Trace Elliot

[dc2009]

[quote name='chrisd24' post='1303447' date='Jul 14 2011, 12:46 PM']Ah I see,I saw one of the heads on itself on talkbass which made me curious was all.[/quote]

Like many amp companies, trace simply built an amp head, and used the same amp in their combos. It keeps the costs down, design time down, and ideally keeps the quality and sound similar across the range. My Hartke has the LH500 head just shoved into a port atop the cab, you can see it on the thread in this forum section for an idea. It looks like it will come straight out.

[dc2009]

[quote name='Merton' post='1303457' date='Jul 14 2011, 12:51 PM']The clue is in the title- it's an SM series, the one which came out after Series 6 Some say the SM / SMX range were the peak, others say it tailed off after Series 6.[/quote]

I'm a numpty, I'll give you that. I like my Series 6 but have used sm's at gigs and at practices a few years back and very nearly bought one too.
Series V has the cool light, but they tend to be quite beaten up and not as reliable IMO.

[Merton]

Not a numpty, you just didn't know, and I am a sad git who did

[geilerbass]

[quote name='Conan' post='1302111' date='Jul 13 2011, 11:20 AM']The V-type amps contain varying numbers of valves, rather than the non V-type ranges which are all solid state. The amps are pretty sought after and often go for high prices when they come up.[/quote]

Without wishing to sound too pedantic, the non V-type amps are not strictly all solid state. I have an AH350SMX from 1995 and it has a valve pre-amp, with blend knob to combine valve and solid state input. Means you can get a nice warm edge to the tone, if so desired.

Even though my amp came after the revered Series 6 era, I still think it's a stellar head. Very versatile with a 12-band EQ, dual band compressor and lots of punch. Even at just 350W, it's been very loud through all the cabs I've tried it through. Never needed to have the volume set above half, regardless of the venue size.