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Blacksmith By TC Electronics

J

jjlent

Sep 2, 2012
77
0
Phoenix Az
#1
HI,
I purchased a Blacksmith by tc electronics awaiting delivery.:hyper: I welcome feedback from current tc electronic owners. I will berunning it into 2ea Ampeg BXT 4/10's (2ohm load) I did have a fender tb-1 preamp that i bi amped with a QSC RMX2450 running @ 1200 watts into 2 ohms sounded good so @ 1600 watts should give me plent of headroom.
I play a Gison SG Bass :bassist: I will post pics when the smith arrives.:D
 
#3
I hope you love it. Lots of fans around here of the TC stuff.

Just as an FYI they have a unique approach to power management and to power specifications that some around here like less than others. Bottom line is they squeeze more average SPL out of fewer watts with pretty darn sophisticated signal processing. IMO, it makes sense for TC lovers to understand the TC thing so they can sing its praises as good engineering. Here's a link to TC's explanation, which includes a chart at the end that lets you compare measured power output against the way other manufacturers measure. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It shows the Blacksmith at 924 Watts RMS long term at 4 ohms, but doesn't show a long term output at 2 ohms. An impressive bit of engineering even if some dislike the way TC describes its power. A great review of the 450 in Bass Gear Mag a few months ago. AFAIK, still available for free online and gives lots of info on the TC power management "thang."
 
#4
Thanks JHaz,
Yea I read all that, being a Ham Radio op the tech talk is similar in power rating of the RF Output. I am also and somewhat of audiophiles have some vintage stereo equipment that still kicks butt 35 years later.
I have found over the years is 2 schools of design.

1. Create a design for the headroom for those dynamic peaks slew rate and all that was designed around massive capacitors storing energy in the final output stage of the amp.

2. Create a design that eliminated the need of capacitors and create a power supply that can handle the peaks usually for shorter times.

So when I was reading how TC does it without opening the case they probably have the same design like the Nakamichi stasis power amps did with 4 huge caps in line for that really sweet rich bass we all love so much.

http://www.dnaelectronics.ca/gallery/nakamichi_pa-7/nakamichi_pa-7_pics.html
 
#5
jjlent said:
Thanks JHaz,
Yea I read all that, being a Ham Radio op the tech talk is similar in power rating of the RF Output. I am also and somewhat of audiophiles have some vintage stereo equipment that still kicks butt 35 years later.
I have found over the years is 2 schools of design.

1. Create a design for the headroom for those dynamic peaks slew rate and all that was designed around massive capacitors storing energy in the final output stage of the amp.

2. Create a design that eliminated the need of capacitors and create a power supply that can handle the peaks usually for shorter times.

So when I was reading how TC does it without opening the case they probably have the same design like the Nakamichi stasis power amps did with 4 huge caps in line for that really sweet rich bass we all love so much.

http://www.dnaelectronics.ca/gallery/nakamichi_pa-7/nakamichi_pa-7_pics.html
Click to expand...

It's pretty much nothing like that Link. While the Blacksmith should sound good, you'll probably won't any more volume than your QSC.
 
#6
Smallequestrian said:
It's pretty much nothing like that Link. While the Blacksmith should sound good, you'll probably won't any more volume than your QSC.
Click to expand...

Yea,
I know, the qsc sounded good at lower volumes as I cranked the low end became flat, lifeless compared to an all tube head.
I have a 300 watt all tube bass head I sure hope it can match or do better in sound quality.
Volume? If I ever play a big room the PA should handle loudness in the mix.

With 8/10's (2ea 4 ohm BXT 4/10 cabs) I should get close to the same quality of sound like 300 watt head. Master power is set @ 9'oclock with preamp gain @ 12'oclock with thunderous results. If not then it's going back.

I assume the "Balcksmith is a Class "D"?
 
#8
jjlent said:
Thanks JHaz,
Yea I read all that, being a Ham Radio op the tech talk is similar in power rating of the RF Output. I am also and somewhat of audiophiles have some vintage stereo equipment that still kicks butt 35 years later.
I have found over the years is 2 schools of design.

1. Create a design for the headroom for those dynamic peaks slew rate and all that was designed around massive capacitors storing energy in the final output stage of the amp.

2. Create a design that eliminated the need of capacitors and create a power supply that can handle the peaks usually for shorter times.

