New TC Elec. BH550 & 800

[Quadzilla]

No and no.

Well that sucks. Really wanted to try the head, but that pretty much kills it for me :-(

 

[JdoubleH]

You could probably take the feet off and velcro it to rack shelf, or the next lower item in your rack

 

[Ryan L.]

You could probably take the feet off and velcro it to rack shelf, or the next lower item in your rack

If I end up buying one of these, that's probably what I'll do. My rig is currently set up to be racked (rackmount wireless, rackmount tuner), and I just happen to have an unused rack shelf sitting around collecting dust.

 

[Saluki]

The TC BH800 hammers! Doesn't really matter how the watts work out to me. I compared it through my baers with the competition and it sounds fantastic. Keeps up volume wise without any noticeable compression. Those familiar with my other amps could pick one of these up without any reservation with regard to power IMHO.

 

[John D Harris]

The TC BH800 hammers! Doesn't really matter how the watts work out to me. I compared it through my baers with the competition and it sounds fantastic. Keeps up volume wise without any noticeable compression. Those familiar with my other amps could pick one of these up without any reservation with regard to power IMHO.View attachment 514349

Keeping some good company there...!
Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Saluki]

This is my first TC amp and was not involved in the previous debate regarding watts, but I'm not afraid to call it like it is. TC got it right, it kicks!!

 

[lordradish]

I'm seriously considering the BH800... a question (I've read quite a few FAQs on ohms, but still am not 100 percent clear)... I have two cabs, one 15 and one 210. Both are rated 500 watts at 8 ohms. Considering that I can only run the BH800 in serial, I should be fine when I run the two cabs, right? And if I decide to just use one, I should be okay, as long as I don't crank the amp, right?

 

[CL400Peavey]

I'm seriously considering the BH800... a question (I've read quite a few FAQs on ohms, but still am not 100 percent clear)... I have two cabs, one 15 and one 210. Both are rated 500 watts at 8 ohms. Considering that I can only run the BH800 in serial, I should be fine when I run the two cabs, right? And if I decide to just use one, I should be okay, as long as I don't crank the amp, right?

1. Your cabs, nor the amp are wired in series.
2. I would talk to @Low Class about his experience with this amp.

 

[Low Class]

, I should be fine when I run the two cabs, right? And if I decide to just use one, I should be okay, as long as I don't crank the amp, right?

You'll be fine running one or two of your 8 ohm cabs.

 

[Low Class]

2. I would talk to @Low Class about his experience with this amp.

I owned both the BH550 and BH800 very briefly. I found them to be every bit of the rated power that many are worried about. The tone just wasn't my cup of tea. Too processed for my tastes. Just my $.02. Others seem to like it.

 

[John D Harris]

I owned both the BH550 and BH800 very briefly. I found them to be every bit of the rated power that many are worried about. The tone just wasn't my cup of tea. Too processed for my tastes. Just my $.02. Others seem to like it.

Thanks for that!
Did the BH800 seem to be in the same power ballpark as the KXB500?

 

[Low Class]

Thanks for that!
Did the BH800 seem to be in the same power ballpark as the KXB500?

I've never come close to running out of power with the kxb500, nor has anyone else that I know of.

 

[Dmwphoto]

I use the BH250 thru an SL112 (sometimes 2 SL122s) and the tone is excellent. I will look at the 550 if I feel a need for more juice but I love throwing the 250 in my gig bag and go.

 

[tastybasslines]

I use the BH250 thru an SL112 (sometimes 2 SL122s) and the tone is excellent. I will look at the 550 if I feel a need for more juice but I love throwing the 250 in my gig bag and go.

I have run my 2 DB112'S through my BH250 and it has more than enough volume for most gigs. It can get pretty loud even for 250 watts or whatever it is exactly.

 

[Low Class]

I use the BH250 thru an SL112 (sometimes 2 SL122s) and the tone is excellent. I will look at the 550 if I feel a need for more juice but I love throwing the 250 in my gig bag and go.

I actually liked the tone of the BH250 better than the BH550 or BH800, and the BH250 had plenty of power to push my Berg stack.

 

[Argassab]

Hey Joe, just my opinion, but such a "confirmation" is probably too much to hope for...reason being that many don't find that the RHs hit a wall for them.

If you get gig reports from people saying "The BH performed great and is loud as hell!" that would be people *not* saying anything about a wall. That would also be people saying the same thing that was said about the RHs (almost universally prior to the BMG article). But they're only speaking to their own use, not yours.

I don't run into any walls in my use. I'm a weekender with multiple projects, doing the various types of things that weekenders do, from smallish PA on stick gigs, to 500 capacity venue bar gigs, to the occasional larger outdoor gig (last weekend, I played on a system that was set up for 20,000 people and didn't bring a cabinet at all).

I use an RH750 with a 115 or 212 cab. The 115 covers my use up to a certain point, and beyond that, the 212 handles everything else quite well. For me, as things scale up, the amp is only on stage as a monitor or just for feel/backup with IEMs. In none of these cases do I ever need to "crank" the amp. It's as loud as it ever needs to be with the capacity to be louder. It's funny, my experience in scaling up from the smallest gigs, there seems to come a point that the volume needs level off and even start to decline (e.g. the loudest I have ever played was without an amp on stage).

+1

RH450+410 was loud enough in small to medium indoor as well as outdoor pool parties IME. Master at 11o'clock.

 

[Argassab]

My BH800 will be here Monday. Can't wait to put it up against my Tone Hammer 500. I really, really like the TH5 but I miss the toneprint option ever since I sold my BH250. I do remember that 250 doing well paired with my Bassic and Dually cabs. I can't help but think he added power of the 800 will help to add some heft to the notes but, we'll see...

How did you find the BH800 against the TH500? I'm torn between the 2.

 

[drpepper]

How did you find the BH800 against the TH500? I'm torn between the 2.

One thing, the TH500 has a 3 year warranty. With your situation being what it is, the warranty and planning to sell before 3 years are up are probably considerations worth making.

Given what you've found satisfactory in the past, IMO, you're likely to be very happy with either of these amps (as the vast majority would be).

 

[Argassab]

One thing, the TH500 has a 3 year warranty. With your situation being what it is, the warranty and planning to sell before 3 years are up are probably considerations worth making.

Given what you've found satisfactory in the past, IMO, you're likely to be very happy with either of these amp (as the vast majority would be).

I presume you remember I have a broken RH450. Still undecided. Thanks!

 

[drpepper]

I presume you remember I have a broken RH450. Still undecided. Thanks!

Yes. That's what I meant by "your situation." Because of your location, you have limited access to repairs. Taking what you can from forum posts, you had remarkably bad luck with the RH450 failing outside of the warranty period. Now that it's a reality for you, why risk being in the same situation 13 months down the road? This is purely my personal opinion, but I can't see how the the difference between these two amps could outweigh that risk. I think that much more gets made out of people "disliking" the sound of particular amps than the general reality of the matter; most people (99%? for whom the amp meets their needs volume-wise) would be satisfied with either of these amps.

That's not to say that people comparing the amps wouldn't prefer one over the other, for a variety of reasons. I think most people don't engage in constant review and comparison of their amps, and absent the other amp, the one would be satisfactory. This is the situation you have when you can't listen to and compare the amps yourself prior to buying.