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Trace Eilliot Micro Amp?

#25
BbbyBld said:
You're right about model releases, but I think the inside of the new Trace has come a long way since partnering with Peavey. Trace was stuck in the 70's and 80's technologically. Now that we handle customer service and repairs for the legacy stuff...holy geez some of that older stuff was a nightmare! Especially the power sections.



I feel pretty certain it's a phase. People say they want portability, but micro amps are not a complete solution. A high quality, portable combo amp (like the Trace combos) would be more of a complete solution, but combos are not cool right now, micro amps are all the rage. That doesn't mean you won't see one from Trace or Peavey.



I think this is the way things are headed after "the phase". I am blown away by what you can do with an iPad and audio interface these days.
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A Trace combo is a more complete solution? Micro amps are the 'rage' because you give up nothing except weight. Many of us have been using micro's for 20+ years:rollno:

Wow.
 
#30
That might explain a lot. I can see the Peavey R&D team testing the competitive micro's and thinking 'these things suck, no sound comes out'.
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Reminds me of a place I worked for a long time ago. A group rented a wireless mike system and brought it back a few days later complaining that it didn't work. We got blank looks when we started asking about how they hooked it up to the PA.

Micro amps are the 'rage' because you give up nothing except weight.
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You give up more than weight.

Well, compare a micro head to a combo and the combo is indeed more complete as the micro head lacks a speaker
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That's where I was going with that. When someone uses a micro with a 112 or 110, I'm like, dude get a combo, or rather dude, that SHOULD be a combo.

I think high quality combos are the way forward more so than just shrinking the amp. Combos are often filled with compromises so that they are "good enough". They don't have to be that way, but market research says people wouldn't buy a super combo even if it existed. High power, high performance tri-amped 3-way speaker system, light weight, etc... I've experimented with it and I know there's a lot of potential.

Why would they disappear when they have so many positive thing going for them?
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I think they will be obsolete, but until then, I'm working on some stuff that will also be obsolete.;)
 
#31
BbbyBld said:
You give up more than weight.
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Such as?

My current micro (Streamliner 900) has gobs of power, great tone, a very useful EQ, and even a great sounding overdrive, all in a package that I can easily lift with one hand. What could I possibly be giving up in the scenario?

I could say the same thing, minus the bit about overdrive, about my previous micros, a GK MB2-500, Markbass LMTube, and a Tecamp Puma1000.
 
#32
This thread pretty clearly illustrates why Peavey amps are generally unpopular, thought of as primitive gear for people stuck in the 80's.

Now, don't get me too wrong, I know that some Peavey amps have a rep for sounding good and being bombproof, so I'm not saying they "suck". Just commenting on the general public perception of the brand, and how the attitude shown by Bobby here could be a root cause.

It's especially baffling how he says in one breath that a micro combo would make the most sense, but in another breath that most of them are too much of a compromise, and nobody would buy a "super combo". Never mind the success of the Genz Shuttles for example.

Sounds like Peavey wants to transform into a software company, rather than modernizing their position in the hardware market.
 
#35
sonic 7 said:
There's just no free lunch, even with a micro head you still have to lug a cabinet, and neo speakers are pretty much out. Unless your a pro with a road crew your just gonna have to lug some gear around .
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Well my cab is 43LBS & amp is 5LBS (fEARful 15/6 I built from Italian Poplar + GKMB800).

Loud as hell and sounds great.

So no, you dont have to have heavy stuff.
 
#36
::::BASSIST:::: said:
Well my cab is 43LBS & amp is 5LBS (fEARful 15/6 I built from Italian Poplar + GKMB800).

Loud as hell and sounds great.

So no, you dont have to have heavy stuff.
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nEarful 15/6 and Streamliner 900 here. I can pick up the cab with one hand, my bass with the other, and the amp goes in a small padded mixer bag over my shoulder. The only trick is finding someone to open the door to the venue. If that's the hardest part of the night, things must be going pretty well in the world of micros.
 
#38
sonic 7 said:
The future ? Powered cabs with built in lightweight digital power section + i pad
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I gotta buy an ipad to run my bass rig? A separate, relatively fragile multi-hundred dollar gizmo that takes up nearly as much space (once protectively cased) as a micro?

Powered cabs, fine. (Especially if the "power" part is easily bypassed, and field swappable/upgradeable with nothing more than 2 minutes and maybe a screwdriver.)

Even if my pre is digital, at least make it a dedicated/hardened unit that can be operated without an i-gizmo attached. Stick a USB port on it to talk to any gizmos on hand, that'd be fine. Probably should make it at least large/heavy enough to not get lost in pants/coat pockets, and handle having a bass plugged into it without falling down at the slightest tug.

But then... hey, there's room in the case to put a power module now. That's an even more convenient place than in the cab. Voila... a micro.


Now, for micros vs combos...

Who says the point of a micro is solely for tiny portable rigs? They'd work just fine for my large 3-way cab. Or an 8x10, 4x15, or whatever. Maybe one plays where decent backline cabs are usually available, but would rather use their own head. Maybe one has cabs at home and at the drummer's place, and like the idea of just bringing a tiny head back and forth. Maybe one also has a little cab for portability, and since the head fits in the gigbag it is functionally *no different* than if they were carrying a combo. Maybe one is using IEM's, and doesn't need a cab a the gig, but likes to play through a cab at home or rehearsal. And why drag a combo in order to have your favorite DI with you at a recording session, if you're going to be wearing cans there anyway? If one carries it as a backup for their main rig (as so many do), why would they want to waste haul space (and money) to have it buried in a little cab as a combo?

Maybe many of the above scenarios may apply for the same player, at various times? A micro looks pretty darn convenient for all of them. Clearly superior to the combo for all except one, and nearly as good as the combo for that one.

If Peavey made a micro, I'd be looking at it. I won't even look at a combo, I have zero use for it, and there's no way it'd ever compete with the 12/6 or F112 I'm considering for my "small rig" anyway.

I've played a number of their heads over the years, with the Megabass being a favorite. I did look at their current lineup before buying my current head. I have it racked with a Peavey IPR 3000, in case I need to really bring some serious heat.

But I'm still attracted to micros... for convenient portability AND flexibility. I always like to try different preamps. A micro is like a preamp that happens to have power on board already. I could use one with my big rig (either alone, or as a preamp) just as well as with a small one. Can't do that with a combo.
 

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