VTypeV4

I've owned many a Trace.. Combos: Boxer 30 712 SMC 4808 V-Type 715 GP-7 TwinValve Combo Commando 15 Mk2 (long term lend, wasn't actually mine) Heads: AH 300 SM AH 300 SMX AH 400 SMX RAH 600 SMX V4 Mk2 Cabs: 2103H 1153 1048H 1084 Largely all good but somewhat heavy, especially the 4808, V4 and 1084. Currently toying up with getting a 300 or 400 SMX as a 'take anywhere and do anything' rather than mauling the heavy combo or big Ashton head. The 300 is lighter and smaller but the 400 has a UV strip..

A graphic EQ is still an effective form of sonic correction / tone shaping whether fashionable or not IMO.. I was thinking about it last night and I reckon if they did an MP11 / Superfly type font end coupled to a high power lightweight power stage then they'd be onto a winner. In green of course!

I've been waiting for a new line of Trace suff for a while now. There was a bit of a hoo-har when they had their re-launch back in '05 as I recall but there doesn't look to be anything due. I do think a new 'lightweight' version of the existing 7 and 12 band series would be a winner for the brand. A face lift for the existing range would probably be good too. I've tried the new stuff and whilst it does 'the sound' and many others, it's loud and the new cabs do sound better I'm not a fan of those sticky out plastic graphic sliders. Maybe it's something they could address in a new line? Personally, I'm happiest with the SMX range with the 400 being the best of the bunch IME although the SMC 7-band with compressor is pretty slick too. The TwinValve combo is wicked but it weighs 8000 tonnes and is probably massively unfashionable because of it. 115w / ~30 Kg vs something like a MarkBass combo which weighs less than 20kg and does 500+ watts. I've always loved TE gear as it's always done the sound I like and seems to 'come with me' wherever and whatever I'm doing. I do hope the company moves forward and doesn't stagnate like some of the others mentioned above. Come on Peavey, help the boys in green out..

Yeah, 50w is a bit border-line especially in dinky combo form..

It seems unlikely that you'll be damaging the amp by using the passive input, I rather suspect there's something else going on. Also consider the position of the knobs on the control panel as it doesn't always tell the story of how hard the amplifier is actually working. I think that by boosting the lows (a little too much possibly) you may have asked too much of the speaker causing it to move further than it was designed to. This usually manifests itself as a papery / fluffy type sound that gets worse as the volume is increased. If you have hurt the amplifer electrically, it's probably in the power amp stage as by boosting those lows, you're asking it to make much more power. This in itself doesn't usually cause problems but if the amp is over-due a service or has a weak component then the extra stress may have caused it to fail. 220w or 300w or 60w or 1000w is entirely subjective for many reasons.. 1: Different companies may have different standards to achieve their 'rated power' so aren't always comparable. 2: Speakers have different senitivities so one with 96 dB / 1w / 1m will take twice the power to achieve the same volume as one with a spec of 99dB / 1w / 1m. At rated power this may change with power compression etc but it makes the point. 3: Valve amplifiers always sound different too with their ratings not always being comparable to their SS counterparts. Personally I've kept up with drummers using a 60w amp with lots of speakers. Normally I use between 60w and 300w and I rarely run out of steam. My 100w Trace and 300w Ashton are more than enough in every situation I've been in recently. For many years I used 300 and 400 watt SS Trace Elliot heads with no real problems albeit never in a metal setup. Is it time for an upgrade? Isn't it always!? (I appreciate this comment ins't helpful, sorry!)

+1 on a limiter.. One with variable attack and release times too so you make sure the compressor 'grabs' the transient by setting a border-line zero attack time and probably a quick release time so once the transient is under control the compressor 'lets go' and doesn't kill the note. A highpass filter may help also as suggested depending on the frequency content.

I recently had a play with an Allen n Grief Qu16 which for the money seems to be pretty much unbeatable. It was easy to use and all the facilities sounded great. My only criticism is the display looked basic but that may percived by someone else as clear and functional. I do like a bit of fancy! I appreciate that the Yamaha is capable of so much more than the Qu16 but in a similar way to my 328XD, it's more than on top of whats it's capable of unlike the LS-9 that kinda gets lost in itself somewhere behind 8 million menus.

I used an ABM900 Ashdown with the matching 410 tonight largely because I couldn't be bothered to maul the Ashton or Trace about. It kinda worked OK but I don't really get on with them as a rule. So, for the first time in a long time, I didn't use my own gear this eve.

Great pic! Ha! I would occasionally use my little Crest VS650 to drive a Peavey HiSys 2MXT when I played in my soul band which worked well. I simply used the NE-1 as a pre-amp which was small and convenient. Don't get me wrong, I generally prefer some glass bottles in my signal path and usually big ones as a power stage but as a stage monitor, it worked a treat. Glad you're happy with the new kit.

Billy, have a look here.. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/176021-ashton-bv300-all-valve-300w-bass-head/page__pid__2454020#entry2454020"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/176021-ashton-bv300-all-valve-300w-bass-head/page__pid__2454020#entry2454020[/url] This is my bit of a review, hope it's of interest. This amp is also badged as Fame and Smarvo as well as Ashton. The old Eden 300T is also a version of this albeit with an inverted chassis and a (apparently - I found a few arguments on other forums including Eden's own) modified pre-amp. Their other ranges of bass amps are 500w micro-amps and a more traditional solid-state line of combos and heads with the same blue-brushed metal front panel as mine although the larger ones also have a graphic EQ and possibly a compressor. The combos start with tiny 20 watt offerings up to the big 400w head. I tried the 200w head and whilst it lacked a little bit of identity, it was quite pokey and with my usual EQ curve gave a pleasing sound. Count Bassy.. I left him a little note saying if he thought any were suspect that he should replace them but he says it was a simply a bit of bad luck and that the others are fine.

