• 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.

Quilter Bass Block

#661
burk48237 said:
Well, I've been trying my friends at home with my 210 LDS cab (GREAT cab by the way). I like the sound a lot, a lot of girth in each note, low end without the uncontrolable pillowy lows I've seen in some heads. A great tone, but a bit of a one trick pony, It does have a TON of headroom. At times the ton seems a bit to modern for me. I still want to hear the Subway before I decide. But I may pull the trigger on one of these at some point this spring. View attachment 1038367
Click to expand...

I think the BB800's sound accurately reflects the bass you put through it. Most of my basses are passive and I have no problem achieving classic vintage P or J tones with them or a modern tone with my one remaining active.
When I tried a Mesa D800 I did find it too modern sounding and, if I dialled in the voicing control, too compressed. I just found the Quilter to be more organic sounding.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC
#662
burk48237 said:
How many of the Bass Block users here are using Bass Blocks alone without a pre-amp for more EQ adjustment. And if you are, are you gigging out a lot of different rooms and how is it holding up?
Click to expand...

Holds up great.
I bought mine knowing I wouldn't be using other preamps with it.
I just wanted big, warm, clean power, and the Quilter delivers.
I play 5 days a week, in a multitude of rooms and the Quilter sounds great in all of them. I have the Contour knob a single click to the right from center, and the Depth knob straight up.
(of note, I have an HPF at 60Hz at 12dB per meter always on.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: GBass001 and CharlieC
#663
And as soon as I post that...

Last night I'm playing with the Quilter into my fEarful 12/6 and something happens. My volume dropped hard.
It reminds me of the time i blew the voice coil on my Bag End, but since there's 2 speakers in the 12/6, one of 'em should still be screaming.
I'm not sure what happened but i can't get my rig to do it again. Everything tests fine except i seem to have a hiss that's there whenever the Quilter's on, no matter where the volumes are set. And the hiss doesn't get louder with the volume. It's just there.
Any experience with this?
 
#664
triode6L6a said:
I had the opportunity to try both the Quilter BB800 and the Mesa D800+ side by side for a few days, and I have to say that I liked both amps quite a bit. The D800+ is capable of very deep lows, and of course has a more extensive EQ section, including an active treble control, which the Quilter lacks.

But the thing that sold me on the Quilter was that I consistently found it easier to quickly dial in the sound I wanted, bing bang boom. I could get a comparable tone with the D800+, but it took me a lot more fiddling around with the tone controls.

And this may seem funny, but I found I MUCH preferred the sloped front control layout of the Quilter (and those lovely large white semi chicken head style knobs). I quickly found that in a darker room, the angled front panel of the Quilter was still super easy to see and navigate, while the Mesa's straight vertical front panel was always in shadow, so it was difficult to see which knobs did what.

I did LOVE the connectivity potential of the D800+, with it's pre/post DI with ground lift, tuner out, and FX loop, but ultimately I ended up going for the Quilter. They are both GREAT amps, and they both are capable of producing excellent tone, so I think this kind of choice will tend to come down to each person's priorities and personal preference.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you commented on these 2 heads. I'm using flats on a 5'er for Reggae. I just use 4 ohm cabs - fEARfuls. I dial in a clean and loud stage volume and so I'd need the more muscular of those 2 amps. I've got a handle on the vastly different features. It's 4 ohm power that interests me. I need the most possible clean headroom.
Which one ? - thanks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: murphy
#665
TrevorOfDoom said:
And as soon as I post that...

Last night I'm playing with the Quilter into my fEarful 12/6 and something happens. My volume dropped hard.
It reminds me of the time i blew the voice coil on my Bag End, but since there's 2 speakers in the 12/6, one of 'em should still be screaming.
I'm not sure what happened but i can't get my rig to do it again. Everything tests fine except i seem to have a hiss that's there whenever the Quilter's on, no matter where the volumes are set. And the hiss doesn't get louder with the volume. It's just there.
Any experience with this?
Click to expand...

Yes, this is talked about on the previous page of posts.

Please contact Quilter Labs for assistance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Agosix
#667
TrevorOfDoom said:
And as soon as I post that...

Last night I'm playing with the Quilter into my fEarful 12/6 and something happens. My volume dropped hard.
It reminds me of the time i blew the voice coil on my Bag End, but since there's 2 speakers in the 12/6, one of 'em should still be screaming.
I'm not sure what happened but i can't get my rig to do it again. Everything tests fine except i seem to have a hiss that's there whenever the Quilter's on, no matter where the volumes are set. And the hiss doesn't get louder with the volume. It's just there.
Any experience with this?
Click to expand...
I had hiss and contacted Quilter and another unit was sent.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC
#668
DrumsAndBass said:
I'm glad you commented on these 2 heads. I'm using flats on a 5'er for Reggae. I just use 4 ohm cabs - fEARfuls. I dial in a clean and loud stage volume and so I'd need the more muscular of those 2 amps. I've got a handle on the vastly different features. It's 4 ohm power that interests me. I need the most possible clean headroom.
Which one ? - thanks.
Click to expand...
OT, but have you looked at the Peavey MiniMega 1000?
 
