TC Electronic BG250 Club (Part 2)

[jmverdugo]

Yes, there is something wrong, maybe a short, the tuner lights are on like that all the time. No output from the DI either.

 

[Freekmagnet]

I finally pulled the trigger and bought a BG250-115 last night. They were out of stock at my local GC, so they're having one delivered next week.

I'm pretty excited about this little amp. Having been mothballed for at least a decade, I just got this gig with a band that gigs 1-3 times a week. Realizing that I needed a an amp I went shopping.

I tried pretty much every amp out there; GK, Markbass, Ampeg, Hartke, Carvin, Aguilar. All of them sounded good in their own way, but none of the had me walking away thinking, "yeah, I gotta have that amp." Well, maybe the Aguilar did.

Meanwhile, GC seemed to always have these li'l BH250's on the floor. I was kind of avoiding them because I'd tried the RH450 and found the EQ section to be temperamental and confusing at best. Also, I was kind of in the market for more of a workhorse rig, and I sort of felt that a small, inexpensive combo wouldn't cut it. I decided what the heck, I'll try one out.

Needless to say, I was pretty blown away. The BH250-115 produced a really nice warm, round tone with plenty of punch and headroom. It had way more than enough volume for me and it didn't thin out at all when I cranked it up. The 115 version had a really beautiful and very natural sounding response that I couldn't get enough of. The amp sounded great when the EQ was flat, but I found the controls to be intuitive and very responsive. Despite having a distinctly modern vibe, I totally felt that I could easily reach that old school tone that I usually feel happiest with. The built in tuner is a stroke of genius. Needless to say, I was sold on the BG250-115. I ordered one a couple weeks later.

I don't know if the BH250 really would really qualify as a solid workhorse, but it sure is a fun, kick ass little amp. I think TC has really come up with something special. Not that I'm regretting my purchase, but I kind if feel like I went shopping for a mini van and came home with an Austin Mini Cooper. I'm pretty excited.

 

[Reaper Man]

I think it's the EQ, and the ease of its use, that set it apart for me.

 

[tubatodd]

I've had my BG250-210 since Christmas and have used it with my 17 piece big band for several rehearsals and gigs. Most of the time I used my Zoom B3 along with it. At last night's rehearsal I decided to try and get more familiar with the amp by running it straight. I had all of the levels set at "noon" and had the spectracomp set to 3. At home it sounded great. At rehearsal the spectracomp seemed to muddy the sound. Midway through rehearsal I decided to turn it off and that brought definition back to my sound. I'm still searching for the sound I want with my BG250. My Hartke I can plug into and immediately get what I want with no effort. I think I just need more nights like last night.

 

[BassChap]

I've had my BG250-210 since Christmas and have used it with my 17 piece big band for several rehearsals and gigs.

Thanks for the info!

Does your big band play gigs (or rehearsals) without amplifying the horns through a PA? If so, what are your settings for gain and volume on these occasions?

 

[tubatodd]

Thanks for the info!

Does your big band play gigs (or rehearsals) without amplifying the horns through a PA? If so, what are your settings for gain and volume on these occasions?

We have 5 saxes, 3-4 trombones, 4 trumpets and a rhythm section. The horns are not amplified. The PA (couple of powered Yamaha speakers only used for gigs) carries the vocal soloist, piano and guitar. The piano and guitar run direct and have no stage amp. I'm the only one with a stage amp. I run the BG250-210 completely at noon. The gain is at 5 and the master is at 4-5 .

Rehearsals are in a small "music room" at a local school. We run a simple PA for vocals there. While the room is smallish and has only 8' ceilings, the room is very boomy. The compressor only makes the situation worse.

 

[BassChap]

Thanks, tubatodd!

 

[Scottkarch]

........

Rehearsals are in a small "music room" at a local school. We run a simple PA for vocals there. While the room is smallish and has only 8' ceilings, the room is very boomy. The compressor only makes the situation worse.

moving the bass knob from 12:00 to about 9:45 should help with a lot of the boominess. Boominess has more to do with your bass frequency matchin the resonance frequency of the room you're in. The compressor won't usually help with that type of boom. Try and pull back the bass and see how that works.. . IF you look at the videos on their site, that is how the bass knob is set to work when you reduce it. It reduces the most common boomy frequencies. I don't recall what the mids do. I almost always leave the tone controls at noon and pull back the bass if I'm getting boomy or playing really loud.

 

[lakefx]

moving the bass knob from 12:00 to about 9:45 should help with a lot of the boominess. Boominess has more to do with your bass frequency matchin the resonance frequency of the room you're in. The compressor won't usually help with that type of boom. Try and pull back the bass and see how that works.. . IF you look at the videos on their site, that is how the bass knob is set to work when you reduce it. It reduces the most common boomy frequencies. I don't recall what the mids do. I almost always leave the tone controls at noon and pull back the bass if I'm getting boomy or playing really loud.

And if you increase the bass knob, it actually increases the low mids. The other knobs act similarly cutting different frequencies than they boost.

 

[tubatodd]

moving the bass knob from 12:00 to about 9:45 should help with a lot of the boominess. Boominess has more to do with your bass frequency matchin the resonance frequency of the room you're in. The compressor won't usually help with that type of boom. Try and pull back the bass and see how that works.. . IF you look at the videos on their site, that is how the bass knob is set to work when you reduce it. It reduces the most common boomy frequencies. I don't recall what the mids do. I almost always leave the tone controls at noon and pull back the bass if I'm getting boomy or playing really loud.

