Trace Elliot BLX-80

Essentially the GP7 pre-amp (Input/output gain, 7-band graphics with an overall tone control, couple of nice pre-shapes, pre/post DI, handy mute switch - standard Trace job really) pushing 80w through a 10" speaker and tiny tweeter, all housed in a weird little Kevlar box with a slot in the front. Similar design to the bass box you'd find in a car or mated to your surround sound system, producing much the same effect - more bass than you'd expect for the size. Also more weight than you'd expect for the size, but thats the only drawback of the Kevlar. Nothing special but it gets the job done.

Using an early '90s Yamaha TRB5P, a guitar that knocks out more different bass tones than most. And the Trace handles all of them better than most teeny practise combos i've tried (excluding the SWR Baby Blue, but thats obviously in a different league). Funnily enough for a 10" speaker it makes a better job of the low end (even the B-string) than the high-end, where it can get a little thin at certain tones, although this won't bother any bass players that aren't throwing fret-wanking solos in everywhere - Chilli's, Jamiroquai, Tower of Power etc bass lines sound fine (to put it into some perspective). Can be cranked up to full volume without distorting and will just about keep up with a 100w guitar amp and drumkit in a rehearsal studio - you WILL need to DI it into the PA at a gig.

The most reliable bit of music equipment i've ever owned without a doubt. Used it on a cruise ship for 6 months where it survived the fluctuating and generally bizarre ships power supply AND a force 9 storm in the middle of the North Sea, in which it tumbled 50' across the showlounge when the ship was rolling, smashing 2 built-in lounge seats in the process. One minor mark on it afterwards - plugged it in and it worked perfectly, leaving me substantially more happy than the Captain and Hotel Manager aboard the vessel. This is honestly a true story. Part of me wonders if it could survive a bullet, being made of the same material that Flak Jackets use...

Got it second hand and never had to get any work done, although Trace Elliot are very good at providing documentation for obsolete models.

It's clearly not a primary stage amp but does produce a lovely sound when DI'd into a PA. Take it for what it is - a small combo for home and studio use, and in these settings it's a gem. Ultra-reliable, stupidly well-built (doubled up as my piano stool for 6 months, and i'm one fat git) and provides a suprisingly wide range of tones given its size and appearance. I'd never sell it and doubt i'll ever be able to wear it out - my second fave bit of equipment (after the Yamaha!)

There are the usual features of an elderly GP7 Preamp, A shape-function (shape 1, shape 2, off), 7-band EQ with bypass and level, Send/Return for FX, EQ balance knob, Line Out (no XLR), mute switch (nice for tuning or plugging around) and a tuner outlet on the rear which stays switched on when the amp is in muted mode.
Apart from that: Not much, no channel switching, nothing extra one might say. That's true, it's just an amp. Yet I'm missing nothing, I can get out sounds for slapping by switching to shape 1 (I normally like playing with shape 2) setup and selecting other pickups on the bass.
This is no full featured luxurious head for a stack. It's a nice little combo.

It's not god's bass sound. But compare what you get for a) the price and b) in that size. You will find that you get just nothing. I took my bass guitar (which is an 4string Ibanez/SoundGear SRX 300 with active eletronics) to some of the larger shops and started testing. I was not satisfied at all with anything I could afford.
The amp is not that good in doing precise sound with a lots of presence. Yet it doesn't seem to get washed away by other instruments. The sound is not entirely soft but with a bit of a growl (which then again is supported by the bass guitar and the D'addario strings). It's not funky but I guess it's more alround and a bit bluesy.

It is seven years old and still in good condition. Built to last. All knobs and faders are silent. Also the overall noise is not really worth mentioning.

Never needed them and I won't be able to ask, I guess... Trace Elliot was taken over by Gibson and there are no Bass Amps any more.

