Author Topic: Trace elliott pre-amps....opinions.... (Read 152 times)

funky4 · « **on:** December 06, 2004, 07:12:51 AM »

looking at adding another pre-amp so I can have a few more options to go along with my F-1X...which I love.....have played the aguilar, swr, eden, etc.....am looking for others.

I was hoping my good friends accross the pond could provide some opinions or information on any trace elliotts? Not sure how many different models they make/made,etc but would appreciate any info and opinions....

Thanks

ChuckF

adriaan · « **Reply #1 on:** December 06, 2004, 07:49:16 AM »

If you insist ...

My experience with the stacks and combos that they made in the late 80s and early 90s was that I never managed to get an honest sound out of one. Very loud and in-your-face, but not very refined. All you could make out was that you were playing a TE rig, and just barely what make of bass you were using.

jacko · « **Reply #2 on:** December 06, 2004, 08:25:33 AM »

Chuck
I've played through a 1210hsmx 4x10 combo since 1995. It has alot of punch and under certain cicumstances can sound very 'mark king'. However, there's plenty of scope to faff with the tone controls etc to get the sound you want. On mine, there's an input blend between valve and solid state, 12 channel graphic, 2 preset sounds and high / low compression with a sweep. As I've had it a long time, I've found time to play enough with it to get the sound I like, very tight with clear lows and highs but none of the flabby bottom end i used to get with carlsbro and marshalls. Coupled with my Epic, the sound to my ears is as near perfect as I can get. I don't use any effects BTW. Unfortunately, Gibson bought them out several years ago then stopped makng them so you'll only find the amps second hand. All the folks that used to work at TE including the MD are now employed at Ashdown. Unsurprisingly, Mark King now endorses ashdown amps.

funky4 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 06, 2004, 01:10:21 PM »

Thanks for the input guys. Didn't realize that Gibson had stop making the altogether, so guess I'll pass for the timebeing and look for additional options.

Thanks again for the quick responses and opinions.

ChuckF

ox_junior · « **Reply #4 on:** December 06, 2004, 05:06:02 PM »

I have a Trace Elliot SMX600AH featuring the GP12 preamp section with 4x10 and 1x15 cabinets. It is the most versatile rig I've ever owned. Crisp, warm, deep, punchy, and with an Alembic it just sings. At 600 watts a side, soundmen tell me to turn it down with the master volume at 1.

Yes Gibson basically killed the brand so Ashdown has replaced Trace Elliot as the premier choice of high-end bass amplification. If you can find used Trace stuff, suggest you play through it before buying if you can. Some of the used stuff out there can be pretty beat-up, and after the Gibson takeover they started to put out an inferior product and budget models that are difficult to distinguish from the higher-end gear. And, as mentioned, TE gear does have a distinct sound if you use their tone shaping presets. Unless you introduce a pedal in your signal path, you will not get any distortion - it was designed primarily for players like Mark King and John Entwistle who wanted a well-defined high-end with lots of attack.

Good luck! Mike Bisch

(Message edited by ox_junior on December 06, 2004)