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Sound:
Good tones and adequate volume for Jazz gigs in small venues.
This has a three button preset memory, just like the Sansamp Bass Driver, which I like... VERY useful!
The difference between this preamp and the Sansamp is, this has cooler knobs with lights.
This has more knobs. Sometimes that's a good thing... usually not.
The Sansamp doesn't require a separate foot-switch (for an extra $150 bucks) because it IS a foot-switch.
If you play acoustic upright as I do, the extra midrange controls on this are useful in acoustically challenging places, like most East-Coast Brick-Wall night-clubs. For electric bass AND acoustic, I actually prefer the simpler controls of the Sansamp.
Feature:
Well, the smart thing TC did... they "borrowed" good ideas from other proven products:
They took the suitcase handle / wheels from the Ampeg portabass,
the 3-button memory from Sansamp Bass Driver (but TC's foot-switch is $150 extra)
the multi-band compressor from Digitech. (Actually, I think TC compressor is a little trickier because it has three separate ranges)
They use a really retro but clever coaxial speaker-design from the 1960's
None of these ideas are new or original, but it is a good collection of features.
No accessories. The footswitch was an extra $150 and was not available when I got the amp. It's a nuisance to press buttons by hand when you start a solo or have a bow in your hand.
The compressor is nice for slappin'. You sacrifice some control for the simplicity of one-knob operation. My $70 Digitech dual-band compressor works just as well and has more control for different cabs and styles. This one sounds good at all moderate settings for electric bass. The compressor does weird things to acoustic bass though, especially for Arco. At high settings, (past 1:00 O'Clock) the compressor just sucks.
I really like the "suitcase handle and wheels" idea, but these wheels are too small even for this welter-weight rig. The handle is flimsy too, so don't expect to put anything on top of this or to hoist it by that handle.
Ease of Use:
Except for the missing foot-switch, this is very easy to use. TC copied some of the most popular preamps out there like Ampeg and Sansamp, so you just twist knobs and rock.
There's no compressor that's any easier to use, and this one sounds good at low settings on electric, though it is useless for acoustic bass and sucks anywhere past half-way.
Quality:
This sure looks to be well-made. They are doing some good work in Taiwan these days!
The knobs feel solid. The aluminum chassis is certainly nice looking and strong.
Personally, I don't like Class-D amps because I know what they are: a gimmick to inflate power ratings and control cone-excursion of cheap OEM speakers. Well-designed Class D amps CAN be good and they're light-weight, which is why traveling sound-companies use them, but Class-D amps are not intrinsically better-sounding. In fact dollar-for-dollar, they usually can't hold a candle to old-school amps.
You can prove this yourself by taking the direct out from this preamp and sending it to a quality Class A-B amp like my old Crown DC 300 or a Crest or a QSC amp. Power any speaker cab of your choice with both amps. A-B them back to back without changing anything else.
You will immediately learn that "Class-D" is marketing hype, a buzzword-term that few consumers really understand. In a quiet store with no noisy dancing drunks, this thing sounds HUGE. When I played it on a local rock gig, it sounded like a mosquito, even with the bass boosted and the volume full up. That's because the speakers aren't big enough to move a lot of air and the amp isn't strong enough to compensate.
I'll assume most players considering this amp don't need concert volumes and don't play acoustic, so to be fair, a seven for quality.
Value:
For half the bucks, you can assemble a better system that blows this out of the water; and THAT is at retail!
This sure is a nice-looking rig though. How much extra are you willing to pay for fashion? I think DOUBLE is excessive. However, I recognize TC electronics addresses a variety of customers. Therefore, If you:
1- don't know about amplifier power ratings, ohms, Thiele-Small parameters, enclosure-design, etc.
2- DO have wads of money from a lucrative day job or trust fund
3-Don't care about profiteering, price-gouging corporations raping the already fragile economy,
4- Are more concerned with appearance than bang-for-your-bucks
5- Are in a local weekend cover-band with a limp-wristed drummer
6- Are in a smarmy high-tech gloss band where everything goes through a PA and this is just a monitor,
THEN THIS is the bass amp to buy.
...but, If you are an informed, self-reliant, working professional musician, you can do much better for less.
Manufacturer Support:
I have had poor service from TC in the past. They are either too busy or don't have enough people. Maybe they're making videos, powering chain-saws with this amp or running over effects pedals with tanks. (The only person less responsive than a Rock Star is a Geek who thinks he is a Rock Star... or maybe a congressman...)
When I was finally able to get e-mail response, they seemed a trifle snooty too. I did not specifically have any problems with this unit, but I did have technical questions regarding the difference between this and the Staccato model.
When I pointed out that the specifications were exactly the same, and they sounded the same in the store, he became condescending as if I was deaf and stupid. No brag just fact here: I have played on more gold and platinum albums than he EVER will and I have played THOUSANDS of gigs. So I don't think I deserve that attitude when I was just asking why the Staccato is $200 bucks more.
I love Rocco and even helped pay for his new liver, but if "his" amp costs more, I want to know why in specific terms; not vague hype.
The Wow Factor:
It's pretty, and I am a sucker for good design. I wanted one so much I coughed up the exorbitant tariff, until the amp choked on the job and I choked on the price. I returned it the next day.
Throw in the foot-switch and better speakers, this would be really good at $800, questionable at one-grand. I felt like I got stung at $1400. At $1700, with no foot-switch to access the tone-presets and the cheap Eminence speakers, I'd say it is more of a new-toy, bragging-rights thing. When TC brings the price down I'll take another look.
To make this work the way it should, you'd need to buy the extra foot-switch AND an extra cab, at least another 2x10". Besides adding insult to injury, that destroys the "convenience coefficient." I built an all-in-one system that transports as easily, is the about same size but has MUCH more output with MUCH better speakers in a similar cabinet. I have everything but the fancy lights and the Euro-rounded corners for half the outlay. If you want the pretty convenient package, and you play only electric bass quietly, it's great.
If you do some homework, know your business and don't mind plugging in a few cables, you can get MUCH more for a LOT less.
Overall:
I was satisfied until I had to crank it up.
This would a good amp for session players, whenever we need a small amp. I've done thousands of sessions (some you have heard on radio and television) and prefer to carry only a Sansamp preamp and my bass. Any decent studio has good outboard compressors, though half the time, I don't need compression with my Sansamp. If I do, my little Digitech dual-band bass-pedal works well. So the compressor feature on this is a non-starter. The preamp can be used without a speaker, so you CAN use just the preamp for sessions, but then you're carrying an amp for no reason.
Most of the time for session work, the engineer doesn't want bass frequencies in the main room during tracking, and if you do overdubs, you either listen through headphones or the control-room monitors. Occasionally, in a very large studio, bass-players use an amp for "live" tracking. Except for movie sound-tracks, I haven't played many old-school "Live" sessions like that since 1982. On movie-sound-track sessions, they never let a bass-amp into the main room because it messes with the symphony cats and their multiple overhead-mics. Most studios today are small digital studios anyway so ANY bass amp is overkill. And when I fill for heavy-hitters on TV shows, the rental company brings whatever I ask for or whatever the stage manager / band director dictates.
I used this amp for a week on different gigs. I really liked it at low volume electric Jazz gigs and if it had the foot-switch, I might have considered it longer. I like the incremental rotary knobs, a useful idea that is unique to TC bass amps. Even with that, the looks and convenience, I can't justify the exorbitant price.
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