Trace Elliot Tramp

The Tramp hails from the early 90's, and is all FET transistor. It has a clean and distorted channel with built in spring reverb. It's 30 watts and 40 on a good day going down hill with the wind behind it.

It's plenty loud for playing a small room over drums, but it's the best practice amp in the world and my first choice for recording. It's quiet and sounds so tube like that I think that even the most experienced players would say it was a Deluxe if blind folded.

With the Celestion it comes with it's good for all styles and its just as capable with humbuckers and single coils. It really makes a Tele shine and my 335 with '57 humbuckers is really loud full and has the perfect growl when turned up.

The distortion varies from amp to amp and the Tramp sounds quite different from the Super Tramp I own. This amp cam be pretty gritty and not musical when distorted, but if carefully tuned in sounds just fine. With the Super Tramp is easier to find a good sound, and the boost it has over the Tramp's boost channel is day and night. The little Tramp has a good enough boost, it gets two or three times louder, but the Super Tramp's boost is easily eight times louder and will really put the ice pick right in the ear.

This amp is 15 years old and still sounds better than 99% of what's out there.

These things haven't been made for years. Drawback: they require 4 ohm speakers.

I've been playing 40 years, I collect and repair amps, and have tube amps from the '50's. This is my favorite and most used amp. It sits by the TV and when I want to jam with whomever comes on; it comes to life in its tubeless glory and I off I go!

Solid-state amp with two channels, clean and distorted. Footswitching for gain, boost, clean\distortion channels and reverb. Has an effects loop. 40 watts which may not seem like much, but I do think it would be fine for any room size, just mike it up and let it come throught the mains for large venues.

Wish it had an external speaker out as I have two 1X12 cabs I would like to use.

The clean channel is extremely clean, but can be adjusted for heavy distortion via the gain control. I demoed the amp with a G&L ASAT and it gave a great country clean. At home with other guitars I've gotten great blues and jazz tones. For a long time tube snob, I found the clean sound very pleasing. Not at all harsh or brittle. Solid state has come a long way and Trace Elliot obviously has their reputation for a reason. I was so sucked in by the tone when trying the amp out that I never even thought to check if it was a tube or solid-state amp until I was putting the guitar away and shutting the amp off. The clean does seem to have that British\Marshall voicing so Fender fiends may not care for it.

The distortion channel was even more satisfying. Everything from slightly broken up to insane heavy metal gain. Very flexible. It's almost as if you had three channels.

Haven't had it but a few weeks so I can't answer this honestly yet.

Again, unable to provide an honest answer yet.

ever notice that on Harmony Central everyone has been either playing for twenty-five years or just around five and they are doing gigs?

Sorry to say, I've been playing twenty-six years so I'm in the former category. But I'm being truthful. I've logged untold hours of playing jobs. And as well, I taught for a decade (before quitting) and recording\playing sessions. I've had all sorts of tube and a few solid state amps as well. I'm fairly picky. I really like this amp. It sounds great, is flexible and light weight to boot! Forty watts is loud enough (despite what some might say) and if a lower watt amp doesn't cut through just put it in front of you next to the monitor on a stand. You'll be able to hear yourself and the soundman will thank you for making his job a tad easier.

I'm seriously considering buying another and running two. It really is a cool amp. Solid state as come a long way since the days of the Roland jazz chorus series (talk about harsh sounding!)I only wish it had an external speaker out so I could run at least one of my other cabinets (one Jensen, one EVM)and push a little more air.

Yes, I'b buy another one of these if lost or stolen. And I'm going to look into other Trace Elliot amps in the future as well. I am sold that they are a great product.

Not sure when this amp was made; I'm going to guess late '90s. British-made solid-state 40-watt amp. Two channels: clean and distortion, with a clean switch on the distortion channel. Boost available, activated primarily by the totally solid accompanying channel footswitch. Three-band parametric EQ on both channels, along with a master volume, Accutronics spring reverb and presence. There is a jack for a reverb footswitch, but I don't have the switch (and don't want it). Effects loop in and out. Dark green tolex and grill cloth, which many have complained about, but it's stylish and reserved -- as opposed to many of the ugly units in the Trace Elliot arsenal. (Aw, hell, green's my fave colour, anyway.) Wish it had a headphone jack and line-out on the back, but you can't win 'em all.

Quiet, clean sound, particularly on the clean channel. Lovely, warm and creamy bluesy tone. And I don't know why people are criticizing the distortion: I love it. By dialing in the settings appropriately, I get just what I want from my single-coil Charvel Surfcaster HT. I'm thinking of grabbing a DiPinto Belvedere Deluxe, and I'm sure this amp will be a great match. If I want feedback, I just stomp on my cheap Danelectro Fab Distortion -- turning the distortion down to zero if I just want the overdrive -- and it sends me to Crazy Horse heaven. Generally, though, this amp will only respond to what you're giving it. And it gets nice and LOUD when I want it to. I'm playing mock-country, pop, punk and rock with it, and it does more for me than I could have hoped for.

