Trace Elliot Twin Valve Combo

[VTypeV4]

Overview:

Part of Trace Elliots' late '80e early '90s series six range of Valve bass guitar amplifiers. This is the baby one which came in two versions, a head and a 1x15" combo with the GP7 pre-amp. Twin valve refers to it's dual 6550 output valves which make an apparent 115w RMS whilst the larger models in the range were Quattra and Hexa Valve sport 4 tubes (220w) and 6 (300w+) respectively. These larger models (available as head only) also feature the larger and heavier featured GP12 pre-amp. All are easilly identified from the SS models by having a brushed look panels and black writing opposed to the usual grey / bright green livery.

Features:

Front:

The pre-amp is almost the same as the Series 6 GP7 version wit the omission of a balanced XLR direct out although I have seen some with this included. From left to right we have an input gain and overload indicator, separate jack inputs for both active and passive guitars and the classic Trace 'pre-shape' EQ button. Towards the middle is a switch in/out for the graphic EQ and the EQ itself which looks to have a longer fader travel than current models. Further over still is an array of jack sockets, the first pair are the FX loop send / return, the second pair are Line in / out and lastly a head-phone socket. The final controls are the master volume and standby switch on the far right of the panel. The only other thing on the front are the power / standby indicators although they're labelled as 'Pre-amp' and 'Power amp'.

Rear:

A rocker switch chooses between 4 and 8 ohm total load with two outputs. One is XLR (they loved this didn't they?) and the other jack although the jack is used for the internal 8 ohm speaker. Lastly there's an on / off switch and two fuse sockets for the mains and HT supplies.

All in all, it's quite simple for a Trace (have a look at a fully fledged GP12SMX or 600SMX if you want lots of options) but for me it's a case of 'set and forget' and adjust the master volume to suit.

Sound Quality:

It was love at first plonk! I borrowed it from a friend who was looking to sell but from that first note, it was gonna be mine before we'd even discussed monies. Oh dear.. Considering it's simply a single fifteen inch Celestion in a slightly compromised enclosure, it sounds superb offering an adequate low end and goes surprisingly high too. I say the enclosure is compromised as running the maths against the spec of the driver suggests it would be prefer a slightly larger box and lower tuning however on the face of it, it goes plenty low for me.

The flexibility of the pre-amp allows for many different sounds to be coaxed from it as the chap I bought from uses a P-style bass with flats whereas I'm on round wounds and like plenty of ping. Short of a dub-reggae thud, it'll do it without drama. It responds best with the Warwick although it sounds sweet with the Jazz bass too.

Lastly the valve pre and power stages add that lovely bit of warmth and squash to the otherwise tight Trace sound. Having previously owned a number of SS Trace combos and a V-Type 4808, this trumps them all including being able to play louder without complaint. Given it's ~100w rating, it's very capable and will stand up to gigging without drama. I have never needed it flat out to keep up. The amplifier wiill distort and break-up with a bit of soft valve grind when played loudly however, this too finds the limit of the speaker which isn't particularly nice. Through my old Ashton 410 though, it was a monster. It's drive sounds very similar to my Trace V-Type V4 when pinned. Just for giggles of course, I like the clean but compressed valve type sounds mostly.

Build quality and reliability:

This example was built in 1990 so at the time of writing (June 2015), it's 25 years old. I have had it since '12 / '13 and never had and ounce of bother with it. Just before I had the unit, it had been serviced with some some new caps and a full set of PM brand ECC83 / 6550 valves.

I don't think it's had a particularly hard life having still got it's orginal vinyl cover but the upholstery and finish are excellent and still in great condition. Inside the amp chassis the standards are maintained with thick PCBs, tidy wiring and decent sized transformers. Pictures inside and out can be found here:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/26162-trace-elliot-porn-thread/page__st__300"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/26162-trace-elliot-porn-thread/page__st__300[/url]

Bad bits:

I don't really have much bad to say about it to be fair. It weighs a tonne (or more realistically about 35Kg) but it's a valve combo, if it was light, i'd be worried! The side handles aren't great and bite into your hands a little, the recessed types on the larger cabs would have been better but at least they wern't so daft as to put a central strap handle on top of the thing. The only other real compromise is the speaker / enclsore. For me it goes low enough without complaint but running the maths, (if I remember correctly) it starts to roll off around 75Hz with a little hump in the 100Hz area which can be heard. I think it's simply the compromise of such a small enclosure.

Conclusion:

It's old and a bit heavy but with the exception of my V4, it's the best sounding Trace Elliot I've owned. And of course, being a Trace, it's not going to be everyones tastes but it's well worth a look as it's a variation on that traditional sound. It's been totally reliable and I intend to keep it around for a good while yet!

[FuNkShUi]

Thats a good review.
Now, i just have to wait for one to come up!!!

[VTypeV4]

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1435051762' post='2804881']
Thats a good review.
Now, i just have to wait for one to come up!!!
[/quote]

Head or combo? There was a combo on eBay but was a little steep in the pennies dept. Let us know if you find one.

And sadly, mine ain't for sale..

[FuNkShUi]

Yeh I just need the head.....
Lining someone up for a home run there haha
With the combos, are the heads easy enough to just detatch?

[VTypeV4]

Yeah, the head slides out easily enough but you'd still need a 'lid' to protect the exposed power-amp valves. Or just make your own wooden case of course..

[FuNkShUi]

Good to know!
Cheers

[TheGreek]

I recently acquired a TE Twin Valve from eBay... I love TE, spent a small fortune trying to emulate the tone... closest I got was EBS, a very close and highly recommended second.

The ad on eBay was misleading with 400w stated as the output - I believe its 115W but they're TE watts, not your weedy Class D watts. As everybody who has owned a TE knows these are designed to send the hordes from Hell back screaming, holding their ears.

