Quilter Tone Block

Dave Moore · From: Spring Gully, Victoria, Australia

Just purchased one of these after reading some very favourable comments but so disappointed. I'm using a Tonic Tube preamp into it and there is so much noise, not a low 50 Hz hum but broad range noise. Could never record with it and not sure I'll even take it to a gig. Plug the Tonic into a Nash 112 pwr amp input and no noise, plug my steel straight into the Block and no noise. Quilter has a trim on the input and they say it takes a line level signal but even at a low level the noise is real bad. Such a pain having had it shipped out to Australia. Any thoughts or comments from other users?

Randy Gilliam · From: San Antonio, Texas, USA

May be Defective Send it Back. Randy G. Mad

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

I'm not quite sure why you would have chosen that preamp/amp combo if you were going to also use another preamp as it has no patch in to use just the amp section to the best of my knowledge. Have you tried it w/o using the Tonic Tube in the loop?

Jack Stanton · From: Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey

Maybe I'm confused, but shouldn't you be able to go from the preamp into the Toneblock using the line level setting?
Actually I was thinking about trying it with my FYD tube preamp....maybe not!

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

Even though you can dial down the input signal the Tone Blocks sees, it appears that Dave is running his signal thru two preamp stages. Like what Jim said. I don't think this is an ideal match. Better would be a SGBB in front of the Tone Block. Maybe?
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

rodger_mcbride · From: Minnesota

IMHO, If in fact it doesn't take a Sarno preamp signal or a line out from another amp gracefully, the design is seriously flawed. While it may have a use similar to the small heads like the GK MB 200 as a portable unit, we need more flexibility.
rodger

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

I suppose it all depends on what it's designed for~~

rodger_mcbride · From: Minnesota

Yep, I suppose it does....

It seems however, the OP's experience is contrary to the marketing. Perhaps it's a anomaly.

Since the demise of the Furlong split, having such a compact unit that could be used as backend for a tube preamp, for instance, seems very useful and with the quality of the Quilter brand, a marriage made in heaven.

As a steel guitarist and dealer, are you saying it doesn't work with a preamp? Have you tested the various configuration possibilities?

Inquiring minds want to know.... Confused

Jim Palenscar · From: Oceanside, Calif, USA

I have not had time to get into this however, while possible that there is a design flaw, knowing the reputation of Pat Quilter, that's lower on the list of likely possibilities. I'll ask Christopher Parks from Quilter to respond to the thread.

rodger_mcbride · From: Minnesota

Thanks Jim!
In the course of this thread, I just got a unit to try out. (thanks FedEx)
With my Sarno Tonic, quiet as can be, input gain set just below Line. I suspect the other Sarno preamps will be similar.
With my line out on a '52 octal Bassman clone, pretty quiet, some hum, I thinks it comes from the amp.
Steel guitar Black Box, totally quiet at the full range of input settings
Tech 21 Blonde pedal, quiet
Headway EDB-2 pedal sized preamp, quiet.
Loves pedals and seems to pair nicely at the flat and mildly scooped settings and to have a range of mild EQ in addition to whatever is driving it and the EQ seems to overlay well.
Guitar alone sounds great.
We'll see how it sounds at performance volumes. It's nice to have the extra power available in such a small and light package.
I think this may be a winner.
rodger

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

Wow, great news for us, bad news for Dave. Sounds like you've got a bad one. Send it back. Sorry to hear this. It happens sometimes.
_________________
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

Chris Parks · From: California, USA

Hey gang, Chris from Quilter. First off, thanks to all for the nice comments, we are always very appreciative of the support of this community.

Okay so Dave... First off if you ever have trouble it is always a good idea to just contact the manufacturer first. We are the best bet to help you out and it is faster and easier to just contact us directly as we tend to reply fairly immediately.

Now that said, you can either respond here or email me at chris@quilterlabs.com. Whichever you would prefer. (Although out of respect for everyone here it is best to leave tech support offline and respond with a summary.)

Here's what I need you to do for me to help troubleshoot your issue.
1) What kind of noise are we talking about? By broad range are you saying that it is across all frequencies? (i.e. white noise?) Is it there regardless of whether you are playing or not? Is it possible for you to send me even say a cameraphone video of it?
2) What input are you using on the Nashville 112? What output from the Tonic?
3) What kind of cable are you using? Have you tried a different one? It is possible you could have oscillation occuring if you are using a tip ring sleeve. (aka a Stereo cable.)
4) Are you using any effects? Are there any active electronics in the path?

All of this is a good first step in finding the trouble.
_________________
I am affiliated with Quilter Laboratories. (www.quilterlabs.com)

rodger_mcbride · From: Minnesota

Now that the OP original issue has been addressed by Quilter, I would like to say how impressed I am with this new amp. There are many things to like about it, but I am most impressed with the single knob tone control.

It is the most intuitive tone control I've ever experienced.

I'm not sure if it is rehashed version of something that's been around forever or if it's a Quilter invention, but it is simply brilliant!

rodger

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