Haven't had it long, so I can't really tell you. The first owner never let it out of his house, and though I have no problems gigging with it, I'm primarily the bassist and keyboardist in the band -- having written songs I need to sing, I've got to pick up the guitar once in a while. This amp will continue to get loving care. I have no fears about taking it on the road; the amp seems to be solidly built.

The Trace-Elliot nameplate belongs to Gibson now. I've never dealt with their service department before, so I don't know. Hopefully, I won't have to.

I can't say enough how much I love the look and sound of this thing. I had a Vox Valvetronix AD60VT last year, thinking "Oh, I can dial in any sound I want", but it proved to be too much machine with too many options -- and using their pedalboard was a complete pain in the ass for gigging. I sold it. Lately, I've been playing through a beat up Fender Montreux inherited from a former band member who must have forgot I had it (he has a six-figure job, so he can buy something new), and I absolutely hated the sound. I was bidding on a Traynor YCV20, but read some debatable reviews on Harmony Central, so I backed off and saw this. I'm so glad I did. The Tramp does everything I want, and more. I don't care that it isn't a tube amp. For what I paid for this dream, it's an absolute steal. Would definitely replace it with another if it were stolen.

A 2 channel solid state 80 watt guitar amp. Made and purchased in 1994. Has an extra 'boost' switch on the 'dirty' channel which boosts the volume! Loaded with a celestion speaker. Dark green covering. Excellant footswitch provided.
The designers at Trace Eliot have did a lot of work on this amp, it offers some features that the rivals did not offer, I think it is designed around the giging musician. I tried valvestates etc. And I thought the Tramp was much better.

I play country, blues and rock using a Telecaster and a custom nade Les Paul Special copy. This amp does it all. This is the best 'valve' sounding solid state amplifier I have ever had. It is loud enough for most live situations. It sounds very 'British' and a little retro, if you know what I mean.
The clean channel is unusual as it has a gain control knob and it is perfect for a slightly overdriven 'break up' sound that is perfect of counrty blues etc. It stays clean at very high volumes.
The 'dirty' channel is very good, with a very valve like overdrive especially with Fender style guitars. The 'boost' function can be employed on this channel as it is very useful for solos, as it allows you to set the volume for most of the song and be a bit louder for the solo.

I used this amp live for about a year, with no problems at all, very well made, just be careful with those knobs when you put it in the van after the gig!

Very good. When I got the amp to a rehearsal I found that it made a buzzing noise a high volumes, the shop got in touch with Trace Eliot who sent a modification kit which cured it. They said this was a problem with the early models which was then sorted out.

I have had all sorts of amps over the years and I only sold this one when I could afford a valve amp a Fender Blues Deluxe which cost a lot of money. It was the best solid state amp I ever owned, I had Peavey Bandits etc. which I found bland but this Tramp had character which you rarely get from a solid state amp. Trace Eliot tried hard to break into the guitar amp market but with mixed success, the Slash and Vai clones of the time wanted Marshalls and Peaveys. It was revamped as the Super Tramp which was very different and not as good as the original Tramp.

Dont know when this was built, bought it cos I'd sold a couple of years ago a super tramp that was stunning and missed it badly....Called into the music shop where I bought the super and bought this Tramp on the spot. All I would say about these Combos is they are the best, the bass response from them (Trace influence) is execellent....All I want an amp to do is to sound good and the Tramp range is the best........

I have a weird range of guitars that I play through this thing, the best match I've found is my Dean Special Select (a poor man's very good PRS) which sounds full and controlled with clear definition... The clean channel is very quiet (and very warm!) and allows the external effects to make their mark. If you're on your own and you haven't brought your GT6, use the OD, again, only works cos the eq of this thing is exceptional. Other guitars I use through this thing are a USA std Strat, Tele California Series, Epiphone Alley Kat, Ovation Elite (great sound!) Takamine G series and the Dean. It takes them all and stands out....

Like a brick! Even the footswitch is like a tank 1/4inch plate!

Never dealt with them but they're out of business anyhow so I have to go around the country finding second hand models :-(

The best, I've had Marshall tube (great loud) but my ears couldn't take it, Marshall tranny (crap!), Marshall DFX (HISSSSSSSSSSS), Fender twin (Great but very, very expensive), Roland JC (The best but try and get them fixed!!!!)....Listen, if you want to "hear" a guitar then buy one of the Tramps, try and get a super tramp cos they've got the extra power but if not sweep these things up, they're not cheap second hand cos people want them but they absolutely knock into a cocked hat the fender and Marshall equivalents and the bass response is absolutely stunning, I'm only gpoing to score it as a 9 tho' cos of the fact that they're not cheaper than they are and they cost me a bloody fortune!!!!.......Finally, for people who want to listen to guitar....use a Trace with an Epiphone Alley Kat (the most under-estimated guitar on the planet).. Dry cleaners required for ones trousers mister. Hate the Green covering!

