Quilter BB800/802. why, other than size?

[HazBeen]

55 minutes ago, machinehead said:

But, as I said above, the Quilter doesn't have really high frequencies so it might not suit everyone.

If you want high frequencies go buy a guitar I say 🤪

[dannybuoy]

Fat, dirty, subdued highs, minimal EQ, tons of power... sounds a bit like my Orange Terror Bass! Anyone compared them?

[Paul S]

I had both together at one point - kept the Quilter.  For me and the sound I want it is the best small amp, hands down.

[la bam]

Mine is my favourite all round amp ever.

I think people get can get confused, but take time to properly understand the controls.

I say this as I assumed at first 'depth' was clockwise for more bass (which it is), and 'contour' was clockwise for more highs. But it isnt. Clockwise is a smooth smoothed out sound. Anti clockwise gives you that high end bite especially when then turning 'depth' anti clockwise also.

All the controls work with each other.

Gain adds a bit of dirt and compression clockwise, and is clean as a bell anti clockwise. Again, work that in with your eq sound.

Edited December 3, 2019 by la bam

[machinehead]

44 minutes ago, la bam said:

Mine is my favourite all round amp ever.

I think people get can get confused, but take time to properly understand the controls.

I say this as I assumed at first 'depth' was clockwise for more bass (which it is), and 'contour' was clockwise for more highs. But it isnt. Clockwise is a smooth smoothed out sound. Anti clockwise gives you that high end bite especially when then turning 'depth' anti clockwise also.

All the controls work with each other.

Gain adds a bit of dirt and compression clockwise, and is clean as a bell anti clockwise. Again, work that in with your eq sound.

Yes, it does take a little thought and practice.  Also, reducing highs and lows, then increasing volume, gives stronger mids.  It is all there when you get to know it.  It's a great little work horse gigging amp for weekend warriors like me.

Frank.

[pineweasel]

Does anyone know how the Quilter stacks up against the Tone Hammer 500?

[Tradfusion]

12 hours ago, la bam said:

Mine is my favourite all round amp ever.

I think people get can get confused, but take time to properly understand the controls.

I say this as I assumed at first 'depth' was clockwise for more bass (which it is), and 'contour' was clockwise for more highs. But it isnt. Clockwise is a smooth smoothed out sound. Anti clockwise gives you that high end bite especially when then turning 'depth' anti clockwise also.

All the controls work with each other.

Gain adds a bit of dirt and compression clockwise, and is clean as a bell anti clockwise. Again, work that in with your eq sound.

That explains the controls very well. I absolutely love the slight sag you get when cranking the gain up to about 7 and adjusting the master to taste, especially with a Precision, warm and punchy... fabulous wee amps these!

[la bam]

I had an hour or so with mine yesterday in the house dialling in different tones.

Winding up the depth and winding forward the contour, then rolling off the tone on the bass guitar gives a lovely Motown esque vibe. Adjust gain and volume to taste.

Winding the contour back gives that kind of ampeg clank. Again add gain drive to taste.

Having the gain at between 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock gives a really tight sound to start with, removing the slight grind and drive. From there you can get modern and vintage on tap.

What I did find really interesting is that it seems to react to the tone control on the bass itself more than any other amp.

[AlphaK]

8 minutes ago, la bam said:

What I did find really interesting is that it seems to react to the tone control on the bass itself more than any other amp.

Wonderful if true, but that's quite a big claim! 

[la bam]

10 minutes ago, AlphaK said:

Wonderful if true, but that's quite a big claim! 

Haha, yes, sorry, I should have added "......that I've used."

[AlphaK]

52 minutes ago, la bam said:

Haha, yes, sorry, I should have added "......that I've used."

Phew! And just to provide a full picture which other amps have you A/B'd it with in this regard?

[la bam]

2 hours ago, AlphaK said:

Phew! And just to provide a full picture which other amps have you A/B'd it with in this regard?

Ok, here goes.... (from memory) and it's only my experience... and it could be because it replicates the bass more rather than being coloured with a particular sound.

Trace elliot commando 12

Ashdown mag 300

Ashdown superfly

Line 6 lowdown 300

Mark bass LM3

Genz Benz contour

Ashdown abm 2 500

Mark bass evo1

Ashdown little giant

Tech 21 VTRM and power amp

Ashdown evo iv 600

Trace elliot elf

Laney Nexus 400 all tube

As I said, it's my favourite "all round" amp. That includes taking the following into consideration:

SIZE: very small and compact.

