Members RSBro Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 I've already posted a tad bit in the "SVT" thread, so yous guys can catch up there whilst I work on the initial rundown... With some tweaking, it could be a very, very bad mother! And I refuse to bitch about the ~55lbs or so, what with you knucklehead SVT goobers carrying around up to 80lbs of amp! So much of it is the damn chassis though. But that's a good thing- heavy is good, heavy is reliable. The custom flight case I got with it is very well made, and easily 50lbs itself. But I doubt I'll be transporting it much inside, as it should do just fine unless its being stuck in a trailer or whatnot. In my Expedition it probably will ride shotgun for me! Very very clean and well taken care of. Nearly a closet queen, but it has been used some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 0175westwood29 Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 nice score man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BottomHeavyKate Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 I trace... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members y-o-y Posted December 17, 2008 Members Share Posted December 17, 2008 Don't worry, the tube amp nerds will find you here too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jugghaid Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 once you get that bitch dialed in, you'll love it. You know I still like the V-type all tube heads best but the hexa is one serious fricking amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassman1956 Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I HATE YOU! !!! lucky stiff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Renfield Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I see no amp here. :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Well taking a quick break from the amp and MTD and just, damn. This thing is the hell flat out ridiculous. I think it just needed some time to get broken back in from so much time in storage. Anyway yeah its a BAD ASS sonofabitch to say the least!!More to come I'm back to playin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Poombah loves Honeycakes.C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnyswonger Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Well taking a quick break from the amp and MTD and just, damn. This thing is the hell flat out ridiculous. I think it just needed some time to get broken back in from so much time in storage. Anyway yeah its a BAD ASS sonofabitch to say the least!! More to come I'm back to playin! Heh. Our little RSB is getting assimilated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 The stock photo, plus some from my Blackberry this morning. It's actually a little better than the POS digital Kodak I have, so bear with me! I think the stamp date is 8/19/91 and it looks quite clean and fresh inside. Little dust, but I'd rather have that than wear and tear! The sound is just ridiculous. As said before I think it just needed some time to get broken back in. I knew it'd been sitting for a few years, but now after a few hours of running and being played through it's kicking ass like a champ. And I guess it was my Charvel that was giving me the "choke" issues- the low B from my MTD never has sounded this good! The graphic EQ is next to transparent when set at 0, which is great. All freq's at even, level at 0 w/ it engaged, you can't tell that it's on. Love it. And the freq's are very musical and it doesn't get nasty. The Mid Attack switch is almost like going to pickstyle with your fingers, which is kinda cool. With the upper mids and treble boost, etc. I want to find one of the footswitches that go with this so I can set up the EQ and use it live for an in-song switch or whatever. Still, it's kinda loud. The fan I don't believe has an internal speed regulator (I've looked and no one, even BAS, has a manual) but I wish it did. It's right in the front behind the preamp blowing out the back and top vent, and while it move a LOT of air, it still is pretty noisy. You would have to isolate it in another room if you were recording because it'd probably bleed over. While you're playing it wouldn't be an issue, but otherwise it's pretty darned noticeable. Quick, fat response that I haven't seen in a tube amp before. And this definitely is a CLEAN running all-tube job. Your anti-STV, if you will, which is why I got it... hehehehe Has a 3-LED indicator light for the preamp, with Active and Passive inputs. Green=Low, Yellow=Good, Red=High. With my MTD in the Passive input, and the Gain on 7-8, I'm just now getting a full green signal with spots into Yellow. I have the internal Gain pot to about 25% though as when I use it with my JDI I don't like it cranked, so you'd have to have a hotter'n hell signal to even attempt the Active input! With the Gain that high, I have the Master on about 1.5 (it has friggin DETENTS on the Gain and Master, which I love!) and I'm shakin' the house. I attempted about 3 and honestly couldn't sit in front of it. Question to tube guys from the comment above- even after playing for about an hour, the 6550's don't really seem to be that lit up or bright. Do they really only light up when you crank the Master? I'm sure I can find this out from experimenting, but I don't want to blow a hole in my wall- seriously. I think this is rated at 400W, and I believe it. I just want to see the sound difference between lowering the Gain and upping the Master and vice versa. But I would get longer life from the power tubes the lower you keep the Master, right? Or is that incorrect? Anyhow, I'm psyched as hell to gig this. Through the NV425, I shall decimate all stacks that stand in my way!! Plus- I think it's rad as hell that the highest ohm rating it can do is 4. It won't even drive an 8 ohm load... or that's what the back says anyhow! I'm sure it could but I'm not trying it out. Hexa + 2xNV412's could be a very definite possibility... Or just get another 425. I love this damn cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 18, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 18, 2008 But I would get longer life from the power tubes the lower you keep the Master, right? Or is that incorrect? With tube life in the decades, I'm not sure why you'd think about it. In any case, you aren't likely to be playing that amp in a way that stresses it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 He's just excited, Kindness. If I was playing that rig, I wouldn't be able to think straight either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I guess you've never played an SVT. The heater voltage stays constant whenever the amp is on. The tubes never get more or less bright. With tube life in the decades, I'm not sure why you'd think about it. In any case, you aren't likely to be playing that amp in a way that stresses it out. Haha I feel that I can comment on the comparison between the two as I used to have an old 70's (I swear to all that is holy it said '68!!!) V4-B