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.
Thoughts on TC Electronics.
- Thread starter sxwr
- Start date
Today I noticed strange thing. TC does not tell sensitivity for their cabs, or did I miss something? I´m about to sell my EBS 311 cab to get myself RS410, which I´ve heard to be good match with RH and BH amps. But what is sensitivity? 104 db for EBS and ???db For TC.
And I know and I don´t want to start discussing about amp wattages at all.
For some reason, EBS are inconsistent regarding the specifications on their cabs. Some are honest, even down speced a bit, while some other are exaggerated (although not alarmingly so).
I have had a number of different EBS cabs, including the 311, and I think I would rank their sensitivity like this (from highest to lowest): ProLine 410, 311, 15F, NeoLine 212 and ProLine 210.
This order is (roughly) to be expected, considering the speaker area, box size and selection of transducers. The 311 has lots of "articulate" mids, which makes it seem louder to the ear, but as a whole, it is basically a single 15" woofer cabinet.
I've written about this before, and I did try a couple of the TC bass amps, which I found to be adequate and decent-sounding, but not enough to steer me away from EBS, or my latest acquisition, a Genz Benz 210 slanted amp.
However, I would give TC Electronics more credit had it not been for the terrible customer service my former employer experienced with getting Lab Gruppen amplifiers serviced.
In 2000, we bought 20 of the Lab Gruppen FP6400 amplifiers. At the time, they were setting the bar for pro sound amplifier performance and light weight. TC Electronics was (and still is, I believe) the US distributor for Lab Gruppen and hence, handled getting the Labs serviced.
In the 13 years I was around, there was only 3 occasions when we needed service on Lab amps, which, for 20 amplifiers and in the Kombat Audio world that they lived and worked in, that's quite a respectable service record. However, it was a nightmare experience getting a response from someone to get an RA and a location to send the amplifiers to. The 3rd time, we found a fellow in customer service who was familiar with our experience and gave me his personal mobile phone number to get in touch with if we ever had any more problems. That was the saving grace and we are grateful to that fellow that stepped up above and beyond the call to help us.
However, I'm still dubious about TC's service policies and ability to service their products (even though they weren't directly responsible for manufacturing the Lab Gruppen amplifiers). And all this was long before TC was acquired by Music Group. My experience with Music Group's service policies has been great (an Behringer X32 that had water dumped on it. They examined it for free and even shipped it back to the customer no charge). So maybe their service will improve under Music Group. Or not.
For me, with this experience in mind, there's too many other great amp choices out there to risk having a hard time with service from a TC Electronics product.
However, I would give TC Electronics more credit had it not been for the terrible customer service my former employer experienced with getting Lab Gruppen amplifiers serviced.
In 2000, we bought 20 of the Lab Gruppen FP6400 amplifiers. At the time, they were setting the bar for pro sound amplifier performance and light weight. TC Electronics was (and still is, I believe) the US distributor for Lab Gruppen and hence, handled getting the Labs serviced.
In the 13 years I was around, there was only 3 occasions when we needed service on Lab amps, which, for 20 amplifiers and in the Kombat Audio world that they lived and worked in, that's quite a respectable service record. However, it was a nightmare experience getting a response from someone to get an RA and a location to send the amplifiers to. The 3rd time, we found a fellow in customer service who was familiar with our experience and gave me his personal mobile phone number to get in touch with if we ever had any more problems. That was the saving grace and we are grateful to that fellow that stepped up above and beyond the call to help us.
However, I'm still dubious about TC's service policies and ability to service their products (even though they weren't directly responsible for manufacturing the Lab Gruppen amplifiers). And all this was long before TC was acquired by Music Group. My experience with Music Group's service policies has been great (an Behringer X32 that had water dumped on it. They examined it for free and even shipped it back to the customer no charge). So maybe their service will improve under Music Group. Or not.
For me, with this experience in mind, there's too many other great amp choices out there to risk having a hard time with service from a TC Electronics product.
