New amp and cab day - Trace Elliot content..

[VTypeV4 125]

Smx 1020 by VTypeV4, on Flickr

Smx 1020 by VTypeV4, on Flickr

This week I grabbed true bargain from the wonders of eBay..

Here we have a 400SMX, an 1153 & 2103H - classic Trace gear from the late '90s which still kicks a$$ more than 20 years later! I'll take it all to rehearsal later and see how it goes. I'd forgotten how good these things are despite weighing 10T..

[TheGreek 4,916]

The heads themselves aren't that heavy - 12-13kg? - get yourself some modern lightweight cabs are Robert's your auntie's live in lover.

BTW, great amp....

[VTypeV4 125]

2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

The heads themselves aren't that heavy - 12-13kg? - get yourself some modern lightweight cabs are Robert's your auntie's live in lover.

BTW, great amp....

The 400 / 600 were pretty weighty - I'd estimate ~22 kilos. The more compact 250 / 300w heads were far more manageable in that 12 / 13kg as suggested.

As for the light cabs thing, if I was still doing 3 or four shows per week then absolutely, yes but I haven't done that for years.. I've seen there's more than a few on here using exactly as described with a couple of Barefaced (or similar) and their Trace head - I expect it works great. The lightest things I've got are a pair of SWR Goliath Jr III (of which are notably lighter and more compact than their TE counterparts) - I'm only 20 years behind the curve! The Trace cabs will likely become a permanent feature at my studio which is no bad thing, really as they still sound fine.

Thanks, it really is - having owned all one one point or another (300, 400 and 600), I'd say these are the jewel in the crown of the SMX series..

[stewblack 4,806]

What a fantastic set up. Congratulations!

[thodrik 487]

Man, I totally regret selling my old SMX amp head now!

[VTypeV4 125]

Since the world went bananas back in March, I've used the old Bassman rig a lot. As per many of my posts on here, I still love it's vintage charm, warm sound and soft delivery - it's a truly great rig.

By contrast, the SMX rig is something from what feels to be a different planet altogether - it's tight, defined and flexible with an unmistakable punch. I'd also forgotten just how much power these big MOSFET output stages seem to have! Suffice to say, I'm a happy camper. 😀