Quilter Bass Block

[bebass]

Has anyone tried using the Quilter guitar heads for bass, like the Tone Block 201 or Mini 101?

I played a bass through the mini 101 reverb hooked up to a Berg HDN210 cab and it was good - but I certainly wouldn't substitute it for the BB800 bass amp.

 

[Mushroo]

Thanks! Is the effects send pre- or post-EQ and gain settings? In other words could I use a Quilter as a preamp to drive a more powerful power amp, and get the full sound capabilities of the Quilter?

 

[Stu_Bass]

Has anyone tried using the Quilter guitar heads for bass, like the Tone Block 201 or Mini 101?

I just plugged my MicroPro Mach 2 set to Full Q into a Barefaced BB2 and it sounds great-and loud!

 

[adam montminy]

Thanks! Is the effects send pre- or post-EQ and gain settings? In other words could I use a Quilter as a preamp to drive a more powerful power amp, and get the full sound capabilities of the Quilter?

I can't imagine anyone ever needing more watts. Use it with two big cabs and you'll have all the headroom you could ever need. But to answer your question, I'm fairly certain that effects sends are almost always post EQ and gain on all amps. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong (needless to say).

 

[Stu_Bass]

Thanks! Is the effects send pre- or post-EQ and gain settings? In other words could I use a Quilter as a preamp to drive a more powerful power amp, and get the full sound capabilities of the Quilter?

There is no effects loop on the BB800. The XLR line out is just that, a line level output that encompasses the entire amp including the master volume. Being a line level out it should be capable of driving virtually any power amp to it's maximum volume. I have plugged it into a Crest ST-2000 in bridged mono mode and driven a pair of Barefacd BB2's to a serious level with great tone. It will rattle your fillings!
Edit: Line out delivers 1 Volt @400 ohms

 

[Mushroo]

Apologies, I was referring to the Mini 101, which does have a 1/4" effects send and return. I'm thinking about picking one up as a "poor man's Ampeg pf-50t" to add some vintage/gritty sounds to my tone aresenal.

 

[bebass]

Apologies, I was referring to the Mini 101, which does have a 1/4" effects send and return. I'm thinking about picking one up as a "poor man's Ampeg pf-50t" to add some vintage/gritty sounds to my tone aresenal.

I have the 101 Mini Reverb as a personal guitar amp; I couldn't find anything I liked better. But for bass, bear in mind the EQ points are more guitar oriented. Is there a particular bass cab you are using? If I have it I would be glad to hook it up and give an opinion, fwiw.

 

[ric4682]

Has anyone tried using the Quilter guitar heads for bass, like the Tone Block 201 or Mini 101?

I have a Tone Block 200 as my main guitar amp after going through tons of different amps including vintage Fenders, Voxes, Bad Cats. A few years ago I was rehearsing for a temp gig with a metal band (I never play metal) and I had a GK MB500 Fusion at the time. I brought the GK in for practice and I just couldn't get a good tone with my Ric 4003 no matter how hard I tried. It kept getting lost in the mix. So I said to heck with it and pulled my guitar head out of the car and hooked it up. Night and day difference! It sounded huge and fat and LOUD. It stayed nice and clean unless I would up the gain and then it growled very nicely. Once I have some free funds I'll be picking up the Bass Block for sure.

 

[TrevorOfDoom]

There's a Youtube video of a TB member demoing a Tone Block 200 or 201 as a bass amp.
Sounded pretty good.
And Pat Quilter has said that they'll work great on bass, evening recommending them to folks who want a bass amp with "character" but still want the Quilter portability and reliability.

 

[ric4682]

There's a Youtube video of a TB member demoing a Tone Block 200 or 201 as a bass amp.
Sounded pretty good.
And Pat Quilter has said that they'll work great on bass, evening recommending them to folks who want a bass amp with "character" but still want the Quilter portability and reliability.

I'll have to check that video out! I can totally see that. I didn't notice any loss of low end whatsoever using the guitar head. Plus it's cool that it's also my favorite guitar amp, besides being a good backup bass amp.

 

[Stu_Bass]

I'll have to check that video out! I can totally see that. I didn't notice any loss of low end whatsoever using the guitar head. Plus it's cool that it's also my favorite guitar amp, besides being a good backup bass amp.

I found myself cutting the bass a bit when i tried my MicroPro!

 

[bebass]

There's a Youtube video of a TB member demoing a Tone Block 200 or 201 as a bass amp.
Sounded pretty good.
And Pat Quilter has said that they'll work great on bass, evening recommending them to folks who want a bass amp with "character" but still want the Quilter portability and reliability.

