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Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 11:51 am
by cassius987
I am really itching to try this inexpensive little cab--seems like a lot of bang for the buck, probably great for smaller gigs and maybe even larger ones with the right kind of support. TonePrint is an exciting concept I have not tested. I find TC's tuners to be very trustworthy and I already know I like their simulated tube sounds. EQ voicing seems sensible (80/500/1800). Best of all I believe all of the onboard features including TonePrint are footswitchable. Anyone had a crack at this yet?

http://www.tcelectronic.com/bg250.asp

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:35 pm
by woodyng
Looks pretty cool,did not see a price on that link....
Ermmm,the link i saw was for a 1-15 combo,not a cab....

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 2:46 pm
by cassius987
Yes woody, the cab is part of a combo, and if you do some Google searches you will see it's pretty budget friendly.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:04 am
by fatcat
MF prices them @ 399.99 weight 35 lb power 250 wt.
The control location at the rear of the top puts me off.
It's on my gawk list for my next GC visit.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 10:44 pm
by johnallg
fatcat wrote:MF prices them @ 399.99 weight 35 lb power 250 wt.
The control location at the rear of the top puts me off.
It's on my gawk list for my next GC visit.
Our GC has sooooo little bass equipment. You have to buy it to have one shipped in to try. :roll: :evil:

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 12:21 am
by cassius987
That surprises me John, GC is one of the first places to come to my small(ish) Missouri hometown that brought a decent bass selection (i.e. not just the bog standard variety of Fenders and one or two amp companies that outsource heavily).

I hope to get to try one of these very soon. Most of what I have read has been highly positive.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 12:36 am
by T28
Premier Bass in Louisville had one last week ( and some AMAZING basses).

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 1:01 am
by fatcat
johnallg wrote:
fatcat wrote:MF prices them @ 399.99 weight 35 lb power 250 wt.
The control location at the rear of the top puts me off.
It's on my gawk list for my next GC visit.
Our GC has sooooo little bass equipment. You have to buy it to have one shipped in to try. :roll: :evil:
Not that I really expect one to be there;I stopped by the nearest branch to see something that their website stated was in, and no it wasn't there,but worse yet I got a rude treatment for asking for it.Like they couldn't be bothered to help me.
I hate GC, but it does have it's uses.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:29 am
by woodyng
Most every gc i've ever been in has had a dazzling array of basses i don't want.... :twisted: :lol: 8)

But they do carry Markbass products,so there I go.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 9:24 pm
by johnallg
cassius987 wrote: (i.e. not just the bog standard variety of Fenders and one or two amp companies that outsource heavily).
That is an exact description of the GC here in the Zoo..... :evil:

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 9:31 pm
by johnallg
woodyng wrote:Most every gc i've ever been in has had a dazzling array of basses i don't want.... :twisted: :lol: 8)

But they do carry Markbass products,so there I go.
We have one little Markbass single speaker cab and a LMII head. Lots of Acoustic amps and cabs (wait, that is their line of stuff!) and most of the Ampeg amps/cabs age gone. One display of G-K. A couple Fender Americans, lots MIM and Squier, a couple Schecter, one Icon, a Bongo and StingRay, you get the idea.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:48 pm
by cassius987
johnallg wrote:
cassius987 wrote: (i.e. not just the bog standard variety of Fenders and one or two amp companies that outsource heavily).
That is an exact description of the GC here in the Zoo..... :evil:
:(

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 9:21 pm
by cassius987
Tried one out today at the GC in Centennial, CO (conveniently located next to IKEA for bored husbands...). It's a great amp, and I'll try to break it down as best I can:

Tuner
On plugging in this is the first thing you notice. The tuner has a very rapid response to your playing and seems pretty accurate--TC have already shown themselves to be pretty adept with tuners so this is no surprise. Technically it's tuned to certain frequencies but it clearly recognized octaves, so tuning drop D would not be a problem, etc.

Volume
Gain and peak LED are bog-standard but function exactly as you'd hope them to, and most importantly, this thing gets loud! It's got a deep voice for such a small, featherweight cab (35 lbs or so). The natural voice seems to favor just a touch of low mids, probably resonance from the porting, so you feel even the lowest notes quite well. This little guy is no wimp. I don't know what the frequency response is but I'm sure it can handle a 5-string just fine.

