Trace Elliot - Rescue & Restore (and bargain finds)

[Rosie C]

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.

[SimonK]

Those are way overpriced - I wouldn't pay anymore than £50 to £100 for a TE cab and about £150 max for a head. The GP12SMX are generally the most expensive and although people try to sell them for £250 and up, I've seen them go (in the last few months) for £120.

[SimonK]

5 hours ago, Rosie C said:

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.

 

For context I bought an identical 2x10 cab for £40 last year, and the 1x15 for £50. Granted I haven't got that head, but given it probably will need some TLC I would offer £200 max for that - if you got it for £150 it would be a bargain.

[Rosie C]

11 minutes ago, SimonK said:

 

For context I bought an identical 2x10 cab for £40 last year, and the 1x15 for £50. Granted I haven't got that head, but given it probably will need some TLC I would offer £200 max for that - if you got it for £150 it would be a bargain.

 

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. 

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

 

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. 

I think it wise not to buy any vintage TE gear unless it's exactly what you really want. Don't compromise, you can almost predict that once you buy anything different, what you really wanted will be advertised for sale somewhere.

New TE equipment is pretty expensive IMO, and although very good, sounds quite different to the vintage gear. I did see a guy playing rock/pop through an elf head with two of the single 10 cabs in a small pub and it sounded really good, but I'm not sure how that rig would perform in larger venues?

Edited 13 hours ago by Sparky Mark

[PaulWarning]

1 hour ago, Sparky Mark said:

I think it wise not to buy any vintage TE gear unless it's exactly what you really want. Don't compromise, you can almost predict that once you buy anything different, what you really wanted will be advertised for sale somewhere.

New TE equipment is pretty expensive IMO, and although very good, sounds quite different to the vintage gear. I did see a guy playing rock/pop through an elf head with two of the single 10 cabs in a small pub and it sounded really good, but I'm not sure how that rig would perform in larger venues?

I once had the misfortune to play through an 1 x 8 elf combo, granted it was a large room, but it was woefully underpowered, no umph and poor projection, a million miles away from vintage Trace amps, maybe the 1 x 10 is better with an extra cab

[Stub Mandrel]

7 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

I once had the misfortune to play through an 1 x 8 elf combo, granted it was a large room, but it was woefully underpowered, no umph and poor projection, a million miles away from vintage Trace amps, maybe the 1 x 10 is better with an extra cab

 

I thought the same. Elf through 2x8 was limp, I asked if I could try it through a decent cab. I swapped to a Ampeg portaflex 15 and it was night and day.

 

[Stub Mandrel]

9 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

think it wise not to buy any vintage TE gear unless it's exactly what you really want.

 

And really think about portability. Castors don't lift 100lb combos into the back of cars or up steps.

[Rosie C]

9 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

I think it wise not to buy any vintage TE gear unless it's exactly what you really want. Don't compromise, you can almost predict that once you buy anything different, what you really wanted will be advertised for sale somewhere.

New TE equipment is pretty expensive IMO, and although very good, sounds quite different to the vintage gear. I did see a guy playing rock/pop through an elf head with two of the single 10 cabs in a small pub and it sounded really good, but I'm not sure how that rig would perform in larger venues?

 

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. 

 

42 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

And really think about portability. Castors don't lift 100lb combos into the back of cars or up steps.

 

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.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Rosie C

[Wolverinebass]

9 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

I once had the misfortune to play through an 1 x 8 elf combo, granted it was a large room, but it was woefully underpowered, no umph and poor projection, a million miles away from vintage Trace amps, maybe the 1 x 10 is better with an extra cab

A few years ago, I played an Elf at the SE bass Bash. I literally laughed at it. We tried it through different cabs and my conclusion was that unless you were using an 8x10 (which negates using such a small amp!), or were playing a coffee shop gig it was so underpowered as to be ridiculous.

 

I was red lining the thing the whole way and it was barely getting anything that resembled decent volume.

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

Orange Crush 25B practice amp

 

Nice amps, what inspired me to get a Terror.

 

I've used it with an acoustic at a couple of 'wooden music' open mics. 

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Rosie C said:

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.

 

Elf literally fits in a (big) pocket.

 

I found the speaker jack socket a bit too deep... I had a poorly engaged jack pop out twice, which is not good. Easily fixed by trimming it with a craft knife, but I suggest you check it to avoid warranty issues.

[Rosie C]

19 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Nice amps, what inspired me to get a Terror.

 

I've used it with an acoustic at a couple of 'wooden music' open mics. 

 

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.

 

[ClusterOne]

Hi,

 

Apologies for spamming 🙂

This may be not too far from Bristol:

TE Twin Valve combo

or a bit further to the South:

TE AH300 head

 

No idea if that comes from Peavey era though.. 

[Rosie C]

29 minutes ago, ClusterOne said:

Apologies for spamming 🙂

This may be not too far from Bristol:

TE Twin Valve combo

or a bit further to the South:

TE AH300 head

 

No idea if that comes from Peavey era though.. 

 

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!

 

Edited 1 hour ago by Rosie C

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, ClusterOne said:

Apologies for spamming

 

I see no spam.  There's no need to apologise.  You are bang on topic with those links.  Thanks.