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TC Electronic BH500

#3
You know I was doing a search for this amp and have found almost nothing on it. I'm surprised. It has all the features of the much loved rh450 of mega thread fame but only half the cost and 3x the weight. I can't believe that more people don't chime in on this it's the poor man's rh. Heck I'm returning my ampeg pf350 for one.
 
#4
Its new, that's why you haven't seen much yet. TC is having a 'make your own BH demo' contest at present.

I just bought a new BH from a fellow TBer who'd won it, and since he already has a setup.... lucky me! Funny thing-I had entered that same contest.

I have the BG500-210 combo and it is exactly the same head. I can tell you it is an ass-kicker for power and very musical EQ, then add its features (see TC's site). I really love it. I'm not a pro but I have experienced ears, and it puts it down well. Having a head/cab system has always gnawed on me, so I've sold the BG and the BH is on its way. After much search, have decided on an Avatar B410NEO as its mate. Shazaam!
 
#6
nasr20de said:
You know I was doing a search for this amp and have found almost nothing on it. I'm surprised. It has all the features of the much loved rh450 of mega thread fame but only half the cost and 3x the weight. I can't believe that more people don't chime in on this it's the poor man's rh. Heck I'm returning my ampeg pf350 for one.
Click to expand...

Not quite all the features (EQ points are fixed, no footswitch, and the tuner isn't chromatic), but pretty close. If the weight isn't an issue and the cost is, I think it would be a fantastic amp.
 
#7
Yeah I forgot about the semi-parametric eq. I thing in the price range the lack of a foot switch isn't a huge issue. It would be nice but not a deal breaker is it? And I almost for got about all the niceness of the RH's tuner. It dose have the tweeter tone that a lot of people seem to like.

It has presets and a standard tuner over the Classic as well as headphone out and a line in. But even the classic seems to get more love. Does weight really mean that much?
 
#13
GrowlerBox said:
I'm not sure why that's so important to you. Sounds like you're into it, isn't that enough?
Click to expand...

Doesn't want to be lone member in the "BH500 Appreciation Thread" :smug: I keed, I keed. :smug: :D

I looked at trading my LMII with a TBer for that head. Then had a local sell for that same LMII that stalled out, so I missed out. But the LMII and my F1 are so light and easy to carry both to gigs one as backup, I just hang onto them.

Besides I still have a like new B1500 sitting unused in backroom if I wanna schlep over 20lbs of amp. I wanna wait n see if that RH750 will GAS me up enough to get one; instead of the GB Streamliner, I'm GAS-ed up to get now. :rollno:
 
#14
After having consecutive gigs where my amp died, I ordered a BH500 for a backup. I figured it's a no brainer for the price with the features it has. I assume I'll gig it a few times before my Mesa 400+ is back up and running, so I'll report here after I do so.
 
#15
So here's my story man. Overall: Very well thought out, well built, practical tool for the bass player.

read this thread? my review is #46 (same head)
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/new-tc-electronic-bg500-641973/index3.html

Now as a head, its flexible to power any cab with it (alone to a gig using supplied cabinets - your bass(es) EQ already saved in the 3 memory slots, adjust for the room), and you can use it alone for practice with an mp3 player and 'phones (1/8" to RCA stereo cord is included). Its portable.

You can't go wrong with it. compare power and features with other heads in its price range: tuner (with mute), compression, and tubetone - sort of like getting 3 pedals with it. The Tweetertone on the front is another useful sound shaper - I find it works almost like a mild 'presence' you'd get on a BDDI unit. Add the 3 memory saves function. Man, so useful. I use one for a '74 Ric 4001 (low gain pickups), a single coil P bass (hot-rodded direct to jack), and an ATK750ka (active). Distinct sounds with one click - AND useful for the different outputs that each instrument has, using the Gain Clipping light.

Its an impressive amp with lots of power, and real world useful features. 27 lbs is nothing really, it feels like quality. The black cabinet built around it adds protection and gives it a solid, serious look... more so than the little 'transistor radio' gadgets of some of the light-weight heads these days. The face is a deeper red than you see on TC's site - which I like more than the candy apple red as it appears on the site.

I've paired my new BH500 with an Avatar B410NEO-4. Shazaam! Full bass presence, over using volume, to be heard. Feeling the bass now that I've wanted. The B410NEO-4 sounds perfect powered with the BH500. Its a very deep sounding cabinet, so for the room this weekend more hi-mid, treble and tweetertone - no problem, it was ALL there.

This weekend I used it for the first gig. I offered my rig up for the backline also (3 bands). Its baptism of fire. The next band up had a friend of mine playing who is professional and far more experience than I (his rig is a head and 410 from Markbass). He liked it a lot and said "It really has the stuff!". The real treat for me was to hear my rig from the audience: it had the feel and sound that I've always had in my head.

Very excited about this new set up. I'm a player who's never made my living from bass playing, and only been in a couple of gigging bands, but jam plenty, and Bass is a part of me. So having such affordable, well made, quality gear is important.

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#20
I am a fairly new bassist, switching from guitar. I tend to research the he'll out of everything. I have a G-K Neo 212 cabinet and a G&L L2000 bass, needing only a head. I had tried 3 amps I liked. All 500W, I had tried the TC Electronic BH500, and two ultra lightweights, Markbass Little Mark III and G-K MH500. Frustrated at not being able to do a decent side by side, or a-b-c comparison I took drastic measures. I bought the TC from a local music shop, and then I ordered the MB and the GK from a notorious, large, retail chain. This gave me thirty days to compare the amps using my own bass and cabinet. All three amps give me great sound, a variety of sounds, from trying my best to simulate the sound of a stand-up bass to slap funk-rock and everything in-between. All three amps performed amazingly well. I still can't imagine how they can get so much sound out of something as small as the GK or MB. At really loud volume, the GK actually bounced around on the cabinet!

I was tempted to keep all three, but alas, I had to return two of the three. Ultimately, there were some features on the TC that won out. I love the ability to preset different settings, I like the built-in tuner, the compression works well, too. The two smaller amps are easier to carry, but I am not gigging on a regular basis and the TC is so big or heavy that it is hard to carry. The GK and MB are simple and very easy to get great sound. I really hated to see them go, but it was easy to return and the guys at the Big Retail Store didn't give me any grief on the returns.
 

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