---
product_id: 109685528
title: "TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor"
brand: "tc electronic"
price: "2174 Lei"
currency: RON
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
category: "Tc Electronic"
url: https://www.desertcart.ro/products/109685528-tc-electronic-thrust-bq500-500-watt-portable-bass-head-mosfet
store_origin: RO
region: Romania
---

# 500W Class-D power punch Thrust compressor for dynamic control Mosfet preamp for tube-like tone TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor

**Brand:** tc electronic
**Price:** 2174 Lei
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎸 Power meets portability — Own the stage, wherever you go!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor by tc electronic
- **How much does it cost?** 2174 Lei with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ro](https://www.desertcart.ro/products/109685528-tc-electronic-thrust-bq500-500-watt-portable-bass-head-mosfet)

## Best For

- tc electronic enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted tc electronic brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Gig-Ready Portability:** Compact metal chassis fits effortlessly in your gig bag, perfect for the on-the-go pro who demands power without bulk.
- • **Precision Tone Sculpting:** Custom EQ and Thrust compressor capture every slap, pop, and nuance—dial in your signature sound with surgical accuracy.
- • **Authentic Tube-Like Warmth:** High-voltage Mosfet preamp delivers rich, organic tones that make your bass sing with vintage vibe and modern clarity.
- • **Unmatched Power in a Micro Package:** 500 watts of clean, stage-ready bass power in a featherweight 2.3 kg frame—carry your sonic arsenal anywhere.
- • **Pro-Level Reliability & Versatility:** Solid-state Class-D tech ensures rock-solid performance and low noise, compatible with a wide range of cabinets and setups.

## Overview

The TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 is a 500-watt portable bass amplifier head featuring cutting-edge Class-D amplification, a high-voltage Mosfet preamp for authentic tube-like sound, and an integrated Thrust compressor for dynamic punch. Weighing just 2.3 kg with a compact metal design, it offers professional-grade tone shaping and gig-ready portability, making it ideal for bassists who demand powerful, clean sound on the move.

## Description

Thrust BQ500 is a 500-watt revolution in portable bass amplification, Packing more bang for the buck into an ultra-lightweight micro bass head (2.3 kg/5.1 lbs) than a warehouse full of discounted fireworks! A custom-designed EQ and MOSFET preamp provides a tremendous tonal palette and realistic tube-like sound and feel.

Review: Powerful and clean sound! - This is an amazing amp. For the price it is beyond amazing. I’ve played bass for more than 30 years and This amp is powerful!!! I’ve built my own rigs. I had a $3,000 SWR professional set up. I’ve used practice combos. I’ve used PA systems with direct in box. Everything has its pluses and minuses. As a “rule of thumb” the bass player should have 3 times the watts of the guitar player. The bass amp should really not go past half power. You need something like 150-200 watts to be heard over a drummer with a passive bass. After around half power you start trading tight bass for distortion. I truly believe this is a 500w amp and that can be problematic. The 4th picture I added is a picture of cabinet 4 x 6” at 8ohms and rated 300watts rms. At 8ohms this amp should be approximately 250 watts and the 4x6” cabinet sounded like crap around 75watts. It could not handle the bass at all!!! You can see the 2nd picture is a subwoofer for a car and is 4ohm, in a tiny little box, and 1200 watts peak. This 12” subwoofer can handle the power of the amp. The one 12” woofer rattles all the windows in my house and makes my eyeballs wiggle. In other words it will be hard to find a speaker cabinet that will handle power of this amp at 4ohm and 500watts. I purchased a 2x12” cabinet and I’m swapping out the speakers with 1600 watt peak, dual voice coil woofers to get to 4ohms. The amp is simple and effective. I don’t use the compressor on the amp it does kill the sound a bit and I have a compressor pedal. The high frequency control knob is really high. I don’t even hear the high knob with the subwoofer and I keep the high knob turned all the way left/down/off I’d say it’s 10k hertz or higher.. The high mid is pretty high for bass frequencies like 5k ish hertz and the low mid is what I would consider midrange to high for a bass at 1k ish hertz. The “poppy slap” high end sound is going to come from the (low and high mid knobs) The bass knob is BASS and really low. I’d guess 80-100 hertz. The bass knob is what will get you into trouble with your speakers blowing up!! But if the speakers can’t handle the bass knob this amp won’t shine. Personally I want something easy to carry to my buddies house and this amp is perfect. Maybe some small gigs. I want something powerful so I can be heard with a marshal half or full stack and a loud drummer, and this amp will do that easily. The problem I run into is the speakers that can handle this much power are 100 pounds and rightfully so. I needed to get creative to match a small cabinet with this huge power. I would recommend a cabinet that was at least 600watts rms at 4 ohms so you could really use the bass knob. In other words I would not worry about being efficient with the rms rating and I would lean towards higher RMS speaker rating to get the most out of the bass knob, or to handle the power. If the speaker is distorting you can’t turn it up!!! The amp is very clean; whereas I have have a house built in the 1950’s and I get some real bad ground noise, but his amp isn’t reproducing the ground noise at all, I’m sure having the treble knob all the way off helps a bit. Compared to my $1500-$1800 SWR amp it is much louder and even has less ground noise. For the price I would buy it again but I don’t need to because one is all I need.
Review: Absolutely Love it. Great sound and power. - I replaced my noisy 20 year old 200W head with this unit but kept the 2x10 200W cabinet to see how it sounded first and, just wow! I can’t believe how good they sound now and they certainly won’t need to be replaced. I’m an old dude so naturally I play classic punk and metal. Loudly of course. The equalizer controls are surprisingly effective and allow me to get the right sound I need for different songs. The Thrust adjustment does a fantastic job of controlling those heavy downbeats and keeping it from clipping. Really beneficial for those slap bass folks. Pros: Plenty of power and the sound quality is first rate. Compact size and lightweight. Easily fits into my gig bag! The external input works well with my laptop allowing me to play along with tunes. The equalizer controls allow for accurate wave shaping. Cons: The was no instruction manual at all with this. It requires navigating their challenging website to download what passes for one. It’s quite rudimentary but does the job. A little more info would be appreciated. The above mentioned instructions sheet mentioned an included “mini jack to mini jack cable” but there was none in the box. No matter, I had one delivered the next day.

