VTypeV4

On 11/08/2023 at 23:45, verb said:

I think the sockets were made by Cliff electronic components.

Thanks for that.. 😀

Looking good, Mike!

If had to choose, I'd probably go with A&H as I prefer the way they work and just find the whole process a bit more organic. Don't get me wrong, I do like Digico and can't say as I've ever had a bad show on one but the dLive is a fantastic tool - A&H really got it right. 

It's been a little quiter for me this year although I'm currentl in the throws of Bloodstock '23. It's only the small 'New Blood' stage with some ancient Community boxes and a pair of M32 consoles - I'm on FOH as I have been for the last few years now. Pics to follow. There's also Notting Hill Carnival coming up in a few weeks.   

I'm reasonably sure all of mine are MDF, too. I've never owned anything from the old TE company that wasn't a heavyweight - could they be all made from some sort of iron / concrete blend!? 🤣

The little Commando must weigh at least 20Kg (probably more!) which again, puts it on the heavier side things. If we were to scale it on a ratio for outright volume to weight, the poor thing would score really quite badly - good job it sounds sweet! 🥰

1 hour ago, Merton said:

No luck finding those jack socket nuts, sorry @VTypeV4 

 

Not a problem, many thanks for looking. ❤️😀

7 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

There was a Commando on the stage for me at one gig. I think it may have been a 15 but not sure, it didn't say. Defo an older version of the OP's. Iirc there was a line out going to FOH DI box or it might have been the amp DI. We did a few numbers for a sound check shake down and then left for dinner.

 

Kid band had the slot before us at the gig. I was afraid he had blown it up as bass was coming over distorted to hell. Kids. Their band wasn't as loud as ours by a long shot. Thankfully there was no distortion coming out of it when I plugged in.

Fingers crossed this one remains (reasonably at least!) distortion free..

And at the opposite end of the scale..

3 hours ago, Dood said:

 

Well, since it's you.... The Commando preamplifier section is essentially a FET version of the V-Type valve preamplifier. The schematics (obviously taking in to consideration the differences between valve and transistor needs) are remarkably similar! For recording or feeding in to another amplifier, you've a v-type on the cheap, kinda! 

I'll have to do some further 'sonic' investigation.. ❤️ As mentioned above, I was very impressed with it's core tone - I'll put my usual NE-1 / LMB-3 in the loop (as per my V-Type setup) and see how it sounds through both it's own speaker and into the desk.. 

7 hours ago, Rodders said:

I've got an earlier Commando 12 with the Rat Fur as opposed to Tolex.

The speaker needs a recone or replacing. Its at a rehearsal space at the moment but once I can get hold of it I'll ask Celestion what they would suggest replacing it with.

Celestion no longer make the Truvox series although they do make pretty much the same driver range now badged as the 'TF' range. Their TF1220 is equivalent to the driver in mine. I'm sure the helpful service at Celestion will point you in the right direction. I wonder if yours has the questionable BG12-S that some of these shipped with - they're easily spotted by coming with a dark green frame. The Commando enclosure is about 60 litres in volume and judging by the porting is tuned to 55hz - I don't have mine to hand to measure exactly so these figures aren't exact although the folk at Celestion may find it useful.

Good luck.   

Thanks for the kind words, folks. 🥰 It's lovely to hear stories of yester-year - it seems more than a few of this humble range got some of us up and running.

I agree with the general consensus that these were a little light on features regarding connectivity and marginal gigging capability although I expect the 15" model did a bit better than these smaller examples. The claimed 100w output is probably fair but I can't imagine any of us fancy trying to gig one of these today!? My ex from many moons ago (about 2002) had the later MK2 (150w) Commando 15 which always sounded good to me although I don't think she ever gigged it. 100% agreed regarding the weight - there's certainly no lack of that! 🤣

My first full-fat Trace wasn't a million miles from the Commando, it was a 712 SMC which was effectively same size box but with the 7-band SMC preamp and slightly pokier 130w power stage. From memory, it too was a little marginal at gigs but was much improved when it went back to the factory for a speaker upgrade. The original BG12S wasn't a great driver and it wore out quite quickly giving a nasty paper 'flap' when driven so Trace put a 200w Q (2035?) series in as a replacement. 