Most has been covered earlier: Solid state combo, 2 channels, foot controlable "Boost/Channel/Reverb", "Send" & "Return" on the face, individual gain/bass/mid/treble/level on each channel plus boost and a 2 position "gain mode" switch on channel 2. Master controls are "Reverb/Presence/Volume". The Belton reverb unit is dated March of 1995. Rated at 40 watts RMS/55 watts peak. The Celestion Vintage 30 (12 inch)is 4 ohms. Very dark green tolex (almost looks black).

Channel 1 is almost Fender clean & super quiet. The Celestion Vintage 30 is a great speaker. It can be very loud for such a compact size. The tube sound is done very well for a solid state amp and the reverb is better than most. My single coil guitars seem to sound better thu this than my humbuckes - don't know why. Channel 2 is for your Marshall crunchy sounds but the distortion can be a bit much. I had the same boost/distortion change a few others have had - my fix was to clean the "gain mode" switch every once in a while. Also, footswitch cables make a big difference because the sound path can actually go thru the footswitches (many footswitches just control a relay in the amp). The "Presence" control can have an upper midrange effect - kind of subtle but it can be useful. I like 60's and 70's rock so channel 1 gets my attention.

I have had it for a few years and it looks just like new. The only issuses were the need to clean the boost switch and noise caused by a cheap footswitch cable - both cheap and easy fixes. If not for the switch it would get a 10.

Gibson owns them now. Emailed them for a manual and got a quick reply. They didn't have one for this model but sent one for the tube version which shares almost the same controls.

Been making guitar sounds since the '60's. Other gear: several amps (my Laney GC80A is my favorite), several FXs (torn between my Peavey rack mounted Trans-tubefex and my GNX3). Too many guitars to name. At $250 this was a steal! If I needed a loud/clean/compact again and could find a nice one for under $350, it would be on my list.

I really like my Tramp. I mostly play punk and metal, but I do play a lot of other things. I can get a great Lynyrd Skynyrd style sound, or P-funk style funky guitar, a clean, bluesy sound. Not all of them are ideal, but the range of sounds is good. Nice three-band eq. Boost is a great feature. Personally 40 watts is certainly enough, as most people don't play over '7' or '8' anyway (100 watt amps are over-used because unless you crank it, it sounds like shit). It's a solid state, but sounds like tube. Definately more of a hard rocker than anything else, though.

I have a fat-strat style setup on a Jackson Performer. The amp is a great match for my more frequent style of playing (old-school metal, punk). Not very noisy except when it's totally cranked. Distortion sounds tube-like. I switched to this from a marshall I loved, and was not disappointed. Clean has a tendancy to distort more than I'm used to. Amazing crunch. Distortion is quite 'brutal'.

Hasn't broken down yet . . . but I haven't had it too long.

I bought it used, so no warranty, haven't had to deal with repair or anything.

I've been playing for about 3 years. If it got stolen, I'd get this again, or another Marshall, maybe. It is rather quiet (no unwanted noise), and has great distortion. Pedal is a really nice feature. Great name.

Simple. Clean, overdrive, boost. Overdrive has 2-way switch. Efx loop, accutronics spring reverb, 3 band parametric eq per channel, master volume and presence. Simple enough to use...getting a good tone is another story. The effect loop seems weak to me, maybe just my poor ears. Not bad for a solid state overdrive, but the first stage seems mild when compared to the boost.

No noise. Period. It will not play unless you do. Great bluesy overdrive (if you push it up to 2 oclock). Not a plexi by any means. My Kramer Focus 3000 tends to dance all over it - but this amp just won't pick up any microphonics at all. The distortion is hard to eq - again, maybe just my picky ears, but it is certainly weak unless you hit the boost.

It's really seen minimal use from me. I bought it used - the store (one of only two I trust) had repaired the speaker/reverb wiring. The genius before me had spilled beer in (yes, in) it and then wondered why it wouldn't work. Never gig without a backup. Period.

n/a. If I can't fix it, something's wrong. They're just basic schematics repeated over and over.

The best thing about this amp is its size and weight. A great speaker, average amp, but very compact. I'm touring Europe next year, so I don't want to worry about tubes (though I hate solid-state sound). If they could only cut the weak end of the overdrive and just fatten up the boost...

