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TC Electronic RH450, RS210, RS212 Review Thread
- Thread starter Andy Brown
- Start date
- Status
- Jun 25, 2007
- 4,531
- 135
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- Artist:TC Electronic RH450 bass system (original test-pilot)
One good thing--
Have not heard of any major problems with these units!
Mine works great..
Been through a load of stuff...l
Have not heard of any major problems with these units!
Mine works great..
Been through a load of stuff...l
+1 So far, they seem very solid.
+1 to Donovan's comment also. When you are dealing with a relatively large company based in (for most of us) a different country from the user, you REALLY want to pick your retailer carefully, in case there is a problem. Dealing with a small, hands-on dealer (like the Fretspot) is a good thing with these types of products, and provides that 'hand holding' if needed, similar to dealing with a very small manufacturer directly.
On another topic.....
I had a fellow TBer over to the house a couple of days ago (he wanted to try the RH450 as a possible lighter weight and programmable replacement for his old Eden WT800). He dug it, and it sounded absolutely wonderful with his amazing fretless Wal (what a bass THAT is) and also my J type basses and his Music Man. Warm, loud, fat, and 'articulate without being clinical'.
My Markbass F1 totally held its own volume-wise, but had a much more 'transparent' tone which, when A/B'd directly, sounded a bit sterile and lacking character. I still love it, but for some, it would be 'too clean and quick and unforgiving'. The LMII was amazingly close in warmth and character and overall volume (not quite though), with more clean top end, but not quite as much punch, regardless of EQ (and, of course, had less features). I would think the LMII/III and the less featured TC Classic head would be pretty comparable.
My TecAmp Puma has all the warmth of the RH450, and all the 'exactness and clarity' of the F1... AMAZING head... BUT... it in no way provides the 'chest thumping punch and volume' of the RH450.
I really dig this head at this point!!!!!
Hi TB.
I joined the TC-Electronics bass amplification ranks a month ago, then buying a RH450 + RS212 + RS210. This is a great default setup, and had the volume and punch I needed add the low end for my Link Removed. Still, I went on and added another RS210 the other day, which added that last little extra. (I used to have an Ampeg SVT-CL - SVT810).
We have never had a better sound-tone-volume during rehearsals, and live I have used the complete setup with cabs a couple of times, and also used the RH450 head with venue/club backlines (Ampeg 810 on two occasions, and 2 x Ampeg 410E, and once with an Ampeg 410HLF. ) Works equally fine with these configurations.
From my part of the business (amateur rock/metal, loud, heavy and fast with lots of guitars and crappy venues) there is nothing but joy and happiness to report.
Cheers, Henning - Norway
Link Removed
I joined the TC-Electronics bass amplification ranks a month ago, then buying a RH450 + RS212 + RS210. This is a great default setup, and had the volume and punch I needed add the low end for my Link Removed. Still, I went on and added another RS210 the other day, which added that last little extra. (I used to have an Ampeg SVT-CL - SVT810).
We have never had a better sound-tone-volume during rehearsals, and live I have used the complete setup with cabs a couple of times, and also used the RH450 head with venue/club backlines (Ampeg 810 on two occasions, and 2 x Ampeg 410E, and once with an Ampeg 410HLF. ) Works equally fine with these configurations.
From my part of the business (amateur rock/metal, loud, heavy and fast with lots of guitars and crappy venues) there is nothing but joy and happiness to report.
