TC Electronic BC212 2x12 Bass Amplifier Cabinet

I have had good experience with TC products in the past and have gotten great personal service from their engineers and support staff. I want to support good companies so I carefully considered this choice. I looked at ALL the available literature from Amazon, TC Electronic and other retailer's websites.Before buying this, I also carefully calculated what it would cost for me to build such a cab. Granted, My "self-built cost analysis" is based entirely on RETAIL prices for every component and I even included a fictional fee to myself for labor. So, if I did build a similar cab, it would have premium components, custom appointments that suit my particular needs; it would handle more power, be smaller and lighter. But considering the convenience, I opted for this despite my cheapskate tendencies and engineering geekiness.I am always happy to give someone a fair profit for a good product, especially if it saves me work!It would cost me almost as much to build a better one, so I thought I'd save the trouble and time.I had to return it. Why?Well, it sounds good. So that's not a problem.It is not terribly heavy. It is a bit heavier than it should be, by 25 to 30%, so that's not too big a problem.It is larger than it needs to be for these drivers... not ridiculously large, but enough that it made it troublesome to put in my sedan. You can see many boutique cabs and even the RS series by TC have much slimmer designs. That IS an important issue for players who often work on tiny stages and must tote gear through crowded restaurants or have smaller cars.It has no wheels. Again, ...BIG issue! The "RETAIL build price" for my cost-comparison cabinet includes LARGE rubber non-marring swiveling wheels that roll silently, smoothly and LOCK. If I could include nice wheels in my design, why wouldn't a major manufacturer? (oh yeah, ...greed) Fender, Ampeg, Hartke, Peavey, virtually ALL other brands make cabs of this size or smaller with wheels.No top handle, much less a extension handle (or equivalent.) This has two heavy-duty recessed handles. Recessed handles are ideal for cabinets that will be placed inside road-cases by TWO ROADIES. (not one old geezer)Recessed handles might also be good for anyone who wants to get some exercise by using this as a free weight. Since I do not want to bench press or dead lift ANYTHING EVER, those handles are nearly useless to me. Sure, I could add a top handle, or modify the cab with a mounted handle... but that adds to the cost and possibly voids warranty.So, that is a big ergonomic issue for any working musician. Playing music for hours to drunks is the easy part. Playing roadie is the laborious and potentially dangerous part of the job. There simply is no reason to make it MORE work and more difficult.Back panel... is NOT RECESSED.In forty-five years of pro playing, I have NEVER seen a professional speaker cab that had a flat panel for the speaker jacks. ALL speaker cabs, even el-cheapo imported car subs have recessed panels for the jacks to prevent protruding phone plugs from hitting the back wall, or the floor of your car or the entry door of the nightclub.The input jack is NOT a combo jack, but the cheapest possible version of a Speakon style jack.You CANNOT use regular quarter-inch speaker cables with this!As it so happens, I have special conversion cables with Speakon connectors on one end and quarter-inch on the other. (That's how I was able to try it out)If you do not already have those cables and your head requires 1/4", you will have to buy that special cable. They range from $30 to $70.So is this a bad cab?NO, It sounds good, handles enough power (200 watts), projects well, is not terribly cumbersome, not too heavy. It even looks nice. For sound and price it is a solid four-stars.Just be sure you have the right cable for your amp head.Make sure you never bang the plug in back against a wall or door which is likely with a flush back panel!Unless you need the exercise or enjoy working out before and after hours of standing and playing, you will need to attach wheels and a top handle. Or get a good handcart, but that's one more thing to bring or forget.If you attach wheels or use a handcart, be careful going through a restaurant full of tables, chairs and drunks. This is a little wider than it needs to be.If you want an economical cab to go with a head you already own, you already own the right cables and you NEVER have to move it, this would be a good choice.If I decide to build a similar cab, I can actually make a much better one with premium components for the same price. For now, I will stick with my rolling combo amps that have more convenient handles, never require extra cables that I might forget, break or lose, and have a slimmer more-maneuverable design.I still like TC and LOVE the great personal service I have gotten from