SamPlaysBass

Did a deal with Stew in a dodgy service station... he was brilliant to deal with! Traded my CTM 100 for a high quality bitsa Jazz. Amazing comms, met at a time that was great, met halfway. If Carlsberg did basschatters! (Stew is actually much nicer than Carlsberg, FYI). 10/10 would meet in a similarly dodgy car park to trade again.

I had the same scepticism before buying my RH450. I’d bought two RS112s and powered them with various heads that I bought and sold on. Had a good bit of success with an LM3, but when I bought the RH450, you can tell these amps and cabs have been designed to work together. Very loud, a slight bump in the low mids naturally (which can be dialled out if needed), and just a great sound. I’ve also owned a BH250 in the past and that was vastly underpowered and lacking in any clout unless going through the PA. The RH450 doesn’t suffer with this. Favourite parts are the ability to move to EQ centres and boost/cut frequencies that actually make a positive impact on sound, the preset buttons set up for ‘your sound’ which you can then tweak for the room, and the tuner is handy, as well as just sounding great. More amps need these points. RS cabs will always sound great, they are very underrated and undervalued as TC is no longer flavour of the month. So far, the negatives are few and far between; it’s heavier than more modern alternatives, parts are expensive to replace (or TC don’t stock a great deal of spares and ship them when they have enough demand, but this shouldn’t be a make or break situation!), and when I’ve used the RH450 through lesser quality cabs (I.e. rehearsal room offerings) the sound has seemed more bass-heavy and boomy. The RS cabs seem to negate this by being so clear and concise. In short, I preferred the RS cabs to the Barefaced Super Compact and Ampeg SVT 410 HE I’ve owned previously, and the head matches well with the cabs with plenty of volume, guts and definition. Go for it!

I’ve owned a TecAmp Puma 900 and it was incredible for the 2 weeks it worked. Shame that it kept dying or going into protect mode. I ended up with my money back but a bit gutted that it didn’t work. If they weren’t £700+ brand new, definite contender. I think I’m looking closer to £500 as an absolute maximum.

Reading back over this thread and I missed this at first glance - the Reidmar 750 seems particularly good value for money. Even more so, the Reidmar 502 is under £400! Any idea how ‘loud’ they are compared to their watt ratings? Before the can of worms starts bubbling, I’m fully aware that loudness and watts are not necessarily related. What I’m trying to decipher is: are the Reidmars capable of producing a similar amount of power as other amplifiers (such as my RH450) or are companies playing marketing games? Will a Reidmar 502/500 be as loud as my RH450, and is the 750 as loud as you expect it to be?

My apologies, this is what I meant - worded much more elegantly than my attempt. Every amp I’ve owned has had a DI with a pre/post switch. Seems strange that Quilter didn’t put one on theirs.

I debated this this Post-EQ DI conundrum with a local sound guru who often finds himself behind the console for our gigs. He works for Midas and does some pretty extraordinary sound stuff day to day, and his advice to me was something along the lines of: “Send me the cleanest signal you can. What you think sounds good on stage sounds sh!te out here.” Followed this advice and it’s served me well. Ideally, I’d like to send the pre-EQ signal out and it not be affected by volume differences or anything. How come Quilter didn’t put a volume control (or to that effect) on their DI? Seems a bit strange as the rest of the amp seems monstrous.

Wise gurus of Basschat! LukeFRC what’s the technical reason behind that? Or is it witchcraft?

If love to, but I don’t think I could part with a grand for a head. I’d love to try one though!

Cheers Loz, valuable insight yet again. I find the Markbass stuff generally too top end sheen-y when all is flat, but quite usable with the (stupidly high) treble frequencies rolled off to 9 o’clock. I’ve briefly used an Aggie TH350 and those sweepable mids really impressed me. I prefer that vintage slap sound (Larry Graham, Pleasure, Brothers Johnson, Chic) and the Aggie nailed it, albeit through a Markbass 1x15 cab at low volume. Going through 2 12s at full chat may be a different kettle of fish!

I’m glad you said. I was curious about the DI as I’m not 100% about it having a ground lift either? Please correct me if I’m wrong! Lots of positive reviews on the whole though, but I’m largely reliant on the DI. The output being dependent on the volume doesn’t seem ideal. Like you said, a separate DI would be the way to go.

