In praise of an old TE combo

[Guest MoJo]

Our drummer also plays in a pop covers band. Last night I went to watch them at a local pub. Bassist 'Sexy' Gary plays a Mexican Precision with a pick, tone rolled all the way off, through a Trace Elliot GP7SM 130, 1 x 15 combo. I could not believe how loud this thing was. 130 watts sounded more like 500 watts. It filled the pub with creamy bass, underpinned the band superbly. For the £150 he paid for it, it's an absolute bargain. Gobsmacked

Edited July 12, 2014 by MoJo

[mrtcat]

Big TE fan here. The old amps were pretty loud. From experience I think a lot of older cabs were far more efficient at converting the watts to volume. I have a TE AH600 now and it's not as stupidly loud as I recall them being in the 90's but think it's more to do with the modern cabs I use. The combos go for peanuts now because they're heavy but other than weight I still really rate them.

[JTUK]

I never really rated them but..... they did raise the bar at the time so I aspired to them for that reason alone.

I think some people can still use them but I never like the graphic and not even a valve in the pre stage could
really save them.

But if someone was just starting and wanted bang for buck and didn't have extreme tone goals, then everyone
should get to know them...
If you need to move on... then move on, but they are still going strong all these years so they must have been built to last.

[Lozz196]

The other bassist in my old band, The Tuesday Club used to use one of these. Regularly he would be too loud, without the volume anywhere near maxed. Weighed a ton though, for a very small amp. But great sounds.

[badboy1984]

I actually got back using old trace rig ...... first I need to cash in on my modern stuff and second they are loud and sounded good when you know what you doing on the EQ.

My GP11 and 1153 cab sounded good together. I sometimes use my Ashdown LB30 on the cab and it also sounded good as well. If you can put up with the weight, is a clear winner here.

[gjones]

I usually hate TE stuff (mainly because of the ancient TE amps in dodgy rehearsal rooms). But I used the venue's GP7 1x15 for a club gig the other day and really liked it.

There's one for sale, for peanuts near me, and for a brief moment I even thought about buying it.

[Mog]

Trace gear is quality, end of!
I still use my GP 12SMX 4x10 combo anytime I play in a new venue. Oodles of power and tonal options. Once I've the room acoustics and power requirements figured out I go back to the Redhead for subsequent gigs.

[Spike Vincent]

I 've got one of the really old black painted GP7 4 x 10 combos. Yes, it's loud.Bloody heavy though.

[TheGreek]

Had this conversation with Nick Smith recently. We're both big fans of TE - we agreed if it wasn't for weight we'd both still own one. Used to use my 715 combo with the pre-set switch on - great sound and plenty of volume....

I've seen the combos sell for less than £200 - now that is a lot of amp for your buck..

[Alec]

But these days you just can't ignore that stupid dead weight.

Loved my Trace, but nothing would ever make me go back to humping it around...

[gary mac]

If I had a road crew, I would certainly still be using my old 90's Trace rig. Absolutely loved the sound.

Like others have said there are some real good second hand bargains to be had.

[badboy1984]

TE weight is heavy ..... i use a lighter cab like TE 1153 which is manageable. If I can source a second one it would be decent rig to use.

Altho they are heavy, if you can lug a ampeg 8x10 around then moving the TE is not really a problem lol.