My first thought is a boosted lows knob on an active bass too. Or a poorly set up PA/soundman
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
TC RH750 part II
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
My first thought is a boosted lows knob on an active bass too. Or a poorly set up PA/soundman
I used a WW Streamer II, with Lows and mids slightly boosted and treble at center. I know its 18V MEC preamp has a hot output and the bass delivers big lows, but what I heard onstage was completely different.
Well, well, well....... I took my RH750 out of its nice protected laptop bag at rehearsals last night.
Lo and behold 3 knobs were in the bottom of the bag. I am currently having TCE send me replacement buttons and now this.
What a sh!t design knob. C'mon TCE you have to do better.
slawie
Lo and behold 3 knobs were in the bottom of the bag. I am currently having TCE send me replacement buttons and now this.
What a sh!t design knob. C'mon TCE you have to do better.
slawie
Great response from TCE they contacted me through the help desk log and will mail out new knobs.
That's what I call service!
Slawie
That's what I call service!
Slawie
I had the same problem (knobs) and TCE sent me replacement knobs through the store where I bought the amp. Very happy with their service.
Yesterday I learnt something about RH750 equalization: With great power comes great responsibility.
I remembered reading in the forum the frequencies of the 4 bands in the equalizer for multiple settings. At noon they are 400 Hz and 800 Hz for low and high mids respectively. Then I realized that each click to the left or right moves this freq by "1 dB in amplitude", i.e 6 clicks to the left means half the frequency, 12 clicks to the right is 2 octaves higher, 1 click to the right slightly more than 10% and so on. Easy to remember.
So yesterday I tried something new in the rehearsal room: Lower the low mids freq. to some 200 Hz (6 clicks to the left). I did the same with the bass freq to keep this band at the same distance as in factory setting. And voilá! all of a sudden the low-mid knob controls the amount of "bass without unnecesary mud". It was like using a brand new equalizer.
Boosting some low mids without increasing too much bass sounded so good that I stored this basic configuration in my 3 presets, then I modified the other 2 as before (3 is for "old school tube sound" and 2 is "really open, a bit scooped and compressed for slap"). It was like trying the old equalizations with the "brand new equalizer".
Much, much better. It was just 6 clicks to the left on the low-mid and the low mid control became my idea of low mid control. And also 2 clicks to the left on bass (already at -4). I did not have the time to experiment with any other frequency, just moderate adjustments in amplitudes.
Now I can hear my pitch way better at any volume (when playing softly and the band plays really loud). I have a lot more power in the reserve and I have the option to boost bass for certain special songs, which I do easily with the bass EQ. My headroom in clean settings improved a lot.
I left mids freq. in the middle and treble like 2 or 3 clicks to the right , they work well where they are but they are somehow redudant with the active EQ in the bass, so I think I should experiment lowering high mids to a region about 400 Hz (just 6 clicks to the left) for more flexibility fine tuning my EQ. I don't think I need this badly because of the EQ in the bass, I really needed control of low mids well below the factory setting.
I share this because I am not totally ignorant with EQs, dBs, Hz (I even measured some responses at home), but yesterday I was surprised to see the huge difference in EQ (+/- 1 octave) with just half the available range!
Nothing new, I read it 100 times in the forum, but I did not realize to what extent: this EQ is really powerful, you can get virtually any tone in your head... or screw up tour tone.
I recommend playing with EQ with all the band and at real rehearsal levels. Perhaps spending time with an MP3 player at the practice room could be a good idea. My mates really heard the difference. In a couple of songs I play violin and other band mate plays my fretless bass, he mentioned he can now hear (and eventually corrrect) the pitch much better at any volume.
Summary: Freqs: -6, -6, 0, 2. Boost/ Cut: Use your ears, with these settings (using my basses and cabs, in my room) EQ is so easy to use. I´d call the 4 bands:
-140 Hz - Extra boom, air moving pants (possibly required to adjust for room)
-200 Hz - "Bass without boom". What we do hear in recordings with limited speakers (car, mall, small stereo).
-800 Hz "Nasal mids" or "guitar frequencies"
-1600 Hz "treble" (no particular comment).
Next thing I should try: Freqs -8, -8, -6, 0 or something in this direction.
Yesterday I learnt something about RH750 equalization: With great power comes great responsibility.
I remembered reading in the forum the frequencies of the 4 bands in the equalizer for multiple settings. At noon they are 400 Hz and 800 Hz for low and high mids respectively. Then I realized that each click to the left or right moves this freq by "1 dB in amplitude", i.e 6 clicks to the left means half the frequency, 12 clicks to the right is 2 octaves higher, 1 click to the right slightly more than 10% and so on. Easy to remember.
