TC Electronic announces ComboStaccato bass amp developed with Francis Prestia
(Dave Molter | Posted 2010-01-22)
For almost 40 years, bassists have touted Tower of Power bassist Francis Rocco Prestia as the epitome of machine-gun like rapidity and precision, and Prestia helped to develop TC Electronic's Staccato51 bass head to make achieving his signature sound that much easier. The company's new ComboStaccato uses a custom-tuned 450-watt amp based on TC's RH450 head matched with two, 10" Eminence speakers and a 1" tweeter in a small cabinet that includes a pull-up handle and wheels for portability and easy transport in a car trunk or back seat.
ComboStaccato's features are virtually identical to the new ComboClassic. Although it's a transistor amp, the ComboClassic offers a TubeTone™ control section that allows a warm tube sound, and its SpectraComp™ is unique. Most bass compressors favor the signal from the bass's lowest string. TC Elesctronic promises that SpectraComp™ will average signals, applying even compression to all ranges. Three big differences that make ComboStaccato more desirable, in my opinion are a built-in tuner and a Shift control that allows the user to select center frequencies for the parametric EQ big difference and three preset buttons that can be used to store the user's favorite settings. This feature allows, for example, setting different EQs for 4- and 5-string basses or for having distinct amp sounds.
The ComboStaccatodelivers 450 Watts and can be removed form the cabinet to power other cabs (TC offers 112, 21 and 410 cabs) or to be used with headphones for at-home practice. Front. Its 1/4" input accepts active or passive basses, and back panel features include an XLR direct out with pre/post preamp capability, tuner out, effects in and out and combination 1/4"/Speakon cabinet connection. Front panels controls include Gain, SpectraComp, Bass, Lo-Mid, Hi-Mid, Treble, TubeTone and Master knobs with LED level display along witha Mute button, peak limiting and Compression level LEDs, tuner display and a Shift button.
Reviews of the 450H head and demo clips on the TC site (http://www.tcelectronic.com) indicate that you can expect tight, old-school tone for the ComboStaccato. MSRP price is around $2,000 USD.
