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What do you think of a Trace Elliot?????

#2
Um. They are green? (And Ashdown is blue and Mark Bass is yellow...)

But I believe Steve Harris has Trace as major component in his rig, so there is that to recommend them. I would bet most folks here will want to know which particular amp you are looking at. It's hard to paint entire brands with the same brush...so to speak (that green thing again).

Most brands have their winners and their duds. So which model?
 
#3
A 7 BAND. And I think the model is 715 (not 715x)

Details
The 715 combo amplifier features a 7 band preamp and 200W power stage driving a 250W 15" specially designed Celestion speaker and high frequency tweeter. Despte its compact size this cabinet has been tuned to 42Hz fir superb low frequency reprodution from a small, light-weight package.

(Im working out how to put picture on. :D )
 
#6
Hmmm. That seems to be about a $950, 250 watt combo amp. I haven't played it but that seems a bit much for what you get. Obviously you like the sounds it gives you and it is your money, but have you looked at other, comparable 200-300 watt 15" combos? Peavey's (Trace's parent corp.) own TNT and Combo 115 seems to be nearly the same thing and a few hundred dollars cheaper. Ampeg has well regarded, similarly powered combos with more features that are cheaper. I'm sure others do to.

My own combo amp (BAM 210) cost me $600 new and has a good bit more power and many, many more features.

Point is, shop around. If you still like the Trace's sound best and have the cash, go for it. Your ears, your money.
 
#8
Honestly - they are great quality and sound excellent, but then again sound is subjective.
I have had nothing but great luck with my Trace, but then again there are allot of people on this board that have had allot of luck with their fav. Brands also.
To me they have "the sound" I want.
It really depends, make sure you get to listen to an amp as flat as possible and then kind of adjust your tone to your liking (listen for that “tone”)
Trace usually has a "pre-shaped option" and that is all the eq I use. I LOVE it.
All the decent amp heads are going to have their own dialed in tone; my major concern when purchasing my new ah1000-12 is that it would have that "trace sound".
 
#9
I've got an AH-200 (200 watts @ 4 ohms) that I've had since the early 90's. It's been a great workhorse and has never given me any problems. Up against other similarly powered amps, it has always seemed to sound louder. It has a particular sound, however. I would describe it as very "clean" or "tight" sounding. I hope that translates into something that makes sense to you. I found that it was great for electric bass, especially for slapping, but was awful for the upright.
 
#10
First, I agree to shop around because there's everything out with all sorts of knobs and sliders.

I've tried the different 7 band (new) Trace's and I can't say I'd compare it to early Trace. I played a lot of TE and for the longest time had a 7 band 2x10 combo, actually as my main.....but then had a problem. Mind you, in the transition of TE to Peavey, there was Gibson that owned them and in that time I had to junkyard a slider (still off a trace though) because Gibson didn't have anything....no parts, inventory, nothing? So, since I needed cash at the time, I replaced the slider and that was the first to go.

Then, I hear Peavey aquired TE (and notice how new Peavey is looking quite like TE now with the sliders?) so I had to try it.....i personally think, and IMHO, they still retained the 'Trace esque' sound, but its got a Peavey sound to it to? Which isn't bad at all! I'd buy a Peavey over it though, and I just wish they made something for my lack of wanting to carry over a 10lb head and a 20lb cabinet. :)
 
#11
Personally, I haven't heard a Trace other than the Commando combos that I didn't like. The Commando head was decent but the combos...eh. I love my QuatraValve and RAH350SMX which are two significantly different heads but both still have that Trace tone. BTW, I have played through the V-series, V-types, MkV, Series 6, and SMX preamp/heads and love them all! :bassist: I still need to play a mighty V8 and the GP11 preamp though. :crying:

As for new Trace, I can't say yet as I have still not gotten to play through any of it. From other people that like old school Trace, and I respect their opinions, I believe I would like it as well. Hopefully I will get to check them out this summer.
 
#12
A lot of people love them, but I'm not a fan. I haven't owned one, just played thourgh them on multiple occasions. They seemed to be branded as a high end rock amp, but they sound too transparent to me for that distinction. They just seem to sound generic, or sterile, I guess, to me.

But I don't know, there a ton of people who love them. It's good gear, just not for EVERYBODY. But that's anything. I'm sure there are Trace fans out there who wouldn't like my Eden.
 
#14
I have a Trace Elliot 130 watt amp w/7-band e.q. I loved the sound, didn't like the notched volume knobs. Seems like I could never quite hit the right spot I was looking for. It was also sometimes a little too clean/bright for me. Like someone else mentioned, great for slap. Sounded real good bridged @4 ohms.

For what you're spending you could be buying an SWR Super Redhead combo used. Personally that's where I'd be going hands-down, but that's my own preference obviously. Tube preamp with an awesome sound, 2x10 with 350 watts.
 
#15
I cant say Im a fan of the trace sound at all, but I also cant deny the quality, so I can agree: great amp, but not for al of us!
although I believe hearing somewhere that harris uses the hiwatt bass heads and cabs, correct me if Im wrong!I cant say his sound really booms Trace to me!
 
#16
Lobaw said:
I've got an AH-200 (200 watts @ 4 ohms) that I've had since the early 90's. It's been a great workhorse and has never given me any problems. Up against other similarly powered amps, it has always seemed to sound louder. It has a particular sound, however. I would describe it as very "clean" or "tight" sounding. I hope that translates into something that makes sense to you. I found that it was great for electric bass, especially for slapping, but was awful for the upright.
Click to expand...

+1 to that ..

I've had my AH200 since the early 90's as well. I just recently pulled it out of "mothballs" and have started using it again. It still functions flawlessly. It is a "Clean" Tightsounding" amp... Entwhistle used Trace back in the day, so if you like his sound, it's definitely in that zone... Rotosound 66's and all that ...It's not what I would call a "warm" sound like my Edens, but it's good ..and like most all Trace users say,, it's louder than it's 200 watt rating would indicate..

It's got a "Mid Pre Shape" feature, that when engaged, boosts the lows and the highs. The resulting boost can be used with or without the 12 band equalizer..

I've kept it for all these years and it's staying with the Herd..

And, it looks cool with the Green and the Red knobs..
 
#19
I've been using a solid state GP7 pre-amp for about 15 years now with an old Crest FA800 amp and love it. Good reliability and the tone works for me (either that or I have grown so used to it). At least with my setup, the punch this rig delivers is incredible.

In my search to lighten up my rig and have a backup, I'm thinking about finding another just like it and a lighter power amp. Anyone want to dump their Trace? Seems like it would be a lot more cost effective than an Epifani or Thunderfunk.

Good Luck
 

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