Rosie C

For context - for the last two years I've been 'gigging' with an Orange Crush 25B practice amp (!) and I like its tone, it's very portable and it runs off a Jackery power pack without any issues. OK, I play double bass at church services, folk clubs and Morris dance outs, not hard rock, but it's done well and I was hoping the Elf combo would tick the same boxes just be a bit louder. You're so right about waiting to find exactly what I want - I was quite surprised yesterday when I noticed that the first internet link I'd saved was on 20th October, and I've really got quite frustrated that I can't find exactly what I want in a reasonable travelling distance for a reasonable price. e.g. The rig local to me was £500, elsewhere I found stuff for £150-250 but they would require a whole day driving - or an overnight trip for the combo I liked in Scotland. Fortunately if I buy a vintage rig, it will just be for the practice room, so I only have to load it out of the car once. I did look at smaller TE combos but I don't think there's anything which has that vintage look and is also giggable for me. NB: the Elf is a different thing - in parallel to looking at vintage Trace amps I've been thinking to build the Basschat 8" cabinet and use it with an Elf. So buying an Elf combo would be instead of doing woodwork.

Yup. I tend to agree. The amp and 2x10" I quite like and I could make an offer. But at the moment my other half is suggesting I get an Elf combo right now, and come back to invest in vintage TE kit next year once we've moved. Which makes sense as I can gig the Elf as well.

This rig is for sale near to me... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/778666638472040/ Ticks a lot of boxes, but it is a larger fan-cooled amp. Definitely has 'presence' in the room though.

I did think about putting up a wanted ad. Still might. I used to have a Mark Bass smallish amp and separate GR Bass cabinet - they sounded great but I found it a nuisance carrying two things. My little Orange practice combo is great because there's just one handle. So the Elf combo would suit (or an Elf fitted to a modified BassChat 8" cabinet). But the Elf in the combo is different, so I couldn't whip it out and try it with a different cabinet.

Ah, so many options Most cabinets on ebay are 15" and wanting a 4x10 really cuts down the options. Plus the ones I see are in Scotland, Kent, Liverpool ... all a day's driving from here. I'm starting to think I'd be better off just getting the TE Elf combo... I can gig it as well as practice at home. But I started this hunt thinking of a £150 15" combo to rescue/restore but that's taking me in a completely different direction.

It's a very small world! I was searching on the web for information about TE amps and found stubmandrel.co.uk That story about the castors is just a little bit scary. Right now this is the top of my list. Looking at other camera angles I think I can get used to the differing widths of head and cab. It's right at the top my budget (over actually), but as the lovely Mrs.C is happy to have my amp in the lounge, this un-gigged example seems a good punt. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226888373496

❤️

Ah, I should make clear I've no intention of gigging this amp - it's just for my practice space. We are moving house next year but the removal men can worry about it. Likely in our new home we'll have a combined lounge / practice space because we're downsizing which is why I'm also looking for something that looks tidy.

Ah, that's a shame. I was looking at those big 15" TE cabinets and imaging how good they'd sound for the kick drum - but of course (as you say) they aren't going to be that good for snare, etc.

Having spent way too much time looking at amps and cabinets today. The "GP11 Mk V" (left) would seem a good option at £250 but it's in Scotland. The AH250 (right) has UV light goodness, and separate amp/cab seems a good idea, and it's closer to home. Maybe I'm being picky, but I don't like that the amp isn't the same size as the cabinet for stacking. Either way, today I'm tending towards a 4x10" rather than a 15". Tomorrow may change!

No, this is useful information - thanks!

I've been thinking about this example today - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/227002618439 I don't know much about Trace Elliot amps other than I have had a long-held ambition for a big Marshall cabinet in my practice space and this has morphed to a big TE cabinet in my practice space. i.e. I buy it, get some friends to help manoeuvre it into place then it stays there until we move house. My partner's a drummer and has recently got into electronic drum pads, so the plan would be to use it for that as well. It's not really in need of restoration - the fabric's a bit scuffed on the top, but otherwise it looks quite tidy.

Interesting. When I first started thinking of this build I was thinking of having it sloped, 'monitor speaker' style. That would work even better with a 2x8. Keep safe! It does seem to me that there's a certain edginess in us setting to with power tools to make speakers, when fingers are so vital to our playing! I used to have a classic car that I worked on myself. My old piano teacher used to say in a deadpan style that one missing finger she could help me work around, 2 and my piano playing would be seriously affected! I was never how much she was joking.

Yes, I've been pleased with the mic quality on both my Zoom H8 and the Tascam DR-40X I bought previously. I bought my Sennheiser e385 online, purely from on reading reviews, but I liked it. Lately I've been using a Sennheiser ME3 headset, like an aerobics instructor. It's great for keeping a set distance, but does seem to suffer more from feedback. Being condenser I suppose that's unavoidable. Oh for a music shop locally where I could go and try a half dozen mics before buying!

Now, that gives me an idea. We've been using "Sonic Visualiser" the last few weeks at uni - it's free and strangely addictive. The first 3/4 of the image is my octave mandolin with lovely stacked harmonics. The last quarter is me speaking. This was a recording using the built-in XY mic on a Zoom H8.

You answer your own question, you have a jazz, that's all you need!

Ah, I've not bought it yet. I've found the manual but it gives no clues, and I've not found any photos of the underside on line!

Thanks, this is good to know!

I am imagining all around the country there are bass players with a 2m length of black downpipe in their garage, with a little 6" piece sawn off the end

Very elegant! I'm quite keen on doing mine with a TE Elf, but if I'm honest it's because (a) I like the black/green colour scheme (b) it's a nod to the 1990s cabinets that needed a van with a tail-lift which aren't very good reasons and really I should just go with the Gnome and piggy back on your project

Thank you, this is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind!

Interesting. There are a few micro amps around, the killer feature for me would be an external power pack and DC input - like the early PJB double-4's. Then my speaker could evolve to have a battery pack, wheels, handle, laser weapon... 😉

I've been um-ing and ah-ing about building a Bass Chat 8" cabinet. I mostly play from battery and my original plan was to use it with the 12V amp stripped from a Crate TX30. But in the end I sold the Crate and bought a Roland Cube Street Ex. Which is pretty good for bass ukulele, but I find very lacking for double bass. I used to have a Mark Bass Mini Marcus and a GR carbon fibre cabinet, which I sold to another bass chatter. I did find having separate amp and cabinet a bit of a nuisance - when trying to carry bass, amp, cab, gig bag from the car in one go. Then I had an Orange Crush 50, conveniently in one package but it was too heavy. Lately I've been managing with a Crush 25 which is a lovely little amp but lacks the oomph I sometimes need for gigging. So I'm looking at the TE Elf combo (which seem fairly rare secondhand), and thinking how I might build one of the Bass chat cabs with some sort of capacity to house an Elf... anyone gone down this route?

I was heartened to see The Fureys farewell tour is around £25 a ticket and they're playing a huge number of smaller venues. I can't ever see me going to a large stadium again. I would love to see Paul McCartney, but not in a stadium

@Chrs and I both had our uprights in the 'executive area' (aka quiet room) - the main room was so loud no one would hear them.