SimonK

...then back around Christmas time there was another chap in Portsmouth who wanted to get rid of a 1x15 cab and also a 4x10 combo that he had blown the amp in (and sadly binned). I grabbed both for £100, and then swapped a GP7 head (that same buddy with soldering iron had acquired for nothing and fixed) into the empty 4x10 combo cab to make the following which I donated to a local church (albeit I get to play through it every couple weeks and it saves me carrying an amp in!):

First up I drove for an hour or so to get this 1048 classic cab for a bargain of £90, and when I met the chap he said he had a GP7 head that was broken that I could have for free. I bit his hand off, took the head to my buddy with a soldering iron who found a blown transistor in the very first circuit (controlling the input gain levels) and 45 minutes later it was all working just fine! The offending part that once replaced turned a free broken head into an awesome amp:

Hi all, So back in the 90s/00s I had a Trace Elliot catalogue and dreamed about being an owner. When I went to University in 1998 one of my mates spent his entire student loan on a stack (a 1x18 cab, 4x10 cab and GP12 based head but I can't quite remember which one) meaning I did at least get a chance to play/borrow it on occasion (in exchange for food!) but other than that the price was way out of my league. Twenty five years later and thanks to Trace being THE name in bass amps for a few years certainly in the UK, there is so much available second hand. There are some wildly optimistic prices on the normal second hand sites, but at the same time some awesome deals out there. Given that I really can't help myself when I see a good deal with the Trace logo on it, I thought I would start my own thread showing off/discussing some of the things I have found (and hoping others with old Trace gear might chip in!).

...and this week was in Wales for work and picked up a fully functioning 1818x for £20. The 2103x fits nicely on top (yes I know the 10s don't match - that's a work in progress)!

Yes but snarky puppy (who I do also enjoy) are a different sort of thing - essentially televised music sessions, not one person seeking to create something on his own - originally out of necessity as he was a gigging/session musician when COVID started. Incidentally - and certainly off topic - if you like the whole televised session thing have you seen Martin Miller's band and youtube channel?

There's plenty of videos of him playing live and I believe he is either on tour at the moment or just about to be. It's interesting how on one hand youtube has given a lot more opportunities for musicians to get their work out there, but at the same time seems to attract more criticism of the musicians compared to those who have come to prominence through the historical non-youtube route. Very few people are saying "Steve Vai - yes he's good but it's all rehearsed to within a millimeter and he doesn't really have that much flair..." The fact is Charles Berthoud is one of the best bass players alive today and unlike most of us has actually come through a more formal route to get there (Classical Piano & Berkeley) - if people don't like his music then fine, but it seems a bit unfair to imply he somehow cheats - he epitomises the success that a lot of both talent and hard work can get.

Thanks - although do you know if they do a 16 ohm version as I can only see 8 ohms in the normal places (Thomann etc.)?

...so having looked back through this thread would anyone have a suggestion on a replacement 10 inch speaker for the 2103x TE cab, or would they recommend a replacement pair, or would I need to give you all the internal dimensions before anyone will tell me? If it helps the two 10 inch speakers are boxed off from each other so it looks like two separate enclosures.

...that could be it.

I got excited for five minutes until realising that there is a 4% fee of any reserve price, charged at time of listing. So if you don't want something to go for less than £100 you have to pay £4 at time of listing etc. You also have to pay for getting the advert promoted, and the cynic makes me think that if you don't pay no one will ever see it especially if it's a popular item. Still quite a bit cheaper than before I guess so maybe it will bring people like me back - I don't mind the security of buying through ebay but selling has been too expensive for the last few years.

Thanks for reminding me of this thread - can I do a mini-hijack/contribution as in the last few weeks I have run into speaker issues with my old 2103x TE cab. I picked it up second hand about twenty years ago. The bottom speaker started farting out a couple months ago and on closer inspection it seems that someone had replaced it and I had only just noticed! So I gave it to my electronics guru friend last week who pulled out the speakers and noted that the numpty who had switched the speaker had replace the original 16 ohm speaker with a 8 ohm one, meaning the cab had been running at about 5 ohms the whole time I had it! So I'm now on the hunt for a replacement speaker, but unlike the OP a 10 inch rather than 15 inch. I'd thus be interested to stay updated on your experience of fitting the new speaker! Can't believe I never noticed the mismatch before as it is so obvious when you look for it: Top "good" speaker: Bottom (apparently replaced by a numpty) and now farting out speaker:

...I normally thank the punter and adjust a fader on a channel with nothing plugged into it to show I've done something!

