Yorkville Bloc 80B Bass Amp

I bought it new in 1987
80 W - 15" speaker 4 ohms

Bass medium treble controls

headphone, line out, effects loop

It can even play in good conditions with a loud drummer

I'm usualy using a jazz bass with P/J pickup config

Styles : rock, blues

greatly improved by the use of an external graphic equalizer

I've used on stage as a monitor

Now I'm using a bigger system, however sometimes I'm lazy to transport the big cab, so sometimes i'm still using it ...

I've started bass guitar in 1984

If it was stolen, broken, lost I may buy a small bass combo like this one for some occasions

This amp has sufficient controls such as 3 band eq, Volume knob.
Also has good inputs such as high and low, send and return effects, line out and headphones.
The great thing about this amp is that it is Powered by an 80 watt amp 15inch speaker a to add depth to the sound.
I like the fact that it is also so small it is probably the same size or smaller than the peavey basic 112 which is only 60 watts and with a 12inch speaker.

Nice Sound great depth for the wattage. The only thing is that the more you turn it up it can get a little thin sounding. this thing is really lound though and can't complain.

Very robust and is built like a tank

Haven't dealt with them, don't need to.

Overall this amp is Great,
It is small and compact, loud for it's size and is sufficient to be used in a live situation.
I have used it live and plugged it into the PA, it's loud enough over the drums.
I think that if I were to replace it I would get another one if it were at the same price I got it for. It was practically given away to me for the price I got it for.
Wouldn't mind something like a Fender 100 Rumble series amp. But hey for an extra 20watts and Di output for 648 dollars more forget it.

Hello. This review reaches you from good ol' Germany. This amp has got knobs for Volume, High, Mid and Bass. At the back there are jacks for headphone, line out and an effect loop. So what do you want more, except of two channels? I've got no clue when it was manufactured. But it must be approx. 15 years-old. But time is no problem for this amp. It works really good, and for the 80 Watt that it's got you get the feeling, it pumps you off your chair. It's got an air hole in the back that gives a special "pound". I use it in our bands' rehearsal room. They were very impressed when I first switched it on. I don't need to go over our PA to drown them out. And the volume knob is still not turned to half of what is possible.

I'm playing an Ibanez with a single coil and a humbucker. The bass itself could be better, but the amp makes it sound very full. If you turn the volume down at the bass you get a rich clear sound also if you turn up the amp at least to 3/4 of its capacity. Turning up the bass completely, you can work with the distorsion, but in my eyes this is not really relevant in spite of playing rock or harder. The fat clear sound suits very fine to distorted guitars! And that's what counts. So you don't have very much varity, but it does what it's proposed to: It kicks...

Until there were no problems with it. The former owner also stated that it was very dependable. I haven't been to a gig with it, yet. But I'm not afraid to stand a gig only with the amp without PA. It should be mentioned, that the amp is built very robust. It has a steel grille in front of the speaker and the cubic form makes the rest. You could fall on it totally pissed - the only thing that would happen is a horrible headache.

I only got to know Yorkville by watching the homepage. As it seems, there is an customer support in Germany, too. The question is, if they could help me with this 1980's amp. But I'm think, I will never have to contact them ;-). The intellectual advantage for me is, that the company was established in Canada. But that's only for my ego not playing some crap from the US! Get off with this Texican suckhead.

I don't have this amp that long to say he accompanied me for years. But that's what he will do! I'm very satisfied with it. It will be always fat und loud enought to work with it in a rehearsal room. Hope it works the same on stage. If it was stolen, I would try to get it again.

I bought this second hand about a year ago. For a mid-sized, low priced bass amp the features - effects send and return, line out, headphone out, hi and low inputs, 80watts, 15" speaker, and 3 band EQ are excellent. Of course on board compression, DI out, an external speaker output, more EQ etc etc would all be desirable, but as I use this primarily as a practise amp, such features would be extravagant.
The most compact 15" combo I've ever seen, this amp is perhaps still a little cumbersome to carry around for practise on a daily basis (like I do), but I think it's worth it for the extra air movement that only a 15 can provide. On the other hand, it provides plenty of power to use with a full concert band, and would no doubt be ideal for small jazz combos.
This amp also work well as a basic guitar amp, and I even occasionally use it for vocals.

I mainly use this amp with a dirt cheap fretless bass with a passive PJ set up. This amp seems particularly sensitive to earthing and interference problems (like computer monitors) from the bridge pickup, but then again, I did say I was using a cheap bass. With the bass up full, the treble around 1 and the mid around 3 I can get a well rounded deep sound with sufficient punch at a volume low enough not to wake people in the next room. Cranking the volume and the treble and mid create a fairly irritating amount of hiss, but it usually gets buried by the other instruments I play with (I don't need to play that loud by myself), and besides, I don't like too much treble in my bass sound anyway.
On the whole, I really like the sounds I can get from this amp.

I use this amp five days a week, and it's usually left on for about six hours at a time. Add to that its age (I reckon its over 10 years old), the daily ride in the back of my bouncey van, occasional bumps into doorways, and being left in the back of my van on hot days (and it gets bloody hot here in Australia sometimes), and I think I'd have to rate the reliability of this amp as outstanding. The pots are annoyingly scratchy at times, though I gather I could easily fix that with some WD40 (I'm just too busy/lazy).
The amp once died on me during a concert band rehearsal (the second song!) after a particularly hot day in the van - either that or the fuse holder was loose (remember the bouncey van) - whatever the case the amp was fine the next day and has continued to work as such ever since (four months later).
The only other concern I have with this amp's reliabilty is that the power cord is starting to split on the back of the amp. I might investigate whether or not I can modify it to take a detachable kettle type cord. Otherwise this amp is a real workhorse, has maintained its hard-wearing appearance, and is very reliable.
I haven't yet used it for a gig, and even then I'd probably only use as an extra stage monitor, or as a backup.

