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Tc Electronics RH/RS reviews


Wonky2

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Guys, I know this gear from TC is getting on a bit now but I’m trying to find some honest reviews of maybe the Rh450 combo  or an rh450 & rs 210 cab.....

 

lots of reviews and vids saying they are great but I know many don’t like them either and I’d like to hear why?

 

i currently use a Markbass LM3 head and an Orange obc210 cab.... which I truly love, but cannot carry :(

 

i dud did use the Markbass 210 traveller but want a bit more girth so switch to the orange cab. It did exactly what I wanted but I have terrible arthritis (AS) and just really struggle to move the orange cab about.  It’s not too bad , just for me it’s not too good.

 

looking at amps/combos, the slim stature of the Tc gear and built in trolley apeals but having never used one I fear it may be too dry and modern a sound for me, and perhaps lacking in “girth” 😂

 

views good and bad are welcomed.

wonky (the login kid)

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No complaints for me - and, in my view, the speaker is going to contribute more to the "girth" (or otherwise) that you're seeing.

The things I particularly love about my RH450 are its (lack of) size/weight, the built-in tuner, compressor and valve tone.  Having played with it in anger with my NEOX 212T cab, I barely tickle the power available in regular gigging use.

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I have an RS212 cab and rate it highly - excellent neutral sound, I mean it lets the amp decide how it sounds. Same HF as the 210 can be rolled off continuously by rotary on back - mid-setting is generally about right for me. Well built, nicely finished but above all excellent versatile sound and a LOT of it. I am seriously considering adding a 210 so I can use either depending or both if I ever needed those huge levels.
Never used a 450 but hi and lo mids appeals. Had a 250 and it was pretty good but EQ was too limiting. Onboard tuner really excellent and the toneprint is great, esp. if you have the pedal to go from one print to another. I used the chorus with my fretless and for a one-knob chorus they got it really good. I switched it for a Tone Hammer - prefer the native sound of the Aguilar but miss the tuner and toneprint.

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I have the Classic 450 which is similar to the RH but without some of the features. Soundwise I'm happy with it. The  tube tone and spectacomp are great. Flexible 4 band eq is enough. Powerful enough for what I need and Di'd if needed. Paired with a BF retro two10 and I'm sorted.

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1 hour ago, onehandclapping said:

I have a rh450 and use it most weeks for smaller gigs,would rather use my Trace V4 but the gigs do not warranty it.Buy extra knobs and buttons they are always breaking or cracking,tuner makes life easy ,my understand is it is actually 236 watts rms,nice unit

 

 

 

I must be lucky as my knobs and buttons are in full working order. There are two things people got in a tizz about on the RH450 - one was the "actual" power rating compared to what TC implied it was. As Alec has said, into a decent cab such as the Genz 212 or the TC 212 then you won't be lacking in power. I have used my RH450 with a Genz NEOX212 without going through the PA in a very busy large pub (a rammed Weatherspoons) and had no problem with volume.

Secondly, the RH450 rolls off the top end at (IIRC) around 6kHz. 

Both of the above issues - if they concern you - would be addressed by getting an RH750 :D :D

As others have said, the built in tuner, presets, tubedrive, compressor plus the size/weight make it a very useful and hard to replace package.

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A player who I regularly dep for has an RH750, RS210 and RS112 stack.

He was using a Genz Benz 610 and GBE 1200 prior to this. I was surprised he went for something as small as the TC but it works. He's still the loudest player anyone around here knows and gets a big, big sound as well.

I used an RH750 with my Berg cabs. Sounded great I only sold it because I bought my Thunderfunk.

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Thanks guys, really helpful.....

i think the thing with the wattage is common to most Amps these days, my little mark 3 claims 500w but obviously that’s only when under a 4ohm load.

ive looked and you don’t see much of the tv gear for sale which is a positive sign I guess.

 

i really love the old school thump and look of my black orange 210 cab, it’s a flawless sound to me and although only a touch heavier than your average bag of sand:gravel (25k) it’s just too much for my old bones.

 

i could go back to the Markbass 210 I guess but I let it go for a reason so that doesn’t feel  Favourable..... 

 

i will I’ll list my Markbass amp and orange cab for sale/swap and see what Tc gear comes up .

 

thanks again

Edited by Wonky2
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33 minutes ago, Wonky2 said:

i think the thing with the wattage is common to most Amps these days, my little mark 3 claims 500w but obviously that’s only when under a 4ohm load.

i really love the old school thump and look of my black orange 210 cab, it’s a flawless sound to me and although only a touch heavier than your average bag of sand:gravel (25k) it’s just too much for my old bones.

Class D amps are often "flattering" to their power output ratings but, as long as you don't go too low, they're ample.  Whether my RH450 is really 450 watts or whether it's the far less value that others claim, I don't really care, as it goes waaay louder than I'll ever need.

