So...why haven't you got a Trace Elliot then..

[TheGreek]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1501666455' post='3346321']
I've recently stumbled across my latest 'perfect' sound (for how long? who knows) bought 2 Fender V2 cabs (because they were cheap), 2 x 8 and 1 x 12, super light weight and paired them with my 250 watt SMX GP12 head, I understand the weight issue having had a T E Combo, but match a TE head with light weight cabs, seems like the best of both worlds to me
[/quote]

I was using my TE AH200 with a Vanderkley MNT 112 for a while - all the benefits of both - great pairing.

I also have a TE 1x10 cab - only one I've ever seen - does exactly what you'd want it to. Currently thinking about transplanting the 2x8 speakers I have in some TE PA speakers into a cab for a 2x8 cab.

You don't need to break your back lifting the TE cabs - buy a sack barrow.

[Thunderbird]

Always fancied some Trace gear but I like my Hartke stuff I will try some at some point but I think some of the prices for Trace gear are very silly on ebay etc and thing is the gear is pretty old so reliability may be an issue?

[radiophonic]

I had TE gear in the late 80s (GP11 based) but I never really got on with the HiFi-ness. I just think it was a bad match for what I was aiming for, which was more overdriven - although nobody ever needed to ask me to turn up! I always hankered after a big Ampeg when I had it and ultimately sold up due to the storage/size issue. I think it's interesting that it's more popular again now and I think that it might appeal more to people used to super clean Class D stuff, who want to experience something (ironically) more old-skool. I think of it as having similar sonic priorities, albeit with a heavyweight implementation. It looks ace though.

[tony_m]

Up until the end of April, the answer would have been "Because I left my old BLX80 with the lead guitarist in my old band when I moved to the other side of the country last year."

Now thanks to a couple of BCers and eBay I've got an AH200GP7SM head, two SM7EQ pedals (one for home use, one on the pedalboard for playing out) and two SMX Dual Compressor pedals (ditto). A cab (or two) to replace (or add to) the Ashdown I'm currently using will be next on the agenda, but that'll have to wait until the extension has been built and I've got space to store the darn thing(s)...

[KevB]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1501671144' post='3346392']
Always fancied some Trace gear but I like my Hartke stuff I will try some at some point but I think some of the prices for Trace gear are very silly on ebay etc and thing is the gear is pretty old so reliability may be an issue?
[/quote]

I've seen posts where people say they got rid of their TE gear as it was always breaking down but my experience has been exact opposite. 2 1x15 combos and a 4x10 cab that never had issues. My current combo was bought around 2006 second hand (with a 4x10 ext cab) for £400 for the pair and has still never seen a workshop. I'm guessing it was built somewhere around early 1990's (no date written on back plate). The 4x10 was in my shed under a tarp for nearly 8 years before being taken out last year to be passed on to another BCer and it sounded the same as when it went in, I was expecting the cones to have been eaten by mice or something...

Edited August 2, 2017 by KevB

[bassjim]

I was all good with the AH200 combo and then an AH200 head with a Hartke transporter 4X10. I liked the footswitch thingy where you could switch in the pre-shape for slapping.

Many happy years with that. A good working set up. Then other things happened and was led blindly to the new SMX, The valve head and latest Trace cabs. All downhill from there. Never could get a sound I was ever happy with once. Twiddle twiddle twiddle with the sliders and not once satisfied with the result. The user could have been at fault here but I never had a problem with the AH200 so maybe it all got too sophisticated for me.

The Ashdown stuff improved things , and other class D stuff along the way, but never really as happy as that old AH200 till landing in EBS territory.

Having read this thread I'd happily try out another AH200 head with the foot switch just to see if it really was that good compared to my current choice.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1501670746' post='3346388']
I

You don't need to break your back lifting the TE cabs - buy a sack barrow.
[/quote]I did try that, but you've still got to lift it out of the car, and there always seems to be a step or two if not a flight of stairs at most venues and then off the sack trolley onto a stage and it's that initial bend and lift that I found the most damaging, I did try and lift properly with my legs and a straight back but it's awkward when you're bending inside the back of an estate car

[TheGreek]

I thought I was the only one with no friends....

Can't find anybody to give you a hand??

[Sonic_Groove]

Here is mine, I loved it -- On Eden & or EBS now. Not sure I could even hold the JD for a full gig these days LOL

Brendan

[attachment=250365:JD n Trace.png]

Edited August 2, 2017 by Sonic_Groove

[12stringbassist]

I bought these new in 1993 / 1994. I still happily use them sometimes today. I moved on from them being my main rig after I put my 12er through someone else's 4x10 cab and got a far better delivery of the sound of the drone strings - Two 15" speakers are not the best rig for a 12er.

As for any other bass, they sound tremendous and I still take them out to smaller gigs. The weight of them is an issue, sometimes, but they deliver a great sound. As for them sounding 'dated' - I think that's just in people's heads.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1501675673' post='3346456']
I thought I was the only one with no friends....

