New TC Electronics RH750 or RH450?

[gmcelroy]

Newbie here but been lurking for awhile now! I have recently become a bass convert and am looking at updating my amp rig. I'm currently using a Fender Bassman 250 115 combo but would like just a little more power. I've been looking into the
RH450 for a couple of months but right as I was getting ready to purchase the RH450 the newer RH750 has hit the market.
Would there be enough difference betwen the two to justify spending more for the RH750 or would the RH450 be adequate for my needs? One plus of the RH450 is that the price has dropped since the RH750 introduction!

I will be playing smaller gigs (100 to 200 people) and anything larger I would be going through the P.A. system. I play in a band with two guitarists, lead singer and two additional backup singers doing 70's - 80's party rock.

[Munjibunga]

Dunno ... soolnzai sell my WT-800, I think there'll be an RH750 in my future. The low power of the RH450 is pretty much what has been keeping me from buying a TCE amp. As they say in drag racing, "There's no substitute for cubic inches." Or whatever. Get the 750 and don't look back.

[Hippos Melas]

I'm buying an RH750 when the funds finally present themselves this summer. From what I see on Musician's Friend, there isn't any difference in pricing and you get more features such at Tweeter Tone and more power. Might as well get more watts if it's not going to cost you more. Can't make more watts, but you can always turn down.

[Musicman20]

750, the tweetertone is great!

[gmcelroy]

I do like the tweetertone feature of the 750!

[henfjel]

BH500! awesome amp. not as compact as 450 or 750 but it has the same functions. looks good and sounds good. very versatile! its also quite cheap, compared to 450 and 750.

[And I]

both amps have the same deficiency, IMO. only one speaker output...

[GrowlerBox]

Originally Posted by Hippos Melas

I'm buying an RH750 when the funds finally present themselves this summer. From what I see on Musician's Friend, there isn't any difference in pricing and you get more features such at Tweeter Tone and more power. Might as well get more watts if it's not going to cost you more. Can't make more watts, but you can always turn down.

I'd suggest not shopping at MF, then -- a brief perusal of the interwebz puts the 450 under US$700, and the 750 at ~ US$1000. I got my 450 for around $700 even before the 750 came out, so shop around.

Also, keep in mind that volume is produced by speakers, and that logarithmic increases in power are required to produce linear increases in volume. The Tweetertone looks like a useful feature, but not worth $300 to me as the RH450 has more than enough in the upper range for my cab and tastes. I also hear tell that you can actually hear the fan in the 750, and I've never heard any noise from the 450. A minor consideration, of course, but the noise from my F1 did bug me a little during practice.

[henfjel]

Originally Posted by And I

both amps have the same deficiency, IMO. only one speaker output...

not necessarily a deficiency. if you use TC cabs you can link several cabs from one amp.

[GrowlerBox]

Originally Posted by henfjel

not necessarily a deficiency. if you use TC cabs you can link several cabs from one amp.

Not just TC cabs. Many (if not most) modern cabs have dual, parallel-linked jacks.

[Eublet]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Dunno ... soolnzai sell my WT-800, I think there'll be an RH750 in my future. The low power of the RH450 is pretty much what has been keeping me from buying a TCE amp. As they say in drag racing, "There's no substitute for cubic inches." Or whatever. Get the 750 and don't look back.

Not sure what all heads you've used, but the RH450 has more power and heft than a LMII/III, F1 and SA450. It also has way more power than a Shuttle 6, and is nearly on par with the 9.0 and Streamliner 900. It's quite an impressive 450 watts that just doesn't quit. If the power increase is proportionate with the RH450, then my guess is that the RH750 will be easily bigger and more powerful sounding than those other heads, which means it'll be in db750 territory. If true, that'll be remarkable to say the least.

[tsunami1052]

The RH750 has some nice new features - street price $999. The RH450 is loud (kicked the snot out of my WT400 volume wise) and street price new $699. So I guess is the extra watts and tweetertone worth $300 more?

[::::BASSIST::::]

Is the preamp on the 750 the same as the 450? Specifically the 450 is set at 71hz for the bass eq. Is the 750 also 71hz?

OP: Honestly though if the max you are playing for w/o PA support is 200 people the 450 will be fine. The 450 is a loud amp IME.

[Hippos Melas]

Originally Posted by GrowlerBox

I'd suggest not shopping at MF, then -- a brief perusal of the interwebz puts the 450 under US$700, and the 750 at ~ US$1000. I got my 450 for around $700 even before the 750 came out, so shop around.

