Some things just velcro together perfectly.
Nice!! We should start a thread : What do you have velcroed on top of your Quilter?
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Nice!! We should start a thread : What do you have velcroed on top of your Quilter?
An awesome preamp but I wish that one didn't have to choose between HPF or notch filter. I want both with an acoustic instrument.
Haha... I'm sorry though, that overhang would seriously unsettle me
The Basswitch is the exact dimensions of the top of the Bass Block !
Haha... I'm sorry though, that overhang would seriously unsettle me
The Basswitch is the exact dimensions of the top of the Bass Block !
Truth be told, it kinda bothers me too!!
Haha... I'm sorry though, that overhang would seriously unsettle me
The Basswitch is the exact dimensions of the top of the Bass Block !
So is my Pope Mitre Box.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
I use a Grace Felix for doubling gigs and really love it. Agreed that the notch filter Q is too wide most of the time. Can't wait to try it with a Quilter. Currently using a Mesa D800 for most of my local gigs.
I was offered the loan of a Quilter yesterday. First off I was thoroughly impressed with how good it sounds just by itself with a Sadowsky jazz both active and passive. Then getting into some of the preamps I've got I was quickly and completely sold on this thing. It's very tight sounding without being at all sterile and it is LOUD. Pretty much the perfect amp for a preamp aficionado. Been waiting a long time for this one.
It looks like the 3rd time IS the charm. You may remember (or not), but I returned my first BB800 because it had what I thought was unusually loud background noise (after being on for 3-4 minutes I could hear a little crackling sound and then the noise became so loud I could hear it standing 10 feet away, much louder than the fan), and the unit they sent as a replacement arrived DOA, arrrgh, leaving me feeling a bit perplexed.
Well, last week I saw a Quilter BB800, listed as a blemished return, on sale for $450 at zZounds. When I called, it turns out the "blemish" was merely that it didn't have the original box, and since it still came with the full warranty and all the accessories I took a chance and ordered it.
I've been playing it full tilt for 3 days, and it seems to work perfectly. I had begun to wonder if maybe I had been too critical of the first unit (I tend to be rather picky), but this new one has only the tiniest bit of background noise, to the point that I have to get right up with my ear next to the speaker to hear it, which makes me doubly glad I returned the fist one.
In any case, it's been worth the effort, as I just love how easy it is to dial in a perfect sound with my Jazz Bass and Barefaced BB2. It's clean, clear, deep and warm, and seems to have nearly unlimited headroom. I'm looking forward to this weekend when I'll have the opportunity to put it through it's paces with the band.
Well, last week I saw a Quilter BB800, listed as a blemished return, on sale for $450 at zZounds. When I called, it turns out the "blemish" was merely that it didn't have the original box, and since it still came with the full warranty and all the accessories I took a chance and ordered it.
I've been playing it full tilt for 3 days, and it seems to work perfectly. I had begun to wonder if maybe I had been too critical of the first unit (I tend to be rather picky), but this new one has only the tiniest bit of background noise, to the point that I have to get right up with my ear next to the speaker to hear it, which makes me doubly glad I returned the fist one.
In any case, it's been worth the effort, as I just love how easy it is to dial in a perfect sound with my Jazz Bass and Barefaced BB2. It's clean, clear, deep and warm, and seems to have nearly unlimited headroom. I'm looking forward to this weekend when I'll have the opportunity to put it through it's paces with the band.
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I borrowered a BassBlock800 from a friend, took it home and A/B'd with my TH350. Both the PBass w flats and the JBass with rounds sounded, well, huger. Kept the knobs straight up. Fiddled with them to understand thier impact, but straight up was just awesome.
Not so much with the upright, even with the HPF. Can't justify two heads right now, so I returned it.
But it haunts me...
Not so much with the upright, even with the HPF. Can't justify two heads right now, so I returned it.
But it haunts me...
So is the depth knob a low-mid bump, or a shelving sort-of-thing? Is the contour knob basically a treble rolloff/tone control like on a passive bass? I just can't wrap my head around the fact that two EQ knobs can work. For reference, I come from a Markbass SD1200, which has sweepable low- and high-mids. I'd really like to try a Quilter locally.
The depth knob works logically like a bass control although, dialled to the left, works as a high pass filter. The contour control to the left cuts specific mids or, to the right acts as a low pass filter.
I use mine with either a 3 way 3012LF based TKS cab or 2 Barefaced One10s and have found no problem with dialling in a workable tone using just the onboard pre. I have used another pre for extra fine tuning but often I've just bypassed or removed it during the gig. With my TKS cab, which is full range, I end up using the controls as an HPF and a LPF to shape the response of the cab.
Howdy Sigurd. Here is Mr. Quilter's reply when I asked him about the EQ section. This is repeat of post #194, but I think it's worth repeating:
- Pat Quilter
- To Derek Dean
The challenge on our “block” series amps is to solve user problems with a minimum of space for controls, hopefully in a manner that allows players to quickly establish their sound and start making music rather than fiddling with multiple controls.
