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TC Electronic BG250 Club (Part 2)

#1,081
Be aware that any eq that works for me may or may not fit your needs.
Feel free to explore by yourself :)
Anyway with all the different tools on the B3, you'll be happy to explore.
Cutting a bit the bass on the bg250 and then playing with the different preamps or amps models of the B3 who have sweeping mids gives very interesting results too.
The AcBsPre is one of the most valuable tools of this unit in terms of tone shoping: 5 eq points, sweeping mids and an hpf. And if you cut the highs on it it gives à less fizzy tone to the drives models.
 
#1,082
Guess I should have said "partially based on your findings". I am also a pedal enthusiast (my guitar rig has 20 pedals) so just about any excuse to try a new pedal works for me ;-) I'll probably try it as a DI for my studio too. Looking forward to giving it a good workout :bassist:
 
#1,084
The Zoom B3 arrived yesterday. I am *extremely* appreciative of the "Zoom B3 As Preamp" threads, plus the info you posted in this thread. Without that knowledge, I would have dismissed the B3 as a toy; fun, but just a toy. Like most others, I am puzzled by the lack of the 2.0 version of the firmware, as well as the lack of a B5. But that in no way diminishes the usefulness of the B3 w/ the 1.2 firmware. Lots and lots of fun under the hood!
 
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#1,085
dougb256 said:
The Zoom B3 arrived yesterday. I am *extremely* appreciative of the "Zoom B3 As Preamp" threads, plus the info you posted in this thread. Without that knowledge, I would have dismissed the B3 as a toy; fun, but just a toy. Like most others, I am puzzled by the lack of the 2.0 version of the firmware, as well as the lack of a B5. But that in no way diminishes the usefulness of the B3 w/ the 1.2 firmware. Lots and lots of fun under the hood!
Click to expand...

Yes. Hardly a toy.

While ticol07 has dug deeper and broadly on the pairing, tools and the why's of it all, I heartily recommend trying some of the amp sims in front of the BG250. I found that with the Markbass, Eden, and SVT sims work pure magic. Like your potential dismissal of the B3 altogether, I thought the idea was beyond redundant (i.e., bass pre-amp > pre-amp sim > BG pre-amp...that's just too much going on), but trying it out, it turns out it's not.

Using the B3 amp sims in front of the BG, I generally set the BG's EQ controls to noon (maybe back off the bass a touch) and set the cabinet mix on the B3 to 0, doing all EQing on the amp sim interface. I think they set it off perfectly. The SVT sim sweetens the sound with an perfect rock bite. The Markbass and Eden sims add slightly different flavors of the same type of clean richness/lushness.

I found out by accident that mixing in some cabinet simulation (generally not a good idea because of double-humping) works in some cases to create pleasing tones. All good for experimenting.

I've recently found that the same magic is there with the BH550.
 
#1,086
Hey Dr pepper :) how are you ?
You got a bh550 ? It looks like a very nice amp !

Dougb256: really take your time with your new rig. There are so many possibilities with the B3 that it will not be immediate to find the perfect settings.
And when you listen to your bg250, plug a long cable and go a few meters away
away. This combo projects a lot of bass that you don't hear well if you don't walk a few meters away and so you have the risk of getting a muddy tone if you don't take care.
 
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#1,087
Alas, I just sold off my BG250 115 v1. I had picked up a BH500 head with a BC212 cab and realized I didn't really need the BG250 any longer. I always thought the v1 was better than the v2 because I could combine the permanent Tubetone setting (a tone print in the v2) with the available Tone Print slot at the same time, whereas the BG250 v2 amps only allowed you to play 1 of the 2 available Tone Prints at a time. I have the B3 as well and found it to be a formidable amp sim that gave me tons of flexibility when it came to dialing in different sounds/tones.
 
#1,089
freatles said:
Can anyone help me out with BG250-208 question! Does it have a cooling fan that makes noise?
Click to expand...

The BG250 208 uses the BH250 as an integrated amplifier. It does have a fan but I'm not sure how loud it is. I always wished they would have made it so you could pull the head out of the 208 and use it as a standalone head with different cabs versus the speaker outs on the 208.

Either way, for reference, I don't hear the fan on the BH500.


