Trace Elliot Speed Twin C100 212 Combo

Ok, this is an update after owning my amp for over a year now. Features are the same, and have served me well as I play pretty simple 3 chord hard rock!

Righto...here's where it goes pear shaped! After playing this thing at fairly loud (about 3/4 volume on the 75w setting) it stopped working on me. First it was a bit of sound dropping out, but then the whole thing crapped out. Apparently it's the output transformer, which is not uncommon in these things. I have yet to fix this issue. Other than this, nothing else went wrong with this amp.

Customer support is practically non-existant as they make neither the amp nor the parts these days. A search on the interweb proves that they must've stopped a while ago because even aftermarket spares are hard to get now. I'm still trying to get a transformer to suit mine. At least the manual is still downloadable on the website.

Righto, so basically if you're prepared to fix these things then go for it. The sound is great when they're running right, but just be aware that parts are all but impossible to find. That's not to say that some other amp bits won't retrofit into it, in fact that's what I'm about to try.....

i bought my amp in 1997 from a completely disreputable dealer in richmond, va. the jive i was fed was that the amp came from another store but was brand new. i've had nothing but bad luck with this piece of... i call it my trace idiot speed twit. would love to sell it but that would mean i'd have to lie about it and that would make me as big an asshole as the creep who sold it to me. a very unreliable and uselessly heavy green turd.

i'm afraid to turn the damn thing on--have wasted more money on repair than anyone should ever have to.

no warranty. the rep. i talked to had the opinion that it was my tough luck.

Couldn't say for sure when my amp was made. Going by the story the bloke who sold it to me said, I'm guessing mid 90's. This amp is very versatile, especially as you can switch it from 100w/75w/50w/25w with a bit of trickery behind the unit. It's a 2 channel, footswitchable amp, with effects loop, reverb, two switchable master volumes, etc. It's not jam packed with all the digital crap effects that lesser amp builders seem to want to put in, but what it does have gives it versatility. It's got 8 valves, and is made in the UK. Nothing looks cheap or plasticky. Apparently you can get a 5 way switch, but I got a 2 way footswitch.

This amp is FRIGGING LOUD!! It's actually too loud for me to use in my bedroom at 100 watts (duh) but it's great when I knock it back to 50 watt. I bought it because it was a disgusting bargain. The twin 12 inch Celestions sound real nice and bassy, and overall the sound is great! Easily on par with any Marshall or Laney combo, etc... I play a Fender strat and an SG, and both sound great through this thing. Especially the SG. I haven't noticed the rattles or noises that others have, maybe just a bit of hiss at higher volume on the dirty channel, but you don't notice it once playing. Seems to get loud real quickly once the master volume gets past the 10 o'clock position.
I play a lot of AC/DC and early rocky blues and I love it.

Never had to use it for gigging, as I don't play professionally, but it seems sturdy enough. The bloke I got it off was in a pub band, and so I guess it must do ok. Owned it for a few months now, and so far so good ! Being a tube amp I would be careful with it though.

Never had to deal with Trace Elliot. They only make bass amps now, but I guess they'd help. The valves were replaced by a guy at an electrical shop in town here, and it seems perfect. You can download the owners manual from the website. Otherwise there is contact information for lots of countries on the website.

I've been playing for 10 years or so. I'm just a home player, but I've owned a shitload of gear. I have had cheap and expensive amps, but all of them have been solid state, so this is the first tube amp I've actually owned. I won't ever go back. I tried it against a Laney LV200, and a Marshall Valvestate, (yes I know they only have one tube) but for the price I got this for, it kills them in sound quality and loudness. I'd be amazed if I found this amp again if I lost it, because nobody has one. I was in the right place at the right time to get this one. I just wish it had a headphone jack, but not as much as my neighbours wished it did! You can't have everything.

Not sure on year of manufacter, but its pre midi. 2 channels clean and drive, multiple power voicings (100, 75, 50, 25 watts) and pentode or triode mode. Pretty much standard features for a guitar amp in the way of eq and reverb.
It must be said it looks stunning in the british racing green, with
the cream control knobs. Just looking at it makes you want to rock.
However it only come with a tatty two channel switch. You need to buy the fiveway seperatly to get the best out of this amp. Poor show. Points have been deducted accordingly.

Play metal with it, so never used the clean channel much, but the distortion is where this kitty is at. Bags and bags of overdive. From poison to slayer, if you want it, this amp has got it. It remains remarkably good on note seperation even at higher levels, but there is a lot off hiss and noise, but thats the same for all valve amps at full tilt. To be honest I think the overdrive is not all tube, because even at low volumes the amp kicks out masses of dirt. Im thinking its being aided by a solid state disrotion circuit in the preamp. I may be wrong, but I know certain amp manufactures do this with their 'all tube' amps. The damping knob on mine is broken and stuck at the setting its on, but with all of the other controls I dont consider this a problem.
For the record I play a B.C Rich platinum warlock with an emg85 in the arse end.

