EddieTheKiller said:
Hmmm..
Anybody here can tell me exactly what year Trace Elliot was bought by Gibson?
Some of this may not be 100% accurate. Any corrections are welcome...
Late 1970s First Trace Elliot amps produced for the Bass Centre in Essex, UK
1980s to 1992 Golden age of Trace Elliot (for want of a better term)
c 1990 Series VI amps introduced
1992 Takeover by Kaman
1997 Mark Gooday resigns as Managing Director and forms Ashdown Engineering
Apr 1997 Kaman decides to stop manufacturing in the UK and puts Trace Elliot up for sale.
Kaman said:
On Tuesday April 15, Kaman Corporation concluded that it is no longer in
the Corporations interest to continue the manufacturing operations of
Trace Elliot Amplifiers in the UK. It is expected that the phasedown of
that facility will occur over the next several months. In anticipation
of this move, adequate inventories of key products have been moved to
the U.S.A. to ensure a reasonably steady supply of product to our loyal
dealer base.
Kaman Music has been and continues to be in discussions with several
parties interested in acquiring the Trace Elliot assets and brand name.
While there are no pending offers at this time, we are all confident
that a new owner for Trace Elliot will emerge, who will carry this
world-renowned name in bass and acoustic amplifiers into the next
century.
We hope that you, as a supporter of Trace Elliot product, continue to
sell and promote the product during this transition period. Please
contact your Kaman Music District Sales Manager for details on product
availability and pricing.
Mark Gooday said:
It is quite complex. I sold Trace Elliot, with my partner Fred, to an American company. I had a five-year contract with them and that was coming to an end in `97. The Americans and I did not see eye to eye in the slightest on the direction of the company, we were at loggerheads as to what we were both doing. They were closing down a lot of their music sections and intending to sell Trace Elliot and I was in the midst of trying to buy it back. This didn't work out particularly well and it got a little bit politically difficult between us to the point where they thought it was better that I went and I thought it was better that I did.
Then I wasn't allowed to do anything in the music industry for six months, which gave me time to decide what I wanted to do. Trace made some fantastic achievements over the years, ones I'm very proud of and I miss the company today.
So towards the end of 1997 the first Ashdown products were shipped to the Japanese Trade Show and were reasonably successful straight away. Ashdown's first amp was the 500-watt Klystron Bass Magnifier, a curious name, I thought.
The reason it was called that was because of the Flash Gordon movie. There's a part in it where they say, "Turn up the Klystron Magnifier" and they're turning up this huge machine, which is exactly the image I wanted.
Kaman is seeking to streamline its inventory, less than one fifth of which are music companies. Set to be dropped are Trace Elliot, which suffers in the US from the strength of the UK pound and Legend drums.
3rd Jun 1997 Trace Elliot UK refutes the news of its demise, stating they are in negotiations with Kaman to buy back company
Trace Elliot said:
Over the past couple of months there has been plenty of gossip on both
the net and the street regarding Trace Elliot and our current situation.
We would like to set the record straight as some of the gossip is not
only innacurate but also damaging to us and our loyal customers around
the world.
Trace Elliot is up for sale, the price most certainly is not $1 as per a
recent posting. Currently the three directors of Trace Elliot in the UK
are in negotiations to buy the company back from Kaman. We are hoping
that all will be resolved within the next 4 weeks or so.
Since Kaman Music Corp's purchase of Trace Elliot in 1992, we have
consistently increased our business every year. 1996 was a record year
and 1997 is also looking good. Obviously with the inevitable change
over of distributon that will occur in the USA, sales from TE to USA are
likely to down on last year. However, we are confident that this will
not be a problem when the company is sold and a new distributor has been
appointed in the USA.
27th Jun 1997 Trace Elliot becomes a stand alone company when the directors of Trace Elliot UK finalise a deal to buy the company from Kaman. Trace Elliot continue to manufacture in the UK
Jan 1998 Introduction of 7-band SMC series and V-Type
Oct 1998 Takeover by Gibson
Gibson said:
Gibson acquires Trace-Elliot, U.K.amplifier, bass, and string maker
Gibson Musical Instruments, under the direction of Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, has added legendary amplifier company Trace Elliott to it's family of music instrument manufacturing companies.
The acquisition was completed on October 2nd. Gibson is now the sole-owner of the 100-employee U.K.-based company. Trace Elliott is known as a world leader in amplifier and electronics technology. Some of the top musicians in the world make Trace Elliot their amplifier of choice including Dave Matthews, John Entwistle, Tony Levin, and Don Henley.
"We're very excited about this acquisition because it's a natural compliment to our worldwide guitar operations, and Trace Elliot, being the leading name in bass and acoustic amps, provides an excellent platform for Gibson to move back into the amplifier business," says Henry Juszkiewicz.
The Trace Elliott acquisition, along with the recent purchase of Opcode Software, marks a series of recent moves by Gibson, including a company-strengthening reorganization of their Nashville-based operations, to insure that the 104-year-old legendary company will remain the industry leader well into the new millenium.
Mar 1999 Introduction of 12-band series (GP12X preamp)
July 2000 General redesign of Trace amps: Introduction of new 7-band series (promising real world prices); Introduction of new 12-band series; Introduction of V8 Amp; redesign of the Commando combos
2000 to 2001 Manufacture of some amps moved to asia.
Dec 2001 Gibson stops production of Trace Elliot amps, rebadging some as Gibson amps
). 
I thought the date was somewhere in this thread...
