Trace Valve Heads - Guidance Required

[Deedee]

I'm a big fan of Trace Elliot solid state heads. I have owned several and currently have 2 SMX heads with the valve preamp. However, I have never owned an all valve head of any type.

My obvious choice would be to go for an all valve Trace, such as a V-type or quatra or hexa but the problem is, I know next to nothing about them. What are the features, what are the pros and cons between models?

Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Dazed]

Get a back brace

[Deedee]

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1459022764' post='3012996']
Get a back brace
[/quote]

Haha. Good, practical advice.

[MarkG3]

I had a V6. Super heavy. When it worked it sounded great. But over time it wasn't reliable and the sound just got thinner and thinner. I've had 1 non valve trace head the ah3007, brilliant amp and never had a problem. Had one of the newer trace ah6007 which again was great but had a small issue with a crackling noise

[MarkG3]

Would I have another v6, probably not. Would I have another solid state/pre amp valve trace, definitely

Edited March 26, 2016 by MarkG3

[andytoad]

I have had a V6, Quatra and now have a Hexa.

The V6 lacked top for me, but others may tell you different. It had immense power with a Barefaced Super 15, proper vibrations, deep and heavy! The Quatra was great, 8/4 ohm, about the right volume to push it when live (sold it like an idiot when I needed dosh), my thoughts are it would probably sound 'thinner' compared to the V6, I now have a Hexa, 4/2 ohm, a little too much power if I am being honest. Still sounds great.

The preamps on the Quatra/Hexa are far better (IMO) that a V series, a lot more versatile and what it sounds like you are used to! If I had a choice, Id go for the Quatra. All are heavy, with the V series being the heaviest (that also put me off after a while with the realities of lugging the gear around).

[Subthumper]

Some of those amps especially the Quadra and the Hexa will now be reaching that certain age where it starts to become important to see some kind of service history and be looking for obvious signs that it's been properly looked after. Other than valves needing replacement you could also be looking at replacement smoothing capacitors along with all the other service issues associated with older amps. I'm not trying to put you off, they're great amps but if you get one expect to have to spend some money, think of it like a classic car or motorcycle.

[longtimefred]

I used a V4 mk2 for about 7 years and can honestly say the only amp that stands up to it is its replacement which is the Ampeg SVT 2.

Love the V4, nice simple fender style pre amp that you don't need to use much of as it's natural tone is just massive and the compressor is ace. Overdrive channel is as nasty as you want.

I do miss that amp but with lots of Heavy touring going on, it doesn't deserve to be toured and battered.

Always remember, good tone is worth carrying!

[Tdw]

I have owned a v6 and a va350 (precursor to hexavalve, with a series 5 11 band graphic as opposed to the hexas 12 band) which seems very similar to a hexavalve at the same time and directly compared them. Both sounded great and i dont think they were heavy for 300 watt odd valve amps. I would say that the v6 (which i still gig with sometimes) had a better core tone but the big graphic eq was much more practical live than the tonestack on the vtype. The v type had a particularly warm and natural sounding bottom end, but it was less controllable in troublesome rooms. I think the va 350/hexa valve would give the best compromise of sound quality and practical eq but the v6 is imo the sweetest sounding amp ive used, this includes all the big ampeg and mesa valve heads.

[thodrik]

I have the V6, an GP12 SMX 300 head and GP7 SM 300 1x15 combo.

The V6 is a bit of a monster. It does a massive clean tone, but given the fact that it is 400 watts, you won't get that power amp tube breakup sound at usable volumes. The preamp doesn't really get 'dirty' in a nice way like say an Orange, Matamp, Ampeg. I have a Mesa Walkabout and although it is a strange thing to say, the Mesa is better in terms of providing that overdriven preamp valve sound. I tried pushing the V6 with a hot active bass (Vigier Excess) and the sound actually collapsed on itself rather than giving a big valve dirt sound.

The preamp is based off the classic Fender passive tone stack, so if you are looking for a 'flat' response, I would probably look at another amp. The mid settings can be a bit fiddly as well.

Also, I don't find the bass and treble pre-sets and push-pull mid settings to be particularly useful.

Oh, it also only operates at 2 and 4 ohms. I've read that it can work at 8 ohms as well, but I'm not really keen to try it myself for fear of what might happen.

Oh yes, repair costs!

Other than that it is possibly the best amp I have!

Edited March 28, 2016 by thodrik

[mikhay77]

Old solid state trace stuff is bullet proof. Had pretty much every model. The old ah500 12 is a cracker especially if you have the mega rare 5 way foot switch too. I had a v6. Great monster sound but reliability issues sadly had to sell. I still have a v4 mk2. The best amp I have ever had or played thru for me. Been set in its flight case for a while,must give it a road test.Great clean tone,valve compressor and monster drive channel. I could imagine the v8 would be criminal. Not only in sound but the assault on the spine too. Lol

[Deedee]

Hmmm. Proceed with caution then.

Maybe once the rose tinted specs have been removed and the weight, size and reliability factors kick in, I'd be looking for something different.

Seems to be a great number of these amps gathering dust or only being used occasionally. 😕

[Dazed]

Probably to do with age now becoming a factor and lack of maintenance - built like a tank etc
Also the downsizing to class D amps and the like.
Devalued big heavy amps over time.

[Tonywhite985]

I still use my V4 mk2 regularly and it has not skipped a beat in nearly 3 years since I first got it, I am 22 though so hauling it isn't an issue.

It has had an outing on average once every 2 weeks to gigs and rehearsals, also gets frequent home use and still works perfectly for me so i've not witnessed reliability issues myself.

Valve Trace heads don't come up for sale very often, however. so anyone wanting one is in for a bit of a wait.