Also, keep in mind that volume is produced by speakers, and that logarithmic increases in power are required to produce linear increases in volume. The Tweetertone looks like a useful feature, but not worth $300 to me as the RH450 has more than enough in the upper range for my cab and tastes. I also hear tell that you can actually hear the fan in the 750, and I've never heard any noise from the 450. A minor consideration, of course, but the noise from my F1 did bug me a little during practice.

Informative post. Thankfully I'm not shopping now or I'd have spent $300 than I intended to.

I'm planning on running the RH450 with 2 2x10 cabs which would give me plenty of volume in conjunction with the 450 watts. Plus I figured if I need more than 500 watts anyhow I should have PA support of some sort.

Thanks for the heads up on the price drop for the RH450. It's only $200 more than my other choice (MB500) and the feature set certainly can't be beat on the RH450 IMO.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Hate to be a party pooper, but I prefered the tone of the gkmb500 over the 450 as I found the gkmb500 had more girth and low-end. Have you A/B'd both in person?

[Eublet]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

Is the preamp on the 750 the same as the 450? Specifically the 450 is set at 71hz for the bass eq. Is the 750 also 71hz?

The default frequency center of the bass knob on the 450 and 750 is 200 hz, but since it's a semi parametric control, you can drop it down to 71 hz at the lowest. Keep in mind that it's a shelving control though, so that's the center of the knee on the slope where things start boosting. The lows underneath that point will get boosted more than the frequency center itself will.

[Eublet]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

Hate to be a party pooper, but I prefered the tone of the gkmb500 over the 450 as I found the gkmb500 had more girth and low-end. Have you A/B'd both in person?

Not a party pooper at all. I agree with you that the MB heads are VERY extended down low, and for my tastes, quite boomy and uncontrollable in a mix. I personally don't consider that to mean they have more girth, because I like my tone to be more fat in the upper-lows and low mids so that it punches a bit harder without rumbling. I tend to think of the classic bass tones as having more girth because they aren't as extended, and you can really fatten them up without getting an unsable tone. A deeply voiced head like the GK MB doesn't really let you get there IMHO, but I can totally see why there would be some (if not many) who prefer that.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Eublet

The default frequency center of the bass knob on the 450 and 750 is 200 hz.

Incorrect.

The default is 200Hz on the RH750 and 280Hz on the RH450. All else is the same, however.

The two mids are identical.

The Treble controls are also different. The default is 4khz on the RH750, with a range of -24dB to +15dB, and the default is 1.6kHz on the RH450 with a range of -24dB to +12dB.

All four are the same types, as well... bass/treble shelving, and mids fixed 2.1 octave.

FYI.

[Eublet]

Originally Posted by Vic

Incorrect.

The default is 200Hz on the RH750 and 280Hz on the RH450. All else is the same, however.

The two mids are identical.

The Treble controls are also different. The default is 4khz on the RH750, with a range of -24dB to +15dB, and the default is 1.6kHz on the RH450 with a range of -24dB to +12dB.

All four are the same types, as well... bass/treble shelving, and mids fixed 2.1 octave.

FYI.

Interesting! I assumed too much perhaps based on TC's introductory video.

But this brings up somethign I don't understand. Are the new default EQ settings on the RH750 set at the noon position, or are they shifted one way or another from the factory? Can you help with that, Vic?

I just looked at the specs on the TC website, and it seems the min/max values are still the same, so I'm not sure how the treble control especially could now be centered at 4khz at noon.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Eublet

Interesting! I assumed too much perhaps based on TC's introductory video.

But this brings up somethign I don't understand. Are the new default EQ settings on the RH750 set at the noon position, or are they shifted one way or another from the factory? Can you help with that, Vic?

I just looked at the specs on the TC website, and it seems the min/max values are still the same, so I'm not sure how the treble control especially could now be centered at 4khz at noon.

I had the same question, except I may also have the answer.

I noticed when I pressed the shift button on my RH750 last night, the dots were NOT all at "noon", but I didn't really think much of it until now. So other than the small boost/cut diff of the treble control, I THINK they're identical, but we're talking about the "default" vs "noon position". I'm guessing the noon position is the same, but the RH750 ships with different default settings.

In short, it may simply be that in their case, "default" doesn't necessarily mean "noon" or "center position".

I need to play more with this to verify tho.