Just as a foot-note, I had a cap fail in this amp (5/14) but it was quickly, cheaply and easily remedied without any further problems. It's given three years of service without a single issue till now so I can forgive it this minor blunder. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/FixedBV2_zps19e3ccb3.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/FixedBV2_zps19e3ccb3.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Still a great amp that I'm very happy with and would happily take to any gigging or recording session. And lastly, I cracked the cabs open to see what drivers were in there and they are indeed Celestion Tru-Vox / TF series. The tens are the 100w TF1018s and the fifteen a 250w TF1525.

[URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/FixedBV1_zps7121a255.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/FixedBV1_zps7121a255.jpg[/IMG][/URL] New black cap in place.. Sorry the image is fuzzy, it was tricky trying to balance the chassis and take the pic! [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/FixedBV2_zps19e3ccb3.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/FixedBV2_zps19e3ccb3.jpg[/IMG][/URL] An arty shot.. And yeah, they stink not to mention the smoke! It's cost less than 30 quid for someone else to fix so I'm a happy bunny.

Amp fixed and cap uprated to 450v vs the old dead one of 350v. I do have a pic, will upload later..

[quote name='Chimike' timestamp='1400318768' post='2452829'] Pity you are so far away, you could have tried out my collection of Trace valve amps ! V-type pre VA 350. X 2 V4 combo V4 head V6. My favourite ! Must learn how to use my camera phone, put up some pics Mike [/quote] You're making me drool now! I loved my old V4 head (MK2) (now Longtime Freds) and the 4808 combo too but I could never really be without a trace hence the TwinValve. I've done some recording this week and it sounds top-notch. And put some pix on please, just to upset me some more. Ha! Chassis shot of the big'un.. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/AshtonFail1_zps3d1f37bc.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/AshtonFail1_zps3d1f37bc.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1400399550' post='2453391'] That Ashton stack on the first page is doing very strange things to me. A valve amp is now top of the list for equipment I need - going to have to start searching for a bargain! [/quote] The Ashton is lovely, there's a review of it elsewhere on the forum. It's had a minor wobble this week with a failed cap but it's back on all 6 cylinders now..

It is indeed allowed as I'm sure I've put my TwinValve on here.. Oh we all know I have a rather soft spot for Trace too! I'm getting itchy for a new amp at the min but have holiday to pay for so I'll have to wait till after June. I'm thinking along two lines.. 1:) Something powerful and covenient so either a 300w / 400w / 500w 12 band Trace. 2:) Something mega pokey but awesome so a V6 or possibly Quattra / Hexa or even a VA.. Hmm, thinking out loud never looks good does it..

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1399749262' post='2447333'] It is, it is ! [/quote] Cheers man!

Sorry guys, it's not [i]that [/i]exciting.. I had a series of big ones let go in a QSC MX series and they did look great, proper burst open and the electrolyte sputtered all over the inside of the case. Just before it died, it did a great impression of a smoke machine and stunk the room out.

Sadly, it's not quite as exciting as the title makes out. If you look in the second pic, you'll see on the left that there's three caps next each other and that the middle one has it's top missing with just a little bit of the innards on the outside. The other two still have their black tops intact. I haven't had a cap fail in a valve amp for a while and forgot how much they stink and smoke. There was a little pool of the electrolyte juice too.

Very cool.. Power and control, just hope your speakers are up to it! Ha

It's gone to the tech man today so hopefully next time I see it, it'll be sorted. I left him a note asking to replace the faulty cap, any he thought that might be suspect and if he thought they were underspecified to put better ones in.. [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1399665614' post='2446566'] If you are going to upgrade your caps, don’t go for bigger values, as this can cause your rectifier diodes to fail. By all means go for higher working voltages though, for a wider safety margin. [/quote] I've learned something today, thanks.

As suggested earlier, 3 x 12 ohm 2x10s is the equivilant* of a 4 ohm 6x10. Nothing really new but it makes a modular '6x10' which I can see the appeal of.. * All things being equal of course..

Waiting for the fireworks indeed! Out of all the cabs made by Barefaced, the 69er did appeal for my 60 watter but the usual finance (and space!) issues have prevented me pursuing it.. I've only ever heard two BF cabs and I don't know what models they were but they were great sounding. I wish Alex the best of success with his new line and hope they're as good as the previous models.

I've used 8, 10, 12 & 15" speakers over the years to good effect.. Currently I'm using a 4x10 and 1x15 (I know I know!) plus my combo which is 1x15. One of the best sounding rigs I had was a 4x8 combo which great if not heavy. To me, the size of the speaker is not so important but the sound of it is paramount. I seem to come back to Celestions for bass (and more recently PA) as they seem to sound sweet and just get on with it without drama. I know Eminence are generally more popular, lots of OEM units are made by them too. I had good service from a Peavey 410TVX loaded with a variation of their 10" pressed chassis.

There's two bigger ones on the end plus there's a choke on the top behind the mains transformer.. I wouldn't mind some greater capacity ones (or two, three etc) in an attempt to circumvent a repeat incident tho. I should state that this amp has worked faultlessly since purchase and has been used quite a bit probably averaging twice a week for a couple of hours each. Might buy it some new valves when I come back from holiday..

Those big voltages scare me a bit thats why I've opted to let someone else worry about it. If it was something on the pre-amp board then maybe I'd have a go.. Plus if there's something else that's caused the cap fail, hopefully he'll spot it.