Elf - Super-Portable Bass Amplifier Head

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.

So let's talk about the amp head.

This thing is almost impossibly small. I have effects pedals that are larger than this thing. With a weight of just 1.6 pounds, and a size of 6.75" x 4" x 1.35", you could literally put this amp into many upright bass bags' accessory pockets. Yet, the controls feature sturdy, full size knobs, and rugged jacks and surfaces.

Now, thanks to its size, the controls are minimal - you only get a three-band EQ, and no parametric mids or anything like that. But you do get a real input gain control and a separate volume knob, so you can adjust to the varying output levels of different pickups (or systems that incorporate their own preamp.) There is even a headphone jack for silent practice - and it's on a beefy 1/4" jack, too.

Same thing on the back panel - no effects loops, not a lot of extras or frills - just a 1/4" output for the speaker and a very nice DI on an XLR connector (and the DI does have a ground lift). Simple!

But if you're like me, simple is good. Fewer controls and toys and stuff means that there are fewer things for you to screw up in the middle of the gig.

Plugged into the 2x8 cab from Trace Elliot, the amp put out PLENTY of sound - enough to rattle the shelving in our office (and we've treated the room with sound panels and bass traps.) And the bass is surprisingly and pleasingly deep - deep enough that the only EQ tweak I made was to back off on the bass just a little (this was using my own carved bass with the Realist Lifeline pickup on it.)

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 SOFT CARRY BAG!

Specs

• Extremely portable 1.60 lb (0.73Kg)
• Unpacked Dimensions: W = 6.75" (17.1 cm) D = 4.10" (10.4 cm) H= 1.35" (3.4cm)
• 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
  
  • Low center = 80 Hz
  • Mid center = 400 Hz
  • High center = 4.2 KHz
• Ultra-high preamp input impedance (>10meg 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
• Packed Weight: 4 lb (1.81 kg)