Using a Musicman Stingray, I made instant use of the BH250’s built-in tuner, which runs continuously, with or without the mute switch activated. Considering that this is a feature that you are pretty much guaranteed to utilise every time you plug your bass in, it remains a mystery why all bass amp manufacturers don’t include a built-in tuner as a standard feature. It’s also one less bit of kit to carry around with you.
Setting the amp’s three EQ controls to 12 o’clock, my bass and I were instantly greeted by TC’s recognisable warm, clear tone. Using the intelligently contoured tone controls, I was quickly able to tap into a wide range of tones, often from just playing around with the mid-EQ. When I dropped the mid-EQ I enjoyed a fat and funky tone. In contrast, when I cranked-up the mid-EQ, it resulted in a decidedly harder, edgier rock tone. Pretty simple stuff, but very effective.
The concerns I had over the BH250 delivering enough volume to satisfy the requirements of a small to medium- sized venue were all but forgotten after turning the master volume control to maximum. I was actually shocked at the volume generated. With the Stingray’s bottom end rumbling like Barry White gargling iron filings, I was troubling my eardrums and diaphragm more than the amp. But even at seemingly excessive volume, the tone managed to remain surprisingly tight and punchy, with the only deterioration in sound quality being very much courtesy of the SoundTech speaker cabinets struggling to keep up.
Realistically, I couldn’t seriously imagine needing to turn the master volume control much past the one or two o’clock position to cover most of the gig scenarios I’m likely to encounter. However, if you simply have to have the added security and headroom provided by an amp with Death Star- type firepower then there are plenty of alternatives on the market, complete with a higher price tag.
I’d been looking forward to trying out the TonePrint technology for some time. Downloading the free app to my iPhone took a matter of seconds and, on the TonePrint section of the app, I decided to try one of the flanger effects. As a fan of Mark King I was eager to check out his signature TonePrint, which is endearingly called ‘Sweet Minger’!
Following the simple direction on my iPhone’s screen, I held the phone’s speaker an inch from the pickup, before a ‘3-2-1’ onscreen countdown began. The effect was then beamed through the guitar’s pickups into the amp. As it does this, the phone quietly makes a sound similar to that of a fax machine, before the TonePrint’s LED light flashes on the front of the amp to indicate that it has successfully received the effect, and it’s ready to use. Then it’s just a matter of setting the level of the effect. The whole process from start to finish took about 12 seconds.
Readers who are worried that this all sounds a bit complicated and gimmicky – trust me, it isn’t. I now had Mark King’s ‘Sweet Minger’ flanger effect running through the amp and was thoroughly enjoying having ‘his sound’ filling the rehearsal studio. I swiftly proceeded with an awful attempt to replicate Mark’s bass playing.
Lots more fun followed as I dialled in Duff McKagan’s chorus tone, Roscoe Becks’ octaver tone and Michael Shuman’s vibrato tone. A word of warning, though: one of TC Electronic’s own BassDrive tones called ‘The Beast’ is inexplicably set at a volume so loud it made my speakers feed back, sending me scurrying for cover in the far corner of the studio. Attempting to turn down everything while disorientated by the equivalent of a sonic landmine is, I fear, something all unsuspecting TonePrint-using bassists will eventually experience. In fairness to the other BassDrive tones on offer, though, they all work a treat and deliver some very satisfying sounds. My only disappointment was the lack of an envelope filter in the TonePrint effects range. I asked TC Electronic about this and, without committing to a date, was told that there’s every chance of one becoming available in the future.
If and when this does happen, all you’d have to do to obtain the new effect is perform a simple app update on your phone and a firmware update for the amp via your computer or laptop using the USB lead. While TC are at it, I’m hoping they can arrange for Bootsy Collins to create his own signature TonePrint, just so we can help to keep the funk alive as authentically as possible, you dig?
Until such updates occur, I’ll still be heading to rehearsals and gigs armed with my trusty envelope filter pedal, but this is still preferable to packing half-a-dozen different pedals, complete with the requisite hardware.
Showing posts with label TC Electronic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TC Electronic. Show all posts
TC Electronic BH250 Build Quality & Features
As with most micro-amps, the BH250’s dimensions (8.7”x2.5”x9.1”) mean that it easily slips into a gig-bag pocket. And, at just 4lb (1.8kg), you needn’t feel guilty about asking anyone over the age of five years old to carry it up a flight of stairs for you.
Still, at that weight you could be forgiven for questioning what exactly the wizards at TC Electronic have put under the hood of their new bass amp head. The answer, I’m happy to report, is above and beyond what you could reasonably expect for such an unfathomably low financial outlay.
Standing on four sturdy rubber feet, this class-D amp is housed in a metal chassis with a stylish red brushed and anodised aluminum front plate, complete with built-in ‘ears’ for optional rack mounting. The front panel is home to the input socket, a gain switch for active and passive basses, a built-in tuner for four-, five- and six-string basses, a mute switch for all outputs, a master volume control, and what initially appears to be a simple set of bass, middle and treble tone controls.
