TC Electronic BQ500 Review

[Stephen Pretti]

Forgive me if this question has been answered elsewhere, but can anyone who owns one of these tell me if the speaker out is strictly speakON or is it the type that can utilize a 1/4" cable as well? I was pretty disappointed to find out the new Terro Bass heads were strictly speakON... not that I take issue with speakON, I just prefer to have options.

It is Speakon only. I used a Speakon to 1/4" adapter for my old Mesa cabinet.

 

[Gregy]

Gotcha, I'm remembering that now... idk, maybe it's just my opinion, but speakON seems like an odd choice for a $300 micro head lol... I guess their idea is to sell a TC speakON cab with every head too! I'm sure they're great & the price is great too... I'd love to get one because of that, but alas they're not looking so affordable when you gotta add a new cab to the bill too oh well.

It only has SpeakOn option. But SpeakOn -> 1/4" cable will do the trick.

 

[lug]

I recently purchased 2 RS212 cabs. They are also speakon only. Just bought 2 of these.

https://www.amazon.com/NA4LJX-Neutr...hvlocphy=2840&hvtargid=pla-488253664750&psc=1

 

[himluis1]

i got the bq250
i have a passive bass
if i put the toggle switch on passive i get less loudness kind of (active mode) but the peak light wont come on until may be 1 or 2 o’clock ... if i run it on active( passive mode to my ears ) then i get louder but peak light comes on even with little to almost no gain .... so far tc electronic and sweetwater have recommended me since i got a passive bass to run it tru the passive mode(active mode to me) , and they said everything is normal .... i do like the tone , portability and price and with a k212 bass cab , i got almost no complaints so far !!! any other bq250 users with reviews or experiences ??? thanks

 

[Gregy]

I had a feeling that the peak indicator is placed before the preamp itself, so turning the gain knob doesn't affect the peak indicator. What affects it is how strong the signal is coming from your bass. I use MXR M80 preamp, and turning the output level to less than 12 o'clock makes it almost impossible for peak indicator to flash. From the other side, turning BQ500 gain knob all the way down and cranking up my M80 makes the peak light flash all the time. This is my first amp, I have nothing to compare it with. But I like its sound, it feels warm for me.
I played with a loud drummer and 2 guitars once, had no problems to stay in the mix. Before in the same room I used Laney RB8 and guys were complaining that they can't feel the bass.

 

[himluis1]

I had a feeling that the peak indicator is placed before the preamp itself, so turning the gain knob doesn't affect the peak indicator. What affects it is how strong the signal is coming from your bass. I use MXR M80 preamp, and turning the output level to less than 12 o'clock makes it almost impossible for peak indicator to flash. From the other side, turning BQ500 gain knob all the way down and cranking up my M80 makes the peak light flash all the time. This is my first amp, I have nothing to compare it with. But I like its sound, it feels warm for me.
I played with a loud drummer and 2 guitars once, had no problems to stay in the mix. Before in the same room I used Laney RB8 and guys were complaining that they can't feel the bass.

is ur bass a passive or active bass ?
and do u feel the toggle switch is reversed ? also what u think or what experience u have with the thrust compressor ? thanks

 

[Gregy]

is ur bass a passive or active bass ?
and do u feel the toggle switch is reversed ? also what u think or what experience u have with the thrust compressor ? thanks

In this thread, post #14 I wrote my feeling about BQ500 features. To sum it up, yes, I use passive Jazz bass, the active/passive switch is reversed in my amp, so it's always stays in active position.
Thrust might be useful for someone who doesn't have a pedal compressor, I guess, but I feel it cuts a lot of trebles. I tried it once and never used again.
With GK CX210 cab it provides the right amount of middle and bass, but i'm still thinking to add one more 15" cab in the future.

 

[himluis1]

In this thread, post #14 I wrote my feeling about BQ500 features. To sum it up, yes, I use passive Jazz bass, the active/passive switch is reversed in my amp, so it's always stays in active position.
Thrust might be useful for someone who doesn't have a pedal compressor, I guess, but I feel it cuts a lot of trebles. I tried it once and never used again.
With GK CX210 cab it provides the right amount of middle and bass, but i'm still thinking to add one more 15" cab in the future.

knowing that u have a passive bass and the toggle switch is on “active” position ... does ur peak light comes on almost every time even with little to almost no gain ? thanks again for ur feedback

 

[Gregy]

knowing that u have a passive bass and the toggle switch is on “active” position ... does ur peak light comes on almost every time even with little to almost no gain ? thanks again for ur feedback

My pleasure!
It comes on if I set my MXR preamp output too high. If I connect my bass directly to the BQ500 input, the light comes on only with hard slapping or picking. Being honest, I haven't completely figured out how it works exactly.
I will spend some time this week to understand it better.

