Favorite TRACE Amp of all time -

[Wood and Wire]

Ideal would be an SM/SMX mashup. Dual compressor with 7 band EQ. And there should be a "half shape" setting that is a more subtle scoop. Or a shape knob with that same curve but controlled continuously. Ditch the mid boost shape.

The 410 was always the best cab but nobody wants a 100lb 410 anymore. Get that great punchy sound some other way.

Hmmm...

Actually yeah, the old 7 bands would make a lot of sense, if the ELF were to get a beefed up version, over the 5 bands of the Transit-B.

The 4x10 was a great cab - especially live, but the Fane 15" sounded even better for recording. These days though, there need to be lighter options available.

Replacing the Pre-shape switch, with a continually variable pot is a great idea - but I think it would be fantastic if it were flat in the middle / classic Trace pre-shape at one extreme / and mid-boost at the opposite extreme.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Or use Revalver. I think Revalver is pretty great, but it seems to have been left twisting in the wind. What's up with Revalver?

For this to succeed, it needs a platform that has ubiquity, and Amplitube has that.

It's highly popular, available on Windows & Mac, available in AAX, VST, and AU formats - and importantly, the core plug-in is free, with facility to demo any amp / brand, and buy individual components cheaply.


This not only gives tech savvy bassists, the opportunity to try out many options, but it gets studio engineers, and producers, familiar with the brand.

 

[Omega Monkey]

None.

For me, Trace gear is solid rehearsal room gear, and almost universally loved only by slightly older blokes who remember when the brand was breaking new ground in the '80s and '90s. I've played through way too many Trace combos and heads with those annoying 'all or nothing' EQ push switches, the graphic EQ that doesn't really help (the 80 hz thing does nothing on a 115 combo that can't reproduce the fundamental of anything below the A string), and they all seem just a tad short on power when you want them to really deliver the goods. Nothing like having the port chuffing away when you try and keep up with a 30 watt Vox guitar combo.

The differences seem to be whether it is the combo with the scary UV light on the front, or the built in compressor... they all look fairly heinous and dated.

Like Ashdown, I've never played through a Trace amp I've genuinely liked. Like Ashdown they all seem to be loud, slightly unmusical Vanilla. Like Ashdown I seem to encounter bassists who think they are getting a nice warm, grinding and organic tone from their Trace gear, when in fact they are getting a clean, un-nuanced honk instead that they've simply grown massively too comfortable with.

 

[wvbass]

None.

For me, Trace gear is solid rehearsal room gear, and almost universally loved only by slightly older blokes who remember when the brand was breaking new ground in the '80s and '90s. I've played through way too many Trace combos and heads with those annoying 'all or nothing' EQ push switches, the graphic EQ that doesn't really help (the 80 hz thing does nothing on a 115 combo that can't reproduce the fundamental of anything below the A string), and they all seem just a tad short on power when you want them to really deliver the goods. Nothing like having the port chuffing away when you try and keep up with a 30 watt Vox guitar combo.

The differences seem to be whether it is the combo with the scary UV light on the front, or the built in compressor... they all look fairly heinous and dated.

Like Ashdown, I've never played through a Trace amp I've genuinely liked. Like Ashdown they all seem to be loud, slightly unmusical Vanilla. Like Ashdown I seem to encounter bassists who think they are getting a nice warm, grinding and organic tone from their Trace gear, when in fact they are getting a clean, un-nuanced honk instead that they've simply grown massively too comfortable with.

Comments like these in threads like this are sometimes akin to inciting a riot, but I'll take the bait. I think we have similar views in some ways, but what you choose to see as a negative I see as a positive.

I think the most dramatic tone shift you can make with an old Trace was the "pre shape" button, and for my purposes, that button is as useless as the Aural Enhancer (suck knob) on an SWR. The graphic EQ on my Series 6 has a slider to blend between the flat tone and the EQ'd tone, a feature I still don't understand. All those EQ sliders don't make dramatic changes to the sound, either.

I find that last part to be the appeal of the amp. With the blend slider set all the way to the graphic side, the amp delivers a consistent tone no matter what. The EQ sliders shape the tone without a lot of dramatic thump, bark, or bite. They have an effect though. (Whether or not the cabinet I use can reproduce that effect is a very different issue.) Once it is dialed in to my liking, it is neither a smiley face nor a frowney face. It sounds really good, though.

