trace models

[exup1000]

hello dudes

need a bit of advice really,i've just picked a bass up after more than ten years off and all of a sudden i'm in a band, we have half a set of cover songs done and are looking at when we're be ready for gigging which is all awsome.ive been hiring a trace cab and ah300 head which is the nuts,so now i'm looking for my own trace rig.but can any body tell me what the differnce is between the AH and GP models and any other info on trace would be of great help.at the moment i'm looking for a 1048 cab and head (really need advice on head choices)but with looking at putting a 15 inch under it at a later stage

smurf

[witterth]

I stand to be corrected but,

I allways thought prefix "AH" meant amp head, 150,250,350,500, 600 WATTS etc and talks about power out put.(ah 350=great!!)
And I thought GP means "grapic" (silders) frequency band, so 11 band (sliders) or 7 band (sliders) or 12 (sliders).

you could have for instance, an "ah250gp11" or an "ah500gp12"

to confuse matters more some of the "bigger" heads have "cross overs" in them so you can run them in stereo, hipass/lowpss/ or both out puts full range...!!!!

dont worry its all quite self explanitory( if you look at the amp back) and means how you "run" cabs.
the only bit I dont get is the whole matching "ohms" stuff!!( 4/8 ohms etc)

Anyway,you could have top frequenciess in a 2x10 and low in a 1x15 as an example. with a "cross over" amp head

or,in other words an ah350 (gp11) could run another cab (for upgrade/BIG gigs!!)

I think most people with the more recent (and mostly 2nd hand smx range) dont bother, and run amps full range,especially considering the compression "toys" Trace Elliot come with as standard these days

I hope I havent made things worse for you

I do think the VERY new stuff is the same
ATB
W
btw Ive been using TEamps/cabs for years and bass chat still helps me out with this type stuff!!

Edited February 26, 2010 by witterth

[exup1000]

thanks for all your info mate its much appreciated

smurf

[Bassman68]

As stated AH stands for amp-head, GP stands for Graphic-Preamp in all their guises...
Just remember as far as power, Trace are notorious for under-rating their outputs especially in their earlier models i.e MKIV, V'S & 6's!
Find one of these models & you're on to a winner, IMO i wouldn't bother with the latter SMX lines when the likes of Gibson etc took over,
although the latest range seems to get great reviews.

Edited February 28, 2010 by Bassman68

[mep]

[quote name='Bassman68' post='760066' date='Feb 28 2010, 07:34 PM']Trace are notorious for under-rating their outputs especially in their earlier models i.e MKIV, V'S & 6's!
Find one of these models & you're on to a winner.[/quote]

I have had my Series 6 AH200 GP12 head for years now, mostly coupled with various 152 cabs. The sound is huge and rarely do I turn up more than 1.5. I now use 2 cabs as a mini stack so it's runing at 4 ohms. There are always some on ebay, and you can get a good head from that era for around £200 or so, dependinh on wattage.

There is a venue near us with their own backline. For bass it an AH350 GP7 head with built in compression and a Trace 15" cab with horn (i think). Great acoustics on stage and it sounded the nuts.

[witterth]

[quote name='exup1000' post='758675' date='Feb 26 2010, 10:01 PM']thanks for all your info mate its much appreciated

smurf[/quote]
Its a pleasure!!

[Merton]

[quote name='Bassman68' post='760066' date='Feb 28 2010, 07:34 PM']As stated AH stands for amp-head, GP stands for Graphic-Preamp in all their guises...
Just remember as far as power, Trace are notorious for under-rating their outputs especially in their earlier models i.e MKIV, V'S & 6's!
Find one of these models & you're on to a winner, IMO i wouldn't bother with the latter SMX lines when the likes of Gibson etc took over,
although the latest range seems to get great reviews.[/quote]
Careful with your history... Gibson took over after the GP12X preamp, not the SMX preamp, that wa sa Kaman era and widely regarded as the last "good" Trace. Pedantic, I?

[thodrik]

[quote name='Merton' post='760643' date='Mar 1 2010, 12:42 PM']Careful with your history... Gibson took over after the GP12X preamp, not the SMX preamp, that wa sa Kaman era and widely regarded as the last "good" Trace. Pedantic, I? [/quote]

That is good to know though, just bought a 12 band 300SMX on ebay! Should do well for a backup.

I do like my trace elliots, though if you have the furry amps and cabs, your pet cat will consider them useful as scratching posts.

[Bassman68]

[quote name='Merton' post='760643' date='Mar 1 2010, 12:42 PM']Careful with your history... Gibson took over after the GP12X preamp, not the SMX preamp, that wa sa Kaman era and widely regarded as the last "good" Trace. Pedantic, I? [/quote]
Doh! & there was me working for them when Kaman took over! just couldn't remember the name, no wonder all these Ovations & Hamer guitars kept appearing.
I left shortly afterwards

[neilb]

[quote name='Bassman68' post='762147' date='Mar 2 2010, 07:46 PM']Doh! & there was me working for them when Kaman took over! just couldn't remember the name, no wonder all these Ovations & Hamer guitars kept appearing.
I left shortly afterwards[/quote]


Stevie L?????

[Bassman68]

[quote name='neilb' post='762179' date='Mar 2 2010, 08:13 PM']Stevie L?????[/quote]
Fraid so mate

[Merton]

[quote name='Bassman68' post='762147' date='Mar 2 2010, 07:46 PM']Doh! & there was me working for them when Kaman took over! just couldn't remember the name, no wonder all these Ovations & Hamer guitars kept appearing.
I left shortly afterwards[/quote]

What did you do for them?