Cheers, Henning - Norway
Link Removed
- Aug 25, 2001
- 1,260
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- Disclosures
- Owner - FretSpot.com; Vice President - Springfield Music
Hey guys, I just got a pair of rs210's last week and I took them over to our rehearsal room with some other gear and had ourselves an old fashioned shoot out. We had a markbass lm2, epifani 502, aguilar db751, hs410, ht112+ht210, and my rs210's. We first tried my markbass with the rs210's and we were both shocked at how amazing these cabs sounded. Across the whole spectrum low to high they were very even sounding. Nice highs, very smooth, very tight low end that held together when I boosted the bass quite a bit. Then we plugged in the epifani 502, and......eh, not that great, not compared to the markbass. We ran all the amps flat eq and the epifani just had wasn't as even across the board, it had a real distinct voice that to me wasn't as clear in the high mids or something, kind of a harsh sound compared to the lm2. Then we plugged in the aguilar, and no big surprise, it wiped the floor with everything in the room. It's not a fair comparison though, tube pre, 42lbs, much higher head room, and $2000 it just killed. Smoooooth low end for dayssssss, and beautiful highs. We then plugged all the setups through the bergantino ht112+210, and we weren't as impressed. The bergs had the midrange voice that they have, and did sound good, but still the rs210's covered the entire frequency spectrum much more evenly with no noticeable bumps of valleys in the eq. Finally, the hs410 we could only plug the aguilar into for time contraints, but that thing killed, i think between the rs210 stack vs. the hs410 was quite similar with a nod to the hs410 when it came to having more low end, but the rs210's were a bit quicker on the response end. We then took the markbass head to a store that had the tc 450 head and ab'd the two through a 210 +212 stack. The tc 450 sounded great and had some nice tones with using the tubetone knob, but when we plugged in the markbass, it was just so much tighter in the low end. The 450 was getting kind of boomy in the room we were playing, but the markbass just tightend it up. These cabs seem very transparent as the markbass sounded just like it should, very clean and even. So, the markbass is still my go to, and these cabs are slammin'!
Cool review. I agree about the Epi502... very strange voicing that kind of sucks the definition out of the upper mid range or something with virtually every cab I've played it with (Bergs, Epi's, etc.).
I did a pretty good comparison of the MB LMII and the RH450, and I agree, the LMII continues to amaze me, and is 'smoother', flatter, and cleaner than the RH450.
One thing about turning the bass control up with the RH450 versus the LMII, the LMII has a very nice, true 40hz shelving 'deep bass' control (similar to many amps out there). Out of the box, the RH450 has the shelving start point for the bass control at 280hz
So, when you dial that control up a bit, the RH450 really boosts the low mid punch and upper bass, and gets very chewy and fat versus low and clean and deep. I was pretty easily able to mimic the LMII tone by going into shift mode, and moving that shelving start point down to around 100hz, and moving the treble start point (set at a very low 1K or so out of the box) to around 4K and boosting a touch (the RH450 is quite a bit 'darker' set flat than the very even LMII).So, +1 to your impression of the RH450 with the factory default EQ points. And +1 that the LMII just blows the RH450 out of the water with both set flat. The RH450 needs a bit of tweaking IMO to come into its own.
I too love that smooth, fat DB750 tone when played solo, but have been, in general, unimpressed in a mix... too much of a good thing... plenty of fat, plenty of smooth, not enough mid definition and upper mid clarity for me personally. IMO there.
Cool on your cab review. I'm pretty set with the AE410 (which sounds awesome with both the LMII and RH450), but would be interested in checking out the TC cabs eventually (2 x 210).
Edit: One additional comment... it's that 'chewiness and punch' in the upper bass/lower mids that has me loving the RH450. With my J style, single coil loaded instruments, the wide, pure, open voicing of the LMII, while sounding great, every once in a while lacked a bit of punch and burp in larger, boomy rooms. That upper bass/low mid control that the RH450 offers just POWERS a J Bass tone through a mix. I really dig that, even though solo, I prefer the LMII a bit. Both are great.
LedBelli Bass
Fine, Handmade Custom Bass Guitars
Hi Gang,
I am in Seattle for 3 days of amp shopping. Today I will finally make my selection.
While here I played through the RH450 on both the 212+210 stack, and through the TC 410 cab.
The short story: The TC Electronics RH450 didn't come close to making the cut.
Pros: Unlimited features . . . we all know that. Nothing else comes close. And portability; it would be easy to get used to carrying only 10 pounds!
Cons: My very first, instantaneous impression -- sounds sterile. Then, after much tweaking and fiddling, and adding lots of Tubetone, I found something marginally acceptable. I would not need the 3 presets, because I was only able to find one setting that gave me anything close to true musical TONE.
To me, it sounds electronic most of the time.
So, the TC didn't make the final cut, I won't be buying one as my go-to gigging amp. This amp will never be an acceptable substitute for true tube driven tone.
