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The sound of a legend.
Bass player Francis Rocco Prestia certainly stands among an exclusive list of legendary bottom dwellers. For over 40 years now Rocco's bass has been underpinning the groove for Californian funk legends Tower of Power. In that time, Rocco has defined his own style and become synonymous with the much-imitated 'Finger Style Funk' that he pioneered back in the '60s and '70s.
Now TC Electronics and Rocco have joined forces to make Staccato'51—a custom-tuned version of the RH450 that's been made to Rocco's exact specification and ear. It may look like the RH450 bass head, but the sound design is completely different and meets the demands of a legend like Rocco Prestia—both on stage and in the studio.
Rocco's sound design on Staccato'51 bass head fits his legendary finger-muting technique like a glove. The full-bodied tone with plenty of highs and lows, and the ultra fast precision response enhances the percussive elements of Rocco's playing to perfection.
In addition to the sheer tone shaping, Rocco has added a touch of SpectraComp per-string compression to tighten the sound even more. And finally a touch of TubeTone brings out the growl of Staccato'51 when really digging into those low-end notes with his powerful right hand technique.
Staccato'51 bass amp head was created by combining the unique 'Bass Amp 2.0' capabilities of the RH450 and Rocco's decades of experience as a true bass legend. The end result is the culmination of countless hours of fine tuning and testing and touring, to present an amp head of considerable power and distinguished Rocco tone. Here are some of the standout features you can expect from this exclusive head from TC Electronic:
Spectra Comp
Most bass players know that integrated compressors generally don't sound that good. A regular compressor tends to be dominated by the lower string, but Staccato '51's SpectraComp technology allows virtually 'per string' multi-band compression that evens out the compression across all strings - Rocco adds a touch of SpectraComp to tighten up his sound.
TubeTone
TubeTone emulates all characteristics of both the pre- and power amp to deliver the full tube sound. Staccato'51 uses the TubeTone to add the growl when really diggin' in.
3 User memories
With the 3 user memories on Staccato'51 you can easily switch between, for example, your 4- and 5-string basses, or your Rickenbacker and Fender Jazz. Just plug in the bass and use the 'car radio' style Store & Recall controls to easily switch between presets for your chosen model. There are three bass user memories, remote control access and visual indicators for Mute and the Tuner.
Flexible Tone Control
The bass amp has straightforward controls like those on traditional amps, all voiced by Rocco Prestia to give you plenty of tweaking options to nail the perfect tone. Chances are that this is all you're ever gonna need. However, if you're not fully satisfied with the default frequency areas, fear not - we've given you the option to change the focus of each of the tone controls through semi parametric access through the shift button.
Integrated Chromatic Tuner
Every bass player needs a tuner, so we built one in. Simply push the Mute button to get a full-resolution tuner 'light ring' to help you tune your instrument quickly and accurately. You can also use the RC4 for easy remote access to this functionality.
Once you've tried it, you won't go back—Rocco couldn't.
Rehearsal input
Playing any instrument on its own can be a little dull, but everyone needs time to practice, which is why Staccato'51 has rehearsal inputs. This rear panel-mounted feature allows you to plug in your iPod, phone, computer or MP3 player via the supplied mini-jack to RCA cable adapter for easy practicing and playing along with recorded music.
World Ready power supply
Get the Staccato'51 for ultimate convenience. The bass head's built-in power supply operates from 90 to 240 Volts, making life a lot easier for anyone on the road as there's no complicated fuse changing—just plug and play.
Digital Recording output
The AES/EBU connector means you can record straight into your DAW, such as Pro Tools or Logic. For maximum flexibility it's also S/PDIF compatible and switchable from pre to post in the preamp section.
Integrated Linedriver
Quality can vary wildly with built-in linedrivers, but Staccato'51's linedriver is transformer balanced and galvanically isolated from the rest of the amp, which means no ground loops or hum. And don't worry about long cable runs—Staccato'51 amp head will draw at least 100m of cable with zero drop in audio quality.
Even though the integrated linedriver in Staccato'51 does not need 48v phantom to operate, it does not get harmed either if your sound engineer accidentally leaves it on.
Portability
The versatility of the TC Electronic bass amp head wouldn't really make sense if it came in an oversized, bulky box. Its stylish design with the smooth grab'n'go handle just spells out portability. The Staccato'51 sets your creativity free and screams for you to bring it along wherever your bass talent takes you. Bring your own sound for whatever show or studio session you're involved in or jam out on the tour bus, at the hotel room, at home - and hey, it works for rehearsals too.
Power Handling
The 450W high power output level of the TC Electronic Staccato'51 is accomplished by using Class D amplifier technology in combination with TC Electronic's Active Power Management. APM effectively means that the amp behaves very much like a tube amp when getting close to maximum performance by optimizing the power impact, contrary to the hard-clipping tendencies of transistor amps and most other Class D amps.
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