I have a writing session with the band this eveing so I'll press the little Commando into service for that. I'm really pleased that it will make some music both with me and later at the college after being out of service for a while as it really is a lovely sounding thing, ❤️

@Merton PM me if you find one and we'll make a plan. 🥰 

I appreciate discussions regarding these were a less than a 'hot topic' 20 years ago let alone today.. 😬

This little combo cropped up on eBay last week for a ridiculous price so I pulled the trigger. Costing less than £40 including the tin of contact cleaner and the fuel to fetch it, it seemed a true bargain although it was certainly looking a bit sorry for itself. The sellers' description was fair and honest suggesting it worked and passed audio but the pots were a little crackly. I decided it was best to pull it apart and sort the late model 12" Trace combo from the ground up. ❤️

I hope the pics show it's short story from grubby to gleaming plus a little look under the bonnet of how they built them all those years ago - a date sticker says 03/2001 although the transformer sticker suggests it may be a little later than that.

After a few hours of scrubbing, cleaning and a quiick polish plus half a tin of contact cleaner, the Commando 12 once again lives to fight another day. I played it for about half an hour after I'd put it all back together and it worked faultlessly - the budget Trace sounds surprisingly sweet despite the modest 100w rating and that somewhat marginal 12" Truvox Celestion. I still need to find a missing jack nut but that's about the worst of it.

It will go to the college when we start up again in September (I'll not keep it - I have enough Trace gear!) so it will go on to help the next generation of musicians hone their skills and find their own sound. 🥰

On 04/08/2023 at 08:19, Supernaut said:

I've said it before but I believe the 40th anniversary basses will become the 'new' JV series. 

I like this.. 🥰

The V4 in action at home - I can't really 'stretch it's legs' here but even so, it still sounds great. It's looking extra shiny after it had a good dust and clean last week - pics are on the Trace Elliot thread in the Gear Gallery section. 

Sounds like a great idea to me.. 😃

• Systems and associated hardware.
• Setup / configurations and methods.
• Mixing and concepts.
• Live performance as a whole.

19 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

But really what I just wanted to say that the EHX tubes is my preferred brand of tubes too, and I got the EHX 12AX7EH tubes installed in all my tube preamps (sounds like I own a million tube preamps, all 3 that is, 2 of which are currently in active "always on" use as part of my main "amp-less" bass setup, and the remaining one in active use as well, but as part of my recording setup). 

 

They certainly seem to be good valves and as far as I'm aware they're rebranded Sovtek which is very much a tried and tested product. I had a full compliment of EHX in an Ashton BV300 I owned for a while and as I recall, the big bottles are the reason I later bought them for the V4. Zero failure of any of them over the years. I've also got some JJ types on the go too - there's some long plate '83s, an '81 and 6L6GC in the Bassman, long plate '83s and KT77 in Beavis (scratch built 60w hot rod Marshall type) and the V4 has four short plate '83s. My SVT has it's original 'from the factory' valves which are JJ pre and EHX power tubes too.

The best sounding 12AX7 / ECC83 I've used are the '80s Siemens 'slab plate' examples but the JJ and EHX are great valves in their own right. Glad you're happy with your EHX, Mr B. 😃

12 hours ago, Thump said:

I think I'm in love 😲

I love it too - it really does sound as good as it looks. ❤️

Thanks for the kind words, folks - snaps were on the phone then a little tweaking / filters. The amp is just a work of art so it even looks good with shoddy pics. 🤣

I think it must be nearly ten years since it had a re-valve although I've toyed with various preamp tubes / positions over the years. Disappointingly and rather surprisingly, changing them doesn't seem to actually make that much difference unlike the older V-Type series that seemed quite responsive to tube rolling. The bias remains reasonably stable for the big bottles (although it does need a tweak from time to time) and it's certainly not lacking any grunt or power so despite their many hours of service, it seems pointless to change them. Those EHX KT88s were a good investment as they have been by far the most reliable and stable power amp valve I've used in the V4. My SVT has EHX 6550s so I'm hoping they'll be equally hardy and long-lasting.  

