bassmayhem Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) I got myself a nice second hand Trace Elliot AH1000 today. This amp has never really interested me, but when I got the opportunity to buy it I couldn't resist. I am more of a "set everything flat" kind of guy, who dislikes tweaking tone on amps. The natural tone of my bass and my hands is my signum. But... This amp is really nice, even if it colours the tone a LOT, it colours nicely. I haven't tried it with the band yet, but it'll surely do what it is supposed to. The price was ok - I paid £444 for it with the six button pedal and all. Just like this one: I really would appreciate some input from others using this amp, since it is rather uncommon here in Sweden. This will not be my primary amp, but for what I have in mind it will be perfect. I used to have a gazillion of preamps and connect them to a power amp through a 1U line mixer, all in a rack, but I got fed up with it - too bl**dy heavy! I sold the preamps, all except for one, and got some nice amp heads instead. My "menagerie" now contains: - Genz Benz Streamliner 900 (First call light weight amp) - Euphonic Audio iAmp 800 (The tonal favourite) - Eden Navigator+QSC PLX 3402 (The big mofo rig...) - Trace Elliot AH1000-12 (Stand-in for the big mofo rig...) and soon - Acoustic Image Coda combo (For the small occasions...) Still, I only have two cabinets: the TKS 2126 cabs that work with all the amps. (One for the S900 and two for all the others.) Edited June 12, 2014 by bassmayhem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG3 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Amongst quite a fair amount of Trace gear my first amp head was the AH300-7 which I had for years, then got the AH600-12 which is similar to yours. The thing I liked most about it was being able to engage the valve either on the amp itself or mainly what I did was via the foot switch. Always thought that sounded good and having a blend knob was good too. I barely used the 12 band eq apart from slight pushes in the lower and upper mids. But like all Trace Elliot stuff I've owned, it weighed a ton! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmayhem Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Yep! A ton! Or two! All my other gear is Class D, so one anchor is alright. Here is the setup in the livingroom: I put a TC Chorus in the stereo loop and then went full stereo through my TKS cabs and then played my fretless Lakie five string. "[i]Wherever I lay my hat...[/i]" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 bargain id say! love these amps always wanted one but alas never been able to find one for the right price andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmayhem Posted June 14, 2014 Author Share Posted June 14, 2014 (edited) It is a bit "awkward" compared to all my other amps. They're all kind of "transparent" (I hate that word) and non-colouring, but this beast definitely puts its footprint in the tone, for good and for worse. But - that was the plan: get another type of amp to get another tone for another type of gigs than I usually have. So far I like it best with my fretless bass; the TE Pre Shape suits the fretless very well, scooping out some harshness and adding the highs and low mids needed to really fill up the tone. I had to change the preamp tubes, and this is where this amp proves to be British - real British - for real: I had to unscrew 26(!!!) screws to get inside the amp. First the 8 fastening screws that hold the amp in its cabinet, then 8 screws to remove the corner fittings to be able to get the amp out of the cabinet, and finally 10 SMALL screws to remove the top plate. The thing is FILLED with electronics, so I presume the massive "screwery" also is to insure that meddlesome blockheads should not venture into the amp out of sheer curiosity. (And safety, of course...) Its 22 kg does not make handling easier when coming to removal and remounting the amp in the cabinet. I found some loose screws inside that needed fastening too, so It was good I did the operation. Now it works as expected. I forgot to take a pic of its entrails, but next time... Edited June 14, 2014 by bassmayhem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldude Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 I used to have this very amp! (Maybe you got my old one? Who knows.....) I quite liked it - the sound was great, and the 12 band EQ powerful and very helpful. I loved the dual band compressor and thought it added a lot to the sound. I never used the preamp tube though, I went solid state all the way. It's a big heavy beast though. It also had some reliability issues but was ok when fixed. I can't remember why I moved it on. I miss it! I do remember that it has a massive toroidal inductor inside for the power supply, probably contributing a lot to the weight, and also when I turned it on it would trip some pubs' circuit breakers, due to the massive current draw to initially charge up those big capacitors inside. It was a real man's amp all right! Also, the best bit was the control on the back for controlling the intensity of the lights on the front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG3 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Looks good and yea the light control was always on max for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Wrong AH1000 for your BFC I'm afraid Urban Lions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Lions Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 Ah ok thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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