I wouldn't even know who distributes Yorkville in Australia. The only other place I've ever heard of this amp is here on Harmony Central!

I've been playing bass for about 15 years in many styles in many different bands, though I'm currently focussing more on jazz. My main bass is an Australian made Maton JB4 (possibly the best production bass ever made) which I play through an Australian made Labsystems C250 250W 2x10" combo. I also play a number of other instruments and own plenty of gear which isn't relevant to this review, but bass is my passion. I bought this amp mainly for practise, and to prolong the life of my other gear.
It it were stolen I'd probably go for a Peavey Microbass which is a little more pricey and lower powered, but a lot more portable. Although a bit bigger and heavier than I wanted it to be, this amp certainly was the cheapest option whilst retaining a credible bass sound and providing admirable versatility. I very much doubt I could use the Microbass with the concert band...

I bought this used from a friend in high school back in 1990, so I guess it was built in the late 80s. I've used it primarily as a practice amp, but I've also used it for some small gigs and occasionally for a guitar amp. Very versatile. Has a high and low input, effects loop, headphone jack, and line out. Tone controls include bass, mid, and high. Sturdy steel grill covers the speaker. Includes speaker vent in back. Easy to transport. Overall, not too many features to speak of. But it sounds good and works without fail.

I've used this amp for rock, metal, and jazz. It has a good mid-range growl and plenty of bottom. The highs aren't so great, though. Plays quietly.

I bought this amp from a friend in high school back in 1990. Today (in 2003) it's still going strong without one bit of maintenance! Very dependable little amp.

I've never had to worry about obtaining customer support.

The Bloc 80 is one tough amp. Sounds good (not great), plays loud, and is easy to transport. You really can't ask much more for a simple 80 watt amp.

I got it just after Traynor changed their name to Yorkville sound late 80's.. Very versitile. Light and easy to handle, BIG sound but rather bright with stock speaker. Mono. 1 channel. Effects loop. I use this as bass guitar amp (Hohner B2) and as a bottom "kick" for a small guitar amp (Crate GX40)

The Hohner has live EMGs and they make a bit of noise, the amp seems quiet. After 10 years I replaced the stock speaker with an EV rated with a very high SPL, the volume nearly doubled, the range of tone got better and I could finally play it with the Bass control on full-without distortion.

been there, done that. This this is built like a brick wall. I spray WD40 down the pots every few years.

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I play keys, guitar and bass. Have played for 32 years but poor health has plagued me throughout so I've been PLAYING maybe 18 years. If this were lost I'd replace it, there's quite a few aroud here. It makes a good amp for a variety of instruments as well as reinforcement.

Mid-80's - late 90's maybe? Few features; 80 watts with master volume, bass, mid and treble knobs, 15" speaker, two inputs. Headphone jack and effects loop on the back. This thing is tiny - it looks like a cube. Smaller than most 50 watt bass amps. Don't gig regularly yet (my band has no drummer) but I've "gigged" with my high school jazz band and this thing is loud enough to fill up a medium-sized hall.. well, for jazz, at least. Plenty loud enough till I can upgrade.. The versatility is limited and the features are practically nonexistent, but it works, what can I say.

Using this with my modified (single-single-humbucker) Fender Jazz bass. Sounds good enough, but it seems to be the complete opposite of a Bassman. No matter how the amp controls are set, this thing is thick, punchy and bright. I pretty well have to rely on my bass's tone controls to shape the sound. However, I play principally punk rock, and cranking all the tone controls seems to work just peachy for me. At first I thought it was noisy, but I guess that's just my bass - right now I have a rented Yamaha BB5000a (awesome bass!) and it's dead quiet. Unbelievable. The distortion is "brutal" but it's not supposed to be.. more on this later. I love the sound, but it ain't for everyone.

Now. Here's where I have a problem. I was jamming with a friend at relatively low volumes (probably between 1/4 and 1/3) the other day and the signal started to break up A LOT. I reached down to turn the amp off to "give it a break" if you will, and noticed it was reeeally hot. Much hotter than my friend's old tube amp. Can anyone help me with this? Would whatever's overheating in the amp cause the signal to distort, and would a fan help this? Otherwise, this thing is a rock. I have played in front of audiences with it, it works fine, providing I'm not playing for a long time..

I've heard Yorkville Sound are nice. Plus, they're Canadian, so they must be cool.

Playing a little under 2 years, own a Fender Jazz bass and a Zoom 506.. nothing too special. I like the overall sound, but I hate the fact that it distorts so easily.. please help me! Bought this kinda on a whim.. needed more power than my little Frontman could provide. This was here, this was cheap. Wish it had more by way of tone shaping, and I also wish it wouldn't distort.. well, hopefully someone can help me out with this.

Not sure when it was made. It looks a little old, maybe 1980's. It has a high and low input, effects loop and a line out. It has a volume, low, high and mid knob. I've used this amp live and at rehersal and it powerful enough to be heard over drums.

The amp sounds pretty good. It's a little buzzy if you turn the treble up all the way. Once my band was stuck without a guitar and and actually used this bass amp as a guitar amp for a gig.

This amp is indestructable. The front grill is steel so you dont have to worry about the speaker getting hit. It's the most solid amp i've ever used. I would definitly use this without a backup at a gig.

Never dealt with the company.

I've only had this amp for about 3 months but i've been playing for 6 years and i like this amp. It really powerful, sturdy and versatile. If it were stolen i would buy another yeah.