They Keep Shrinking!

[Nitrobattery]

I was sent this little guy to demo, and really couldn't help but laugh. It's smaller than a Boss pedal and actually drives a 4x12 pretty hard. Pretty wild. Considering it's cheaper than a lot of aftermarket pickups, it's really pretty cool for what it is.

 

[Oblivion DC]

Looks pretty cool! I noticed it'll take a pretty beefy power supply to run that little guy. Does that come with the pedal or would you have to get it separately??

 

[Nitrobattery]

Looks pretty cool! I noticed it'll take a pretty beefy power supply to run that little guy. Does that come with the pedal or would you have to get it separately??

It's included!

 

[hammered]

How's the clean tone for a distortion/OD pedal platform? I've had the tone block and 101 and the clean tone was too bright no matter what adjustments I made. I prefer the darker clean tone of the magnun 44

 

[maddnotez]

Was going to ask if you have compared to the 44 magnum.

I had that pedal for a while and it was amazing for what it was. The only things were that just like the micro block, the power supply was just as big as the pedal. I thought maybe a power brick could power them but I am unsure because it seems like the reason the power supplies are so big is because there are special parts inside, maybe a transformer?

The other thing I did not like was just the low SS wattage/lack of headroom. Don't get me wrong it works and works well. At a gig there will be no problems whatsoever but for rehearsal in an unmiked setting 44w is just not enough for a guy like me.

It kept up with the rest of the band but BARELY and it started clipping once it got too loud.

I am wondering if this Quilter pedal suffers from the same. Have really been wanting a very portable backup/practice rig like a VH4 pedal and a power block but have not found the ideal power.

 

[Nitrobattery]

I've tried the entire Quilter line, and the MicroBlock is definitely the darkest...or most neutral voiced of all of them. The goal for this little thing was to be a pedal platform, so they voiced it specifically to take drive pedals well. You can hear at the end of the video that it also does a nice clean sound if you want more of a Fendery thing, but it'll darken up enough to really let a distortion pedal/preamp cut through.

The power supply isn't small, but it's not enormous either. If you have a power supply on your board already (or underneath like a lot of people do) the Quilter's power supply should tuck in right next to it.

As far as volume, it's way louder than I ever would have expected at 45 watts. I was genuinely smiling pushing a 4x12 with it getting plenty of thunk. Now, my 100 watt and 120 watt tube amps would of course blow it out of the room, but that's not what the goal of this little thing is. The 200 watt Quilter Blocks are made to compete with the big guys. This little thing is designed to be an easy backup amp at the gig, an easy pedalboard amp for small clubs/rehearsals or an easy home jamming tool.

I don't get a kickback from Quilter or a commission on sales from Boynton Pro Audio, I just thought I'd share this little thing with you because I genuinely thought that for $149 it was pretty cool. Especially with airlines cracking down on how much weight you can bring these days, if anyone has to do any traveling and will be mic'd up at the gig anyway, these little things might just be the ticket.

 

[flatheads_4ever]

I'm betting this with a BE-OD in front of it would make a killer practice amp.

Ed

 

[godgrinder]

Duncan is doing something similar with more wattage, a lot more expensive too though:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PowerStage170

 

[Nitrobattery]

Duncan is doing something similar with more wattage, a lot more expensive too though:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PowerStage170

I saw that! They definitely look cool!

I talk about this regularly with friends, but it's such a cool time to be a guitar player. I remember growing up being so frustrated by how expensive gear was, and that you could spend fairly big bucks and still have pretty garbage equipment. Now it seems like somebody could buy a pedal like the BE-OD or the new Suhr Eclipse, put it through one of these little EHX/Quilter/Duncan pedalboard amps and go play a gig and be pretty satisfied with the tone. Don't get me wrong, my tube amps aren't going anywhere, but man...it's so easy to have a solid, portable rig that you can sling over your shoulder for a session or sit-in gig and still get a slammin' tone without the weight. Have you tried the little 6505 Piranha? It's awesome! It's $179 and actually sounds like dwarfed 6505. If I was 13 and got my hands on one of those I'd be over the moon.

 

[hammered]

I ordered a Microblock today on Reverb. My EH Magnum works really good with the BE-OD but you now how it is when you`ve got GAS . I`ll probably end up trying that Duncan Power Stage also

 

[Nitrobattery]

I ordered a Microblock today on Reverb. My EH Magnum works really good with the BE-OD but you now how it is when you`ve got GAS . I`ll probably end up trying that Duncan Power Stage also

How'd you end up liking the Microblock?

I just got to check out this Overdrive 200....aaaand...I think I'm sending a check instead of the amp back. While it won't replace my tube stuff all together, having a rig that will fit in my carry-on luggage and still sounds great is super handy. I didn't do it in the video, but if you back the gain down a little and hit it with an overdrive, the whole amp just comes alive. Pretty cool for how small it is.

 

[hammered]

I ordered a Microblock today on Reverb. My EH Magnum works really good with the BE-OD but you now how it is when you`ve got GAS . I`ll probably end up trying that Duncan Power Stage also

How'd you end up liking the Microblock?

I just got to check out this Overdrive 200....aaaand...I think I'm sending a check instead of the amp back. While it won't replace my tube stuff all together, having a rig that will fit in my carry-on luggage and still sounds great is super handy. I didn't do it in the video, but if you back the gain down a little and hit it with an overdrive, the whole amp just comes alive. Pretty cool for how small it is.

I never even ended up taking it out of the package . I got a deal on another Splawn right when the Microblock was delivered so I returned it