Rosie C

I found some purchase paperwork and everything was bought in January 2002, which might narrow it down. There was also a carbon copy of a TE customer survey and in "suggestions for improvements" the buyer has written "switch for light fascia light" so it seems likely it's not working because it is disconnected. I'll take it to my electronics expert friend for a look-see inside.

Thanks! Ooh, thank you. I did a bit of internet searching late last night and found this 15" cabinet on ebay which looks to be the same model as mine and the badge looks the same as your 3D printed one: Close up of the ebay cabinet badge: But this is the badge on my 2x10 and it is different. In fact it looks very like the badges on the new Elf cabinets so maybe it is a late model? Thanks for that, very useful and sounds right - I downloaded the service manual last night (which is when I discovered the 'valve drive' knob is connected to an actual valve) and couldn't find anything on the circuits powering a panel. I see some photos on the 'net of them lit up (see below) but there are so many different models it's hard to be sure which is which. Someone else's amp - of course there could be a blacklight behind the camera...

The badge on my 2x10" is riveted on but there are no holes on the 15". But then in that ebay listing the badge looks stuck on. Hmm... An unexpected bonus is the valve pre-amp. I wasn't expecting that and haven't had any kind of valve amp before 😊

Well I did it! We went to view an AH300 tonight. I took my fretless jazz to try it and it sounded fantastic! Lovely condition, and it came with original manuals, sales receipt and the pedal board. Flippin' heavy though. Sadly my partner bought it for me for Christmas so no playing with it for a few weeks. ☹️ I have a couple of questions - did the 15" cabinets not have Trace Elliot badges? There's no sign it ever had one. Also the electro fluorescent front panel doesn't work, the seller said he thought it was deliberately disconnected, so that's something to look at. Any suggestions where to start with that? Anyway thanks for all the advice and opinions, I'm very happy with it! 😊

Thanks @Chienmortbb Most of our gigs are open air or churches, etc. and the headset is fine. But we do a Christmas show of pre-1900 carols every year and the last two years that's where we've had awful feedback problems. This year I think I'm just going to rough it and go back to conventional mic.

We did the Fletcher–Munson curve in uni last week. I have to say you explained it better than my text book!

Indeed, and I've been looking for a project to justify a bit more regular bass practice 🙂

Cool transcription, thanks. I tend to be a 'nothing above the 7th fret' player but I'll give it a go...

Ah, this is the problem. The valve combo probably sounds awesome, but I really like the green/black aesthetic The amp is perfect, except it's probably a 6 hour round trip to collect But thanks for sharing!

It is a really nice little amp. I bought a Crush 50B later but the '10x power to be 2x louder' rule meant it was very heavy and not really much louder.

Amazingly that was my last job. We had a subsidised works canteen, everyone ate there and it had a really good atmosphere. Sadly I lost that job when covid struck and I doubt many companies still have a canteen.

For context - for the last two years I've been 'gigging' with an Orange Crush 25B practice amp (!) and I like its tone, it's very portable and it runs off a Jackery power pack without any issues. OK, I play double bass at church services, folk clubs and Morris dance outs, not hard rock, but it's done well and I was hoping the Elf combo would tick the same boxes just be a bit louder. You're so right about waiting to find exactly what I want - I was quite surprised yesterday when I noticed that the first internet link I'd saved was on 20th October, and I've really got quite frustrated that I can't find exactly what I want in a reasonable travelling distance for a reasonable price. e.g. The rig local to me was £500, elsewhere I found stuff for £150-250 but they would require a whole day driving - or an overnight trip for the combo I liked in Scotland. Fortunately if I buy a vintage rig, it will just be for the practice room, so I only have to load it out of the car once. I did look at smaller TE combos but I don't think there's anything which has that vintage look and is also giggable for me. NB: the Elf is a different thing - in parallel to looking at vintage Trace amps I've been thinking to build the Basschat 8" cabinet and use it with an Elf. So buying an Elf combo would be instead of doing woodwork.

Yup. I tend to agree. The amp and 2x10" I quite like and I could make an offer. But at the moment my other half is suggesting I get an Elf combo right now, and come back to invest in vintage TE kit next year once we've moved. Which makes sense as I can gig the Elf as well.

This rig is for sale near to me... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/778666638472040/ Ticks a lot of boxes, but it is a larger fan-cooled amp. Definitely has 'presence' in the room though.

I did think about putting up a wanted ad. Still might. I used to have a Mark Bass smallish amp and separate GR Bass cabinet - they sounded great but I found it a nuisance carrying two things. My little Orange practice combo is great because there's just one handle. So the Elf combo would suit (or an Elf fitted to a modified BassChat 8" cabinet). But the Elf in the combo is different, so I couldn't whip it out and try it with a different cabinet.

Ah, so many options Most cabinets on ebay are 15" and wanting a 4x10 really cuts down the options. Plus the ones I see are in Scotland, Kent, Liverpool ... all a day's driving from here. I'm starting to think I'd be better off just getting the TE Elf combo... I can gig it as well as practice at home. But I started this hunt thinking of a £150 15" combo to rescue/restore but that's taking me in a completely different direction.

It's a very small world! I was searching on the web for information about TE amps and found stubmandrel.co.uk That story about the castors is just a little bit scary. Right now this is the top of my list. Looking at other camera angles I think I can get used to the differing widths of head and cab. It's right at the top my budget (over actually), but as the lovely Mrs.C is happy to have my amp in the lounge, this un-gigged example seems a good punt. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226888373496

❤️

Ah, I should make clear I've no intention of gigging this amp - it's just for my practice space. We are moving house next year but the removal men can worry about it. Likely in our new home we'll have a combined lounge / practice space because we're downsizing which is why I'm also looking for something that looks tidy.

Ah, that's a shame. I was looking at those big 15" TE cabinets and imaging how good they'd sound for the kick drum - but of course (as you say) they aren't going to be that good for snare, etc.

Having spent way too much time looking at amps and cabinets today. The "GP11 Mk V" (left) would seem a good option at £250 but it's in Scotland. The AH250 (right) has UV light goodness, and separate amp/cab seems a good idea, and it's closer to home. Maybe I'm being picky, but I don't like that the amp isn't the same size as the cabinet for stacking. Either way, today I'm tending towards a 4x10" rather than a 15". Tomorrow may change!

No, this is useful information - thanks!

I've been thinking about this example today - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/227002618439 I don't know much about Trace Elliot amps other than I have had a long-held ambition for a big Marshall cabinet in my practice space and this has morphed to a big TE cabinet in my practice space. i.e. I buy it, get some friends to help manoeuvre it into place then it stays there until we move house. My partner's a drummer and has recently got into electronic drum pads, so the plan would be to use it for that as well. It's not really in need of restoration - the fabric's a bit scuffed on the top, but otherwise it looks quite tidy.

Interesting. When I first started thinking of this build I was thinking of having it sloped, 'monitor speaker' style. That would work even better with a 2x8. Keep safe! It does seem to me that there's a certain edginess in us setting to with power tools to make speakers, when fingers are so vital to our playing! I used to have a classic car that I worked on myself. My old piano teacher used to say in a deadpan style that one missing finger she could help me work around, 2 and my piano playing would be seriously affected! I was never how much she was joking.