and it's night and day compared to this. That was slow, sluggish, very "furry" and couldn't get a clean tone out of it to save it's life. Granted I was playing through an Ampeg 410CL at the time, but still. It was just an awful amp to my ears compared to the Mesa gear I also had at the time and is the #1 reason I never even considered anything else since then. Nothing at all like this, nor the SVT-CL's I've played in stores they have hooked up through Ampeg cabs... maybe the cabs just are THAT bad, or something? I donno. Anyway, I love the clarity this has with that "oomph" on the bottom end. It just decimates pushing that low B. It sounds great as is, but aren't 6550's to be "less clean" than KT88's or is that just a common misconception? Not that I need to re-tube but in the future, just so I know... I may swap the 12AX7 for some 12AU7s just to see how it feels from the preamp end of things. However, it's weird as one of the preamp tubes has a metal housing around it, making it a bitch to remove, while the one right behind it just sits there open like the power tubes? The housing has 4 bolts screwed in, meaning it's nigh impossible to remove w/out disassembling the whole chassis which in no way would I even attempt. Just thought it was odd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jugghaid Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Great amps bro. glad you are digging it. they are rare as hens teeth and super nice. I just emailed you all the service manuals fpr the pre and power sections as well as an operators manual for the series 6 preamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Great amps bro. glad you are digging it. they are rare as hens teeth and super nice. I just emailed you all the service manuals fpr the pre and power sections as well as an operators manual for the series 6 preamps. Got 'em man! I appreciate it a lot! I read somewhere from searching on Google that less than 15 or 20 made it to the US while they were in production. Not sure if that's true or not, but I've been searching through archived stuff just to see when and if any came up F/S and that may be pretty darned accurate! Mine had been up F/S on Bassgear for over a month... but I think the ad was misspelled so when I searched just for "Trace" it came up... Not the first time this has happened in my favor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jugghaid Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Got 'em man! I appreciate it a lot! I read somewhere from searching on Google that less than 15 or 20 made it to the US while they were in production. Not sure if that's true or not, but I've been searching through archived stuff just to see when and if any came up F/S and that may be pretty darned accurate! Mine had been up F/S on Bassgear for over a month... but I think the ad was misspelled so when I searched just for "Trace" it came up... Not the first time this has happened in my favor! The # I heard was 18, but again, don't know if it's accurate. If it is, I know of one that was destroyed....mine. Being shipped to Canada. thanks UPS. If there's any other specific manuals you are looking for for trace gear let me know. I have hundreds of them I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Anyway, I love the clarity this has with that "oomph" on the bottom end. It just decimates pushing that low B. It sounds great as is, but aren't 6550's to be "less clean" than KT88's or is that just a common misconception? Today they're pretty much the same tube. However, it's weird as one of the preamp tubes has a metal housing around it, making it a bitch to remove, while the one right behind it just sits there open like the power tubes? That's a shield. That tube is positioned early in the amplification chain and/or it's placed in a physical location that required a shield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 82Daion Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Nice score. Now you need to play a well-tuned 70's SVT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 The # I heard was 18, but again, don't know if it's accurate. If it is, I know of one that was destroyed....mine. Being shipped to Canada. thanks UPS. If there's any other specific manuals you are looking for for trace gear let me know. I have hundreds of them I think. This one was sent in it's custom road case, inside of a well-packed box. The guy who sold it had the same sentiments as you, as if you ship something in a flight or ATA case, the handlers just HAVE to test out it's durability to make sure they can't wreck it... I'll let you know man! Again I appreciate it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Today they're pretty much the same tube. That's a shield. That tube is positioned early in the amplification chain and/or it's placed in a physical location that required a shield. Gotcha. Good thing I didn't try and remove it then! Just was weird as the 2nd preamp tube is directly behind it and has no shielding or barrier of any kind, just is kinda hanging out right there. Makes sense though as to what you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Nice score. Now you need to play a well-tuned 70's SVT. I have enough letdowns in my life... :cop: I don't need more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jugghaid Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I have enough letdowns in my life... :cop: I don't need more! Actually, a finely tuned blue line SVT will give that Hexa a run for it's money. I still like the trace tone better, but the 70's SVT, when in proper working order, are fantastic amps. And they get Really loud with a clean tone if you know how to dial them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RSBro Posted December 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 Actually, a finely tuned blue line SVT will give that Hexa a run for it's money. I still like the trace tone better, but the 70's SVT, when in proper working order, are fantastic amps. And they get Really loud with a clean tone if you know how to dial them in. I"m just playing... I'm sure those old school ones are the tits when done correctly. But it's not like you can just run across one to take home and A/B against what you've already got, ya know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jugghaid Posted December 18, 2008 Members Share Posted December 18, 2008 I"m just playing... I'm sure those old school ones are the tits when done correctly. But it's not like you can just run across one to take home and A/B against what you've already got, ya know? I did. That's why I ended up choosing the Trace V6 overall in the amp shootout. If I would have had the hexa at the time it would have come in a close second followed by the blue line SVT. All fantastic amps. The Hexa is the most flexible of them all though. I just like the Trace V-type series tone a little better. I still have a V-type pre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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