TC rh450

[Kevin Dean]

i've just been asked if I would like to swap my MB little Rocker 500 for one of these , & just out of interest do you guys think this is a good swap as i know nothing about this amp . cheers .

[Lozz196]

I`ve not used one, but I`ve had a TC Classic 450 and was very impressed, an incredibly versatile amp. The RH goes better due to in-built tuner and the pre-sets. Plus the Spectracomp and Tubetone really add to the amp, you can go from crystal-clear slap sounds to Lemmy-filth in moments.

I`m a Markbass nut, absolutely love their gear/sound, but have to say if I were a session musician I`d probably go for a TC set-up. It`s down to need I think, if you`re perfectly happy with your Markbass sound, and only use one sound, no need to swap, but if you need a bit more versatility from your amp, check it out.

[Kevin Dean]

The only thing that I've heard is that the buttons on the TC crack . That's interesting what you said about the sound because i do have to go from a piano type tone to a Sranglers type sound .

[hamfist]

I have not played a Markbass little rocker. but have owned an RH450, which was a good amp.
IMO, the tubetone facility on the RH is awful. The vids I have seen of the MB amp show it has a way, way better dirty tone (if needed) than the RH. The tuner on the RH is good, the compressor is good in it's own way but does not do subtle. Even on it's minimum setting it was more than I wanted. The 3 tone memory slots are very useful.
The EQ on the RH is pretty comprehensive but is has a dark top end. You will not get sparkle out of it.
Definitely play one before committing. If it were me, I'd stick with your current amp.

[Kevin Dean]

Thanks for that , Just out of interest what amp do you use now ?

[hamfist]

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1373837206' post='2142174']
Thanks for that , Just out of interest what amp do you use now ?
[/quote]

If the question was for me, I use a GK MB500. It's straightforward, and great at what it does. The EQ is ample. The attack of each note is significantly punchier and more instant than pretty much every other amp I have used. For me it's a superb base for pedals.
I use pedals for all my dirt, as I am incredibly fussy on that score. THe Barber Gain Changer for low drive, then that signal fed into a Fuzzrocious Demon King in a blender pedal circuit for "more", or the GC fed into a Bass Big muff for proper all out fuzz.

[IanA]

Stick with the Markbass, very nice clean to growly usable bass tones that can sound great set flat with many different basses and cabs. Rh has great feature set but looses out on the high end due to its permanent high pass filter.

[Stejohn]

I would go for RH450 if I were you. I didn´t ever had Little Rocker, but Little Mark II was my previous amp and now I have Staccato´51...both are great, but for me tc wins because of its features. It´s true that tubetone isn´t very good if you want to make some very overdriven sounds, but if you only want do make your sound dirtier, it works great in my opinion. To achieve overdriven sound I use my B3K and combine it with lightly overdriven setting on my head.
3 presets are great if you use more than one instrument. Those presets are saved and doesn´t matter what do you do with knobs on your amp while moving it. You set your amp, press buton and you have your sound everytime and everywhere...so no sound laborating before every gig. Built-in tuner is great feature in any case.
I have my tc head more than year and half and there was no problem with it.

I would recommend you to compare sound character and versatility and if you like both, go for tc because of additional features.

[molan]

Used an RH450 at a gig once and it was a complete tone sucker. Absolutely the worst on-stage sound I've ever had from any amp.

I love the theoretical flexibility of the tone shaping (the foot pedal is an absolute 'must have' though) and it sounded great at demo volumes with solo bass but stick it in a live band context and it just disappeared.

Conversely I've never managed to get a bad sound from a Mark Bass head, not that I've tried of course, lol.

[Lozz196]

Very interesting point there, I`m yet to either get a bad sound from a Markbass set-up, or hear another bassist with a bad sound from a Markbass amp.

[charic]

I think markbass amps are like ibanez basses personally.