The Tramp impressed me from the very start when I heard a friend's. We sold a Fender Performer 1000 ASAP and put the money into a new Tramp. It is very veratile in the range of sounds it supports from an A/E, to an LP clone. The effects loop works great, and can be used as a line out for direct injection. At 40 watts, it makes alot of sound, and the Celestion speaker seems well up to the task.

I play an A/E Fernandez, a SD "Woody" in a D12 Washburn, a Tele copy loaded with 3 Fender Lace Tele pickups, a much modified Samick with warm, Gibson like set of electrics. The Tramp works well for all these. My son likes the distortion enough to sell off his Boss Metal Zone, we are considering the tube hybrid version.

I've spoken to the factory in the UK. They are very proud of their products. I ran into an executive at O'Hare airport. Great guy.

It oozes quality. Sounds great. Looks just different enough to stand out, without being wierd.

The solid-state Tramp is not bad in terms of features. It has: two channels; seperate eq's (if I remember correctly); two gain levels; spring reverb; fx loop; gain booster level and switch; overall master level; and presence control(it's best feature). I'm into fusion, rock, blues and funk. I would not use the distortion for any of these styles. I would use the clean for all of them. It is certainly loud enough and it cuts well. I wish it had tubes.

The 5 is for the clean sounds. They sound awesome. They are crystal clear and have the right amount of top end sparkle. The distotion is deplorable, even in conjunction with effects. It is cold and harsh and very buzzy sounding. It really SUCKS! My main guitar is a Custom Strat with EMG's which obviously is a bad match with a solid state amp, but I also have guitars equipped with passive pickups. One is a Washburn N2(awesome guitar), and that sounded horrible through the Tramp

You're probably wondering why I bought it. Well when I first got it the distortion sounded great, almost like a Boogie amp. A couple of months down the track the sound quality deteriorated. I took it to a few dealers and they all said that the amp was just breaking in and was supposed to sound that way. In terms of consistancy of distortion tone I would say it isn't reliable.

Great clean tone but if it were stolen I would cry. I actually sold it to a friend who is using it for a keyboard amp and he loves it. I have since bought a Seymour Duncan 84-50 all-tube combo amp and it is utopia in comparison to the Tramp.

2 channels with footswitch, boost with footswitch, effects loop, reverb with footswitch, treble mid and bass controls make the amp sound like its under a pile of mats when turned down low.

We like to call it THRASH ELLIOT since the only way to make it sound like it's not stuffed under a pile of mats is to turn treble and bass up to 10 and thats when it sounds really raw.
Clean channel is nice though it distorts too easily.
I'm using a Gibson 500 T Humbucking pickup currently.

Hasn't broken down ever. I've had it for 1,5 years.

Wouldn't buy it again. A Peavey classic 30 would be a better choice in about the same price range.

Great amp. I love the chorus and reverb. I crank the distrtion and and both effects and it sounds fucking awesome. I play in a heavy rock/metal band, and the sound is perfect.The volume boost is cool to, so you never have to worry about not being heard on solos.

It has a killer clean sound, and with some chorus and reverb, it's totally raD.i PLAY in an Alternative Metal band, and its cool for the rare occasion we do play clean. It's not noisey at all. Never feeds back as long as you use the master volume in cunjunction with the volume on each channel.I have had almost no feedback whatsoever, and the only feedback i have ever gotten has been when I've forced it. It also has killer distortion. Very pure. Not reall very thrashy, but gets the job done.

I would definaetly use it without even thinking about a backup. Very tuff and reliable.

no need yet

I would definatly buy it again, and am in the process of doing so. It just kicks ass.

It has a clean channel and a gain channel. Clean is very clean, it sounds alright. Two levels of gain, changeable by a switch on the amp. The distortion is excellent in both modes. Lots of distortion in this amp. Has spring reverb and boost that can be turned on/off with pedal.

The sound is very good. It is very clean on the clean channel, but a little noisy on the gain channel. The distortion is excellent as mention earlier, sounds great with my strat, even better with my hamer. Also sounds great when an acoustic is run through it, but it does not have chorus.

Never had any problems with it, it is pretty well built and will last unless it is abused.

Never used so far. I believe that the warranty is two years, but I may be wrong.

Yeah I would definitely buy it again, blows away most other amps in its price range. The only regret I have is that I wish i had bought the 80-watt version, it

The tramp is a 40 Watt (RMS) amp, 1 x 12" Speaker with spring reverb. 2 Channels, Both having t/m/b eq's and Gain. Chan 2 has two gain modes and a boost. The package comes with a footswitch for channel switching and for the boost. There is also reverb and presence controls, a socket for a reverb footswitch and an effects loop.

The clean channel is very clean throughout, and the distortion is not brutal but is convincing none-the-less I'm playing it with a Japanese Strat, and playing some standard rock stuff with it.

I have only had it for a few weeks, but it seems very robust

See reliability

From what I've gotten out of it so far, the thing is a dream!