I find it interesting that you state your subjective opinions of Trace's tone as fact, but I suppose that is correct from your point of view. Above is a bit of what is correct from my point of view. I also think that, with any combo amp, we often expect one or two speakers to deliver in situations where four, six or eight would be more appropriate.

Finally, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that, after this thread gave me occasion to enjoy my old Trace preamp again, I mis-remembered what model it is. It is a Series 6 GP 12X. When I plugged it into my powered monitor yesterday, I was surprised to find it far less hifi and far more substantial than I remembered. It was a pleasant surprise!

 

[Thundar]

When I was but a wee young lad of about 20 yrs old (1990) I went into my local mom and pop music store in Hooterville Arkansas, and there was a used Trace Elliott "stack" sitting in there that someone who was very hard up for cash had sold to the store. Now this store carried nothing but Peavey and Marshall at the time, and my experience in trying out bass rigs was very limited in those days (Peavey, Ampeg, GK, and Hartke). My memory tells me this was a tube head and two 410 cabs..I dont recall the models, but I cranked that baby up and plugged in what I remember as a Peavey Foundation and nearly took down the walls....I had never heard such a deep and thick bass tone in my life. I ran out to my car and grabbed by Spector NS2A and tried it...HOLY SHIZBALLS! It was even better!
To this day, I still remember that combination of Spector and Trace as the ultimate bass tone nirvana!
Go ask Doug Wimbish

 

[Wood and Wire]

The graphic EQ on my Series 6 has a slider to blend between the flat tone and the EQ'd tone, a feature I still don't understand.

It's not a blend control, it's a master level control for the EQ.

The idea is that if your EQ adjustments cause an overall boost in gain, you can attenuate the level of the EQ'd signal, so that switching the EQ on, or off, doesn't change the perceived volume between flat, and EQ'd ; just a change of voicing / tonality.

Conversely, if your EQ settings cut the overall gain, you can use the slider to bring the EQ'd signal, back up to the level of the flat signal.

This also gives you the option of setting the EQ vs flat signal, significantly louder / quieter, so that you can use whichever tone you prefer for solos - using the foot-switch to affect a boost, by engaging / disengaging the EQ section.

 

[Omega Monkey]

That would also be a good thing to add that the last series of amps left out. I always have to be careful switching the EQ in or out to make sure I don't get a big jump in volume.

 

[ExGinger]

As a former owner of V6 and V300H amps, which were gigged for many years, that's my fave TE tone. That said, I now own an ELF stack with 2 x 10 ELF bins. I like it very much and have used it in a number of style settings and found it to be a really good rig. Whatever tone that you've baked into the amp is "Trace-ish" to my ears. I'm very happy to be back in the TE family.

With that out of the way, I would like to see a 500-watt (+ or -) head with the same ELF footprint, just a little taller. I would include a multi-band graphic EQ, mute switch, and a compressor in/out. I'd also consider putting rack-style handles on the BACK because I think the switch-gear is vulnerable. Plus more padding at the bottom of the carry bag.

My little secret that can't be shared on TalkBass, I'm using the ELF with 1 x 10 as my jazz guitar amp. With a reverb pedal, it's beautiful. Clean, clear, rich: a sleeper.

Trace Is The Place (with apologies to Sun Ra)

 

[Omega Monkey]

Trace as Polytone, I can dig it.

 

[Jimbob Jones]

I'm also really enjoying the options that the dual power section of the AH600SMX offers - biamp with built in crossover, stereo FX setup, or even just the equivalent of 600W in to 2ohms (that is, 2x 300W into 4ohms) - means you can drive an awful lot of cab from one head.

Anyone got thoughts on a class D with two 500w/4ohm power sections, rather than one massive 1000w one?

Unrelated, I'm also all for a beefier Elf that's slightly taller, just so that you can fit a proper NL4 connector instead of a jack for the speaker output!

 

[Basskosta]

Ah500x into 2 1048 red stripes. Very happy, even if mostly living in our rehearsal room due to its weight... I am curious how this would sound through 4 of those cabs...

 

[sonic 7]

GP12SMX. Best ever.

