Sparky Mark

I have three pieces that I can't imagine parting with:- 1. My first dream bass, a 1980 natural Stingray bought with my first student grant check in 1981 from Peter Cookes, Acton. 2. My 1993 Thumb NT bought from Coda Music, Luton in 1990ish. I chopped in at least 6 basses to reach the near £1k price tag. 3. My Hartke AH3500 head, bought from a pro bassist living in Holmfirth in the mid 90s. I'd seen a bassist playing a Thumb through a Hartke rig in a Sudbury (Suffolk) pub and knew that was the sound I wanted. It's probably only worth about £100, but it served me so well for 10 years that I just can't let it go. It's the superior (IMO) MOSFET, Transient Attack version.

I've owned many Tech 21 pedals, including BDDI and VT (which is great for Ampeggy tones), but my fave due to its flexibility is the Para Driver DI. It does everything I need from a preamp/DI.

20th century Trace Elliot equipment was built for real men!

I had a look at the Trace Elliot brochures thread on here to see if I could find the combo this came from. No luck, but I think it's a bit of a shame the original 12ax7 valve preamp was removed in favour of a solid state version.

Agreed it's a good price. Not sure what fixing up is either necessary or possible though? Other than a missing EQ slider tip it all looks fine. Depending upon the fixing centers, it could be a candidate to ditch the heavy wooden sleeve and mount in a lightweight ABS 19" case?

Interesting conversion of a combo head. I particularly like the apparently redundant addition of the UV lamp grill underneath the stainless steel front panel. I wonder what the cable ties are securing on the rear panel?

Previously, I think RM wasn't allowed to leave items on doorsteps and had to leave a card so you could arrange another delivery attempt or collection from a local RM depot. It now seems that due to cost cutting initiatives and the employment of casual staff, RM really don't offer any better service than the other couriers and just leave packages wherever it fancies. I've recently received a RM proof of delivery photograph showing my package wedged in an unknown letter box. It's a real shame that RM seems to have joined the courier race to the bottom.

When my back was 30 years younger, I don't think I gave schlepping my 99lb 410 cab a second thought. I'm kind of assuming the majority of us are in the same boat.

Great info here:- https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/445206-vintage-trace-elliot-brochures/

A rehearsal studio in Hertford used to have Series 6 410 and Series 6 112 combos that sounded amazing. I think they were both rated as 150 watts without an extension cab. They were what brought me back to TE amps. I'm not one for mid cut pre shapes, but there's something about that original Trace Elliot pre shape button that just works so well.

And this could be the reason Trace Elliot amps have a reputation for delivering more power than other amps with the same advertised output.

The maximum output of many modern amplifiers is stated at 1% (sometimes 10%) THD (total harmonic distortion). Trace Elliot used a 0.02% level at maximum output. I wonder if this means the TE amps were capable of higher outputs but with increased THD?

Agreed. Looking at the handle position, this looks like a cut down combo to cab conversion.

The cab is a Series 6 1153 (Classic) compact cab. It does have a single front port behind the grill.