DGBass

Just powered up today since I bought this on FB marketplace for £30. The pre-amp section was near mint, only the little bulbs behind the Trace Elliot logo needed replaced. The amp was sold as no output but it was making a sound, albeit slightly distorted. The problem was easily 'traced' to the ubiquitous PM-4S mosfet output board used in many TE's of the time, and fixed with a few minor component swaps. Weighs a ton right enough, but i can practice my scales and work on my winter tan at the same time 🙂 It also sounds absolutely amazing. It's my third AH250 and the best (and chepeast) one yet.

None of those boxes look in tip top condition, and despite that legendary TE build quality, probably don't sound that great in their present condition. I also can't believe they mostly still have their coloured knob caps intact. They are usually the first thing that falls off old TE amps.

I knew I had a picture of the loudest and heaviest 150 watt rig I ever owned somewhere. The rig was bought for £100 and fully restored to like new. It sounded colossal. Trying to shoe horn it into a small hatchback lasted ony a few times before it had to go. I did make a bit of money on the resale but even so I had to basically give it away for what it was. The 1818 cab was just something else. You could bomb the bass as much as you wanted and it handled it all without any fuss whatsover, better than sone 8x10s I've used. The 1048H cab was immensely loud. Both made of MDF were immensely heavy. If I had a roadie or even a much larger vehicle I may have been tempted to keep one of the cabs as they sounded so good. That's why so much modern bass gear won't ever come close to sounding like these types of cabs. They may be smaller, and lighter, but modern day tone just doesnt compare to the sound these things made. IMHO. My back hurts just thinking about how I managed to lift the 1048 onto the 1818😐

@Phil Starr, I see your cab build has what looks like cross bracing inside between the top and side panels. I didn't see this on the original build diagram. Is this a late revision and if so, were they just glued in place and do the two braces connect where they cross? What wood did you use for the braces? Cheers, DG.

Both of these were purchased for less than the OPs 1048 cab, which is really a travesty of modern times, but very good for the TE enthusiasts amongst us. The Mark 4 GP11 is in regular operational use, The Mk 5 is on the bench but should be working soon. Viewed in UV light as all vintage TE's should be.

I suppose 'Rescue & Restore' would also be an appropriate name for a thread where old Trace Elliot stuff is concerned. Kudos for keeping some quality old school TE stuff gigging. I've had some similar TE kit pass through my hands over the last five years in particular, and the thing about old TE stuff, apart from the weight, is that it was built to last. That being said, the 'old TE classics' do now have plenty years under their belts and it's more or less a given that a good proportion of it will need repairs and servicing of some sort. So buying cheap, especially with amps can be a gamble. The J112 fet that was failed on your SM head is quite a common thing on these amps, and an inexpensive fix. The older Trace stuff with output sections using Hitachi Mosfets can lead to more costly repairs if they go wrong. Cabs though are usually bomb proof and it takes a lot of abuse to break them. I've just bought an AH250 GP11 MKV for the princely sum of £30. It lights up beautifully, but the output is suspect. I know whats wrong with it, and it will need a bit of TLC. However, these amps are legendary, and well worth a little repair work to keep them going. Also rather nice to see a heavyweight thread where lightweight amps and cabs won't be mentioned😁

Maybe there will be more realistic prices for used gear now that sellers don't have to add-on something to cover their eBay selling fees? That's if anyone actually ever did that 🤔

I've been following Miss De Tiger's career with interest since around the start of the pandemic. There's no doubt she has bass chops, and knows how to hold down a groove. I'm sure she will go on to greater things and is in my opinion an ambassador for young up and coming players. Always good to see new and interesting bass players breaking through. Purely from a bass point of view, and regarding her signature model, its way too bling for an oldie like me, and a fairly hefty price tag for a MIM bass imho. Back in 2020 she was playing an Ocean Turqoise American Elite Jazz, and some of the live sessions, and tab sessions she did really popped using that elite jazz bass. It may be a little pricey compared even to her new signature model, but I'd plump for the Elite Jazz in Ocean Turquoise every time. Just curious who the target audience might be for her new signature model. I think its safe to say her signature model has even out sparkled the Adam Clayton purple signature jazz🙄

As any surplus gear moves on, the more adaptable and useable stuff that's keeper material begins to make more regular appearances. This Sunday's setup for an afternoon light duty gig was my regular Laney R210 4ohm cab used in landscape mode for the first time. Sounded fine and still very audible. Amp wise at present, its a toss up between the ABM and its backup OriginAL EVO. Both are more than sufficient for any gig, but the ABM just feels like effortless power, and quite capable of doing a low volume gig with a low power cab as long as I keep the master volume in check. A P-Bass is pretty much standard these days.

Pay to play was rife in Central Scotland back in the 80s, 90s and early nougties. The Glasgow scene for originals bands was particularly bad. All the good venues like The Cathouse and King Tuts were stitched up tighter than a gnat's chuff if you wanted to play there. The format was usually three band nights, and sell a minimum amount of tickets before each band made anything. Tut's for example was pretty well organised though, and each band got a complimentary rider in the deal and a cool corner of The Blue Room to chill in pre and post gig, and to hang with the headline bands. A band I was in played with some interesting headliners. American rockers 3D House Of Beef was one band, and Swedish metallers Psycore were another. No idea what it is like these days since I've moved to covers bands that always get paid.

Just out of curiousity, does the Digbeth 500 have a tube in it? Or is it a tube emulation thing? 🤔

Actually they do, if you dig around in the support docs section. Just wanted to clarify that they do provide specs. Well done Mesa! It states 800 watts rms @ 4 ohms, 10% THD (includes preamp O/D THD) I assume that refers to the pre-amp O/D THD being inclusive in how they measure that spec?