Yes, I got the TC-50 if you did not see my other posts... And yes I did a full run down with the RA100 along with the TC-50 to compare them.
My first impressions with the TC-50 were not as rewarding as I would have expected but neither was the JP-2C... For reference, the JP-2C first hand experience I thought it was lame. It sounded good but did not meet my expectations until I went thought the manual to discover the tweaks you needed to do to dial in awesomeness. Very easy to find that incredible juicy tone. At the time, I had Roadster tone on the brain so that may have influenced my first impression... Well it happened again... had JP-2C on the brain and with a forum member we discovered a fix for the Mark V to get the CH3 on par with the JP-2C. I battled with a decision to buy the TC-50 or a new drum set (drum set that I was after to complete would have been a bit more than twice the cost so I settled on the amp first). What I wanted did not influence my opinion but what I have did. Since Wednesday I have only been playing though the TC-50 to get acclimated to the new arrival. My blunder was to post my first impression which may have been negative (not that there is an issue with the amp, just the tone I though was too bright but that is because everything set to noon does not always sound good, in reality it did but my ears were used to the JP-2C). Finally got familiar with the amp and I have to say what others claim about this little monster is all true. Very incredible amplifier.
How it compares to the RA100, it does and does not. The TC-50 retains is composure and note definition even with high gain settings. No muddy or soupy mess with too much saturation. It is nirvana in a different tone that what you may get in a Mark Series amp. That is what I summed up with exposure to the RA100 but the TC-50 takes that to another level. When I first got the RA100, I though that had the most sensitivity and was quite forward in response to your pick attack. RA100 is not spongy but at the same time it is. I can hear the sag of the supply through the Hi/Lo channel and I like it as it adds some vintage character to the sound. If you change the power tubes to SED=C= EL34 it will definitely put a smile on your face on all channels through the RA100. I re-tubed the RA to stock glass so I had a bench mark to compare the TC-50. Note I did change one tube in the TC-50 (V3 changed to an SPAX7) but I really do not think it was necessary so I will put the original 12AX7A back in. I did look at the cocktail of the tubes I had pulled out of the RA as I forgot what I had in it, not a single mesa tube.... I tube rolled to get the optimum sound our of the =C= EL34 tubes. Now with all Mesa tubes in the RA it actually sounded great and made me wonder why I change them (truth be known I was tailoring the Hi/Lo channel as well as the clean for a specific tone or character). Not to the point....
Clean channel on the RA100 vs the TC-50. As an oversight, both amps have a similar tone to them. Note that with the RA100, the bass had to be reduced to eliminate the abundant bloom of the bass as it is the dominant frequency. Also both amps were dialed to taste so I do not have any specific dial settings to report. If you have the RA100 you will know what I am referring too. RA100 has that silky smooth mellow tone with the chime of the EL34 poking at you with that characteristic sound. Perfect for some expressive blues style. Yeah, drive up the gain and it just sings classic rock. The TC-50 is a bit more dry in tone than the RA100 but it has a characteristic the RA100 is lacking. Bump the bass control to 2pm and you will have that same sweet tone that you get once you have dialed out the bass on the RA. Keep in mind my RA100 was bought second hand and sure enough has many hours of use on the power supply capacitors and everything else in between that and the power tubes. I did have a play though a new one before I got the used one. Back to the TC-50. It is very tight. Bottom end on the clean is bold, crisp and will give you that piano like sound on single note playing similar to the Roadster clean or the Mark V clean running though an EV speaker, however I am using V30 loaded Vertical 212. TC-50 clean is nice and pristine and with a boosted gain setting it sings with a nice soft clip to a more crunchy tone. Change the toggle switch to drive mode and you have the full range of gain from RA100 clean to RA100 lo channel. I am impressed with the clean channel on the TC-50. One huge difference between the two is the tightness of the power supply and little or no sag in the sound. If you need to have that spongy feel, the RA100 wins. Not sure if the TC-50 will soften up over time with use but no complaint here about how the character of the TC-50 on the clean-green channel sounds. I will have to bring out the SSS-super strats (non-fender) to hear how they sound with the TC-50. At the moment I am using a 2 humbucker mahogany California Carve top Carvin (set mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and a thick curly maple top wood on the body). I am not taking a bias on the RA100 as I really love the clean channel on the TC-50. It has opened up a new pallet of tone and character to explore so it wins its own award for awesomeness.
