TC Electronics RebelHead 450 - Rebel with a Cause

[Andy Brown]

FWIW I gave this program a shot just like anyone else. I was very honest in the profile I gave to TC. They came up with the term "Opinion Leader" most likely from the GTG's I host. I'm the first one to admit that there are a lot of others on this board that deserve this trial more than I from an "in the trenches" standpoint... what can I do?

I just got the rig today, and I'll test it out to see if it fits my current situation, and advise my own personal findings as I agreed to do. If others want to include these findings as part of their own decision making process, so be it.

Also, anyone in the area of Providence, RI is welcome to come down and check the rig out.

 

[Andy Brown]

Could be, it's kinda difficult to tell. No offense meant to the person involved. Andy Brown is also a Talk Bass Opinion Leader. I wonder who that is? Hey Jimmy, maybe we should have said we were Talk Bass members!!

Seems to me most "Hand Picked Dedicated Test Pilots" seem to be session guys or Fringe genre players.

Paul

And you are... ?

 

[BassmanPaul]

Obviously not good enough, too old, playing the wrong music etc

Paul

 

[Tom7]

Anyone can add an entry to Wikipedia, that is the worst source of authority - if you are marketing major and have higher education experience and you should know that.

Sigh. There is no need to attack anyone here, I am just trying to explain that "opinion leader" is simply one industry's jargon and no cause for offense.

Many industries have their own jargon, including music. The jargon seems strange to those outside that particular industry... as anyone who has ever tried to converse with a doctor, a lawyer, a computer systems analyst, etc. about their industries can attest.

Consequently, it's senseless to be offended if a lawyer refers to you as a "defendant" for example. It doesn't mean you are defensive, it is just their terminology, and frankly they aren't going to change it if you do allow yourself to be offended.

Likewise, marketers have a jargon too and seriously, it makes no sense to get worked up about it. They aren't going to change their jargon anymore than we are going to stop calling pickups pickups because it confuses a farmer.

Something else people should know about the term is that in marketing "opinion leader" isn't as high school as it sounds to the lay person.

"Opinion leader" doesn't refer to someone who is going to sway a group as much as it refers to someone who is representative of a target market.

In movies, for another example, marketers of a chick flick don't only care what the girls think of it, but what men, who aren't the targeted demographic, might think as well. Then they know if their film is just a chick flick, or a good date movie as well.

I'm not with TC Electronic, but it appears that they were not just looking for someone to be an evangelist for the RH450, but someone who would be valuable not just influencing customers, but whose feedback to TC Electronic would also be useful to helping them target their advertisments, as well as design the next version of a bass amp.

At any rate, seriously, there is no need to take shots at someone who is just trying to promote understanding here.

 

[Tom7]

Wow, there are an awful lot of sour grapes getting in the way of productive conversation in this forum.

 

[KJung]

FWIW I gave this program a shot just like anyone else. I was very honest in the profile I gave to TC. They came up with the term "Opinion Leader" most likely from the GTG's I host. I'm the first one to admit that there are a lot of others on this board that deserve this trial more than I from an "in the trenches" standpoint... what can I do?

I just got the rig today, and I'll test it out to see if it fits my current situation, and advise my own personal findings as I agreed to do. If others want to include these findings as part of their own decision making process, so be it.

Also, anyone in the area of Providence, RI is welcome to come down and check the rig out.

I can't understand why anyone would be upset at not getting picked, and that anyone would be upset at someome getting picked.

I didn't sign up, since nothing in the feature set and spec's of this product particularly interested me. However, getting gear in the hands of some guys respected on TalkBass (and that isn't defined by number of posts IMO) is a good idea.

I for one look forward to AJ's review and think it's cool that he and some others got some free gear to try out for a while (and I assume a nice discount if they dig it and want to buy it).

 

[KJung]

Sigh. There is no need to attack anyone here, I am just trying to explain that "opinion leader" is simply one industry's jargon and no cause for offense.

Many industries have their own jargon, including music. The jargon seems strange to those outside that particular industry... as anyone who has ever tried to converse with a doctor, a lawyer, a computer systems analyst, etc. about their industries can attest.

Consequently, it's senseless to be offended if a lawyer refers to you as a "defendant" for example. It doesn't mean you are defensive, it is just their terminology, and frankly they aren't going to change it if you do allow yourself to be offended.

Likewise, marketers have a jargon too and seriously, it makes no sense to get worked up about it. They aren't going to change their jargon anymore than we are going to stop calling pickups pickups because it confuses a farmer.

