Home » Blog

Posts Tagged ‘test pilot’

TC-Electronic RH450 Review

July 5th, 2009 by davidsivelind

Hey! :) Hope all of you are doing just fine. Sorry for not posting earlier, I’ve been out for a long tour in Japan right now so I haven’t got that much time to give my toughts about it.

But here they are,

LIVE REVIEW:

Since we could not bring the cabs to Japan I only bringed the head, though in the special made bag for it. I know it’s just a bag but however I was stunned about it.
Pockets for cables, strings, footswitch etc. And the strap for the bag was very comfortable.

I brought that amp on my shoulders almost 20 days in a row, even though I didn’t think of it as pain at all.

When I came for a practice at a Live House in Tokyo, they had a SVT-3Pro + SVT-810E.
I tried that out of course, played a set and changed the head for my TC-RH450.

My impression was that the sound was more bumbled and not focused compared to RH-450. Our drummer is a hard smacking one so I couldn’t really get some good tone of it, and out of the lined signal that I had in my monitor. When I used the RH-450 the tone was more clean and focused, I was able to actually here what am I playing!

To the live show:

Often 4 or 5 other bands where playing at same evening, so the time table is really tight and it’s important to follow the exact time. Though I tell you, almost EVERY band I watched for 20 days (5bandsx20nights=100bands)…had a lot of equipment for the bass, like distortion, tuner, eq, compressor, linebox etc..the time table was always delayed..before I came with my TC-RH450. Since it has built in DI I did not need any linebox, just put the XLR in, put in the cable for the footswitch and my instrument cable and I was rigged. I was rigged under 30 seconds, with my own amp.

On the first shows I used the Ampeg cabinet but sometimes the singers was not able to hear the pitch because of to much bass on stage (since the stage was pretty small)..so I tried to not use the cabinet. After that, the sound on stage was much better…I used a lot of bass in my monitor and the singers used a little bit less and that worked out much better.

I know that you are now wondering, but didn’t the sound get worse when you don’t use the cabinet?

The answer is NO! The sound (according to the soundengineer) was easier to control because of that you save a lot of energy in the lows..it means it will be easier to get a good sound even on the kickdrum.

But maybe I will not trust that in every situation, I believe it’s a good way of solving a problem if it’s to loud on stage. But I’m still learning so I will be critical to every situation and I will try both ways and see which is the best!

To the playing.. I use distortion on some songs and different eq to some intros (telephone eq). Since I can use 3 presets I use 1 ordinary sound that I use as main sound, the second preset is a fat and warm distorted sound for heavy parts, and my third preset was the distorted telehone sound for intros.

I have got my tuner built in the footswitch, (that I have compared to other like boss, line 6 etc) but this is much better and defined. The LCD is really nice, was so easy to see. And I could just press the mute botton on the footswitch between the songs and when I want to tune. All built in. I start to really like this thing!

The sound…was really good. My bass sounds really good but other amplifiers usually don’t give my bass justice. This one does, it doesn’t change or modifiy the sound of the bass..it just like translate the sound from my bass. That is the sound I want, a representative sound.

But what I like most with the amp is the flexibility, everything are so light and fast.
Even the crew and famous sound engineers in Tokyo from the clubs gave me compliments for my good sound and flexibility.

I usually don’t give amps good compliments because they are often not flexible and good sounding at the same time so this is the first time for me to give an amp 5 THUMBS UP! :)

STUDIO REVIEW:

I was about to go for a studio session and record a full length album. First I tried to line into a Universal Audio LA-610, and after that into an old Neve preamp (5000dollars) and after that the TC-RH450. This may sound unbelievable but the best sounding equipment (to this pop/rock/jazz project) was the TC-RH450. I used the analog signal.

REHARSAL/CABINETS: I really like the way of the tower idea, it is good for my monitor and the drummer too. The sound is overall more controlled and not bass bumbling sound.
First I used it and tought well it sounds good and the volume is quite strong. The only thing I missed was that I did not know that I only used one, I forgot to plug in the 2/12.
Now we are talking, the sound was strong, focused and confident!

Visit my www.myspace.com/sivelind and www.myspace.com/inbloomsweden to listen at some audio recordings. And live clips from Tokyo are being posted regular (1 video each week).

