Trace Elliot Velocette 1x10 Combo

I got this 2nd owner in 1998, its green w/1X10 vintage celestion speaker, two-EL84s/two-12AX7 pwr/pre amp tubes. This a very well made class A amp. I love the two knob thing, to me anything over six knobs front panel is a waste of wire and parts. The port hole speaker grill and chrome trim really sets this off as a special jem. I also love the one channel as well, simple and pure, The bright switch is a nice touch over all. I feel if you cannot say your message with one channel what makes you think you can say it with three or four channels. The one thing I wish it had was some form of a pilot light. There is a 16 ohm speaker out for a 4X12 cabinet which is nice for a different sound overall. Everything on this amp is usable not like most of the amps currently on the market. I use this amp for almost all of my gigs and I have use it at a San Francisco Golden Gate Park concert gig mic'd with very good results. As far as power goes well to me it is not about power but tone. Mike Bloomfield was a player with tone. He used a Les Paul, good guitar cord and Amp, his sound was between his finger-tips and speakers was pure tone. This amp is low in RMS watts (15 Class A) but it does have volume. It actually sounds louder than my Mesa Blue Angel 4X10 Jensen amp. Great package and light weight too!

I use mostly single coil pickups with this unit as it seems to sound very clear with a more Vox like quailty but with a little more middle in the overall sound. I play the Blues, Rock, Fusion, Jazz, R&B on electric and jazz-Flamenco,& Pop on nylon and acoustic steel string. The amp is very quite when operating also very warm and clean in the range of 7 to 10 o'clock on the dial. After that it starts to get its bark then growl up to 12:30. At 1 to 3 o'clock I am in tone zone. The sound of the distortion in this amp is very smooth and the sustain was also very good.

I never had a problem with this amp. This is one amp I can trust on the stage. As far as use it without a back up it possible; but as long as I have been at it I always have a back up in case of a lighting strike or power surge out there in the field.

No warranty when I bought it, but I did contact them for an owners booklet back in 1998.

This was a very good buy for a class A amp with great tone and simple operation. The Velocette is a light weight plug(set once)& play amp in an attractive package. I would buy it again if lost.

I saw Mike Bloomfield, once, using a Tele plugged directly into a Fender Twin Reverb back in the 60's and he made it sing, cry, dance and stomp. Ever since then, I always felt this is the way it should be. True. I walked on the wild side and entertained other amps, a few pedals and some effects, but in my mind it always came back to this original set up.

Wait! This isn't a review for a Fender Twin! Yeah, but this little geezer is about the ballsiest little amp since the vaunted Twin Reverb made its debut. Not much to say, two inputs (one loud, one soft), a volume control, tone control, and reverb all sporting epic ivory knobs for your turning pleasure. Purty much straight ahead, I'd say. The Vintage Celestian is pure joy. 16 ohm outtie to a hefty bottom and it is loud enough to swagger in any small club. I bought it from Trish Murphy and it reported David Grisson once thrashed it. Age is unknown.

I play jazz through mine. Love it, love it, love it.

I play fingerstyle jazz in small restaurants, locally. Because the atmosphere is intimate, rarely, can I push the envelope much. I play a Stromberg Montreax and the result is quite nice. I do not have to worry about dents or dings with either and the restaurant's patrons really don't care if they are hearing an ES-175 and a Polytone as long as the music is good. The tip jar bears that out.

I can play very cleanly with mine since I replaced the Sovteks that were living in there with JJ's. What an amazing difference. The sound was full and intense before the JJ's, but now it's like "buttah." I opted for the gold-series tubes from Eurotube and that made a significant addition to the tone.

My son plays his ESP through my Velocette when he's in his screamo metal moods and loses it every time. Like the others making comments before me, he opts for the single coil setting on his guitar and manages some very interesting snarls and grinds. The JJ's hold up to the task very well. I, on the other hand, love the humbucker heaven this puts me in. Of course, I play at significantly lower volumes. Recording with it is unique in that I have managed a very clean acoustic sound at very low volumes. Hiss free and very clean. I use D'Addarrio Chromes (12 on top) for added charm and cleanliness. And you thought it was all technique!

This baby blue amp has been in car trunks, airplane cargoes. and truck beds. It's been in the rain and seen a fall in the snow and skittered across the ice. Plug it in and wail away.