WEIGHT: easy lift with one hand.

PORTABILITY: fits in bass case, or takes up no room in gig bag.

SOUND: everything flat at mid gain the sound is a kind of modern mid heavy sound to my ears. But winding up the volume really makes it a powerful sound that sits great in the mix. Giving that nice space to keys and bass drums. It really tidied up our band sound.

SOUNDS AVAILABLE: as said above there are a range of sounds available from Motown to modern to classic rock.

EASE OF USE: plug in, set flat. Turn 2 eq dials to taste. Add in drive. Set volume. Leave alone for entire gig. Takes 1 minute.

POWER ON TAP: seriously with a 4x10 upwards you'll not need anything over 200w of the 800w available. But if you do - it's there. No need to worry about running out of juice anywhere.

FEATURES: headphone amp, line in, line out, drive and compression (via gain). All good.

RELIABILITY: no problems whatsoever. No issues online either.

CONS: The only thing that could really improve this amp imho is a small built in tuner and a dedicated DI out. The line out works great as a DI, I've used it indoor and outdoor as a DI, but occasionally you'll get paranoid sound engineers who want a dedicated DI. A DI would also be pre eq so would give the sound guys a flat sound to work with.

So in conclusion, yes, theres better sounding amps. Theres lighter amps. Theres smaller amps. There are more featureful amps. There are cheaper amps. There are amps better suited to certain genres. But for me, taking into account all the above, and the amps I've used over the years, this is the beat all round amp.

Edited December 4, 2019 by la bam

[AlphaK]

Haha (and thanks) - I asked for that didn't I?!  Okay your original claim of being better than any other amp pretty much stands! 

[LukeFRC]

3 hours ago, AlphaK said:

Wonderful if true, but that's quite a big claim! 

On a passive bass the pickups, volume and tone controls AND the  input stage of an amp and it’s impedance are part of the same tone generating system- so yes an amp can have an effect on how the tone control works

[AlphaK]

4 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

On a passive bass the pickups, volume and tone controls AND the  input stage of an amp and it’s impedance are part of the same tone generating system- so yes an amp can have an effect on how the tone control works

Don't think anyone is questioning that. 

The only thing being queried was whether the Quilter did this better than all other amps that have ever existed. Mr La Bam has since clarified that it does it better than:

• Trace elliot: commando 12 & elf 
• Ashdown: mag 300, superfly, abm 2 500, little giant, evo iv 600
• Line 6 lowdown 300
• Mark bass LM3 &  evo1
• Genz Benz contour
• Tech 21 VTRM & power amp
• Laney Nexus 400 all tube

[Jazzjames]

23 hours ago, pineweasel said:

Does anyone know how the Quilter stacks up against the Tone Hammer 500?

The Tonehammer’s got a nice vintage voiced preamp and usable DI. It sounds nice at low/medium volumes and seems to be very reliable and well made.  It can cover louder situations but you’ll need a lot of speakers to help it produce the volume. Running it harder into a smaller cab doesn’t sound great.  It sounds like it’s shouting but running out of puff while doing so.

The Quilter on the other hand has freaky authority and control over the note at much louder volumes.  It really delivers tons of punchy bass into my fearless F112.  Is it as crushing and thick as my Ampeg SVP-CL->Warwick Hellborg 500w rig? No, but it’s close enough for no one to notice and saves me carting around 40kgs of rack gear!  The Quilter doesn’t have a very versatile EQ compared to the tonehammer, but if you like the sound of your basses as they are, then the Quilter can tame a room nicely.  I think it’s a great bit of kit.

My current rig of Quilter->F112 is the best rig I’ve had to date, but my rigs in the past were all good as well. We live in a good age for bass gear!

[51m0n]

Anyone else seen the elephant in the room?

https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/bass-block-802

[machinehead]

32 minutes ago, 51m0n said:

Anyone else seen the elephant in the room?

https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/bass-block-802

I did see that and I'd be interested in trying the new BB802, but not interested enough to buy one in favour of my BB800.  I'm happy enough to stick with that.

To be honest, most amps I've owned I've not used the EQ that much - maybe a little bit if in a boomy room or trying to hear myself a bit better.  Or occasionally boosting the lows slightly on a Barefaced Super Midget.  Nothing that the BB800 can't deal with.