Never let me down, and I havent had the rattles other people speak off.

Never needed to contact them. Hope I never will :)

If you need a rock or metal amp buy one. Great tone, bags of sustain
and loud.
Its probably great for many other styles because of the power and pentode switchings, but Im a one trick pony and use it for metal mayhem only, so I have never really played about with it. sorry.
It is now my main amp so if it were stolen I would buy another. So I recommend it.
The fact it is not supplied with the fiveway switch to get the most out of it take the piss so I am deducting points for this act of miserable stingyness. Shame on you trace elliot.

My C100 is from the early 90's, made in England when Kaman Music stilled owned the company. Features galore! Don't have time to list them all, but the pentode/triode switch is wicked cool. I'm into everything from Robert Cray to Eddie, Wes to Randy Rhoads, but I lean more towards blues. Currently diggin Brian Setzer. I used to gig at parties, sit in at small restaurant gigs, but mostly bedroom playing right now. So this amp covers me in any and all settings. It's great for the house on the triode setting, and you can switch to full power if you need it.

I use a Hamer Daytona with stock single coils and a Hamer Artist with stock Seth Lover HBs. Can get great sounds with both. I haven't had any trouble getting saturated overdrive (using a friend's HB guitar) like another reviewer has. Can get everything from clean to soaked. Gave it a 9 because there's always room for just a little something.

Fasten your seatbelts. My much enjoyed amp is now sitting in a closet until I can afford (time and $) to bring it an hour away to have it LOOKED AT. One day I turned it on, the power light came on, no problems, I switched on the stand-by switch and it died, no power, no light, nada. What the !#@(#*$ happened? Took it to my local shop, they looked at it, replaced some transformers and it was ok... until... I brought it straight home, plugged in, and the exact same thing happened. I brought it back, they looked at it again (at no charge) and said they couldn't figure it out, "there's a ghost in the machine". So they suggested I take it to a specialist. Not faulting my local guys... they were great, and upfront. CAN ANYONE HELP?! Please email me sharpfrets@hotmail.com if you can. THANKS

I had to deal with Gibson, and they were good. Responded in a reasonable time to voicemail, and sent me schematics to give the the "specialist".

I've been playing (sub-ametuer) for 15 years. I also have a Marshall JTM60 combo that's been ok. If this were stolen or lost I'd be very upset (because it's so versatile)but I don't need such an amp at this time, so i would not replace it ($$$). I'm looking at little Fenders to complement the Marshall at this point... unless it's less $ to fix the Trace. Will let ya'll know.

Tube Amp: 2001 Model - 2 Channels - Clean & Drive(two styles of drive available), 2 Master Volumes, Reverb, Effects Loop, 2 Speaker outputs. Comes with a two way footswitch but you can get a 5 way one which adds a lot to the versitility of this amp (I personally think that the 2 way switch is a bit useless as you can't even turn the reverb on and off)
Very loud amp with a good clean tone.

I use two guitars a USA Dean (I have no idea which model) and a custom made Les Paul Junior type thing. I always use humbuckers and love that beefy overdrive sound. I also use a Boss DS2 and a Zoom GFX4.
I am in a gigging band and we play all sorts of small/medium sized venues. We are a Heavy Rock (think Stone Temple Pilots/Garbage) band.
The Clean Channel on this amp is excellent no doubt about it. It is full sounding, clear, rich and very loud.
The problem I have with this amp is the overdrive - it is weak on both settings and noisy at high volume. I expected to get some real bollocks out of this amp and yet it sounds better if I put my DS2 through the clean channel.
I suppose I should expect it to be noisy being a tube amp but it just does not seem to have any "Guts". But I could imagine playing blues through this amp would be some peoples idea of heaven.
Because of the weak distortion I can't give it higher (for my purposes) than a 7.
But that Clean Sound is pure Joy!

Seems very well built - Good quality knobs & jack sockets, solid cabinet..even the casters are good. No sign of crappy plastic.
It did have a fault when I brought it (took about two seconds to switch channels) but it was promply repaired and has been fine since (about 3 months).

Trace Elliot are a fantastic company!
When my amp was delivered with a fault (see above) I rang Trace Elliot, got through straight away, and was passed on to the designer of the amp! He said sorry about 10 times and then arranged for my amp to be picked up from my home.
When he got the amp he rang me to tell me what was wrong with it, fixed it and returned it, all within the space of three days!
Of course I can not vouch for their service in The US but as they are made in England I had no problems at all.
The warranty is 2 Years so I have no worries till it runs out (and I bet they still treat you well after that time, they seem to take pride in their products)

I have been playing for about 11 years. I have no other amp at the minute but I am getting a Fender Deluxe 90 soon.
All I wish is that this amp had more balls in it's overdrive section - everything else is perfect (apart from the stupid two way footswitch). If anybody knows of a way to beef it up a bit my life would be full!
Oh yeah, it weighs a TON.

