Deedee

Many thanks Bassbod. Sounds about right as everything is 'floating' above the floor of the case until you get to the back plate.

I was just about to say, that’s a MkV so I’m not sure it would be the same as a MkIV anyway. This is the MkIV:

Calling all Trace anoraks! I'm considering rack mounting my MkIV Trace AH250. It's a beast of an amp, I love the sound and it's by far the quietest running amp I've ever owned. However, the case it's mounted in is pretty hefty and while I know that the amp itself will still weigh a fair amount, mounting it in a rack case will reduce the weight considerably (as it did with my 250SMX). My question is, has anybody here successfully rack mounted a MkIV head? I've removed the tube holder from the front and had look inside and there is no metal chassis on the bottom inside the case but there are 3 bolts going through the top that I assume are anchoring things in place. Would an upturned rack shelf be required on top? Any assistance would be most helpful.

Bought yet another P Bass Loom from John. Excellent, professional service as always. Many thanks

Bought a head from Nik in yet another seamless transaction. Great communication throughout and packaged within an inch of its life. As all have said above, trade with confidence. Many thanks

Just sold an amp to Emmett. Great communication throughout and prompt payment. Top BassChatter 👍

🤔. I wonder if it is a case of sound guys’ thinking “it can’t possibly be correct to move the slider that much!”

Interesting. I've experienced the same low DI output from my AH250 GP12 SMX. I'm very interested in the mod that solves the issue (and the head could also do with a service at the same time).

I tried one when they first came out and I think this is where I went wrong. Being completely unfamiliar with Ashdown heads, I didn't spend enough time messing with it and left the store feeling slightly underwhelmed. I really must give one another try some day.

Very true

The issue on the Aria (being stacked volume/tone) is that you can quite accidentally move the volume. That’s why I like to keep them up full. If I’m playing on the bridge pickup only, or the neck pickup there’s no problem. If I then select both pickups, I don’t want to then have to faff about tweaking them down to adjust the signal. It’s not about tone, the tone’s fine.

Be gentle with me here because I’m a bit of a technophobe, but I have the same issue on my old Aria SB-R80. Turn both volumes up full and one wipes the other out. I hate the fact that I have to back them off slightly to get a balanced sound 😡.

If there is a difference, it's certainly not discernible. Feel great to me.

They’re real workhorses and built like tanks. Was a shame that they didn’t have a built in DI.

I think nowadays for weekend warriors such as me (and I guess many others here) gear only matters up to a point. As has already been said, years ago cheap basses were almost unplayable whereas nowadays there are plenty of budget brands that play and sound great. Same with amps/cabs. I think that provided you've met the basics i.e. it's loud enough for what you're doing and has at least the useful bells and whistles that you particularly need, there's not a lot in it. I remember playing through some old buzzing kit that sounded like you'd stacked a pile of duvets in front of the cab. Today there's a vast array of 'cheap' kit that does the job perfectly well. Let's admit it, the average crowd down the Dog & Duck on a Saturday night don't care whether you're playing through a £2k Aguilar rig or an old combo. I'm one of the worst for chopping and changing gear as I'm now in a position where I can, but does it make me sound or play any better? Not really. Throughout the 90's I played lots of gigs and the vast majority were played using an Encore P through a Peavey 160TNT combo. I did on occasion buy other kit such as a Mk1 Wal Custom (for £565 in 1993) but I didn't have it long as I was skint plus I was the first to admit that it was completely wasted on me. The Basschat marketplace does have a lot to answer for. In the past I didn't even have a spare bass! However I do like the fact that on here we have the opportunity to try a whole new range of different kit, then if we fancy something else we can move it on to the next guy/gal for the same price you paid for it. I've been in the fortunate position to try lots of kit that I would never have had the opportunity to try, many items that I lusted after years ago when I wasn't able to buy them. My wife has a theory that there is just a finite amount of kit floating around Basschat that we all keep moving around between each other! One thing I do know is that if I spent as much time practicing as I spend on BC, I'd be a hell of a better player than I am. But back to the OP. In my book if your kit is reliable, playable and loud enough for the job, it's good enough.

That’s the tricky part 😟

Dave Ball amp repair at Carlton. I took a couple of my old Trace heads to him and was very happy with the work he did.

Trace rack ears are mythical things, I've never seen any available, anywhere. However, if you buy a pair of 'long' generic ears off a well known auction site you can re-drill the 3 side holes and (with the help of a 5mm packer each side between the ears and the head) pretty much get away with it as shown on my SMX below EDIT - Just to clarify I know that proper Trace Rack ears do exist, it’s just that they’re usually already attached to an amp/pre so finding someone willing to part with a pair is extremely rare.

I've done that too! Thought what a great sound then realised that everything was left 'out' Oh well, a great sound is a great sound, no matter how you get to it.