So yesterday I tried something new in the rehearsal room: Lower the low mids freq. to some 200 Hz (6 clicks to the left). I did the same with the bass freq to keep this band at the same distance as in factory setting. And voilá! all of a sudden the low-mid knob controls the amount of "bass without unnecesary mud". It was like using a brand new equalizer.
Boosting some low mids without increasing too much bass sounded so good that I stored this basic configuration in my 3 presets, then I modified the other 2 as before (3 is for "old school tube sound" and 2 is "really open, a bit scooped and compressed for slap"). It was like trying the old equalizations with the "brand new equalizer".
Much, much better. It was just 6 clicks to the left on the low-mid and the low mid control became my idea of low mid control. And also 2 clicks to the left on bass (already at -4). I did not have the time to experiment with any other frequency, just moderate adjustments in amplitudes.
Now I can hear my pitch way better at any volume (when playing softly and the band plays really loud). I have a lot more power in the reserve and I have the option to boost bass for certain special songs, which I do easily with the bass EQ. My headroom in clean settings improved a lot.
I left mids freq. in the middle and treble like 2 or 3 clicks to the right , they work well where they are but they are somehow redudant with the active EQ in the bass, so I think I should experiment lowering high mids to a region about 400 Hz (just 6 clicks to the left) for more flexibility fine tuning my EQ. I don't think I need this badly because of the EQ in the bass, I really needed control of low mids well below the factory setting.
I share this because I am not totally ignorant with EQs, dBs, Hz (I even measured some responses at home), but yesterday I was surprised to see the huge difference in EQ (+/- 1 octave) with just half the available range!
Nothing new, I read it 100 times in the forum, but I did not realize to what extent: this EQ is really powerful, you can get virtually any tone in your head... or screw up tour tone.
I recommend playing with EQ with all the band and at real rehearsal levels. Perhaps spending time with an MP3 player at the practice room could be a good idea. My mates really heard the difference. In a couple of songs I play violin and other band mate plays my fretless bass, he mentioned he can now hear (and eventually corrrect) the pitch much better at any volume.
Summary: Freqs: -6, -6, 0, 2. Boost/ Cut: Use your ears, with these settings (using my basses and cabs, in my room) EQ is so easy to use. I´d call the 4 bands:
-140 Hz - Extra boom, air moving pants (possibly required to adjust for room)
-200 Hz - "Bass without boom". What we do hear in recordings with limited speakers (car, mall, small stereo).
-800 Hz "Nasal mids" or "guitar frequencies"
-1600 Hz "treble" (no particular comment).
Next thing I should try: Freqs -8, -8, -6, 0 or something in this direction.
Uhhh ... dB has nothing to do with the frequency. dB refers to volume. The volume knob controls the amplitude of the signal. The semi-parametric knobs (the same knobs shifted)control the frequency. Somewhere in this thread I believe someone posted a link to a chart showing the center frequencies of the EQ at different settings.
Yes, Of course you're 100% right ! It was just a trick to remember the entire table you mention by heart, since I always forget to print it when I go to rehearse.
Look at frequency numbers in the table, you can go from one setting to the next by multiplying or divide by exactly 10^(# of clicks/20). THis increment is what we call a dB if we were talking of amplitudes (not power). I mean, 6dB=double, 12dB=4x. Just a rule to remember, of course the concept is evil, dBs are not used for freqs. Sorry for the confusion I created
And thanks for making it clear to others. Regards!
My main basses are Peavey Cirrus, the EQ there is very effective.
Freqs in the RH750 as I mentioned.
Amplitudes: +3 clicks, +5 clicks (for low mid), 0, 0. This is approximate, I don't remember exactly. I´ll try to write it down next Monday.
Relatively low gain, 2 or 3 clicks below the point where I could see the clipping light from time to time.
A lot of tubetone (something like 2 O´clock). I think I set it that high due to the relatively low gain I use. Some compression, to just see a bit of gain reduction in very strong notes, no more.
Tweetertone is not particularly low (this should have a lot of impact on the "vintage sound"). Noon if I remember well.
Once I have tubetone, moderate lows, powerful "low mids" (that are really low mids), the real trick for vintage sound is on the Cirrus EQ:
Lows in the center, Mids halfway between center and min, highs to the very minimum. Bridge PU or both PU depending on the sound I am aiming. Bridge PU for a sound close to a precission (fingering). Both PUs for pick (+palm mute sometimes).
It is very nice to get those tones from a modern bass like the Cirrus (fretless most times). A lot of this flexibility is in the Cirrus EQ. EQ in the RH750 is even more powerful, but I like the simple operation of the knobs in the bass.
With other basses with more limited EQ I'd try to lower tweetertone drastically (at the minimum you cut highs from very low frequencies). It's a feature I am not taking much advantage of, but I know it must be very powerful.