I keep hearing Gibson will support me if I need them. So far, that has not been necessary.

I've been playing for 45 years. I've owned and sold more collectable guitars and amps than I care to remember. This combination is what I will take to the grave barring a massive inheritence or lottery winnings. The baby blue Tolex combined with the orange finish of the Montreax has people talking whenever I plug in. My road days are pretty much over and so is this little guy's. He is now sitting well and safe.

Would I get another one? You bet! I would also re-tube it with the gold JJ's I purchased from Eurotubes. Great company, great product!

I'm going to start with my big knock on features here... all the controls are in the rear! There isn't even a power indicator lamp on the front. It's not a terribly big deal because the controls are sort of set-and-forget for me, but I hate to leave it on accidentally. Class A at high voltage is hard on the tubes, y'know. Sometimes I'll turn it around backwards... plenty of sound blows out the back of the mostly-open cabinet and it kills some of the speaker beaming, and then the conrols and purty glowing tubes are visible.

Speaking of tubes, another knock on it is the cheap factory tubes. If you find one and by some miracle the original power tubes are intact, REPLACE THEM with JJ, EH, NOS, anything that can take higher than rated voltages.

A big plus on features is the excellent Celestion Vintage 30 speaker! It's head and shoulders above the cheap speakers in most amps of this class.

For the record, I am NOT knocking features for the lack of channel switching, graphic EQ, digital effects, and all the other crap other vendors use to cover up the fact that their amps SUCK. This thing has tone for days. The only controls you really need are volume, tone, guitar controls, and your fingers.

This is a GREAT sounding amp! Its basic character is old Vox chime, with a loose bottom and a bit more upper midrange snarl. It can do clean if you keep the volume down below about 10 o'clock. By high noon on the knob, the dirt really sets in. Beyond that, it doesn't get any louder, just more and more distorted. The overall distortion character is EXTREMELY good if you like snarly rather than scooped sounds - no metal in here!

Guitar-wise, it prefers single coils. Humbuckers tend to make the soft bottom downright muddy. Using a closed or ported cabinet rather than the built-in speaker only helps some... ultimately, the soft bass is a function of the circuit. I mostly use Dimarzio Virtual P90/DLX pickups, and they're just KILLERS through this amp. Brighter Strats and Teles can be a bit TOO bright through it, but rolling off the tone control a bit usually fixes it.

The touch sensitivity is amazing. It plays like a MUCH more expensive amp. Clean sounds are available by just rolling off the tone a bit. It's also remarkably loud. In fact, if you're thinking "15 watt practice amp", think again... it's really too loud for that.

It can work with overdrive/distortion pedals, but it's picky about them. I've had phenomenal results with a Keeley-modded ProCo Rat, a Maxon Distortion Master, and a Prescription Electronics Germ. I tend to just leave the amp at in the 12-2 o'clock range volume-wise, and use either the Rat or the Germ to get more drive if I need it.

The amp has a bad reputation for reliability, but I've owned two and neither failed me. I would recommend replacing flimsy stock tubes (plus it's a good enough amp that tube changes make a real difference). Apparently the transformer problems were only a small run of them, but it doesn't take a lot to give it a bad rep.

For value, these things are a 10, even at their somewhat inflated used prices. They CREAM every other budget EL84 amp I've heard sound-wise. They're lightweight and look good. I used to use two as a stereo pair and could carry both with one arm, one stacked on the other! Except for the problem I mentioned of controls on the back, I have no complaints at all. They're fine in the studio or onstage, loud enough to match (sane) drummers, and they accurately represent the character of any guitar played through them and the subtleties of your technique.

The features are straight forward.15 class A watts with a volume, tone and a bright switch. No tremelo or reverb, such a natural sustain. This amp plays well at any level and it will play wide open all night long.

I own 2 Velocettes.These amps use 2 el84's. The sound of these power tubes is very distinctive compared to el34's, 6l6's & the like. It is a brighter sound.On 1 amp I replaced the rectifier diodes with FREDs,replaced the transformers with a set of MATCHLESS transformers, insulated the cabinet, & recessed the speaker with a baffle board. What a difference. NOT better or worse,just an incredible variation on a theme. I think these amps sound best with a Strat and vol & tone about 3 oclock with NO pedals.What a screaming tone machine. What you hear is what you play.