H86941.jpg
 
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#1,090
Jamvan said:
Alas, I just sold off my BG250 115 v1. I had picked up a BH500 head with a BC212 cab and realized I didn't really need the BG250 any longer. I always thought the v1 was better than the v2 because I could combine the permanent Tubetone setting (a tone print in the v2) with the available Tone Print slot at the same time, whereas the BG250 v2 amps only allowed you to play 1 of the 2 available Tone Prints at a time. I have the B3 as well and found it to be a formidable amp sim that gave me tons of flexibility when it came to dialing in different sounds/tones.
Click to expand...
Interesting. How would you compare the tone of the bc212 to BG250 ?
 
#1,091
ticol07 said:
Interesting. How would you compare the tone of the bc212 to BG250 ?
Click to expand...

The primary tone differences that I've seen are a fuller/louder bass response with the 2 12" speakers compared to the 1 15" and less of the middle range honk that the 115 had. I never minded the mid-rangey sound but I'm not hearing it out of the BC212.
 
#1,093
ticol07 said:
Hey Dr pepper :) how are you ?
You got a bh550 ? It looks like a very nice amp !
Click to expand...

Hey, my friend, I'm still having fun with it all.

Yeah, I picked up a BH550. It is nice. For a while now, I've been on something of a mission to try every amp I can (passing GAS) in the backup amp position. The BH550 was the next one in the series. I have to say that I have been thrilled with the combination of the RH750 and Schroeder 212PL. I've got it dialed in perfectly. My hope is that I'll find something that I like better than the RH and at that point, the RH will make one hell of a backup.

I found that the RH pairs with the Schroeder better than the BH550 (although the B3 in front of the BH closes the gap). I've generally kept these second slot amps for some months, but I had a chance to do a little shootout BH550, RH450, RH750, TH500 and LMIII amps and 212PL and Berg CN212 cabs and found that I immediately loved the LMIII with the Schroeder, so I felt ready (GAS) to move on and have already put the BH550 up for sale.

In looking checking out the Markbass line, I learned that they all share the same EQ profile and filters, so I got a LM Black Line 250 to spend some more hands-on time with the sound (and check if 250 watts isn't actually fine for what I'm doing with it). I just pulled that out of the box about an hour ago...so far, so good.
 
#1,095
drpepper said:
Hey, my friend, I'm still having fun with it all.

Yeah, I picked up a BH550. It is nice. For a while now, I've been on something of a mission to try every amp I can (passing GAS) in the backup amp position. The BH550 was the next one in the series. I have to say that I have been thrilled with the combination of the RH750 and Schroeder 212PL. I've got it dialed in perfectly. My hope is that I'll find something that I like better than the RH and at that point, the RH will make one hell of a backup.

I found that the RH pairs with the Schroeder better than the BH550 (although the B3 in front of the BH closes the gap). I've generally kept these second slot amps for some months, but I had a chance to do a little shootout BH550, RH450, RH750, TH500 and LMIII amps and 212PL and Berg CN212 cabs and found that I immediately loved the LMIII with the Schroeder, so I felt ready (GAS) to move on and have already put the BH550 up for sale.

In looking checking out the Markbass line, I learned that they all share the same EQ profile and filters, so I got a LM Black Line 250 to spend some more hands-on time with the sound (and check if 250 watts isn't actually fine for what I'm doing with it). I just pulled that out of the box about an hour ago...so far, so good.
Click to expand...

So you prefered the LMIII to the TH500. I'd relly like to try that TH500. I love it on the paper.
And I'm thinking to upgrade my rig by removing my BG250 head and plug it to some 212 cab. Unfortunately this kind of cabs are not easy to find in shops. RS212 or BC212 might be a good beginning but it's difficult to understand their differences, except one is cheaper and less powerful than the other.

By the way, I'm still sticked to my trusty bg250 fed with my zoom B3 and now that I understood what I liked in term of tone with my band, I'm able to get a very good sound.
I just sometimes feel that the bass frequencies could be richer, but I have the feeling that in a gig the audience would find the tone good enough.
This BG250 is definitevely a keeper. Simple, light and except for outdoor gig where there wasn't PA for the bass, I never felt it lacking of power and fullness. (and in that precise case, I didn't pushed it at a very big volume, but I felt that there was lacking some depth in the tone.)
 
