You guys are a terrible influence on me. I just ordered one! 
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I received my Bass Block on Saturday and I've had some time to play it over the last few days. I have been playing a MarkBass SD1200 through a homemade strict-to-the-plans fEarful 15/6 for about 6 years, and the 5-string AmStd P for about 9 months. I usually have the tone rolled all the way off and a foam mute in place.
I think the BB800 sounds fantastic. It seems smoother, woolier and has more harmonic content than the SD1200, which punches harder, but sounds more sterile and defined. I have been playing with the gain, depth, and contour all at noon and am getting a great sound. I have no use for the scoop portion of the contour knob. Depth boosts nicely.
That said, the fan is unbearably loud. I thought maybe the amp was cold, having been on the FedEx truck in this bitter midwest weather. Nope. The noise only got louder. It sounds like a hairdryer and is very audible between notes at bedroom volumes. My wife could hear it from the bedroom down the hall. I play at church this week, and both bands have no gigs lined up, so that will be my only live playing. I will be returning the amp based almost solely on the fan. The other part of my disappointment is the lack of punch compared to the SD1200. I've tried a Streamliner 900 and Shuttle 9 and they too lack the weight that the SD has. I suppose the SD is spoiling my view of other amps, being the most ridiculous class D amp out there in terms of sheer volume, and punch. I keep calling it punch. What's the word now? Slam? Heft?
I will say that the 2-knob EQ is surprisingly effective. I thought, "No way is that going to be worth anything." I was wrong. All I do is boost low-mids and roll off treble anyway. It's a great fit in that regard.
I think the BB800 sounds fantastic. It seems smoother, woolier and has more harmonic content than the SD1200, which punches harder, but sounds more sterile and defined. I have been playing with the gain, depth, and contour all at noon and am getting a great sound. I have no use for the scoop portion of the contour knob. Depth boosts nicely.
That said, the fan is unbearably loud. I thought maybe the amp was cold, having been on the FedEx truck in this bitter midwest weather. Nope. The noise only got louder. It sounds like a hairdryer and is very audible between notes at bedroom volumes. My wife could hear it from the bedroom down the hall. I play at church this week, and both bands have no gigs lined up, so that will be my only live playing. I will be returning the amp based almost solely on the fan. The other part of my disappointment is the lack of punch compared to the SD1200. I've tried a Streamliner 900 and Shuttle 9 and they too lack the weight that the SD has. I suppose the SD is spoiling my view of other amps, being the most ridiculous class D amp out there in terms of sheer volume, and punch. I keep calling it punch. What's the word now? Slam? Heft?
I will say that the 2-knob EQ is surprisingly effective. I thought, "No way is that going to be worth anything." I was wrong. All I do is boost low-mids and roll off treble anyway. It's a great fit in that regard.
Last edited:
loopee, I don't think I'd call the fan "a problem". Sigurd must have had a defective unit. I just checked mine, and yes, I can hear it in a perfectly quiet room, but it's certainly nowhere near unbearable...... and I'm typically the first person to complain about such things.
I imagine it's the price we pay for having so much power in such a small light weight box. For me, the small size is a BIG feature of this amp, and it's more than worth the tiny bit of fan sound.
However, we all have different priorities, and if silence between notes is one of yours (and I get that), then it's probably best to avoid amps with fans.
I imagine it's the price we pay for having so much power in such a small light weight box. For me, the small size is a BIG feature of this amp, and it's more than worth the tiny bit of fan sound.
However, we all have different priorities, and if silence between notes is one of yours (and I get that), then it's probably best to avoid amps with fans.
My fan was noisy originally (when it was on it's highest speed there was a whine) but it quietened down after a week or so. It's now as quiet as my Markbass LM11.
As far as the "slam" factor, I have 2 Markbass heads (I have a TTE801 as well as the LM11) and MB seem to pack a lot of their amp's punch and volume into the first half of the master control. When I tried the TTE801 and BB800 side by side the TTE definitely seems more "hefty" at lower settings. Running a DI out of the TTE into the Bassblock's XLR in though yielded near identical results as running the TTE head alone. That said, I prefer the BB800's pre as it is more versatile.
