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TC Electronics RebelHead 450 - Rebel with a Cause

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#641
clarksouter said:
Something else I learned on a gig last night in reference to the discussion before on the darkness of tone these cabs can tend to have is that the HOSA /Speakon cables that come with the TC cabs are crappy compared to good cable. I tried the HOSA /Speakon instead of my usual Mogami speaker cables and WOW did they sound muddy compared to the Mogami. I read a thread about the Speakon being superior as connectors and tried them but the Hosa cable just could not compare! I would say that anyone getting a new amp or cabs should always start with some high end instrument cable and speaker cable like the Mogami. It is way worth the extra $20 to $30 extra per cable it can cost. And if you can solder well, you can buy the cable in length you want and solder your own Neutrik connectors on for soooo cheap. Just a Huge difference when you turn stuff up and want that clear, fat, crisp punch! That is how you get the full awesome sound out of the TC electronic RH450 and cabs.

Cheers:)

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This particular can-of-worms is officially re-opened!

:ninja: :hiding: :ninja:
 
#644
Do a test for your-selves. You will see a difference between a higher end cable and a cheap one. If you check out the touring set-ups of the bassists we love in huge star bands 19 out of 20 are using cables like Mogami or Monster or the like through-out. All the pro guys in L.A. that I know and work with pay attention to these kind of details because THEY MATTER, especially when you play at higher volumes. Just my 25 years experience, and the quest for the rump shaking groove driving sweet tone giving its two cents.....

Cheers

Clark-

Link Removed
 
#645
clarksouter said:
Do a test for your-selves. You will see a difference between a higher end cable and a cheap one. If you check out the touring set-ups of the bassists we love in huge star bands 19 out of 20 are using cables like Mogami or Monster or the like through-out. All the pro guys in L.A. that I know and work with pay attention to these kind of details because THEY MATTER, especially when you play at higher volumes. Just my 25 years experience, and the quest for the rump shaking groove driving sweet tone giving its two cents.....

Cheers

Clark-

Link Removed
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Most of them also get the cables for free. Back to the RH450 discussion...
 
#646
This is pertinent to the RH450 discussion because using some Mogami speaker cables (instead of the HOSA cables it comes with) can brighten up the somewhat round dark sound of the RS 2x10 TC speaker cabinets that I and other people find a little too dark for some styles of playing. And we spend $1000's on our basses and amps in this forum so spending $20 or $30 more for the cables to connect them is not such a huge cost for the improvement they give. (And I don't think Mogami gives artist deals) So going on the cheap with cables doesn't make sense to me. And it partially fixes the darkness (problem?) of the T.C. setup.
 
#648
clarksouter said:
Do a test for your-selves. You will see a difference between a higher end cable and a cheap one. If you check out the touring set-ups of the bassists we love in huge star bands 19 out of 20 are using cables like Mogami or Monster or the like through-out. All the pro guys in L.A. that I know and work with pay attention to these kind of details because THEY MATTER, especially when you play at higher volumes. Just my 25 years experience, and the quest for the rump shaking groove driving sweet tone giving its two cents.....
Click to expand...
Well I'm not in a huge touring band, and TC made me painfully aware of it with this stupid test pilot crap.

Honestly, I've used lots of different cables, and the differences were minimal at best and could easily be attributed to other things. Like I said, I have no problem if others want to use them, but in order for me to pay what Mogami and Monster ask, they'd have to make more than a tiny little change that only bats notice.
 
#650
clarksouter said:
Do a test for your-selves. You will see a difference between a higher end cable and a cheap one. If you check out the touring set-ups of the bassists we love in huge star bands 19 out of 20 are using cables like Mogami or Monster or the like through-out. All the pro guys in L.A. that I know and work with pay attention to these kind of details because THEY MATTER, especially when you play at higher volumes. Just my 25 years experience, and the quest for the rump shaking groove driving sweet tone giving its two cents.
Click to expand...

slap.gif


I do prefer Mogami over cables that have higher-capacitance wiring or cheap/flimsy plugs. But Hosa wiring is not particularly high capacitance, and Speakons do not contribute anything to the tone whatsoever. You mention Monster, but they are famous for fairly high capacitance, which is why they can advertise "improved bass response"--the highs are rolled off. "Pro guys in LA" are just as prone to label conciousness, hearing with their eyes, as anyone else. Maybe even more so, considering their producers and hiring artists will judge and employ them based partly on whether they brought "pro gear" to the gig.

If the Hosa was that much worse than the Mogami, then I respectfully submit either the Hosa was defective, or you were hearing with your eyes.
 
#651
The RH450 did a fantastic job this weekend. It was the first gig I played with it outside.
It was a Blues festival and we were set up on a plywood stage that was very "bouncey"

My wife was worried that it would fall over when the harp player and I started jumping around, but it stayed standing with no problem.

