TC Electronics RebelHead 450 - Rebel with a Cause

[katri]

Cool idea but nowhere near as revolutionary as they claimed. I would be interested if it wasn't gonna be crazy expensive.

 

[Bassflute]

1-The iPhone analogy is hilarious. Somebody in the Danish marketing department said, "heks, diz ampz zis as kool zas my iPhone!" and they ran with it, not understanding that there is nothing in coming between an iPhone and the new bass amp, besides that both are cool. They should have hired an American marketing firm.

2-Price will be an issue here. It looks like the head is at least $1000, and the cabs will be something like $700. Many gigging, working players can't afford that.

3-Why don't manufacturers puts wheels and a dolly in their cabs? No matter what the weight is, even 38 pounds is heavy if you have to walk a block from your car to the club, or from you car to your apartment.

4-When they had the teaser ad, I thought this was going to be the most complete bass amp out there (taking it from the iPhone reference), but, no effects? Being T.C. Electronics, I expected at least a handful of effects built-in.


Not impressed, at all. It looks cool, though, almost like an iPhone. . .

Personally, I hate wheels built into cabs cause they ALWAYS get bumped off. And $1,000.00...dream on. I'm thinking $2,000.00 + for the head, and AT LEAST $1500.00 for the cabs. Danish audio = very high end stuff. Even their money is at a premium, I believe.

So far the only letdown for me is the lack of 2ohm stability...don't know why there aren't more lightweight heads that can pull that off. Seems like AI and (maybe) EA are the only ones.

At 2 ohms, most amps get pretty ragged sounding, and the heat buildup, even if it CAN handle it, is phenomenal. How many cabs do you need to plug in, anyway? I'd rather have a million watts at 8 ohms than at 2, personally.

Seriously being in the market for a small amp , I'd go this route ;http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=503371

You've GOT to be kidding... that's like comparing a Kia Spectra to a Bugatti...

I would think pricewise, it'd have to compete with the LMII and the shuttle, so I would expect they should have a price of around 700 shouldn't they?
i mean, come on--I can get a LMII and a tuner for 600

I think this is going to be in the higher end product line - don't think it's designed to compete with the LMII in price or in features - fully programmable 3 band compression AND selectable semi-parametric EQ points - leaves the LMII, much as I admire that amp, in the dust, I'm afraid.

I'm really stoked about this thing, especially since the Gibson deal fell through - they dodged a bullet there.



Cheers,
Cameron

 

[MultiScaleMale]

There's no way they would bring it to market with the head at $2k and the cabs at $1.5k. That's $5k for a stack. They wouldn't sell at all. I'm predicting $799 for the head at most.

 

[Bassflute]

There's no way they would bring it to market with the head at $2k and the cabs at $1.5k. That's $5k for a stack. They wouldn't sell at all. I'm predicting $799 for the head at most.

And BTW, I'm thinking Canadian Dollars - I'm Canadian!

tc's been building cheaper stuff lately, but for this I'm thinking Jonas Hellborg/Warwick league.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[Aram]

At 2 ohms, most amps get pretty ragged sounding, and the heat buildup, even if it CAN handle it, is phenomenal. How many cabs do you need to plug in, anyway? I'd rather have a million watts at 8 ohms than at 2, personally.

I already have two 4ohm cabinets that I use separately. I'd like to be able to use both in the (admittedly rare) occasion that I'd need them. If AI, EA and now apparently Carvin can pull off a 2 ohm impedance in an integrated bass head, not sure why other companies have such an issue (except to say that they're using the same ICE unit which isn't designed that way).

By the way, on what evidence are you basing the comment that "most amps get pretty ragged sounding" at 2 ohms?

 

[MultiScaleMale]

And BTW, I'm thinking Canadian Dollars - I'm Canadian!

tc's been building cheaper stuff lately, but for this I'm thinking Jonas Hellborg/Warwick league.

Cheers,
Cameron

Ah. Gotcha. I hope not, but we'll see soon enough.

 

[fokof]

You've GOT to be kidding... that's like comparing a Kia Spectra to a Bugatti...

Yeah you're right , the Carvin being the Bugati


I always find that funny ; people make assumption on equipement without hearing. I haven't heard the two , have you ?
Then , how can you compare the products ?

I'm not in the "name droping" category. I use stuff that sounds good. I don't care what's the name tag on it. Finished ranting......:scowl:

 

[Passinwind]

There's no way they would bring it to market with the head at $2k and the cabs at $1.5k. That's $5k for a stack. They wouldn't sell at all. I'm predicting $799 for the head at most.

The head runs 799 pounds on a British website I found through Google. That'd be around $1164 USD if the pricing were consistent from country to country... which rarely seems to be the case.

