Trace Elliot vs Peavey/Hartke ?

[Al Heeley]

Toying with the idea of a general gear upgrade, I've always yearned for a Trace elliot system since their influence on 80's music when I first started learning the bass - the practice rooms near us has a small Trace stack that sounds great with my Stingray.
At the moment I have a Peavey Tour 450 head into a Hartke XL410 cab and a Hartke XL115 cab. In larger venues it's peaking out to get sufficient volume, which is a bit surprising, I thought 450W would be easily enough for mid size pub gigs, but I guess it's down to speaker/cab efficiencies.
The current setup sound can be really good in some venues but lacklustre on other nights, I guess that's an EQ thing. I like the punchy mids of the Hartke 4x10 and the 'Ray combination.
Anyway, there's a small Trace Elliot head (AH600-7) whichj will give me a little more power into 4Ohms than the Peavey, and I quite like the look of the Trace Elliot 1015H cab which combines 2 x 10 speakers with \ 1 x 15 inch as well as a horn, at 800W/4 ohms.

Now I've heard many debates about using same amp to power both 10" and 15" speakers at the same time, and the negatives are down to the different resonant frequencies of a 10" cone sometimes acting to interfere with or cancel some of the frequencies of a 15" cone, so you don't get such a balanced response, or maybe some frequency notches that a single 4 x 10 on its own will not have. When I play a gig through the 4 x 10 without the 15" cab it definitely lacks the big low end push of air I get with the 15 but on its own the 15 is a bit woolly for my liking.

If you have been bothered to read this far, I'd like to know what the feeling is about the Trace 1015H cab over the 1048 4 x 10, does the larger speaker add a bit more low end authority or is this a popular myth?
Also any thoughts on the Trace AH600-7 amp over my current Tour 450?

Edited May 31, 2011 by Al Heeley

[JTUK]

Haven't used TE for while..but at one point it was pretty much the standard in the UK, IMO.

I think your point about mismatched cabs would have more meaning if you were mixing makers, which you aren't so I would run a 115
under a 210 or 410..no question. The fact that this cab ( Trace Elliot 1015H) comes combined would not bother me at all..bar the weight.

I think it could do with a tilt-back system with wheels though.

I think Ziggy is selling a TE stack in the FS section... how does that compare..? being seperates you could take a small cab to a quite rehearsal.

I'd rate a TE amp ahead of PV and Hartke myself... but someone more current may have another opinion.

[thodrik]

I have been using the Trace Elliot 1028H and 1518 separate cabs and they sound fine. I have either been using it with an EBS Fafner (440 watts at 4 ohms) or an older Trace Elliot SMX (300 watts at 4ohms). I have never felt like I have lacked power/loudness and I have not suffered from any phasing issues. An efficient 300 watt at 4ohms amp should manage to cut through in most environments, unless you are playing with 2 guitarists using Mesa Dual Rectifiers through a full stack.

There seems to be a mixed reaction to the newer Trace Elliot amps. Some love them and some think that they are nowhere near as good as they were back in the day. The new cabs are a lot lighter than the old ones, though consequently I think that they lack the old 'built like a tank' build quality. I would advise to try one of the new amps to see if it is up your street. You can pick up an older Trace Elliot amp for less than half of the price of the new line. Trace Elliot is now a subsidiary of Peavey now anyway and the amps are made in the Peavey plant in the US, though designed in the UK (I think so anyway...).

I think that Hartke is better value for money than the Trace Elliot amps when doing a price comparison when new. However if you want a good Trace Elliot amp, then get a Trace Elliot amp.

[Paul S]

I recently sold off most of my Trace Elliot gear due to increasing back problems.

I had an AH300 head through 1x15" (or 1X18") and 2x10" cabs. 1x15" by itself for pubs/rehearsals etc. Also had an AH250 MkV head. More than loud enough for anything I did indoors or onstage at outdoor gigs as stage monitor. Tone was immense, especially the MkV - yum.

I will soon have the remains of my Trace gear up for sale, with someone registering an interest at the moment - a 'proper' old vintage 1x18" cab and AH250 MkV head that has just been serviced and repaired at a TE approved service centre. 'Best amp they ever made' according to the guy there. As a pair - 66kg of tsunami inducing bassness.

[Al Heeley]

[quote name='thodrik' post='1251333' date='May 31 2011, 12:27 PM']...unless you are playing with 2 guitarists using Mesa Dual Rectifiers through a full stack.[/quote]
Heh, one of our guitarists plays a Les Paul thru a mesa dual recto but the other uses a Dean Razorback through a Marshall half stack. I hate to get left out of it but we can no longer hear the drummer. This is not always a bad thing...