I went through the transformer issue. The original ones sound great but are a POS. After replacement the amp goes everywhere without a backup. Totally reliable.

I bought used & never used customer support.

I own 2 of these amps. I've been playing guitar for better than 35 years and this amp is the best bang for the buck ever.

probably mid 90's made, green one ten celestion vintage spkr, 2 el84s, 2 12ax7 tubes, very well made, handy comapct little amp. i got two of these at an estate sale. they are in perfect condition. i dont know if these are the ones that had some trouble with the ttansformer or not. they do not have the gold grill on the back. bright switch is a very very cool feature. one volume and one tone control. this is a poor mans carmen ghia. very loud little amp. very smooth tone. a great great find. made in england. just pick it up and go. i love this amp for home use and could take it to any small gig, and do.

strat user, but i pulled out a terry mcinturff polaris and using the bright switch, this thing is a keeper all the way. it has that roaring overdrive when you dime it and whisper quiet at low volumes, i use a small reverb with it and it cuts through great. it has a 16 speaker out and really sounds big when you hook it up to a 2 12 cab. a small room filling amp that is easy to move around. course there is not much bottom in a class a amp like this, but for the money it is fantastic.

i just dont know about this, someone told me to have the screen resistors changed froom 1/2 to 1,, or was it 1/4 to 1/2 i dont know enough about this. i have to of them theya re exactly a like and they are small enough to take both of them with you. i need to get a good a/b/y amp switcher and run them in stereo. cheap tubes,,, stock el84s are still cheap for a pair ... one reason why i bought the amp.

can tfind much about them on the net. bought out by gibson,, this is the old goldtone....

i have had boogies, dr z's, (and still do, two of them? hughes and kettner, soldano, rivera, blues pearls,fenders (many) about 25 amps over the last 6 or seven years,,, these are a great find for portability and class a tone,, 15 watts that sound way much bigger than they are,,, i also picked up a peavey classic 20 tweed combo at this sale, and while it is a pretty good little screamer, this trace elliot velocette is far far superior... for what this amp is i give it a 9. not one hair lower, though. great find... i would probably pay 50 bucks more for it,,, this rivals the carmen ghia in many ways, it really does, esecially for lower volume,, the ghia is much cooler when you dime it than this amp, but this one is a sweet little box. if you have some info on these amps please email me,,,,

I love the simplicity of this amp! I use it for recording and do not need onboard reverb. That being said, class A amps have their place and are not great at everything. But when used for their strength, they are awesome. This one is a s good as any.

I use this amp into an outboard 1-12" Celestion-loaded, closed-back cabinet (16 ohm, of course). While I have tried numerous guitars and pedals with it, it seems to be 'at home' with a Strat, with no pedals and cranked all the way up, for styles like Funk, Blues, and R&B.

For any styles demanding a tighter low-end, you will be unhappy with a class A circuit... It's not what it is meant for and will produce spongy low end. The trick is to use the right tool for the job. This amp is a tool that works best with a Strat or equivalent, without help from stomp boxes. When used like this it is a definite 10. Less is definitely more in this case!

Bad transformer syndrome here. Gibson fixed mine for free too. Aren't they great! Has worked perfectly ever since.

I love this amp when it is used for what it is meant. It is not my only amp and I rarely use it live. I use it for some sessions -- when I feel it is the best tool for the particular job. Again, I feel it is at it's best full on and straight up with a Strat, but into a 12" speaker.

I think of this amp as a head with a built-in practice speaker. While a Vintage 10 is no joke of a speaker, this amp really sings through a 12" Celestion -- whichever one fits your preference.

If this were lost or stolen, I'd almost certainly buy another. I wouldn't seek the Gibson because it is the same thing but with reverb... I would also not seek the one with a 12" speaker... For sessions, I really like having a separate speaker cabinet mostly because I can put it in the sound-room and have the head next to me in the control room where I can easily tweak the sound as needed. The 1-12" velocette is more than twice the size of the 1-10", and to me, it would still only function as a head.

