TC Electronic BH500 Bass Head

[IvoryTickler]

Aye all .. ola from downunder. Old bugger, I swear a lot these days mostly due to the body parts failing but ... still hammering out lix & can see my way around a Mk1 Fender Rhodes/ B series Hammond with Leslie Rotary muscle. Learning curve with the modern stuff.

SO:

Anyone in here have info/ expertise on TC Electronic gear? Namely a 2011 BH500 with BC410 & BC212 bins.
Point us in a positive direction maybe?
Mr Uli Behringer* appears to be behind one of the worst business strategies I've seen in a lifetime (may be worse than Golden Tone or H & H Electronics) . The Music Tribe online forum is next to useless. Experts in ghosting I'd suggest.

Cheers.

*https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulibehringer/

[Mick Bailey]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Does the amp have a specific fault?

[IvoryTickler]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Does the amp have a specific fault?

Tx Mick, including the reply Amp is a non goer. Dead as. Possibly because the transformer is rolling rattling around - loose & disconnected from the board. Unable to test till we can gain access to the metal chassis. This model (Made in Thailand as you may know) has a veneered (maple?) top, bottom & sides, on a particle board cabinet which appears to be not attached to the chassis, i.e. there are no visible bolts attaching the cabinet to the chassis. There is some random silicone sealant/ glue between the two inside surfaces. Go figure. Vinyl needed replacing so given TC Electronic support has been like a brick wall in terms of releasing info, decided to remove vinyl in anticipation of seeing a countersunk bolt or two. No such animal, so am presuming the repair process includes a new cabinet every time? I'll put up some pics.(will have to reduce the file size of these pics due to server restrictions by the looks) Cheers.

[IvoryTickler]

Tx Mick, including the reply Amp is a non goer. Dead as. Possibly because the transformer is rolling rattling around - loose & disconnected from the board. Unable to test till we can gain access to the metal chassis. This model (Made in Thailand as you may know) has a veneered (maple?) top, bottom & sides, on a particle board cabinet which appears to be not attached to the chassis, i.e. there are no visible bolts attaching the cabinet to the chassis. There is some random silicone sealant/ glue between the two inside surfaces. Go figure. Vinyl needed replacing so given TC Electronic support has been like a brick wall in terms of releasing info, decided to remove vinyl in anticipation of seeing a countersunk bolt or two. No such animal, so am presuming the repair process includes a new cabinet every time? I'll put up some pics.(will have to reduce the file size of these pics due to server restrictions by the looks) Cheers.

Morepics (file size reduced)

[glebert]

It sure looks like there *used* to be four bolts from the top that secured the chassis. Perhaps they were having rattles and glued everything in. I would use a putty knife to slide between the cabinet and the chassis to cut any adhesives.

I know people get attached to their gear, and gear is less available in places outside the US, but that just seems like it is going to not be a cost effective repair,

[The Dude]

Yes, I can plainly see the 4 bolts in the pic with the tolex still attached. I see holes in the other pic, but can't tell if anything is there, or just a hole where a bolt used to be.

[IvoryTickler]

Tx for the responses gentlemen.

Yes, correct, I can see bolt holes too, my statement was - "no visible bolts" ) Am thinking somebody lost them at one point.
Given the chassis would not slide out of the case, & I'd removed the "random silicone sealant/ glue between the two inside surfaces" one starts to request genuine help. Gentle tapping on the chassis corners with a drift isn't working either. It is wedged in "as tight as ......" very very firmly.
Note that the vinyl had been patched on top & bottom surfaces at some time. Original sticker had been re-glued. Then noticed that somebody (possibly an uneducated muso?) has used an iron instead of hot air at one time to remove vinyl as well. I'm a veneer specialist, hide glues & glue pot stuff .. having been in the acoustic piano restoration trade & the odd solid or valve state unit, for 50 years ...now retired. Of course, I can make a new solid or veneer wood cabinet but would prefer to keep the original.
Who knows the history of this unit, hey .. those repair marks with dates could be valid or they could be factory marks? I did hear on the grapevine that TC Electronic, given they have no "authorized repairers" in the country, & under warranty, dealers were forced to ship the units back to Asia. Hence the Thai - I suspect Cantonese - character signatures (see pic ... sorry about the clarity).
Q.'s If the last digits are indeed dates & the amp was a 2011 build 'tis logical deduction that an offshore repair has happened. 2016 - 2017 is 5+ years on, so out of warranty - 2 years only as far as I can ascertain?
Is there a register of repairs/ repairer registration #'s available from whoever controls these Service Centre's? Given the cloak & dagger stuff from H/O one would assume so.
I stand corrected mind you on all these assumptions.
Great shame that TC Electronic refuse to talk with me & offer no assistance/ help at all apart from this message "I would suggest that you gest [error methinks - perhaps have?] your unit checked by one our Certified Service Centre" from PedroRodrigues - appears to employed by over on the MusicTribe pages.
Like the unit is no longer supported* in terms of upgrades I'm guessing, however Pedro was keen to have their guys look at it ... knowing that one of their service centre's doesn't exist in OZ?

