Trace Elliot

[Smithy1834]

Hello, does anyone know where I could get a good condition  Trace Elliot AH350 SMX head ,mounted in original case with UV light?     

Would really appreciate it if someone could help me track down one of these.  

Cheers.

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Smithy1834

[Deedee]

I haven't seen any up for sale recently. You could put an ad in the 'Wanted' section of the marketplace?

[Dan Dare]

eBay

[Smithy1834]

Thanks for your help everyone, Ive managed to find a Trace Elliot AH 400 SMX in good condition with black light.

[jjay69]

Thats a dead ringer for one i owned 20 something years back only mine was the earlier GP11 version. Hell of an amp, had some weight to it too.

Hope you got the 4x10 and single 15 to go with it

[28mistertee]

This was my first proper gigging bass amp. As it happens fast forward a good 8 years and I’ve gone full circle and just bought the rack mounted version, I’ve tried everything else and nothing comes close to the old Trace. Enjoy.

[TheGreek]

On 16/02/2020 at 20:11, 28mistertee said:

nothing comes close to the old Trace

I may have that as the epitaph on my headstone

[leonvdb]

Hi guys,

 

I hope someone can clear something up for me which has bewildered me for ages and I’ve searched high and low on the internet without success?

 

I own many TE heads and cabs, but one is a little confusing. I have a 1st Quarter 1996 AH400SM head with the UV light etc, but on the back it says the model no. is an AH350SM. On the front it says AH400SM where it gets illuminated by the UV light. The manual doesn’t state AH350SM on the first page only AH600SM, AH400SM, AH300SM etc etc. AH350SM’s can be found all over the net but I’ve only seen 1 AH400SM and loads of AH400SMX’s. 

 

Is mine rare, or a mistake or what? What is confusing is the manual not mentioning AH350SM anywhere but stated in the back of the amp but not the front. Were the 400’s all 400W or 350W?

 

I’ve attached pics to try and avoid the confusion

 

Thanks in advance, and sorry if this has been brought up before.

 

🤘

[BjjGorilla]

On 04/02/2020 at 21:05, Smithy1834 said:

Hello, does anyone know where I could get a good condition  Trace Elliot AH350 SMX head ,mounted in original case with UV light?     

Would really appreciate it if someone could help me track down one of these.  

Cheers.

 

Hello! I bought one just like it yesterday
I am trying to find the right cab for it... any tips?

[Deedee]

15 minutes ago, BjjGorilla said:

Hello! I bought one just like it yesterday
I am trying to find the right cab for it... any tips?

They sound great with Barefaced cabs. I've used my TE heads with both their 12" cabs (more neutral sounding) and their 4x10" (more coloured). They both sound epic.

[BjjGorilla]

1 minute ago, Deedee said:

They sound great with Barefaced cabs. I've used my TE heads with both their 12" cabs (more neutral sounding) and their 4x10" (more coloured). They both sound epic.

With a 4x12 and a 1x15 would it work?

[Deedee]

54 minutes ago, BjjGorilla said:

With a 4x12 and a 1x15 would it work?

Depends what you need. If you're going for modern, lightweight, efficient cabs (such as Barefaced etc) you won't need a huge stack - unless you want one of course!

The original Trace rig would have been a 4x10 and a 1x15 and can be bought very cheaply now as they're big and heavy by today's standards. If you can manage to transport them then they would sound great.

[Rich]

Ohhh, the Trace SMX. Still my favourite ever preamp.

[BjjGorilla]

44 minutes ago, Deedee said:

Depends what you need. If you're going for modern, lightweight, efficient cabs (such as Barefaced etc) you won't need a huge stack - unless you want one of course!

The original Trace rig would have been a 4x10 and a 1x15 and can be bought very cheaply now as they're big and heavy by today's standards. If you can manage to transport them then they would sound great.

Well I was searching for some Barefaced cabs here in Portugal and... i can't find nothing used (!) and to buy a new one... is too too expensive
What can you recomend me in alternative to the barefaced? (my) Ashdown is... well... crap LOL

[BjjGorilla]

40 minutes ago, Rich said:

Ohhh, the Trace SMX. Still my favourite ever preamp.

Any tips? I will explore de TE graphic but I'm a nooby on that... LOL

[thodrik]

38 minutes ago, BjjGorilla said:

Any tips? I will explore de TE graphic but I'm a nooby on that... LOL

With the SMX, or any graphic preamp, I think that the best advice is to generally avoid boosting any frequencies below 100Hz. Boosting at around 100-250HZ gives the effect of adding Bass but at frequency level that your speakers can replicate. This allows you to use the amp at higher volume levels. 

Also, I would recommend getting a copy of a manual for an SMX. Here is one, though your own amp might differ slightly, but the principles of how Trace Elliot amps work are broadly similar.

http://www.munns.info/manuals/Trace_elliot_gp75m.pdf

[TheGreek]

I used to use mine with as Vanderkley 112 - Paired with the TE you have the luxury of a clean sound cab and it being lightweight.

[BjjGorilla]

4 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

I used to use mine with as Vanderkley 112 - Paired with the TE you have the luxury of a clean sound cab and it being lightweight.

thanks man! ... but the same problem as Barefaced... not for sale in Portugal 

[Smithy1834]

Personally i use a trace elliot AH400SMX with a trace elliot 1048H which is a 4x10 cab with horn, it seems to have a nice tone to it, only downside is its 48kg  plus the amp head weighs 28kg.   If you dont mind the weight then the old trace cabs are really solid and you can pick them up fairly cheap too. 

You could also try a trace elliot 2x10 cab, and maybe add a trace elliot 1x15 too theyre both fairly light cabs and sound great together, perfect clarity and low end.

[andy67]

One of our members Thornybank, has more Trace equipment than you could shake a stick at 😎 

PM him as is a really good guy 👍

[Rich]

On 21/09/2020 at 14:18, BjjGorilla said:

Any tips? I will explore de TE graphic but I'm a nooby on that... LOL

For live work, I always used to leave the pre-shapes OFF. I'd get as close as I could to a usable sound just using the input blend, EQ balance, compressors and the tone controls on my bass, and then use the graphic to fine tune it according to the venue acoustics. The red slider was very useful for taming a boomy stage.