TC Electronic BH500 Bass Amplifier Head (500 Watts)

TubeTone, SpectraComp and integrated tuning technology work together to allow you the maximum in tone-shaping capabilities and high resolution sound. 8 People rated this product:

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Product Description

zZounds is an
authorized TC Electronic and TC-Helicon dealer

The TC Electronic BH500 is the newest addition to our Bass Amp 2.0 line up. Combined with the all-new TC Electronic BC410/BC212/BC210 cabinet range, it stacks up to become any rig you need - for small bar gigs, indoor rock clubs, outdoor stadium concerts, you name it!

The TC Electronic BH500 feature set leaves little to be desired with its razor-sharp, tone-shaping tools such as TubeTone, SpectraComp and bass tuned tone controls. Also, the 3 user memories let you change tone at any given time while the integrated tuner allows you to tune up silently before you rock.

SpectraComp

A conventional compressor is often dominated by the lower string, but with SpectraComp, which is taken directly from the original RH450, you get 'per string' multi-band compression that evens out the compression across all strings. In short, you get an even and rock solid tone that cuts through any mix whether you play fingerstyle, with a heavy pick or slap the strings hard.

TubeTone

The TubeTone effect was originally introduced on RH450. Most transistor designs try to replicate tube sound using one small preamp tube, but why not take the crucial characteristics of a full preamp and power amp into account? Both are essential to the sound when you want that classic tube warmth as well as when you go for a full-on overdriven rock sound with a massive punch.

Presets

BH500 can store three of your favorite tones. For instance, if you need a nice chunk of overdrive on specific passages, presets are king. Not to mention, with great sounding bass tones and seamless switching between them, you will be able to focus on the important thing - rocking out!

Built-in bass tuner

Every once in a while, you need to tune up, and whenever that happens, just let the built-in tuner guide you. It's simple, it lets you tune silently, and it gets you back to rocking in no time.

Tone Controls and TweeterTone

EQ is always a bass essential, so we have equipped BH500 with a great sounding, 4-band EQ which is perfect for shaping your fundamental tone. Further, with two contour filters you can scoop the mid-frequencies, which creates an amazing low-end punch on demand.

The tweeter control is usually located on the rear side of the cabinet, but on the BH500 you can simply adjust the tweeter level right from the front panel. Further, the sound also gets modified slightly with filters giving you a much more intelligent control over the high frequencies that are critical for giving your sound that razor-sharp edge.

Connections

Just plug and play. And for rehearsing or jamming along you can connect your portable music player to the AUX input. If you don't want to disturb the neighbors, plug in your headphones and the drivers will be muted automatically. Finally, you can send a signal to a sound-engineer via the balanced XLR output - or to an audio interface when you are recording the rock hits of tomorrow. zZounds is an authorized dealer of TC Electronic and TC-Helicon products.

Input Section

Input connector: 1/4 jack

Input impedance: 1 MOhm / 100 pF

Gain range: -96 to 36dB

Tone Control

Bass: Center Freq: 100Hz (Gain: +15/-24dB)

Low Mid: Center Freq: 335Hz (Gain: +15/-24dB)

High Mid: Center Freq: 900Hz (Gain: +15/-24dB)

Treble: Center Freq: 1600Hz @ Gain: -24 to 0dB; 4000Hz @ Gain 0 to +15dB

Tweeter Tone: 0 to 10, L-PAD Cabinet Recreation

Tube Tone: 0 to 10, Tube amp Recreation

Spectra Comp: 3 band Spectral Compression

User Memories: 3 memory locations storing all front panel controls except Mute & Master Level

Tuner: Bass Tuner, "On" when muted

Tuning range: B0 (30.87Hz) to G4 (392.00Hz)

Mute: Mutes speaker out, Phones out and Balanced out

Master Level / Headphones Output: Studio quality headphone amp

HP Out Impedance: 40 to 600 Ohm

Mains supply: 100 - 120V~ or 220 - 240V~ 50/60Hz (65W @ 1/8 of Max. Output)

Power rating: 500w (1000w Peak)

Speaker output: Neutrik Speakon

Balanced output: Balanced XLR, Pre/Post Pre-amp

Bal. Out Max.: +2dBu

Bal. Out Optimal Load Impedance: 600 Ohm

Rehearsal input: RCA, Left/Right input, fits to iPod (R)

Dimensions: 462 x 135 x 380 mm / 18.7 x 5.4 x 15.0 in.

Weight: 13 kg / 29 pounds

Finish: Tolex covered. Handcrafted wooden box

Dimensions and Weight in Packaging: Shipping Weight: 30 lbs; Shipping Dimensions: 21 x 8 x 17 in

Manual

TC Electronic and TC-Helicon Warranty

TC Electronic Warranty

If you have additional warranty questions, please call the manufacturer at 519-745-1158

zZounds is an
authorized TC Electronic and TC-Helicon dealer

Our extended 30-Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee applies on this product. Buy it, and if it isn't just right for you, return it!