I'll have to check that video out! I can totally see that. I didn't notice any loss of low end whatsoever using the guitar head. Plus it's cool that it's also my favorite guitar amp, besides being a good backup bass amp.

I found myself cutting the bass a bit when i tried my MicroPro!

Cabs are going to make the most difference. And I don't think there will be any loss of the "low end" using any of them as the first fundamental, to my knowledge, is not cut with EQ flat. But the EQ points will be different than on the bass amps including the BB800. I guess if I were going to use one of the guitar amps for anything other than home practice, where any of them would work, it would be either of the 200 series. I am waiting on the latest Overdrive 200 and it may very well sound the best (maybe somewhat similar to Micropro 200) on bass except for the BB800 due to the more conventional tone stack. But most probably clean channel only. Except I want to take one into practice and turn up the distortion channel and face it towards the lead guitar player and play sustained lead bass riffs to piss him off. Just kidding - kinda.

 

[kpc]

I have a Tone Block 200 as my main guitar amp after going through tons of different amps including vintage Fenders, Voxes, Bad Cats. A few years ago I was rehearsing for a temp gig with a metal band (I never play metal) and I had a GK MB500 Fusion at the time. I brought the GK in for practice and I just couldn't get a good tone with my Ric 4003 no matter how hard I tried. It kept getting lost in the mix. So I said to heck with it and pulled my guitar head out of the car and hooked it up. Night and day difference! It sounded huge and fat and LOUD. It stayed nice and clean unless I would up the gain and then it growled very nicely. Once I have some free funds I'll be picking up the Bass Block for sure.

Prolly cause the GK MB amps have their signature sound (scooped mids) and the Quilters maintain the full bass spectrum. Just my opinion of course. I have both amps and choose to bring my Quilter most of the time. YVMV

 

[Mushroo]

I have the 101 Mini Reverb as a personal guitar amp; I couldn't find anything I liked better. But for bass, bear in mind the EQ points are more guitar oriented. Is there a particular bass cab you are using? If I have it I would be glad to hook it up and give an opinion, fwiw.

My latest cab acquisition is a Carvin 115MBE. It's a sealed, compact 1x15 that's meant as an extension cab for their 1x15 combo. Do you think the Quilter guitar heads would pair well with a tweeterless 15" cabinet to get that "old-school P bass with flats" tone?

The only reason I'm not "all in" on the Bass Block 800 is that I already have a powerful and loud amp, which lives at the rehearsal space. Am I crazy to think the Mini 101 + 1x15" cabinet would be a killer little home/practice rig, a "poor man's portaflex"?

 

[bebass]

My latest cab acquisition is a Carvin 115MBE. It's a sealed, compact 1x15 that's meant as an extension cab for their 1x15 combo. Do you think the Quilter guitar heads would pair well with a tweeterless 15" cabinet to get that "old-school P bass with flats" tone?

The only reason I'm not "all in" on the Bass Block 800 is that I already have a powerful and loud amp, which lives at the rehearsal space. Am I crazy to think the Mini 101 + 1x15" cabinet would be a killer little home/practice rig, a "poor man's portaflex"?

I have a 15 tweeterless cab lying around and will hook it up tomorrow and see what I think. Surely as a practice rig it should work just fine. I have the two nice bass amps and bought the BB800 as backup because it is so darn easy to carry. It has ended up being my main amp for the country band. That 101 Mini gets screaming loud with the right cab and I don't think you would have a volume problem for home practice - except neighbor complaints - ha ha

 

[zorf]

I picked up a 101 non reverb version as a backup.
Sounds great as a bass amp ( to me)
Though eq is not optimized for bass, there are almost too many voicing options.
I think it can do a very nice b15 impression, if that's what you like.

 

[B-line]

Prolly cause the GK MB amps have their signature sound (scooped mids) and the Quilters maintain the full bass spectrum. Just my opinion of course. I have both amps and choose to bring my Quilter most of the time. YVMV

I have both amps too- (GK MB500 Fusion/ BB800).
I run the GK with a Schroeder PL212, set this rig up as a very compact & "easy to schlep to rehearsal studios with suck backline rigs". It works VERY well for that.

I run the Quilter with my Bergie HS410. That cab is a bit heavy at 86 lbs. I believe, (thank goodness for the man who invented casters).

The Quilter is of course stupid small & light- amazing that it makes my other small heads (GK, MB 800 Tube, and TecAmp Puma 500) seem "bulky" by comparison.

