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Sound:
I have used SWR, EDEN, Markbass, and Ampeg and I am completely sold on the sound of TC products. I play Classic rock, country, jazz and also some funk and it holds up great. The Compressor works amazing, the Tube Tone sounds like my old Ampeg when I crank it up. I knew it was my amp when my girlfriend said she could hear the difference. Thats big in my book. I use 2 of the 2x10 cabs and pad down the tweeter in the bottom and run the top about half to 3/4 up. I play in lots of small clubs, and bars as well as large venues of 20K. In all the normal places I run it at 1/2 and still breaks through the 2 half stacks and drummer just fine. In the larger venue, I ofcourse run direct into the PA with absolutely no sound problems. The board guys love this amp as much as I do.
Feature:
The only thing I use outboard of this amp is my wireless system. If they built it into the amp, It would take one trip to carry all my gear. Tuner, compressor, Tube Tone emulator (that works great) and the three user presets that allow me to play on one bass, then pick up one with active pickups and switch to what I need for that. Setting up is easy. The 4 frequency boost/cut knobs can be set at what frequency you want to boost or cut. You can plug your Ipod into the inputs on back and listen through the built in headphone amp and practice along in silence.
Ease of Use:
After 10 minutes I was a master of what all it did. The TC website has youtube videos to watch on what every little thing does. I watched them all when the amp was being shipped. The only thing I would want is a power switch on the front and not the back, and have an alternate input on the back.
Quality:
I have had no problems with the amp. Wen it showed up I went over every inch of it and saw absolutley nothing wrong. I check for screws being cross threaded, knobs not put on all the way, everything. The first thing I can see going wrong with this is the Rubber feet wearing away,
Value:
To me, it was worth it. All the last amps I have owned are the ones with low value now that this is out.
Manufacturer Support:
The best support is the one you dont need.
The Wow Factor:
It is small, can fit in the pouch of my gig bag and is light. The knobs have no slash marks, but LEDs that light up as you rotate the knob. Very nice.
Overall:
The only thing at this point that I would replace it with is the next version they may come out with.
6 of 6 people
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Sound:
I've owned GK, Ampeg, Acoustic, Swr, and eden bass amps and this one destroys all of them. I was able to dial in a crisp and clear low end and sparkling top end with no problem. Once I added the tubetone I was able to get all the attitude and anger of an ampeg with out the overly low envelope that comes with leaving an svt on for 3 days and cranking all the knobs. TC Electronics truly thought of gigging musicians when developing this amp. I truly could not be happier with this amp.
Feature:
I record on a regular basis and the outputs for this amp truly do recording justice. the foot switch (which does come in handy and is worth it to get it) is very well constructed and felt like it could take a bomb hit and keep rolling. The switching buttons are the nice kind that just switch, not the kind where you have to put all your weight in to hitting it and listen for a click.
Ease of Use:
It took me all of 5 min to figure this amp out. The youtube videos help as well but it really is very natural to get going fairly quick.
Quality:
The amp feels like a tank with a sturdy metal case and rugged good looks. The lights for the controls and settings are bright so even the darkest club has no chance of making you guess if your turning the right knob.
Value:
An SVT head alone cost over $1000. This amp is few hundred less and can get the same and better tones in a smaller package. With the cabs I can take one trip from my car to the stage with no sweat needed.
Manufacturer Support:
Haven't needed it so its wonderful.
The Wow Factor:
It's shinny and new and has tone for days.
Overall:
I think the only other amp I would get is the bigger one. I've always wanted 2 8x10's on stage at the same time.
4 of 4 people
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Sound:
At low volumes through a two-ten cab, this sounds pretty good for bass... but it sounds GREAT for Jazz guitar! Tip: Don't use the TC cab with the coaxial speakers. Just buy good speakers and put them in a decent cab. The one-knob compressor is good for me cause I hate fiddling with stuff and compression hides my uneven picking... it smoothes out my playing to where I almost sound professional.
Feature:
If you need a tuner and don't already have one, the integral full time tuner is cool.
It's lighted so it's easy to read on dark stages.
The lighted knobs are also good that way.
The three-button memory is useful for certain apps; say.. switching from a funk tone to a rock tone between songs. To do that instantly though during a song you need the TC foot-switch which is way over-priced. The TC foot-switch has a redundant tuner in it. I can't see $150 bucks for three buttons on the floor. For what they're asking, they should throw that in with the deal. I used to work on radios and other electronic equipment, so I know three switches and a box are not that valuable.
The features, tones and specification are EXACTLY the same as the Staccato model, so unless you want to pay $200 more for the different color, don't waste your dough.
The amp is not really powerful. I think they hype the ratings (as many manufacturers) do by using low-ohm specs. Our weekend band isn't very loud. We don't mike the drums and the guitarist has a 40 watt, so this is perfect for our small local gigs.
Ease of Use:
This really is easy to use! The preamp works exactly like a Sansamp Bass Driver, memory and all.
The tone controls are useful and work well enough that you can get a good sound quickly with most basses.
I like the handle that's just like those on the old Ampeg porta-bass.
That's a good idea Ampeg should have kept going, but like much of the Ampeg and Crate line, they were forced to discontinue some of their best products when they were bought out by Loud Technologies.
Quality:
The head looks nice and feels well-made. The rotary encoder knobs have a smooth dampened feel.
By now, everybody knows that class-D amps are efficient and fairly reliable, but they do not really deliver the juice the way professional power amps can. I don't expect to have any problems with it, but then I don't push my gear to limits or treat it roughly. It sounds and adjusts like my Fender Rumble amp, so if it blows-up, I have a spare. This looks a lot nicer than the Rumble though and takes less space, which is important when you play in tight spaces like we do. I don't like the power switch being so close to the cable, and I hate the tiny pre-post switch which looks like it will snap off any day. So long as you're careful though, those shouldn't be big problems. They obviously spent some effort on making this head look solid and fashionable on the outside. I hope they put as much work into the guts.
Value:
Let's face it... This costs too much for what you get; but it is small, sounds decent and looks professional in a European kind-of way.
Manufacturer Support:
My son and I have had technical problems and manufacturing issues with some TC stuff in the past. The support was slow or none-at-all. When we did finally get a real human, either he couldn't speak English well or he had a snotty attitude. So far, I haven't had problems with this amp and based on past experience with TC support, I sure hope it doesn't die.
The Wow Factor:
I wanted to get this because I like being the first kid on the block with the latest toys. My wife and I are comfortably retired, so this is a small investment for my hobby. My golf clubs cost a lot more. A real working-musician might think twice about the price. My bass teacher gets the same tone from his Sansamp and a little studio 12" box. I think he uses a Crown amp and bigger speakers when he plays live. If you already have good speaker cabs, this is as good as Genz-benz, Eden or similar bass amps. Those sound as good and do all the same stuff, but this has the cool knobs and tuner! I think this has the "i want it" factor because of the neato- nifty knobs and aluminum frame.
Overall:
If you got the speakers and the wheeled cab and the foot-switch and a cover for this price, I'd say it was a fair deal. As it is, I like because the compression hides my sloppy technique and it looks neat in up-scale restaurants, so I didn't mind the exorbitant cost. I can bring just one amp to gigs where I have to play mostly bass but some Jazz guitar. The effects loop allows me to add reverb.
6 of 16 people
(37.5%) found this review helpful. Did you?
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