EQ
I have to say this is the first time I have ever really LOVED an amp's EQ section, and such a simple one at that. I guess the way it works is the cut acts on slightly lower frequencies than the boost for each control, and the result is that the entire EQ is extremely ear-friendly. Typically I find the high EQ to be less than useful on lots of cheaper amps but there was no tweeter hiss whatsoever and even at full treble boost and the sound is actually quite useable (I read the boosted frequency is around 3.5 kHz which is pretty "low"--I think this is why I like the EQ so much). I found a slight boost in bass and treble with a small mid cut made for a great deep rock bass sound. I am having a hard time finding the right words to describe the mid control other than, "It worked great." The dual frequency nature of the boost/cut was especially apparent with this control. To sum up, the EQ was a real standout about this amp for me.

Tubedrive
This is footswitchable, which is the only complaint I have about the one on my TC Classic 450 (it isn't--but shouldn't they always be??). But in this case, I am not sure if the tube simulation is the same or modified, the sound of the drive is not as aggressive or gritty as the one on my Classic 450. It could be a matter of low output or other settings--I don't like to play at concert levels at GC out of politeness--but I also just think the drive was tamed or modified to get it to work well with the cab; makes sense, but I miss some of the fuzz-like aggression at the upper end. For those of you who like a little conservative dirt on your sound, it's likely to be a hit. As for me, I will probably still need my Tall Font Russian and Swollen Pickle for some gigs.

Toneprint
Luckily I had already installed the app for this on my phone and was able to use it a great deal for this demo. The stock chorus sounds pretty awful (I think), but lots of other choruses available on the program did a much better job. You point your phone at your pickup and the resulting frequencies are sent to the amp, which changes over to the new effect in less than 5 seconds. I probably tried upwards of a dozen effects before I was finished. All in all I tried several of the drives, choruses, flangers and octavers but didn't get to any of the compressors or vibratos. In general the effects were very useable and easy to dial in (all you have to worry about is the level after all), but many also tended to be quite subtle in nature. Then there were a few that really "popped" for me like Nathan East's chorus. A lot of the drive effects seemed redundant with the tube simulator and produced very similar sounds. I was actually pretty pleased with several of the flangers (Gail Anny Dorsey's stood out) and octavers (Roscoe Beck's is great). With the likelihood of continued updates to the Toneprints available and a plethora already out there this seems like a strong feature that will continue to get better, but one that also requires a lot of experimenting. My biggest concern is that even when turned up to stage monitor levels many of the effects will remain too "subtle", but even then I give this feature lots of credit for its flexibility.

I really didn't have a chance to play with anything else other than the mute, although speaking of that I will say all the controls (mute included) were dead silent which was nice.

When my "insider" at GC gets back in town in a couple of weeks I'm going to pick one of these up at a cheaper rate, and after a while I'll try to report back and let you all know how it goes in case anyone else might want to acquire one of these. Thanks for reading.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:24 pm
by walker
That's a great review, Josh; thanks for posting. The Toneprint technology is sure intriguing. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Fortunately, I'm not wont for any additional effects. And knowing me, I'd go crazy exploring new effects and be in perpetual explore mode for God knows how long.

Allgaier - I heard that the GC near Union Square here in NYC has pretty much liquidated it's entire bass room. Hardly any basses or amps left. ????? In synth bass really taking over the market? I can't see an entire populous just suddenly lose interest in playing bass! I think a lot of places that sell used gear are going to be enjoying more bass business.

Re: Any bassists had a chance to check this out? (TCE BG250)

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:12 pm
by johnallg
walker wrote:That's a great review, Josh; thanks for posting. The Toneprint technology is sure intriguing. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. Fortunately, I'm not wont for any additional effects. And knowing me, I'd go crazy exploring new effects and be in perpetual explore mode for God knows how long.

Allgaier - I heard that the GC near Union Square here in NYC has pretty much liquidated it's entire bass room. Hardly any basses or amps left. ????? In synth bass really taking over the market? I can't see an entire populous just suddenly lose interest in playing bass! I think a lot of places that sell used gear are going to be enjoying more bass business.
Story never changes. No respect.