Bass_Guardian Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hi Folks, Just wondering if anyone's ever owned a Trace Elliot Commando 150W amp? Is it any good? Reason being i have the chance to pick one up for what seems to be a fairly good price off a mate. Any insight would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I have a Commando 10, which is the 65w version. Good little amps. They were the cheaper end of the Trace Elliot range made somewhere outside UK. The 150 should be a good bet. The 65w was only really any good for practice. It got lost even in a folk setting. The 150 will have a lot more push behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1414583629' post='2590897'] ..made somewhere outside UK... [/quote] I'n no expert but I did a some work experience at the trace factory in Witham, Essex when I was 15 back in 1997 and I'm pretty sure the commando and boxer models were manufactured there at that time... Then again I did do an awful lot of drugs in those days so my memory may not be entirly reliable.... Edited October 29, 2014 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1414583629' post='2590897'] I have a Commando 10, which is the 65w version. Good little amps. They were the cheaper end of the Trace Elliot range made somewhere outside UK. The 150 should be a good bet. The 65w was only really any good for practice. It got lost even in a folk setting. The 150 will have a lot more push behind it. [/quote] Thanks for the input 150W probably sounds the better version for me in that case . I can't even really find what prices these go for second hand. I found one the same model on the Bay but was in the USA so not sure if the market there is slightly different for these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1414583863' post='2590900'] I'n no expert but I did a some work experience at the trace factory in Witham, Essex when I was 15 back in 1997 and I'm pretty sure the commando and boxer models were manufactured there at that time... Then again I did do an awful lot of drugs in those days so my memory may not be entirly reliable.... [/quote] Hope you didn't help assemble any in that case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 [quote name='Bass_Guardian' timestamp='1414584062' post='2590906'] Hope you didn't help assemble any in that case [/quote] naah it was "work experience" basically just free labour for three weeks, I mostly put stuff in boxes whilst the guys that usually did that stood around smoking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1414584173' post='2590907'] naah it was "work experience" basically just free labour for three weeks, I mostly put stuff in boxes whilst the guys that usually did that stood around smoking. [/quote] Ha sounds about right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin E Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Er, I think that's what I regularly use in our rehearsal studio... Small Trace combo, 15" speaker. Sounds OK, there is a mid shift control I normally use to get some clarity otherwise it can be a bit boomy, but it's in a small room. Not bad I suppose, loud enough to be heard over our noisy drummer. Sorry I can't be more positive, it certainly does the job in a studio though I couldn't get too enthused about it. Probably a good buy if cheap and will last for ages as it's Trace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I had one for a while as a 'spare' amp. It had a decent tone and was loud enough for a rehearsal or small gig but had trouble keeping up when the drummer and two guitarists got a bit heavy-handed. I recall it being a lot heavier than I'd expect it to be for its size & the volume it pumped out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTypeV4 Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 A horrible ex gf many years ago once owned one of these.. I used it a few times and have to say i thought it was pretty good in terms of tone / flexibility although i never used it in a 'loud' setting.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Anyone know what price these would usually go for on the second-hand market? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Anything more than £100 is too much. Generally I'd expect £60-£80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 [quote name='Merton' timestamp='1414686633' post='2592268'] Anything more than £100 is too much. Generally I'd expect £60-£80 [/quote] Thanks Merton might try my bartering skills out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Took the plunge! I take the amp home today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTypeV4 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Pics and a review please.