As I'm at the beginning of my bassist life, maybe the RH450 will better fit the bill to learn and educate my ear...
I'm sure the semi-parametric section of the RH will allow me to dial something I like.
I got the RH450 basically as my first amp as born-again beginner (after 20 some years away), and if you don't have an eq method beyond twist & hunt, I highly recommend checking out the method in Alvaro's video, posted on the previous page of this thread.
I think the adjustability of the RH heads is lost (at least in its full potential) on a lot of folks. I was definitely one. Some people are satisfied with the defaults mid-points and very little eq, and that's great for them. Some people twist & hunt or dial based on numeric info, and are satisfied with that. I've seen a number of people dismiss the the amp without digging into the adjustments, and that's cool too. I think it's a perfectly valid want to not have to jack-around with an amp to get the sound that speaks to you...life's too short when there's another amp that does it for you with not much more effort than turning it on.
For me, the sound seemed heaven-sent at times, and then there would be other times that I couldn't make small changes and dial things in (usually under the pressure to start playing at a gig). That produced some frustration and my only real complaint with the amp. At times when I was frustrated with it, I'd wish for a more simple, straight-up 3 or 4 band eq.
Twist & hunt works fine with simple eq. The problem with this method of setting eq is that, with the semi-parametric aspect added, it's not too difficult to actually run the amp into areas were is sounds like wet butt. You can do the math on the possible combinations, taking the full range of both mid-points and eq into account, but it's a big number (millions? hundreds of thousands at least)
What I have set up now is two presets dialed in for my 212, one for my Brubaker and on for my Lakland and the third preset is dialed in for my 115 cab, which is far less sensitive to eq changes (tweeterless). I can make small, on-the-fly adjustments on the bass preamps. I have been utterly happy since running this setup and haven't touched it in months, beyond pressing the various presets.
! I tested a Staccato in a shop, and the unit was totally satisfying. I'm confident the sound of the RH will be as good as the Staccato's, just different. I wanted to check it first for built quality, sturdiness, look and feel of the commands, weight, size, stuff like that. I'm quite sure the 4 band semi-parametric will let me dial the sound I like without problem.
