the Guitar/Bass Driver circuit from guitarpcb.com to shape the overall tone and drive of my sound. While the SWR can certainly take my Ampeg 810 to mind-numbing levels, it is getting old, has had some reliability issues that don't make it really my first choice to take out for a gig.

The BB800 sounds ideal to me for three reasons- the EQ filters it does have seem very intuitive to me in terms of helping to "tune the room" for the most part.

Second- Pat Quilter touts the Class D amp as being on the warm side of neutral, and combined with the preamp's limiter, might give me more of the tube sound that I'm looking for (maybe a bit more reaction/interaction between amp and speaker due to damping factor?). That is why I want to hear other people's responses regarding a match with the Ampeg 810E.

Oh! The third thing- it weighs about a 1/6th that of the SWR (I only want to schlep around the 810, and the BB800 can fit in my pedalboard case!).

I'm also curious how it fares against other Class Ds, like the PF-800 and Mesa's D-800 Subway (those two are still on my short list).

 

[TomB]

I don't have any specific experience with GK but I have had plenty of time to to get to know the BB800 and have gigged and rehearsed using a couple of different cabs. The two controls are set out to give an almost graphical representation of the waveform from HPF with the Deep knob counter clockwise to the contour control's LPF when moved clockwise. In between settings the Deep knob clockwise operates in the traditional bass control manner but the contour control operates the opposite way to a traditional treble knob.
Moving the contour to the left from flat effectively dips the low mids and, used sparingly with the HPF on the deep control, has the effect of boosting highs and high mids relatively. Using the two controls you can effectively "draw" the waveform that you require and then adjust the Gain or Master to compensate.

The starting point of the amp's flat tone is very important and accurately reflects the signal you put in. I have had no problems cutting through the mix in the gigs and rehearsals that I've done with the BB800 and have used the EQ to compensate for room and cab with great success. What you don't seem to be able to achieve with the EQ are those extreme unusable settings.
The best way I can explain the EQ is like a much more powerful VLE and VPF controls on a Markbass head for those familiar.

Thanks! That was the most helpful summary to date. I get it - I like it!

 

[CharlieC]

Order placed!

Thanks, @GBass001 !