>>>And I'll add for the 3rd or 4th time that the Quilter Bass Block is the reigning champ of Bass Guitar amplification at this time. Size-wise, price-wise, and most of all- Sound-wise. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

So- all you bass guitarists out there who have not yet experienced this product:
(You're missing out!)

 

[bassbooty]

The Quilter is of course stupid small & light- amazing that it makes my other small heads (GK, MB 800 Tube, and TecAmp Puma 500) seem "bulky" by comparison.

>>>And I'll add for the 3rd or 4th time that the Quilter Bass Block is the reigning champ of Bass Guitar amplification at this time. Size-wise, price-wise, and most of all- Sound-wise....

I haven't yet heard the Quilter Bass Block and I would like to play through one to check it out. But a couple of sentences regarding size, weight, and bulkiness are somewhat misleading here.

From the Quilter Bass Block Specs page on their website:

Dimensions:
H x W x D 8.5”(218mm) x 7.5” (190mm) x 3” (76mm)

Weight:
3.7 lbs (2kg)

From the TecAmp Puma 900 Specs page on their website:

Dimensions
Width 10.7 in
Height 1.6 in
Depth 8.3 in
Weight 2.4 lbs

The Puma 900 weighs less and is very comparable dimensionally to the Bass Block so based on this, I wouldn't call it "bulky" comparitively speaking.

I have played through a GK MB500/MB00 and although they sound good, IMO they don't sound/feel as great as the Puma 500/900. In the end, it's so subjective that 5 out of 10 players may prefer one as opposed to the other if compared side by side. Once again, I have yet to play through a Bass Block and would like to at some point to check it out.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I haven't yet heard the Quilter Bass Block and I would like to play through one to check it out. But a couple of sentences regarding size, weight, and bulkiness are somewhat misleading here.

From the Quilter Bass Block Specs page on their website:

Dimensions:
H x W x D 8.5”(218mm) x 7.5” (190mm) x 3” (76mm)

Weight:
3.7 lbs (2kg)

From the TecAmp site Puma 900 Specs page on their website:

Dimensions
Width 10.7 in
Height 1.6 in
Depth 8.3 in
Weight 2.4 lbs

The Puma 900 weighs less and is very comparable dimensionally to the Bass Block so based on this, I wouldn't call it "bulky" comparitively speaking.

I have played through a GK MB500/MB00 and although they sound good, IMO they don't sound/feel as great as the Puma 500/900. In the end, it's so subjective that 5 out of 10 players may prefer one as opposed to the other if compared side by side. Once again, I have yet to play through a Bass Block and would like to at some point to check it out.

As is often the case, specs don't tell the full story. The Puma is wider and deeper. And going head to head IRL I'll just say the BB800 has left many scratching their heads and weighing their options.


The only way to truly get what he was saying is to check one out. At half rack width and feeling almost like an empty case it does make other amps feel bulky IMO. So the heft of sound vs. lack of bulk initially creates a disconnect. Wait, what??


It's not magic, I'm sure there are cabs it might not sound great with and players it might not work for.. Those have been few and far between IME IMO. On just about every one of my gigs some one comments on how amazed they are at my rig. The BB800 is a big part of why I get the results I do. I have other great sounding amplification but none I can carry in a bag smaller than a lunchbox.

I just did a small Jazz gig with a older bass that I gig with often and had last changed the strings when I brought it back from NAMM. I don't do a lot of slapping but cut loose on a couple of songs and I had the amp set flat and rolled back the treble a touch on the bass... it was cutting that hard with an abundance of thump. And with fingers style I got the leading edge push I wanted for walking bass effortlessly. This is my favorite amp ever because it easily does whatever I want.

 

[kpc]

I have both amps too- (GK MB500 Fusion/ BB800).
I run the GK with a Schroeder PL212, set this rig up as a very compact & "easy to schlep to rehearsal studios with suck backline rigs". It works VERY well for that.

I run the Quilter with my Bergie HS410. That cab is a bit heavy at 86 lbs. I believe, (thank goodness for the man who invented casters).

The Quilter is of course stupid small & light- amazing that it makes my other small heads (GK, MB 800 Tube, and TecAmp Puma 500) seem "bulky" by comparison.

>>>And I'll add for the 3rd or 4th time that the Quilter Bass Block is the reigning champ of Bass Guitar amplification at this time. Size-wise, price-wise, and most of all- Sound-wise. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

So- all you bass guitarists out there who have not yet experienced this product:
(You're missing out!)

Exactly! The GK does sound good with certain cabs and certain gigs. I just like the Quilter for it's flexibility.