BH500 User’s manual
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug.
EMC EMC/EMI This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in residential installations. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
table of contents INtroduction EN Table of Contents........................................................ 3 Introduction.................................................................. 4 Quick Setup Guide...................................................... 5 operation Front Panel.................................................................. 6 Rear Panel................................................................ 12 Miscellaneous............................................................
Introduction Congratulations on the purchase of your new BH500 head! We welcome you as a player in the TC bass pocket. BH500 is a significant addition to our already extensive range of bass products and as the other members of the bass family it represents the next step in bass amplification rendering a simple, yet powerful combination of great bass sound and function, mixed with extraordinary technology behind its traditional fascia. BH500 is loud and proud.
Quick Setup Guide EN If you just can’t wait… Here are a few quick steps to get you playing within minutes. Unpacking • Unpack your BH500 head. • The box should contain the following items: – BH500 Head (230V or 115V version) – Power Cable – RCA to mini jack cable – Manual • Inspect all items for signs of transit damage. In the unlikely event of this having occurred, inform the carrier and supplier. • Keep all the packaging if damage has occurred, as this will show evidence of excessive handling force.
Operation – Front Panel 1 – INPUT You can connect an active or passive bass to this ¼” input jack. The BH500 input stage is designed to adapt to any type of pickup. 2 – GAIN & PEAK LED The input gain should be set to the highest possible level without overloading the input stage. To find the correct setting, simply plug in your bass, play and turn up the GAIN knob until the PEAK LED occasionally lights up. Then reduce the gain slightly. When set, simply turn up the MASTER volume knob to start playing.
operation – front panel Auto Make-up Gain As compression by nature reduces the loudest parts and peaks of the signal, you may feel that many conventional compressors “eat” the level of your signal, resulting in a lower output volume. SpectraComp™ automatically compensates for compression gain reduction, giving you an even output volume. Spectral Compression vs. Full Band Compression Virtually any compressor used for bass guitars on the market is based on the “full band” principle.
operation – front panel 8 –TWEETERTONE™ Many heads and cabinets include a so-called “L pad” HF control on the back side of the cabinet. This control normally sets the level of the tweeter in the cabinet and is generally used to adjust the level of high frequencies. TweeterTone is a far more intuitive and much better way of adjusting the high frequency content. By using TweeterTone, you do not simply turn the tweeter up and down in level – you also get a much more musical and pleasant HF adjustment.
operation – front panel 12 – PHONES (MUTING) This is a ¼” connector for headphones. With a mild speaker filter applied to the bass sound, our studio quality headphone amp caters for a great headphone sound. The headphone output also plays back any signal connected to the AUX IN (“Rehearsal”) input jack found on the rear panel of the BH500. This feature allows you to play along with e.g. an MP3 player (e.g.
operation – front panel Example: “A” string played – pitch too low – tune up “A” string played – pitch too high – tune down “A” string played – in tune – do nothing 18 – TUNE MUTE Button and LED To tune silently, press the MUTE button. The red LED indicates that the mute function is active. The MUTE button not only mutes the speaker and headphones outputs, but also the balanced output. This way you can tune up with no sound going to your own rig or to the PA.
operation – front panel Knob Positions vs. Current Settings When you go from one memory setting to another, or when you switch from WYSIWYG mode to any of the three memory settings, the position of the knobs may not reflect the current sound. – – position is far from the current memory setting. When the LEDs flash quickly, this indicates that the knob position is close to the current memory setting.
operation – REAR panel SPEAKER OUT Use the SPEAKER OUT connector for connecting the BH500 to your speaker cabinets. The type of plug is Speakon and you MUST use speaker cables. Do NOT use instrument cables! TC Electronic Bass cabinets • BH500 can run any combination of up to three TC Electronic 8 Ohm cabinets. • MAINS IN – Power Input & POWER Switch Make sure that the voltage of the power grid you are connecting to matches the version of the BH500 you are using.
Ventilation Be sure not to cover the BH500 cooling grid! Insufficient ventilation may cause the amplifier’s temperature to increase to critical values. Protection Modes The BH500 is equipped with an intelligent protection system, ensuring that the amp does not suffer or malfunction if operated wrongly or in extreme environments. General Protection Mode When the BH500 switches to Protection mode, the MUTE LED is lit while the first two and last two Compression LEDs light up in turn.
MIscellaneous Temperature alignment Protection mode can also be invoked if operating temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius or above 50 degrees Celsius, or if the amplifier is switched on immediately after being moved from a cold environment to an environment at room temperature. Please leave sufficient time for temperature alignment before switching on the amplifier.
EN appendix – signal flow 15
appendix – Technical specifications Input Section Input connector 1/4” jack Speaker output Neutrik Speakon™ Input impedance 1 MOhm / 100 pF Balanced output Balanced XLR, Pre/Post Pre-amp Gain range -96 to 36dB Bal. Out Max. +2dBu Bal.
P/N: E60525011
