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Quilter Bass Block

What?! --It's not quiet?
Mine has calmed down quite a bit. You turn it on and after about 5 minutes a small white noise thing comes up thru the speaker which doesn't last long and it seems to have gotten shorter which is better. Playing thru the amp everyday seems to help. Also if you walk up to the amp it goes away or if you pick up the amp with your hand it goes away. There have been a few instances mentioned by others in this thread. Otherwise it's silent. You may hear the fan but at the very slightest and almost unnoticeable. My take is this amp is great and may need a bit of a breakin period but worth it...unless you are lucky a got one that doesn't do it.
 
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Mine has calmed down quite a bit. You turn it on and after about 5 minutes a small white noise thing comes up thru the speaker which doesn't last long and it seems to have gotten shorter which is better. Playing thru the amp everyday seems to help. Also if you walk up to the amp it goes away or if you pick up the amp with your hand it goes away. There have been a few instances mentioned by others in this thread. Otherwise it's silent. You may hear the fan but at the very slightest and almost unnoticeable. My take is this amp is great and may need a bit of a breakin period but worth it...unless you are lucky a got one that doesn't do it.

Thanks for sharing that.
Really not trying to be sarcastic in any way, but what would be the advantage of having the master tied to the DI because I don't see any reason for that design choice.

If you don't have a sound person, you can control even your signal in the P.A. with your Volume knob.
 
The XLR In is for use as a power amp. It bypasses the preamp and is controlled by the Master. Basically turns it into a tiny class D power amp.

I tried it with my Michael Pope Designs Mitre Box preamp and it works great as a straight amp. But the built in preamp made my Mitre Box largely redundant. They're both nice.

Brad, I get it. But couldn't a 1/4" pre-amp in like most amps have serve the same function? I personally think in these days where a lot of gigs have PA support, the best possible DI is on-board (level control-ground lift) is more useful than a balanced input.
 
Brad, I get it. But couldn't a 1/4" pre-amp in like most amps have serve the same function? I personally think in these days where a lot of gigs have PA support, the best possible DI is on-board (level control-ground lift) is more useful than a balanced input.

I'm only explaining the functionality, not the rationale behind the choice.
:D

Granted there isn't much real estate on this head. The Line In will likely be useful for folks looking for a half rack power amp. I was one of those people... but as mentioned, the built-in pre makes my original moot. As such I'm cool with not having an XLR Line In. I'm cool with no rear level control on the Line Out. I would've preferred that it be independent of the Master. As it is I think the headphone out would've been more useful with an Aux in. I can live without that too. I'm guessing there are two 1/4" speaker outs because there was room in that location.


BTW my amp has not been noisy. Even if I sneak up on it. Anyway... I'm very happy with this purchase.
;)
 
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As usual, the cool stuff I come across when I'm not really looking...

I picked one up yesterday, lucked into a used one. I bought it at Jivesound. Thanks, Jong. I hadn't stopped by in a while and my timing was perfect. I tested it with an ISI cab with 1-8 and 1-10 and it sounded amazing. I ran my Buckeye Burl Brubaker KXB-5 and Aries Rian fretless 6, both sounded exactly like I wanted them too... full, clear, no coloration needed from the amp, ridiculous punch. I tested it for a couple of hours at the store (sorry about that, Jong ;)) and it was a done deal. I also tried a semihollow Lakland with flats and it sounded like it sounded too. This is exactly the sound I've been after, the biggest factor was the heft of the sound. Hard to describe. It never sounded like it was working hard and had a tone of headroom.

Couple the transparency with the instruments that I use that don't need any help and the control layout is a match made in heaven. I've been on the hunt for a half rack power amp to go with my half rack Mike Pope Mitre Box and this definitely fit the bill. I tried it as soon as I got home with my Low Down Sound 3 way 1-8 cab and it sounded great... but the kicker was that the BB800 sounded great without it too. The two tone controls just work amazingly well.

Next stop, playing at church this morning. Ran it through a Glasstone/BBC Lil G 2-12 cab, ran the DI to the house. One quibble would be that the Master affects the DI level. Didn't cause a problem but I'd rather it didn't alter the output. I dialed in my max gain setting then had them set my channel at the board and it was on. The amp was quiet, didn't get heated after vigorous use and kind of brought to mind a rambunctious Rottweiler puppy that was ready to play. Big sound at any volume. Pretty damn cool.

Stopped by Atomic Music after church and let a friend check it out. This is where things got really interesting. I played a couple of higher end basses that I had tried out in the store last week and they were okay but nothing I'd consider buying. I hooked the BB800 to an old ADA 1-15+tweeter cab and loved every minute. The same cab had sounded lackluster with another amp just prior to that. The clarity coupled with the heft was eye-opening. Everything I did came through, it felt like I was waving my hands past the strings and notes just jumped out. Now two of my friends want to get their own.

I've been using my Bugera Veyron Mosfet for over a year now and was perfectly happy with it. It'll be fun to see how they compare... should be interesting. After service today the drummer said "That's the one". I sounded that good and it inspired me to really pump things up. I'm probably going to recommend that the church get their own BB800. I'm a fan. I have some more gigs this week and I'll get a chance to use it at Bethesda Blues & Jazz with my BBC Tank 1012 on Friday. I'm expecting great things.

BTW I have no commercial connection. Great job, Mr Quilter. I'm rarely surprised with new gear, this is one of those times. For me and what I want, this is damn near perfect. Nice bag and power cord too.
:D


I do believe a visit to "The Bass Place" is in order.
 
IMG_0087.JPG
 
Looks like it would be close to perfect for a doubler. I don't double so the BB800 alone is killing it for me.

I don't either! I have and I could.....But it's just not happening these days.

I just happened to have a great Spring gig season and was looking into preamps for upright. The little brother to the Felix (the one channel Alix) wasn't out yet so.....I couldn't resist. I'm weak.

It really is a stellar piece of equipment. I have a new appreciation for "clear/uncolored/transparent". Even though it's designed for acoustic instruments it's just as effective on EB as URB, IMO. I little velcro is needed on top of the BB800 to keep the Felix in place.