Trace Acoustic® Transit A
Acoustic Instrument Preamp
Owner’s Manual
FCC Compliancy Statement
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device
must accept any interference received, that may cause undesired operation.
Warning: Changes or modications to the equipment not approved by Peavey Electronics
Corp. can void the user’s authority to use the equipment.
Note - This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try and correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures.
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
CAN ICES-3(B)/NMB/3(B)
Trace Elliot • Hwy. 5022 Hwy. 493 North • Meridian, MS 39305
Tel: (601) 486-2255 • Fax: (601) 486-1156 • www.traceelliot.us
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Congratulations on your purchase of the all-new Trace Acoustic® Transit™-A Acoustic Guitar Pre-amp pedal!
The Transit-A pedal is a professional grade pre-amp for the discerning performer. The Transit-A preamp pedal
includes the right features for a professional acoustic guitar player without over-burdening the user with extra
controls that hinder quick and easy tweaking. The built in Compression, Notch Filter, Pre-shape and simple
EQ controls ensure great tone, while the user-denable Boost, Chorus, Delay and Reverb offer all the tools
necessary for artistic expression. The back-lit control panel becomes the chromatic tuner for accurate tuning.
Built-in Pre and Post XLR balanced output, dry output and headphone output give the user the ins and outs
they need for the best live coverage. e Transit-A pedal was also designed to t in your case or bag, making it
the perfect travel companion. e controls are simple and intuitive, making ne adjustments easy. Please read
this manual carefully so you can get the most out of your new Trace Acoustic product!
FEATURES:
•Color coordinated backlit controls
•Built-in chromatic tuner
•Piezo button increases input impedance
•User definable boost switch
•Chorus with simple one knob operation
•Delay with Level, Feedback and Tap-Tempo
•Pre-shape switch for classic Trace Acoustic EQ curve
•Reverb with simple one knob operation
•Phase reverse switch
•3 band active EQ
•Notch filter
•Input Gain and Output Level controls
•Stereo outputs and Dry output
•Pre and Post balanced XLR outputs with Ground Lift
•Aux input
•Phones output
•Dimensions (pedal only): 312mm W x 114mm D x 58.4mm H (12.3” W x 4.5” D x 2.3” H)
•Weight: 1.18 kg/2.6 lbs
Caution: Please look over this guide and read any caution or warning statements found within. Following
these warnings is crucial to your personal safety and the safety of your Trace Elliot product.
*INTEGRATED COMPRESSOR
A very important feature is the integrated, studio quality, compressor. is is a ‘so-knee’ compressor with
‘adaptive attack and release times’, that has been specially designed to work well with acoustic instruments.
A subtle amount of compression can sound very nice and help to bring out the instrument in a mix.
Sound engineers oen add compression to acoustic guitar in recordings for exactly this reason. However,
due to the simple operation of the Transit-A, the user doesn’t need to be a sound engineer to use the
compressor. Instead the user merely needs to adjust the GAIN control to set the amount of compression
as desired.
TRACE ACOUSTIC® TRANSIT™-A
PRE-AMP
ENGLISH
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Top Panel
REVERB
HOLD FOR
TUNER
(MUTES OUTPUT)
TAP-TEMPO
TRANSIT - A ACOUSTIC PRE-AMP AND EFFECTS
CHORUS BOOSTDELAY
MID TREBLE BOOST GAINOUTPUT LEVEL
PHASE PIEZOPRE-SHAPE
REVERB BASSNOTCH
IN TUNE
CHORUSDELAY FBCKDELAY LVL
TUNER
#
#
b
TRACE ACOUSTIC
TM
1 2 4 5
9 1613 1410 11 12 15 17
3 6 87
(1) OUTPUT LEVEL
Controls the output level of the pre-amp. It does not aect the XLR direct outs. is allows you to adjust the
1/4” outs for stage rig, while not aecting the PA level.
(2) REVERB
Controls the wet level of reverb eect.
