Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Looks like Trace Elliot may be back? NAMM 2017?


40hz
 Share

Recommended Posts

I was hoping that any BCers attending the NAMM show would be able to give us some insight into how well the little Elf is likely to meet our expectations. I,for one, am looking forward to the release in the UK - at $299 they're not going to be beyond the means of most of us so expect a more detailed discussion around this time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I had a little go on the Elf through the 2x8 cab at the London Bass Guitar Show. Seemed pretty good. Nice tone through that cab but hard to tell too much in that noisy environment. It is really small and feels 'solid' weight-wise. There's a cooling-fan port on the top. No speakon-out, only one 1/4" jack which struck me as a brave decision these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Ba55me15ter' timestamp='1488808247' post='3251907']
No speakon-out, only one 1/4" jack which struck me as a brave decision these days.
[/quote]

I guess they wanted to stick to the small form factor. A speakon out is bigger than a jack out.

John Fera (the NAMM sales rep.) should go into politics, describing the new offerings as "a whole new range"...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like Ba55me15ter I got the chance to play the new Elf at the London Show and, though I didn't get a chance to give it a good going over, what with competing against the overall volume of the large room, I was impressed enough with the little unit to place my order for the first batch into the UK with Bass Direct, hopefully arriving at the end of this month. Price? IMO a very reasonable £250 for the 130w into 8ohm, 200w into 4 Ohm unit.

Unfortunately the 1x10 and 2x8 cabs at the show won't be arriving in the same shipment so I, like everybody else, will have to wait, impatiently, till they arrive later this year. They, too, were a very punchy little package showing lots of promise for such a giant leap in tech.

In the meantime I'm looking at lightweight Neo speakers (only) to replace the elephants inside my 2x12 TE cab - a possible weight saving of 15kg which will be very much appreciated. Any suggestion on reasonably priced replacement speakers will be much appreciated.

Review on the amp will be forthcoming if/when I can get off the Elf at the end of the month.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='grandad' timestamp='1485377558' post='3223560']
For some inexplicable reason I have never used or had the opportunity to try a Trace Elliot bass amp and always wondered exactly what is it about them that generates so much affection amongst some BCers.

I must say the aesthetics are appealing to the eye.

However for me, possibly only Peavey and TCE have got it right for a small lightweight amp. In the 200 - 500 class D watt range I want a built in tuner and compression.

[i]edit - (got it now, if used with the Transit pedal then you have it all).[/i]

With all the class D amps I've tried, at 12 o'clock, I hear an eq that favours the mid's. But looking at the curves, (frequency v gain), the class D module here seems to have a super flat response?

[url="http://icepower.dk/files/solutions/icepower_asx_series_class_d_amplifier_oem.pdf"]http://icepower.dk/f...plifier_oem.pdf[/url]
[/quote]Which module do you think they are using? One of the ICEPower ones in the link.

Edited by Chienmortbb
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1489440380' post='3257018']
Review on the amp will be forthcoming if/when I can get off the Elf at the end of the month.
[/quote]

Very much looking forward to that... If this little amp is anywhere near loud enough to be usable I'll pick one up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1489480394' post='3257212']
Which module do you think they are using? One of the ICEPower ones in the link.
[/quote]

The chap on the Peavey stand at LBGS told me that Peavey/Trace had developed their own power amp unit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watching the youtube NAMM videos I kind of like it.

Just a couple of things though:

1) in order not to flop this rig MUST be able to hold its own at a full on gig. Otherwise its useless. No one needs to be spending huge money on a practice set up. I really hope it can.

2) it's obviously been marketed very cleverly. I think they've took in essence a 4x8 combo and broke it down into a power amp, tone control panel and 2 2x8 cabs.
You probably need all 4 items to get the full effect which obviously bumps up the price.

