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

#21
I use the Gnome (non-USB) and have been happy with it. I gig with it every week and it has been very reliable for the 2+ years I've had it. As others have said it's pretty transparent but the EQ is powerful enough if you need to tweak things. I mainly use it with upright bass but have done electric gigs with it as well. I have no complaints.

A friend of mine uses the Elf and I've played with him many times. It always sounds great too. I don't think the two amps are that different in the context of a mix. I had the TC Bam 200 and it went up in smoke after a couple of rehearsals, I'd stay away from that one.
 
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#23
I have never tried the Gnome, but I love my Elf - it's got a very "colored" tone, especially if you turn up the gain, where it will start to compress, even when it is still clean; almost sounds a bit tube-amp-like.
If you're looking for super-transparent, uncolored, modern tones, the Gnome might be better...
 
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#24
Last month Sweetwater was selling the TC BAM200 for around $110. Maybe they still have some in stock. The BAM is slightly smaller than the ELF and not as much fan noise. Same power. So far no trouble with mine and it sounds similar to the ELF,
 
#26
RomanS said:
I have never tried the Gnome, but I love my Elf - it's got a very "colored" tone, especially if you turn up the gain, where it will start to compress, even when it is still clean; almost sounds a bit tube-amp-like.
If you're looking for super-transparent, uncolored, modern tones, the Gnome might be better...
Click to expand...
Having owned both I’d echo these comments. Both are great but different.

I ended up keeping the GK MB200. It was kinda the best of both worlds.
 
#30
Jerry Ziarko said:
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.
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There is a reason that the ELF was the number one selling bass amp 3 years in a row.. It's definitely worth it - of course I'm a littele bias ...and GNOME?? Come on, I can't even believe they did that, they knew the ELF was the target ...but can't they think of ANY other name ....kinda cheese wiz....... ;)
 
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#32
Genzler Magellan 350? It's a bit bigger than the Elf or Gnome, and more money, but still very light, easy to carry in any small bag, and has a great EQ section w sweepable mid and two adjustable contours that the other options mentioned don't have.
 
#34
MarkA said:
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).
Click to expand...

Geepers said:
This might be useful:

Click to expand...

Thanks -- that is one of the videos I was thinking of. Here is the other:
 
#35
I played through my new Elf tonight in a band rehearsal setting: two guitars; two vocals; drums and me. Volume at 1/4th was plenty loud, and we're the loudest of my bands. Sounded great. I bought it to just throw in the bag and use for low-key rehearsals, but I might have underestimated it! (my big-show head is the TT-800 for reference).
 
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#37
Well that experiment didn't go well. I received the ELF plugged it in and the fan immediately kicks on and sounds like a blow dryer on low. My friend's ELF that I tried before making my purchase was nothing like that, in fact I couldn't hear the fan at all. Maybe I got a bad one and could try again, but is this a common issue?
 
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