TC Electronic BH500

[Andy_D]

I picked up mine for $350 shipped on a M123 price match. So far I'm very happy and with great tone and all the features this has to be one of the best bang for the buck new (not used) amps out there.

 

[noeinstein]

I ordered one Monday from these folks - Link Removed - should have it next week. They gave me a great price of $350 shipped. I'm very happy and can't wait to plug in. I agree, this is a lot of amp for the money. My local "Guitar Chain" store had a used one for $380 plus tax and wouldn't budge on the price... so I bought a new one for less money.

 

[Stillarockin1]

I use an RH-750 with RS210/410/212 combination for my main rig but I keep the BH-500 mainly as a spare head (never had to use it in that scenario) however I sometimes combine it with a BC212 for small gigs now and then. Gives plenty of punch. Im a TC Electronic convert. Cant beat it as far as Im concerned.

 

[Ler]

Literally just got it, delivered from Sweetwater. Awesome. Tone print works great- really, really nice tone from this little amp. I am running it through a Hartke Hydrive 112 at 4 or 8 ohms. I have been though lots of gear over the years but this is my first TC. It is constructed very well, very impressed. Can you tell I like this thing? I would imagine I will be looking into more of their gear.

 

[Roofoff]

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.

Which TC Electronics speaker cab are used for the vid? 212s or 210s?

 

[fritjof]

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.

Great review, but I didn't understand the meaning of the last bit. Is the TC too big/heavy to carry?
I'm currently looking at a possible change from my Ampeg SVT-CL to a TC BH500 stack with two 212 cabs, and would like to know if it'd do me any good on the "back-breaking"-part of getting around.

 

[iSteen]

You guys almost have me convinced, that the BH 500 is my next amp

 

[Jaime Poole]

Anyone have the tuner button break off on the BG 500 combo? Mine did and I cant find a replacement one!