...I'd still really focus on what the quotes are saying about speaker placement and zoning rather than worry too much about the desk or other parts. While the desk is the exciting bit, from the sound of your needs there is a risk of overkill. Even with a cheaper digital desk you can set up a "Sunday morning" programme for the mics and mp3, that hopefully people can just turn on, hit recall, and then get going with the service.

For me the decision goes - 1) what would I like to bring, 2) what are the practicalities of transport/venue, 3) what I realise is sensible to bring. To stay on topic the style of music may feature in 1, but more relating to fretted/fretless bass and pedal choice than amp/cab per se. Thus said even when the plan is IEM I always bring an amp and cab (even if they stay in the car) just in case.

Yes ...the devil will find it hard to match the hell of operating PA systems in a church environment 🤐 ... The one thing maybe worth mentioning is that while the OP manages the politics of trying to improve the acoustics of the room, get any company giving you quotes to look at zoning your hall and concentrate your budget on the controller, amps and speakers needed. As was mentioned above a band set-up with some big cabs at the front never works in odd shaped church buildings (both modern & old). Once the zones are set up and everything (like relevant delays, HPFs and even EQ if you can go that far) are set up this is something that no one should have to touch again, so less opportunity for the operators to break. You can then get a cheaper desk, wedges, snake, mics & cables etc. and upgrade as needed, but you know the core set-up is sound (pardon the pun).

Yes exactly this. The one thing almost every church has in common is well meaning but totally naive PA operators who can make any system sound rubbish. But deadening the room as much as possible is a good start. You can do things like hide acoustic foam behind banners, put a curtain behind the musicians as a backdrop, carpet with thick underlay underneath the musicians, make an artistic looking diffuser to hang on a reflective wall, and probably the best thing is to aim for a silent stage using IEMs and an electric kit, although appreciate all of this brings lots of politics! We've spent a lot on our system - upwards of £60k over the last ten years, and while it sounds awesome in the right hands, even starting from stored setting doesn't help some of our operators. I had someone readjusting all the gains in a stored programme the other day to make the faders line up neatly... sigh...

Today's iteration, thanks to a new cab picked up this afternoon (the 2103x). Only just occured to me that if I take the Trace Elliot logo off and put it on a little hook I can orientate it accordingly on the cabs that can be positioned either vertically or horizontally.

John did say he is on basschat as well but wasn't sure about posting adverts, so here is his advert for the quatravalve. I was very tempted but need the money in the bank more than a fifth bass amp head. He also has a TE 2x10 for sale at a very reasonable price. I bought the other cab he had available.

Given the popularity of the "four cable method" for guitarists, and the scarcity of 4-core mono jack to jack multicores of different lengths, I would make some of these as well.

In bands that don't really make money to put towards gear/recording etc. it does seem best for everyone to know who owns what and thus not have shared ownership. Also as different people earn different amounts in their day job some have contributed more than others. This is how my most succesful band operated, and I still occasionally get called by the guitarist asking to borrow the powered wedges that I bought for that band fifteen years ago. Mind you top marks go to same guitarist as while I bought powered wedges he re-mortgaged his house to turn his garage into a recording studio! We initially recorded an EP and album in there, and now well after that band has folded he occasionally gets me to come in and play on various projects (as well as borrowing my monitors) - but there was no doubt whose studio or indeed monitors they are!

Question is does the angled jack go into the bass or the pedal board...

...once I give first refusal I will ask the chap if he minds me passing his details on. Thus said it's not hard to spot a car carrying Trace Elliot gear:

...I have a chance to get one of these tomorrow (actually just the head) when I go pick up some old trace gear a contact is getting rid of, but probably won't as while I have no doubt it sounds as good as anything ever made, it costs about £100 to replace the tubes (I'm looking at a quatravalve which is twice that)! But after tomorrow, once I've decided whether I will get it, I can forward on the contact should anyone want it.