An update to this post: further investigation of the aforementioned battery shows it has a maximum output current of 2.5 A @ 24V. The Interbass states 3A @ 24V. Food for thought.
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Quilter Labs InterBass!
- Thread starter Cave Puppy
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- di interbass practice amp quilter small
Okay, suppose I do decide to think about it. How should I weight the fact that the BixPower battery has .5 fewer amperes than would be ideal to power the Interbass?
just spit ballin' here...
2.5A is a loss of 16.5% of OEM PSU: so about 1/6th of the power.
you'd just get less output: (Watt/spkr Ω) so IIRC, it would be <33W@8Ω
And with a max draw out of the battery: you'd drain the battery slightly faster.
Its doable with realistic 'usage and stage time'. If you're busking or jamming it might be a 'short stage' setup unless you have a few battery packs to swap.
(those decrying "not enough volume/power", shouldn't be using the Interbass for 'that situation'.)
2.5A is a loss of 16.5% of OEM PSU: so about 1/6th of the power.
you'd just get less output: (Watt/spkr Ω) so IIRC, it would be <33W@8Ω
And with a max draw out of the battery: you'd drain the battery slightly faster.
Its doable with realistic 'usage and stage time'. If you're busking or jamming it might be a 'short stage' setup unless you have a few battery packs to swap.
(those decrying "not enough volume/power", shouldn't be using the Interbass for 'that situation'.)
The TalentCell NB7101 looks like it's rated at 3 amperes but the cable end may not be the right size for the Interbass.
I am not an electrical expert, but just guessing that the Interbass isn't drawing 3 amps all the time, but if it did the battery would probably get warmer than desirable and perhaps fail, in addition to the Interbass not performing at peak level when it may need the 3 amp current. The Bix bat is a regulated 24V (like the Interbass power supply) which will maintain the performance of the Interbass 24V circuit design (other than the 3 amp load that may on occasion be required); I believe that Talent is not a regulated 24V. 5.5/2.5///5.5/2.1 adaptors are readily available. Personally, although it might be convenient to not have to plug into an AC outlet, I have never had a gig where AC power was not available, so I will just keep using a 24V3A AC to DC power supply and not worry about it!
Just received mine. You guys weren't kidding... this thing is fricken LOUD! Easily could do small gigs(bar, small clubs etc). So far I am digging it a lot. The vintage mode has that really present upper mid range similar to an Ampeg V4. So far so good. Hopefully I'll be able to gig it not too far down the road.
I’d be interested in finding out more about this “virtual subwoofer” that Quilter(@peteratquilter) is talking about. I imagine it’s parallel processing, with Quilters limiting. It’s pretty crazy how “big” the sound is from such a small unit. Blows away my TC BAM200.
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Had an opportunity to really play this amp today. It has so many options and I'm most excited to try it out w/ a live drummer. Through 2 2x12 cabs it has a lot of oomph and there is just about any sound you could ever want from it and it's great to find ONE that has a lot of "tooth" to it and get about 20 ft away from the cabs and lay down the groove. I hope all of you get to enjoy yours as well~
An update after a couple more months use:
Loudness: I have found (and measured) that the following settings (using same bass, Barefaced SC) yield the same SPL----Interbass, Active, Gain @ noon, Master @ 3 o'clock = BB800, Active, Gain @ 6, Master 1 click past 40 on the dial. It just so happens this is a common setting with plenty of volume for many of our seasoned citizen jazz trio gigs (venue size 100 or so folks in an appropriately sized room) and I have been successfully using the Interbass as the power amp in those situations.
Tone: I find that the tone of the Interbass with all tone controls flat, Gain @ noon, Active input, FR = the BB800 with Active input, tone controls flat, Gain @ 6. Of course, there are more tonal options with the Interbass, and I have used it to bypass the preamp section of the BB800 when need more output power.
