Trace Elliot V-Type 300H Head

I bought this amp use obviously back in 2006 approx. I'm not sure on it's year but I'm guessing '95. After doing my research on this particular amp and it's bigger brother the 600H, I came across it on eBay for a fair price and purchased it. I believe this amp can come clean in any style of music, it's tonal control is pretty diverse for it's simplicity of parameter controls. Personally I play in a broad genre of rock and it fits my style well. I generally run the master volume 3 o'clock, the gain anywhere from 9 to 1 o'clock depending on my mood. The E.Q. parameters are set flat or minor tweak adjustments depending where I'm playing. The bass switch is very nice, use it often for a quick easy tweak as well the the bright switch. The mid pull is also a nice touch for shaping your tone. Playing with the gain and the mid-pull pot you can mix a good throaty growl tone.

The valve preamp stage brings out the most of this amp, although I'd like it if it was an all tube amp, but the mosfet does it justice. I've used this amp in recording sessions and with properly grounded out lits this amp has little to no noise disregarding the gain and volume setting. The fan noise...what fan noise. I have yet to crank up this amp to it's highest output. I've played with this head through ampeg's 810, 610 cabs, Trace Elliot 1028, Hartke 410TP and a few others. But all 3 combinations gave a different but pleasing tone. I'd have to the the 300H and ampeg combination was the best match with the music I play. But the other two gave complete polar opposite tones. The 1028 was a warm gritty tone and for the hartke it sounded...like I was playing with an active bass. it sounded as if the high mid range was cut out. Overall the 300H has excellent tonal quality and output matched with different cabs and bass guitars. The one cab I'd love to play through this head would be the Bergantino NV- 610. So if anyone has the opportunity to try this let me know!

Considering I bought this used off eBay from the original owner at a cost of 250 dollars I took a gamble. Once playing with this amp for a few months it starting acting up. The fan starting shorting out and eventually the MOSFET fried out. So total costs to get those problems fix $230.00. After major set back I replaced the tubes and never had a problem since. Once running properly this head is solid, it's been through tours, local shows and practices and always behaves well.

Don't need it.

From 2006 and present this is an awesome head. Minimum maintenance, cheap to retube, superb sound, what more could you ask for. If anything happened to this amp if it were no longer in my possession I'd hunt down another one or if I found the 600H or the V8 Trace Elliot I'd buy either of them. Go buy one for yourself.

This amp was purchased new in the mid-1990's and I have had it ever since. I play mostly classic, hard and alternative rock, and the warm tube pre-amp and simplistic EQ interface offers plenty of versatility. The only feature I wish it had was a headphone jack. I use this amp direct to Eden 410XLT cabinets to get a beautiful, warm, punchy growly tone for band practices, and sent the pre-amp signal to house PA systems for gigs.

I play a Fender P-Bass and an Ibanez ATK active bass. The V-Type 300H brings out the warmth of passive pickups and adds that classic "Trace character" - enhanced bass and treble even with the EQ set flat. The active pickups sound growly and the character of the attack is warm and strong. I disagree with the other reviewer; this amp is great for slapping, even without the Bright setting turned on. Quality speaker cabinets make a world of difference.

Like many amps, this amp is definitely subject to noise when there's interference or dirty power. But with a clean power source, the amp provides a clean signal (high signal to noise ratio). I routinely run this amp with gain at 3-o'clock.

With the midrange-pull switch, (which shifts the mid-range up in frequency), the amp provides a good variety in tones. The bass boost does tend to muddle the lows (if you're playing with a 5-string's B), but can really enhance a 4-string passive bass. Generally I leave my EQ's at 12-o'clock (neutral).

I've taken this amp all over the place, even moved it down from Canada around 1998 to California, and have used it in practice studios, condemned houses with crappy power (ah, those were the days), small gigs out of the back of a semi-trailer in high humidity, and this amp has performed really well. I have always taken good care of this amp.

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I've been playing on and off for 17 years. I also own Eden D410XLT cabinets, a Fender 410 cabinet, Peavy 115 practice amp, Boss chorus pedals. I would want to replace this amp with another tube-preamp Trace if it were stolen or lost, as I think they've got a fantastic sound.

I wish this amp had clipping indicator lights, a feature found on Eden amps I find very useful.

My v-type head is a '95 model, it has passive/ active jack ins, deep/ bright swithching, mid-shift pull/ push knob. Probably the best amp for that nice warm valve tone. I can't seem to better it in another amp head yet. Two tubes in the pre stage has a beautiful sound when taken from the line out into a desk or for recording, also has post/ pre eq. switch, DI out, effects loop.

Power amp is solid state, relatively compact though for 300 watts.

I am using an '83 fender p-bass elite 2 (2x active p-bass style pick-ups full tone switching)

This amp can deliver so many sound combinations for so few controls (simplicity is what i like in an amp) The mid-shift when out gives a nice punch almost like John Entwhistle (The Who) bringing out that woody sound from the bass. The pre-gain I feel is really the spice in the sound, ranging anywhere from nice warm clean to all out burning hot almost grundge drive. Depending on your speaker cabinet/s you can get almost any sound/ tone combination short of running effects. GOtta have the right speakers for optimum performance.

I have a bit of a problem with the power amp stage cutting out sometimes. it happened the first time i jammed with it after i got it. It was a hot day and we were pretty loud, but after cleaning the heat sinks and fan of all the dust, it seemed to be fine. However it has happend two other times, and after after accidentally tapping the input jack it was back on, (not sure if it was the same problem this time). A repairman informed me he encounterd this before (only once though). The heat sinks have a thermal protection switch which cuts the power flow when the power amp gets too hot. Good little feature but I recommend getting it replaced regularly to avoid cut-outs. The previous owner claims he never had a problem with it.

the tech guy for trace-elliot here in Australia was very helpful in his advice.

