TC BG250 1x12 ~ Opinions?

[bizzybass]

Typically when I think of an amp with onboard effects for example I think "amateur" equipment. Any thoughts or feedback on this amp would be appreciated. Feel free to enlighten me. I'm being offered this amp. I don't really need it but a combo can come in handy sometimes.
Thank you in advance

 

[lomo]

I owned the BG 208 combo and the BH800 head. The FX are quite good and the tone print feature is great, but I found the head and the combo both sounded " boxy" and uninspiring. YMMV.

 

[funkinbottom]

Sorry, no experience with the combo. However I do own a TC BH250, and love it. I use it in smaller to mid sized venues, (with a variety of cabs) and rehearsals. 4 lbs. and fits in the pocket of my gig bag. Most time a one trip load in. Bag over shoulder, cab in other hand.

The tone print offers some great effects. You can easily change which effects are controlled by the tone print using their app from your smart phone. Open app, go to desired fx, open, press "beam", and hold phone right above to your pick ups. Now your tone print is a flanger insted of an octaver (or what ever fx you are using). With amps that have two tone prints, you can toggle between effects with the foot switch.. Very easy, cool feature. It seems they update the app fairly regularly, and you can up load amp updates from their site using a usb cable.

As far as tone, the tone controls don't just cut/boost bass, mid's, & treble of the same frequency, they shift "target" frequencies as you cut or boost. I find it very easy to dial in just about any tone I'm looking for. I understand that things like tone or "color" of an amp are subjective. We all hear things differently. According to my band mates and friends that play, they say it's a warm, great sounding amp. Again, I know it is all subjective, buts that's just my experience.

 

[Wicked G]

I own the BH800 and have owned the BH250 and really like both amps. The Toneprints are really well done like the Spectracomp, the Drive Toneprints and the Chorus Toneprints, nothing amateur at all about them. But tone is very subjective and it all comes down to whether you like it or not. Have you tried the combo yet? If so, what do you think?

 

[YamahaSteve]

I've owned this combo for few weeks now and love it. Great tones, tracks b-string with ease, lots of power to keep up with banger on drums, loud guitarist, and vocals. As said above tone prints are top notch and not gimmicky at all. As I said I love it. TC Electronics has some sweet stuff in their line-up.

 

[bizzybass]

I've owned this combo for few weeks now and love it. Great tones, tracks b-string with ease, lots of power to keep up with banger on drums, loud guitarist, and vocals. As said above tone prints are top notch and not gimmicky at all. As I said I love it. TC Electronics has some sweet stuff in their line-up.

You don't live in So Cal do you? If so take yours back and come buy the one I'm taking in on trade that's apparently like new. I'm trying to help the guy that wants a bass I have. I'm going to immediately let it go at a fair price.

 

[andruca]

I giggedd the 1x15 version on 2 occasions and I was real disapointed. It too sounded boxy, hard to get clean volume out of it and no lowend authority (besides TC watts being about half what they claim the speaker farted easily). My usual goto combo (old Peavey TNT-150 with Scorpion spkr) puts it to shame and I suspect both my TKO-80 or 75 do too as I had no problem in the past with them easily filling the same room where the BG250 115 struggled. The 1x12" can only be worse. For that same money (and 4 or 5 lb more) I say look at the Peavey MAX115 combo.

 

[YamahaSteve]

You don't live in So Cal do you? If so take yours back and come buy the one I'm taking in on trade that's apparently like new. I'm trying to help the guy that wants a bass I have. I'm going to immediately let it go at a fair price.

I wish I did live closer but I'm in Ont, Canada

 

[bizzybass]

I giggedd the 1x15 version on 2 occasions and I was real disapointed. It too sounded boxy, hard to get clean volume out of it and no lowend authority (besides TC watts being about half what they claim the speaker farted easily). My usual goto combo (old Peavey TNT-150 with Scorpion spkr) puts it to shame and I suspect both my TKO-80 or 75 do too as I had no problem in the past with them easily filling the same room where the BG250 115 struggled. The 1x12" can only be worse. For that same money (and 4 or 5 lb more) I say look at the Peavey MAX115 combo.

Thank you very much for the input.