If you're looking for a cool amp to add to your collection, the Velocette is awesome. Would I recommend it as your only amp? That depends on what you need. It is pretty much a one-trick-pony, but it does its one trick very well. For the peanuts you can get them for on eBay, you can not go wrong. In fact, one day we may see these become collector's items as the eventually will become scarce.

Made in 1996. Very cool, compact, very well built British amp. Single channel, 15 Watts, no bullshit, 2XEL84 tube monster. This amp wails. I play blues, jazz, psychedlia, garage, and the Velocette is excellent for any of these styles. Basically, you can tailor your sound with guitar volume alone, with minimal or no effects pedals. This amp drives your guitars natural sound very well. Keep the Volume at 12:00 to 3:00 and Tone pot at 12:00, and vary your sound with guitars' controls. Simple, clean, classic Class A amplifier. If you need to put pedals in front of it, an MXR Micro-amp is fantastic. Huge, transparent boost that drives the tubes into sweet distortion. A little side note. If you want a great overdrive pedal-seek out a micro-amp. They kick ass over those overpriced $200-300.00 ones.

Main guitars are '86 Ibanez Artist AM, '63 Fender Jaguar, and RI '63 Telecaster with various PU's. The Ibanez into the Velocette is jazz heaven. It also sounds great in fuzzy overdrive mode. The Fenders sound amazing as well. Especially the Tele. (Early Jimmy Page!!) It's as noisy as any tube amp out there. A little hiss. No big deal. This amp will respond to whatever guitar is plugged into it. Put a nice guitar into the V. and you're there. Plug in a crapper, and it'll suck. I love this amp set at: Vol. 12:00-3:00, Tone 12:00, and Bright switch off. What the hell else do you need? Easy. Crank your guitar volume for luscious tube overdrive, and tailor your tone controls! This amp is great for recording. It is loud enough to gig with at smaller clubs. You can also drive another cabinet with it, but I haven't tried that yet. This amp sounds like a good old Marshall or Vox. Chords and soloing are both great sounding.

This amp is in great shape for being almost ten years old. The construction is top-notch, as is the circuitry. I switched out the Groove Tubes for Sovteks and it really came alive. I have gigged with this amp. Spare tubes always. Very dependable.

Trace Elliot got bought out by Gibson. I had some questions for them, and they got back to me within a day via e-mail. The warranty is long gone, but I think they will honor certain repairs. Somebody else said their repair facility is in Illinois. I'm sure they could do repairs if something happened.

Been playing for 20 years. I also play a Carr Rambler. Fantastic amp. When I play the Velocette and Rambler in stereo, it is amazing. Have gone through many, many guitars and amps. Too many to mention. After being a gear hound for a long time, I finally realized one very important thing. Don't buy a bunch of shit you don't need !! Take some advice. The main things you should spend your money on is a good guitar and a decent tube amp. And maybe a couple pedals for color. I see and talk to all these people with a hundred effects pedals, digital rack mount crap, attenuators, and everything you DON'T need. The best sound to my ears is a good guitar overdriving a good tube amp.

Wow! A new discovery??? Thank goodness for the reviewer a few reviews down who shed the light for the rest of us sheep -- use an overdrive pedal to add soft clipping!!! Really? I couldn't have figured that one out on my own!

As long as we're sharing obvious tips here, you might try: putting gas in your car before you run out, paying your bills on time to establish a decent credit rating, and... here's one I'll bet you never thought of: When you break a guitar string, you don't have to throw the guitar away and buy a new one -- you can put NEW strings on!!! Who would've thunk it???

Anyway, a very simple amp that even us sheep can operate with out the anonymous assistant's advice: "Volume," "Tone," "Bright." Oh -- one more obvious tip... The amp definitely sounds better if you turn the power on!!! Just thought I'd share that tip that no one else could possibly have figured out... Oh, and I have this new invention coming out and I'm thinking about calling it a "wheel..."

While this amp may be thin in the "features" department, it's sound is extraordinary. It sounds great by itself, or... let me go WAY out on a limb here -- you can actually put an overdrive pedal in front of it for some soft clipping! No shit! It's not illegal or anything!

