anyone remember trace elliot bass amps.......

Keira-WitherKay

wow to my surprise i opened gumtree yesterday and found a Trace Elliot GP7 300W bass combo for sale......... and went to buy it this morning ...... ? need i say a great deal

i believe the Trace Elliot company is now owned by someone else.........

but i remember them back from the 90's when every top end bassist owned one , well nearly but they seemed to dissappear for a while.......... anyway i was overjoyed to find this one ..still made in England and sounding awesome......... also nice features it has preshapes and graphic and DI out and effects loops.......

and what a nice huy selling it. he apparantly was running 2 of them and one had a prob wih the amp section so he just gave me the 2nd head (well out of the cab.....but this one is the more advanced preamp with a compressor in as well as the above features...... and just said well no extra charge but if you wanna fix the amp section you'll have 2 amps....awesome gesture......... so i got a great amp and a possible "fix me up" for same monies.....

i like gumtree ? really get to meet he nicest people there

but anyone with some more info/gems of wisdom re this amp let me know.........

arjunmenon

Doug Wimbish of Living Colour fame still endorses Trace Elliots.
Congrats on the find Keira!

Haven't seen Gallien Kruger and SWR in SA. Could there be a reason for this?

dee

Nicklesuck also uses Trace Elliots, and feature quite often in the add's in Guitarist magazine.

AlanRatcliffe

I loved the original Trace Elliot bass amps. More modern and rockier bass sound than something like an Ampeg (still my faves). What is the speaker config on yours?

Unfortunately they became popular in the '90s and Gibson bought them, scaled up production and scaled down quality. GP7s and GP12s have a depressing tendency to blow power stages and fan controllers get stuck in the on position. The good thing is you can pick them up pretty cheaply secondhand (as I think you just found out ?).

If you by some chance decide you want to sell the non-working head, drop me a PM. I love fixer-uppers... ?

Keira-WitherKay

@ Alan yeah this one has a 15 inch speaker ... as a combo not a separate head and cab

also @ alan. let me see what transpires re the fixer upper ..... as i mentioned the fixer upper also has a compressor onboard which i like the idea of ........yet apparantly the fixer upper is the newer of the 2 heads so maybe it;s what you mentioned that the quality dropped..........

anyway will let you know if i want to get rid of the fixer upper ........

and yes i got it at what i consider a steal for a 300W amp .....(and if i consider it a good deal ... believe me it is ? ) .... so really happy with the buy

guitarboy2828

Great buy, i love trace elliots.. I had a friend who owned one, sounded superb! ?

DonovanB

I remember playing on a stage with a Trace Elliot stack. The head was higher than mine and hen I played the whole stage rumbled....

*sigh*

Malkav

Nice going Keira, hope you enoy it! ?

Arjun Menon wrote: Haven't seen Gallien Kruger and SWR in SA. Could there be a reason for this?

SWR are now owned by Fender and seeing as I'm now a rep for Fender I guess if you'd like one you can talk to me ? but they do indeed still exist and do one of the most incredible acoustic bass amps I've ever heard ?

Keira-WitherKay

now i have a cool gig ready bass amp.

i think i may be getting the nostalgia buzz and wanna do some bass gigs as a sideline....to my pro guitar gigs....... ( i started my career and studied double bass , with 10 yrs as a pro bassist ) however this time maybe not play jazz/ pop , but something like afrikaans original music or bulgarian folk music........ mmmmmm thats a good thought ....

btw plugged the amp in and gave it a workout this afternoon. wow i'm suitably impressed and it's dead quiet ......... no hiss/noise and has tonal sculpting that is incredible...... and a huge fat sound even at low volume......... and the windows rattle before it gets to half ........

so now it's just to see if it is reliable cos tonally it's up with best ........ i truly never expected to be this impressed with it .......

Manfred-Klose

I use an old tace head , 4x10'' cab and 15'' cab in the studio.
most of the time just use the DI Out.

It works lekka on recordings.

aja

Keira WitherKay wrote:and if i consider it a good deal ... believe me it is ?

HAHA! Keira, if you found a Ramirez for R100 you would still ask the seller - "that's great, but does it come with a case???"

?

You really know how to spot the good deals!

Keira-WitherKay

aja wrote:
Keira WitherKay wrote:and if i consider it a good deal ... believe me it is ?

HAHA! Keira, if you found a Ramirez for R100 you would still ask the seller - "that's great, but does it come with a case???"

?

You really know how to spot the good deals!