As to weight, everything's changed for bass players in the last 10 years.  While I'd normally gig with my 2x12, I'll do rehearsals and some smaller gigs with my GenzBenz STL-10T.  It's one trip from the car, but the cab is the lightest item, followed by the head, and the bass is the heaviest - since when could that ever have been a thing...

I used to love my old Trace 4x10 combo, but would *never* return to anything that weighed 60kg again!

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I used an RH450 and Rs212 for years for all my gigs, I added an RS210 to stack for bigger gigs but hardly ever used it. I loved the features on the RH, 3 pre sets, spectra comp, valve tone. I never once had any issues being loud enough. I upgraded to the RH750. In my opinion it’s a solid combo, compact with a good tone.

Since picking up my berg and Mesa head I haven’t gigged them, but that only because I fancied a change. I sold the 210 but still have the RH750 and 212 for back up. 😃👍🏻

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Great comments guys, really helpful.

i did try a Markbass 12” cab recently (122h) and hated it. It was so uncontrollably boomy, so that went.

i see skit if you use the rs2x12 cab, how does this compare to 10’s? Would i

be likely to have the same opinion of the Tc 12’s? I had pretty much decided after trying the Markbass 121h that 12” cabs just weren’t for me......

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I mostly us my TC BH550 head for the larger gigs. No complaints from me. It's a great head - though I'm using it with Markbass and / or Epifani speakers (depending on band / venue / configuration I need etc). I also have a TC BG208 combo, which is such a small, portable amp - for those smaller or acoustic gigs. If I'm completely honest, I do sometimes find them just a tad lacking in "colour" (perhaps some might call it a little "flat") - but I usually use a Dunlop Bass DI / EQ pedal, which just gives me a bit more tweakability and "bite" to my sound....

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Cheers guys, I’m about to do a deal on an rs450 combo....

i just can’t carry my orange gear anymore, plus it’s overkill for what I need.

i May miss the mark bass lm3 head I use but by all accounts above the rh450 is a great head unit.

 

 

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6 hours ago, RichardH said:

Unless later RS450s are different, I don't think it has any facility for tone printing - mine certainly doesn't!

No I didn’t think so but was wishful thinking....

im a bit apprehensive as it’s gonna be a 3 hr round trip to collect it, and there’s always the danger I’ll get there and just not like it.... still, I can only try.

since posting this I’ve read a great many reviews 99.9% of these have all been positive.

im always concerned about resale, not so much value but desirability.... what I can say from looking at sold/completed eBay sales and trekking back through sales on here, they are few and far between on the sales pages. I understand they are getting in a bit now, but hope this to be a good sign that people tend to stick with them hence few sales opportunities.

search for MB amps (which I have) and there’s stacks of sales.... 

they still retail pretty damn expensive too..

 

🙄👍🏻 

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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! 

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Well, I did the exchange today.

i was apprehensive swapping my brand new condition lm3 and orange 210 cab for something a little “used” looking, but after I got it home and give it all a clean, 5 mins with a black sharpie touching up dink’s made it look pretty damn tidy.

the swap was for an rs450c (210) and an rs112.

I initially just tried the combo, and seemed to get a good sound relatively easily, I turned down the horn on the back of the cab and it really came alive....

when I added he 112 I was just blown away by the sound.

ive owned mess, trace Elliot, ash down, markbass and this has had the best deep punch of them all.

 

cant wait to give it a run out 🙄

 

do do they do a cover for the combo with trolly or will I have to butcher a cab cover ?

 

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Used the Tc 450 combo last night with full band.....

something of a first for me was using the inbuilt compressor.... I’ve managed to play for over 25 years without one but last night I’ve got to say I was really happy with it.

it gave such a warm yet punchy well balanced sound with just seemed to sit perfectly in the mix....

 

im really happy with it 👍🏻 

Edited by Wonky2
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Guest gazzatriumph
On 16/06/2019 at 01:18, Wonky2 said:

Well, I did the exchange today.

i was apprehensive swapping my brand new condition lm3 and orange 210 cab for something a little “used” looking, but after I got it home and give it all a clean, 5 mins with a black sharpie touching up dink’s made it look pretty damn tidy.

the swap was for an rs450c (210) and an rs112.

I initially just tried the combo, and seemed to get a good sound relatively easily, I turned down the horn on the back of the cab and it really came alive....

when I added he 112 I was just blown away by the sound.

ive owned mess, trace Elliot, ash down, markbass and this has had the best deep punch of them all.

 

cant wait to give it a run out 🙄

 

do do they do a cover for the combo with trolly or will I have to butcher a cab cover ?

 

They do a cover for the combo

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