I could hear everything perfectly, and it was plenty loud outside.
The sound-man really liked the D.I---(all of the sound-guys I've used with this amp have commented on how great the D.I. is.)

I am still amazed with this system. It does everything so well.
 
#652
bongomania said:
slap.gif


I do prefer Mogami over cables that have higher-capacitance wiring or cheap/flimsy plugs. But Hosa wiring is not particularly high capacitance, and Speakons do not contribute anything to the tone whatsoever. You mention Monster, but they are famous for fairly high capacitance, which is why they can advertise "improved bass response"--the highs are rolled off. "Pro guys in LA" are just as prone to label conciousness, hearing with their eyes, as anyone else. Maybe even more so, considering their producers and hiring artists will judge and employ them based partly on whether they brought "pro gear" to the gig.

If the Hosa was that much worse than the Mogami, then I respectfully submit either the Hosa was defective, or you were hearing with your eyes.
Click to expand...


The last thing I'd be doing if I wanted people to know how good some head or cab is, is to start yapping about cables/cords brands. A real credibility bind at best.

fail-owned-playground-area-fail.jpg
 
#654
I tried it at L&M yesterday and loved it. The power thing is deceptive because the master volume pot is truly linear, and you can run this amp pretty much flat out with no appreciable clipping. We are SO used to non-linear pots, with all the power from 7 - 11 o'clock (my old Eden 800, for example - nothing but distortion from 12 on). LOVED the interface, tube distortion was very good, compressor was superb, possibly the best on-board compressor I've tried. LOVE the amp - look forward to a big stereo jobby with FX built in. The EQ interface is simply brilliant, worthy of some kind of award for innovation - intuitive, easy, powerful, accurate, and very very cool looking simultaneously. The Mesa V12 next to it looked like something from the stone age, with 200 hard-to-see metal (can you say 'shocking') knobs on it...'not' a good thing.

The 2x10" cab was very good, but the 2x12" cab was SUPERB. Loved it. And if you think it's 'dark', plug a Little Mark II into it - it AIN'T dark; it's reproducing what it's given. With the LMII it was crispy and bright as hell, bordering on harsh and nasty. tc has purposely voiced the amp 'dark' (we're bass players, after all) to get an old school kind of sound of out some very sophisticated gear, but the EQ is SO flexible you can easily tweak that out - I would say more it was more 'warm' than dark. That 2x12 cabinet is the BEST BUY in the bass business right now, IMHO: it sounds fantastic, WAY better than a single 12" Markbass cab which costs over $100.00 more. And this is a Berg IP-ER stack owner saying this, and play MTD's through a bunch of Summit audio gear (and a tc stereo four-band parametric eq) in case you hadn't noticed my sig.

I look forward to future stuff by them. Amazing rig for a first offering. And the price on those superb speakers is ashonishing. They're going to kick Markbass' *** once people wise up to how good this stuff is. For $150.00 more than a LMII, you get a tuner, a very good distortion unit, a superb compressor, memory, switching, and a very very nice looking unit, as opposed to a rather, ahem, 'homely' looking orangey-yellow and black thing, with knobs that move way too easily. The tc also had a really nice, well-built 'tactile' feel to it, and the controls would not move unless you really wanted them to. And the speakers are SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than the Markbass, and quite a bit better, IMHO.

Beautiful job, tc electronics.

Cheers,
Cameron

PS...I like cables...they're yummy!
 
#655
Bassflute said:
I tried it at L&M yesterday and loved it. The power thing is deceptive because the master volume pot is truly linear, and you can run this amp pretty much flat out with no appreciable clipping. We are SO used to non-linear pots, with all the power from 7 - 11 o'clock (my old Eden 800, for example - nothing but distortion from 12 on). LOVED the interface, tube distortion was very good, compressor was superb, possibly the best on-board compressor I've tried. LOVE the amp - look forward to a big stereo jobby with FX built in. The EQ interface is simply brilliant, worthy of some kind of award for innovation - intuitive, easy, powerful, accurate, and very very cool looking simultaneously. The Mesa V12 next to it looked like something from the stone age, with 200 hard-to-see metal (can you say 'shocking') knobs on it...'not' a good thing.

The 2x10" cab was very good, but the 2x12" cab was SUPERB. Loved it. And if you think it's 'dark', plug a Little Mark II into it - it AIN'T dark; it's reproducing what it's given. With the LMII it was crispy and bright as hell, bordering on harsh and nasty. tc has purposely voiced the amp 'dark' (we're bass players, after all) to get an old school kind of sound of out some very sophisticated gear, but the EQ is SO flexible you can easily tweak that out - I would say more it was more 'warm' than dark. That 2x12 cabinet is the BEST BUY in the bass business right now, IMHO: it sounds fantastic, WAY better than a single 12" Markbass cab which costs over $100.00 more. And this is a Berg IP-ER stack owner saying this, and play MTD's through a bunch of Summit audio gear (and a tc stereo four-band parametric eq) in case you hadn't noticed my sig.