As far as the "slam" factor, I have 2 Markbass heads (I have a TTE801 as well as the LM11) and MB seem to pack a lot of their amp's punch and volume into the first half of the master control. When I tried the TTE801 and BB800 side by side the TTE definitely seems more "hefty" at lower settings. Running a DI out of the TTE into the Bassblock's XLR in though yielded near identical results as running the TTE head alone. That said, I prefer the BB800's pre as it is more versatile.
Last edited:
If yours is louder than your SD1200 I would think that you have a faulty unit.
loopee, I'm sorry if my post offended you. It was certainly not my intention to be unfriendly, but I think you're reading more into it than is actually there.
When I said that you might be better off with an amp with no fan, I was not being flippant, I was being earnest. There are many amps available that don't have fans, and if your current amp has a loud fan that is bothering you, then I'm sure the TB community can come up with a few good ideas for a replacement that will fit your needs better.
As with most things, it's a matter of picking which features are most important, and then finding the item that most closely fits those requirements.
Hey guys,,, Checking in here. I've been not so happy with my TH500 for the past year or so, so I'm on the hunt. I tried a Mesa D800, but was not a fan.
Got to check out a BB800 this week at a local shop when I was back home. WOW! I was impressed, and immediately loved the tone. I love the simple thing, and it sounds great with the knobs at noon. Kind of reminded me of my TFB800 (all controls at noon, enhance at 2-3, and timber about two clicks to the left). But the BB800 might actually have a little more heft to the notes. Wanted to buy right then, but thought I would read up on here, etc... just made it thru this entire thread.
Any additional real world reports on the XLR output... as in guys using it as a DI on gigs?
What do you guys think is meant in the specs when they say it is "quasi-balanced"??
We use the QSC K10 speakers for vocal monitors, and they sound AMAZING. I gather they have a lot in common with the BB800. We run a mic direct in to the speaker, and use the line out to go to the PA. Never had a problem, and I assume that would be similar to the BB800 situation.
I can only think of one gig I've done where I had to use the ground lift on a DI. I'm not so worried about the whole pre/post thing either, and not so worried about the post master thing. I can think of a few other amps like that (Demeter VTBP-M-800 for example). Or putting a mic on your cab. I kind of like the design philosophy as described by Pat Quilter himself. A few years back I decided to worry less about things I can't control, and really focus on my sound thru my amp, because if that sounds good, then I play good, and if I'm playing good, that makes the band play good, and that's more important thing on any gig. I carry a Countryman, so no big deal if I ran into trouble, but the simplicity of using the DI on an amp is nice.
Got to check out a BB800 this week at a local shop when I was back home. WOW! I was impressed, and immediately loved the tone. I love the simple thing, and it sounds great with the knobs at noon. Kind of reminded me of my TFB800 (all controls at noon, enhance at 2-3, and timber about two clicks to the left). But the BB800 might actually have a little more heft to the notes. Wanted to buy right then, but thought I would read up on here, etc... just made it thru this entire thread.
Any additional real world reports on the XLR output... as in guys using it as a DI on gigs?
What do you guys think is meant in the specs when they say it is "quasi-balanced"??
We use the QSC K10 speakers for vocal monitors, and they sound AMAZING. I gather they have a lot in common with the BB800. We run a mic direct in to the speaker, and use the line out to go to the PA. Never had a problem, and I assume that would be similar to the BB800 situation.
I can only think of one gig I've done where I had to use the ground lift on a DI. I'm not so worried about the whole pre/post thing either, and not so worried about the post master thing. I can think of a few other amps like that (Demeter VTBP-M-800 for example). Or putting a mic on your cab. I kind of like the design philosophy as described by Pat Quilter himself. A few years back I decided to worry less about things I can't control, and really focus on my sound thru my amp, because if that sounds good, then I play good, and if I'm playing good, that makes the band play good, and that's more important thing on any gig. I carry a Countryman, so no big deal if I ran into trouble, but the simplicity of using the DI on an amp is nice.