For giggles and grins, I made a quick demo of the Quilter limiter circuit, and for additional comparison, the bass on the video intro audio was also recorded through the Interbass, but with different settings than those shown in the video limiter samples (Full Range instead of Vintage, all tones @ "noon" flat, and the gain @ "noon"):
Quilter Interbass Limiter "tube" Effect - YouTube
Loudness: I have found (and measured) that the following settings (using same bass, Barefaced SC) yield the same SPL----Interbass, Active, Gain @ noon, Master @ 3 o'clock = BB800, Active, Gain @ 6, Master 1 click past 40 on the dial. It just so happens this is a common setting with plenty of volume for many of our seasoned citizen jazz trio gigs (venue size 100 or so folks in an appropriately sized room) and I have been successfully using the Interbass as the power amp in those situations.
Tone: I find that the tone of the Interbass with all tone controls flat, Gain @ noon, Active input, FR = the BB800 with Active input, tone controls flat, Gain @ 6. Of course, there are more tonal options with the Interbass, and I have used it to bypass the preamp section of the BB800 when need more output power.
For giggles and grins, I made a quick demo of the Quilter limiter circuit, and for additional comparison, the bass on the video intro audio was also recorded through the Interbass, but with different settings than those shown in the video limiter samples (Full Range instead of Vintage, all tones @ "noon" flat, and the gain @ "noon"):
Quilter Interbass Limiter "tube" Effect - YouTube
Are we sure that the interbass also has the limiter circuit? I have not read anywhere that it has, just the larger amps but I could be mistaken. Also if it does have it is it only when it's used as a power amp or is it used also when it is in preamp mode?
The tone of the preamp line out, and the speaker out are the same to me. I have recorded with it in preamp mode, and practiced quite a bit through it as an amp. The gain section is different than the BB800. You can overdrive the input on the Interbass. In vintage mode with the highs and mids rolled off a bit, it sounds great with my upright too. Pretty cool little unit.
It does, and works as power amp or preamp. You can check with Quilter Labs (they are great at answering questions), or look at the signal path on the face of the Interbass, or check the posted video and audio (the wave forms give it away). A great little gadget!
I was curious because I had not heard about the interbase having that before and I also know that sometimes audio interfaces have soft limiting on the inputs by default. Also on the bb800 I understand that circuit is part of the power amp. If so, how is it possible that the circuit engages on the interbase when not using it as an amp but as a preamp?
Correct. Personally, I like to engage the limiter just as it starts to take effect, otherwise at best you loose your dynamic range or at worst drive it into distortion. It is a pretty cool little unit!
Not convinced there is a limiter on the input section of this either. The gain is different from the BB800. The line out on the Interbass is before the power amp, but after the effects loop and EQ section. I'm assuming they use some sort of analog manipulation/compression to get the power amp to put this amount of volume out. I haven't cranked it as it gets way too loud for home practice, but sonically the line out and speaker out are the same sonically.
The two stage limiter (that is part of the tone shaping control for your instrument) is part of the preamp on both the BB800 and the Interbass and is controlled by the Gain knob. You have to get the knob up to about noon to start the effect, and it increases thereafter. The Master controls the amps output volume, and I think, at least on the BB800 there is a power limiter protection circuit there. The signal path is clearly shown on the front of the Interbass (lots of pics online), and the manuals also describe the effect (also avail online).
Yes, sonically the two outputs are the same. As you turn up the gain you will hear the two stage limiter take effect, and if you look at the wave form from the balanced line out you will also be able to see the effect. To hear the effect when you don't want the volume to be loud, turn the master down very low and the gain up higher--this is the same for both the BB800 and the Interbass.
I've never been able to get the input on my BB800 to overdrive like the Interbass. I haven't put it on a scope.... The gain on the Interbass moves into overdrive as you move past 1:00-2:00(a type of compression obviously, but doesn't quite behave like the BB800). The Interbass manual does state that it has preamp limiting AFTER the EQ section, but before the FX loop. Not convinced its identical to the BB800 as they do sound different.
