I saw that little tc electronic bg250-208 amp with 2x8" speakers at the 14th street guitar center a few months ago and it looked quite nice for the money! Are those amps good and strong enaugh for a jazz gig?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
bg250 208
- Thread starter Flaked Beans
- Start date
I just bought one and returned it. I loved the size and tone, but I needed to dime the volume to have it loud enough for what I thought of as a reasomably quiet practice.. We play rock and country covers.. so I may have had too high expectations. For what I'd call a pub sized place playing some jazz without interfering with patrons ability to talk at normal volumes, it may just do it without an external cab. If you need to go to an external cab, probably just get the 112 version of the combo.
I really REALLY wanted to make this one work. But it just didnt move enough air for me. It might be enough for you. I was surprised it sounded louder at Guitar Center than the basement once we started playing.... Bumping the mids will make it sound louder but I wasnt crazy about the tone then.
If I had the money, I'd have one in my basement for personal practiceing but its too expensive for me to do that. I hope that helps a bit.
I really REALLY wanted to make this one work. But it just didnt move enough air for me. It might be enough for you. I was surprised it sounded louder at Guitar Center than the basement once we started playing.... Bumping the mids will make it sound louder but I wasnt crazy about the tone then.
If I had the money, I'd have one in my basement for personal practiceing but its too expensive for me to do that. I hope that helps a bit.
For quiet jazz yes. For anything even remotely loud, no. I love mine but bought it for the small footprint and features for practice alone. With the drummer I currently jam with (rock) this combo would be as useless as boobies on a fish.
I'd toyed with getting a BH250 head and Fender 2x8 cab... only a tiny bit bigger... and you could use the head with bigger cabs easily. More flexibility. The keyboardist, guitar player and myself are thinking about playing out as a 3 piece when the other band members cant make it... smaller places.. and I thought something like that would fit the bill. Just an ideal
Not by design. When I had it I looked and it was attached by some super sticky pads,, maybe screws as well. I recall at least one person removing it here on TB. But it's not meant to be removed... The person mentioned that it may be tuned slightly differently for the 208 cab and wasn't as impressed with the tone using other amps.
I'm guessing you'd void the warranty if you removed it.... although some day I can see picking up a less expensive used one and doing just that.. maybe rigging up something so you can slide the amp in and out easily ... like a shuttle.
I'm guessing you'd void the warranty if you removed it.... although some day I can see picking up a less expensive used one and doing just that.. maybe rigging up something so you can slide the amp in and out easily ... like a shuttle.
Hi all,
I'll jump into the mix here. Having played bedroom bass for too many years to mention (used to be a drummer) into a little 30w combo I recently took the plunge to get back into playing in public. Auditions went well - rehearsal studios had various amp/cab configurations so I was able to play without my own back line. I didn't have a lot of cash, and was wary of buying from ebay/gumtree etc. for something that might be absolutely perfect, or just buying someone else's problems. I did the usual trawl of local music shops and played a variety of stuff before settling on the BG250 208. Loads of reasons, but primarily I just liked the tone I got from it (and the price), it's diminutive size and weight sealed it for me. I got a customer return for GBP190, which I still think was a pretty good deal.
So first gig depping for a bunch of kids (ok I'm an old git and anyone in their 20's is a kid in my book lol) 2 guitars and drums playing recent rock / pop in small venues (100 bods) and the little combo stood up reasonably well playing with only vocals (and bass drum) through the PA. Didn't have to dial much past 2 o'clock to be heard. Feedback from the audience was that the bottom was a bit absent but mid and highs were fine (Spectracomp set at about 10 o'clock certainly helps on the volume front).
Depping for a Heavy rock covers band made me question my original 'yeah 250w will be plenty' thoughts. This band had a loud drummer, and two guitarists, one blackstar and the other marshall valve. I had to max the little thing all the way to eleven. Only time I heard myself was when I hit a bum note, or when the song meant only one of the guitars (or less) was playing. I promised I would sort out my lack of noise in time for the gig and borrowed an 18" sub and power amp from a DJ friend and DI'd the BG to the power amp. Problem solved but not really the solution I was looking for. I then found a really tatty well gigged (and probably abused) 2x10 behringer cab on gumtree for GBP40. OMG what a difference. All of a sudden all this stuff about Ohms and pushing air made sense. Not only was their an appreciable difference in volume, the bottom end really came to life. The band noticed the difference immediately both in terms of tone and volume. The slight tube growl and the sustain from the compression software really worked for their sound. Playing in a live situation with these guys to 100-300 people venues my mini stack performed really well, and only with the 300 strong crowd did I have to go to 3 o'clock or a little beyond on the volume.
I have now got myself a band, we play traditional heavy rock covers (zep, sabbath, ACDC, lizzy and the like), we are essentially a trio (bass guitar drums) although our vocals occasionally jumps in on rhythm guitar for a couple of numbers, and all are happy with the volume/tone I deliver into the mix. I rarely go above 12 o'clock (around 10 if I use the extension cab) in our rehearsal situation so I'm pretty confident that my current set up will hold up in a live situation without having to call on my borrowing skills with my DJ friend.
One thing to add. It makes a real difference which bass I use to the overall tone / volume I get out of the cab. My passive, an old Hohner Arbor P copy - loud but boomy and under-defined lows (as others have mentioned on the BG250 threads), Vintage Bubinga V940 Active - way quieter, but great tone and a more even delivery between highs and lows (almost rickenbacker like), Traben Neo Active - much louder than the Hohner even when going through the low gain channel, and a really nice well rounded tone (my drummer said 'wow - that sounds mighty'), and my 'comedy' Vintage Metal Axxe Wraith again Active - somewhere between the Traben and Hohner in terms of volume and tonally - well it's an acquired taste, If I spent the time messing with the amp and bass eq I'm sure I could dial in something I'm happy with, but for now its use is the two Stone Sour covers and then more for the visuals rather than tone.