[Bassman68]

[quote name='Merton' post='762520' date='Mar 3 2010, 07:38 AM']
What did you do for them?[/quote]
Sawmill/wood shop..routed all the cabs & amp cases. Nothing exciting really, prior to that i worked at Status, from the end of the series 3000 line to the introduction of the energy. series.

[Merton]

[quote name='Bassman68' post='762659' date='Mar 3 2010, 10:05 AM']Sawmill/wood shop..routed all the cabs & amp cases. Nothing exciting really, prior to that i worked at Status, from the end of the series 3000 line to the introduction of the energy. series.[/quote]
Cool! And where are you now?! (PM if you'd prefer!)

[neilb]

[quote name='Bassman68' post='762354' date='Mar 2 2010, 10:48 PM']Fraid so mate [/quote]


Thought so. Im Chas's mate and i know Lumby well...too well really!!!

regards mate.

Neil

[Bassman68]

[quote name='neilb' post='763226' date='Mar 3 2010, 06:44 PM']Thought so. Im Chas's mate and i know Lumby well...too well really!!!

regards mate.

Neil[/quote]
Who don't? LOL!
Good to hear from you mate...
Gizza PM let's catch up!

[Count Bassie]

'Scuse me, but I've just searched my way in here from 'out there' (across the virtual pond) and have a question about the GP-11 MK IV, if I may throw in here:

I have an [b]AH250SMX[/b] (Kaman era) which I run throught a pair of Bag End S15-D cabs, and it's the best amp I've ever had. I really am having a lot of fun with it! Just yesterday I picked up another, older TE head, an [b]AH250 GP-11[/b] (it was a bargain) to have as either a backup or leave in a rehearsal space. It's considerably larger, heavier, and simpler in layout and features than the lighter, racier SMX- and has the reknown front-mounted Ultra-Violet lamp . I believe it's a MK IV, as there's no 'Balance" slider...

I did an A/B with the two heads earlier today, and noticed the SMX seems to feel tighter, has a brighter ('clearer') sound all-around, and gets apparently louder with much less turn of the Output Gain knob. I made an effort to set the graphic eq on each amp the same, and I bypassed the on-board compressor and tube blend on the SMX to try and use a similar feature-set for both amps.

The GP-11 seemed a little 'loose and wooly' in the lows compared to the the SMX, which stayed tight and clear all the way down. I'm working with the GP-11s EQ for that, and have an Ashdown 2-band compressor pedal I'm also trying with it. Seems to make a difference, they are still different but have gotten much closer to similar now with a little work. The GP-11's character is generally a touch darker than the SMX's. It'll do alright as a backup to my main rig. The blacklight is noisy and blinks a bit, so of course I'm going to have to fix that! That purple glow is just a near-mystical experience, I tell you. Fun stuff- very 80's!

One thing I like about the GP-11 is that all the peripheral functions, i.e. Send/Return, Slave Send/Ret, DI... are on the face of the amp. GK's newer models also go this route, which seems just plain sensible. I wish the SMX was also laid out this way (more like the GP-7SM)! Not a gripe though.

My point though is to see about getting a little insight on this GP-11 (ser # C4445) from some of you guys in-the-know here. I'm interested in what makes all these models different, and what advantages some models may have over others. Not to be a nut-case, but is there any kind of history of this line that gives practical differences between models, tracing the progression to the present? A timeline or similar presentation to look over in some archive?

I've also written British Audio Service, though this is a better run-down of my experience so far!

Anyhow, now that I've helped you pass a little time here, thanks for reading!

Edit... I've been playing the GP-11 some more, and that's a great amp. Another keeper.

Edited May 3, 2010 by Count Bassie

[Delberthot]

PM Thornybank - he's your man as he probably has both of these amps as well as everything else Trace ever did

[BassBod]

I've used a MIV GP11 preamp off and on for years - I'd say its a warmer, more traditional tone than the later stuff, but very flexible once you are familiar with the graphic (and don't use the pre-shape!). A really nice preamp - I don't think it ever varied between models, but was available a s a stand alone pre, and was the front end of most of the MIV range.

Thorneybank will be along soon....

[Ghost_Bass]

I have this two babies:

- GP12-X 300W above and down on the right
- GP7 SM below and down on the left

They are from my two combos, the GP12 came on a 1x15" and the GP7 on a 2x10. Currentle i use the GP12 mounted on the 2x10" cab and use the 1x15 without the amp as an extension speaker. I love the sound of this two guys I've made a true A-B with them connected to two equal cabs and the GP7 has a more natural and bright as the GP12 as more punch and a better shaped sound. The valve drive feature on the GP12 is cool but i can't get a saturated sound from it, only a slight boost on the mid/high freqs! I'm changing the valve soon for a EHX (any sugestions are more than welcome) to see if i get any changes.

As posted AH is "amp head" the # next refers to it's output power at 4ohms and GP is "graphic preamp". The older models are a treat to your ears but the Gibson era stuff and, aparently, the Peavey era (haven´t tried one yet) are very poor...
The ashdown gear (built by ex-TE staff) is very close to the old days trace sound and at very apealing prices

Trace has a bad habit of renaming the new models with the old ones names... makes it hard to track their history. It's true that Trace underates it's power, my 300W@4ohm with full stack can lift the roof of a medium-sized concert room
I will only sell my rig in the future when my back start to complain with it's excessive weight!!! They're buildt to last centuries but there is a reason why i nickname my rig as "bunker"!...

Cheers