Trace Elliot Effects

[Quilly]

HI Folks, Any Trace Elliot people out there ? I find the compression cuts the sound excessively and doesn't really allow you 'dig in' (even when turned down low) i.e. the compressor seems either 'on' or 'off'.. Also the 'preshape' function sounds good on its own just seems to scoops out the mids. I cant really hear myself over 2 guitars, apart from the E string.  I switched these off completely at a recent gig and my EQ was set pretty much flat with a little boost on the mids. Bass sounded much more defined and clear afterwards.  I bought the 500-AH second hand recently and I'm not sure what the purpose of the Pre-shape is when you have an EQ on tap? Some tips on set up would be great please, I play using fingers 95% of the time.      

[PaulWarning]

I've got an SMX GP12 and don't use the 'sound management system' much, the valve preamp seems to do absolutely nothing, the preshapes are hopeless for gigging with a band, and the compression doesn't seem to do a lot either (mind you, I do play with a pick and use a bass drive pedal which compresses anyway). Great amps though aren't they?  Like I say I do use a bass drive pedal (Zoom B1on) but I have the 30 and 40 Hz sliders right down and the 50Hz one is cut but depends on the room and a little boost at 2.6K depending on the state of my strings and the room 

[Quilly]

12 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

I've got an SMX GP12 and don't use the 'sound management system' much, the valve preamp seems to do absolutely nothing, the preshapes are hopeless for gigging with a band, and the compression doesn't seem to do a lot either (mind you, I do play with a pick and use a bass drive pedal which compresses anyway). Great amps though aren't they?  Like I say I do use a bass drive pedal (Zoom B1on) but I have the 30 and 40 Hz sliders right down and the 50Hz one is cut but depends on the room and a little boost at 2.6K depending on the state of my strings and the room 

I really like the 'sturdiness' of the AH-500, I never really trusted the lightweight class D amps (I've had one or 2 power failures with these and anyway they just dance around the top of the cabinet).  I think TE could have dumped the compressor and the 'preshape' and just leave the EQ.   

[Rich]

On the other hand, the compressor was one of my favourite elements of my old SMX head   I never used the preshapes much either. I'd love a lightweight SMX-type head with the graphic, compressor and eq balance. 

[RandomBass]

23 minutes ago, Rich said:

On the other hand, the compressor was one of my favourite elements of my old SMX head   I never used the preshapes much either. I'd love a lightweight SMX-type head with the graphic, compressor and eq balance. 

Not a fan of the preshapes or compressor myself, but graphic and eq balance are the things I use the most.

[TheGreek]

Like Rich, I use the compressor on my TE heads - you can feel the difference as soon as you flick the switch. I think that there is a time and place for the preshapes - makes choosing slap tones really easy.