Can't find anybody to give you a hand??
[/quote]funny how they disappear when a Trace rig appears lol, and there's no help when I'm loading up/out at home, I'll stick to my lightweight cabs thanks

[TimR]

It's the weight of the combo. I took the amp out once and it's got a huge toroidal transformer in it.

The 15" combo weighs 35kg.

My 210pro weighs 25kg and the amp is separate but may weigh 10kg, so may weigh the same combined. It's just easier to throw around like that.

Edited August 2, 2017 by TimR

[scrumpymike]

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1501673218' post='3346428']
A sack barrow isn't much use for stacking them though. I think my V8 was only a couple short of 30kg and it sat about four and half foot off the ground.
[/quote]

That calls for some personal 'heft' (and a safety net).

[jezzaboy]

I had one of the USA AH600 heads. I moved it on as I was always messing around with the graphic, pre shape etc trying to get a sound I was happy with.

Went and got an Hartke LH500 and am much happier.

Edited August 2, 2017 by jezzaboy

[Ghost_Bass]

Had a TE rig consisting of a GP12 300W head, a 2x10"T and a 1x15" cab a long time ago. Why i don't own it anymore?

- Too heavy to carry singlehanded;
- The thing people call "heft" to me it's just mud and noise that upsets everybody on stage and gets in to every single mic;
- I go through the PA, don't need 1/4 of the power it put out;
- Too big to fit the booth;
- Impossible to store at home in a small corner;
- Can't do a "one travel" with all my gear;
- Lots of knobs, not very easy to hit a great tone out of the box;

I do loved owning mine and remember it with a warm feeling in my heart but for me it's Class-D and Neo cabs all day long now!

[tonyquipment]

I remember my 4x10 combo and the 1x15.

The 4x10 as soon as I got it, I put casters on it. If you have a sack truck, just screw the cab to it.

Totally portable then. 😂

[skankdelvar]

Probably just me but I could never get a sound I liked.

[project_c]

I still have a lowly Commando 15 at my home studio, every time I mention that I like it, people look at me funny. Sounds really good to me, and i'm not a fan of Trace stuff at all, in fact I hate all the rehearsal room Trace amps i've played through. But the Commando has something nice about it, very punchy mids, not the usual scoopy tone. I got it for £50.

[super al]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1501692515' post='3346642']
I still have a lowly Commando 15 at my home studio, every time I mention that I like it, people look at me funny. Sounds really good to me, and i'm not a fan of Trace stuff at all, in fact I hate all the rehearsal room Trace amps i've played through. But the Commando has something nice about it, very punchy mids, not the usual scoopy tone. I got it for £50.
[/quote]

I've just gone through this whole thread thinking "am I the only one who could just about afford a Commando 15?" Then "boom" we got one at last!
The budget TE that failed me on more than one occasion and baffled the shop that tried to fix it. I eventually gave up and went for an ashdown mag combo which was lovely!

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1501692107' post='3346636']
Probably just me but I could never get a sound I liked.
[/quote]

No me neither, I was all about Peavey when trace were fashionable.

I think the commando combo sounded best too fwiw.

[ivansc]

I was living out in the USA (Nashville) when TE first appeared on the scene.
Checked them and an SWR Redhead out (also just arrived) and wondered what all the fuss was about with TE.
TE was slightly more expensive (!!) and every single amp I had seemed to get all of its bottom end from cabinet resonance.
OK if that is the noise you want but I was used to an Orange 120 head with a 2x15 at the time, which blew every TE rig I tried out of the water.
Unlike the Redhead, which I loved Saw Tim Drummond playing through one with no PA reinforcement at a relatively small venue in town and he sounded huge through just the basic 2x10 original Redhead.
The Ashdowns I have tried since TE disappeared suffered from the same problems the early TEs.... I want to hear my bass, not a bunch of plywood rattling.
And I still love the sound of a Redhead, just not the weight.

So. Objectivity folks - are the current crop of TEs any better than the old ones in terms of fidelity and punch?

Edited August 2, 2017 by ivansc

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1501619755' post='3346030']
... why doesn't everybody have some TE in their arsenal?
[/quote]

i had a 4x10 + 1x15 trace rig back in the 90s and sold it however when i returned to playing about 7 years ago i opted for hartke and glad i did its at least every bit as good as my old trace rig and has oodles of class A punch

[Highfox]

Did have for about 10 years, would I again, don't think so.

[louisthebass]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1501627836' post='3346131']
Speak for yourself I'm still Class-D'ing it, and still perfectly happy. And most importantly, my back loves me.
[/quote]

Same here. As much as I loved TE, it was just a bridge too far in terms of weight for the weekend warrior musician. I'll stick to my TH500 and Epifani cabs that weigh a lot less....

[Merton]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1501692515' post='3346642']
I still have a lowly Commando 15 at my home studio, every time I mention that I like it, people look at me funny. Sounds really good to me, and i'm not a fan of Trace stuff at all, in fact I hate all the rehearsal room Trace amps i've played through. But the Commando has something nice about it, very punchy mids, not the usual scoopy tone. I got it for £50.
[/quote]

My first proper bass amp, wish I hadn't sold it a few years ago. I keep looking out for the very very rare Commando head just for nostalgic reasons really....