 

[himluis1]

My pleasure!
It comes on if I set my MXR preamp output too high. If I connect my bass directly to the BQ500 input, the light comes on only with hard slapping or picking. Being honest, I haven't completely figured out how it works exactly.
I will spend some time this week to understand it better.

thanks ... i dont have any pre amp pedals or anything , i plugged my bass directly to amp , toggle switch on passive mode , like i said before i get less loudness or kind off like -10 or -15 db (active switch) and peak light only comes in after 1 or 2 o’clock ... if i move toggle switch to active i def get more volume and power , not necessarily distorted but peak light will come on wih almos no gain at all ... don’t get me wrong if this is the way it works them im ok cause i love the sound and end results , i guess im just trying to make sure nothing is going to cause harm to either amp or cab , thanks

 

[Gregy]

thanks ... i dont have any pre amp pedals or anything , i plugged my bass directly to amp , toggle switch on passive mode , like i said before i get less loudness or kind off like -10 or -15 db (active switch) and peak light only comes in after 1 or 2 o’clock ... if i move toggle switch to active i def get more volume and power , not necessarily distorted but peak light will come on wih almos no gain at all ... don’t get me wrong if this is the way it works them im ok cause i love the sound and end results , i guess im just trying to make sure nothing is going to cause harm to either amp or cab , thanks

I definitely need to spend more time understanding this amp

 

[Stephen Pretti]

Well, Sweetwater was kind enough to send me a replacement BQ500, but it behaves exactly the same as the original, so I returned the replacement and kept the original. I really think this is a front panel silkscreen (active/passive label reversed) and documentation (Thrust LED is on when Thrust switch is turned on) problem, as the amp sounds great even if it does not work as described in the manual.

 

[lug]

It's a feature provided by TC to confuse and befuddle your enemies (i.e. anyone wanting to borrow your amp).

 

[Stephen Pretti]

Gotcha, I'm remembering that now... idk, maybe it's just my opinion, but speakON seems like an odd choice for a $300 micro head lol... I guess their idea is to sell a TC speakON cab with every head too! I'm sure they're great & the price is great too... I'd love to get one because of that, but alas they're not looking so affordable when you gotta add a new cab to the bill too oh well.

There are speakon to 1/4" adapters all over Amazon, no new cab needed.

 

[himluis1]

Well, Sweetwater was kind enough to send me a replacement BQ500, but it behaves exactly the same as the original, so I returned the replacement and kept the original. I really think this is a front panel silkscreen (active/passive label reversed) and documentation (Thrust LED is on when Thrust switch is turned on) problem, as the amp sounds great even if it does not work as described in the manual.

this is exactly my story ... doesn’t make sense according to the manual and stuff but ear wise and everything else is awesome so im keeping mine ...

 

[bassically_eli]

There seem to be two threads going on concurrently regarding the BQ heads, so I'm copying and pasting my question here. Hope that's okay.

Has anyone tried the BQ250 or BQ500 with double bass yet? How is the EQ for upright? If I buy this, I will be using an fdeck HPF-pre before the BQ.

At the price point, either would be worth the cost for just the power amp, but an effects loop would be nice in order to by-pass the preamp. Would there be any issues using the aux in to bypass the preamp? It's also useful to be able to by-pass the preamp in order to add a second channel, e.g., use the built in preamp for electric bass, and then plug an external preamp into the effects loop for upright. Any thoughts?

 

[Marty Forrer]

I play a BQ500 into one or two Barefaced One10 cabs. I also play double bass (upright bass) as well as a passive J and an active 5er J. The eq is voiced quite well for upright, I do not use any preamp or fdeck. I cut the bass and high mids to about 11 oclock, lowmids at 12 and treble about 1 oclock. Sounds great. With bass guitar I just run the bass and lowmids at 12 oclock, high mids at 11 oclock and treble at 12 oclock. Works for me. I have no interest at all in compression, so the thrust thingy stays off, and the switch I don't care, I just use my ears.

 

[bassically_eli]

I play a BQ500 into one or two Barefaced One10 cabs. I also play double bass (upright bass) as well as a passive J and an active 5er J. The eq is voiced quite well for upright, I do not use any preamp or fdeck. I cut the bass and high mids to about 11 oclock, lowmids at 12 and treble about 1 oclock. Sounds great. With bass guitar I just run the bass and lowmids at 12 oclock, high mids at 11 oclock and treble at 12 oclock. Works for me. I have no interest at all in compression, so the thrust thingy stays off, and the switch I don't care, I just use my ears.

Thanks, that's really good info! What kind of cab(s) are you using?

 

[Marty Forrer]

Barefaced One10s.

 

[funkinbottom]

Picked up a new TC Electronic BQ500 head Overall I am quite pleased with this amp and will continue to enjoy it!

Well, it's been a few months since your post. Now that you've lived with it for awhile, and the honeymoon is over, are you still diggin' it? Using it more (or less) than your Rumble?

Edit: Asking because I had a BH250, and sold that to get a TE Elf. I like the Trace a lot, but I'm missing the TCE. Thinking of selling my LMll and pick up the BQ500