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What Our Customers Are Saying About zZounds "My whole experience with zZounds was above and beyond my expectations yet again. Time after time, I continue to get great deals on the best products that move my business to the next level." - customer on May 1st, 2012

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Customer Reviews

4 out of 5 (8 ratings) Rate and Review This Product

Read all 3 TC Electronic BH500 Bass Amplifier Head (500 Watts) Reviews

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us. "All the goodies, but half the price of the fancy TC heads."

Sound: This has ALL the tonal characteristics of the pretty staccato and higher-priced TC bass heads. It's just slightly less power and in a practical package. Feature: Spectra comp ( multi-band compression) is tuned for bass, specifically thumb & pop funk. Yes it works for other instruments too. It is especially nice for jazz guitar! Ease of Use: For experienced pros, this is as easy as it gets. Quality: This is every bit as good as the more expensive TC heads. ( I look inside to check and use bench testing equipment to test output, frequency response and noise.) So, how good is that? Not high-fidelity, but very good. It is the nature of "good" sounding instrument amps to "color" sound. As part of that, frequency response is never "perfectly flat." That's OK... in fact it's a good thing. Noise is a problem. But if you are playing quietly, you won't hear much, and if you play loud as hell in a Loud band, the minor noise will be masked by other sounds. Components are typical Asian stuff, which means: pretty good, not mil-spec, but decent. Value: This has all the functionality and features of the more expensive amps TC makes, so that makes it a bargain by comparison. The truth is, Class-D amps are very inexpensive to manufacture compared to old-school class A-B amps with massive power-rails. As such, this is like all other "class-D" propaganda... cheaper stuff sold to ignorant consumers as a product enhancement, when in fact it is a manufacturing short-cut for profit. Does that mean it is bad? No. Cheap Class D amps are OK for instrument amps. They will NEVER deliver the fidelity or raw current / power of AB topology, but they are still OK for most payers in most bands. Manufacturer Support: TC has had problems with support in the past. I think they are making an effort to improve that, but so far, they still mostly rely on web=pages, FAQ's and forums. Good luck getting a knowledgeable human on the phone. The Wow Factor: The package is not as sexy as the expensive TC amps, but it does everything a professional bass amp should. Overall: Though I have had great experience with OLD TC electronic stuff, some of which has lasted perfectly since 1980, I have had issues with there digital effects and amplifiers. Since this is a Class-D amp with compression, it has some measure of "idiot-proofing" built in. So long as you use the right load ( speaker ohmage) and don't run full bore all night in a bar with no air-con, it should be OK.

Style of Music: All

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zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us. "i have a great new gigging amp! sweet tone and a solid, well built product!"

Sound: i wanna make this clear, im rating this area a 9 because im running this head through an inexpensive 2-15 cabinet! it still sounds great, but i can only imagine how crystal clear and full it will sound through a 4-10!! but this set up will be excellent for gigs! it was cheap, $429 here for the head, and a seismic audio 2-15 cab, very cheap and very portable set up! im tired of lugging around heavy stuff!!! Feature: it included a cable for hooking up a cd player, RCA jacks(stereo) to a 1/8 inch headphone jack, great for rehearsing as this was one of the features, and this cable is easy to find anywhere, its still very cool of TC to include it! also the manual and power cable......a cool sticker on top of the head to describe a few tone you can dial in to get you started, which was a nice added touch! Ease of Use: very easy to get a great sound!! this head naturally has a good bass tone without the bells and whistles, but when you start moving dials you can really hit the sweet spot of your tone! nothing else needed, no extra compression units or eq pedals, its right here!! great stuff, especially for such a great price! Props to ZZOUNDS for beating Guitar Center by $70 dollars on this price tag!! Quality: only a 9 because i just got it today, i will update later, but this head seems very solid to me!!! and ive had a bunch!! my head before this was a GK Goldline 500.....What a difference!! i needed major compression before giving the GK a shot, but now i dont need to bother! the GK had my B string booming through the ceiling while my G and D strings could barely be heard!! thats ridiculous!!! not with this head, you hear them all loud and clear! Value: ive spent plenty more on heads supposedly like this one and didnt get the quality or the value! this is a great head so far, like i said, this is the first day! Manufacturer Support: i havent dealt with TC support, but this head came to me solid, in a double box type shipment!TC box plus a ZZounds box with plenty of padding! not sure about TC's support yet, but ZZounds is kick ass!! they are my new music store! check out their "play while you pay" option!! musicians on a budget cant beat this deal!!! awesome, with no INTEREST!!! The Wow Factor: i dont know about any amp having sex appeal, but the red face is pretty damn cool! and the knobs have a smooth quality made feel, but look wise, its great, sexy, i dont know though, lol!! it doesnt have a big rack or anything, so..... Overall: the only reason, so far, that i would get another head would be to add more power, but its really not necessary, with the right cabs, this amp is a solid winner!

Style of Music: Rock, Metal, Alternative

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Read all 3 TC Electronic BH500 Bass Amplifier Head (500 Watts) Reviews