Trace Elliot - Rescue & Restore (and bargain finds)

[SimonK]

7 hours ago, Hypo199 said:

I bagged it....had to take a punt on this as I've coveted TE gear since I was a kid in a band who longed after the decent stuff, but had to make do and mend with whatever we could find in house clearance sales. 

 

Well done - I considered for about 30 seconds driving up to Sheffield but it would have been an eight hour round trip for me. Let us know if it works!

[Downunderwonder]

Don't even turn it on if those connections are still where they are in that photo. Putting an output up an output is bad news.

[SimonK]

1 hour ago, Downunderwonder said:

Don't even turn it on if those connections are still where they are in that photo. Putting an output up an output is bad news.

 

Yes it does seem to be a rooky error, although hopefully won't fry the preamp if there is no signal (or power spike when it turns on!). I've found another picture of the back panel and they definitely do seem to be speaker out jacks. Question is of course whether anyone in the music shop (or before) may have done something stupid...

 

 

Edited Thursday at 11:04 by SimonK

[Rosie C]

 

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.

 

 

[SimonK]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

 

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.

 

 

 

Would it make me sound like a cork sniffer if I said that this was from after they sold out to Peavey... thus said I do have a couple cabs from this era, but very much prefer the older amps. 

[Rosie C]

42 minutes ago, SimonK said:

 

Would it make me sound like a cork sniffer if I said that this was from after they sold out to Peavey... thus said I do have a couple cabs from this era, but very much prefer the older amps. 

No, this is useful information - thanks!

[Rosie C]

20 hours ago, SimonK said:

 

Would it make me sound like a cork sniffer if I said that this was from after they sold out to Peavey... thus said I do have a couple cabs from this era, but very much prefer the older amps. 

 

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! 

[Pea Turgh]

21 hours ago, Rosie C said:

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. 

Drums don’t tend to sound great through guitar or bass amps, due to their limited frequency range.  You’d be best off with a full range cab for that purpose.

[Rosie C]

32 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

Drums don’t tend to sound great through guitar or bass amps, due to their limited frequency range.  You’d be best off with a full range cab for that purpose.

 

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.   

 

[Sparky Mark]

58 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

 

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! 

The problem with the TE410 cabs for me is their weight (100lb ish) and bulk. So I spent some time finding the compact 15" cab that is same width and depth as both series 6 AH200 and SMX250 heads. Not as powerful as the 410 but loud enough for most of my needs nowadays. If you can find the 210 compact cabs, they're worth a look too.

 

[SimonK]

2 hours ago, Rosie C said:

 

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! 

 

I've got both of these albeit switched a GP7 head into the 4x10 combo and it is stupid heavy - as in I'm increasingly needing a second person to lift it into the car. The AH250 head plus 4x10 us a bit more manageable.

 

Also, I've happily run my electric drum kit into most of these and they sounds absolutely fine, are plenty loud, and nothing has ever blown. At the moment my son has the drumkit plugged into (another) GP7 head and the Peavy era 2x10/1x15 TE stack in a box and it sounds great.

[Sparky Mark]

It was using a Trace Elliot GP12 410 combo in a rehearsal studio that convinced me how great they sounded. The 410 combos, although heavy, aren't as deep (front to back) as the separate 410 cabs, so are bit easier to transport in a car.

I think Trace Elliot gear was initially designed for professional use, and assumed a team of roadies and trucks would normally be on hand. They gradually introduced smaller format amps, cabs and combos as they needed to increase sales. 

[Rosie C]

32 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

I think Trace Elliot gear was initially designed for professional use, and assumed a team of roadies and trucks would normally be on hand. They gradually introduced smaller format amps, cabs and combos as they needed to increase sales. 

 

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.

[Sparky Mark]

6 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

 

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.

This is the model of 410 combo I tried and loved. Series 6 GP12.

[tauzero]

1 hour ago, Sparky Mark said:

This is the model of 410 combo I tried and loved. Series 6 GP12.

 

That has just reawakened my PTSD.

[Rosie C]

1 hour ago, Sparky Mark said:

This is the model of 410 combo I tried and loved. Series 6 GP12.