## Features

- 500 Watt portable micro bass head amplifier for stage and studio
- Compact and lightweight design for ultimate portability
- Cutting-edge Class-D amplifier technology for incredible power and sonic performance
- High-voltage Mosfet Preamplifier for authentic sound and feel of a tube amp
- Thrust compressor for ultimate punch and to capture every nuance of your playing

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN | B07PKWBLL4 |
| Amplifier Type | Solid State |
| Best Sellers Rank | #3,133 in Musical Instruments ( See Top 100 in Musical Instruments ) #1 in Bass Guitar Amplifier Heads |
| Brand | TC Electronic |
| Built-In Media | TC Electronic 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor |
| Color | Red |
| Compatible Devices | Double Bass |
| Connector Type | 6.35mm Jack |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 132 Reviews |
| Enclosure Material | Metal |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00653341319036 |
| Item Dimensions D x W x H | 9.17"D x 10.04"W x 2.72"H |
| Item Type Name | Bass Amplifier Head |
| Item Weight | 4.9 Pounds |
| Manufacturer | Music Tribe US |
| Material | Metal |
| Mfr Part Number | BQ500 |
| Model Name | BQ500 |
| Model Number | BQ500 |
| Number of Bands | 1 |
| Output Channel Quantity | 1 |
| Output Wattage | 500 Watts |
| Power Source | Corded Electric |
| Product Dimensions | 9.17"D x 10.04"W x 2.72"H |
| UPC | 653341319036 |
| Unit Count | 1.00 Count |
| Warranty Description | Please refer to http://www. Music-group. Com/warranty. Aspx. |

## Product Details

- **Brand:** TC Electronic
- **Color:** Red
- **Compatible Devices:** Double Bass
- **Material:** Metal
- **Output Wattage:** 500 Watts

## Images

![TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51sxD9FE1OL.jpg)
![TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51GcDLeIUFL.jpg)
![TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/517AVjCAZgL.jpg)
![TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NPQvGMQxL.jpg)
![TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41yQ5ADNIvL.jpg)

## Questions & Answers

**Q: Checked this out on the tc electronics website. the specs list max output power at 500w. it also lists power consumption at 80w. ???**
A: The amp. has 500 watts output @ 4 ohms minimum that is all I know about it.  It drives 4 10in. speakers, 2 - 8 ohm. speakers hooked up in Series and the other 2 in series. as far as I know about the 80 watts is probably output wattage of the input power transformer ?

**Q: Can you use the amp without plugging in the speakers whilst using headphones**
A: Yes you can, in fact I gig this amp without a speaker cabinet using my IEM

**Q: I have 4x10 bass cab 600watts @ 6 ohms will this head be able to push it?**
A: the amp is rated for 4 ohms minimum, so yes you can use a 6 ohm or even 8 ohm speaker you just will not get the 500w it would be in the 300w range 
maybe a little more,  but nothing you will notice.  Rob

**Q: If I plug this into an 80w @ 8 ohms cab and keep the volume down to 1 or 1.5 will it blow the speaker out ?**
A: The amp in rated for about 250 w at 8 ohms The power specification that you will see for speakers (measured in watts) is referring to how much power the speaker is designed to safely receive from an amplifier before it will start to distort. distortion means the speaker is driver too hard
and the speaker will get very hot, then you may permanently damage the speaker and it could become unusable - so you really don't want to be doing this at any volume. 80w is peak threshold and 81w is over the peak 170w more you get the picture

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Powerful and clean sound!
*by J***D on January 1, 2021*

