ianrendall Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) My local music shop has one of these heads up for sale. What is the general opinion on them? It’s marked at £199 Edited April 12, 2018 by ianrendall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Built to last, extremely loud, versatile tone section, easy to fix if they go wrong. On the minus side is the weight, probably around 12kg I'd say. I'd give it a try and see if you like it. If you do then make an offer, and see if they offer a short second hand warranty just in case. It will probably sell on here quite easily if you decide it was a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Great thanks! 12 kilos is fine. My bike jacket weighs about that anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 30 minutes ago, ianrendall said: Great thanks! 12 kilos is fine. My bike jacket weighs about that anyway... Cool. The weight doesn't bother me either and I must admit to being a big fan of Trace gear, especially the heads and combos. I'd give it a try and see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Just tried them. They had two identical GP7s, a 150 and a 300. Played through a jazz bass and an Ampeg 410 at 8ohms. The 150 seemed easily twice as loud as the 300, both settings set indentically. Odd. I’m wondering if the faceplates got mixed up by the shops tech guy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 The Trace Elliot heads are NOT heavy!! Admittedly the combos are but most of the gear from this era (80/90s) weighs about the same. The misconception comes from becoming accustomed to lightweight class D gear and accepting the compromise in tone - it's only when you fall in love with the depth of tone with TE (any Class A/B?) that you realise their true value. If you want the heft and the power, put up with the 12kgs. Use a TE head with a lightweight cab and you have the perfect rig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 33 minutes ago, ianrendall said: Just tried them. They had two identical GP7s, a 150 and a 300. Played through a jazz bass and an Ampeg 410 at 8ohms. The 150 seemed easily twice as loud as the 300, both settings set indentically. Odd. I’m wondering if the faceplates got mixed up by the shops tech guy.. That's curious. The faceplates are not really interchangeable as they are very much glued to the amp chassis. Unless they mixed the chassis up, but doubt that very much. A lot of the 150 heads just had external heatsinks without active cooling. You may have noticed this during your time with them. I have a 250 SM and an older Series 6 200 (which only has a heatsink, no fan). They are very similar in output level to be honest. The Series 6 is my favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Most importantly, how did you find the sound? To your liking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 18 minutes ago, RandomBass said: Most importantly, how did you find the sound? To your liking? Very much so! I have a friend with an AH600SMX he’ll take £150 for. I can borrow it for a few months and see how I get on. Can this amp drive one 8ohm cab or does it have to be used in crossover mode at all times? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 6 minutes ago, ianrendall said: Very much so! I have a friend with an AH600SMX he’ll take £150 for. I can borrow it for a few months and see how I get on. Can this amp drive one 8ohm cab or does it have to be used in crossover mode at all times? Erm that's a bargain. Bite his hand off now to get that. Seriously. Yes it can be used to drive just one 8ohm cab. Your friend should be able to advise better, as the owner. Get it now! 😎🎸 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 23 hours ago, RandomBass said: Erm that's a bargain. Bite his hand off now to get that. Seriously. Yes it can be used to drive just one 8ohm cab. Your friend should be able to advise better, as the owner. Get it now! 😎🎸 Picking it up tomorrow. Might even do my first NAD post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 2 hours ago, ianrendall said: Picking it up tomorrow. Might even do my first NAD post! Good man. At that price you cannot go wrong. In fact, I'm quite envious 😎 Look forward to hearing how you get on with it. Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Well, I showed the Mrs a picture of an AH600 and she has decreed that it must go in my workshop, along with my ‘massive’ BF Midget. I put my foot down of course, and relented. My Ibby bass stays in the house though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_m Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 4 hours ago, ianrendall said: Picking it up tomorrow. Might even do my first NAD post! You're going to have to get that Trace leather jacket you linked to now! It's been relisted with a starting price of just £89... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 27 minutes ago, tony_m said: You're going to have to get that Trace leather jacket you linked to now! It's been relisted with a starting price of just £89... If it was an actual bona fide motorcycle jacket with shoulder and elbow protection I’d be all over it like a tramp on chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_m Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Yeah, I no longer ride, but picked up one (well, OK, two... ) of the other Trace leather jackets that appeared on t' Bay about the same time as this one did. As you say, they're not really "riding" quality, but they're decent enough (and pretty cool if you're a Trace fanboy like me! ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Just now, tony_m said: Yeah, I no longer ride, but picked up one (well, OK, two... ) of the other Trace leather jackets that appeared on t' Bay about the same time as this one did. As you say, they're not really "riding" quality, but they're decent enough (and pretty cool if you're a Trace fanboy like me! ). I’ve recently decided to revisit Trace as they seem to be coming back into vogue, and I’ve heard so much about ‘that tone’. My very first amp was a Trace GP11 410 combo, but, the folly of youth meant that I didn’t fully appreciate how to get the best out of it. Smiley EQ and all that.. I feel that I’ve now matured enough as a player and have more understanding of the differences between class d and class a/b to do it right this time round. I’ll draw the line at Trace cabs though...for now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 I have a TE 1x10 cab - I think that that it's an extension cab for the BLX 80 combo - same fat sound you expect from anything wearing the green label....unfortunately the only other one I know of belongs to Skezza and he's reluctant to part with it. Bombard him with PMs till he does... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 And here it is! Needs a bit of a clean and I’ll have the bonnet open tomorrow to give it the once over, but at least the UV light works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 Here’s the serial number. Can any clever types glean the year of manufacture from it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 If not there should be a QC sticker inside somewhere with the date, assuming the ink has not faded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Oh, and awesome by the way 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrendall Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 3 minutes ago, RandomBass said: Oh, and awesome by the way 😎 Thank you, I’m very chuffed! Now then, I will obviously need to give it a test play through, which I will hope to do tomorrow. I only have speakon leads though. What I DO have is a mic lead jack to xlr - the Trace has xlr options for speaker connections. I unscrewed the jack end and it has connections to the tip and sleeve - the lead being mono, no ‘ring’ is present. Will this work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 In a word, no. Mic leads use thin shielded cables suitable for low voltages and currents. You need a proper high power cable for handling high voltages and currents that come out of the power section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goingdownslow Posted April 13, 2018 Share Posted April 13, 2018 (edited) Not being keen on xlr speaker sockets I changed mine to a speakon, easy enough, just a little bit of filing was needed IIRC. Edited April 13, 2018 by goingdownslow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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