I say ‘simple’, but TC Electronic’s intelligently contoured tone controls cut and boost at different frequencies (bass cut, 80Hz; bass boost, 100Hz; mid cut, 500Hz; mid boost, 800Hz; treble cut, 1800Hz; treble boost, 3150Hz), making it easier to access an effective tone to suit your own playing requirements.
TC Electronic’s pièce de résistance, however, is the integration of their superb TonePrint technology, which allows for a variety of preset effects to be beamed to the amp via a free app available on smartphones or, if you prefer, via a USB cable connected directly to a computer.
The white TonePrint knob on the front panel controls the effects’ input level, and the default setting is a warm, rich chorus. BassDrive, Flanger, Octaver, Vibrato and SpectraComp are all available to beam up as and when required. There are several variations for each of these effects, including numerous signature TonePrints, created by the likes of Duff McKagan, Mark King, Gail Ann Dorsey and Nathan East, among many other respected bassists.
The back of the amp is home to the on-off switch, the mains socket, the optional footswitch jack input, a USB socket, speaker output (Neutrik Speakon), a mini-jack headphone socket, and a balanced output XLR socket which can be set at either pre- or post-preamp. There is also a mini-jack Aux In/Rehearsal input and the amp comes with a mini-jack to mini-jack lead for connection to an iPhone or similar playback device.
The headphone socket also plays back any signal connected to the Aux In/Rehearsal input, allowing you to play along to any connected audio source at any time of day or night without fear of being arrested for antisocial behaviour.
Still, at that weight you could be forgiven for questioning what exactly the wizards at TC Electronic have put under the hood of their new bass amp head. The answer, I’m happy to report, is above and beyond what you could reasonably expect for such an unfathomably low financial outlay.
Standing on four sturdy rubber feet, this class-D amp is housed in a metal chassis with a stylish red brushed and anodised aluminum front plate, complete with built-in ‘ears’ for optional rack mounting. The front panel is home to the input socket, a gain switch for active and passive basses, a built-in tuner for four-, five- and six-string basses, a mute switch for all outputs, a master volume control, and what initially appears to be a simple set of bass, middle and treble tone controls.
I say ‘simple’, but TC Electronic’s intelligently contoured tone controls cut and boost at different frequencies (bass cut, 80Hz; bass boost, 100Hz; mid cut, 500Hz; mid boost, 800Hz; treble cut, 1800Hz; treble boost, 3150Hz), making it easier to access an effective tone to suit your own playing requirements.
TC Electronic’s pièce de résistance, however, is the integration of their superb TonePrint technology, which allows for a variety of preset effects to be beamed to the amp via a free app available on smartphones or, if you prefer, via a USB cable connected directly to a computer.
The white TonePrint knob on the front panel controls the effects’ input level, and the default setting is a warm, rich chorus. BassDrive, Flanger, Octaver, Vibrato and SpectraComp are all available to beam up as and when required. There are several variations for each of these effects, including numerous signature TonePrints, created by the likes of Duff McKagan, Mark King, Gail Ann Dorsey and Nathan East, among many other respected bassists.
The back of the amp is home to the on-off switch, the mains socket, the optional footswitch jack input, a USB socket, speaker output (Neutrik Speakon), a mini-jack headphone socket, and a balanced output XLR socket which can be set at either pre- or post-preamp. There is also a mini-jack Aux In/Rehearsal input and the amp comes with a mini-jack to mini-jack lead for connection to an iPhone or similar playback device.
The headphone socket also plays back any signal connected to the Aux In/Rehearsal input, allowing you to play along to any connected audio source at any time of day or night without fear of being arrested for antisocial behaviour.
TC Electronic’s new BH250 bass
These little boxes of dynamite may not yet be the default amps for your average stadium sized gigs, but I doubt that many years will pass before the only amp that any bassist ever needs will be the size of an old Filofax.
Danish brand TC Electronic’s new BH250 bass head is a significant step in this direction, possessing all the aforementioned qualities, and it’s now integrated with TCE’s impressive TonePrint technology.
But I had one nagging doubt. Would the amp’s 250 watts – connected to a cabinet, or combination of cabs, with a minimum impedance of 4 ohms – be enough for bassists looking for an amp able to hold its own in small-to-medium-sized venues, without burning a hole in your pocket? If so, the BH250’s price tag of just £235 seems almost too good to be true…
BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
TC Electronic’s BH250 bass amp looks good, sounds great, packs a big punch and comes with several very useful features, while the TonePrint technology serves as the icing on the cake. At just £235, I honestly had to check (twice) that this is indeed the correct price for this unit.
The BH250 is equally at home in the studio and at both small and medium-sized venues, and for many bassists, this amp will leave nothing to be desired. With this in mind, I will be very surprised if the BH250 doesn’t become a huge hit with bass-players all around the world.
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