3) with big trace rigs going at ridiculously cheap prices second hand, I'm not sure I could justify this set up for 3-4 times more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='verb' timestamp='1489787145' post='3259950']
The chap on the Peavey stand at LBGS told me that Peavey/Trace had developed their own power amp unit.
[/quote]If that is true it is good news. The ICEPower [color=#000000][font=Flama][size=3]50ASX2 [/size][/font][/color][size=4] that was alluded to earlier (and is used in a whole host of 200W amps) is actually only 100W into 8R* and 170W into 4R*. Unless Peavey are playing fast and loose with figures (and I have seen lot of evidence to suggest they do not) it must me a different power unit. They quote a distortion figure of 1% at rated output and a fairly decent noise floor. In comparison to say a GK MB200, which uses the ICEPower module, this is a more powerful beast. I have a few concerns, firstly as always, we must remember that 30% more power is about 1dB of one Just Noticeable Difference. In other words in a band situation it is almost irrelevant. Secondly as it is so small it may well not like being driven continuously at its rated output.[/size]

R is the preferred symbol for Ohms. Just like I is the preferred symbol for Current (amps).

That being said, the reality is that all the really needed controls are there and to my mind the off board preamp could well be the gem. That looks to have everything on many of us would need and the fact you can use it with your existing amp or with a separate power amp means its success is not tied to the Elf's.

With regards to the jack speaker out, I hate jack outputs because most connector are NOT rated for any sort off power. Many plugs and sockets are rated at 0.5A as they were designed for line level signals. So hopefully Peavey have used reputable jacks rated at 5-7A and that means you have to make sure your plugs are also power rated. Neutral, Switchcraft, Amphenol and Rean make high current plugs so be careful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1490526640' post='3265661']
Just spotted an ad for the Elf at Thomann, £250.
[/quote]

Between the TC, GK and the new Laney there's a far bit of competition in that price point now. They all have various advantages and disadvantages compared to the others but they're all similar.

It's a good time to be a bassist!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tombowlus over on Talkbass has been playing with the ELF and 2 2x8 cabs.
He seems to think its a very capable little set up >> https://www.talkbass.com/threads/trace-elliot-elf.1264229/page-5#post-19861510

Cheers,
Eude

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Treb' timestamp='1489313868' post='3255877']
I guess they wanted to stick to the small form factor. A speakon out is bigger than a jack out.[/quote]
That's just bobbins! If they can fit an XLR on the back, which they have, then they can fit a Speakon - best of all, fit a Speakon combo and you can use either connector.

[quote name='la bam' timestamp='1489829501' post='3260125']
3) with big trace rigs going at ridiculously cheap prices second hand, I'm not sure I could justify this set up for 3-4 times more.[/quote]
The weight....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm still of the opinion that this is a total waste of time as its so gimmicky. Unless you're playing a jazz gig there is no way the elf and that cab will be enough.

If they're going to roll out some much bigger amps then obviously I'm interested, but at the moment it looks like a gimmick to get people talking about them again which has worked to be fair. After all, who ever thought that TE would release an amp the size of a microchip which you needed a magnifying glass to change the dial settings?

As a setup though, I think 200W is laughable in today's climate. Such a pity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Ba55me15ter' timestamp='1488808247' post='3251907']
No speakon-out, only one 1/4" jack which struck me as a brave decision these days.
[/quote]

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1489929498' post='3260849']
With regards to the jack speaker out, I hate jack outputs because most connector are NOT rated for any sort off power. Many plugs and sockets are rated at 0.5A as they were designed for line level signals. So hopefully Peavey have used reputable jacks rated at 5-7A and that means you have to make sure your plugs are also power rated. Neutral, Switchcraft, Amphenol and Rean make high current plugs so be careful.
[/quote]

IMO any amp rated at over 100W that does not use Speakon connectors is not a serious piece of kit.

Edited by BigRedX
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1490689826' post='3266984']




IMO any amp rated at over 100W that does not use Speakon connectors is not a serious piece of kit.
[/quote]

I think users of 'serious' older amps would strongly disagree

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...