Quilter bb800 or not?

[Brad Johnson]

You still running a BBC cab with that? I started using a 1212 last year. Using an MB500 right now but considering the Quilter.

Yep. The combination is crazy. I have the 1012, same one I've been using for two years. People still ask me if that's all I bought and by the end of the set/show want all of my info.

With either cab, they're efficient and sound great at any volume. Sometimes I open mine up for soundcheck and the looks on folks' faces are priceless. Then I turn back down and kill in the mix.

 

[Brad Johnson]

eh honestly i didn't like pretty much anything about mine besides the size and power.

it had a constant quiet background hiss that most people don't seem to care about but I thought was unacceptable, especially for at home practice (but i also have OCD/"audiophile syndrome", so maybe it is actually just me)

i thought the limited control scheme would feel novel and fun but it is actually just limiting imo. My genzler has basically the same controls (midscoop + treble shelf) but also has a real eq with a mid frequency control.

The high gain sound was pretty good though.

My genzler sounds better in basically every way.

Nothing will work for everyone. With that being said, I have helped others figure out how to use the Quilter, it's not intuitive.

I have heard about an issue with hiss and IIRC Quilter can fix that. Mine is dead quiet. I also know that some run their Master wide open, which in my experience would naturally seem to increase the noise floor. I do the opposite... I use the passive input, set that gain for a solid signal and then bring up the Master. I demoed this in a store last week and the guy I was with was surprised that with the Master set at 40w it was putting out a gig level volume.

I'm kind of an audiophile myself so I prefer subtractive EQ vs cut and boost. Different strokes. I've been able to get killer high end with my 78 Fender Jazz (passive) and can go completely over the top with my active basses. The "trick" or key for me is that I keep the amp up enough that it pushes everything forward vs. running it at volumes that would necessitate a loudness control at home. Still dead quiet.

The friend I demoed with at the store bought a Bugera Veyron Tube. He liked the sound and preferred the traditional controls.

The other key is having a cab that can handle it. Some can't IME.

 

[symbolic_acts]

I have heard about an issue with hiss and IIRC Quilter can fix that. Mine is dead quiet.

No they cant. I sent mine to get looked at, they said the mild fizzy hissing sound is normal. Yours probably has it but you just don't notice it (you probably run with the tweeter off)

one things for sure, I would never suggest using this amp for recording through a miced cab with the mic placed at the horn.

 

[Mushroo]

I use one of the smaller Quilter guitar heads (101 Mini) for bedroom practice and intimate acoustic music where the BB800 would be too noisy.

 

[been_effected]

Seems like the BB800 would kill in that setup. Granted, I've tried several preamps and effects units in lieu of the internal preamp in my BB800 and they did not improve on what I'm getting running through the built in. My live tone and dynamics keep me struggling to maintain a game face. I'm using it with my BBC Tank 1012 for all of my gigs. Haven't heard better in two years of gigging.

Thanks - that means a lot to hear that. I've been trying the last couple of days to get a response out of the local Quilter distributor as well as a few owners on some other forums I know. Not having much luck, my impatience is getting to me!! haha

 

[Brad Johnson]

No they cant. I sent mine to get looked at, they said the mild fizzy hissing sound is normal. Yours probably has it but you just don't notice it (you probably run with the tweeter off)

one things for sure, I would never suggest using this amp for recording through a miced cab with the mic placed at the horn.

Nope. I'd notice it. So would many of the engineers I work with. Mine doesn't have it and my cab has a pretty aggressive tweeter. No hiss. If it hissed I'd expect that to go out of the XLR line out.

Are you turning the master up higher than necessary?

 

[Brad Johnson]

I've had zero issues playing in quieter environments like at home. It's a very easy amp to turn down and still have a robust sound. I'd be very interested in what problems others are running into where that doesn't happen.

 

[symbolic_acts]

I sold mine already
Idk dude I literally packed it up and sent it to the quilter factory and I got a phone call that said the mild fizzyness was normal

 

[Brad Johnson]

I sold mine already
Idk dude I literally packed it up and sent it to the quilter factory and I got a phone call that said the mild fizzyness was normal

I don't doubt that. I'm just passing along my experience, which was different.

I've mentioned the master setting a couple of times. It's not a trick question.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I don't doubt that. I'm just passing along my experience, which was different.