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 [quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1414941332' post='2594867'] Pics and a review please.. [/quote] Will do as soon as I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 [url=https://flic.kr/p/oY8V9d][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/oY8V9d]IMAG0312[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/128378472@N06/]alex_s_01[/url], on Flickr [url=https://flic.kr/p/pCyavr][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/pCyavr]IMAG0310[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/128378472@N06/]alex_s_01[/url], on Flickr [url=https://flic.kr/p/pSPMCG][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/pSPMCG]IMAG0313[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/128378472@N06/]alex_s_01[/url], on Flickr Not played it yet, bit late to do that! Not quite sure how to upload the photos properly either :L excuse the mobile phone picture quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 That looks like a good TE pairing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1414968626' post='2595260'] That looks like a good TE pairing. [/quote] Hope so! I'll give it a blast later in the week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTypeV4 Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1414968626' post='2595260'] That looks like a good TE pairing. [/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 (edited) I saw one of these on backline duty for death metal night at the pub over the road on Friday night. I have to say it made the bass audible, which in death metal is no mean feat. Edited November 3, 2014 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Had a quick blast on the amp last night. First impressions are its extremely variable when it comes to tone. It's got 3 "Shift buttons" which when pressed give u extreme bass, mids or highs. I avoided that. Theres a pre-amp volume which baffles me a bit as you need that turned up to get any noise out the amp as well as using the master volume. Started getting the tone i liked after about half an hour of fiddling with it Should hopefully get a good whack at it Saturday liking it so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTypeV4 Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Glad you're happy with it.. I always found with these and the V-Type models that my style of playing suited the input gain / pre-amp level to be around the 12 o'clock position. This will depend on how much EQ you use of course. With regards to the EQ -as you've already found- it's pretty flexible for a passive set. The controls are somewhat interactive and that includes the push buttons too. The deep button accents the lows by actually taking a cut out of the low mids, the mid shift seems to put a bit of a hump in around the 400 Hz mark helping with note definition in a noisy situation and bright does what it says on then tin* * Your mileage and experiences may vary from mine! Glad you're happy with your new amp, like I said, the one my ex had was very good. I think the occasional bad-rap that this type of amp gets is usually from being thrashed in a situation where it's massively out it's depth. When I used to play synth in a band, the bass player used to use the older 100w 12" version although the speaker eventually failed but it was the shoddy green-framed BG12S 100 Celestion. My 712 had one of these too but I spoke to Trace and they changed it under warranty when it started complaining for a 200w Q series unit that was far more robust. The TF / Tru-Vox series 15" unit in yours is a lovely sounding speaker for bass guitar, I never remember it complaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_Guardian Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 [quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1415320394' post='2599297'] Glad you're happy with it.. I always found with these and the V-Type models that my style of playing suited the input gain / pre-amp level to be around the 12 o'clock position. This will depend on how much EQ you use of course. With regards to the EQ -as you've already found- it's pretty flexible for a passive set. The controls are somewhat interactive and that includes the push buttons too. The deep button accents the lows by actually taking a cut out of the low mids, the mid shift seems to put a bit of a hump in around the 400 Hz mark helping with note definition in a noisy situation and bright does what it says on then tin* * Your mileage and experiences may vary from mine! Glad you're happy with your new amp, like I said, the one my ex had was very good. I think the occasional bad-rap that this type of amp gets is usually from being thrashed in a situation where it's massively out it's depth. When I used to play synth in a band, the bass player used to use the older 100w 12" version although the speaker eventually failed but it was the shoddy green-framed BG12S 100 Celestion. My 712 had one of these too but I spoke to Trace and they changed it under warranty when it started complaining for a 200w Q series unit that was far more robust. The TF / Tru-Vox series 15" unit in yours is a lovely sounding speaker for bass guitar, I never remember it complaining. [/quote] Thanks for the input Vtype! I shouldn't be thrashing it too much so hopefully should last a while (fingers crossed). I had the preamp at about a quarter on with mids and bass boosted. Got a passive/active bass so got alot of room to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveT Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 I've used the older 100w version for nearly 20 years now. It's basic but gets the job done. It has a passive tone stack like the old Fender amps so remember that a flat eq is roughly 0-10-0 (bass mids treble). I usually use this setting, with none of the buttons engaged, or all the eq's at 12:00 and the mid shift and bright engaged which sounds very similar to flat but a bit more presence. Volume wise I use it next to a drummer and is loud enough. Even on large stages as a monitor it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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