hogbob

From the list of amps you mention I would deffinately go with the RH450 ... It is the most tube-sounding SS amp out the IMO ... The Tubetone sounds great and you can vary the amount of tube-emulation from nothing to "i'll blow you speakers NOW" - regardles of the volume. The other SS amps you mention is way more "hi-fi" where the RH450 is much more vintage - even with the Tubetone off...

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1319396096' post='1413665'] I believe the presets save everything except the master volume. [/quote] Correct ... or you could say that everything that has leds around the dial is saved - even whats behind the "shift" button

I have owned the RH450, The Staccato 51 and the RH750, AND the Markbass F1, and a Markbass SD800 .... The RH 750 gets my vote HANDS DOWN - NO COMPARISON... Reasons are: The "Classic" sounds identical to the RH450 when the 450 EQ is set flat, but the RH450 has LOADS more tweaking possibilities than the Classic. The Staccato has IMO too much baked in voicing that boosts the lows A LOT and really opens the the top end needed for a more "Marcus Miller" - slap tone. But IMO especially the boost at the lows are too much. I found myself using the head with the bass knob turned all the way down at all times - running with 3 xRS210 cabs. As your RS212 tends to add even more lows - and your described desired tone goal - I am pretty certain that you will find it too much in the lows as well The reason the RH750 IMO wins is for a couple of reasons: 1: the headroom is simply better - and that will help for your kind of music style. 2: The addition of the "Tweeter tone" (not present on ANY of the other mentioned heads) makes this head even more versatile. You will simply get an amp that can sound like anything from a treble-free growling tube - old school amp to a modern HiFi slap tone Amp and anything in between. Having said that I'm pretty certain that from the style you describe, you will be able to find "your sound" having the tweeter tone turned almost all the way down - and having the tone controls set pretty much at noon, and then maybe some "Tube Tone" added.. REGARDLESS what you choose - ALL the mentioned TC heads will sound louder than any Markbass 500 - 800 w head - regardless what Lab-tests has shown recently. Thing is that the output is shaped to match you cranking of the Amps, so the TC heads are actually the fist SS amps I have ever tried that actually sounds good when pushed past their "abilities". The tone just get more and more growling and "Tube Like" when the juice run out - and Yes you can crack a RH750 all the way up with your 2 cabinets without danger. The Markbass heads mentioned (and Mesa Boogie and Gallien Krueger and , and, and) on the other hand do not shape the tone when pushed over the edge. They start clipping instead and THAT sounds awful AND THAT destroys your speakers. So ... GET the RH 750 ... It is IMO right now the most versatile head on the market, it has LOADS of Volume on board AND it has a lot of very addictive features like memory presets, Parametric EQ, built in very fast tuner, a brilliantly sounding compressor and probably the best sounding Tube Emulation on the market as well. Only downside of the 750 is that the fan is going all the time. Not fast and not loud - so you will not notice it at all when playing with the band - but it IS going (not the case on the Classic, RH450 and Staccato. Their fans will only go if REALLY pushed far for a long time) For this reason I stick to my GK MB 500 for practicing in the living-room at home

The limiting of the RH450 will help you - and you won't break anything by cranking it all the way.... but I would seriously buy another RS210. That way you'll get the volume you need and the amp will perform way better with double surface and 4 ohms load instead of 8

These are two very different animals so it depends hugely on your own preference However IME the tc AMP is to be preferred if you play in bands a lot. IME it will Cut better through the mix For playing alone i would however take the MB head as it is clearer and more natural in its baked in voicing

I have 3 x Rs210 and love them. Sometimes i use 1 along with a rs112 Sometimes i use 2 stacked vertically But mostly i use All 3 One downside: they are relatively sensitive to scratches and marks, so the available covers are more like mandatory than optional if you move Them around often

Yes !

