I have been through allot (not all )of the trace posts many of which are really old and as usual with TB allot of opinions, some good reviews but I had trouble getting an answer or opinions from someone who has had both amps I'm interested in. In the 90s I tried allot of smaller Trace heads in various back lines 150 watters with 7 band or 12 band eqs mostly. To be honest back then I never had the chance to play around properly with these units, couldn't get where I wanted to be with them quickly found them asthmatic compared to whatever Peavey head I was using at the time. Yes the band was stupidily loud. I have never tried any of the larger units. I promised myself that I would pick one up one day as I think personally the older ones are a good if not stable investment. Perfect for static practice room duty and the occasional outdoor gig. The question is which one? The purists seem to like the gp11s while others much prefer the later units (while others knock the quality ) with 2 band compressor and option of valve preamp blending. I don't buy the quality issues if it's still running now it's good enough for me but I too was leaning towards an SMX gp12 head 250w or higher due to the extra functionality. However they are much loved by collectors and the furry models come up fairly often the older non furry models are less common and tend to be collected. A battered but fully functional AH500 gp11 has come up that is flirting with me online, a plain Jayne... should i reciprocate her advances? She a is a very early late 80s model. In your experience Trace experts how do the gp11 models differ from the gp12 SMX series amps soundwise? Will I regret not holding out for (the younger more exotic) SMX? Opinions from people who have tried both preferred. Many thanks.
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