I look forward to future stuff by them. Amazing rig for a first offering. And the price on those superb speakers is ashonishing. They're going to kick Markbass' *** once people wise up to how good this stuff is. For $150.00 more than a LMII, you get a tuner, a very good distortion unit, a superb compressor, memory, switching, and a very very nice looking unit, as opposed to a rather, ahem, 'homely' looking orangey-yellow and black thing, with knobs that move way too easily. The tc also had a really nice, well-built 'tactile' feel to it, and the controls would not move unless you really wanted them to.

Beautiful job, tc electronics.

Cheers,
Cameron

PS...I like cables...they're yummy!
Click to expand...

I believe you switched your terms... non-linear or audio tapers result in a smoother volume increase over a longer travel of the pot taper. Linear pots are the ones that jump early in the travel.

I still look forward to trying one of these, but the reviews so far have been mediocre at best, and I'm not much of a bells and whistles type guy. Your enthusiasm is a bit surprising, given the rest of the feedback, but I think I remember you were very excited about this rig long before you played it (due to your feelings regarding TC in general).

The cabs do seem priced well though.
 
#656
KJung said:
I believe you switched your terms... non-linear or audio tapers result in a smoother volume increase over a longer travel of the pot taper. Linear pots are the ones that jump early in the travel.

I still look forward to trying one of these, but the reviews so far have been mediocre at best, and I'm not much of a bells and whistles type guy. Your enthusiasm is a bit surprising, given the rest of the feedback, but I think I remember you were very excited about this rig long before you played it (due to your feelings regarding TC in general).

The cabs do seem priced well though.
Click to expand...

I've been using those terms backwards for YEARS then...

It's a nice rig. Very impressive.

Cheers,
Cameron
 
#657
Bassflute said:
I've been using those terms backwards for YEARS then...

It's a nice rig. Very impressive.

Cheers,
Cameron
Click to expand...

I look forward to checking it out. I love all the micro stuff!

I'm pretty sure I have the terms right, and I also used them backwards for a long time, since logically 'linear' response should be the 'smooth' option. However, from what I read, the non-linear/audio taper response is similar to a log transform, since db increase is a non-linear scale. So, by having a non-linear taper to the pot, it makes the non-linear db increase 'sound linear'.

I think I have that right:)

Interesting that these type of master volume tapers seem to be a German thing! (I think TC is German..EDIT... Denmark... close enough!). Both the TecAmp and Glock stuff behaves the same way, and I really like it... nice smooth volume increase through 80% of the range of the master volume.
 
#658
Bassflute said:
I tried it at L&M yesterday and loved it. The power thing is deceptive because the master volume pot is truly linear, and you can run this amp pretty much flat out with no appreciable clipping. We are SO used to non-linear pots, with all the power from 7 - 11 o'clock (my old Eden 800, for example - nothing but distortion from 12 on). LOVED the interface, tube distortion was very good, compressor was superb, possibly the best on-board compressor I've tried. LOVE the amp - look forward to a big stereo jobby with FX built in. The EQ interface is simply brilliant, worthy of some kind of award for innovation - intuitive, easy, powerful, accurate, and very very cool looking simultaneously. The Mesa V12 next to it looked like something from the stone age, with 200 hard-to-see metal (can you say 'shocking') knobs on it...'not' a good thing.

The 2x10" cab was very good, but the 2x12" cab was SUPERB. Loved it. And if you think it's 'dark', plug a Little Mark II into it - it AIN'T dark; it's reproducing what it's given. With the LMII it was crispy and bright as hell, bordering on harsh and nasty. tc has purposely voiced the amp 'dark' (we're bass players, after all) to get an old school kind of sound of out some very sophisticated gear, but the EQ is SO flexible you can easily tweak that out - I would say more it was more 'warm' than dark. That 2x12 cabinet is the BEST BUY in the bass business right now, IMHO: it sounds fantastic, WAY better than a single 12" Markbass cab which costs over $100.00 more. And this is a Berg IP-ER stack owner saying this, and play MTD's through a bunch of Summit audio gear (and a tc stereo four-band parametric eq) in case you hadn't noticed my sig.

I look forward to future stuff by them. Amazing rig for a first offering. And the price on those superb speakers is ashonishing. They're going to kick Markbass' *** once people wise up to how good this stuff is. For $150.00 more than a LMII, you get a tuner, a very good distortion unit, a superb compressor, memory, switching, and a very very nice looking unit, as opposed to a rather, ahem, 'homely' looking orangey-yellow and black thing, with knobs that move way too easily. The tc also had a really nice, well-built 'tactile' feel to it, and the controls would not move unless you really wanted them to. And the speakers are SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than the Markbass, and quite a bit better, IMHO.

Beautiful job, tc electronics.

Cheers,
Cameron

PS...I like cables...they're yummy!
Click to expand...
Whoa, my G.A.S. is suddenly acting up again!
 
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