Agreed. Lowering the bass would have helped with the boomy-ness, however the bigger issue was really the attack. For me I like a nice articulate mid-range Jaco-like sound. With the Spectracomp on, even set at 2-3, the attacks seemed muddy. An A+B test between tunes made a noticeable difference.

My Hartke rig is the HA1200 head from my kickback combo put on top of a 210XL cabinet. That amp with everything set to noon with the shape button engaged gives me the exact sound I'm looking for every time. I'm trying to achieve the same general tone and clarity with my BG250. My Zoom B3 gives me a lot more tone color options with the amp sims but I would like to find a good all-purpose sound from the BG250 itself.

 

[Scottkarch]

Gotcha. I wish I could help you find that tone. If you find it, post back the settings. Good luck.

 

[tubatodd]

Gotcha. I wish I could help you find that tone. If you find it, post back the settings. Good luck.

I think what is keeping me from dialing in the sound I want is the EQ of the BG250. It is very limiting. When I use my Zoo B3 I can give the amp a ton of wonderful tone.

 

[drpepper]

Yeah, it's been noted by a number of folks (myself included) that the B3 in front of the BG250 ends up with some really nice results.

 

[BassChap]

I just pulled the trigger on the BC250-208! Made a deal with the local reseller to test it out over the weekend and have the opportunity to trade it for a 112 if it isn't to my liking. This weekend, I am playing when I'm not sleeping (band rehearsal Friday night, jazz group workshops on Saturday and Sunday and a jazz jam on Saturday night). That should decide it.

Had a pleasant surprise regarding the price of the little box. The local store listed it for 469 euros, which was comparable to what the internet stores did. Two hours before I went out to buy it from the store, I checked internet and found out that Thomann (a German internet store, who ships free to where I live) offered the thing for 298 euros! Couldn't believe my eyes, more than 1/3 off! The amp went from the most expensive in the BG250 range to the cheapest one. Almost ordered it right away, however, I decided to check with the local store first. If the difference between local store and internet would be a few tenners, then I would favor the store for various reasons. But this difference was just too big. The store guy was unpleasantly surprised and thought the Thomann price was an error. I could follow this thinking. He phoned his TC Electronic representative to find out that it was a special offer. They just didn't inform all their resellers yet (which is weird, IMO). Once off the phone, he offered the amp to me for 299 euros, which I gratefully accepted.

Can't wait to try it out with the band.

 

[dsamudio]

I think what is keeping me from dialing in the sound I want is the EQ of the BG250. It is very limiting. When I use my Zoo B3 I can give the amp a ton of wonderful tone.

Yeah, it's been noted by a number of folks (myself included) that the B3 in front of the BG250 ends up with some really nice results.

I also have a B3.

Would you please share you setting for your B3 and your BG250 combinations.

Thanks in advance.

DS

 

[Freekmagnet]

I just got my BG250-115 the other day and I love it! It's super easy for me to dial in my tone, it's light weight and super loud. I'm going to bring it to rehearsal tonight and play a couple of gigs with it over the weekend.

Anyone know how the pre/post EQ button for the DI work? When the light is on, does that mean pre or post?

 

[ticol07]

I also have a B3.

Would you please share you setting for your B3 and your BG250 combinations.

Thanks in advance.

DS

One of the most effective tool in the b3 you can use with the bg250 is the AcBsPre : It has a High pass filter and eq points which are complementary to the bg250.
So to give clarity to your tone you can reduce the boominess, boost the low mids and the high mids (mids are set at 1.6 kHz and High mids at 3 kHz ).
You also can use the para eq.
It's only to give a new shape to your tone.

 

[drpepper]

I also have a B3.

Would you please share you setting for your B3 and your BG250 combinations.

Thanks in advance.

DS

Definitely listen to ticol07. He knows his stuff, especially in having really dug into the B3.

What I was surprised to find produced sound that really impressed me were the SVT and Markbass amp sims. I can't really give you too much in the way of settings (I think that's a matter of taste), but I liked them best with the cabinet sim turned completely off. I found out by accident that (at least at lower volumes) the cab sims didn't seem to get that nasty double hump effect.

 

[Scungilli]

Love these amps. I have 2 BG 112 combos. I bought 2 for the volume but 1 is more than enough for gigs. If anyone wants a great deal on one lemme know one is brand new in the box.

 

[BassChap]

... BC250-208 ... The local store listed it for 469 euros, ... he offered the amp to me for 299 euros, which I gratefully accepted.

I see you guys are as speechless as I was.


As written above: the real testing will be done in the weekend. Here are, however, already some first impressions:

• It is a great practice amp. My previous amp lost definition when used at low volumes. No such problem here.
• It can get pretty loud. I now think it is OK for my purpose (see earlier post), but again, the eating of the pudding is this weekend.
• The toneprint is a cool feature. Using my fretless, the JacoYears Vibrato print is a favorite, which doesn't come as a surprise, I guess.
• The fan is quite loud.
• Began to remove the sticker, but the grill coating came off along with it. Left it on for now. What did you guys do with it?

I am fighting my GAS for a B3 for some months now.