I paid what I thought was a good price, however the seller decided to use PF48 direct rather than save £20 by going through Interparcel. I felt that the £270 in total I paid represents the true value of the amp - most of the others I've seen have sold for something similar.



Anyway it arrived today - complete with Flight Case - a couple of downsides - FC is not TE, it doesn't fit inside the feet which hold TE cabs together.

Amp is crackly, understandable with a 30+ year old amp, so it'll be making a visit to Mal, my local Amp Tech at www.theampworkshop.co.uk for a service - cost for previous services have been in the £30-40 ball park, so I'm expecting something similar.

After trying to set it up with my TE 1153x and 2103x cabs I find the second cab output is a 3 pin DIN plug - haven't got one of those so I choose to use just the 15" - the Amp has the option to run cabs at either 4 or 8 Ohms - very useful, can't understand why it isn't a feature on other amps.

So, plug in my Kawai F1B - has a lovely fat tone naturally - using the Mid Pre setting accentuates the existing tone giving this bass a fatter tone, reminiscent of that 80s Funk tone used by everybody from SAW, Hue & Cry to Stanley Clarke. Tone is consistent from low volume all the way up to blowing the windows out mode. Lovely!!

Flicking the 7 band graphic to my favourite setting - "The Grimace" - upside down smile, mids slightly above the bass and treble settings - gives the same monster tone you've come to expect from anything bearing the fluro green badge whatever your personal preference. Trusty and reliable is a byword with TE - I'm expecting this once it's had a service and clean.

Weight? - well yeah, but it's an 80s TE, right? that's the way it was - not just with TE either. Having a bad back goes with being a musician - it's either complaining about that or the f*cking guitarist playing too loud. If it bothers you that much, spend £20 on a sack barrow or enlist the help of your friends by telling them there'll be loads of babes at the gig... remind them that "I'm with the band" is a great opening line.

So I'm planning on running a 30 year old amp with a 2x12 and a 1x15 - the nay-sayers will be saying "so's everybody else" - but what I'm getting is as reliable as a wood burning stove, will live as long as the Jurassic era and give tones as classic as a 32 Ford Coupe. There may be players out there who will be saying "TE, it's so dated"...look at how many people comment on the great sound when they rediscover them. Try one yourself and see...

Re: The new Elf I have on order - they've pushed back the delivery date to late July - I'm torn - get a refund or run the risk of shops running out before I can get one - after waiting since March??

As a huge TE fan I'm committed to the old and willing to give the new a fair chance - time will tell. I'll just have to make do with my existing (3x different TE) set ups..

[andytoad]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1496954285' post='3314997']
I recently acquired a TE Twin Valve from eBay... I love TE, spent a small fortune trying to emulate the tone... closest I got was EBS, a very close and highly recommended second.

The ad on eBay was misleading with 400w stated as the output - I believe its 115W but they're TE watts, not your weedy Class D watts. As everybody who has owned a TE knows these are designed to send the hordes from Hell back screaming, holding their ears.

I paid what I thought was a good price, however the seller decided to use PF48 direct rather than save £20 by going through Interparcel. I felt that the £270 in total I paid represents the true value of the amp - most of the others I've seen have sold for something similar.



Anyway it arrived today - complete with Flight Case - a couple of downsides - FC is not TE, it doesn't fit inside the feet which hold TE cabs together.

Amp is crackly, understandable with a 30+ year old amp, so it'll be making a visit to Mal, my local Amp Tech at www.theampworkshop.co.uk for a service - cost for previous services have been in the £30-40 ball park, so I'm expecting something similar.

After trying to set it up with my TE 1153x and 2103x cabs I find the second cab output is a 3 pin DIN plug - haven't got one of those so I choose to use just the 15" - the Amp has the option to run cabs at either 4 or 8 Ohms - very useful, can't understand why it isn't a feature on other amps.

So, plug in my Kawai F1B - has a lovely fat tone naturally - using the Mid Pre setting accentuates the existing tone giving this bass a fatter tone, reminiscent of that 80s Funk tone used by everybody from SAW, Hue & Cry to Stanley Clarke. Tone is consistent from low volume all the way up to blowing the windows out mode. Lovely!!

Flicking the 7 band graphic to my favourite setting - "The Grimace" - upside down smile, mids slightly above the bass and treble settings - gives the same monster tone you've come to expect from anything bearing the fluro green badge whatever your personal preference. Trusty and reliable is a byword with TE - I'm expecting this once it's had a service and clean.

Weight? - well yeah, but it's an 80s TE, right? that's the way it was - not just with TE either. Having a bad back goes with being a musician - it's either complaining about that or the f*cking guitarist playing too loud. If it bothers you that much, spend £20 on a sack barrow or enlist the help of your friends by telling them there'll be loads of babes at the gig... remind them that "I'm with the band" is a great opening line.

So I'm planning on running a 30 year old amp with a 2x12 and a 1x15 - the nay-sayers will be saying "so's everybody else" - but what I'm getting is as reliable as a wood burning stove, will live as long as the Jurassic era and give tones as classic as a 32 Ford Coupe. There may be players out there who will be saying "TE, it's so dated"...look at how many people comment on the great sound when they rediscover them. Try one yourself and see...

Re: The new Elf I have on order - they've pushed back the delivery date to late July - I'm torn - get a refund or run the risk of shops running out before I can get one - after waiting since March??

As a huge TE fan I'm committed to the old and willing to give the new a fair chance - time will tell. I'll just have to make do with my existing (3x different TE) set ups..
[/quote]

I've had a Quatravalve and a Hexavalve, I think my next pit stop will be one of these!