Something else people should know about the term is that in marketing "opinion leader" isn't as high school as it sounds to the lay person.

"Opinion leader" doesn't refer to someone who is going to sway a group as much as it refers to someone who is representative of a target market.

In movies, for another example, marketers of a chick flick don't only care what the girls think of it, but what men, who aren't the targeted demographic, might think as well. Then they know if their film is just a chick flick, or a good date movie as well.

I'm not with TC Electronic, but it appears that they were not just looking for someone to be an evangelist for the RH450, but someone who would be valuable not just influencing customers, but whose feedback to TC Electronic would also be useful to helping them target their advertisments, as well as design the next version of a bass amp.

At any rate, seriously, there is no need to take shots at someone who is just trying to promote understanding here.

+1 IMO!

 

[Tom7]

FWIW I gave this program a shot just like anyone else. ... I'm the first one to admit that there are a lot of others on this board that deserve this trial more than I from an "in the trenches" standpoint... what can I do? ... Also, anyone in the area of Providence, RI is welcome to come down and check the rig out.

I've never met AJ, and I certainly don't live in proximity to Providence, but if I could offer a personal observation about him to others in this forum...

AJ appears to be a very gracious, good and likable guy.

Can we give him a break?

Rather than resent his position, why not learn from it?

I for one and looking forward to learning much more about his impressions on the amp.

 

[JimmyM]

I've never met AJ, and I certainly don't live in proximity to Providence, but if I could offer a personal observation about him to others in this forum...

AJ appears to be a very gracious, good and likable guy.

Can we give him a break?

Rather than resent his position, why not learn from it?

I for one and looking forward to learning much more about his impressions on the amp.

This resentment against AJ and John is an invention of your own mind. I have nothing against any of them and I actually like them judging from my dealings with them on here.

I have enormous resentment against TC telling me they are my "opinion leaders," and for doing a giveaway where we have to prove ourselves worthy to get a free amp, then get told not only are we not worthy for a free amp, but hey, you can buy one at regular price and we'll throw in this crappy footswitch that they should give away with the amp in the first place.

And I'm developing resentment toward you for trying to make it sound like we resent AJ and John and whoever else who got a free amp.

So let's make this perfectly clear...as I am not an "opinion leader," I can't speak for Paul or Synasthesia or whoever else is pissed over this contest, but I have nothing but best wishes for the winners. You, OTOH, need to quit putting words in our mouths. My resentment lies solely with TC Electronics, not the winners of the contest. I would greatly appreciate it if you would stop trying to make it sound that I'm resentful of them.

 

[Humbucked]

... anymore word on the Rebelhead and cabs...?

 

[BassmanPaul]

let me state for the record; I have no bad feelings toward ANY of the people who have been given a test drive of the RebelHead. None whatsoever. I sincerely wish them well for the future and in the music they all play, understand it though I may not. ANYONE who picks up a bass and plays it from the heart gets kudos from me!

I DO object, as a paying member of this site, to the inference that other people, whom I have never met, speak for my opinion. I am well capable and sure as hell old enough to do that for myself. Anyone who has spent any time on this forum knows how opinionated we ALL are let alone me!

AJ, you asked who I am and I'll tell you even though I am not much different than a lot of us here. I bought my first bass when I was sixteen. I practiced and worked very hard to learn how to play the thing. There were no teachers back then you had to learn "on the job". I learned how to play, how to repair and then build my equipment. There were no real amp techs then either. I scrimped and saved until I ended up with some of the best equipment out there. Some bought and some made with my own hands.

Forty seven years later I'm still learning while trying to pass on to others what I have learned across the years. So I am nothing special. Just a guy still plugging away trying to get out there and entertain people and try to make them happy. I have done this through two heart attacks and two strokes. Probably just too damn stupid to know how to quit!

Paul

 

[MIJ-VI]

Just checked through the profiles of the selected Test Pilots...
No offence to any of you Test Pilots - I am somewhat confused which target markets TC wants to explore.
Or maybe they want to achieve that by process of exclusion... hmmm

The music from some of the Test Pilots is just awful as far as I am concerned, but hey, somebody must have liked what they saw/heard....

Hmm... I'm wondering if a key element driving tc electronic's selection of 'test pilots' for the RH450 & RS210/212, was a desire to seek out a diversity of bass playing styles and tone preferences.

