i cant be the only person.....

s_mcsleazy · #1 07-14-2010, 01:21 PM

who preferes the older trace elliots

ok im lucky that ive been playing for a few years now and had a chance to try ALOT of gear. amps in particular. i always loved the older trace elliots and i wanted one for years. ive recorded e.p's with my friends v8, i loved alot of the cabs (some in my opion were insanely amazing) and the ss heads were built like tanks.

when i heard a local music shop got some of the new trace elliots in i went to give them a try. i grabbed my jazz bass and headded down to the shop. the 1st thing i did was plug straight into a AH600-7 with a 4x10 cab and i was really dissapointed.

i dunno what it was but it just wasnt making me feel like a trace elliot should. then things went down hill as i looked at the price. nearly £1000 for the head. my friend brought his old trace elliot head (it was a gp7) for £250 and i was so dissapointed i walked out

so am i the only person who would rather have one of the old ones than the newer ones

RickenBoogie · #2 07-14-2010, 05:07 PM

I've never owned any Trace gear, until last week. A boxer 65 1x12 combo, made in Great Britain. Very impressive tone from this little guy. If that's even close to what you're talking about, then yeah, the older stuff rocks.

Bob C · #3 07-14-2010, 05:14 PM

I tried a few of the olders ones years ago and liked them. TE heads do have a signature sound that most people either love or hate.

They are now owned by Peavey, right? Not that that's good or bad. But are there major engineering changes? And do you know whether what you didn't like can be attributed mainly to the head or cab?

LennyP · #4 07-16-2010, 02:26 PM

I haven't tried the new ones, but I had an old AH350 Series 6 from 92 and kept it until last year. The best high volume solid sound I've heard. Then I stupidly sold it as I was using my Ashdown MAG400 head (2001 UK) much more. While I love the Ashdown warmer sound for a P Bass, I missed the older Trace sound for the active basses and just recently picked up an AH150 head from the early 80s - VERY impressive sound with just the 7 band graphic. I also picked up an old 1110 4x10 combo with the MKV GP11 graphic. That's also great, if a little underpowered. It was so cheap though, I just bought it as a project, as I had wanted one of these back in the 90s. Condition is poor but works fine.
It would appear from reading other threads that the MKIV and MKV were the best for the 'Classic' Trace tone and are highly regarded also due to the components used.