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Team Trace Elliot pt4.

#2,141
I love the old classic Trace Elliot tone, that is without the pre-shape buttons engaged, I like my mids intact thank you.

I even preferred the tone of the Trace Elliot SM7 combo I once owned to the Ampeg B-15S I once owned (though I do still regret being stupid enough to sell the latter).

Therefore I have for a long time considered getting the Transit-B Bass Preamp for my amp-less setup, combined with an IR loader.

My question however is it worth it?

Will it really sound like those old classic SM Trace Elliot combos and heads?
 
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#2,143
Ritter667 said:
I love the old classic Trace Elliot tone, that is without the pre-shape buttons engaged, I like my mids intact thank you.

I even preferred the tone of the Trace Elliot SM7 combo I once owned to the Ampeg B-15S I once owned (though I do still regret being stupid enough to sell the latter).

Therefore I have for a long time considered getting the Transit-B Bass Preamp for my amp-less setup, combined with an IR loader.

My question however is it worth it?

Will it really sound like those old classic SM Trace Elliot combos and heads?
Click to expand...

I had one and thought it sounded exactly like a trad TE head. I had no problem with the onboard Pre-shape #1 option although it requires some compensation via the 4 band EQ. Only gripe was the tuner had trouble capturing the 12th fret harmonics.

Riis
 
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#2,144
andreas_flf said:
Thanks for the hint. Will try.
Click to expand...
So far no response. Maybe just some more patience needed. And BTW, I made some thorough testing: There are really several things wrong. E.g. the return signal plugged into MONO (or RIGHT/MONO) always leaks into the power amp, i.e. while being in SERIES MODE switching the effects loop on or off does no longer matter. All LEDs shine very weak and the compressor blue LED has become totally invisible on the front panel as well as on the BFC-6. Whether it is engaged or not, I can no longer tell and that formerly pretty blue LED loght is just gone. And soundwise it does also no longer matter. Only the mute does still work. Yet its red LED is also quite weak. Has really no one ever seen these controls going bad? I have seen it on another amp of the same kind, not as bad as on mine, nevertheless. So I wonder. No one out there having experienced similar problems with the peamp board? Can no one offer me any advice? Otherwise the amp is still fine. Yet I loved the preamp, in particular given all the nice controls.
 
#2,145
New amp - a '94 BLX130 :cool:
my other equipment has started to orbit it it's so heavy, but what a pokey, great sounding little thing IMG_6063.jpeg

IMG_6062.jpegIMG_6066.jpeg
 
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#2,147
andreas_flf said:
So far no response. Maybe just some more patience needed. And BTW, I made some thorough testing: There are really several things wrong. E.g. the return signal plugged into MONO (or RIGHT/MONO) always leaks into the power amp, i.e. while being in SERIES MODE switching the effects loop on or off does no longer matter. All LEDs shine very weak and the compressor blue LED has become totally invisible on the front panel as well as on the BFC-6. Whether it is engaged or not, I can no longer tell and that formerly pretty blue LED loght is just gone. And soundwise it does also no longer matter. Only the mute does still work. Yet its red LED is also quite weak. Has really no one ever seen these controls going bad? I have seen it on another amp of the same kind, not as bad as on mine, nevertheless. So I wonder. No one out there having experienced similar problems with the peamp board? Can no one offer me any advice? Otherwise the amp is still fine. Yet I loved the preamp, in particular given all the nice controls.
Click to expand...
I resent the e-mail and got immediately a very kind answer from Chris Goodwin Customer Service Manager with Peavey. To my pleasure he thinks the amp can still be fixed, yet parts such as the preamp board would no longer be available and that the amp will have to be repaired on the component level. He guesses (without having seen the amp) that I might also have a low voltage power supply issue.
 
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#2,149
Schlyder said:
Has anyone tried wiring the 2x8 cabs in series to get a 16 ohm cabinet? I would like to try a rig with two 2x8 cabs @ 8 ohm load... or three 2x8 cabs @ 6 ohm load.. or four 2x8 cabs @ 4 ohms? Has anyone tried this yet?
Click to expand...

Two in series will be 16 ohms. Three in series will be 24 ohms. Since the cabs are matching, series will be fine. But the higher impedance will limit how much power a solid state amp can produce.

6 ohms? I assume you mean two cabs in series for 16 ohms plus one 8 ohm cab in parallel. Total load is 5.33 ohms. I don't think this is a good idea because of the way the available power will be shared. The 8 ohm parallel cab will draw twice as much power as the two 16 ohm cabs. Let's assume you have 300W. The parallel cab will get 200W and the two series cabs will get 50W each.

Four cabs in series parallel at 4 ohms should work great.
 
#2,150
Wasnex said:
Two in series will be 16 ohms. Three in series will be 24 ohms. Since the cabs are matching, series will be fine. But the higher impedance will limit how much power a solid state amp can produce.

6 ohms? I assume you mean two cabs in series for 16 ohms plus one 8 ohm cab in parallel. Total load is 5.33 ohms. I don't think this is a good idea because of the way the available power will be shared. The 8 ohm parallel cab will draw twice as much power as the two 16 ohm cabs. Let's assume you have 300W. The parallel cab will get 200W and the two series cabs will get 50W each.

Four cabs in series parallel at 4 ohms should work great.
Click to expand...
No I am meaning.. rewiring each single cab to 16 ohm, and then 4 of those cabs, into the head for a 4 ohm load.
 