(3) DELAY LEVEL AND DELAY FEEDBACK
DELAY LVL - Wet level of delay.
DELAY FBCK - Feedback amount for delay eect.
(4) CHORUS
Controls the intensity of the chorus eect.
(5) NOTCH
Frequency of digital notch lter for feedback control. Notch range is OFF, then 30 Hz. - 330Hz.
If playing at fairly low volumes, where feedback is not a problem, then this control should be set at the minimum
setting. is is so low that it will not aect the tone of your instrument. At higher volumes, especially if close
to the amp, it is common for acoustic instruments to start to self-oscillate which causes the body and/or lower
strings to vibrate. In these circumstances gradually turn the NOTCH control up until the oending vibration
starts to die away. is has basically tuned the frequency of the notch lter to the frequency of vibration. Due to
the notch lter having a very tight bandwidth, this will have minimal eect on the rest of your tone. Dierent
settings, instruments and standing/sitting at dierent distances from the amp will have an eect on where this
control needs to be set. With practice, the user will be able to locate the correct frequency with ease.
(6) LOW, MID, HIGH
Digital three band tone controls. ese are active +/-15dB boost/cut controls, so 12:00 is neutral.
(7) BOOST
Boost amount. is is pre-compression, so you will get more compression when boosted.
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(8) GAIN
Analog input level. Higher levels will result in more analog compression.
e green ring turns yellow when compression is induced, and red if clipping occurs. Set it based on how much
compression you want. But if you see red, reduce it until you don’t.
If the user wants a natural sound, with minimal compression, then they should adjust the GAIN control so
that, most of the time when playing, the LED is lit green, and only when they are striking the loudest notes
should the LED occasionally go yellow. erefore only slight compression is applied on the loudest peaks and
the natural full dynamic range is preserved. is also ensures an adequate signal level is being sent through the
rest of the pre-amp for a good signal to noise ratio.
However, if the user wants to give the instrument more presence and clarity in the mix, by turning up GAIN
further so that the LED is lit yellow more oen, the signal level will be pushed over threshold meaning that
more compression is being applied and the dynamic range is being more tightly controlled. e specic GAIN
setting will be down to the personal preference of the user. Players usually nd that a tasteful amount of
compression can really smooth out the sound and actually make certain parts seem easier to play, as it requires
less physical eort to be heard consistently within a mix.
(9) PHASE Button
Phase reversal of signal, for low-end feedback control.
(10) REVERB / MUTE/TUNE SWITCH AND LED
On = reverb on. O = reverb o. Blink = tuner, output muted. (Hold for tune.) Any footswitch will exit the
tuner and return to normal mode. It cuts the send level so that turning reverb o does not cut the reverb trail.
(11) TAP TEMPO
Two or more presses sets the ¼ note delay time. LED ring will blink at that rate. Maximum delay time is 1
second.
(12) DELAY Switch
Toggles the delay eect on and o. It cuts the send level so that turning delay o does not cut the delay trail.
Delay Trails Tweak: hold BOOST for 2 seconds to enter tweak mode (continue to hold). Tap Tempo
switch will toggle delay trails on and o (on by default).
(13) PRE-SHAPE Button
This will boost the low and high frequencies and cut the mid frequencies, giving an alternative EQ sound,
emphasizing different harmonics. It can be used to help make some pickups (especially lower quality) sound
more natural.
(14) TUNER Display
This display activates when the MUTE/TUNE switch (10) is pressed and held. The note being played is dis-
played and the LEDs on the above knobs indicate whether the note is too at or sharp. When the center LED
shines alone, the note is in tune.
(15) CHORUS Switch
Toggles the chorus eect on and o.
(16) PIEZO Button
Analog control that raises the input impedence and gain of the input circuit. Generally, this should be
pressed for instruments that have a piezo pickup without a preamp. However it can also be used as a preset
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Rear Panel
20 21 22 2318 19 24 25 26 27
(18) INPUT JACK
Accepts signal from the instrument cable.