My cabs are "on the HiFi side", they should sound not far from AudioKinesis. 2 Kappalites 3015's and 1 good size horn crossed at 1200Hz, it can be extremely brilliant when I need it (Again the treble control in the Cirrus can do all the work if I need highs to get a Marcus Miller sound). So cabs are not a problem to get old school tones, in my band they like the versatility of bass sound for different styles and songs. Again a good part of it comes from the versatility of the Cirrus, but RH750 EQ can also do the job, in fact it is more powerful and flexible.
So I have had my RH750 for 9 months now and have used it on many gigs. Here are a few thoughts:
Likes:
Love the portability
Love the tuner
Love the sound of the DI.
Dislikes:
I have broken off two knobs already
Very dark sounding, great for certain sounds, but it is difficult to coax highs out of it. Almost like there is a blanket over it. I can boost highs, but it doesn't help it sound any more open.
Oh yeah, it sounds fantastic with headphones.
Any suggestions?
Likes:
Love the portability
Love the tuner
Love the sound of the DI.
Dislikes:
I have broken off two knobs already
Very dark sounding, great for certain sounds, but it is difficult to coax highs out of it. Almost like there is a blanket over it. I can boost highs, but it doesn't help it sound any more open.
Oh yeah, it sounds fantastic with headphones.
Any suggestions?
Did you try to max "Tweetertone"? If it is in the middle it sounds similar to the RH450, no real top end, fantastic for some users but not for all.
If it is not this... I'd suspect of your cabs.
Tweeter tone all the way up, tweeters on the cabs, which are Markbass 4x10 and Epifani 1x12 is also all the way up.
I like the sound for a punchy bridge pickup sound but not so much for an aggressive jazz bass sound.
I like the sound for a punchy bridge pickup sound but not so much for an aggressive jazz bass sound.
Having read some comments about poor quality knobs and buttons can any one beat this? Last week, when round at my guitarist's house recording a demo, I noticed the MEM2 button was cracked on my RH750. After about an hour we noticed a smell of burning followed by a plume of black smoke coming from the chassis. After letting it cool down for a while I picked it up to put it back in its gig-bag and two knobs fell off!!! It's in the TCE hospital at the moment, hopefully being fixed. 
Just picked up my RH750 + RS210 Cab on the weekend. Love the amp already and man is it loud!
However, within 30 minutes the knob on the SpectraComp control felt loose and then just came right off! I can see why. The little plastic splines inside the knob, which push onto the "D" shape shaft on the pots, are pretty flimsy and at least one has broken off.
I think part of the problem is the height of the knobs. They extend out beyond the chassis and can very easily be bumped in transit. I may look for more robust alternative knobs with a good old fashioned brass core and securing screw. (All this talk of knobs and screws is just inviting inappropriate comments isn't it?).
They're only minor things and I'm sure they'll be fixed but it sure does put a dampener on the initial user experience.
However, within 30 minutes the knob on the SpectraComp control felt loose and then just came right off! I can see why. The little plastic splines inside the knob, which push onto the "D" shape shaft on the pots, are pretty flimsy and at least one has broken off.
I think part of the problem is the height of the knobs. They extend out beyond the chassis and can very easily be bumped in transit. I may look for more robust alternative knobs with a good old fashioned brass core and securing screw. (All this talk of knobs and screws is just inviting inappropriate comments isn't it?).
They're only minor things and I'm sure they'll be fixed but it sure does put a dampener on the initial user experience.
Attachments
I'm pretty certain the knobs were a design flaw or a bad batch. I carried my RH450 in a padded bag and one day 3 of them simultaneously disintegrated. No bumps, no nuthin. They just fell apart.
I was sent two sets of spare knobs just in case after one of them felt flimsy.
My ex-450 and current 750 have been flawless (touch wood)...
I'm a bit miffed that the whole buzz on these amps has dropped, purely because they got attacked for how they make volume.
I still love my RH750+ RS210 x 2 stack. The 210s are brilliant with every amp I've tried!
My ex-450 and current 750 have been flawless (touch wood)...
I'm a bit miffed that the whole buzz on these amps has dropped, purely because they got attacked for how they make volume.
I still love my RH750+ RS210 x 2 stack. The 210s are brilliant with every amp I've tried!
Meh, it's a web forum. Par for the course.
Just gotta' remember that your experiences should be all that REALLY matter to you.
BTW, if anyone will be looking for a deal on an RH750 rig, I'll probably be parting with mine after all. I still love the amp, but I'm just into other stuff these days more, and it sits there. Someone should be gigging it. It'll be the amp, the RC4 remote/cable, and the TC shoulder bag. All in mint/new condition except there's a couple very small scrapes on the corner of a bottom back edge of the amp that are barely visible.