them.I am also happy with the service and return policies of Amazon.I hate to return anything ever, because it is a nuisance and I sincerely want good companies to make a fair profit.This is one of those rare cases where I made a bad choice that was not my fault. I did my homework!If TC or Amazon or ANY other retailer had provided accurate pictures of the back and sides, I could have avoided my mistakes. Likewise, TC should warn customers that they intentionally designed this cab to ONLY go (conveniently) with their heads.If you want to use your head and it has quarter inch plugs, you need a special expensive cable. Again, that is one more thing to forget or lose when gigging. It is one more thing that can be broken.TC opted for the cheapest Neutrik style connector that is NOT a combo jack, a dumb choice probably saved them 12 cents in production cost. That is truly "penny wise and pound foolish."BTW... I have NEVER before seen this cheap style of input jack. Absolutely ALL the other pro gear I have used ALWAYS has the COMBO jack which accepts BOTH 1/4" and speakon. It wasn't until I ordered this thing that I ever heard of such a one-way jack.So, now you can learn from my experience. It is a good sounding cab, but not convenient, not super light-weight, not extraordinarily loud, or a super bargain. It is slightly overpriced for what you get but still fair if you know nothing about speaker design, the cost of components or are inexperienced in transporting and using bass gear.Post Script... TC will no longer make these cabs, probably because many others have noted these issues. There was no problem with quality control. It was just the poor design choices they made based on profit more than common sense. They just rushed to market with a cheapened version that was ill-conceived.If any manufacturers commits to a production run, it would make sense to let some real musicians try the design on real gigs. That would make these many small flaws glaringly obvious. There is no single problem with this cab that would make me return it. It was the combination of several minor problems.I sincerely hope TC and others learn from this mistake. I also hope this review helps you make a smart choice.

I did a lot of shopping before deciding on the TC Electronic BC212. I literally went through the catalog, going to each manufacturers website, and looking up the weight of each different brand and size. And I found that this was one of the very lightest cabinets made for bass guitar. There were a few who were in the same ballpark, but at this size and price I worry about quality. So, I found a decent quality cab for the weight, and money. I got it delivered and I hooked it up to a fine Trace Elliot amp with 230watts, and WOW did it sound good! deep bass notes, strong thump with no rattles, or cone break up, and filled my side of the stage great! The drummer said he could hear every note! But this is the beginning, I took a folding luggage dolly and used it to move this around, I swung it up into the van with one hand, like nothing! The singers makeup case weighs more than this thing! So, I made another purchase, I bought the Orange Terror Bass 500, a 500 watt D class amp with a tubed front end. Hooking it up to this speaker I set the gain to half way and cranked up the volume and it was so loud and clear it scared me! It was sick loud without any breakup! I mean 135db! Jet engine loud! I quickly turned it back down, but at least I know what it can do! It was most impressive, I plan to buy the BC210 to match it, and use up the rest of that 500 watts. And make myself a light weight gigging setup that certainly does not sound light weight!I was concerned with the fact that it had no pad or control on the tweeter, but I find that it has a nice and balanced sound, it sounds like the bass guitar sounds, no more, no less. I can control treble at the amp, why control it again at the cabinet? By eliminating that control, it simplifies operation, less stuff to break, keeps the cost down, and shortens the signal path. I love the way the tweeter works in this box, it is there, but does not draw attention to itself, or noticeable lack of it either.I have used this cabinet through a few full rehearsals, heavy metal and classic hard rock, and it was just amazing, even without the second cab I plan to add, it was plenty loud, with good low tone! And matched with the Trace or the Orange, it gave a great balance and full range playback of my bass, a Spector NS2. It had all that great midrange tone with great snap and string action present, and the E string was low, nice and deep tone that sounded real! It was flapping my pant legs! I cannot say just how much I am happy with this cab, and now I can gig without breaking my back, I cannot wait to hear it once I do add the BC210! But for small clubs and even medium size bars, this one cab would be enough.