Trace Elliot Introduces Bass Overdrive Pedal

[TalkBass]

MERIDIAN, MS – Trace Elliot® introduces the Trace Elliot Overdrive pedal. Overdrive is by far the most popular category of pedals on the market - and for good reason. With just a simple twist of a knob or push of a button, the colors and character of a player’s tone can completely change leading to endless inspiration and fun. But there is an obstacle for bass players. The lower notes on a bass guitar can often get muddy and lose definition. Thus, extra care needs to be taken in the circuitry and features. Trace Elliot believes they have solved the problem.

As a pioneer in bass amp innovation, Trace Elliot aims to set the standard in all bass overdrive pedals to follow. With true bypass operation, this pedal offers classic full range overdrive specific for bass guitar. The proprietary high overhead soft asymmetrical clipping circuit really contributes to the pedals overall performance creating that vintage, tube-like drive. The pedal has four knobs to help players dial in their tone. The DRIVE controls the amount of overdrive on the signal. The LEVEL control dictates the overall output volume of the pedal. The TONE control is a basic EQ helping players define their overall tone and the BLEND control allows players to mix the clean and overdrive signal. This pedal is also equipped with an internal transformer to give more headroom to the signal ensuring better quality of tone- especially on those lower frequencies.

Alongside the traditional ¼” input and outputs is a separate DRY OUT that helps this pedal standout amongst other overdrives. By offering the player a separate DRY OUT, the player can send the dirty signal to a separate amp while sending the dry signal to either front of house or an effects chain for maximum flexibility in tone. As with all things Trace Elliot, the pedal is built for long lasting durability and performance.

For more information, please visit www.TraceElliot.com

Street: $199.99 USD

 

[ahbradot]

Trace Elliot Overdrive pedal sounds like a great option if I did not already have the Future Impact v3 for an overdrive effect.

 

[BioDriver]

I feel this is a little late to the party. There is no shortage of ODs and Trace doesn't have the same following they did in the 90s. I guess Peavey thought it would market better?

 

[Wood and Wire]

Looking forward to demo's.

On the face of it, it doesn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary, but perhaps there is some secret alchemy going on under the hood.

The important thing is : how does it sound?

I don't recall having used a piece of Trace pro level gear that I didn't really like.

 

[BassBrass]

Trace Elliot...I wonder how much is left of the original company? The story of the purchase of branding rights would be interesting. From Blighty to Mississippi would be a catchy title. When I received my new Elf 1/10 and 2/8 cabs last year they came with both Trace and Union Jack stickers I'm looking for the right place for. I use a Mark Bass Nano Mark II with them btw and they sound and look great.
This overdrive is large, at least it's green. I just started using a Mooer Thunderball that's about 1/5 the size. Has 2 drive types. Even the always on Broughton Fliptop jfet preamplifier is smaller.

 

[egonspengler]

I'm in the market for an OD pedal currently, so I'm definitely curious as to how this sounds.

It seems that a lot of manufacturers struggle to get a sound I tend to like, which is a mostly clean OD with dirt that favors the higher frequencies while still retaining a clean low end. Closest I've seen in demos is the Genzler 4 On The Floor, which is probably my next purchase. But this is a much simpler pedal, so if this sounds good, I'd be happy to give it a go.

$200 does feel like a bit much for such a simple overdrive, though.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I just had a peek on the Trace website, and unless I'm misinterpreting their copy, it suggests that the tone control is a continuously variable implementation of the classic Trace pre-shape.

That's a very tantalising prospect - and a feature I've suggested to Fred in the past (ideally sweeping from flat, at 12 o'clock, with the classic mid scooped pre-shape #1 at one extreme, and the SMX era mid boosted pre-shape #2 at the opposite extreme throw of the pot).

I also noticed, on their website, that they have released another product I had suggested to Fred - a dedicated Trace DI box (although it doesn't feature a key selling point, in my opinion, which was to have a switchable Pre-Shape #1. Instead, it's a transparent signal, with a tasty transformer).

 

[monsterthompson]

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I'm in the market for an OD pedal currently, so I'm definitely curious as to how this sounds.

It seems that a lot of manufacturers struggle to get a sound I tend to like, which is a mostly clean OD with dirt that favors the higher frequencies while still retaining a clean low end. Closest I've seen in demos is the Genzler 4 On The Floor, which is probably my next purchase. But this is a much simpler pedal, so if this sounds good, I'd be happy to give it a go.

$200 does feel like a bit much for such a simple overdrive, though.

We don't know how simple it is inside. If it truly sounds great with bass, there's probably some complexity to make that happen. But this is all probabilities.

 

[monsterthompson]

It seems that a lot of manufacturers struggle to get a sound I tend to like, which is a mostly clean OD with dirt that favors the higher frequencies while still retaining a clean low end. Closest I've seen in demos is the Genzler 4 On The Floor, which is probably my next purchase.

Just an example of how different customers can be. The Genzler 4 OTF is one of those pedals I’ve never heard a demo for that grabbed my attention. I’m not saying it’s a bad pedal or couldn’t do what I like, just that the demos don’t show me what I’m looking for. I found the brief Trace demo more interesting.

Sometimes you just want to try something different. I doubt I’ll cave and buy this, but it could happen. It is green

 

[Swerve]

Should have put Peavey's name on it.

 

[egonspengler]

Just an example of how different customers can be. The Genzler 4 OTF is one of those pedals I’ve never heard a demo for that grabbed my attention. I’m not saying it’s a bad pedal or couldn’t do what I like, just that the demos do show me what I’m looking for. I found the brief Trace demo more interesting.

Sometimes you just want to try something different. I doubt I’ll cave and buy this, but it could happen. It is green

It is very green

I’m likely an edge user for this. I already have a few fuzzes that I use for a big distorted sound. I want a complementary pedal that can be something of an “always on” during songs that want some dirt, but not a ton. I’m currently using a Boss ODB3 for that, but its clean blend is very, very tempremental. It goes from clean to a ton of dirt real fast with very little in between.

 

[monsterthompson]

I’m currently using a Boss ODB3 for that, but its clean blend is very, very tempremental. It goes from clean to a ton of dirt real fast with very little in between.

I ran a Hilbish Pessimiser (ODB3 clone) for a while. I found the clean blend a little tricky to dial in. It always felt layered. I think the dynamics of a clean signal vs a heavily clipped signal make it so you either need to find just the right spot and play within a limited range of attack, or pop a glue compressor after it. This box seems like it could be a decent always-on option.

 

[frankie5string]

Trace Elliot...I wonder how much is left of the original company? The story of the purchase of branding rights would be interesting. From Blighty to Mississippi would be a catchy title.

Nothing... zip, zero, zilch. It's a Peavey brand now. Before that it was a Gibson brand in the late 90s after Kaman downsized.
The closest you'll get to anything with a *trace* of TE DNS is likely Ashdown.

That aside, the Peavey TE-branded gear is really good.