All in all though it's by far the best bass amp i've had yet as far as sound quality, tone, capability goes. The minor problem with cutting out is it's one and only downfall, but i'm sure with a service it should perform for years to come. They are a fairly basic design compared to other trace amps, not too much can go wong with them, bearing in mind it IS ten years old and any amp which has a bit of age to it is going to give you at least one little problem.

One thing i guess i've learned from upgrading gear is that you always get a 'WARRANTY' with new stuff. When you buy second hand, you buy someone else's problems regardless of whether they have encountered it or not. If you're going to spend a grand on an amp, you may as well make do with what you currently have for now, save a little bit more, and get a really good reliable one later on. you won't regret it!

Same as has been said. Very simple and I find myself wanting for nothing more. I suppose a mute switch would be usefull, but I'll live.

* What bass and pickup styles are you using it with?
--Using a Schecter Custom-4 with Bartolini pickups and no active preamp.

* How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
--I play mostly rock, blues and drum n' bass lines. It works like a champ for my needs. With the EQ I can dial in some pretty deep bass tones, and add a nice mid-range boost when I want. I mid-scoops well, I'm just not a fan of doing that. With the gain around 2 o'clock, you get some really nice growl out of it. The "Deep" switch is anything but. What it does is add a volume boost, and emphasize the midrange. It makes it sound more tubey to my ears, almost Ampeg-like. The "Bright" switch adds some decent treble, though I never use it.

* Is it noisy? On what settings, and in what environments?
--Not noisy at all. You can hear the fret-sounds if you have your tone knob set pretty high, or the treble cranked.

* What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?
--Some good variety in here, but it doesn't do a whole lot of different tones. I've found at least 2 or 3 that are really useable to me, and they sound damn good. Even with the eq set flat, bad ass tone.

* Is the clean channel distorted at high volumes? In what settings?
--Sounds pretty clean until you get the gain up past 2'oclock or so, then you start to get some nice growl. It never gets any full-on distortion, but it gets fairly overdriven at higher gain settings.

* How brutal is the distortion?
--Not like a full tube amp, but it gets pretty growly.

* Can you depend on it? Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
--Haven't had a problem so far, owned it for a few months. Bought it as NOS. I'd use it on a gig without a backup without thinking much of it.

* Has the amp ever broken down? Because of neglect of regular servicing (as in tubes), or just plain neglect?
--No. Haven't had a single issue.

Haven't had a reason to deal with them.

* How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
--Been playing a little over 3 years, and I've gone through a few different amps. I've owned Peavey and Yorkville combos, which both killed in their own right. Ran a Sansamp BDDI as the preamp into the Yorkville, but when I saw that I could get a hybrid amp for $450, I went for it. I like my tone now more than I ever have.
In addition to the Schecter I play an SX Jazz Bass, and a Peavey T-40. Both sound good through the amp, which I am running with an Eden 210XLT cabinet.

* If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
--I'd buy it again. Can't beat it for the price. I'd love to compare it to the Ashdown AMB EVOII 300 though.

* what do you love about it? What do you hate?
--It's simplicty. Easy to use EQ gets you great tones without much tweaking.
--I wish it had a mute button and a headphone jack.

* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
--Compared to the Sansamp/Yorkville setup, this setup has less volume, but better overall tone.

* Anything you wish it had?
--Overdrive circuit, Mute Button, Headphone Jack

The Trace Elliot V-Type 300H hybrid amplifier head features a V-Type preamp, MOSFET power stage with 300 watt RMS (output impedance 4 ohms), pre/post EQ DI output, effects loop and a line out.
It weights 16kgs and the dimensions are H 215mm / W 540mm / D 340mm.

The V-Type Preamp has bass, mid (push/pull for parametric EQ) and high controls. It features also 'deep' and 'bright' switches (on/off). There are two inputs (passive and active).
The DI-output is on the front with lift/ground and pre/post-EQ switches.
The line out and effects loop are on the back.

I use a Sandberg bass with P-style and MM-style Pickups and an Ashdown 2*10"+1*15" cabinet. I play in a Rock/NuMetal-Band. At home I play different kinds of music like funk (mostly fingerstyle but a bit slapping, too), blues or progressive rock. The bass has active controls and is very flexible.
The Trace fits great to it: it delivers the sound of my bass very clean and reacts on every sound change. But it has its own character as well: when you leave all the EQ settings on 12 o' clock it delivers a very nice warm vintage-like tube tone and LOTS of low end. It cuts always through the mix.

The 'deep'-switch seems senseless to me: it sounds very compressed and I can't hear any sub-bass tones or anything like that ? even with a 15" speaker!
But I like the 'bright'-switch because it gives more power to my crunchy fret-noise tone. I think without this switch you couldn't use this amp for slapping.
The parametric EQ is difficult to use, but i use it. I don't even know which frequencies it changes (or how) but at least it sounds good. Take your time and you can get great results!

With lots of gain you can even get a natural tube distortion but with 'only' 300 watts, this could happen before you want. It's enough for practicing with your band or small clubs.

It is well built and very strong but the knobs are out of plastic and I think they are too light.
The Amp is from the early 90's but the tubes are very new (last year I guess). I had problems with a noisy tone coming out of the power amp but after plugging in another bass in it was gone (even with the other bass).

I play Bass for 3 years now and this is my first rig. If it were stolen or lost I would buy another Trace (maybe a new one) but I don't know if I would buy this model again. I know this model isn't any longer manufactured and I should keep it ;)
I love its great warm tone but I think it's a bit too heavy.