(glebert)
"I would use a putty knife to slide between the cabinet and the chassis to cut any adhesives" Already done dude.
"cost effective repair" remains to be seen given no access to the internals.

TheDude "Yes, I can plainly see the 4 bolts in the pic with the tolex still attached." See prior reply in bold. Bolts & cup washers weren't there. Initially thought it was a simple matter of tapping the chassis out ... gently. My bad !!

Prior owner was a grunge & garage punk muso with a touch of goth .. dark & loud, so the head space wasn't exactly coherent most of the time. He'd never been out of the country (if he had, would have explained a few things).

Cheers Gentlemen.

P.S. A little more digging from an old apprentice & this pic shows up from Sweetwater. TC Electronic BH500 500-Watt Bass Head | Sweetwater 4 holes in RHS ... what the?

Time to start the bandsaw up?

[Mick Bailey]

I don't know if TC Electronics has changed at all in the UK, but they were by far the worst company I ever came across for support and I eventually stopped taking in any of their stuff for repair. The breaking point came where I had an amp that I'd repaired apart from one charred component that had the first character partly missing. It could have been a B or 6 and either would have been a valid component. They flatly refused to give me that first character under any circumstances and said I'd have to send it away to have the component replaced. If I recall correctly it would have to be shipped to Europe. In the end I worked it out for myself.

I've never got one scrap of information off that company, even for equipment long out of production, which they weren't interested in repairing anyhow. It would be interesting to hear if their position has changed at all.

[glebert]

Too bad TC is so unhelpful on service. I really like my BG250 combo, but haven't even tried to change the toneprint settings for fear of turning it into a brick.

I thought it was interesting that they would publish this TSB for "skilled technician" repairs but won't give out any more that that. https://service-tcgroup.tcelectronic...s/sno_t158.pdf

That being said, I doubt they have a TSB for "chassis stuck in box." I've found some references on the web about people fixing these and no one mentioned having this type of problem.

[IvoryTickler]

Update. Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my (balding) head, found my way downstairs & drank a cup (mild roast decaf coffee) ... thought of my nightmare in the workshop ... & shouted out "I'd love to turn you on" (https://youtu.be/yxbwrdrDi1Q?si=baBEKOrvdZr_OU9Y) ..... one day
Pictures tell the story, with the aid of a sledge hammer or two, a blacksmiths drift, block of cypress pine timber & a lot of swearing. Needs a little panel beating on one rear corner.

[IvoryTickler]

Too bad TC is so unhelpful on service. I really like my BG250 combo, but haven't even tried to change the toneprint settings for fear of turning it into a brick.

I thought it was interesting that they would publish this TSB for "skilled technician" repairs but won't give out any more that that. https://service-tcgroup.tcelectronic...s/sno_t158.pdf

That being said, I doubt they have a TSB for "chassis stuck in box." I've found some references on the web about people fixing these and no one mentioned having this type of problem.

Agreed totally.
Will be an adventure am sure & may need some help via our local registered amp repairer, John at BJ Amps. We're a similar era. Top tech around these parts although not an authorized TC Certified Service Centre 'fer sure fer sure'. They would have appeared on the link Pedro supplied: :https://www.tcelectronic.com/buy.html?type=POS a pop up states "No available establishments in your area. Please contact our CARE Team to help you further."
Australia doesn't exist hey )

Stay awesome.

[glebert]

Update. Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my (balding) head, found my way downstairs & drank a cup (mild roast decaf coffee) ... thought of my nightmare in the workshop ... & shouted out "I'd love to turn you on" (https://youtu.be/yxbwrdrDi1Q?si=baBEKOrvdZr_OU9Y) ..... one day
Pictures tell the story, with the aid of a sledge hammer or two, a blacksmiths drift, block of cypress pine timber & a lot of swearing. Needs a little panel beating on one rear corner.

Looking at that chassis, I can see why it was hard to get out. Any pressure on the front or back panel is going to make the other end dig into whatever vinyl or adhesive residue was in the vicinity. Glad you got it out, good luck with the repair!

[IvoryTickler]

Looking at that chassis, I can see why it was hard to get out. Any pressure on the front or back panel is going to make the other end dig into whatever vinyl or adhesive residue was in the vicinity. Glad you got it out, good luck with the repair!

Undoubtedly a "TC Certified Service Centre" repairer. Go figure.
Think I mentioned that the tranny was floating around loose inside. It's a known issue evidently with nuts coming off the bolts due to serrated washers disintegrating. (Vibration?) TSB dated 2013 "This must be done for all products coming in for service" SNo_T175.pdf
Service signatures on cab are dated 2016. i.e if they are service signatures. Nobody will own up to it )

[IvoryTickler]

Update. Cleaned everything up, sorted bent connections, bolted down the tranny (with loctite). Reassembled. Plugged it in & we have lights. Yet to test all functions. Slight hum but to be expected after the treatment it's had. Owner 'fessed up & said he had bought it from the bass player in King Stingray, Campbell Messer? Would explain much. Cheers