 

❤️

 

[Stub Mandrel]

6 hours ago, Rosie C said:

 

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! 

 

 

Oooh! I have one of those combos itxs imaginatively called a 1110 (gp11 + 10" speakers).

 

Mine sounded a bit rough and needed the matched transistors in the front end of the power amp replacing.

 

It's also got the 'wrong' psu from new, so I was able to add an extra pair of NOS mosfets to unleash unimagined power levels...

 

I'll add more to the story. It had Eminence Beta 10s (maybe not the best choice) fitted and one was reverse polarity so swapping its leads around greatly helped.

 

It weighs about 96lbs so I added 50mm castors, which lasted a couple of months. So I fitted heavy duty 75mm ones.

 

Bought it from a lad in the midlands. He had a mate there who had helped him move it. They offered to carry it to my estate, and where aghast when the old fart picked it up and put it in on his own. Sometimes it's not strength it's just knowing how to lift safely, but 'it made I larf'. 

 

Edited 21 hours ago by Stub Mandrel

[Rosie C]

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Oooh! I have one of those combos itxs imaginatively called a 1110 (gp11 + 10" speakers).

 

...

 

It weighs about 96lbs so I added 50mm castors, which lasted a couple of months. So I fitted heavy duty 75mm ones.

 

Bought it from a lad in the midlands. He had a mate there who had helped him move it. They offered to carry it to my estate, and where aghast when the old fart picked it up and put it in on his own. Sometimes it's not strength it's just knowing how to lift safely, but 'it made I larf'. 

 

 

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

 

 

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

 

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

 

 

Another thing to consider is how the amp is cooled. The AH250 pictured is going to be fan cooled, which you may be able to heat spinning when practicing at low level in your living room. There are 200 watt Series 6 and 250 watt SMX series heads that have rear heat sinks so are completely silent.

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

Right now this is the top of my list.

 

Maybe not gigged but I am curious about the amount of crap that is visible on the cooling fan blades.  Is that a hint of rust there too?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rosie C]

33 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

Another thing to consider is how the amp is cooled. The AH250 pictured is going to be fan cooled, which you may be able to heat spinning when practicing at low level in your living room. There are 200 watt Series 6 and 250 watt SMX series heads that have rear heat sinks so are completely silent.

 

 

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. 

[SpondonBassed]

9 minutes ago, Rosie C said:

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. 

 

Some time back I put a post up in the wanted section asking for an eighteen inch cab.  Almost immediately a kind member contacted me about a TE 1818 and we made a deal.

 

The courier gave me an icy look after he'd hauled it out of his wagon.  I wouldn't like to gig it without a roadie but as a home fixture it works.  It is now an extension cab to my Ashdown Toneman 300 combo (15 in driver).  It's impractical, perhaps even overkill, but it makes me smile a LOT.

 

I wonder how an Elf would sound driving it?

 

Just a thought.

[Rosie C]

1 minute ago, SpondonBassed said:

 

Some time back I put a post up in the wanted section asking for an eighteen inch cab.  Almost immediately a kind member contacted me about a TE 1818 and we made a deal.

 

The courier gave me an icy look after he'd hauled it out of his wagon.  I wouldn't like to gig it without a roadie but as a home fixture it works.  It is now an extension cab to my Ashdown Toneman 300 combo (15 in driver).  It's impractical, perhaps even overkill, but it makes me smile a LOT.

 

I wonder how an Elf would sound driving it?

 

Just a thought.

 

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. 

 

[Sparky Mark]

2 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

 

Maybe not gigged but I am curious about the amount of crap that is visible on the cooling fan blades.  Is that a hint of rust there too?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be fair that's pretty clean for a 40 year old fan; it must've been cleaned of dust/crud a few times. I'd be more concerned about the amount of fluff inside the amp, which is why I prefer the sealed heat sink cooled heads. They're pretty much pristine when opened up.

Edited 7 hours ago by Sparky Mark

[PaulWarning]

Also the heat sink models are lower wattage so are a lot lighter, I've got 2, the rehearsal room has a fan modal, about 400 watts I think, weighs a lot more than mine and is not any louder as far as I can tell, mine are still plenty loud enough for gigging without a full PA