Elf - Portable Combo Amplifiers

I had a Trace Elliot bass head way back in the 90s for my electric bass rig. They have always been a very highly respected brand, especially back then. In later years, my guitarist used one of the Trace Acoustic rackmount preamps to truly amazing effect, making his piezo-equipped electric guitars sound VERY acoustic in our band.

I hadn't really seen a lot from the brand firsthand since their acquisition by Peavey. And, considering my focus on mostly upright-specific gear over the last couple of decades - my electric bass amp needs are more than fulfilled by my current gear - I haven't been shopping brands like Trace Elliot recently, so I wasn't very familiar with their more recent products.

But a few of the Trace Elliot Elf amp products recently caught my eye; small, well-powered bass rigs for a reasonable price. And when I dove deeper, I got a big surprise: the amps have an input impedance of >10 MegOhms! This is practically unheard of, even for amps designed primarily for upright bass. It's actually a much higher input impedance than even many of the piezo-specific amps and preamps we have. That was almost enough right there, but then, when I saw some of the combos and speakers they have available to go with the diminuitive Elf amp - 1x8, 1x10, and 2x8 - small and perfect for upright - I decided that I really needed get them in for a hands-on trial.

Having done exactly that, I've gotta say that these are definitely a new dark horse in the upright bass amplification game. (Of course, they're great with electric bass guitar and other bass instruments, too.) They are super-portable, well-made, and well-appointed (The amp comes with a carry bag, the combos come with fabric covers!) - and they sound great! Plugging directly into in from several basses with different piezo pickups (Realist Lifeline, Realist Copperhead, Fishman Full Circle, KNA DB-1) with NO PREAMP REQUIRED, they just sound great, with the knobs all set flat. So now we've got the head, a couple combos, and a couple speaker cab options available.

Okay - tell me about the combos.

So, the combo amps may be the best of the Elf-related products for double bassists. They are small and rugged, and they put out a TON of sound despite their size. And they are simple, all-in-one solutions for someone who needs to amplify their upright bass, but doesn't want to carry and connect a bunch of cables to connect multiple pieces of a complex rig together. With a combo, you just plug into the wall, plug into the bass, and play.

Based on the Elf head, the amp section features just a minimum of easily accessed top-mounted controls, which you can use to dial in a great sound. I found that running nearly "flat" sounded amazing with my carved bass/Realist Lifeline pickup (I just rolled back the bass a bit, as it had a bit too much low end for the room - not a bad problem to have.) Controls are simple but effective; a three-band EQ, a real input gain control and a separate volume knob. Like the head, there is a headphone jack for silent practice - and it's on a beefy 1/4" jack. And there's a switch on the back of the combo to disable the internal speaker when using headphones for silent practice. And, like the head, a high-quality DI with ground lift is built in so that you can send your sound to "the house" (the main PA system) without needing an external direct box.

Both the 8" and 10" models are rear-ported cabinets, and put out way more sound than you expect. This amp is IDEAL for small to mid-sized gigs; the 8" combo will confidently fill the room at any coffeehouse, jazz club, bluegrass jam, or other gig requiring you to make your sound loud enough without a PA. And in a venue where you're also sent through the house system, either amp will easily fill the stage for monitoring by you and your bandmates.

It can't be overstated, though - the thing just carries SO EASY. You can literally tote this thing around with just two fingers on the handle - weighing only 17 (1x8) or 18 (1x10) pounds, these amps are just ridiculously portable. And the level of low end, even from the 1x8, is nothing short of amazing. I know that speaker design has come a long way in the last couple of decades, but they're working a little black magic or something - an 8" speaker has no right producing such a deep, smooth, and full-bodied low end.

The only mild complaint that one might have with these Elf amps is that they do have a small cooling fan, and they are sometimes audible, depending on how hard you're pushing the amp. I've never been personally worried about a little bit of fan noise, it's not like you can hear it over the sounds emanating from the speaker (or the rest of the band) but it is the one caveat if you plan to use this in a particularly quiet environment. Just one minor thing to know.

INCLUDES A CUSTOM-FITTED PADDED COVER!

Do you want the 8" or 10" model?

Good question, since they're both quite portable and both the same price (no, that's NOT a pricing mistake!) Honestly, your best bet is to assess which is more important to you - a bit more portability, or a bit more fullness and volume. The 10" woofer, thanks to simple physics, is capable of more depth and output than the 8" woofer. But it's not a huge difference, and the 8" will satisfy most upright players very completely... and be smaller onstage, on your cart, and in your trunk. There's just no "financial benefit" helping you to decide which works best for you.

No Tweeter?

Neither of these combos have a tweeter or "horn" - that is a common second speaker in an instrument speaker cabinet which is designed to provide the very highest frequencies. The absence of this tweeter is actually a benefit for upright players (in my opinion) - for one, it reduces cost and weight (the speaker and the crossover, which is a circuit that splits the frequencies of the signal to each speaker, are both removed from the design). But for many bassists, the extra high frequencies of a tweeter often emphasize the fingerboard noise of one's play, and make you sound "clacky" and noisy. Many upright players actually defeat (turn off) the tweeter. So, not having one just saves that extra step (and the money and weight.)

That said, many rockabilly slap players WANT that extra "clacky" sound that a tweeter can provide. So if you play that kind of music style, you may want to note that this speaker (and the combos) have no tweeter.

Extension speaker?

We also sell the speaker cabinets from Trace Elliot, which are a perfect match for these combos - you can add the 2x8 cabinet to the 1x8 combo, or the 1x10 cabinet to the 1x10 combo, and make even more sound - and they stack perfectly, having the same depth and width dimensions. There's a 1/4" extension speaker jack on the back panel of the combo.

Specs - 1x8 Combo

• Extremely portable - under 19 pounds!
• 1 8", 8 Ohm high efficiency neodymium full-range driver
• 200W continuous into 4 ohms / 130W continuous into 8 ohms
• Wide range input gain control with signal level indicator
• 3-band rotary equalizer that emulates the response of classic Trace Elliot multi-band graphic EQ filters
• Ultra-high pre-amp input impedance ( >10 mega ohms) for maximum sensitivity when using passive pickups
• Post EQ balanced XLR DI output with ground lift for sending classic Trace Elliot tone to a mixing console or recording device
• 1/4" (6.35mm) headphone output for quiet practice
• External speaker out
• Combo Weight: 18.7 lb (8.5 Kg)
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 11” (27.94cm) x 10.25” (26.035cm) x 13.37” (33.95cm)
• Packed Weight: 22.49 lb (10.2 kg)
• INCLUDES PADDED COMBO COVER

Specs - 1x10 Combo

• Extremely portable - under 19 pounds!
• One 10", 8 Ohm high efficiency Eminence neodymium full-range driver
• 200W continuous into 4 ohms / 130W continuous into 8 ohms
• Wide range input gain control with signal level indicator
• 3-band rotary equalizer that emulates the response of classic Trace Elliot multi-band graphic EQ filters
• Ultra-high pre-amp input impedance ( >10 mega ohms) for maximum sensitivity when using passive pickups
• Post EQ balanced XLR DI output with ground lift for sending classic Trace Elliot tone to a mixing console or recording device
• 1/4" (6.35mm) headphone output for quiet practice
• External speaker out
• Combo Weight: 18.5 lb (8.4 Kg)
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 12.75” (32.38cm) x 12” (30.48cm) x 14” (35.56cm)
• Packed Weight: 23.15 lb (10.5 kg)
• INCLUDES PADDED COMBO COVER