In a few days you will be able to see a video clip of my personal settings on RH450 and some jamming too.

You will also be able to see a video clip of a short jam with me and drummer JR (Michael Jacksson, Prince etc), at a club in Tokyo.

If you have some feedback, thoughts or other tips about the amp just message me on myspace or add me on facebook (David Sivelind).

Thanks //David

Share this post:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • blogmarks
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • MySpace
  • Netvibes
  • Ping.fm
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Yahoo! Buzz

Some pics and news from AKADO

June 7th, 2009 by AKADO Band

Hello, comrades! :)

We’ve just dropped by to share these photographs with you!
They were made just yesterday and will be used in a big article about RH450 for InOut Magazine, Russia, which was recently written by Anatoly ‘STiNGeR’, AKADO’s electronics/samples, and Artem ‘Miomi’, AKADO’s bass-guitar and the guy on the photographs ;)

InOut Magazine is very popular in Russia. It’s common readers are musicians, sound engineers, music producers and even club owners: it’s primary topic is live and studio hardware reviews along with some artists’ interviews and sound engineering-related articles. Our article will be translated to English, adapted and posted here when we’ll have some more time – the work on our upcoming long-play album is taking all of our time and available resources.

See you later!
Good luck everyone!

Share this post:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • blogmarks
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • MySpace
  • Netvibes
  • Ping.fm
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Yahoo! Buzz

Video-Testing the RH450 w/ RS210/212 -pt 2

May 25th, 2009 by chriswillshire

Hi–here is part 2 of my video test, this time comparing the RH450 with 2 other amps.

Testing RS210 & RS212 – Part 2

(all tested w/ the TC Electronic 210/212 configuration)–

Add’l notes–

1. Gallien Krueger 400 RB III vs RH450

To my ears, the GK is too thin and midrangey compared to the RH450. . The “Tubetone” and “Spectracomp” functions on the RH really make a difference in providing a fuller tone with more balls!

2. Ampeg SVT II vs RH450

Using all flat EQ, I like the Amgeg more as it has a slightly better low end response and more warmth overall. That would of course make sense for anyone who prefers a tube sound b/c the Ampeg is a tube amp and the RH450 is not. I’m sure similar models of tube amps would provide similar results. But then, that’s without using the RH450 Tubetone feature. I did another test off camera (since the focus of the video is to compare
default amp settings) with my normal live setting on the RH450, which includes the Tubetone feature, and the results were very comparable, which is impressive considering that the RH450 is emulating a tube sound and isn’t actually a tube amp. I’d say that this feature will definitely give you your tube fix when you’re craving that warmth!

==================================================

Unfortunately, I didn’t have ability to plug a good mic into my camcorder, so all I have
on this video is the built-in camera mic. I think this comparison still serves it purpose, but
the differences I describe were much more noticeable to my ear when I was playing than
what ultimately comes across on the video. Hopefully these notes will help when the differences aren’t as obvious when watching. There were definitely some very noticeable differences though when comparing some of these models!

I also use a Sansamp RBI by Tech21 as part of my setup. It is connected pre-RH450, so it
sweetens and fattens the tone before sending it to the RH. However, for test purposes, I did not use it for this video.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have any further questions or comments, you can email me at—

basskleff@sbcglobal.net

Happy thumping!

Chris

Live @ the Key Club, Hollywood, CA

Share this post:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • blogmarks
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • MySpace
  • Netvibes
  • Ping.fm
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Yahoo! Buzz

Video– Testing the RH450 and RS210/212 speakers-Part 1

May 21st, 2009 by chriswillshire

Here’s part 1 of a 2 part video testing the RH450 w/ different cabinets and testing the RS210/212 cabinet configuration with different amp heads.

Testing RH450 – Part 1

Summary and add’l notes–

SPEAKERS (all tested w/ the RH450 head)———-

1. RS210 w/ JBL218     vs     RS210 w/ RS212

Picked groove–
Pretty close overall. Mainly just the difference between the speaker sizes.
Adding the JBLs in place of the TC 2×12 is nice and punchy.

Slap groove–
No major difference, other than the obvious addition of extra low end w/ the
18s replacing the RS212s.

I would love to see TC Electronics create an RS218 to go with the RS210!

