Which Trace Elliot heads were the best sounding? What ones should I stay away from? Any thoughts on the GP7 - which I think was a late model, lower cost 150watt head? Also, any comments on the Commando combos? Thanks for the info.
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Trace Elliot heads - which ones are the gems?
- Thread starter macmrkt
- Start date
V-type All tube heads The v-type (earlier V4 all tube version), V4, V6, and the illustrious V8. But good luck finding any one of them. No seriously good luck, these are the ones you want.
Planet Boulder
Hey, this is a private residence...man
- Nov 10, 2001
- 4,014
- 65
- Disclosures
- I once had impure thoughts. Oh, and I pluck my ear hair.
From a SS perspective:
The Series 6 heads are great, as are any of the old ones with the MK V preamp.
The Series 6 heads are great, as are any of the old ones with the MK V preamp.
I'm really enjoying my 90s era AH350SMX. Strangely the only amp I thought sounded as full and round and fat was an old Ampeg B25B. The clean sound with that low-wattage, all-tube amp--a sound which, of course, only came at low, low volumes--was absolutely gorgeous. The Trace head comes extremely close to duplicating that kind of warmth and fatness at any volume I need! Between the tube blend, graphic EQ, shape controls, tone balance, and dual band compression, I can get most any sound I need, too. Wonderful amp!
Matt
Matt
The cream of the crop, IMO, are:
V series- V4, V6, and V8
Valve series- Twin, Quatra, and Hexavalve heads
SMX series- pre-gibson
MkV heads- these are the ones that put Trace on the map.
V series- V4, V6, and V8
Valve series- Twin, Quatra, and Hexavalve heads
SMX series- pre-gibson
MkV heads- these are the ones that put Trace on the map.
bongomania
Commercial User
Sorry, I can't say. I recently got to see the new 410 and 115 cabs in person but they didn't have any heads in stock at the time.Akirabanana said:
BTW, the new cabs have the same cabinet covering as the older TE cabs. No rat fur!
The grills are now gloss black as well. IMO they didn't look to be built as well as the older cabs.Gibson took over in 1998.bongomania said:
It is really hard to distinguish by looks alone unfortunately. The best thing is to look at the build date on the back or internally on the transformer.
Kelly Lee said:Sorry, I can't say. I recently got to see the new 410 and 115 cabs in person but they didn't have any heads in stock at the time.
BTW, the new cabs have the same cabinet covering as the older TE cabs. No rat fur!
, I was wondering if TE finally came to their sensesand are goin' to make the cabinets from plywood?!
Being a huge Trace Elliot fan I must say I like all of their stuff! I've got a GP7 SM head which cost me £100, which is a storming deal by anyone's standards! It sounds excellent, works well and can really pump out some noise when you want it to! Plus, I run it through a 1993 made Trace Elliot 4X10 which has just had some new drivers installed. Talk about ideal combinations, when this lot fell into my lap (and rembmer the cab cost me £250!) I thought I was dreaming!
I'll certainly agree but raise you two additional models:Kelly Lee said:
V series- V4, V6, and V8
Valve series- VA400/VR400, Twin, Quatra, and Hexavalve heads
SMX series- pre-gibson
MkV heads- these are the ones that put Trace on the map.
bongomania
Commercial User
Except that the QC at Ashdown has a pretty bad reputation.
Man, there was a clean-looking '95 SMX350 that closed on ebay today, I almost went for it but my bank account "conscience" got the better of me.
Along the lines of the thread about whether a given amount of watts is "enough", does anyone here have gigging experience with the SMX350 to say what sorts of gigs/styles/cabs it was or wasn't sufficient for IYO?
Man, there was a clean-looking '95 SMX350 that closed on ebay today, I almost went for it but my bank account "conscience" got the better of me.
Along the lines of the thread about whether a given amount of watts is "enough", does anyone here have gigging experience with the SMX350 to say what sorts of gigs/styles/cabs it was or wasn't sufficient for IYO?
You know, I didn't even check to see what they were actually built out of. For some reason it didn't even cross my mind.CrUiSeR said:
and are goin' to make the cabinets from plywood?!
DOH! I forgot about the VA and VR. Yep, they are definately excellent as well.oddio said:
Sorry, that isn't quite accurate. He was the managing director of Trace Elliot. The cheif designer was Clive Button. You can read more about him here: Invalid Link RemovedLow D. said:
I have a RAH350SMX. Along with my TE 1524 2x15 I have had plenty of volume in any practice or gigging situation I have been in. YMMV though.bongomania said:
"Clive Button is a freelance design consultant with experience in many aspects of the music business from being a musician himself to designing both valve and solid state amplification for such well known companies as TRACE ELLIOT and ASHDOWN ENGINEERING. "
Looks like Ashdown are the new/real Traces for me nowdays.
Looks like Ashdown are the new/real Traces for me nowdays.
I have a GP12X preamp that I absolutely love.
I really like Eden stuff, and just haven't been able to get my hands on one. So, comparing the trace to the Eden, I think the trace is every bit as good as the Eden, and gets the sound I was looking for out of the eden. With a 12 band EQ section, I can get nearly everything I want.
BTW, Mine is a 1989 made one.
I really like Eden stuff, and just haven't been able to get my hands on one. So, comparing the trace to the Eden, I think the trace is every bit as good as the Eden, and gets the sound I was looking for out of the eden. With a 12 band EQ section, I can get nearly everything I want.
BTW, Mine is a 1989 made one.
