Downgrading my Trace Elliot

[isteen]

23 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

yes, that's correct, I did this when I had a Trace Combo

Great, thanks

4 or 8 ohm, does it matter?

 

 

[PaulWarning]

3 minutes ago, isteen said:

Great, thanks

4 or 8 ohm, does it matter?

 

 

I think the Trace speaker in your combo is 8 ohms (might be worth checking), so the extension speaker should be 8 ohms then you'll have a 4 ohmn load, which will give you full output from the amp

[Dan Dare]

15 minutes ago, isteen said:

Great, thanks

4 or 8 ohm, does it matter?

You might get away with a 4 ohm cab (which will give a combined impedance of 3 ohms), but I wouldn't push the volume too hard. And keep an eye on how hot the amp gets.

[isteen]

3 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

I think the Trace speaker in your combo is 8 ohms (might be worth checking), so the extension speaker should be 8 ohms then you'll have a 4 ohmn load, which will give you full output from the amp

Better stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

[isteen]

3 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

You might get away with a 4 ohm cab (which will give a combined impedance of 3 ohms), but I wouldn't push the volume too hard. And keep an eye on how hot the amp gets.

Better be safe than sorry, and stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, isteen said:

Better be safe than sorry, and stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

Hell no.

First off, test the driver that you have in case somebody swapped in a 4 ohm one while nobody was looking. You put a multimeter across the tip and shaft of the lead that goes in the back of the amp. Should be around 6 ohm of resistance for an '8 ohm' driver.

Assuming it's an 8 ohm you can only safely add a 8 ohm cab in the extension jack. Don't add a 4 ohm cab or you risk blowing up the amp.

It's a case of 8+8 = 4 when working with impedance of daisy chained cabs.

[TheGreek]

On 15/04/2021 at 02:10, Alec said:

My revelation was a kitshare with someone who had a GenzBenz 2x12 cab plus light head, and which sounded fantastic.

Within a week, I'd been out shopping and bought similar.  Much louder/better than the Trace combo, and easily transportable. 

Careful Pinocchio - you know you shouldn't tell lies....

GB sounded fantastic - unlikely 

Louder/Better than the TE - Never in a million years

[Downunderwonder]

4 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Careful Pinocchio - you know you shouldn't tell lies....

GB sounded fantastic - unlikely 

Louder/Better than the TE - Never in a million years

The modern(ish) GB 212 had essentially Eminence Deltalite12 speakers in a decent sized box. I never heard one but it should get a bit louder before fartout than a little Trace 115 combo. Better is subjective.

[PaulWarning]

8 hours ago, isteen said:

Better be safe than sorry, and stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

 

8 hours ago, isteen said:

Better stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

those posts are wrong, you'll risk damaging the amp

[Sparky Mark]

17 hours ago, kwmlondon said:

Look, I know those things sound fantastic - I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the 90s gigging through an AH500........once you've felt how light a class D amp is you'll never want to go back to carrying an old-school amp around. I used MarkBass now and it's.... okay. Not that charismatic but it's very light and sounds fine.

I agree that an AH500 is a lump but the AH200 as used in this combo isn't very heavy at all. Based on the occasion I'll use either a Markbass or AH200 head; whether an amp weighs 8 or 18 pounds is certainly not the deciding factor and never will be for me. 

[Sparky Mark]

11 hours ago, isteen said:

Better be safe than sorry, and stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

It's pretty safe to assume that your combo has not been modified and the speakers inside create an 8 ohm load. You can add another 8 ohm extension but not a 4 ohm cabinet as at any decent volume the head would most likely cook itself.

[isteen]

12 hours ago, isteen said:

Better be safe than sorry, and stick to the 4 ohm extension cab

 

11 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Hell no.

First off, test the driver that you have in case somebody swapped in a 4 ohm one while nobody was looking. You put a multimeter across the tip and shaft of the lead that goes in the back of the amp. Should be around 6 ohm of resistance for an '8 ohm' driver.

Assuming it's an 8 ohm you can only safely add a 8 ohm cab in the extension jack. Don't add a 4 ohm cab or you risk blowing up the amp.

It's a case of 8+8 = 4 when working with impedance of daisy chained cabs.

Oh, my bad.

It would be the safe solution to use a 8ohm extension cab. My bad, sorry

[Downunderwonder]

4 hours ago, isteen said:

 

Oh, my bad.