2. RS210      vs     Ampeg SVT 410-HE

(I didn’t use the TC 2×12 in this configuration–just kept it to the 10″ cabs)

Ampeg SVT 410-HE –a bit more low end overall, but maybe due to having 4 10s vs only 2 10s.
Good overall natural EQ.

RS210- a bit more clarity on the slaps, but too midrangey for me on this default setting compared to the Ampeg.

I’m curious as to what 2 of the RS210 cabs sound like compared to the Ampeg 410, as
that would be a more even comparison. I’m sure that would compensate some for the overall midrangey-ness which I didn’t like as much.  If anyone is able to do this comparison, please let me know what you think.

3. RS210 AND RS212      vs       Ampeg SVT 410-HE
(not on the video)

Adding the RS212 makes the comparison w/ this model of Ampeg much more close than the above test w/ only the RS210. These 2 setups are fairly comparable in this situation.

The low end response of the Ampeg still holds it’s own though in this situation. This supports what I noticed above, that the Ampeg 4×10 has better bass response than the TC 2×10 by itself. Therefore, using 4 10s on the Ampeg is comparable to the RS210 and RS212.

Add’l comments–

Unfortunately, I didn’t have ability to plug a good mic into my camcorder, so all I have
on this video is the built-in camera mic. I think this comparison still serves it purpose, but
the differences I describe were much more noticeable to my ear when I was playing than

what ultimately comes across on the video. Hopefully these notes will help when the differences aren’t as obvious when watching. There were definitely some very noticeable differences though when comparing some of these models!

I also use a Sansamp RBI by Tech21 as part of my setup. It is connected pre-RH450, so it
sweetens and fattens the tone before sending it to the RH. However, for test purposes, I did not use it for this video.

I hope this has been helpful. If you have any further questions or comments, you can email me at—basskleff@sbcglobal.net

Chris Willshire of FOLIOPart 2 to follow soon!

Share this post:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • blogmarks
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • MySpace
  • Netvibes
  • Ping.fm
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Yahoo! Buzz

TC Electronic RH450 and AKADO – concert experience.

May 21st, 2009 by AKADO Band

So, AKADO ’s Iron Fist 2009 tour is finally over. As I said before, it finished in Tver, where we played our last concert and finally tested the RH450 bass amplifier, which was kindly provided to us by TC Electronic via Test Pilot program.

In fact, I had many preconceptions about non-tube bass amplifiers before that. You know, a little bit more than everybody thinks that digital and transistor amplifiers sounds very poor, have some ‘cheap’ nuances of digital sound and, in fact, will never sound like the tube ones. Well, I’m not sure if these rumors were true before this moment, as I mostly played through tube amplifiers earlier, but now I am pretty sure that RH450 will be the constant part of AKADO ’s signature live sound for a long time.

It punches through the mix like an Alien’s maggot breaks through the human’s chest to it’s freedom! We’ve connected RH450 directly to the line, not using the additional microphone-picked signal. It was enough! The sound was deep, complex and had a lot of presence the same time. Having beed warmed a little with TubeTone tube simulation, fine-tuned with compressor and EQ, and in couple with my active Esp BTL Std 5 bass guitar, it began to sound just like the ideal bass for alternative/nu-metal/industrial music in my opinion. And yeah, it’s very loud too! I think that using my current combination (RH450 head + 2xRS212 speakers) could be quite enough to use it in some small club without even connecting it to the P.A. system.

The footswitch and the presets came very handy too. I’ve already tuned three presets: the main one, which is hard and clangorous, the second one, which is more soft and smooth, and the third, separate preset for slap and tapping techniques. These presets differs from each other by their EQ, compressor, and TubeTone settings, and I’ve been using all of them on the stage. What’s about the built-in tuner – it’s very nice that it is always there and quickly available every time it is needed.

Concluding the words above, I can say – RH 450 kicks ass! It’s sound is not worse than the most tube bass amplifiers, and it’s flexibility and some features really surpasses the tube ones in my opinion. It’s now standing in our rehearsal studio again, waiting for the next gigs of AKADO. I am waiting for them too.

See ya soon!
Miomi/AKADO

Share this post:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • blogmarks
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • MySpace
  • Netvibes
  • Ping.fm
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis
  • Yahoo! Buzz