DiMarco Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 (edited) Bought from a pawn shop, it was carrying a sign "effect unit". Something was rattling inside so first thing I did was open her up and fix the loose pcb which was attached to some odd little piece of wood... Built in 2001, print on the rear side says "made in England" which is good right? One of the two jack speaker outputs was dirty and the dualband comp balance pot was crackling. Cleaned all of that and the amp is working 100% now. Too bad the lit front panel is a bit damaged here and there thus not fully lit anymore. Reason for this post: I have a couple of questions. 1. The tube "overdrive" is no overdrive but just adds a little warmth. Is this normal? 2. I'm not used to dualband compression. Can anyone with experience recommend me some settings? 3. Is this a good catch for 127 pounds (149 euros)? The amp sounds REALLY good by the way. I'm impressed! Cheers, Marco Edited April 18, 2013 by DiMarco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Great amp! Pre Gibson? I found the tube did very little, just a little warmth. No overdrive. I barely used the comp but I would if I still had my GP12SMX400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 If it's anything like the tube in an Ashdown ABM, it just adds a bit of foggy warmth rather than obvious overdrive. A good buy, though I now rock lightweight kit myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 I had a conversation with Paul Stevens (CEO at TE) at the LBGS a couple of years ago - apparently prior to the Gibson take-over the factory was closed and one of the employees was "relocating" parts from the factory, putting together amps/combos and selling them himself. He was doing quite a good job of it as I owned one - the only way I knew was no serial nos. Does yours have a serial no? If not it could be one of these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 The amp has a hand written serial on the rear side. Since the poweramp section board says 1999 and the amp was built in 2001 it must have been designed under Kaman flag and built while owned by Gibson I think. I also own a late eighties AH250/GP11 but this AH300 has some really nice features the older amp lacks. Next tuesday I'll drag it down to the rehearsal room where it will compete with my Fender TB-600 hybrid amp. Point is with the Fender I use a tech21 vtbass to add warmth (the fender tube OD isn't my cup of tea and sounds quite muddy) and a Markbass compressore. I'm hoping I won't need those stompboxes anymore when using this TE amp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Correction: designed and built under Gibson as one of the last ever "made in England" products before Gibson moved production of just a few products to the U.S. In january 2002 and closed the U.K. factory (making the full staff redundant while at it). Production date of this amp is august 2001... A piece of Trace Elliot history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebenezer Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 a great amp...may only be 300 watts BUT all watts are not created equal....loud,flexible and dual compressor good use low band around 10-11 o'clock and high on 8-9.....wont squash top end. this amp is as loud as many 5-600 watt digital amps.....well the ones i've played !! make of this what you will......toodles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 You picked this up for just 125 quid? I'm envious - that's a deal and a half. Nicely done. Now, where is this shop? Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 [quote name='ebenezer' timestamp='1367001220' post='2060226'] this amp is as loud as many 5-600 watt digital amps.....well the ones i've played !! make of this what you will......toodles [/quote] What I make of this is that 3dB isn't really a huge amount. Good buy OP. Nice reliable amp that sounds great and will last a lifetime. Now is an incredibly good time for used gear, particularly for heavy stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badboy1984 Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 These 300watt Old Trace stuff is loud as hell. We have one of those 150watt 15" combo (Old Trace) and is loud as hell but is not really my taste of amp, but in your case £120 is good buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 Today a package came in from Memphis, TN. A brand new Illuminated front and new white caps for the 12 band EQ. I sprayed one of those bright red myself. In the meantime I had the amp checked by a tech who did a lot of work on the power section. Amp now looks like this (ready to shake some serious butt!): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 She looks fabulous, doesn't she? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiMarco Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 Aaaaand its back for repairs. 50hz hum is still there. I think it is the volume pot... Also since its last repair the cooling fan stopped working (unless it is supposed to not start turning until the amp becomes hotter?). Bummer, more waiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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