My first impressions with the TC-50 were not as rewarding as I would have expected but neither was the JP-2C... For reference, the JP-2C first hand experience I thought it was lame. It sounded good but did not meet my expectations until I went thought the manual to discover the tweaks you needed to do to dial in awesomeness. Very easy to find that incredible juicy tone. At the time, I had Roadster tone on the brain so that may have influenced my first impression... Well it happened again... had JP-2C on the brain and with a forum member we discovered a fix for the Mark V to get the CH3 on par with the JP-2C. I battled with a decision to buy the TC-50 or a new drum set (drum set that I was after to complete would have been a bit more than twice the cost so I settled on the amp first). What I wanted did not influence my opinion but what I have did. Since Wednesday I have only been playing though the TC-50 to get acclimated to the new arrival. My blunder was to post my first impression which may have been negative (not that there is an issue with the amp, just the tone I though was too bright but that is because everything set to noon does not always sound good, in reality it did but my ears were used to the JP-2C). Finally got familiar with the amp and I have to say what others claim about this little monster is all true. Very incredible amplifier.
How it compares to the RA100, it does and does not. The TC-50 retains is composure and note definition even with high gain settings. No muddy or soupy mess with too much saturation. It is nirvana in a different tone that what you may get in a Mark Series amp. That is what I summed up with exposure to the RA100 but the TC-50 takes that to another level. When I first got the RA100, I though that had the most sensitivity and was quite forward in response to your pick attack. RA100 is not spongy but at the same time it is. I can hear the sag of the supply through the Hi/Lo channel and I like it as it adds some vintage character to the sound. If you change the power tubes to SED=C= EL34 it will definitely put a smile on your face on all channels through the RA100. I re-tubed the RA to stock glass so I had a bench mark to compare the TC-50. Note I did change one tube in the TC-50 (V3 changed to an SPAX7) but I really do not think it was necessary so I will put the original 12AX7A back in. I did look at the cocktail of the tubes I had pulled out of the RA as I forgot what I had in it, not a single mesa tube.... I tube rolled to get the optimum sound our of the =C= EL34 tubes. Now with all Mesa tubes in the RA it actually sounded great and made me wonder why I change them (truth be known I was tailoring the Hi/Lo channel as well as the clean for a specific tone or character). Not to the point....
Clean channel on the RA100 vs the TC-50. As an oversight, both amps have a similar tone to them. Note that with the RA100, the bass had to be reduced to eliminate the abundant bloom of the bass as it is the dominant frequency. Also both amps were dialed to taste so I do not have any specific dial settings to report. If you have the RA100 you will know what I am referring too. RA100 has that silky smooth mellow tone with the chime of the EL34 poking at you with that characteristic sound. Perfect for some expressive blues style. Yeah, drive up the gain and it just sings classic rock. The TC-50 is a bit more dry in tone than the RA100 but it has a characteristic the RA100 is lacking. Bump the bass control to 2pm and you will have that same sweet tone that you get once you have dialed out the bass on the RA. Keep in mind my RA100 was bought second hand and sure enough has many hours of use on the power supply capacitors and everything else in between that and the power tubes. I did have a play though a new one before I got the used one. Back to the TC-50. It is very tight. Bottom end on the clean is bold, crisp and will give you that piano like sound on single note playing similar to the Roadster clean or the Mark V clean running though an EV speaker, however I am using V30 loaded Vertical 212. TC-50 clean is nice and pristine and with a boosted gain setting it sings with a nice soft clip to a more crunchy tone. Change the toggle switch to drive mode and you have the full range of gain from RA100 clean to RA100 lo channel. I am impressed with the clean channel on the TC-50. One huge difference between the two is the tightness of the power supply and little or no sag in the sound. If you need to have that spongy feel, the RA100 wins. Not sure if the TC-50 will soften up over time with use but no complaint here about how the character of the TC-50 on the clean-green channel sounds. I will have to bring out the SSS-super strats (non-fender) to hear how they sound with the TC-50. At the moment I am using a 2 humbucker mahogany California Carve top Carvin (set mahogany neck with ebony fretboard and a thick curly maple top wood on the body). I am not taking a bias on the RA100 as I really love the clean channel on the TC-50. It has opened up a new pallet of tone and character to explore so it wins its own award for awesomeness.