N/A

N/A

Update on earlier post. For those who are interested, the combo seems too lively for 100W open-back. The buzzing and rattling is continuing, but i'm now sure it is due to shock during delivery. My suggestion to anyone who is looking is to get the 100W head and a close-back cab. I might try to send mine back. However a week in and I love the sound more every day. However with the combo, and with the extent of technology inside (MIDI et. al.) there is too much to keep from rattling.

Sent some emails to the R&D department at Trace UK. Got replies from Paul Stevens, who is the head designer within 12 hours on two occasions. am awaiting the third, but it is the weekend. Paul is an absolute legend; incredibly helpful and gave several suggestions on what could be the problem.

N/A

This is my first review for anything at HC, so i'll try to be concise.
The C100 is a two-channel, three voice, 2x12 all tube amp. The basic features are similar to other amps of this type/spec; 2 channel, clean and drive, with a preamp style/more gain on channel 2. 3 band eq is passive, with push/pull treble on ch1 and push/pull mid shift oc ch2. It features 2 master volumes which are footswichable(which you'd want them to be) accutronics reverb, presence and output damping for drive channel round back.
It has an optional 5-way which I am waiting for, but comes standard with non-latching 2-way. MIDI controllability is standard on C100.
In my opinion, the best feature is variable wattage output which with Half/full power and Triode/pentode switches, can allow 100, 75,50 or 25 watts RMS output. However when I first tried it, it didn't seem as loud as a 100 watt amp. still, features aplenty, with 2 12-inch Celestion Silvers(Woohoo), so gets this score.

This is the most surprising result from this amp. Living in Australia, this amp is somewhat rare. After opinions here at HC, I ordered one in without hearing it.(risky) I was pleasantly surprised. The clean tone is outstanding (and I do mean that, I work in a music store and compared it to Fender Twin, Deville, and Classic 50, and I honestly think it matches the Twin for tone), channel two, is also great, the mid-gain is terrific. It has a great Soldano-ish character, with the ability to get close to JCM900. The high-gain is a bit extreme, with the amp very eager to feed back when the gain dial is anywhere past 9 O'clock.It also has the ability to get noisy at high volumes, but it is tube, so i'll let it pass. The presence is useful, Output damping slightly less so, but I havn't had the amp long. Accutronics Reverb is good, but slightly over-the-top. Anywhere past just on and there is more background echo than in the signal. Still pretty good though. Sounds great with HB or single coils. My Godin LGXT sounds incredible. Honest opinion would be 9.5 as a score. I don't believe in this 'no perfect score' stuff, The sound is almost perfect, considering the price range. (price i got it for anyway...)
For some reason, the output is more modest than the numbers suggest. The 100 watt mode seems to match the Deville at 60 watts, but I have a suspicion it is due to the voicing. Unlike other amp makers (I'm looking at you Jim Marshall) who voice their amps so that anything above 7 is stupid and unusable, the Trace seems to get all the way to the top with great clarity. However, at this volume the house commences falling down, so I'll have to wait to see how it works in the field to judge it accurately.
(that sounded too FBI-ish, didn't it)

Bit of a moot point here. Had it 2 days. No electronic problem so far, seems well built, tubes well protected.
However While trying to get this amp, the Supplier (who are useless and shall remain nameless)sent one down with a large dent in one side. The second one arrived a week later, with no visible wear, but the amp has several rattles around the chassis and at the MIDI connections, which may be due to transportation. I sent an email to Trace UK for any suggestions, in the hope I don't have to send it back to AMI (oops..)and wait another 2 months for any work to be done.
I will post update if and when this is solved.

Not even going to try with Gibson. Emailed Trace as already stated, and awaiting a reply. Give Trace reprieve, and let them off supplier's hook. (I did wait 2 months for an amp they had in stock)

I've been playing guitar 12 years now. Electric guitar in the last 5. (dang that pesky classical music) My last amp was a Fender Roc-pro 100 which wasn't as bad as everyone here claims, however it did break down occasionally and rattled like a bastard anywhere past 4.
If this amp were lost (here we go...)I would hunt the guy, or girl down and insert a guitar lead so far up his a---, you could plug him in from his mouth. Then I would sit him down, and ask politely why he did what he did, if he realised the effect and ramifications of his actions, and claim the amp on insurance.(why did I write all this?)
Overall, there isn't a lot to dislike about the amp. Very pleased with the purchase. (I do work at a fairly large music store, so I have compared it to other major brands, and no i never even thought to consider Marshall, after hearing my friends JCM900 and 'THOSE' valvstates (ugh!)) Wish It didn't rattle, but better than my old amp which was more percussion instrument than tube amp at any decent volume. Maybe It would have been better getting a head and 150w 2x12 cab and leaving it on 75 watts, but whatever...
Seriously though, this amp is good. No one in Australia has one and For the price range it truly beats anything else feature or tone wise.
"Now where did i put my hat and monacle?"