 

[Microbass]

This is my TRACE Elliot rig, BAD to the bone. Sitting atop a vintage Berg sealed 6. Best tone of all my amps.View attachment 3088830

Always fancied a grill for my V4...

None.

For me, Trace gear is solid rehearsal room gear, and almost universally loved only by slightly older blokes who remember when the brand was breaking new ground in the '80s and '90s. I've played through way too many Trace combos and heads with those annoying 'all or nothing' EQ push switches, the graphic EQ that doesn't really help (the 80 hz thing does nothing on a 115 combo that can't reproduce the fundamental of anything below the A string), and they all seem just a tad short on power when you want them to really deliver the goods. Nothing like having the port chuffing away when you try and keep up with a 30 watt Vox guitar combo.

The differences seem to be whether it is the combo with the scary UV light on the front, or the built in compressor... they all look fairly heinous and dated.

I can only assume you've never had the pleasure of using a fully working Trace live. I've never struggled for volume, even with a band that had 3 guitarists.

Regarding looks, I wouldn't say dated, but I was once asked if I required an engineering degree to work the preamp at a gig.

------------------
As for what I'd like? GP12SMX preamp - it should utilise both valve stages for grit, SMX pedal in a smaller case compared to the original, something V-Type. Or a GP12SMX with V4/6/8 power amp. Affordability is also key along with reliability.

 

[Wisebass]

AH500X series V.

Oh yeah.

View attachment 3088603

Ah500x into 2 1048 red stripes. Very happy, even if mostly living in our rehearsal room due to its weight... I am curious how this would sound through 4 of those cabs...

The usual suspects!

greetings

Wise(b)ass

 

[Zbysek]

Time do to a little product development ...

Besides the current models (elf etc) What is your favorite Trace Elliot amp or preamp of all time, and why? Same goes for cabs...

Also what you dislike about them is helpful as well ....

I can't comment on the old stuff. But I would like to make one suggestion relating to the new stuff. I love my TE ELF. I am using it for smaller gigs with FOH support. I would very much appreciate if the DI would be set pre EQ. In the current state (DI post EQ), I can't adjust EQ on stage during a gig because it would change the DI output...

So: please, please, can you make the ELF's DI pre-EQ? Thank you

 

[disssa]

I love to play my V-Types:

But my favorite is the Invalid Link Removed:

and the Invalid Link Removed:

 

[Downunderwonder]

I can't comment on the old stuff. But I would like to make one suggestion relating to the new stuff. I love my TE ELF. I am using it for smaller gigs with FOH support. I would very much appreciate if the DI would be set pre EQ. In the current state (DI post EQ), I can't adjust EQ on stage during a gig because it would change the DI output...

So: please, please, can you make the ELF's DI pre-EQ? Thank you

No room for a pre post toggle and the majority like giving FOH the tasty Trace sound rather than naked bass, so you'll have to get the TransitB or get a vanilla DI to go in front of Elf.

 

[cornfarmer]

hay guyz, shameless marketing of my amp for sale.


For Sale/Trade - Trace Elliot V-Type hybrid head...will trade

 

[amper]

Time do to a little product development ...

Besides the current models (elf etc) What is your favorite Trace Elliot amp or preamp of all time, and why? Same goes for cabs...

Also what you dislike about them is helpful as well ....

The original V-Type 220W Head and 1248/1248H cabs in British Racing Green. Because I use to own two of them, plus the Rackmount Preamp, and still own a 1248H cab, and they were freaking amazing.

What do I dislike about them? They are very heavy.

 

[amper]

I will also say I adored the same era (mid-1990s) SM/SMX series amps and cabs, as well as the Series 6 versions which preceded them and are virtually identical, as far as I've ever been able to tell. My first bass amp was a Series 6 AH200, and honestly, nothing I've ever owned since has ever sounded better than that amp. My second set of cabinets were a Trace Elliot 2102 and 1153, but I'd have preferred two 1518s.

The Trace Elliot solid-state gear had a completely different sound to the V-Type valve gear. The Trace Elliot solid-state sound pretty much defined what the term "modern bass tone" even means, while the V-Type amps are just the epitome of the all-tube/sealed cabinet sound. They are better to my ears than the Ampeg SVT series, but that's just a matter of personal choice, nothing against Ampeg.