Picked up a new TC Electronic BQ500 head and a K212 cab as an alternative to my Rumble500 Combo. I got to gig with it Wednesday night and figured I would share the experience with you all.
Setup:
BQ500 head into TC K212 Cab
Sire V7
Sansamp (only on for a few rock songs)
Playing with two guitarists (one AC30 one Peavey Classic 4x10) and a drummer
The Bad:
1. My active/passive switch is also backwards, seems to be all of the first units shipped have this.
2. Nothing on the amp or manual as to what the wattage is at 8ohms (however not a problem as the review will point out.)
The Good:
1. Plenty of power: I had the gain at 1 o'clock and the master around 1 o'clock as well and it kept up easily with the full band, no FOH support. Sound was clean and well defined.
2. Gain: Since this amp is from the same parent company as the Bugera Veyron M, I was worried it would have the same issue of the clip light coming on even with a super low setting. However even with the amp in passive mode (switch on active lol) I could crank the gain before any serious clipping showed up.
3. Tone: I got this amp as a compliment to my Rumble, I was looking for a very transparent modern sound. This amp delivers! The BQ500 does have some warmth to it, and doesn't get into a clanky GK style tone; however it is more modern than the Rumble. The eq settings are all in a good place, bass is 80hz, low mids are around 400 I believe. I prefer this separation so that I'm not getting a muddy sound.
I ran the Sansamp into it with a little more drive than usual and this gave me a nice alternative setting for rock songs. I enjoyed being able to do this, and then turn the pedal off for a Hip-Hop song and go back to a clean, modern tone.
What I noticed most on this amp that differs from my Rumble is that the lower notes from E up to A all had a strong definition and punch to them.
4. Thurst: I'm not an expert on compression, so take this with a grain of salt. The Thrust compressor worked well to me on this amp. The Bugera compressor felt like just a limiter, if you turned it past noon and slapped a low E, it just turned that into a muffled farty sound. The Thurst on this amp seems to give a nice even squash to all notes but still retains their tone nicely.
5. Comparison to Rumble 500: This amp has the same power with a k212 as the Rumble500 combo. The TC setup has a bit more tightness and a thump that can easily be felt (probably due to the 212s vs 210s). The TC also has noted definition on lower notes and less eh....rumble. That being said, the Rumble still has a stronger presence in the mix, high notes come through with more girth on the Rumble vs the TC and the tone of the rumble seems to just permeate the room better. Both are great amps and I don't know if I'd get rid of either.
Overall: The BQ500 does have the power, and a great semi-modern tone that is easy to work with. Any skepticism regarding power rating can be forgotten as this amp easily did the job. It is quite transparent with a touch of warmth. This was the first gig where my V7 sounded like an active, modern jazz bass. Granted, the issue of the flipped active/passive switch is a concern, especially since the Music Tribe group sometimes gets poopoo'd on here regarding quality. Overall I am quite pleased with this amp and will continue to enjoy it!
Setup:
BQ500 head into TC K212 Cab
Sire V7
Sansamp (only on for a few rock songs)
Playing with two guitarists (one AC30 one Peavey Classic 4x10) and a drummer
The Bad:
1. My active/passive switch is also backwards, seems to be all of the first units shipped have this.
2. Nothing on the amp or manual as to what the wattage is at 8ohms (however not a problem as the review will point out.)
The Good:
1. Plenty of power: I had the gain at 1 o'clock and the master around 1 o'clock as well and it kept up easily with the full band, no FOH support. Sound was clean and well defined.
2. Gain: Since this amp is from the same parent company as the Bugera Veyron M, I was worried it would have the same issue of the clip light coming on even with a super low setting. However even with the amp in passive mode (switch on active lol) I could crank the gain before any serious clipping showed up.
3. Tone: I got this amp as a compliment to my Rumble, I was looking for a very transparent modern sound. This amp delivers! The BQ500 does have some warmth to it, and doesn't get into a clanky GK style tone; however it is more modern than the Rumble. The eq settings are all in a good place, bass is 80hz, low mids are around 400 I believe. I prefer this separation so that I'm not getting a muddy sound.
I ran the Sansamp into it with a little more drive than usual and this gave me a nice alternative setting for rock songs. I enjoyed being able to do this, and then turn the pedal off for a Hip-Hop song and go back to a clean, modern tone.
What I noticed most on this amp that differs from my Rumble is that the lower notes from E up to A all had a strong definition and punch to them.
4. Thurst: I'm not an expert on compression, so take this with a grain of salt. The Thrust compressor worked well to me on this amp. The Bugera compressor felt like just a limiter, if you turned it past noon and slapped a low E, it just turned that into a muffled farty sound. The Thurst on this amp seems to give a nice even squash to all notes but still retains their tone nicely.
5. Comparison to Rumble 500: This amp has the same power with a k212 as the Rumble500 combo. The TC setup has a bit more tightness and a thump that can easily be felt (probably due to the 212s vs 210s). The TC also has noted definition on lower notes and less eh....rumble. That being said, the Rumble still has a stronger presence in the mix, high notes come through with more girth on the Rumble vs the TC and the tone of the rumble seems to just permeate the room better. Both are great amps and I don't know if I'd get rid of either.
Overall: The BQ500 does have the power, and a great semi-modern tone that is easy to work with. Any skepticism regarding power rating can be forgotten as this amp easily did the job. It is quite transparent with a touch of warmth. This was the first gig where my V7 sounded like an active, modern jazz bass. Granted, the issue of the flipped active/passive switch is a concern, especially since the Music Tribe group sometimes gets poopoo'd on here regarding quality. Overall I am quite pleased with this amp and will continue to enjoy it!
oh well.