Yes - saw and heard it in Denmark i while ago with 2 rs410 It was during a show so it was not turned up very high , but regardless the authority of the tone was INSANE - unbelievable ! 1600w / 4500 w peak IS INSANE

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='1072079' date='Dec 29 2010, 09:04 PM']Just a quickie - if I use a 500 watt head into a 1,000 watt 8 ohm cab (therefore receiving approx 300 watts max) cause any problems with the cab?[/quote] No

[quote name='Floyd Pepper' post='1036083' date='Nov 25 2010, 12:22 PM']Didn't Mark King use TC on his last tour?[/quote] Yes I have heard that as well, but I suspect this would work good with the line out set at PRE -EQ ... Then the soundguy have the output from the Bass efter effects to make the sound right through the PA .... No doubt the output from the Amp is very far from what the Mark King sound usually is.

Hi Matski Well - I'm one of them - I ended up with the TC Staccato 51 instead My short review of RH450 Build in compressor - BRILLIANT - and the best compressor I've ever used Tubetone - BRILLIANT - It wil go from clean sound through "Ampeg-Sound" all the way to "my speakers is just about to blow-sound" Build in tuner - BRILLIANT - super fast and accurate Presets - BRILLIANT Parametric - EQ - BRILLIANT - However ....(read on) Power : TC claims 450W/800W Peak. My previous amp was Markbass SD800 - claimed 750W ... The RH450 is LOUDER Weight and Size - BRILLIANT The possibility to use the Amp with 3 TC cabs - BRILLIANT - You can have a single 112 for rehearsing all the way to 3 x 410 cabs !!! Then what is there NOT to like... Well - the tone is old-school... I actually think that this amp has more personality in the tone than most others. The single thing that made it a no-go for me is the low pass filter. The excact frequency it kiks in is a little unclear - Some say 5.000 HZ - others say 6.300 HZ... However - regardless- the result is clear. If you are looking for high frequency sizzle - Marcus Miller'ish tone - or for that matter a Mark King'ish tone - you simply won't find it - regardles how much you dial on the knobs. And regardless what you put in front to boos the high-end treble - it will not matter. The frequencies are simply CUT somewhere in the amp. However - if you prefer a more old-school sound - it is perfect The Staccato 51 is to my undestanding identical to the RH450 when it comes to hardware (apart from the colour of the cabinet). The deafault tone has a lot more low end and some extra high end as well. THIS is not for me and I find myself turning th e bassknob and the treble down a lot on the S51. BUT - the S51 do not have the low pass filter, so the higher frequencies are THERE - and that is what I wanted. The Parametric EQ is also quite different - primarily on the treble control. The RH450 has default @ 1600 HZ - and if you turn it all the way up it works @ 6300 hz... The S51 has default @ 6300 HZ and if you turn it up it works @ 10.000 HZ .. This makes the treble control quite different, - but in my view it IS treble on the S51 , where the treble on the RH450 (at least at default Para setting) is more like a rather high mid-control.. Well in short - if you like an Old-School sound - go for the RH450, but if you prefer a more modern sound - you'll propably prefer the Staccato 51 IMO - If "they" removed the Lowpass filter from the RH450 (or made it user selectable) and widened the range of the parametric EQ on the treble-knob the RH450 would be perfect. Hope this helps - sorry for my spelling

Dood - I'm with you regardig featureset - I own a S51 after having tried the RH450. I primarily didn't like the low pass filter that cuts everything abobe 5khz.. To me the Blacksmith will have value if this Lowpass filter is gone or the treble works as on the S51 - og maybe something in between - or as you suggest - user selectable I was the poster on TB and saw the Blacksmith live - and took the pic. They demo'et it with two RS410 cabs. It was at an exibiton with a lot other vendors - so they didn't really turn it up. I never saw the master volume above 3 - but regardless the authority of the tone was simply unbelievable. But no doubt the Blacksmith will be totally overkill for most - unless you play heavy metal on a HUGE stage.. I lifted it - in one handle - and my guess is that we are talking under 20 lbs.. No doubt this is "just" a lot more class-D compared to RH450/S51 I was informed that it was a prototype - and the only one produced in the World... I hope they do it right with the low pass filter on the production model - as I undestood that the Prototype indeed had the exact RH450 featureset - apart from white LEDs instead of the red ones Regardless I hope I can resist the GAS - because I really don't need the extra power. My S51 is more than enough for my use

The picture of the Blacksmith was not pulled It is here [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=681075&page=14"]Talkbass link[/url] Info @ post #269 and pic @ post #274 And no - it is not 900wattish .... But 1.600w in 4 ohms