I mean, these two are about as different from one another as one can get:

Miomi's band: Akado - Oxymoron №2

Line Hoeck's band: The Broken Beats "Essentials"

I would further speculate that the RH450/RS210/RS212 launch is intended to be a self-financing (hopefully) developmental beach head into the bass amp market leading to the attainment of tc's primary objective: having ver. 2.0 of "Bass Amp 2.0" capture a significant share of that market--on a global basis...

Their inaugural rig's light-weight form factor, international power supply, flexible feature-set (including a non-language-reliant, illuminated iconographical control layout), zero tube-related maintenance, and road cases, seems to point to such a strategy.

Personally, I hope this new amp sells since it's success would likely force other makers to finally put tuners in their rigs!

 

[Akito]

I think some of the statements made in this thread have been overblown almost to the point of hysteria, and I think it's more than a little embarrassing. Has anyone even been offered a "free" rig or anything free from TC Electronics? I don't remember reading anything about a gear give away.
Absolutely nothing attractive about sore losers to begin with. The louder and longer they scream, the uglier they get.
For crying out loud people, let it go already.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

OH NOOOOOO!!!!!

I thought Miomi was a chick!!! Worse, I thought "she" was kinda hot in a kick my butt type of way. Then I saw the video and realized "she" "wasn't".

I think I need to go get my vision checked.....

<hangs head low>

 

[MIJ-VI]

I think some of the statements made in this thread have been overblown almost to the point of hysteria, and I think it's more than a little embarrassing. Has anyone even been offered a "free" rig or anything free from TC Electronics? I don't remember reading anything about a gear give away.
Absolutely nothing attractive about sore losers to begin with. The louder and longer they scream, the uglier they get.
For crying out loud people, let it go already.

Hell hath no fury like a bassist scorned.

 

[JimmyM]

I think some of the statements made in this thread have been overblown almost to the point of hysteria, and I think it's more than a little embarrassing. Has anyone even been offered a "free" rig or anything free from TC Electronics? I don't remember reading anything about a gear give away.
Absolutely nothing attractive about sore losers to begin with. The louder and longer they scream, the uglier they get.
For crying out loud people, let it go already.

Maybe you're right. Maybe I should let it go. Maybe I should be grateful that I had the opportunity to present myself to a major manufacturer for review. Maybe I should be glad that I was even considered at all. Maybe you're right...maybe I should just be glad for all the things I've got and not worry about not getting something else that I really don't need.

Nah.

Tell you what...you live your life the way you need to live your life, and I'll live my life the way I need to live it.

But I'll be honest...I'm probably more mad at myself than anything. I have never begged a manufacturer for anything. I've entered contests before, but never have I entered one that solely depended on me proving myself worthy of the opportunity to buy an amp. So I'm probably more mad at myself that I got sucked into having to prove myself in order to get the opportunity to buy stuff. I don't need TC...I've gotten along just fine without them all my life. TC needs me way more than I need them. So yeah, I'm more than a little mad at myself.

But I'm still very angry about not only the contest, but their lame offer of a footswitch if I buy the amp as if it's some sort of great consolation prize. I would have rather had a t-shirt or a baseball cap...something that doesn't require me spending money to collect. Maybe I wouldn't have been quite as offended.

So anyway, that's my opinion. Sorry if it bothers you. But if it truly bothers you, then you are welcome to ignore my posts from now on.

 

[JimmyM]

BTW, did anyone else but me notice that everyone who got amps were not only male but most looked to be way under 40? AJ was the oldest looking guy on there (no offense, pal), and he doesn't look any older than 35. If I'm wrong about that, please correct me, but it sure looks like everyone who won is young and male. That's fair.

 

[Kwesi]

OH NOOOOOO!!!!!

I thought Miomi was a chick!!! Worse, I thought "she" was kinda hot in a kick my butt type of way. Then I saw the video and realized "she" "wasn't".

I think I need to go get my vision checked.....

<hangs head low>

I feel you, man. I couldn't tell what he was at first between the skirt and the super heavy growl, lol. I eventually decided that he was a man only because my gut told me that if i recognized him as a woman I'd be dissappointed and forced to question my sexuality XD.

 

[MIJ-VI]

Talk Bass Opinion Leader????????

I too find this notion to be incredible--and definitely funny!

The brief time I've been on TalkBass has taught me that leading opinions here would be about as easy as herding cats!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I feel you, man. I couldn't tell what he was at first between the skirt and the super heavy growl, lol. I eventually decided that he was a man only because my gut told me that if i recognized him as a woman I'd be dissappointed and forced to question my sexuality XD.

And that's supposed to make me feel better?????