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Rating And Reviews: TC Electronic BH500 Head

Featuring exclusive TC tools such as TubeTone and SpectraComp the TC Electronic BH500 is the latest and greatest bass amp head in the 2.0 lineup.

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"All the goodies, but half the price of the fancy TC heads." submitted May 3, 2011

Overall
Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
Manufacturer Support
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: Pro
Music Style: All
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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.
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"i have a great new gigging amp! sweet tone and a solid, well built product!" submitted September 27, 2011

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Sound
Features
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Musical Background: Actice Musician, Hobbyist
Music Style: Rock, Metal, Alternative
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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!
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"so many pedals(effects), no longer needed!" submitted October 19, 2011

By a customer from hotmail.com
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Sound
Features
Ease of Use
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Value
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The Wow Factor
Musical Background: hobbyist, 20 years
Music Style: Rock, Metal, Alternative
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Sound: Sounds fantastic! for real, ive had several amps(heads) over the years. and come to the realization that i dont need a bunch of effects, just a good amp with the essentials! its all right here!! tuner, compression, presets(my own sounds - 3 of them!) i use a 2-15 cab with this and it sounds great!!! the Tweeter tone is a sweet feature, and emulates well!! tube tone is also very nice, no more flimsy sounding distortion pedal, the tubetone knob is very nice to get a great tube emulation!(i did look into buying a TUBE head, no thanks with all the weight and aggravation! awesome product! you dont need anything with it! Feature: a cable was included to hook up a CD player or stereo to rehearse with, not what i need, but is a cool extra, i love the tuner, less storage space needed in my gig bag! tubetone and tweetertone are very cool additives to a great sounding amp already! spectra comp is the biggest part of this amp, i used to use a seperate compression unit with my head, in order to get the full sound i needed(all strings at even volume) if i didnt have the compression, my high strings were so low in the mix, my sound was worthless. TC has a great answer to this!! im a month in, and i love this amp, ive gig with it once so far, and had no problems(except the fact that my post/pre XLR was set to pre, so my amp's sound wasnt being used, just my bass! lol, live and learn! oops! Ease of Use: simple, you can dial in your sound in half of a minute! remember the compression is special!! its a multi-band compressor, so for bass it will act differently than a simple pedal. and works great! it treats all your strings differently! Quality: only a 9, because ive only had it a month! but so far, it has the solidity of all my old stuff, just the same! well made, and well priced! Value: ive paid a few hundred bucks more for heads i thought werent as good, as long as it holds up, which i think it will do great, i will keep this amp head for years!! Manufacturer Support: im putting 10 for ZZOUNDS TC, i havent needed them, so i cant comment research it, you'll find what ya need to know, somewhere on the web The Wow Factor: its got a very cool look to it, probably one of the coolest looking amps ive had, the red face sets it off! but, looks, im not too worried about if i was, this amp would still be in a good range! Overall: possible another, for added power and versatility but for a regular gig, its not necessary! 500 watts should do anyone fine in a small to big club with a house PA system.
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"This amp plus a Fender 4-10" perfect match for Ohms and Power" submitted January 23, 2013

By brian s in macomb, MI
Overall
Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
Manufacturer Support
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: bassist of 25 years....currently writing and performing...
Music Style: experimental, alternative, metal, a bit of everything.....
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Overall: OK, ive had this amp for about a year and a half, give or take, you can check out my first review "i have a new gigging amp....." lots of good info there!! This amp is considered a mid line, but dont be fooled!!! its amazing!! its rated at 500 watts @ 4 Ohms, i have it paired with a Fender Rumble 4-10" cab also rated at 500 watts @ 4 ohms!!! A PERFECT match!!! it hasnt let me down yet!! i normally practice with this thing at 12 o clock! we jam fairly loud, and this will cut it!! If you are an 8-10 man, you may wanna do more research, but my setup is strictly 4-10" and i dont need anything more with this configuration! In the past i have looked for EQ pedals, and Compression Pedals, and tuner pedals......Its all here!!! you dont need all the extras! unless you really want extra crazy effects! This amp has the working bass player completely taken care of!! Tube tone is Great!!! Tweeter Tone is sweet!!! Dial in what you need and keep experimenting!! This amp should have everything you need! if not, you may want to consider a 2000 dollar boutique amp.....:):):) Every sound you need is here, plug in a decent to great bass and this amp will compliment it!! simple, effective and useful, and YES, im on a budget!! and it costs under 500 bucks?????? Just buy it!!! GK, Peavey crate, ibanez fender bass amps dont come close!!! especially for the money you pay! TC is it!!
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"This amp plus a Fender 4-10" perfect match for Ohms and Power" submitted January 23, 2013

By brian schuel in macomb, MI
Overall
Sound
Features
Ease of Use
Quality
Value
Manufacturer Support
The Wow Factor
Musical Background: bassist of 25 years....currently writing and performing...
Music Style: experimental, alternative, metal, a bit of everything.....
Back to Product Information
VERIFIED BUYER
zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.
Overall: OK, ive had this amp for about a year and a half, give or take, you can check out my first review "i have a new gigging amp....." lots of good info there!! This amp is considered a mid to lower line, but dont be fooled!!! its amazing!! its rated at 500 watts @ 4 Ohms, i have it paired with a Fender Rumble 4-10" cab also rated at 500 watts @ 4 ohms!!! A PERFECT match!!! it hasnt let me down yet!! i normally practice with this thing at 12 o clock! we jam fairly loud, and this will cut it!! If you are an 8-10 man, you may wanna do more research, but my setup is strictly 4-10" and i dont need anything more with this configuration! In the past i have looked for EQ pedals, and Compression Pedals, and tuner pedals......Its all here!!! you dont need all the extras! unless you really want extra crazy effects! This amp has the working bass player completely taken care of!! Tube tone is Great!!! Tweeter Tone is sweet!!! Dial in what you need and keep experimenting!! This amp should have everything you need! if not, you may want to consider a 2000 dollar boutique amp.....:):):) Every sound you need is here, plug in a decent to great bass and this amp will compliment it!! simple and effective!! and under 500 bucks?????? Just buy it!!!
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