Post by newey on Nov 21, 2017 22:26:21 GMT -5
www.quilterlabs.com/index.php/productpage/microblock-45
As some of the lifers hereabouts may recall, a while back I built (actually, "assembled" is a more accurate term) a 1 X 15" cab. One of these days, when I have some spare coin (don't hold your breath . . .), I'll likely spring for an actual decent tube-amp head to power it. But ever since I finished the cab, I've been going through some of these mini-heads to power the thing. There's a bunch of these out there, some are in a stompbox-sized enclosure, others are more like an actual tiny amp head.
This has become somewhat of a quest, like the guy who goes through a half-dozen pickups boutique looking for "the one". The goal for me is always a usable clean sound, which may be a fool's errand in this size and price category.
Years ago, when they first came out, I bought an Electro-Harmonix .22-Caliber; this was even before the cab was built, but it was the first thing to power the cab. A quick search of the sitre should turn up my original review of the EH from years ago. It seemed to live up to its 22-watt billing, but only with a heapin' helpin' of gain knob. There wasn't much clean headroom. But it drove the 15" speaker OK. (It's an 8Ω and not particularly efficient.) The one thing that hacked me off was the lack of an I/O switch, one has to unplug the power cord to turn it off.
The EH piece also quit on me a few years back. It is remotely possible that this was my fault for powering it up unloaded, but not sure of that. Anyway, I next bought an Orange Micro Terror, which is a little amp head of hybrid design at a claimed 20 watts. It was OK but nowhere near clean enough for my tastes. Again, there's a review by me from the time. Ultimately, I traded it in for an Epi LPJ.
And so, the cab has been sitting unused for lack of an amp head. Until yesterday, when the above-linked "Microblock 45" arrived. As the photo shows, it is stompbox-sized, and it may even fit into the slot on my Boss pedalboard. But as it was, I plugged it right into the 15" cab.
The amp doesn't come with any sort of specs listed (and I didn't Google it), but this is presumably one of the "Class D" amps. It has a 24V DC power supply, the type with the in-line brick like on a laptop, instead of a wallwart style. The power supply is bigger and heavier than the amp itself.
The amp features a speaker output, a guitar input, as well as a 3.5mm AUX input and a 3.5mm headphone/line out jack. It will work with 4&Omega to 16&Omega speaker loads. The speakers can be disconnected while using the headphone jack without damage.
It has a power LED, but like the EH, lacks an on/off switch. There are 3 controls- Gain, Master Vol., and "Tri-Q", which is a variable filter type of thing. The Q control has a "mid notch" effect when rotated CCW, a "normal" setting in the middle of the rotation, and a "lead" setting when turned CW.
Here are my impressions:
First, the power rating of "45 watts" seems wildly optimistic. Per the instructions, the "45 watt" claim (and they never say how it's calculated . . .) is with a 4Ω load, the power drops (supposedly) to 33 watts at 8Ω, but I question whether I'm even seeing a legit 15 watts here. Granted, driving the 15" speaker is a lot, and I may need to try it into a 10" cab that I have to compare. But it doesn't drive the 15" at anything greater than practice levels.
However, it does have more clean headroom than either of the predecessors. The Q control operates as advertised. Basically, I find myself turning the master V all the way up, and using the gain knob to adjust the level. Big helpings do get into distortion territory, above about "6" on the gain.
It comes in a metal enclosure like a good pedal, but the pots and knobs feel very cheap. The "feel", as it is, is pretty much non-existent, the knob turns too easily and not particularly smoothly. The knobs seem more like something off a toy than a serious piece. I have a $20 Danelectro pedal that has better pots and knobs than this thing. But, hey, whaddya expect for $150 USD? At any rate, I would not rate this as a gig-worthy piece of equipment.
Sound-wise, I like the clean tones available, and the volume levels are fine for practice/home use. The website suggests this would be suitable for small gigs. Perhaps, if the gig in question is 8 people in a coffeeshop. But a bar setting, no way.