#1,096
ticol07 said:
So you prefered the LMIII to the TH500. I'd relly like to try that TH500. I love it on the paper.
And I'm thinking to upgrade my rig by removing my BG250 head and plug it to some 212 cab. Unfortunately this kind of cabs are not easy to find in shops. RS212 or BC212 might be a good beginning but it's difficult to understand their differences, except one is cheaper and less powerful than the other.

By the way, I'm still sticked to my trusty bg250 fed with my zoom B3 and now that I understood what I liked in term of tone with my band, I'm able to get a very good sound.
I just sometimes feel that the bass frequencies could be richer, but I have the feeling that in a gig the audience would find the tone good enough.
This BG250 is definitevely a keeper. Simple, light and except for outdoor gig where there wasn't PA for the bass, I never felt it lacking of power and fullness. (and in that precise case, I didn't pushed it at a very big volume, but I felt that there was lacking some depth in the tone.)
Click to expand...

In the comparison I did, yes, I preferred the LMIII to the TH500. That said, I liked the TH500 a lot; it just didn't give me GAS...no knock against it. They were all good. If someone were to have said, "When you leave, you can only have one of these amps and you don't get to choose which one that is," I would have been fine and walked away happy with any of them. I also found that between the CN212 and 212PL, I could have preferred either one at any given moment (except based on looks...the Berg is a damn good looking cabinet, ha).

I spent some time A/Bing the LM 250 Black Line and RH750 last night, and so far it's great. I'll put it through some rehearsals and gigs. My initial impression is that it'll be loud enough for anything I'll ask of it (probably no need to go to the LMIII).

I agree with you that all of these distinctions would be lost on most every member of audiences I'll be in front of.

I have some envy for people who can make those realizations and just stand pat. And in principle, I agree that the BG250 fits the bill as "a keeper." The only reason I let go of mine is that, after a time, I tend to not like seeing things going basically "unused" (I also prefer to convert things to funds to try something else). I really liked the BG250. With the B3, I also felt I had it well in hand and was able to predictably get good sound from it. While I'm sure I would have come to some use of it at points along the way, its main functionality for me was replaced with the Carvin 115MB extension cabinet I picked up (smaller and lighter). That and a head in my gig bag are easier to get around for rehearsals and small gigs and get the job done just fine. My "big rig" (being the 212PL) is approximately the same size and weight as the BG250...that left little reason to choose it for anything.
 
#1,098
I just picked up a BG250 115, first edition. Got it cheap, has some peeling tolex that I'm going to have to stick back down. I also need to update the firmware in order to change the effect, but it's exactly what I was looking for... Loud, light, sounds good.
 
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#1,100
drpepper said:
In the comparison I did, yes, I preferred the LMIII to the TH500. That said, I liked the TH500 a lot; it just didn't give me GAS...no knock against it. They were all good. If someone were to have said, "When you leave, you can only have one of these amps and you don't get to choose which one that is," I would have been fine and walked away happy with any of them. I also found that between the CN212 and 212PL, I could have preferred either one at any given moment (except based on looks...the Berg is a damn good looking cabinet, ha).

I spent some time A/Bing the LM 250 Black Line and RH750 last night, and so far it's great. I'll put it through some rehearsals and gigs. My initial impression is that it'll be loud enough for anything I'll ask of it (probably no need to go to the LMIII).

I agree with you that all of these distinctions would be lost on most every member of audiences I'll be in front of.

I have some envy for people who can make those realizations and just stand pat. And in principle, I agree that the BG250 fits the bill as "a keeper." The only reason I let go of mine is that, after a time, I tend to not like seeing things going basically "unused" (I also prefer to convert things to funds to try something else). I really liked the BG250. With the B3, I also felt I had it well in hand and was able to predictably get good sound from it. While I'm sure I would have come to some use of it at points along the way, its main functionality for me was replaced with the Carvin 115MB extension cabinet I picked up (smaller and lighter). That and a head in my gig bag are easier to get around for rehearsals and small gigs and get the job done just fine. My "big rig" (being the 212PL) is approximately the same size and weight as the BG250...that left little reason to choose it for anything.
Click to expand...
Hear me well, if I could afford a bigger cab I would surely do :) And the CN212 and the 212PL would be on my list !!
I just wanted to say that even if there are nicer rigs than the BG250, the BG250 is one of the best investment I did.
 
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