

Trace Elliot BLX-80

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by bobbykokinos, May 27, 2005.

  1. Hey guys!

    My local music store has a pre-gibson Trace BLX-80 for sale. I have several questions.

    I've heard these things sound GREAT!. Well, when I plugged it in and played it was VERY nasely. Someone said if you are right up on it when you play, it will sound nasely. But in a gig situation, it'll sound good. Any truth to this?

    Also, this one does not have a tweeter on it. Can one be installed onto it?? I have a SWR workingmans 10 and the tweeter on it sounds decent. Can the tweeter be scrapped out of that and installed onto it?

    The AMP section of it looks GREAT except it doesnt have an XLR out. We record most all of our gigs. Is there a line out on it?

    I mainly play in a quartet with double basses and electric. It seemed like it handled the low B VERY well. Does this sound like a good amp for me? The only thing, other than the above mentioned questions, that is keeping me away from it is the weight. I have trace stuff now and I know they weight a TON!

    Any help, advice, or direction any of you may have would be appreciated!
  2. alibloke


    Dec 17, 2004
    Bristol, England
    Wow! I didn't know many of these were still around! I originally bought my BLX130-SM way back in 1995. The 130SM was the BLX range topper with the horn tweeter and XLR out. Regarding the weight, these combos are really small, but weigh an absolute ton! i.e.-

    Trace Elliot = The Densest Matter Known to Man... :help:

    If I remember there is indeed a 6.3mm line-out jack on the front panel which should serve your needs.

    Regarding the sound quality, I found mine to be a little muddy within about a meter so, but the sound was fantastic in bigger rooms. I wouldn't reccommend these things for gigging though, as without some fairly heavy gain boosting via the EQ, the 80W will have real problems cutting through the mix.

    Other things to look out for are reliability issues. The reason that I eventually sold mine, was a persistent reoccurring mains hum, and repeatedly blowing fuses. As much as I loved the thing it was spending far too much time in the repair shop.:rollno:

    The BLX combos were made during Trace's 'dark' era when quality seemed to go down the pan somewhat. In brief, you may get lucky and buy a bullet proof amp, then again you might have my experience, and its one that I wouldn't wish on anybody.
  3. Right now I'm using an SWR Workingmans 10 for jazz gigs and it cuts through just fine. The trace blx seemed like it was louder than the WM10.

    I just dont know if I'm sold on this slotted cab idea. The people that have them sware by them. But, my first impressions, was "ummmm this just doesnt sound right".. I mean, to me, the sound was soo horribly wrong that I'm suprised they even built them like that.

    What am I missing?
  4. I've got a pre-Gibson BLX80 and it definitely kills some top end. However, the thing is build like a tank and it's way louder than the specs say. It spits out a significant amount of low end - enough volume to play with a hard hitting drummer. I ran my line out to a few different 4x10 cabs and then you really get that Trace sound. That led me to purchase another pre-Gibson combo (GP12) so I didn't have to haul an extension cab.

    It's a great little amp, probably best used with an extension cab or a flavor of music where the bass isn't meant to be trebly (reggae, dub, maybe?) I used it for a Zeppelin tribute and it worked out pretty well, plus my teardown time was only a few minutes!
  5. As much as I would like having it, I think I'm going to pass on it. I need something small and lightweight. It is small but cant say the same about lightweight. Also I need something that will sound good on it own without an extension. If I found one with a horn, that might be better.. But no luck so far.
  6. Local music store has dropped the price on it to $250... Worth getting or not??

Share This Page