Lately, I seem to prefer a Danelectro Daddy O because it allows for more tone shaping -- seems like a logical combination with the Velocette. I have tried several overdrives with it including a Boss SD-1 and an Ibanez TS-7. For mild gain (or "soft clipping") I prefer the Dano, but for a bit more I prefer the Boss. I'm sure a TS-9 or a TS-808 would work well with it also...

The Velocette is a bit picky when it comes to distortion pedals though. I have so many, but only like a Boss DS-1 in combination with the Velocette.

Mine went through the transformer issue, but since being repaired it has been tough as nails!

Gibson is the source now and the helped me out when I needed to have mine repaired. Cudos for Gibson!!! Yeah!

I've been playing since Moses parted the Red Sea! I own countless guitars, 4 or 5 basses, 5 or 6 synths, a recording studio, a 4000+ watt live sound system, many tube amps, a few solid state amps, two drum sets, countless mics, and more... All my gear is pro from companies like Roland, Korg, Emu, Yamaha, Fender, Carvin, Premier, and so on...

If it were lost or stolen, I'd seek another one just because it's so cool... And get this: you can put an Overdrive in front of it!!!

I love that it is really compact, sounds as cool as it looks, and that it was really cheap! Did I compare it to other products? No -- there's nothing like it except the Gibson version for triple the cash. The Crate and Fender amps like it are toys...

Simple class A tube design with just a volume and tone cotrol and a bright switch. Actually, that's all you need, right?

It would be cool if you could switch to a lower watt setting like you can on the Gibson Goldtones.

It's good for clean and once you go beyond half of the volume there's a really sweet break-up. I never went past this point though cause then it's also really loud. Nice overall tone but it's a bit on the bright side and can get pretty harsh.

Had no problems with mine but I only had it for one year and never ran it really hot.

Never had to deal with them.

Pretty good amp but not for me since it was impossible to play it really softly and it was a bit too bright.

As is obvious from the other reviews, the layout of this amp is spartan; volume, tone, bright switch, on/off/standby. Single channel, of course, single 10" speaker (unlike the rest reviewed here, mine is an Eminence, which may be non-original, since I bought it in a pawn shop). Spare though it may be, I don't think I'd change a thing. Appearance-wise, it totally rules: British racing green "tolex", solid front baffle with a 10" diameter hole for the speaker, edged in chrome...too cool for words. The one drawback is, as others have noted, the placement of the controls, to wit, in the back, on the bottom. Not great for onstage tweakery.

The sound of this amp is a revelation. I had been accustomed to using Fender Pro Juniors (which superficially are very similar - volume, tone, 1 x 10, 2 EL-84s, 2 12AX7s) for low-volume gigging behind a female singer/songwriter, and loved them, but this amp puts them to shame. It has more low end than you would believe coming from such a small box. By comparison, the Pro Jr. sounds cheap and midrangey. Using a Strat on the middle pickup and an A/B box, when you switch from the Pro Jr. to the Velocette,it sounds like you've switched to the neck pickup. Very punchy, loud, and full, especially for a 15w, 1x10 amp. I do think, in contrast to the majority opinion, that it does best with clean and semi-clean sounds; turned up much past 12 o'clock, it sort of "blats out". This is the one area where the Pro Jr. still holds the edge. Run clean, however, it's superb. And quiet! Even turned up halfway, it barely makes any unwanted noise.

I'm sure glad I didn't read the other reviews before buying and gigging with it. I've had it for about 18 months, rehearsed with it every week, gigged with it dozens of times, and have had absolutely no problems. Maybe it's just clean living!

I bought the amp used, no warranty, and as I mentioned, never have needed service.

I've been playing more than 3 decades, and have experience with loads of amps. The Velocette is one of the best for sheer tonal quality. I especially appreciate the fullness it imparts to Strats and Teles, which I mainly play. I bought it on impulse due its cool look and a vaguely remembered review in GP, and couldn't have been happier when I got it home. I would love to have something just like it, with 2 speakers and 30 watts, and maybe a gain control or lead channel. While it does fine for moderate-volume gigs, at 15 watts it's a little underpowered for really kicking it out. But you can't argue with the tone! Several times I've used it along with a Pro Jr. at gigs for extra power, and the two amps seem to complement one another very well; but if I'm only going to use one, it's always the Velocette. If something were to happen to it, I would most definitely try to get another one. A Telecaster through this thing is magic.