 

[Psychicpet]

I'm in the middle of producing a friends CD. Monday we tried out vocal mics that the studio had on hand. 4. 3 of them were really nice and sounded great. Then we did a pass with a Telefunken U47, through an API pre and I foget what the heck the compressor was. Anywho, the price of that signal chain is around $25,000. .......

did it sound different than the other mics??



YOU BET YOUR ASS IT DID!!!!!

did it sound 25K better??

YOU BET YOUR ASS IT DID!!!!!


so yes, we can always find cheaper gear to argue the price of potentially more expensive gear and make it seem as thought the higher priced stuff is just bloated profit margins and not worth the cake. But in the real world, often times more expensive gear created by companies that do 'expensive' studio based gear IS WORTH EVERY PENNY AND DOES SOUND BETTER.

I'm in the camp that definitely can't afford the Ferrari and Lambo I'd love to see in my garage...(at least at this point ahhh dreaming is good hahahaha) but to go on about the higher priced stuff being crap and cheaper gear being just as good is so weak. and a line bull****.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

The head runs 799 pounds on a British website I found through Google. That'd be around $1164 USD if the pricing were consistent from country to country... which rarely seems to be the case.

Yeah, it almost seems like the pricing is more like $1USD = GBP for some reason. Then they have to add VAT.

 

[fokof]

I'm in the camp that definitely can't afford the Ferrari and Lambo I'd love to see in my garage...(at least at this point ahhh dreaming is good hahahaha) but to go on about the higher priced stuff being crap and cheaper gear being just as good is so weak. and a line bull****.

My all time favorite preamp (I have one home ) is a Bryston BMP2.
It cost me near 3 grand. Does it sound better than my TD100 or my LA610 ?
You bet your ass it does !!!!!
The LA610 is 2 grand , the TD100 is 500 , does that necessarily means that the LA610 sounds better ?
Nope , it doesn't ( to my taste , and for an lx bass )

My point is not about the price but about the pre-judgement.

I'll make a judgement on that amp when I"ll hear one.
People are already making comments on sound and no-one heard one yet , funny......

 

[superbassman2000]

I think this is going to be in the higher end product line - don't think it's designed to compete with the LMII in price or in features - fully programmable 3 band compression AND selectable semi-parametric EQ points - leaves the LMII, much as I admire that amp, in the dust, I'm afraid.

The head runs 799 pounds on a British website I found through Google. That'd be around $1164 USD if the pricing were consistent from country to country... which rarely seems to be the case.

Then I wonder who they are going up against? i mean for $1164 you can get a used LMII and still get a $600 tube pre with an in-depth compressor and semi-parametric EQ. I guess maybe I have to play it myself to see what the real deal is. I would also like to see if it's that great in a band setting, where 99% of bass players would be *actually* be using it.

 

[synaesthesia]

The head runs 799 pounds on a British website I found through Google. That'd be around $1164 USD if the pricing were consistent from country to country... which rarely seems to be the case.

If it was £799 here in the UK, chances are it would be USD$799 or thereabouts in the USA; close to numerically equivalent as it is with almost every other piece of MI gear.

 

[Passinwind]

If it was £799 here in the UK, chances are it would be USD$799 or thereabouts in the USA; close to numerically equivalent as it is with almost every other piece of MI gear.

I have no idea if the site I found reflects the best street price in the UK either, FWIW.

 

[stflbn]

If AI, EA and now apparently Carvin can pull off a 2 ohm impedance in an integrated bass head, not sure why other companies have such an issue.

Genz Benz also does 500w into 2ohms with Neo Pak 3.5's. Very well in fact.


.

 

[Godbody]

Did anybody else see the 'test pilot' ad on their site? you get to use a head and cab for 3 months in exchange for reviews, if they select you. I signed up. Hope I get one...

 

[derrenleepoole]

Certainly an intriguing little bugger. It kind of reminds me of an Ashdown Superfly meets LMII. The simplicity of a Markbass head (on first appearances) but with the digital tricky of the Superfly such as storable presets etc.

 

[stflbn]

So the RebelHead appears to be the hit of the first day of NAMM 2009. At least based on the traffic surrounding this thread and lack of info on other things.

 

[LuvMusic]

The head runs 799 pounds on a British website I found through Google. That'd be around $1164 USD if the pricing were consistent from country to country... which rarely seems to be the case.

I think I may have found the same site. If I did, there is an American flag in the upper right-hand corner that will convert the price to USD - VAT. Here is the link:

http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product.asp?name=TC-Electronic-Rebelhead-450&ID=10879

And the price is $1192.67 USD!!!

 

[Jumbotron]

Did I see wrong, or is there only one speaker out? Does that mean you have to daisy-chain cabs if you want more than one? That's kind of a drag.

Also, are SPDIF outs usually XLR? That seems like a weird one to me.

Otherwise, it looks cool. I bet it sounds dang good.