Something's wrong with my head. But anyway, I need a new bass amp. My trusty TC RH450 has developed an intermittent fault where it stops sending the signal to the power amp. The best fix has so far been a bit of 'percussive maintenance' but I can't see it holding out much longer. Shame, because I really liked that head. Anyway. I'm looking for a small head with a fair old whack of power to tame even the most grizzly and inefficient cabs that festivals and gear-shares have to offer. It needs a wicked DI and a little tone shaping, but other bells and whistles I'm not too bothered about. So, which of the following? Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, Markbass LMTube 800, or Quilter Bass Block? I've owned a Markbass LM3 before and enjoyed it. Very bright through my TC RS112s, but utterly reliable if a bit... boring. There's a Markbass distributer 5 mins from my house - good support. I've tried Aguilar and loved it. A friend of mine runs a music shop that could sort one (or if I sweet talk him, he may even sell me his own personal one, but I'm doubtful!). 40 mins from my house. Quilter Bass Block. I've read about it and it seems amazing, but I've never tried one and probably won't until I buy one. Price is good on Thomann at the moment but I worry about support if something goes pop. Any experiences, A/B's on the above are welcome, and so are suggestions. I'd like to buy as new as possible to retain some warranty or support. It needs to be deep and rich for soul and slappy funk.

I like Markbass gear even if it isn’t perfect. The classifieds have been a God send when I’ve bought and sold MB stuff. Has anyone else noticed the price of the new MB stuff from retailers slowly going downhill? You can get a brand new 210 Standard HF for £389. That’s cheaper than a lot on the classified/Marketplace. I hope the heads come down in due course. Source: https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/markbass-standard-102hf-4-2x10inch-bass-400w-speaker-cabinet/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlduLguz_4QIVSbXtCh3v5QIeEAQYAyABEgKC0vD_BwE

Return - that shouldn’t have happened! If you’ve got proof of purchase TC are good to deal with. Try the retailer and TC direct - hopefully you’ll be able to sort it between them.

I’ve had this experiende myself - I bought the RS112s years ago from Thomann when they were cheap. Kept them as backups but they always had more use than any barefaced or Ampeg cab I had and sold on. They’ve always stayed. Maybe I should try an Aguilar shaped head first...

Hi guys, In the next few months, I’m looking to upgrade my TC RH 450 and two RS112s to something a bit more Aguilar shaped. Ideally, an AG700 or TH500 head on top of two 1x12 cabs. Sonically, what are the qualities (or differences) between the lightweight SL series and the DB series? I see GS cabs floating about the classifieds as well, how do they stack up? My priorities lay with size as I have limited storage and transport space. Weight is less of an issue - modern 1x12 cabs don’t weigh tonnes and I won’t be moaning about a few kilograms. Or any other cab suggestions entirely? I can hear the ‘just be done with it and buy Barefaced’ but I’ve been down that route and it’s not for me. I’m pretty set on Aggie but unless someone can suggest otherwise. I play an American 5 string Professional Jazz trying to sound like Paul Turner (with 1% of the talent), with lashings of MM StingRay and a P bass with flats. I play an even split of DI to FOH with cabs for monitoring vs playing old social clubs and bars without any PA support.

Markbass Nano is, in my experience, louder than the TC BH250 and just as dainty. Every time I’ve used a Nano, I’ve been very impressed. However, TC has the toneprint features which are half decent and good fun. Trace Elliot Elf isn’t too shabby either, and laughably small. I know none of these are valve-y, but small things don’t tend to be. Wildcard offering could be the Bugera BV1001T - a small-ish valve pre-amp class D? In terms of driving the speaker in the combo, you can unplug the speaker cable and power from the combo head and just plug them into the back of your spare head. The speaker cables on combos generally aren’t massive, so you may have to ‘perch’ the spare head precariously on the back of the combo. You could always unscrew the combo head if you’ve got time and slot in the spare one!

Regarding if TC are replacing the RS line - I’ve been emailing TC support looking for some spares for my RH450 and enquired about any new series or updates to the RS series. As far as the person I emailed was aware, they are not looking to update the series, and they don’t seem to be giving any clues away if they’re going to be replacing it either. Shame, as they are great amps and cabs. The design is over 10 years old now, but still some of the best I’ve ever used. On a side note, did anyone else notice that all the TC pedals dropped quite suddenly in price on Thomann in January? They seem to have gone back up now, but TC must’ve been having a big clear out.

+1 for EMG Geezer Butlers. I had a Squire Chris Aiken P bass which I bought as a project off Facebook. The previous owner had made his own loom and wasn’t the best with a soldering iron, so the tone pot didn’t work and it wasn’t great. Whacked in the GZR set as it came with a new solderless loom. Installation was easy, pots feel good and the sound... a fantastic, rich and slightly dark sounding with a big vintage nod. A fantastic upgrade with a very noticeable improvement in sound. Very pleased.