(19) DRY OUT
Provides a buered version of the raw instrument signal to drive additional electronic inputs without loading
of the instrument. is is the only output that does not mute when the tuner is activated - allowing it to drive
an external tuner if preferred.
(20) AUX INPUT
Allows you to connect a media device to the unit and play along. is signal will be heard in the stereo outputs,
the D.I. Post output, and the phones output.
(21) HEADPHONE OUTPUT
1/8” headphone output for personal monitoring. is will contain the processed guitar signal, and the aux in
signal.
(22) DI PRE EQ XLR OUTPUT
e Transit-A can be run with a signal source from either pre or post processing. Use this XLR output if the DI
is used in a live setting to send signal directly to a PA system. In this case, the DI signal will not be aected by
changing any of the preamp controls, which allows independent adjustments for the PA system. Output Level
Control (1) DOES NOT aect the output level of this output.
(23) DI POST EQ XLR OUTPUT
e POST EQ setting is useful for recording or connecting the preamp to an external power amplier in a live
application, or directly to a PA, if you want the on-board processing to be heard in the FOH system. Output
Level Control (1) DOES NOT aect the output level of this output.
(24) GND LIFT Switch
is switch may be used to eliminate hum caused by ground loops between the preamp and other equipment,
such as a mixing console.
(25) LEFT/MONO LINE OUTPUT
Unbalanced output, le side of stereo eld.
(26) RIGHT OUTPUT
Unbalanced output, right side of stereo eld.
10dB boost if more gain is required on an active instrument.
(17) BOOST Switch
Analog boost of input signal, based on boost knob.
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(27) DC Input Socket
For connection of the included 9VDC power supply. Please note that the polarity of the center pin in the socket
is negative (-) with respect to ground. Please use the included Trace Elliot® Power Supply. Replacement Part
#000908180.
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Specifications
e following nominal measurements were taken with all controls set at 12 o’clock, unless otherwise noted:
Nominal INPUT level:
NORMAL = 0.00 dBV
PIEZO = -10.0 dBV
INPUT impedance:
NORMAL = 110k Ohms
PIEZO = >10M Ohms
Nominal DRY OUT level = 0.00 dBV
DRY OUT impedance = 150 Ohms
Nominal LEFT/M and RIGHT OUTPUT level = 2.21 dBV (0 dBu)
LEFT/M and RIGHT OUTPUT impedance = 150 Ohms
Nominal D.I. PRE level = -6.02dBV
Nominal D.I. POST level = -2.21 dBV (0 dBu)
EQUALISATION:
BASS = +/- 15 dB @ 100 Hz, shelving
MID = +/- 15 dB @ 600 Hz
TREBLE = +/- 15 dB @ 4.00 kHz, shelving
AUX IN level:
Nominal = 1.78 dBV (+4 dBu)
AUX IN input impedance = 10k Ohms
PHONES output level:
Minimum load impedance = 4 Ohms
Maximum output power at minimum load = 500 mW (rms)
NOTCH = High Q notch lter variable from 30Hz to 330Hz for feedback suppression.
BOOST = Volume boost variable from 0-10dB.
PRE-SHAPE = e classic and proprietary Trace Elliot acoustic EQ curve.
Power Supply (included): 9V DC (negative tip) @ 1A.
Dimensions (pedal only): 312mm W x 114mm D x 58.4mm H (12.3” W x 4.5” D x 2.3” H)
Weight: 1.18 kg (2.6 lbs; pedal only), 1.45 kg (3.2 lbs; pedal + bag + supply)
SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
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Warranty registration and information for U.S. customers available online at
www.traceelliot.com/warranty
or use the QR tag below
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Features and specications are subject to change without notice.
Trace Elliot • Hwy. 5022 Hwy. 493 North • Meridian, MS 39305
Tel: (601) 486-2255 • Fax: (601) 486-1156 • www.traceelliot.us ©2016 Printed in U.S.A. 80305734
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