#2,152
IMG_0726.png
IMG_0727.png

Hey there thought I’d bump this thread and ask what the general characteristics of trace preamps are. What were the characteristics that made your TE gear stand out from others? Aside from hearing some great sounding YouTube videos and learning about a few of the famous players who have used Trace Elliot I don’t have much experience to be honest. I bought the transit b preamp pedal and I’ll know what that sounds like after it gets in. If anyone has one of these and would like to comment that would be awesome too. Aside from the look and layout I like the carrying bag these come with. I also like having 5 bands of eq with 3 of them being mid controls. To me this thing looks very well thought out.
 
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#2,153
GTHintz said:
View attachment 7516339View attachment 7516340
Hey there thought I’d bump this thread and ask what the general characteristics of trace preamps are. What were the characteristics that made your TE gear stand out from others? Aside from hearing some great sounding YouTube videos and learning about a few of the famous players who have used Trace Elliot I don’t have much experience to be honest. I bought the transit b preamp pedal and I’ll know what that sounds like after it gets in. If anyone has one of these and would like to comment that would be awesome too. Aside from the look and layout I like the carrying bag these come with. I also like having 5 bands of eq with 3 of them being mid controls. To me this thing looks very well thought out.
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, it has the TE vibe that can't be dialed-out IME. I had one but preferred the SansAmp character but that's just me. Some recent posts have cited a high-end "hiss" that can't be tamed...I don't recall this as being an issue with mine. For the record, I own and use an ancient English TE 130 full-blown amp. The Transit B should get you pretty durn close. More importantly, we'd like to know your take on it after you've given it a spin.

Riis
 
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#2,154
Zooberwerx said:
In a nutshell, it has the TE vibe that can't be dialed-out IME. I had one but preferred the SansAmp character but that's just me. Some recent posts have cited a high-end "hiss" that can't be tamed...I don't recall this as being an issue with mine. For the record, I own and use an ancient English TE 130 full-blown amp. The Transit B should get you pretty durn close. More importantly, we'd like to know your take on it after you've given it a spin.

Riis
Click to expand...
Well I’d definitely post about it once I sit with it. I have 8 basses to try through it and lots of pedals to blend in if I want. I’m hoping the TE vibe is something I’ll like since it’s not going anywhere if I don’t. I’m particularly excited about the eq and the compressor which I don’t usually use but I like the principle of lo and hi band compression settings. I’m hoping that it’ll be an all n 1 pedal that I won’t feel the need to chain things into it to round it out but hey I have pedals and I know I’ll eventually be testing it.
 
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#2,156
GTHintz said:
How would you describe TE vibe?
Click to expand...

With the "Shape" employed, a mid-scoop and lots of high-end air or ambience. Might want to check out any available videos. I had some difficulty getting the tuner to "capture" harmonics...never could figure that one out. The compressor is more than passable. It's been a few years so I may be a little foggy on details.

Riis
 
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#2,157
Zooberwerx said:
With the "Shape" employed, a mid-scoop and lots of high-end air or ambience. Might want to check out any available videos. I had some difficulty getting the tuner to "capture" harmonics...never could figure that one out. The compressor is more than passable. It's been a few years so I may be a little foggy on details.

Riis
Click to expand...
Thanks. My hope is that I’ll like how the lows and mids come together and that maybe 5 bands is better than 3 or 4. I have some preamps that I like the lows but everything else isn’t quite doing it for me and I’ve got others that I like the mids and highs but the lows aren’t sitting where I want. I had phases where I was playing HiFi stuff like swr and enjoying the tone but then got into a phase with coloration and going down rabbit holes. Gk, Hartke, Mesa, Ampeg, EBS Aguilar Darkglass etc have all been things I’ve tried. I’ve had fender, basson, peavey, swr amps and cabs and for some reason never thought about Trace. For the fact that Geddy Lee used a couple amps before he went all iem and direct to soundboard alone means that they were good. The era that he’d have used trace gear sounded really good. Even early Nickelback was pretty good and that was Trace Elliot. 90’s nickelback actually rocks. lol
 
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#2,158
I've always thought the Increase 'Gain/OK/Overload' LED's on the OG Traces at the input should have been widely adopted. Get the tone via gain you want, go down to the other end and turn it up louder or turn down, EQ in between the two. Brilliant and obvious even to a doofuss like me.

Shooting fish in a barrel.
 
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#2,159
GTHintz said:
Thanks. My hope is that I’ll like how the lows and mids come together and that maybe 5 bands is better than 3 or 4. I have some preamps that I like the lows but everything else isn’t quite doing it for me and I’ve got others that I like the mids and highs but the lows aren’t sitting where I want. I had phases where I was playing HiFi stuff like swr and enjoying the tone but then got into a phase with coloration and going down rabbit holes. Gk, Hartke, Mesa, Ampeg, EBS Aguilar Darkglass etc have all been things I’ve tried. I’ve had fender, basson, peavey, swr amps and cabs and for some reason never thought about Trace. For the fact that Geddy Lee used a couple amps before he went all iem and direct to soundboard alone means that they were good. The era that he’d have used trace gear sounded really good. Even early Nickelback was pretty good and that was Trace Elliot. 90’s nickelback actually rocks. lol
Click to expand...

I play my TE amp thru what would normally considered to be a POS Crate 15" and it sounds great. I've always associated TE with Tony Levin.

CrateCab.jpg

Riis
 
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#2,160
Zooberwerx said:
I play my TE amp thru what would normally considered to be a POS Crate 15" and it sounds great. I've always associated TE with Tony Levin.

View attachment 7516561

Riis
Click to expand...
Tony Levin is such a great player too. Definitely a Peter Gabriel fan. Those bass rigs would have to handle a ton of complex frequencies and huge synth effects so that’s definitely a vote of confidence. I’m a rock and metal guy but I respect the crap out of pop too. The playing and gear has to be on point to pull off the stuff especially Peter Gabriel was doing.
 
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