Description
This is labelled as a TC 1144 Bass Preamp but it is a TC 1140 preamp / eq with a different label, designed to appeal to bass players…
This EQ has been recapped & refurbished in our workshops, with bipolar caps used in the audio path. Pots & switches have been cleaned and the case repainted. All the knobs & knob caps are original and the EQ is in very good, used condition. Tested & working 100%. Photos show the EQ for sale
TC Electronic was founded in 1976 by the Rishøj brothers to build products for musicians and recording studios. The brothers were musicians and they designed products for musicians. This led to features like a built-in preamplifier so a guitar, bass or keyboard could be plugged straight into the equaliser
TC studio gear was a well-kept secret in the UK till the success of the 2290 Delay Line and the Finalizer, both products that had a big impact in studios. Among the “sleeper” products in their back catalogue are parametric equaliser footpedals, chorus & pitch-shifter units and rackmount equalisers like the 1140
The TC 1140 is a mono rackmount equaliser with a built-in preamplifier with up to 20 dB gain. The unbalanced input impedance is set deliberately high, so there’s no loss of high-end when direct-injecting guitars & basses, or synths & other keyboards. It also has a balanced input on an XLR connector
The 1140 preamp has Input Gain (+/- 20 dB), Output (0-6) and a peak-reading LED meter. Unusually, it has an EQ Match gain control to allow gain matching between the flat & EQ’d signals and to help with gain staging. The eq section has a non-latching in / out toggle switch and an external bypass footswitch socket on the back panel. EQ status (in / out) is indicated by different levels of brightness of the power on LED
The EQ section has sweepable EQ bands in the typical TC fashion with Center (frequency), Bandwidth (Q) and Function (boost / cut) controls. The four bands cover 20 Hz – 2 kHz, 50 Hz – 5 kHz, 100 Hz – 10 kHz and 200 Hz – 20 kHz so there’s plenty of overlap. Each band has its own Overload LED making it easy to spot overloads caused by large amounts of boost
Most studio equalisers assume a nominal signal level of +4 dBm and have no gain controls. TC goes to the other extreme – the 1140 assumes input levels may vary by up to 40 dB, that boost and or cut may change signal level significantly and that any EQ band might be pushed into overload – a fair assumption when 20db of boost or cut are available. This makes the 1140 ideal for live situations, for instruments with widely varying output levels, or for situations where large amounts of EQ may be required
Like the TC 1220, the TC 1140 is a highly effective equaliser. It’s possible to dial in large amounts of boost or cut but the results are always musical. On the broadest settings the EQ gives a warm, wide boost ideal for brightening signals or putting punch into the low end without making it sound flabby. At higher Q settings you can put a nice snap on a snare drum or make surgical cuts at problem frequencies
TC equalisers are amongst the few EQs I really like. They’re precise but musical at the same time – a combination that seems to escape most other manufacturers
“There are not a lot of 1140’s left on the market today, but should you be able to get a hold of one, don’t let it go. Even if you don’t have a use for it, don’t throw it out. You’ll regret it later on”
“The TC 2240 is one of my absolute favorite all purpose parametric EQ’s next to the GML 8200”
In excellent condition, extremely rare for a TC equaliser of this age. All pots, switches & knobs are original. Recapped & refurbished in our workshops
Tested & working 100%. Photos show the equaliser for sale