Just sayin . . .
I am in Seattle for 3 days of amp shopping. Today I will finally make my selection.
While here I played through the RH450 on both the 212+210 stack, and through the TC 410 cab.
The short story: The TC Electronics RH450 didn't come close to making the cut.
Pros: Unlimited features . . . we all know that. Nothing else comes close. And portability; it would be easy to get used to carrying only 10 pounds!
Cons: My very first, instantaneous impression -- sounds sterile. Then, after much tweaking and fiddling, and adding lots of Tubetone, I found something marginally acceptable. I would not need the 3 presets, because I was only able to find one setting that gave me anything close to true musical TONE.
To me, it sounds electronic most of the time.
So, the TC didn't make the final cut, I won't be buying one as my go-to gigging amp. This amp will never be an acceptable substitute for true tube driven tone.
Just sayin . . .
LedBelli Bass
Fine, Handmade Custom Bass Guitars
To add to my prior post: the owner of Bass Northwest uses an RH450 through a Bergantino NV610. He LOVES it. Went on and on for 30 minutes about it. And, he's a blues/rock guy . . .
So . . . it could be that a lot of my issues with it are a result of the TC cabinets . . . .
Top of my list: All-tube heavy heads. Sad they are heavy. But nothing sounds like they do . . .
I doubt it's the cabs, I ran the aguilar 751 through them and ab'd it against the berg 410 and it sounded amazing through both.
Hey Ken, glad to hear you bought an RH450. I thought you'd like it.One thing about turning the bass control up with the RH450 versus the LMII, the LMII has a very nice, true 40hz shelving 'deep bass' control (similar to many amps out there). Out of the box, the RH450 has the shelving start point for the bass control at 280hz
Your comment re Bass shelving point at 280hz caught my attention. I run the 212 and 210 and had been wondering if I should've got 2 x 210's as I occasionally fight with some boominess.
I thought I'd do as you said and adjust the Bass from 280 to 100 but I am not sure of the increments. Can you suggest roughly how many hz per click?
Chears Mate,
Pete
LedBelli Bass
Fine, Handmade Custom Bass Guitars
This would not surprise me. If you are one who really pushes an all tube head, there is nothing that will do that other than an all tube head. The RH450 does a pretty darn good job of 'fat and warm and clean' though, and is MUCH warmer and fatter and 'tube-like' than most other SS amps. However, if you dig tube overdriven tone, you need an all tube amp. Just like if you need quick, clean, accurate, and play reasonably loud, solid state power is your very good friend!
IMO.
Hello! I am really diggin' it.
Usually, the frequencies 'double' in even increments on a parametric style EQ.
So, this should be pretty close. Since the TC controls are 360 degree designs, the range is from 6 o'clock to 6 o'clock:
6 o'clock counter clockwise: 71hz
9 o'clock... around 140 hz
noon... around 280hz (or the default setting)
3 o'clock.... around 550hz
6 o'clock clockwise....1.1Khz
I REALLY like this bass control. They have a nice low end cutoff (I assume a hi pass filter like most amps have) that keeps the control from getting too boomy when you boost it, and the ability to add low mids in with the deep bass really makes it sound fat. For my mid present Bergantino 410, the 280 setting is a bit chewy, so I lower the shelving start point to around 9 or 10 o'clock (still messing with it a bit, and it varies with the room). That keeps it quite punchy, but opens the low end up a bit and 'widens' the tone for a more 'clean solid state' sort of vibe versus the very warm, mid present, growly punch of this amp in 'default mode'.
IMO!
I tried out both configurations and the 210 x2 stack was less boomy and bass heavy than the 210 212 version. They both sounded great, so the 210 might be worth it for you.
I don't think adjusting the Bass frequency will help a whole lot with that. I have the 210/212 myself, and it does get a bit rumbly at times indoors. Honestly, every single 212 cabinet I've owned did that to some extent. I'm going to get another 210 so that I can use it indoors.
Outdoors or on large open stages, the 210/212 absolutely KILLS though. Plenty of bottom without boosting any lows at all. A bit pillowy for sure, but not boomy. But that little 210 really punches. I'm sure two of them would be great!
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