A lost art. Trace elliot

[Stub Mandrel]

3 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Sensitivity of speakers can trump wattage applied when It's only 3dB worth of power difference.

 

One time we were playing about with my Trace 1518 and a BF BigBaby. As a 4 ohm load plugged into the one amp the BF was inaudible, like it wasn't plugged in and had to check. It needs a heap of power to get loud.

 

This is true. It's impossible to get low volumes with my Terror 500W and 103db sensitivity GRBASS cab. You can't set the master below 'too loud for home noodling'.

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

This is true. It's impossible to get low volumes with my Terror 500W and 103db sensitivity GRBASS cab. You can't set the master below 'too loud for home noodling'.

I think I understand what you are saying, but with the amp gain, master output and volume control on your bass (plus any other pedals if used) any volume can be obtained from any rig IME. 

Edited 10 hours ago by Sparky Mark

[Sparky Mark]

5 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Sensitivity of speakers can trump wattage applied when It's only 3dB worth of power difference.

 

One time we were playing about with my Trace 1518 and a BF BigBaby. As a 4 ohm load plugged into the one amp the BF was inaudible, like it wasn't plugged in and had to check. It needs a heap of power to get loud.

Interesting that you found the BF cab to be significantly less efficient than the Trace. 

[PaulWarning]

9 minutes ago, Sparky Mark said:

Interesting that you found the BF cab to be significantly less efficient than the Trace. 

that thought occured to me, are BF not very sensitive then?

[Linus27]

I also love the amps from back in the day, they just had something magical about them that Class D amps have lacked. I've tried a lot of Class D amps and have been generally disappointed but I did really like the Ampeg PF500, some of the MarkBass heads, the Ashdown MiBass and the Warwick Gnome Ipro 300. My favorite amp head ever was the Hartke HA7000, its weight was similar to a tank but what an incredible sounding amp head. I also played Glastonbury this year and had the chance to play through an old Trace Elliot 15" combo and it sounded incredible. It was like stepping back in time and the presence, punch and tone was just amazing. At my age, I'm super grateful for the Class D amps and lightweight cabs but to my ears, they've always been a compromise in tone but I'm happy to take that for ease of portability.

[Sparky Mark]

My collection of "big iron" amplifiers. All still working perfectly. The Hartke was my gigging amp throughout the 90's and if my circumstances changed, I'd happily use it again, until death do us part.

[Bassybert]

I can still recollect that lovely Trace smell thinking about the 3 amps I've had over the years. Top quality gear indeed.

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, Bassybert said:

I can still recollect that lovely Trace smell thinking about the 3 amps I've had over the years. Top quality gear indeed.

[ian61]

Yep really great amps but not with the EQ set the way it is that photo. Loose the bass and push the low mids then let the magic begin.

[Japhet]

Don't think I will ever forget the time we turned up for a function gig at a hotel and were told it was upstairs. We were then told we couldn't go up the main staircase but had to lug our gear up a fire escape. The memory of that and my SMX combo have become the stuff of nightmares. I would die if I had to do it now.

[Sparky Mark]

48 minutes ago, ian61 said:

Yep really great amps but not with the EQ set the way it is that photo. Loose the bass and push the low mids then let the magic begin.

They're only set that way for low volume home practice, like an old fashioned "Loudess" control. I only use the mid pre shape shape 1 button live with my Bergantino HD210 cabs; sounds brilliant. 

[Stub Mandrel]

9 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

I think I understand what you are saying, but with the amp gain, master output and volume control on your bass (plus any other pedals if used) any volume can be obtained from any rig IME. 

 

I see what you mean, but it has a valve front end, and to get the 'orange tone' one has to drive the preamp quite hard. I have plenty of other options for a quiet clean sound, itcwould be nice to experiment with my tone and different basses at home. When I wanted to experiment with my stage sound (also my pedalboard) I hired a rehearsal space for two hours (which was quite cheap as you get 1 peron daytime rate) and was able to do so at realistic settings. 

[Chris Hales]

13 hours ago, SimonK said:

 

Experience is everything with amps. I'm sometimes awed and persuaded by the technical comments on here, however music is ultimately a practical art and amps often just need to be plugged in and turned up to see if it works. In a way wattage ratings etc. are neither here nor there if the amp does (or doesn't) do the job. At the moment I'm rocking a mini-stack with a 1x15 (TE1153), and the classic TE2103x (which has 2x10s and 2x5 in the same enclosure), driven by my old GP7SMX with the gain set at 3/4 and the volume between 1/4 and 1/2 most of the time. There's loads of wisdom on here that talks about comb filtering, power rating etc., but regardless it just works for me!

I couldn't agree more!  In my opinion, specs are supposed to help us choose products that will suit our needs.  Unfortunately they rarely fulfill that function and, more often than not, just confuse the issue!  It should be possible to do better than what we're currently given spec-wise, but there are always intangibles and personal preferences to take into account, too!

Even trying in a shop has its limitations.  I bet there are loads of people here who have tried an amp out in a shop and been blown away by it, only to find it doesn't cut it in a gig situation...

[Downunderwonder]

8 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

that thought occured to me, are BF not very sensitive then?

It's a single data point but the same BF cab scared me when I gave too big of a twist wanting a bit more loud. So yeah, not at all sensitive but a big amp with a heap of power will make big boom.