Ironically, I have a Thunderfunk amp which has an awful lot of EQ controls, but I rarely use them.  🤔

Frank.

[LukeFRC]

7 minutes ago, machinehead said:

I did see that and I'd be interested in trying the new BB802, but not interested enough to buy one in favour of my BB800.  I'm happy enough to stick with that.

To be honest, most amps I've owned I've not used the EQ that much - maybe a little bit if in a boomy room or trying to hear myself a bit better.  Or occasionally boosting the lows slightly on a Barefaced Super Midget.  Nothing that the BB800 can't deal with.

Ironically, I have a Thunderfunk amp which has an awful lot of EQ controls, but I rarely use them.  🤔

Frank.

Given a thunderfunk and BB800 you gig the Quilter ... interesting, I had a thunderfunk a while back and always wondered if I sold it too soon - but if quilter>thunderfunk that give me something to think about

[dave_bass5]

57 minutes ago, 51m0n said:

Anyone else seen the elephant in the room?

https://www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/product/bass-block-802

I had the choice of buying that or the BB800. Went for the BB800 because it was cheaper and came with a bag. Not sure i made the right choice in hindsight.

[la bam]

I had a look at the 802, a little frustrating... although no doubt itll be a great amp.

Why they've done a jack DI out and not an xlr baffles me. An xlr would have been perfect. Yes, it does the same thing, but you'll be forever carrying a jack to xlr cable around or a jack to xlr adaptor. I get it with the stomp as it was to keep everything small and compact, but I'm sure they could have fitted an xlr on the 802.

Shame they didnt keep faith with the 2 eq dials, but I suppose the 802 is for people who have tried that and found they were missing that extra eq for mids and high end control.

In all honesty I love the 2 dial eq more so than the 4 band ones.

I've had lots of amps with useless eq (markbass with no real mids) and lots with loads of eq bands (9 band ashdown etc) and the 10 channel eq pedals on the stomp, but nothing has been easier then the bb800. Needs more character and drive (turn gain up), needs more depth and bass (turn depth up), sound needs smoothing out (turn contour clockwise) sound needs brightening (turn contour anti clockwise) so much easier than trying to work out what frequencies need adjusting - I just always found that led to a never ending ordeal or turning dials endlessly until I fluked upon what was needed.

I do like what they've called the eq settings on the 802 though - kind of makes sense when your looking for what to change in the sound.

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, la bam said:

Shame they didnt keep faith with the 2 eq dials, but I suppose the 802 is for people who have tried that and found they were missing that extra eq for mids and high end control.

Thats me then lol.

[pineweasel]

16 hours ago, Jazzjames said:

The Tonehammer’s got a nice vintage voiced preamp and usable DI. It sounds nice at low/medium volumes and seems to be very reliable and well made.  It can cover louder situations but you’ll need a lot of speakers to help it produce the volume. Running it harder into a smaller cab doesn’t sound great.  It sounds like it’s shouting but running out of puff while doing so.

The Quilter on the other hand has freaky authority and control over the note at much louder volumes.  It really delivers tons of punchy bass into my fearless F112.

Thanks for this. I'm very happy with my TH500 and two 1x12s at present,  but I'm playing small venues. I do like the minimalist design of the BB800.

[machinehead]

5 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Given a thunderfunk and BB800 you gig the Quilter ... interesting, I had a thunderfunk a while back and always wondered if I sold it too soon - but if quilter>thunderfunk that give me something to think about

I maybe didn't word that very well.  I meant I rarely use the EQ knobs on the Thunderfunk.  I do gig it though and it remains my favourite amp, especially with a Barefaced BB2.  I don't intend to part with it.

Yes, the Quilter is right up there with the Thunderfunk - they're quite similar, but I feel the Thunderfunk has a little more warmth.  It's a close thing though, to my ears.

The Quilter wins for all-round ease of use, price, portability, weight, and simple convenience.  I'd be happy if it was the only amp I owned.  It's a masterpiece of engineering.

Frank.

[Mudpup]

8 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Given a thunderfunk and BB800 you gig the Quilter ... interesting, I had a thunderfunk a while back and always wondered if I sold it too soon - but if quilter>thunderfunk that give me something to think about

I had a Thunderfunk and a BB800 at the same time. Sold the Thunderfunk though....too many knobs :-) .....i also think the Quilter had more slam about it and La Bam has described the ease of dialling in a sound perfectly above.