[VTypeV4]

Gigged mine this evening.. It just works like very little else

I had a Twin Valve combo for a while which too was excellent and if you're coming from GP7 or GP12 platforms it will be tonally familiar with a bit of added 'valve goodness'..

The V-Type series are a little different and a bit more traditional but they still have the Trace thing going on. I supplement mine with a Yamaha NE-1 to put the mid-range where I like it but i'd be more than happy to take any valve Trace on to any stage to play any show.

Love 'em!

To be fair, I'd take an SMX most places too.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='andytoad' timestamp='1459039158' post='3013126']
I have had a V6, Quatra and now have a Hexa.

The V6 lacked top for me, but others may tell you different. It had immense power with a Barefaced Super 15, proper vibrations, deep and heavy! The Quatra was great, 8/4 ohm, about the right volume to push it when live (sold it like an idiot when I needed dosh), my thoughts are it would probably sound 'thinner' compared to the V6, I now have a Hexa, 4/2 ohm, a little too much power if I am being honest. Still sounds great.

The preamps on the Quatra/Hexa are far better (IMO) that a V series, a lot more versatile and what it sounds like you are used to! If I had a choice, Id go for the Quatra. All are heavy, with the V series being the heaviest (that also put me off after a while with the realities of lugging the gear around).
[/quote]

As an ex-V8 owner, I can't add anything more to this. My V8 had monstrous low end - perhaps too much for pub/function band stages. The eq was also a little simplistic and the mid control was almost useless. I've had a play through a Quatra and really liked it but it wasn't as pleasant to listen to as a Mesa Boogie 400+. But that could be down to speakers, room acoustics and perhaps a whole load of other reasons. Hard to make a call with just one try.

[Deedee]

I think I'm going to have to scratch this itch and get myself one of these bad boys 😋

Edited March 30, 2016 by Deedee

[longtimefred]

Do it, you will not regret it.

[VTypeV4]

[quote name='longtimefred' timestamp='1459378646' post='3016082']
Do it, you will not regret it.
[/quote]

This.. ^

[andy67]

I had a v4 mk1 220w beast! It was just a turn on monster of a valve amp. However, it had little issues too as mentioned above re thin sounding after a while and some control issue. I got it serviced and was told by the tech that they were definitely not designed for the road. Cicuit boards and soldering were a bit suspect. I guess this will be the same with most modern valve amps that are not point to point soldered. Loved my SVT Classic more though but the weight ... wow!

I love valve amps and couldn't live without one therefore and as I'm nearly 50, I've compromised and now own two small ashdown valve heads: CTM-15 & LB30. Awesome 😎

Edited March 31, 2016 by andy67

[Deedee]

Just to give you guys an update, I've this afternoon pushed the button on a Hexavalve so once it arrives, I'll let you know how I get on. In the mean time, if there are any specific tips and tricks regarding one of these particular old heads, please let me know. 🙂

Edited April 3, 2016 by Deedee

[VTypeV4]

[quote name='Deedee' timestamp='1459709066' post='3018843']
Just to give you guys an update, I've this afternoon pushed the button on a Hexavalve so once it arrives, I'll let you know how I get on. In the mean time, if there are any specific tips and tricks regarding one of these particular old heads, please let me know.
[/quote]

Superb! Nice one fella..

My only advice would be as the same as any other valve amp:

A:) Make sure it's connected to the correct load so for example if you're working at 4 ohm, make sure it's on the 4 ohm tap. Some amps tolerate it better than others but the output valves / transformer prefer to work at their correct loads.

B:) Have it checked over by a competant tech from time to time as old components can drift out of value and electrolytic filter caps dry out over time both of which will have a detrimental effect on the sonics of the amp.

C:) Valves wear out over time and proportionally to how hard you use them so budget for that - 6 x KT88 / 6550 aren't cheap! Try different brands and models as each have their own sonic signature. When it does come time to change it's probably best to have a tech do this if you have no experience so he can re-bias the amp although something is telling me, the older Trace amps had a fixed / none adjustable bias. Again, a competent tech will be able to mod the amp to make it adjustable if it's already been done.

Lastly, enjoy it! I'll eat my hat if you don't like it..

[Deedee]

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1459772617' post='3019390']


Superb! Nice one fella..

My only advice would be as the same as any other valve amp:

A:) Make sure it's connected to the correct load so for example if you're working at 4 ohm, make sure it's on the 4 ohm tap. Some amps tolerate it better than others but the output valves / transformer prefer to work at their correct loads.

B:) Have it checked over by a competant tech from time to time as old components can drift out of value and electrolytic filter caps dry out over time both of which will have a detrimental effect on the sonics of the amp.

C:) Valves wear out over time and proportionally to how hard you use them so budget for that - 6 x KT88 / 6550 aren't cheap! Try different brands and models as each have their own sonic signature. When it does come time to change it's probably best to have a tech do this if you have no experience so he can re-bias the amp although something is telling me, the older Trace amps had a fixed / none adjustable bias. Again, a competent tech will be able to mod the amp to make it adjustable if it's already been done.

Lastly, enjoy it! I'll eat my hat if you don't like it..
[/quote]

Many thanks for that.

Just to clarify, I'm not going to do anything horrific to the head if I plug into my 8 ohm Big Baby 2 am I ? 😧

[Kiwi]

[quote name='Deedee' timestamp='1459709066' post='3018843']
Just to give you guys an update, I've this afternoon pushed the button on a Hexavalve so once it arrives, I'll let you know how I get on. In the mean time, if there are any specific tips and tricks regarding one of these particular old heads, please let me know.
[/quote]
Well done! Wouldn't mind one myself in an ideal world.

[longtimefred]

i may be wrong but dont the Hexavalve's only run at 4 or 2 ohms? If thats right you wont be able to use your 8 ohm cab without destroying the amp