This is an amazing amp. For the price it is beyond amazing. I’ve played bass for more than 30 years and This amp is powerful!!! I’ve built my own rigs. I had a $3,000 SWR professional set up. I’ve used practice combos. I’ve used PA systems with direct in box. Everything has its pluses and minuses. As a “rule of thumb” the bass player should have 3 times the watts of the guitar player. The bass amp should really not go past half power. You need something like 150-200 watts to be heard over a drummer with a passive bass. After around half power you start trading tight bass for distortion. I truly believe this is a 500w amp and that can be problematic. The 4th picture I added is a picture of cabinet 4 x 6” at 8ohms and rated 300watts rms. At 8ohms this amp should be approximately 250 watts and the 4x6” cabinet sounded like crap around 75watts. It could not handle the bass at all!!! You can see the 2nd picture is a subwoofer for a car and is 4ohm, in a tiny little box, and 1200 watts peak. This 12” subwoofer can handle the power of the amp. The one 12” woofer rattles all the windows in my house and makes my eyeballs wiggle. In other words it will be hard to find a speaker cabinet that will handle power of this amp at 4ohm and 500watts. I purchased a 2x12” cabinet and I’m swapping out the speakers with 1600 watt peak, dual voice coil woofers to get to 4ohms. The amp is simple and effective. I don’t use the compressor on the amp it does kill the sound a bit and I have a compressor pedal. The high frequency control knob is really high. I don’t even hear the high knob with the subwoofer and I keep the high knob turned all the way left/down/off I’d say it’s 10k hertz or higher.. The high mid is pretty high for bass frequencies like 5k ish hertz and the low mid is what I would consider midrange to high for a bass at 1k ish hertz. The “poppy slap” high end sound is going to come from the (low and high mid knobs) The bass knob is BASS and really low. I’d guess 80-100 hertz. The bass knob is what will get you into trouble with your speakers blowing up!! But if the speakers can’t handle the bass knob this amp won’t shine. Personally I want something easy to carry to my buddies house and this amp is perfect. Maybe some small gigs. I want something powerful so I can be heard with a marshal half or full stack and a loud drummer, and this amp will do that easily. The problem I run into is the speakers that can handle this much power are 100 pounds and rightfully so. I needed to get creative to match a small cabinet with this huge power. I would recommend a cabinet that was at least 600watts rms at 4 ohms so you could really use the bass knob. In other words I would not worry about being efficient with the rms rating and I would lean towards higher RMS speaker rating to get the most out of the bass knob, or to handle the power. If the speaker is distorting you can’t turn it up!!! The amp is very clean; whereas I have have a house built in the 1950’s and I get some real bad ground noise, but his amp isn’t reproducing the ground noise at all, I’m sure having the treble knob all the way off helps a bit. Compared to my $1500-$1800 SWR amp it is much louder and even has less ground noise. For the price I would buy it again but I don’t need to because one is all I need.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolutely Love it. Great sound and power.
*by F***1 on September 24, 2025*

I replaced my noisy 20 year old 200W head with this unit but kept the 2x10 200W cabinet to see how it sounded first and, just wow! I can’t believe how good they sound now and they certainly won’t need to be replaced. I’m an old dude so naturally I play classic punk and metal. Loudly of course. The equalizer controls are surprisingly effective and allow me to get the right sound I need for different songs. The Thrust adjustment does a fantastic job of controlling those heavy downbeats and keeping it from clipping. Really beneficial for those slap bass folks. Pros: Plenty of power and the sound quality is first rate. Compact size and lightweight. Easily fits into my gig bag! The external input works well with my laptop allowing me to play along with tunes. The equalizer controls allow for accurate wave shaping. Cons: The was no instruction manual at all with this. It requires navigating their challenging website to download what passes for one. It’s quite rudimentary but does the job. A little more info would be appreciated. The above mentioned instructions sheet mentioned an included “mini jack to mini jack cable” but there was none in the box. No matter, I had one delivered the next day.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Small, cheap, powerful. Go for it, if you can grab one at msrp
*by B***L on February 28, 2026*

Small footprint, seems built well. Simple but powerful bass amp with built in compression that is of questionable value. I'd rather have some distortion but oh well. These are hard to come by due to their price/power ratio. If you can grab one at MSRP it's a great pick up. Personally, I just needed it as a transition amp after selling my markbass amp and while I was waiting for the genzler amp to arrive. So I only used it a few times and resold it for a little less than I paid. But if you have a tight budget and need the power then go for it. Realistically I don't think it's hitting the full 500 watts, but if you're running two 8 ohm cabs with it you will definitely get through the gig!

## Frequently Bought Together

- TC Electronic THRUST BQ500 500 Watt Portable Bass Head with Mosfet Preamp and Thrust Compressor
- Cable Matters Premium Braided 12AWG 1/4 Inch TS to Speaker Cable 6 ft Compatible with Speakon NL4FC Port
- Cable Matters Premium Braided 12AWG Speaker Cable 3 ft Compatible with Speakon NL4FC Port

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*Product available on Desertcart Romania*
*Store origin: RO*
*Last updated: 2026-03-05*