Trace Elliot ELF Basshead

To be honest, I was a bit sceptical about the Trace Elliot (now owned by Peavey) ELF but while it's the only super compact bass top on the market, I gave it a try and I'm keeping it! I was looking for a portable back-up for my Ampeg PF-500 in case of problems. I play upright bass and use two Hartke HD112 1x12" cabinets. I really love the sound of those cabs and even a single one gives great sound. I now use the ELF as a backup for the PF-500 and use it for small gigs and rehearsals with a single 1x12" cab, GREAT!

The sound is great. Even at 8 Ohms, it's an Extremely Loud Fxxxxx (Fellow..) as Trace Elliot is stating in one of the marketing videos. It puts out serious volumes and seems to have plenty of headroom which is remarkable since it only has a mini sized switching power supply. This little ELF has plenty of power for rehaersals or even gigs with a loud drummer (providing you use efficient cabinets like the Hartke HD series or Gallien Krueger CX series). I like the way the compression kicks in (actually it's a limiter I think) at higher gain settings. Even at max gain, there's hardly any distortion which is actually good for me (but I know some bass players are looking for some growl). With all DQ controls at 12 'o' clock, the ELF tends to be a bit midrangy but nothing the EQ won't fix. The EQ is very effective and can easily facilitate a wide range of sounds from woody and wooly to punchy bright 'n' funky. The middle control operates at 400 Hz, that's where the usable mids. It probably has a high Q so it will work on frequencies below and above 400 Hz. Personally I would have liked a 4 band EQ with e.g. bass operating at 80 Hz, low mids at 300 Hz, high mids around 600 - 900 Hz and treble at 3 kHz but then again, this is a no thrill basis amp and to be honest, it sounds fine with the 3 band EQ as well.

To be short, a very light and compact amp that comes with a nice and sturdy carrying bag. Sound and performance is excellent for rehearsals and even small gigs with a single (small) cabinet. Combined with a bigger (or two) cabinet(s), this amp could do loud gigs as well. Plenty of power, plenty of headroom. Really impressive. If it was stolen, I would defenitely buy a new one.

Bought this to as my secondary BASS AMP while my main one goes to warranty. Still have to try it on a live setting ( tomorrow ).

At home, it works pretty well. Tested with a Bareface Big Baby 2 speaker and @4 ohm (130Watts) the sound is pretty loud! I've never played on a original TRACE ELLIOT but the tone of this amp is incredibly clean. When the signal gets too "hot" the distortion is somewhat gentle ( which I like).

In terms of features is a no brainer, di on the back input at the front.

Very small, very well built, very beautifull too!

Still have to try it on a live setting. Will update when do.

I bought this as a spare amp after I had my main amp fail at a gig. About six moths ago I had a gig with a band where space was tight so I thought I'd try it out with just a single 12" TC cab. I was totally blown away with the sound, clean crisp top end and with the input gain turned up (so the onboard compressor acted) the mid range was fat and punchy. I decided to use it with my 12" and 2X10" TC cabs and the volume was really loud but with no loss of clarity. This is a well built unit having premium feel to the case. It's now my main amp and I carry it in a shoulder bag with some leads instead of the small flight case I used to haul around.