I've mentioned the master setting a couple of times. It's not a trick question.

you are a statistical outlier. I am pretty sure anyone with any time in the bass playing game would have twisted the knobs to see if they could get their hiss down before complaining about it.

 

[Brad Johnson]

you are a statistical outlier. I am pretty sure anyone with any time in the bass playing game would have twisted the knobs to see if they could get their hiss down before complaining about it.

Anyone? Wishful thinking. I've talked to owners who were bent on keeping the master wide open. It happens. Your assumption to the contrary.

But yeah, maybe I got the only one that doesn't hiss or I don't have a tweeter or I can't hear hiss. Once again I'm more than glad to be a TB "outlier".


Did you try one? Did it hiss unavoidably? Mine didn't.

 

[Mushroo]

My BB800 doesn't "hiss" much, but the always-on fan is a little annoying at very quiet volumes. The Quilter guitar heads are fanless and dead quiet.

 

[basscapes]

I generally can't hear the fan on mine (even during recording), but CAN hear the hiss a little bit (with the mike less than two feet away and the output about two or three notches up).

I also can hear the hiss if I'm practicing- in that case, the output is only about "1 and a half" clicks up at best, and my head is about two/three feet directly in front of the cab (I face my SVT810 when practicing, usually sitting down, but obviously not during recording/gigging).

 

[been_effected]

I generally can't hear the fan on mine (even during recording), but CAN hear the hiss a little bit (with the mike less than two feet away and the output about two or three notches up).

I also can hear the hiss if I'm practicing- in that case, the output is only about "1 and a half" clicks up at best, and my head is about two/three feet directly in front of the cab (I face my SVT810 when practicing, usually sitting down, but obviously not during recording/gigging).

For what it's worth, I get this with my B|Amp too - I can hear some hiss with it. Have tried to track it down and ultimately found it wasn't my signal chain, just the amp. It's not unbearable or anything, and I'd still track with it. Nothing a noisegate can't handle in a studio.

 

[David Jayne]

I'd be using mine live exclusively. Some hiss or fan noise wouldn't be a factor.

 

[David Jayne]

Yep. The combination is crazy. I have the 1012, same one I've been using for two years. People still ask me if that's all I bought and by the end of the set/show want all of my info.

With either cab, they're efficient and sound great at any volume. Sometimes I open mine up for soundcheck and the looks on folks' faces are priceless. Then I turn back down and kill in the mix.

Yeah so far my combo has been overkill for everything. My interest in the Q comes from the raves about the very tight low end and the limiter circuits. The sound I go for (Pbass/rounds) is a bit like the 'Ready Freddie' sound. The powerful tweeter in this cab is just ideal for this.

 

[Marty Forrer]

I gave up on my BB800, not because of anything wrong with it, but because I fell head over heels in love with an Ampeg PF50T tube head.

 

[David Jayne]

I gave up on my BB800, not because of anything wrong with it, but because I fell head over heels in love with an Ampeg PF50T tube head.

That's just a completely different thing altogether though. I've played an actual vintage Portaflex more than once so, I get it. But my gigs absolutely require more than that can deliver, unfortunately. But did you feel like the 'vibe' was similar at all?

 

[Brad Johnson]

Yeah so far my combo has been overkill for everything. My interest in the Q comes from the raves about the very tight low end and the limiter circuits. The sound I go for (Pbass/rounds) is a bit like the 'Ready Freddie' sound. The powerful tweeter in this cab is just ideal for this.

The physicality is what sold me. I have basses where hitting the low B hard makes amps cringe. The BB800 laughs at that, asking for more

 

[arbiterusa]

Gotta say, had the BB800 for a couple of weeks. Could not work with the tone controls, I play a lot of different venues and they just were not flexible enough. But I never heard any hiss out of the thing at all, and I run SWR cabs with the horns wide open.

Gotta give that amp some respect, it had a mindblowing amount of power on tap.

one things for sure, I would never suggest using this amp for recording through a miced cab with the mic placed at the horn.

Why would anyone do that in the first place? Proper mic technique for a cab with a horn is:

a. Don't mic it, go DI
b. If you're hellbent on micing it, you mic one of the speakers close in - not the horn - and then run a second mic about six feet back to get the speaker/horn combo sound. Mix both mics to taste. Mix in DI for awesomeness. I've gotten some pretty good sounds that way. But never a mic just on the horn!