I think this is a wonderful amp - for the price. This is not the best amp/combo of the world. But for this price, it's just asskickin'. And it seems to be loud enough to be used on small club gigs. The features allow you basic control of your sounds - and compared to other amps the 7band is really cool. (Most amps in that price range only have 3 or 4 band EQ and no shape or similar function that actually sounds ok)
If it was stolen? Well - I guess I am lucky that I got that one for the price. If you can get this model for this price - just buy it.
The only thing I might miss in the future is some more power for an external 15" speaker. I am not shure if the unit will perform well with a 5string.

Everything I needed in a bass amp of this size. There are no additional features I can think of that I would have used. However, it did seem heavy for an 80 Watt combo. One of the most striking features was the vertically slotted front of the speaker enclosure. See previous reviews for further details regarding specs.

Used for playing jazz with a Warwick Corvette 4 string fretless and a Squire P-Bass. Volume was more than adequate for this style of music for practice, rehearsals and small to medium gigs. The amp sounded very muffled. I think this could be to do with the way the front of the enclosure covers the speaker all but for the vertical slot. I could not get the sort of clear sounds I wanted out of it no matter what I did with the settings.

I used this amp for about 5 or 6 years and it sustained quite a few knocks and even got dropped once, although my foot broke its fall (Ouch!). The construction is solid to the point of being indestructable and I believe this shows in the overall weight of the combo. The only problem I experienced was the development of an annoying rattle after a few years. This was solved when I took the back off and found a screw stuck to the speaker magnet that must have been there since the amp was manufactured!

Never dealt with them.

This was my first "proper" bass amp, having previously owned a tiny practice amp. On reflection, I think I could have made a better choice but at the time I had only been playing for a year or so and didn't really appreciate what good tone was. It didn't sound bad but it didn't sound all that good either. That said, the amp served me reliably for 5 or 6 years before I replaced it. In my opinion there are combos out there that are smaller, lighter, louder and with better tone, although they may not be as reliable or have all the features.

An XLR would have been cool. At least it had a ground lift on the 1/4" line out, which came in very handy once!

I also really dug the custom oversized knobs with the detented pots. Eye candy that's useful!

My biggest complaint is that its WAY too bulky and heavy for an amp that gets buried in the mix so easily.

I used this with a Carruthers electric upright and a Yamaha 6-string electric. I never could get the vibe I wanted from the preamp. Yeah it's cool having a 7-band, a multi-function sweep knob and a couple of presets. But I'd rather have an amp with none of that stuff that sounds good.

The amp did have a certain growl that was really cool for low B strings. With the tweeter up front there was certainly no lack of snap! It's good for the "modern" vibe, especially with active basses. Can't do "old school" at all.

No problems. It's certainly built like a tank.

I sold this amp because the vibe just didn't fit me, it didn't hold up well with bands, and it was a pain in the a$$ to lug around. I'm MUCH happier with my Gallien Kreuger MBS 150.

1995?

GREAT. i USE 3 DIFFERENT 5 string basses,A warwick streamer fretless,a carvin Bunny Brunneii fretted and A Godin A5semi- acoustic Fretless. All sound Great Although The Godin is a bit sensitive re bass control.

It has never let Me down. I have played with Guitarasts with big stacks etc and had no problems even I was concerned about volume.

I am presently getting ready to return yo U.K and need a bit more info about transformer etc.

I have been Playing 34 yrs , Jazz rock and back to Jazz and used many different amps in different Countries Ireland U.K South Africa and Canada.

i have a 1999 blx80 combo i have use it extensivly for two years.
as a hired hand i have used it in all kind of situations. from rehersal,jass venues.large blues clubs & concert stages.i have found it extremly reliable in all situations.i only use it for personal monitoring on stage and i let the (well paid) production worry about the house.in small venues it covers the house well at below clipping levels.two thumbs up

I USE 1963 4001 RICKENBACHER,5 STRING SDGR5ILBANEZ,4STRING TACOMA (THUNDER CHEIF)ACOUSTIC BASS & AND A CUSTOM FRETTLESS.
SYLES INCLUDE-BLUES R&B JAZZ COUNTRY & ROCK.
IF YOU UNDERSTAND GAIN STRUCTURE IT IS VERY CLEAN (IF NOT ASK SOME ONE WHO DOES)
I USE THE ACTIVE CHANNELS FOR THE 5 STRINGS
BUILT IN DI AND EFFECTS LOOP ARE A GREAT IDEA