The V4 was looking a little dusty so I decided a spring clean was in order. It's sounding just as good but looking much fresher! 🥰

There's been a few posts about various Squier models on here recently so I thought a collective space to post pics of all those wonderful instruments would be lovely. ❤️

My three Squier Jazzes:

Natural finish 2006 VM series (Cort factory)

Blue / Puprle 2007 Affinity 'J-Bass' model (Cort factory)

Olympic White 2022 40th Anniversary Gold Edition (Sammick factory)

Lets see yours. 😃

23 hours ago, SurroundedByManatees said:

When looking at prices for Fender products, I feel that the higher spec Squiers are a the best value for the money..

 

..it just sounds and feels 3 times the value to me. Build quality is definitely better/tighter than many of the more expensive basses I've owned..

 

 

I appreciate I've paraphrased you a little here but I couldn't agree more. ❤️

40th Anniversary Gold Edition - just fantastic.

I haven't owned a 'full fat' Fender for 15 years or more..

The VM and 40th Anniversary Squier Jazzes are the best passive basses I've ever owned. Compared against a lovely Japanese '75 reissue, an American Standard and an active Mexican Deluxe V, I'd pick the Squiers. Incidentally, I played both back-to-back when I got home last night and even 6 months later, I couldn't choose between them.. ❤️

I can't help but feel Fender may well have shot themselves in the foot with the quality of the high end Squier basses. Based on my own experience (YMMV), other than the 'it says Fender on the headstock' kudos, the Squier models are at least equal to most of the Fender basses I've played both historically and recently.

I have an Affinity series Jazz, too and even that is a useful tool - I've gigged it on occasion plus it's made it on to more than a few recordings at the studio too - I can't say it was ever lacking. It's had some cosmetic upgrades over the last few years but still has the stock pickups, electrics and hardware.       

Can't say that I've ever used one of those (or even seen one in the flesh) but it looks like a useable tool.. 😀

42 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

You are making me miss my old Ramsa DA7. I sold it when some years ago, but now wish I had it back.

 

 

02R implemented at the studio - it's part of the 'old studio' setup using the old Windows PC and a spare MOTU interface. There were a few projects that I started at home but now I can now finish / add to using the studio facilities which is great! It's largely separate from the main Mac / DM2K / ML5K but the monitor and main L/R out is still via the GL / big ML so it could still technically work via my master rack with external EQ and a WA Bus comp if needed. Great for it to hear some music again. ❤️

I'll just leave this here.. 😅  I've been very impressed with my SVT although Trace is my usual choice - you may well be equally impressed.

23 hours ago, NickA said:

Is this just for appearance or some perceived tech reason? 

 

I guess they used to put those covers on for extra screening of the single coil pickups.. and maybe to hide the "ugly" look of naked metal and plastic.  I was also told that the bridge cover was a handy place to stuff some foam for extra damping ( noone having invented floating thumb or left hand damping in the 50s).

 

But it blocks out so many places you might want to touch the strings.  Playing right over the pickups gets the best sound IMO   and the screening effect is small I think.

 

Just ...don't. or, if you must,  use tape. 😁

 

Purely cosmetic - vanity!

My affinity currently has plates on it and they're easy enough to work round on that. 😃

Maybe this doesn't quite fit the 'unsung hero' category but the old Peavey HiSys 2 always sounded pretty good for bass. I powered one with a Trace 300SM on a gig once and it really sounded great - I can't imagine why I wouldn't have had my cabs with me but Peavey was minter. 😃

On 09/07/2023 at 00:29, ahpook said:

 

It's certainly a lot more manageable weight-wise than an SVT

 

Glad you got your stack though - I be it sounds formidable !

 

It's a fantastic tool, thanks. 😀  Enjoy the V4, I expect it's equally useful but with a bit more 'vintage mojo' going on - super cool. 😀

5 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

If you do decide to fit them my 62RI jazz came with a fixing template for the screw holes , you can probably download them, might be of use to you VType 

Thanks for that. 😀