Solo they sound a bit rubbish but in a band context they sound good

[Muzz]

My LMIII never really got on with my Stingray - it was good with my passive basses, but the actives, for the sounds I'm after, not so much. I had a Sansamp in front of it, but found I never turned it off, so sold them both and got a RH450, which I liked. I bought, played/gigged and subsequently sold several 'real' valve hybrids (LM Rocker, Ashdown Spyder, Mesa M-Pulse, Mesa Walkabout) which, while OK, never really did it for me, and I've ended up with a Streamliner, which is the best of the lot. YMMV, etc, etc, yadda, yadda.

The feature set on the RH450 (if, as has been stated, you have the footswitch) is still the best out there, period.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1374223376' post='2146532']
Used an RH450 at a gig once and it was a complete tone sucker. Absolutely the worst on-stage sound I've ever had from any amp.
[/quote]

+1. I stuck with mine for a year, and somehow resisted the urge to attack it with a branch, Basil Fawlty-style. Awful thing.

IMO, of course.

[molan]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1374232888' post='2146682']


somehow resisted the urge to attack it with a branch, Basil Fawlty-style. Awful thing.


[/quote]

Now that I would have liked to have seen

[Musicman20]

Depends on your tastes.

The RH450 has a tone that is similar to a 'tube amp through a sealed 8x10'...eg not huge thundering lows, more of a kick in the low mids.

It won't have the really sparkly highs, but if you want that, the RH750 will give you that.

To this day, I've tried all sorts of micro's, and I still like the RH450/750.

The DI is absolutely superb. The tube tone is good, but very good at low levels. Depends what grind you like. The presets work well, the tuner is fantastic, and despite them limiting the watttage on the power module, (remember that there is no proof that its a low powered power module in there...more than meets the eye) you can crank it all the way and it won't flinch....at all.

I compared the 450 to a few 500W amps at the time and it WAS a louder amp. However they achieve that, it works.

Markbass amps tend to clip quite horribly when they hit their limits. They sound good, but they've lost their way since the LM3 and F500....no idea why they have so many different amps that aren't really as good as the LM3/F500.

[Orbs]

I have never used a Mark Bass Amp so cannot comment, but I have been using a RH450 for the last couple of months now.

I play in a function band and do lots of deps for other bands as well, so need a variety of sounds and find the 3 presents are great for that. So far I have been unable to fault it and have used it DI'd through PA's and it sounds good. It really does deliver volume wise too. Why all manufacturers don't build in a tuner too is beyond me. The only fault I am aware of is taht the preset buttons are prone to cracking, but that's no major issue.

A lot of thought went into designing this amp, and it shows by all the useful features it has, and its overall ergonomic design. In an ideal world trying both amps out at a gig would be a good idea to see what suits your ears best.

I hope this helps, good luck with your decision!

[Lozz196]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1374230826' post='2146639']
I think markbass amps are like ibanez basses personally.

Solo they sound a bit rubbish but in a band context they sound good
[/quote]

That`s my impression of them. On their own they sound a bit nasally and insipid, but that really seems to translate well in the mix.

[molan]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1374233850' post='2146703']

Markbass amps tend to clip quite horribly when they hit their limits. They sound good, but they've lost their way since the LM3 and F500....no idea why they have so many different amps that aren't really as good as the LM3/F500.
[/quote]

The Big Bang is a cracking little head. Vaguely sits in between the LM3 and F500 but I prefer it to both. Even has better options for MP3 input and headphone listening than the RH450

[gsgbass]

I just traded an RH450 for a Little Mark lll. I haven't played through a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Rocker 500, but I do like the sounds from the Markbass amps. [/font][/color]

[Musicman20]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1374243202' post='2146830']
The Big Bang is a cracking little head. Vaguely sits in between the LM3 and F500 but I prefer it to both. Even has better options for MP3 input and headphone listening than the RH450
[/quote]

I think its a good idea, but Markbass just need to make a new improved LM4...with the same tone, a better limiter, slightly more power, semi para mids, and an mp3/headphone input. Oh, and a better DI.