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BGRA: Trace Elliot (pre-Gibson ownership) Boxer 30
| Manufacturer |
Trace Elliot (pre-Gibson ownership) |
Model |
Boxer 30 |
| Reviewer |
Ryan L. Norton--2 years |
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| Experience |
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Item owned |
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| Review Date |
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Price paid |
US $165 plus shipping |
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Dimensions | about 2 feet all the way round |
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Wattage | 30 watts RMS |
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Speaker(s) | 1 10" Celestion bass speaker |
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Effects | none |
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Controls | Master volume, no gain |
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Other | has a headphone jack |
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EMail : rnorton@gate.net
This practice amp has beat anything else I've tried, hands-down. It socked my bass teacher's BXR-25 and the Peavey equivalent at my local music store. The construction is rock-solid, with a cool black-green carpet covering. It's nice and light, compared to the BXR, Peavey, and others in its range. The detachable power cord is a nice feature, so if for any reason I bust the current one, I can find another one.
Tonewise, the sound is warm and deep without changing the EQ at all. In fact, I play both of my basses--a Japanese-made Fender '75 Jazz reissue and my father's original '62 Jazz--with a flat EQ, only the midshift engaged. I haven't fooled around with the EQ at all, since I use the basses' tone and volume controls to change the actual sound. I don't really need the amp's EQ, since I never take it out of my den. I've heard people complain about Trace amps having a sterile, "too-clean" sound, but I haven't encountered that at all. If anything, the tone can get a little crunchy as I turn the master up or hit the strings harder. Then again, I string my '75 RI with the heaviest Rotosound Swing Bass strings I can find, which may account for a little bit of that slightly-vintage, SVT-like crunch. It works well enough for the rudimentary slap technique I've acquired, so no complaints in that department either.
All the way round, for use in practice at home unaccompanied or with the stereo playing some Cream, Allman Brothers, RHCP, or whatever, this amp performs to a level far beyond the mere sum of its parts.
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| construction |
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| clarity |
| (90%) |
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| value |
| (95%) |
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| overall |
| (95%) |
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