TC Electronics RS 112 Initial Impressions.

fettbass · #1 05-29-2011, 11:01 AM

So lately I've been getting a lot more work playing upright in a jazz trio, along with soundtrack work and other lower volume gigs. I have an SWR 4x10 golight, but it really is overkill volume wise for a lot of the gigs I'm playing right now. I use a shuttle 6, and I started looking around for a nice lightweight cab to use for the jazz gigs, small rehearsals, and other more intimate low volume gigs. I had a couple criteria.

It had to be portable and light
It had to be durable
It had to sound good

I started out looking at the usual suspects, Markbass, Gallien Krueger, Genz Benz, etc. Toronto doesn't have the best variety when it comes to speaker cabs, store wise, we have two big Guitar Center equivalents, Long and McQuade, Steve's, both of which aren't that great. I ended up at Club Bass, which is more of a specialty store, though it's a bit of a trek to get out there. They had a couple of cabs to try, but I whittled it down to 3 cabs.

MarkBass New York 121
Bergantino AE 112
TC Electronics RS 112

I tested all of them through my Genz Shuttle 6

I tried the Markbass first. I was excited to try it, as a friend of mine plays a Markbass 410 in a loud rock band, and it sounds fantastic. It didn't disappoint. Great lows for a small cab, though I felt it lacked a little clarity. It was actually the cab I thought I'd buy, but I felt that perhaps the lack of clarity would be a detriment while playing upright.

Next I tried the Berg. Wow. The difference was like night and day. It had much more presence than the Markbass, each note could be felt and heard, while I felt that with the Markbass, you were feeling the note more than anything else. The sound was much more detailed and full, playing through the same bass (Lakland Skyline 44 60 Vintage J) it was like going from dead strings to brand new ones. I was pretty sold on it, though it was a little more than I'd want to pay for a 112, still, the sound seemed worth it.

Lastly I tried the TC RS 112. This was the cab that Richard, the store owner was raving about. I was a bit concerned about the 200 w power rating, as my shuttle puts out close to 400 watts at 8 ohms, But was assured that the TC could handle it. I also wasn't planning to slam the cab with power, its whole purpose would be to play low volume jazz gigs, bridal showers, and studio work. I was biased against the TC, as it was the only non neo equipped cab, but the weight was right there with the other two (30 lbs), so I figured it didn't really matter. The TC sounded great. Great midrange content, great detail and presence, with just a little less projection and power than the Berg. It slaughtered the Markbass though. I figured it sounded about 90 percent as good as the Berg, but more than 200 dollars less (Canadian). So guess which one I walked out the door with? I'm taking it to a jazz practice tonight (trio, upright, drums and guitar). I'll give the verdict later today.

fettbass · #2 05-29-2011, 11:24 AM

Oh and no pics=no cab so here you go.

It came with a nifty little speakon cable too. It's not the best one I've ever seen, but it should be fine.

And from the back

Musicman20 · #3 05-29-2011, 01:30 PM

Is it really that close to the AE112?! Nice piece of kit.

I must admit im tempted by one of these....but they dont make covers for it.

::::BASSIST:::: · #4 05-29-2011, 01:42 PM

Seems awfully low to the ground to me. Any concerns with that? Especially on small stages, which you will likely find in the small venues you are playing with it.

I love the TC concept of stacking 3 of these with the rh450, though. That would sound great.

LM Bass · #5 05-29-2011, 01:44 PM

I love my TC 112, and do most of my gigs (upright and electric) with it. Tuki makes a great cover which isn't too expensive -highly recommended.

fettbass · #6 05-29-2011, 02:21 PM

I'll look into the Tuki cover, Thanks LM. It is a little closer to the ground than I'm used to. It hasn't had a gig test yet, so I don't know if that'll be problem, more on that later. And I'll admit it wasn't quite at the level of the Berg in terms of detail and projection, but it was really quite close. The difference between the TC and the Markbass was much more noticeable than the difference between the TC and the Berg.

fettbass · #7 05-30-2011, 09:26 AM

So I took it out to a low volume jazz trio practice (Upright, Drums, Guitar). Volume wise it was more than enough, I found I was much louder than the guitarist, and didn't have to push the amp (shuttle 6) at all. I did have to engage the bass boost switch to get a sound I felt was full enough, at that lower volume, though the EQ was set flat. And I am using an impedance buffering preamp, so the flat sound through upright is just a little bass shy. Apparently the bass boost feature is intended to beef up the sound on smaller cabs, so I wouldn't call it an issue. At the volume we were playing, in a tiny practice room, the lowness to the ground wasn't an issue. I never had a problem hearing myself or feeling the notes.

The second half of the practice was with electric bass, playing more funk and fusion stuff. It's a lot louder and driving, and the RS 112 sounded great here. I didn't have to engage the bass boost, and the sound was very hi fi. Clear, punchy, and full. I'd say it's voiced a little bit more for electric than upright, but most every speaker cab on the market seems to be any way. I had to drive to practice though. At 30 pounds, it's just a little bit too big and heavy to carry around in one hand while carting an upright to the subway, up flights of stairs, through doors etc for long distances without damaging something. I'm looking into using either one of those backpack cases conga players and percussionists use, or some sort of cart or dolly, to see if I can make it a truly portable setup that I can just carry around. Any reccommendations?