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"Best" Trace Elliot cabs

tombowlus

tombowlus

If it sounds good, it is good
Gold Supporting Member
Apr 3, 2003
35,515
19,945
North central Ohio
www.bassgearmag.com
Disclosures
Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
#1
I have always thought favorably of Trace Elliot gear, but after picking up a Twin Valve Combo, my interest really picked up. After much searching, I finally tracked down a V8 (yea! :hyper:), and as far as I am concerned, it is the top dawg among TE heads. The hype is certainly for real!

As you can probably tell, I am now seeing "Green" and I am wondering what some of you Trace afficionados think is/are the best cab or cabs that Trace Elliot made. In the past, I recall being more impressed with their heads than with their cabs, but to be honest I didn't actually try that many, and it has been years since I played through a Trace Elliot cab (not counting the Twin Valve Combo).

I just scored a 4052 4x5 Bright Box off ebay (they always seemed kinda cool!), but I won't have it in my hands for a while yet. While I really want to hear about what y'all think are the killer, classic TE cabs, I would also be interested in knowing which ones you think might pair up well with the 4052.

Oh yeah, any more information on the 4052 (like frequency range, etc.) would be appreciated!

Thanks, Tom.
 
#3
well, the one i had was the 2x15" (300w@4ohms). it´s the best for high-volume and punch and with quite some clarity!
the other that i really liked was the 4x12" (800w@8ohms)without horn. a little darker sounding if i remember it right.
or why not both plus that 4x5" :bassist:
overkill?
yeah! :)
no, to tell you the truth i have always liked the sounds i got from any trace cab i played throu. the 4x10+1x15 combination a killer.
but that 2x15" really was the best to my ears.
 
#4
Mr. voodoobass said:
the 4x10+1x15 combination a killer.
but that 2x15" really was the best to my ears.
Click to expand...

The 4x10/1x15 combo was always what I thought of as a "classic" Trace cab configuration.

But a tweeterless 4x12 with the Bright Box might be a cool setup.

Thanks, Tom.
 
#5
Personally I always liked and still own the 4x10 configuration w/ horn (model 1048H) combined with the single 18" (model 1818), which I found to be better with a 5-string than when combined with the single 15 (model 1518)... not the loose old-school 18 of days gone by, but nice and tight-sounding. I purchased these brand new along with an AH600SMX, all in the Rolls Royce green covering. I can add the specs on these if you wish.

When the V8 was released Trace also introduced two brand new cabinets to go with it... a 4x12 (model 1248H) and a 2x15 (1528). The new cabinets were very well reviewed. I haven't spotted any of these in the wild or for sale used (or otherwise), although you can still read about them on the old Gibson TE site [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

As to the specs on what the catalog refers to as a "horn box"... 8ohms, 150 watts, 4kHZ-15kHZ, H150/W480/D335 / Weight 9.1Kg
 
#6
Your lucky you bought that 4052H before I did. I have been searching for one of those for over a year.

My favorite Trace cab is the 1524 2x15 cab. Real punch, warm yet defined lows, and smooth highs. This is what I plan to match up with a 4052H eventually. It would be the perfect setup IMO.
 
#9
pickles said:
How do you actually drive those bright boxes? Seems like the kind of thing you'd want on a crossover with a dedicated amp channel ...
Click to expand...

You could do that, but you can also run them full range, as it is my understanding that they have internal crossovers. This also means that for all intents and purposes, they will add little or no additional load to the amp, so you probably don't have to factor in their impedance.

Tom.
 
#10
tombowlus said:
You could do that, but you can also run them full range, as it is my understanding that they have internal crossovers. This also means that for all intents and purposes, they will add little or no additional load to the amp, so you probably don't have to factor in their impedance.

Tom.
Click to expand...

Trip ... I dind't know that was possible without "throwing away" the rest of the signal.
 
#11
I love my trace 410 but due to portability issues with it (my small car and tons of stairs), I am selling mine now. It really sucks that they aren't making their gear anymore. Gibson is trying to get people to work on trace's bass stuff again but are having little interest from workers. And Gibson is right here in TN too.

Wouldn't you guys agree that Trace's stuff sounds so good because its so buttery warm? I remember visiting basstasters.com and listening to the preamps only to find that trace sounded the warmest in that setting. What's the secret?
 
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#12
I am not a chronicler of TE stuff, but I have come across a few cabs. I don't remember the models. Never met the 2 X 15, or the 4 X 10 + 15. I liked the 8 X 10 though. Didn't seem warm to me, but sounded pretty clear and powerful. Completely different from an Ampeg. I own a Trace cab, it is about the size of my Bergantino stack (2 X 10, 15). It has an 18, 10, and a tweeter. The 10 is in its own sealed compartment. I had the tweeter out, it is huge and heavy, pretty impressive for a tweeter. I recall at the store, some self proclaimed expert announced that "they NEVER built that cab with a tweeter there, it's been MODDED" in an offended tone of voice. If so, whoever did the job did it perfectly, and even managed to get the tweeter from the UK like the rest of the speakers. It has lows like crazy, all over the room it can be felt.
 
#13
tombowlus said:
You could do that, but you can also run them full range, as it is my understanding that they have internal crossovers. This also means that for all intents and purposes, they will add little or no additional load to the amp, so you probably don't have to factor in their impedance.
Click to expand...
So it has a passive high-pass filter, eh? Interesting! I was looking through my old Trace promo stuff and noticed that both Doug Wimbish' bright boxes are labelled 4052b/200w on the front, so it appears that there were a few versions made.
 
#14
i have trace GP75M 200 1x15 combo and a matching 1x15 ext cab.
apparently its pre buy out.
whats this thing worth?

im not really using it much since i got my GK Head...
might sell in future.

lemme know

thanks!

-todd
 

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#16
tombowlus said:
You could do that, but you can also run them full range, as it is my understanding that they have internal crossovers. This also means that for all intents and purposes, they will add little or no additional load to the amp, so you probably don't have to factor in their impedance.

Tom.
Click to expand...
According to Trace Elliot you can "disregard" the impedance rating. I can run the Bright Box at 8 ohms with my 1524 at 4 ohms and the amp will only see 4 ohms.



Sethlow3, if you haven't heard, Gibson ( :spit: ) no longer owns Trace Elliot! :D Peavey does. New products to be released this summer. :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:
 
#17
sethlow3 said:
I love my trace 410 but due to portability issues with it (my small car and tons of stairs), I am selling mine now. It really sucks that they aren't making their gear anymore. Gibson is trying to get people to work on trace's bass stuff again but are having little interest from workers. And Gibson is right here in TN too.

Wouldn't you guys agree that Trace's stuff sounds so good because its so buttery warm? I remember visiting basstasters.com and listening to the preamps only to find that trace sounded the warmest in that setting. What's the secret?
Click to expand...

Just to let you know. Trace Elliot is back, and is been distributed by Peavey. No affiliation with Gibson anymore.
 
#18
oddio said:
So it has a passive high-pass filter, eh? Interesting! I was looking through my old Trace promo stuff and noticed that both Doug Wimbish' bright boxes are labelled 4052b/200w on the front, so it appears that there were a few versions made.
Click to expand...

The one that I bought off ebay is listed as 8 ohm and 200 watt on the back:

22_12_sb.jpg


Here's the front picture:

0b_12_sb.jpg
 

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