? damn right ....... hey thats what "bartering" /"Bussiness" is about and we been doing since the stone age.......

........ and of course it's all ethical so i feel my karma is intact cos one can't force someone to sell you something cheap......but one can ask ......... so i do...all they can say is NO . yet amazingly most want the quick sale even the major stores.......... and strike a deal with me....

but yeah it's also kinda become like my hobby, hunting down deals....... but i do pass a lot of my finds on to my students at just as good a price.......... so it's not just me winning

and yes my passion is still to uncover some gem of a classical for excellent price....... although i have 2 already that i consider gems (my 40 yr old yamaha and that spanish built flamenco one that i can't trace the linage of but is solid top, back and sides.....and prob custom built by one of the multitude of small guitar builders in spain ) .. but yes a Ramirez would be nice.......... or an early original aria /the hand built yamha G range or hirade (think i spelt that correctly) also hand built takamines

AlanRatcliffe

Keira WitherKay wrote: .. but yes a Ramirez would be nice.......... or an early original aria /the hand built yamha G range or hirade (think i spelt that correctly) also hand built takamines

That mirrors almost exactly my nylon hitlist:
1. Takamine Hirade H8
2. Yamaha GD20
3. Takamine Hirade H5
4. Yamaha GD10
5. Matsumoku Aria

As you know, I'm sitting at number two at the moment. I've played a few Ramirez (including a 1910) and never been impressed. A 1930s Herman Hauser blew my socks off, but I suspect I have more chance of finding and affording a '58 Les Paul than one of those.

Keira-WitherKay

Alan Ratcliffe wrote:
Keira WitherKay wrote: .. but yes a Ramirez would be nice.......... or an early original aria /the hand built yamha G range or hirade (think i spelt that correctly) also hand built takamines
That mirrors almost exactly my nylon hitlist:
1. Takamine Hirade H8
2. Yamaha GD20
3. Takamine Hirade H5
4. Yamaha GD10
5. Matsumoku Aria

As you know, I'm sitting at number two at the moment. I've played a few Ramirez (including a 1910) and never been impressed. A 1930s Herman Hauser blew my socks off, but I suspect I have more chance of finding and affording a '58 Les Paul than one of those.

yeah alan , but it's always good to see that good tone is pretty consistant in nylon world ...... thats why our "lists" are so similar....... cos only a few people make spectactular classicals........ for the traditional taste that is ........

but i will say Ramirez guitars do impress me.......... not all........ but they do.....especially the 1A's ..... hugh from hugh's fine guitars called me to say he has one (brazilian rosewood back and sides..an A1 that is ) mint, i recall he said a "1974" for about 45K ... i'm off to see it soon......... but i will be honest before i dent my bank balance to that extent i will need to be gob smacked by the tone and feel......not just impressed ....... cos i am wanting something "special" in my collection ......... but do know if i buy something at 45K it will be the only big buy for ages ....( and tho it sounds a lot 45 K is not a bad deal ........cos it was originally on market for 65K ........and good ramirez's can sell for as high as 70/80 K , internationally of course and only on paper .... not sure how many really do fetch those prices ....

but thankfully i'm a realist and the bond is more important than guitars........... but if there's that one ........... mmmm tough choice.. but i do know that even owning a great ramirez will be for my pleasure only ...cos i won't earn more money at my pro gigs because of it ......my el 'cheapo" pawn shop finds keeps everyone quite happy ...including myself ........... so not a critical buy ...

but yes i would love to have just one "master build" classical guitar in my lifetime

Bob-Dubery

Keira WitherKay wrote: hugh from hugh's fine guitars called me to say he has one (brazilian rosewood back and sides..an A1 that is ) mint, i recall he said a "1974" for about 45K ... i'm off to see it soon......... but i will be honest before i dent my bank balance to that extent i will need to be gob smacked by the tone and feel......not just impressed ....... cos i am wanting something "special" in my collection ......... but do know if i buy something at 45K it will be the only big buy for ages ....( and tho it sounds a lot 45 K is not a bad deal ........cos it was originally on market for 65K ........and good ramirez's can sell for as high as 70/80 K , internationally of course and only on paper .... not sure how many really do fetch those prices ....

It's a Ramirez, at the serious end of their range, with brazilian rosewood - it's only going to go up in value. Speak to Hugh about paperwork as brazilian rosewood is now quite high up the CITES list of endangered woods and unless you have proper documentation you might have difficulty moving that instrument across some borders.