Looking for a micro gig bag head- Gnome 200 vs Trace Elf

[Jerry Ziarko]

I have never played through an Elf or a Gnome 200. I have narrowed it down to these two based on size, to be used mainly as a gig bag carry spare amp. All things considered, is one significantly better than the other? The Elf will cost roughly $40 more, worth the $$? Thanks for any input.

 

[AncientNoob]

I have tried the Elf, I bought the Gnome (that's a sentence I never would have expected to type...). Nothing wrong with the Elf, but it does have a baked in sound, where the Gnome is more transparent and uncolored. Can't speak to the reliability of the TE, but the tiny Warwick has been absolutely trouble free and a worthy "just in case" amp. You'll probably get this from others as well, but try to audition them both and see which works best for you. There is a pretty easily discernible difference in tone.

 

[Jerry Ziarko]

I have tried the Elf, I bought the Gnome (that's a sentence I never would have expected to type...). Nothing wrong with the Elf, but it does have a baked in sound, where the Gnome is more transparent and uncolored. Can't speak to the reliability of the TE, but the tiny Warwick has been absolutely trouble free and a worthy "just in case" amp. You'll probably get this from others as well, but try to audition them both and see which works best for you. There is a pretty easily discernible difference in tone.

Unfortunately, I know of no one locally who has a Gnome. Are they relatively close in size?

 

[shadven]

I played a Zydeco/Texas swing gig on Saturday using the ELF and a MESA Subway 115 cab. It sounded incredible. The band was blown away. I love the ELF! I’ve used it with a Ampeg 810 fridge and it rocked!

 

[hondo4life]

The Elf’s gain knob activates built-in compression or overdrive, depending on the position. I can crank it to full power and it still sounds good.

The Gnome has an optional USB interface for recording. That could be useful.

 

[MadJack]

I have the Gnome i (w/USB). I like some color to my bass sounds and the Gnome is pretty neutral, even a bit bright. I like to run it with a preamp for some color and one I use with it regularly is the Behringer BDI-21VT. This cheap little preamp play very well with the Gnome, through my Ashdown RM210 & 115T EVO 2 cabs.

If you run a preamp and want the voice of the preamp to shine through, the Gnome would be a good choice.

 

[MarkA]

There have been a couple of video comparisons of these tiny amps (Elf, Gnome, Ashdown Ant...). I think that Anderton's did one, awhile back, and there was a comparison done by an individual player that I thought was good (forget his name at the moment -sorry).

 

[57pbass]

Are the Quilter heads too big for your needs ?

 

[pcake]

i've only played the elf. it sounded good, maybe a bit bright for my taste, but i prefer a smile tone with no high mids. haven't seen the gnome in the wild.

have you tried the GK MB 200? it's also tiny with good sound.

 

[funkinbottom]

I own an Elf. Fantastic little amp, sounds great.

 

[MegaSwing]

I love my Elf, but I do wish it had an Aux In jack. Otherwise it would be perfect for me.

 

[Supadope]

The TC Bam 200 is fantastic

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I have the Gnome iPro (300W) and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds with tones all set at 12:00 through a generic 1x15. Got it on sale on Amazon when the iPro V2 was released. Mine is from Japan (same specs as US) so the panel labelling is all Japanese! That's a plus in my book! Haven't tried the Elf, though. I also have a TC BQ500 Thrust which is a bit bigger but also maybe a bit more power (hard to say for sure, numbers don't mean much sometimes) but is also giggable, although I feel I have to coax a tone I like out of it. The Gnome was simpler in that regard.

BBB

 

[fretno]

There is also the Gr MiniOne.

 

[Geepers]

This might be useful:

 

[baxter_x]

I’ve used it with a Ampeg 810 fridge and it rocked!

Interesting.....
Were you pushing the amp hard or not to hear yourself?

 

[Zooberwerx]

Are the Quilter heads too big for your needs ?

My first thought, as well, but I re-read the original post and the unit will serve as a spare and must fit comfortably in a gig / travel bag. May never see the light of day.

Riis

 

[Passinwind]

There is also the Gr MiniOne.

At roughly that size there's also the Traynor SB200H, which I've actually ended up using far more often than I ever expected.

 

[five7]

The small traynor amp I had was nice.

 

[jimmydean]

I have owned both and have nothing but good things to say about them . You'll have to try them both out and decide for yourself .