I run a Radial DI box between my pedal board (which is also my preamp) and the front input of the BB800. The tone I send to FOH is already my completed sound and is also then immune to any knob changes I make on the BB800 during performance.
Quasi-balanced is not a true balanced circuit, but it appears as one to the device you are sending the signal to. This is yet another thing I am not thrilled about with the BB800's built in XLR out.
Cheers!
Thanks. Sounds like you have bypassed the XLR out all together. I'm usually a bass right into the amp guy, and really don't adjust my amp much during performance, or ever.
I think I get the whole quasi-balanced thing, but I'd love to understand more about it, and what it means for practical use. Like would I start running into problems if a club had a REALLY long snake since it's not truly balanced?
I believe that is the case, but I am not certain.
I read or inferred somewhere that Pat Quilter intended the BB800's XLR out as a quick and easy means of using another amplifier or a powered speaker along with the BB800 (where the cable runs would likely be within reasonable distance and quasi-balanced would suffice.)
RANE PRO AUDIO defines it as
"A quasi-balanced output stage consisting of an unbalanced output connected to the tip of a ¼" TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) jack through an output resistor (typically in the 50-300 ohms range). An equal valued resistor is used to tie the ring terminal to signal ground. The sleeve connection is left open or "floating." Thus, from the receiver's viewpoint, what is "seen" are two lines of equal impedance, used to transfer the signal. In this sense, the line is 'balanced," although only one line is actually being driven. Leaving the sleeve open, guarantees that only one end of the shield (the receiving end) will be grounded. A practice that unbalanced systems often require. For trouble free interconnections, balanced lines are always the preferred choice."
thanks @Stu_Bass . I'm gonna read that about 10 times.
Last question on the XLR out... and let's just assume that I'm a crazy person, and I have a neuroses that involves running my bass directly into the front end of my amp, with nothing else in the signal chain,, and I actually wanted a post signal to the FOH.
Would it make sense (or at least work) to use a short, balanced female XLR to TRS cable to run from the line out of the BB800 into the input of my Countryman DI? Seems like it would solve any grounding / long cable run issues, as well as knocking the signal down to a nice mic level that would jive well with soundboards.
I guess I could also use the speaker level function on my Countryman to accomplish the same thing.
I know I'm kind of obsessing here, but hey, what is TB for. And as Confucius says... "The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life."
Thanks guys!
Last question on the XLR out... and let's just assume that I'm a crazy person, and I have a neuroses that involves running my bass directly into the front end of my amp, with nothing else in the signal chain,, and I actually wanted a post signal to the FOH.
Would it make sense (or at least work) to use a short, balanced female XLR to TRS cable to run from the line out of the BB800 into the input of my Countryman DI? Seems like it would solve any grounding / long cable run issues, as well as knocking the signal down to a nice mic level that would jive well with soundboards.
I guess I could also use the speaker level function on my Countryman to accomplish the same thing.
I know I'm kind of obsessing here, but hey, what is TB for. And as Confucius says... "The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life."
Thanks guys!
I believe the 1/4" input on a typical DI box is simply TS (not TRS.)
With this said, I would use an unbalanced Male 1/4" TS to Female XLR cable.
Be sure to bring the MASTER up a good bit on the BB800 to provide a decent output level for the DI box to work with.
You should now have a true balanced send to FOH, with optional ground lift, pad attenuation, and benefits of galvanic isolation. Note that FOH still will not be immune to knob changes on the BB800.
With the BB800 output being 800 watts, I would avoid alternatively feeding the DI box with a speaker level signal, but I believe the Countryman can handle it.
Good to hear. I suspect that 90+% of the time there would never be an issue.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,017
- 5
- 220,873
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
This would be a good application for a 1:1 audio isolation transformer with a pin 1 lift switch or just lifted.
This is only necessary IF you experience a problem, otherwise IMO just use it as intended.
I wouldn't recommend a Countryman for this application.
Thanks, Andy. That makes a lot of sense... and is a lot more simple.