 

[drpepper]

I had and sometimes gigged the 115 for a little bit under 2 years and liked it a lot. I was never in it for the Toneprints, but there are fx and more “utility” ones (compressors and drive). I didn't really need or especially want a combo, but kind of ended up with it. For the time I had it, I found it to be completely capable and I enjoyed the convenience of running with a combo. The 112 is the only one in the line that I didn’t ever get my hands on, but from my other experiences and what I’ve heard and read, I’d suspect it has some good and bad elements that will come down subjectivity. Bottom lining it; a nice, middle of the road combo in it’s class, with some features that have the potential to be solidly beneficial (i.e., if they’re ones that you use).

I came away with the impression that the cabinets on these (possibly to a greater extent than some others) can have an inherent sound that can be a real challenge to move away from. That’s fine if it’s something you like and, obviously, not so much if you want to alter that part of the sound. One of my few complaints in the 115 was that I found a slightly nasal sound that seemed inherent to the cabinet…but what I label “slightly nasal” some others call “open” or "vintage" (go figure). Anyway, it sat well in the mix, and that aspect of it was only something that my ear zeroed in on with bedroom use. In that bedroom/practice setting, the 210 sounded better to me in that one regard.

It's neither here nor there, but I also found it had a nearly magical (obviously an exaggeration, ha) interaction with the amp/preamp sims on the Zoom B3, which seemed counter-intuitive…but there it was.

Another complaint was that I felt it carried heavier than it was. I think that was because of the dimensions and handle placement (combined with my height). But the 112 is smaller, so that was specific to the 115/210, and a single top handle is probably fine.

The last complaint was that the tolex used picks up scrapes and possibly even tears more easily than others (overly soft).

It did what I asked and expected of it as a 115 combo. I never experienced “farting”, found it plenty loud, and have to say that criticism of wattage in the context of the BG/BH 250, 550, 800 is simply a misunderstanding and misapplication of criticisms of TCEs Active Power Management (which were usually oversimplification/misunderstanding of that).

 

[bizzybass]

I had and sometimes gigged the 115 for a little bit under 2 years and liked it a lot. I was never in it for the Toneprints, but there are fx and more “utility” ones (compressors and drive). I didn't really need or especially want a combo, but kind of ended up with it. For the time I had it, I found it to be completely capable and I enjoyed the convenience of running with a combo. The 112 is the only one in the line that I didn’t ever get my hands on, but from my other experiences and what I’ve heard and read, I’d suspect it has some good and bad elements that will come down subjectivity. Bottom lining it; a nice, middle of the road combo in it’s class, with some features that have the potential to be solidly beneficial (i.e., if they’re ones that you use).

I came away with the impression that the cabinets on these (possibly to a greater extent than some others) can have an inherent sound that can be a real challenge to move away from. That’s fine if it’s something you like and, obviously, not so much if you want to alter that part of the sound. One of my few complaints in the 115 was that I found a slightly nasal sound that seemed inherent to the cabinet…but what I label “slightly nasal” some others call “open” or "vintage" (go figure). Anyway, it sat well in the mix, and that aspect of it was only something that my ear zeroed in on with bedroom use. In that bedroom/practice setting, the 210 sounded better to me in that one regard.

It's neither here nor there, but I also found it had a nearly magical (obviously an exaggeration, ha) interaction with the amp/preamp sims on the Zoom B3, which seemed counter-intuitive…but there it was.

Another complaint was that I felt it carried heavier than it was. I think that was because of the dimensions and handle placement (combined with my height). But the 112 is smaller, so that was specific to the 115/210, and a single top handle is probably fine.

The last complaint was that the tolex used picks up scrapes and possibly even tears more easily than others (overly soft).

It did what I asked and expected of it as a 115 combo. I never experienced “farting”, found it plenty loud, and have to say that criticism of wattage in the context of the BG/BH 250, 550, 800 is simply a misunderstanding and misapplication of criticisms of TCEs Active Power Management (which were usually oversimplification/misunderstanding of that).

Thanks for all the input. This guy was offering it to me as a partial trade along with cash for a bass I'm selling. I decided to pass because it seems like it's going to be a bit of a push to get the dollar amount I would need out of it. The GK MBII is another combo in the same class as this one. The tolex for example was not that cheap stuff that they're putting on Chinese Ashdown cabinets for example. The tolex you described on the TC reminds me of that. GK didn't screw up they're on that one but the electronics in the gk's are not reliable at all. I had three failures in two years.Two 1x12 combos, and 1x15 combo. Two of the three times it happened at a gig. Although it's good to bring a back up with you I'm not accustomed to needing to bring two amps. That would defeat the purpose of traveling light, wouldn't it?