100% RELIABLE

30 YEARS IVE BEEN PLAYING
ONE THING IF IT HAD A CUTAWAY BAY FOR ANGLING IT AT YOUR EARS

1x10" 80 Watt Bass Combo, 7 band EQ, Effects Loop. Made by Trace so it has that great "Trace Tone".
This amp is great, really versatile for the price. I play Funk, Rock, Blues and Indie (In another band) and this amp is great for the practices.
I wouldn't use it for gigs as it lacks some volume. But what you sacrifice in volume you gain in sound quality.

Using a Fender P-Bass (Modified) with added EMG pickups it sounds beautiful. For practices it stays whisper quiet in buzz and hiss. It goes loud enough to rattle window panes when you want it to but it never distorts at high volume and nevr loses the tone.

It is very dependable, as one of the other reviews says it IS a tank!

Thankfully never had to deal with Trace Elliot.

I've been playing 7 years and this is the best amp I own. It is as good as the Trace Elliot i use for gigs (AH 300-12 with 2103H) and for the money i spent it is fantastic. If it were stolen I would try and find another BLX-80 if not i would probably buy an Ashdown Engineering.

Same as guy below described.

Im using a 60`s model fender p bass with emg selects in it.
The only reason Im doing a review on this is because I disagree with what the other guy said about not beeing able to use this in a metak band.I have and it does well.I ran it into a 4x10 cab. and it was like the bass on S.O.D. speak english or die.

This thing is a tank.

Great amp for the money.

A sort of unusual amp from the UK. Switchable 7-band graphic eq, 80 watts, 10" speaker with a unique slotted enclosure (like a subwoofer for a car or something), effects loop, line out Controls passive/active inputs, input/output volume controls some other shape switch, headphone jack, detachable power cord. Everything I'd ever want and some stuff I don't use. It's compact but you'd be hard pressed to find something this thing needed.

I use a deluxe fender jazz bass with active electronics and a bad ass II bridge, and a monster cable. That's all I use because that's all I need!! This amp sounds absolutely fantastic!! It is very responsive and gives me the growl that I am looking for! Back off a little and you get a nice warm sound. I simply don't (didn't - see below) need anything else! The only thing about this amp is I wish that it had more volume. Of course it's a relatively compact and pretty light amp so there is the trade off. Of course, if your playing in that loud a situation your going to be mic'd or direct/mic'd anyhow so it doesn't really matter. The compact size is part of the reason that I bought it. It's definitely worth sacrificing volume for the tone. I didn't realize how good it could actually sound until I played with it for a while. I wound up loving it. At the same time I can see how everyone wouldn't like this amp. It wouldn't work for metal or something like that. It's very warm, so if your trying to go up against 7-string shread heads and play with metal god's well...if you need Korn maybe this isn't the amp for you. But it's is extremly musical and just sounds great,

It's been great. No problems. Except for one (see below)

Never dealt with them.

It's hasn't got a sound for everyone, but it's versatile and damn good at what it does. Only thing I wish it had was more volume, but I got over that. I was very happy with it. Was? Yes, a musicians worst nightmare, this amp actually got stolen from me! I've been playing for about 10 years or so, and it was the best sounding bass amp I had ever had, bar none. I've actually owned lots of amps...gorillas (fart in a can tone), holmes (not bad for a cheepie), Peavy, and a GK 400B. But the Trace was the best. I was pretty pissed. This is true - the guy also stole me cell phone. I called and threatened to kick the holy crap out of him if he didn't give me stuff back. Of course he didn't and I had no way to track him, but I would have done it - I loved that amp! Now I play though a GK 400B with a hartkey cabinet which I am no where's near as happy with and am looking to replace the Trace as soon as I can afford it. The only other thing I wish it had was a homing device so I could find the puke who stole it and sick my dog on him.