So - long post, to answer a fairly straightforward question. To summarise:
The Spectracomp toneprint makes a big difference to boosting the volume
The 208 on it's own is fine although there is a definite roll off at the bottom end (and don't even try to run an octaver through it on the E string - I presume all you 5 stringers out there would suffer massively in this area but then again I doubt if this little beast would be anywhere near your shopping list far less be on it).
The 208 coupled to a 210 (or I would imagine 410, 115 or even 112 as long as they are 8 Ohm) would probably suffice in the majority of situations.
The caveat of course is that you are not competing with a loud drummer and a couple of ramped up guitars, but you are playing in a band that understands how a live mix works and can rely on a FOH PA when the venue demands it.
From the sound of your situation (jazz - assuming keyboards, drums and some brass/woodwind) I reckon this would be fine.
Oh, one other thing, I believe that the 208 is the only BG combo that allows connection to an external cab, just make sure it's an 8 Ohm one.
I'll jump into the mix here. Having played bedroom bass for too many years to mention (used to be a drummer) into a little 30w combo I recently took the plunge to get back into playing in public. Auditions went well - rehearsal studios had various amp/cab configurations so I was able to play without my own back line. I didn't have a lot of cash, and was wary of buying from ebay/gumtree etc. for something that might be absolutely perfect, or just buying someone else's problems. I did the usual trawl of local music shops and played a variety of stuff before settling on the BG250 208. Loads of reasons, but primarily I just liked the tone I got from it (and the price), it's diminutive size and weight sealed it for me. I got a customer return for GBP190, which I still think was a pretty good deal.
So first gig depping for a bunch of kids (ok I'm an old git and anyone in their 20's is a kid in my book lol) 2 guitars and drums playing recent rock / pop in small venues (100 bods) and the little combo stood up reasonably well playing with only vocals (and bass drum) through the PA. Didn't have to dial much past 2 o'clock to be heard. Feedback from the audience was that the bottom was a bit absent but mid and highs were fine (Spectracomp set at about 10 o'clock certainly helps on the volume front).
Depping for a Heavy rock covers band made me question my original 'yeah 250w will be plenty' thoughts. This band had a loud drummer, and two guitarists, one blackstar and the other marshall valve. I had to max the little thing all the way to eleven. Only time I heard myself was when I hit a bum note, or when the song meant only one of the guitars (or less) was playing. I promised I would sort out my lack of noise in time for the gig and borrowed an 18" sub and power amp from a DJ friend and DI'd the BG to the power amp. Problem solved but not really the solution I was looking for. I then found a really tatty well gigged (and probably abused) 2x10 behringer cab on gumtree for GBP40. OMG what a difference. All of a sudden all this stuff about Ohms and pushing air made sense. Not only was their an appreciable difference in volume, the bottom end really came to life. The band noticed the difference immediately both in terms of tone and volume. The slight tube growl and the sustain from the compression software really worked for their sound. Playing in a live situation with these guys to 100-300 people venues my mini stack performed really well, and only with the 300 strong crowd did I have to go to 3 o'clock or a little beyond on the volume.
I have now got myself a band, we play traditional heavy rock covers (zep, sabbath, ACDC, lizzy and the like), we are essentially a trio (bass guitar drums) although our vocals occasionally jumps in on rhythm guitar for a couple of numbers, and all are happy with the volume/tone I deliver into the mix. I rarely go above 12 o'clock (around 10 if I use the extension cab) in our rehearsal situation so I'm pretty confident that my current set up will hold up in a live situation without having to call on my borrowing skills with my DJ friend.
One thing to add. It makes a real difference which bass I use to the overall tone / volume I get out of the cab. My passive, an old Hohner Arbor P copy - loud but boomy and under-defined lows (as others have mentioned on the BG250 threads), Vintage Bubinga V940 Active - way quieter, but great tone and a more even delivery between highs and lows (almost rickenbacker like), Traben Neo Active - much louder than the Hohner even when going through the low gain channel, and a really nice well rounded tone (my drummer said 'wow - that sounds mighty'), and my 'comedy' Vintage Metal Axxe Wraith again Active - somewhere between the Traben and Hohner in terms of volume and tonally - well it's an acquired taste, If I spent the time messing with the amp and bass eq I'm sure I could dial in something I'm happy with, but for now its use is the two Stone Sour covers and then more for the visuals rather than tone.
So - long post, to answer a fairly straightforward question. To summarise:
The Spectracomp toneprint makes a big difference to boosting the volume
The 208 on it's own is fine although there is a definite roll off at the bottom end (and don't even try to run an octaver through it on the E string - I presume all you 5 stringers out there would suffer massively in this area but then again I doubt if this little beast would be anywhere near your shopping list far less be on it).
The 208 coupled to a 210 (or I would imagine 410, 115 or even 112 as long as they are 8 Ohm) would probably suffice in the majority of situations.
The caveat of course is that you are not competing with a loud drummer and a couple of ramped up guitars, but you are playing in a band that understands how a live mix works and can rely on a FOH PA when the venue demands it.
From the sound of your situation (jazz - assuming keyboards, drums and some brass/woodwind) I reckon this would be fine.
Oh, one other thing, I believe that the 208 is the only BG combo that allows connection to an external cab, just make sure it's an 8 Ohm one.
Latest posts
-
Future Impact now available!! WAS: deep impact reissue!!! interested?- Latest: Andras Szalay
-
I didn't need it but I bought it anyway new (to me) cab day...- Latest: S-Bigbottom
-
-
