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the TRACE ELLIOT thread

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#41
man i remember a few years back zzounds was blowing out the 2X10 trace combos for 500$. i dont recall exactly what model. i think they were the ones with the 7 band eq and 350 watts. to this day i kick myself for not scooping one. cant even find em for that used!
 
#43
oddio said:
"The compressor circuit within the V8 is based on simple, vintage studio valve compressors. It's valve gain stage is controlled by a silicon diode side chain that has been designed to respond like a vacuum double-diode. "
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Would anyone care to explain what some of this means for a simpleton like me?
 
#44
Troy1.jpg


DSC03357.jpg

I love this amp.
 
#46
Where to begin? Including Msquared :) I had three offers to purchase the V8 yesterday... My suggestion is not to hold your breath on this happening anytime soon. Sorry.

On the compressor, the most meaningful translation would probably be that it is based on the best old tried and true tube-based studio circuits but has been optimized for bass. It sounds great - smoothing out the sound and adding some nice tube warmth.

Compared to vintage SVT (not modern ones) the V8 is smoother, harmonically rich (in a Trace Elliot way) and a bit warmer and fatter sounding. As I've pointed out repeatedly, some of this may be due to the KT88s as opposed to 6550s. Instead of growl and grind it purrs and roars (if that makes sense to anyone). For a tube amp it is quite tight and articulate and has massive headroom. It seems that the 400 wRMS rating is very conservative, especially when compared to the 300 watt MB 400+.
 
#48
Well, I got my AH250 yesterday according to my brother, but I am aschool right now so I am not going to be able to try it out until early May. Sad. I am going to have him send me some pics of it on top of my Avatar 2x12, and I'll post them later!

That's hot, AH250SMX+Avatar 2x12. Who needs MAG+Avatar when you can have this??
 
#52
Waabs said:
For all those people looking to purchase a V8 the one that was on Aussie ebay a while ago for $2500 AUD is now up again for $2200 AUD. (It isn't my one)
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I saw that too. 2500 is too much for me, plus i already have the iamp800. If i wasnt getting dental work id be right in there on the V8. Hopefully he drops it down again.
 
#53
Given the cost of similar hardware, that's not an altogether ridiculous price if it were for sale in the US and you could guarantee that it was in usable shape. Overseas though.. not worth the potential hassle IMO. Maybe if TE were still in business or you knew someone you could trust over there who could run it by a decent electronics shop.
 
#54
Wow it sounds like you guys all know what you're talking about! I'm new here, as of 1 hour ago and came to see if anyone knows anything about these amps. I played on one years ago at a jazz festival, and liked it, but haven't seen many!
And now I am about to buy an AH350-SMX, which I wasn't sure about at first but by the sounds of things is not only a great-sounding amp but should be plenty loud enough for me (small-med gigs).

At present I have an 8 ohm SWR Goliath Jr. III (2x10") lined up for it. Would like to add a 1x15" - any ideas? My chances of finding a Trace one in New Zealand are about zero. I was thinking maybe Ampeg or another SWR for the 1x15". I want something nice that I can keep for a while...I play rock & funk.

Thanks!
 
#55
DEVILMAN said:
I was told the V-8 series really had no issues with fuse problems but the V-6 & V-4's had certain quirks about them...
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I think you misunderstood my comment. There is a known problem with some of the V8s that are out there. The symptom is that the internal fuses blow frequently. The cause is related to cold solder joints on the cheap fuseholders TE used onboard. This can eventually cause the shielding on the transformer wires to burn away, which of course leads to more serious issues.
 
#58
Kelly Lee said:
I just wanted to add a little something there oddio. Hope you don't mind.

After TE sold out to them the quality just started going downhill. :(
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Kind of related to that does anyone know of how to or a link to determining the year of production via the serial number?

I'm pretty interested to know whether mine is pre Gibson take over and I've never seen any others like my one with the oval V8 badge.
 
#59
I bought my AH300 in 1989. Paid $700 for it used but mint. I've been on the road now for about 15 years solid and my Trace has been there for every gig. This thing got knocked off stage, kept working. It was sitting outside behind the bus one night, got overlooked and RUN OVER BY A BUS and kept working. It's still got the original blacklight. I've got it sitting on top of an Acme B-4 and a Joe Meek compressor and it still sounds great. I played a gig with Tony Levin last year and we were checking out each others rigs. He was like "Oh man, that's sweet, you've got an old one." He had all new Trace stuff and I think he was jealous. I'll try and get pics up tomorrow because I've gotta say, it ain't pretty. But 2,000 gigs later it still sounds great.
 
#60
Waabs said:
Kind of related to that does anyone know of how to or a link to determining the year of production via the serial number?

I'm pretty interested to know whether mine is pre Gibson take over and I've never seen any others like my one with the oval V8 badge.
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I haven't heard of anywhere to find out for sure if a TE product is Pre or Post Gibson. All I can tell you for sure is Gibson bought out TE in 1998.

You can always open the amp up and look at years on the parts. I know pre-Gibson TE amps had hand written tags on most major components that list who it was inspected by, built by, build date, tested by, and part #. I don't know if that holds true for the Gibson era equipment though. :hmm:

CQBASS, your experience is another reason I love TE amps! Their tough!
 
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