#669
DrumsAndBass said:
I'm glad you commented on these 2 heads. I'm using flats on a 5'er for Reggae. I just use 4 ohm cabs - fEARfuls. I dial in a clean and loud stage volume and so I'd need the more muscular of those 2 amps. I've got a handle on the vastly different features. It's 4 ohm power that interests me. I need the most possible clean headroom.
Which one ? - thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes, in this respect the Mesa and Quilter seemed a bit different.

The Mesa had a more old school vibe where you could push it into soft overdrive when turning the input gain past 1 o'clock, while the Quilter tends to stay clean all the way up.

And while I must say that the MESA did sound very good when pushed into overdrive, since I bought an OD pedal specifically to have control over that, I decided that the cleaner Quilter sound would give me the flexibility to go either way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Agosix
#670
TrevorOfDoom said:
And as soon as I post that...

Last night I'm playing with the Quilter into my fEarful 12/6 and something happens. My volume dropped hard.
It reminds me of the time i blew the voice coil on my Bag End, but since there's 2 speakers in the 12/6, one of 'em should still be screaming.
I'm not sure what happened but i can't get my rig to do it again. Everything tests fine except i seem to have a hiss that's there whenever the Quilter's on, no matter where the volumes are set. And the hiss doesn't get louder with the volume. It's just there.
Any experience with this?
Click to expand...
I'm sorry to hear about this. It sounded like you were having such good results using the Quilter.

The very first BB800 I got had a substantial amount of hiss that seemed independent of the volume controls and was not present in the headphone output. I ended up returning it and the one I have now has been perfect so far.

Keep us posted on what you find out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC
#671
triode6L6a said:
Yes, in this respect the Mesa and Quilter seemed a bit different.

The Mesa had a more old school vibe where you could push it into soft overdrive when turning the input gain past 1 o'clock, while the Quilter tends to stay clean all the way up.

And while I must say that the MESA did sound very good when pushed into overdrive, since I bought an OD pedal specifically to have control over that, I decided that the cleaner Quilter sound would give me the flexibility to go either way.
Click to expand...
Same reason why I like the Quilter. I use a Batbershop for overdrive and it punches out nicely thru the Quilter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC
#672
burk48237 said:
How many of the Bass Block users here are using Bass Blocks alone without a pre-amp for more EQ adjustment. And if you are, are you gigging out a lot of different rooms and how is it holding up?

I've borrowed the one from my church for a couple of days to play with at home and It is impressive. Still want to play a Mesa Subway D800 before I decide. But the Quilter does have some serious tone and power.
Click to expand...


I've only gigged mine alone. We used my BB800 at the Boom Bass Cabinets NAMM show booth and it amazed pretty much everyone who heard it. We mainly used it with our smallest cab. The effortless punch, clarity, low end and shear physicality was self-evident. It was easily the best amp I heard at the show. People were amazed at the range of tones available with just two controls and even more amazed that the majority of the time they were set flat and killed. Particularly with our $350 Ibanez 4.

At the end of the show we really cranked it up...
:D
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC
#673
I spoke to Pat at the Show on Sunday, he said to contact his shop about the hiss and it's an easy fix. I dropped by, (I live in Long bEach) and left it at Quilter Labs on Tuesday and picked up Wednesday. Eazy Cheezee fix (for them of course).
My hiss is now gone. But let me tell you, this is my #1 amp and has been since it came out and I got it. The hiss didn't stop me from loving this thing though. So easy to dial in anything you want and quickly. As said previously, sounds good in "any" room.
So, if you've got any problems contact Quilter. They'll make it right. :thumbsup::bassist:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Agosix and CharlieC
#674
Also, I asked Pat about the cabinets yesterday when I picked up the amp. He said they'll be out in about a months time. Both cabs (210 and 112) will be 8 ohm rated to handle the 450 watts and paired will handle everything the BB puts out. 800 watts of course @ 4 ohms. At the show someone was sampling and Pat cranked it for a few seconds. The 210 sounded great. I play 12" speakers and look forward to trying/adding the 210 to my cab collection. ;):thumbsup::)
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC
#677
CharlieC said:
Thanks, Tom!

Interesting as per the video:
  1. Use of long-throw woofers
  2. 30-pounds light
  3. Slant cabs are sealed
  4. Flat-face cabs are ported

Puzzling:
  1. Lack of SpeakOn jacks on the cabs
  2. Eventual street prices
Click to expand...
Yeah, I noticed that lack of speakons too. Another curve ball.. Lol
I asked Pat, on Sunday, about the price and he said the street price would be around 900. (I'm going off memory and that weekend I was still sporting a cocktail flu so..) He could've said 8-900. Either way. There ya go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CharlieC

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back