The two Bass Block EQ knobs are:
DEPTH: an active cut-boost bass control, with 12 dB of range and an unusually low hinge frequency of 100Hz, and a very high slope (24dB/octave) to provide pinpoint control of the relative loudness of the lowest strings and overall roundness of tone. This is coupled with a unique 2-stage limiter that prevents obtrusive “bottoming out”, even with heavy bass boost, without the lag or “gagging” effect of conventional limiters. High amounts of GAIN will produce a musically interesting “thrumming” or growling effect without actual hard clipping.
CONTOUR: the left side provides a 12dB mid cut at 300Hz, which tames the “bark” frequencies and leaves a nice “plicky” sound for a refined “studio” tone. The control is flat in the middle, and the right side engages a deep treble cut at 200Hz for a fully rounded old-school tone.
MASTER: This is the final loudness control, as you would expect, but it is located after the limiting system so it also regulates the peak output power. On full Master, the limiter system is calibrated to just reach the full power of the amp when pushed. As Master is reduced, this peak power point is also reduced accordingly, as indicated by the markings on the faceplate. This allows the amp to be adjusted to match any speaker rating. If your speaker exhibits any distress such as popping, bottoming out, or harsh clipping on aggressive peaks, reduce Master until it just clears up and you have found the optimum power for that load.
Unlike our guitar amps, the amplifier output impedance is fairly stiff for good control of large bass speakers, but we have not artificially boosted damping factor at the expense of tone or warmth.
Other “user safety tips” that we can pass along:
For silent bass tuning, use the Mute switch and connect the tuner to the other input jack. It will pick up enough cross-signal to give a good reading.
Be sure to provide a robust AC source for loud gigs. The amp itself is insensitive to AC voltage, like all our amps, but when loaded at 4 ohms and driven hard at full Master power, it can draw up to 15A on peaks, which can trip the breaker on AC strips if shared with other heavy loads such as PA speakers, subwoofers, or large tube amps. An 8 ohm load will cut current draw in half, and if you need to crowd onto one AC strip you could also reduce the Master volume as much as possible. Even a 3dB reduction (50%) will cut AC current in half so the show can go on. And of course we can recommend Quilter guitar amps and QSC PA speakers, which also have Class-D amplifiers for maximum efficiency and minimum possible AC current draw, but as everyone knows, “rocking the house” with bass frequencies requires serious peak powers.
You are welcome to post these notes to Talkbass. I looked up your Barefaced Baby 2 which looks like an interesting rig and should mate well with the Bass Block. You will get 450W into an 8-ohm load, but in our testing that suffices to obtain the maximum excursion potential of the best 12-inch drivers out there. Let us know how it works out.
Best regards
Pat Quilter "
And just to add my own perspective, like many folks here, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it is to quickly dial in a good sound with the ultra simplified EQ section. In fact, that's the real beauty of this amp. There are NOT a bunch of knobs, buttons, and switches to deal with. Just plug in, turn it up, play, and then smile.
And yes, the Depth knob acts as an active shelving filter affecting all frequencies below 100Hz (+ or - 12db). Personally, I find that to be just right, and I typically dial that knob up to 2 or 3 o'clock.
On the other hand, the Contour knob is a passive filter. I like it dialed to the left a bit, where it provides a "scooped" curve centered at 300Hz. Again, I find it just right, and combined with the Depth control gives me exactly the sound I'm looking for.
I'd be interested to hear if anybody has been using the Contour control dialed to the right, where it acts as a heavy duty treble cutting shelving filter, eliminating all frequencies above 200Hz. Personally, I might have gone the other way, giving a mild treble boost above 2kHz, as most basses offer a passive treble cutting filter, but hey, that's me, and Mr. Quilter got a lot right with this amp, so I'm willing to roll with him on this one : )
On the flip side, this amp might not be for every one. Some folks like have the maximum amount of tone shaping control, and there are plenty of amps that will give them that. It's surprising how much control you can get with just two knobs, but honestly, it can't match the flexibility of having multiple semi parametric active controls.
To me, this amp will probably appeal more to somebody who's looking to simplify the process, yet still get a bodaciously fat bootyfull tone, with the bonus of getting all that in a small, lightweight package.
Surely this must be a typo??. I've tried the BB800 with the Deep control max left and Contour control max right and and the frequency spectrum is way wider than 100hz to 200hz !
Ha, yes, well, when I first saw that, I thought it must be a typo too, but when I turn my Contour control fully right, there certainly is NO treble to be had, and when I duplicate those numbers using the parametric EQ in Logic ProX, it sounds pretty much the same, so I don't think it's a typo.
Actually, after fiddling with it for a while, when used sparingly, I find turning the Contour control to the right, just a bit, does indeed do a nice job of "vintagizing" the sound. how's that for a new word : )
kinda curious about these, probably gonna need a a louder and more clinical sound than the mesa d180 can provide in the spring
I love it to death but it's a unique amp that not everyone will have an affinity for. It's not something I'd recommend anyone shell out for without a thorough road test.