Ultimately, the quest will probably continue. I see Vox have a new small head on the shelves . . .
As some of the lifers hereabouts may recall, a while back I built (actually, "assembled" is a more accurate term) a 1 X 15" cab. One of these days, when I have some spare coin (don't hold your breath . . .), I'll likely spring for an actual decent tube-amp head to power it. But ever since I finished the cab, I've been going through some of these mini-heads to power the thing. There's a bunch of these out there, some are in a stompbox-sized enclosure, others are more like an actual tiny amp head.
This has become somewhat of a quest, like the guy who goes through a half-dozen pickups boutique looking for "the one". The goal for me is always a usable clean sound, which may be a fool's errand in this size and price category.
Years ago, when they first came out, I bought an Electro-Harmonix .22-Caliber; this was even before the cab was built, but it was the first thing to power the cab. A quick search of the sitre should turn up my original review of the EH from years ago. It seemed to live up to its 22-watt billing, but only with a heapin' helpin' of gain knob. There wasn't much clean headroom. But it drove the 15" speaker OK. (It's an 8Ω and not particularly efficient.) The one thing that hacked me off was the lack of an I/O switch, one has to unplug the power cord to turn it off.
The EH piece also quit on me a few years back. It is remotely possible that this was my fault for powering it up unloaded, but not sure of that. Anyway, I next bought an Orange Micro Terror, which is a little amp head of hybrid design at a claimed 20 watts. It was OK but nowhere near clean enough for my tastes. Again, there's a review by me from the time. Ultimately, I traded it in for an Epi LPJ.
And so, the cab has been sitting unused for lack of an amp head. Until yesterday, when the above-linked "Microblock 45" arrived. As the photo shows, it is stompbox-sized, and it may even fit into the slot on my Boss pedalboard. But as it was, I plugged it right into the 15" cab.
The amp doesn't come with any sort of specs listed (and I didn't Google it), but this is presumably one of the "Class D" amps. It has a 24V DC power supply, the type with the in-line brick like on a laptop, instead of a wallwart style. The power supply is bigger and heavier than the amp itself.
The amp features a speaker output, a guitar input, as well as a 3.5mm AUX input and a 3.5mm headphone/line out jack. It will work with 4&Omega to 16&Omega speaker loads. The speakers can be disconnected while using the headphone jack without damage.
It has a power LED, but like the EH, lacks an on/off switch. There are 3 controls- Gain, Master Vol., and "Tri-Q", which is a variable filter type of thing. The Q control has a "mid notch" effect when rotated CCW, a "normal" setting in the middle of the rotation, and a "lead" setting when turned CW.
Here are my impressions:
First, the power rating of "45 watts" seems wildly optimistic. Per the instructions, the "45 watt" claim (and they never say how it's calculated . . .) is with a 4Ω load, the power drops (supposedly) to 33 watts at 8Ω, but I question whether I'm even seeing a legit 15 watts here. Granted, driving the 15" speaker is a lot, and I may need to try it into a 10" cab that I have to compare. But it doesn't drive the 15" at anything greater than practice levels.
However, it does have more clean headroom than either of the predecessors. The Q control operates as advertised. Basically, I find myself turning the master V all the way up, and using the gain knob to adjust the level. Big helpings do get into distortion territory, above about "6" on the gain.
It comes in a metal enclosure like a good pedal, but the pots and knobs feel very cheap. The "feel", as it is, is pretty much non-existent, the knob turns too easily and not particularly smoothly. The knobs seem more like something off a toy than a serious piece. I have a $20 Danelectro pedal that has better pots and knobs than this thing. But, hey, whaddya expect for $150 USD? At any rate, I would not rate this as a gig-worthy piece of equipment.
Sound-wise, I like the clean tones available, and the volume levels are fine for practice/home use. The website suggests this would be suitable for small gigs. Perhaps, if the gig in question is 8 people in a coffeeshop. But a bar setting, no way.
Ultimately, the quest will probably continue. I see Vox have a new small head on the shelves . . .