It would be the safe solution to use a 8ohm extension cab. My bad, sorry

Only safe once you test the resistance of the combo driver to confirm it's 8 ohm.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 16/04/2021 at 17:20, PaulWarning said:

I think the Trace speaker in your combo is 8 ohms (might be worth checking), so the extension speaker should be 8 ohms then you'll have a 4 ohmn load, which will give you full output from the amp

This is correct, the TE internal speakers are 8R for a second 8R cab in parallel.

You can unplug the internal speaker and plug in a single external 4R or two external 8R cabs.

Slightly older versions do away with the jack plug and are wired so that the bottom socket disconnects the internal cab when something is plugged in.

[Stub Mandrel]

I am looking for an off-the-shelf sleeve for the amp in my near-identical combo.

The [problem is the front is designed to fit an 19" rack box (there are filler pieces either side that you can leave off) but the rear section is separate and requires a large cutout for ventilation on the upper part of the box.

I'd rather not have to go to a larger rack box with a filler at the front and a vent panel at the rear as it's already quite tall.

Is there an off the shelf solution or am I making a custom box out of ply?

[PaulWarning]

On 17/04/2021 at 08:12, Sparky Mark said:

I agree that an AH500 is a lump but the AH200 as used in this combo isn't very heavy at all. Based on the occasion I'll use either a Markbass or AH200 head; whether an amp weighs 8 or 18 pounds is certainly not the deciding factor and never will be for me. 

this is true, I've got 2 Trace heads one is 150 watt the other 200 watt, both weigh in at 13 kg an easy one handed lift, and plenty loud enough

Edited April 18, 2021 by PaulWarning

[TheGreek]

On 16/04/2021 at 14:24, kwmlondon said:

Look, I know those things sound fantastic - I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in the 90s gigging through an AH500 .....once you've felt how light a class D amp is you'll never want to go back to carrying an old-school amp around. I used MarkBass now and it's.... okay. Not that charismatic but it's very light and sounds fine.

I'm sure that people don't sell their Trace Elliot because they've found something that sounds BETTER, they just find gear that is LIGHTER.

TE was in demand for a good reason - cos it did what you needed it to.

You're right about the weight of an AH500 - I have one, weighs the same as two rhinos but man, it's a monster...tone you'd die for.

[isteen]

5 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Slightly older versions do away with the jack plug and are wired so that the bottom socket disconnects the internal cab when something is plugged in.

Oh, adding a 15” to my combo, might disconnect the 4x10”?

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, isteen said:

Oh, adding a 15” to my combo, might disconnect the 4x10”?

No it won't. The combo can drive another cab, but another 410 would be a better match. 

[Stub Mandrel]

On 16/04/2021 at 16:39, isteen said:

Just a quick question to be absolutely certain I don't destroy anything: Can I hook up a second cab to this combo (8 ohm I Guess)?

 

3 hours ago, isteen said:

Oh, adding a 15” to my combo, might disconnect the 4x10”?

In the photo above, you can plug any 8R cab (of sufficient power handling) into the top socket.

If you remove the built-in speaker plug it will disconnect the built-in 4x10 cab. You can then plug in either one 4R cab or two 8R cabs.

What you can't do is plug in a 4R cab when that bottom plug is in place.

The speaker sizes are irrelevant to how you wire them up as long as the impedances and power handling capabilities are OK.

Obviously the choice of cab has an impact on sound.

What I do (or would do if I had an opportunity to play somewhere that could take the volume...):

[kwmlondon]

20 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I'm sure that people don't sell their Trace Elliot because they've found something that sounds BETTER, they just find gear that is LIGHTER.

TE was in demand for a good reason - cos it did what you needed it to.

You're right about the weight of an AH500 - I have one, weighs the same as two rhinos but man, it's a monster...tone you'd die for.

Well, we're all getting old and if you've got a rig that sounds 90% as good as the old one but takes up a third of the size and weighs a quarter... well... I mean I can actually carry my rig on the tube!!!! Sure, it doesn't sound as good as a solid state 500w and a big old 4x10 but I can take my bass and my rig on public transport. It's unbelievable. We are living in days of wonder!

[Alec]

On 18/04/2021 at 11:53, TheGreek said:

I'm sure that people don't sell their Trace Elliot because they've found something that sounds BETTER, they just find gear that is LIGHTER.

Sorry, I replaced my Trace 1210 4x10 combo for something better and lighter - a complete win.

[kwmlondon]

8 hours ago, Alec said:

Sorry, I replaced my Trace 1210 4x10 combo for something better and lighter - a complete win.

What did ya get? And pics please!!!