So when I was reading how TC does it without opening the case they probably have the same design like the Nakamichi stasis power amps did with 4 huge caps in line for that really sweet rich bass we all love so much.

http://www.dnaelectronics.ca/gallery/nakamichi_pa-7/nakamichi_pa-7_pics.html
Click to expand...

No. Much, much different. TC uses multiband compression and limiting to avoid ever needing to output the power that would be needed to achieve the same average spl and fully reproduce leading edge transients and the like. whatever your old amp's 4 ohm rating is, the "proper" number to compare it to is TC's 924 watts at four ohms. Similarly the TC 450 and 750 each actually output less than 250 watts. Its about avoiding reproducing the transients rather than creating a power supply that can service the transients for a very brief timeike I think teh Nak does.
 
#9
Happy Thankgiving Brother & Sister Bassists.
My Christmas gift came in I attached pics of my tower of power!
 

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#11
I need some feedback from TC Electronic users who played with the parametric EQ.
I understand when I hit the shift button and set desired frequency @ 12 o'clock I can add or subtract to the center freq? correct?
Meaning, If i turn the knob to my left(facing the amp) i am decreasing or shifting frequency down? Like wise to the right would increase or shift higher.
 
#12
jjlent said:
I need some feedback from TC Electronic users who played with the parametric EQ.
I understand when I hit the shift button and set desired frequency @ 12 o'clock I can add or subtract to the center freq? correct?
Meaning, If i turn the knob to my left(facing the amp) i am decreasing or shifting frequency down? Like wise to the right would increase or shift higher.
Click to expand...

The bass and treble are shelving points and the mids are center points.

You might find something useful to understanding in this thread - http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/tc-electronic-rh450-favorite-settings--thread-609634/
 
#13
jjlent said:
I need some feedback from TC Electronic users who played with the parametric EQ.
I understand when I hit the shift button and set desired frequency @ 12 o'clock I can add or subtract to the center freq? correct?
Meaning, If i turn the knob to my left(facing the amp) i am decreasing or shifting frequency down? Like wise to the right would increase or shift higher.
Click to expand...

To answer your question, yes, you are correct.

Low mid is centered at 400hz
Hi mids are centered at 800hz

I had my time messing around with the EQ center - but always came back to the "stock" setting... love these center EQ points. And their width is perfect.
 
#14
Plus 1 to the last two posts
jjlent said:
I need some feedback from TC Electronic users who played with the parametric EQ.
I understand when I hit the shift button and set desired frequency @ 12 o'clock I can add or subtract to the center freq? correct?
Meaning, If i turn the knob to my left(facing the amp) i am decreasing or shifting frequency down? Like wise to the right would increase or shift higher.
Click to expand...
One common mistake with changing the frequency point is you will hear no change if any given tone control is in the mid position before you go into shift mode. Try turning it hard right or left, then hit shift and play around with the freq mid point to get an idea of were the points sound in various positions.
 
#16
Many thanks for the feed back. I manage to get the tc to almost sound like the tube beast sitting next to it. I have it playng to the 8/10's I am sure they are registering Seismic waves readings in California for earth tremors in AZ! lol
when I hit an open "A" the sound is so low and organic it very impressive. I wish all those cabs was 8 ohm instead of 4 ohm.

I am going to try different multipliers in the grid and then save those to memory.
for example set parametrics for: warm/fat lomid/growl bright/bite
Cool TC Rocks!
 
#17
don't have much experience with the TCE gear as i owned a RH450 for like a nano-second a couple of years back.

but i do have ton ( literally ) :D of experience with the BXT cabs as i also ran a pair of the BXT410HL4's for about 5 years, run thru an SVT4PRO. those cabs kicked some major booty on outdoor gigs.

would probably still be running them except i broke an ankle & one of the guitarists started schlepping my gear & he started having issues with the 122lbs EACH ( totally understandable, i might add ) they had to go

nice rig's
 
#19
jjlent said:
Question,
I have 2 speaker outputs in the rear, can I hook up the 4 cabs in my pic?
Each stack is a 2 ohm load so I was thinking 2 ohm each output or does the ohm selector sums all resistance for both speaker connectors?
thanks
Click to expand...

Don't. It's just one amplifier in there. The two outputs will be wired in parallel. Two 2 ohm stacks in parallel will be a 1 ohm load. Bad for the amp. Smoke and smells might ensue if you push it at all.
 

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