My TC Electronic RH450 amplifier died. Any users had problems?

Unfortunately, no company (in any category) has a 0% failure rate.

IMO and IME, it's always best to start by contacting the company directly. Most companies will work with you directly to get a replacement, or work with your retail outlet to get things right.

Good luck. While this company is new to bass amplification, they've been around a long time. My guess is, they will drop ship you a new amp and send a call tag for the one you have (or that's what they should do anyway).

 

And so it begins...

 

As Ken posted amps do fail. All companies in the electronics field suffer from "infant mortality" where a component will fail for no real apparent reason. Most are caught at burn in but others last just a bit past that time. TC does make excellent equipment and have a good reputation. I feel confident that you will be looked after. Call them.

Paul

 

Hi mcnach.

To my knowledge you have the distinction of being the first RH450 owner to report an amp failure on TalkBass.

At the risk of my being obvious, you may wish to contact tc electronic re your amp problem.

Given the amount of effort they've put into launching their new bass rig I'd imagine they'd be quite keen to help you in a timely manner.

 

They must be aware that the the guys who got snubbed in the Test Pilot debacle will be watching with intense interest. I just find it sad that a non test pilot suffered the first casualty. Murphy's law is hard at work here unless the TP units were checked out more thoroughly befor shipping!

Paul

 

Please do. It's in customer support where otherwise fine equipment fails. Good Luck!

Paul

 

1) Circling specs in an azure sky...

2) So do I, but I'm not surprised since if anything was checked out more thoroughly, it would have been the AC supply the tc test pilots' RH450's were plugged into, as opposed to what mcnach's amp may have encountered, the often out-of-spec AC on offer at venues sporting 'stage-wiring-by-club-owner's-brother-in-law'.

But then any pro bass amp should be able to contend with these realities.

The Traynor MONO Block II which I bought new and beat the hell out of on the road subsisted for years on one AC wiring atrocity after another without shutting down for any reason--including dropping into 'protection mode', or overheating etc like various brands of micro amps are reported to have done.

 

Did the amp's fuse blow? I ask this because it gives an indication of whether you had a current surge, or a voltage spike, or a faulty component. Given that it happened the moment you turned the amp on, I'm leaning towards a voltage spike, and if the fuse is still in tact, this will confirm it.

I had a similar problem with my AI. I picked the repairer's brain and found out that the makers of these smaller amps are often reluctant to incorporate a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) into their designs. Sure they're catch the voltage spike, but they could in the worst case scenario also spew molten plasma into the amps other components, and in such a small space that can do more damage than if the MOV's weren't there.

The easiest and cheapest way to safely incorporate a MOV into you circuit is to use a power strip which built in surge protection (in addition to the resettable current circuit breaker we're all familiar with). A voltage spike will ruin the power strip and that's all.

I'm glad you're under warranty and I'm sure TC will have you up and running again in no time.

 

If you have problems let me know. I'm a TC Dealer and could probably help you out, although I suspect they will handle this well, without giving you any problems...

 

Interesting...

So.., there's no room to surround a MOV with an aluminium box to contain its potential disintegration?

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(Personally, I'm rooting for these tiny amps to succeed. I don't like schlepping dead weight any more than the next person.)

 

I/m very glad it was sorted in short order.

MIJ you should add MarkBass to that list too.

Paul

 

Resist the temptation to go nuts. For reference if a typical 4 point power strip usually costs $5 (as it does here), you should be able to get one with voltage spike protection for $10 or so. I mention this because you can also get units that cost more then the amp would have and there's no need to go to those extremes according to my amp tech.

Glad to hear TC sorted you out!!

 

Kudos to TC

 

Yeah, I suppose I could since they've been good all along about swapping out the occasional dead Markie for a live one.

It would seem that tc can now be added too!

I'd also like to add Traynor but there hasn't been much of a chance to since the YBA200 evolved into the YBA200-2.