New Trace Elliot 1200 amp !

[Redbutton]

Do you find it difficult to set the input gain without any kind of clipping light?

I've been wanting to try this combo live for a while, and so I had my chance to try the new TE-1200 with my ELF 2x8's this past weekend. The gig was outside, fairly decent sized venue, but with the band in a bit of a corner against a brick building and a repurposed metal shipping container, so a little bit of boominess to deal with on the stage, but then big open area for the crowd. I ended up dialing the lows way back on stage, and let the PA carry the lows for the crowd, and this worked fairly well. I will say, though, that even with the Bass cut a good bit, that rig still put out a good bit of low end, and I would have likely cut the lows on a "normal" stage, as well. The ELF 2x8's do not have tweeters, which is why I boosted the Treble so much. The Hi-Mid boost was more about being heard above the boomy stage area. All in all, this rig sounded great!





Three of my favorite-sounding axes: F Bass BN4, Mike Lull MV4, F Bass Studio 5:

 

[tombowlus]

Nice! Did you find the compressor function to help with stage boom? I would think with those cabs and the TE voicing you would have a very focused and tight feel, especially in the lower register.

Actually, I did not find it to be immediately helpful, but I didn't spend a ton of time monkeying with it, and I tend to not use compression - though I definitely appreciate the flexibility of the low and hi band approach.

 

[tombowlus]

Do you find it difficult to set the input gain without any kind of clipping light?

Nope. I knew I wanted to keep things clean, so I turned the Master up most of the way, and then brought up the Gain. I was somewhat concerned about over-driving the 2x8's (which together are rated for 800w), so I was not necessarily looking to max-out the Gain stage.

 

[Merton]

Slightly (ok a fair whack) OT @tombowlus but how do the Elf 2x8 cabs compare to the Barefaced Two10 in terms of volume, power handling and bass response?

 

[tombowlus]

Slightly (ok a fair whack) OT @tombowlus but how do the Elf 2x8 cabs compare to the Barefaced Two10 in terms of volume, power handling and bass response?

I have not A/B'd those two cabs yet, but they are voiced fairly differently. The Two10 has a bit more of an "Ampeg" voicing, and is probably more akin to two of the ELF 1x10's. The 2x8's are a bit more extended, on both ends of the frequency spectrum, and not as mid-forward as the ELF 1x10's, and I would imagine that this would carry forward compared to the Two10. Again, I have not A/B'd the two, but here is a link to my Trace Elliot ELF mega review and a link to my Barefaced Two10 (and FR800) review. I will try and get these cabs together sometime, though, and report back.

 

[Merton]

I have not A/B'd those two cabs yet, but they are voiced fairly differently. The Two10 has a bit more of an "Ampeg" voicing, and is probably more akin to two of the ELF 1x10's. The 2x8's are a bit more extended, on both ends of the frequency spectrum, and not as mid-forward as the ELF 1x10's, and I would imagine that this would carry forward compared to the Two10. Again, I have not A/B'd the two, but here is a link to my Trace Elliot ELF mega review and a link to my Barefaced Two10 (and FR800) review. I will try and get these cabs together sometime, though, and report back.

Nice one, thanks Tom

 

[impacs]

I have not A/B'd those two cabs yet, but they are voiced fairly differently. The Two10 has a bit more of an "Ampeg" voicing, and is probably more akin to two of the ELF 1x10's. The 2x8's are a bit more extended, on both ends of the frequency spectrum, and not as mid-forward as the ELF 1x10's, and I would imagine that this would carry forward compared to the Two10. Again, I have not A/B'd the two, but here is a link to my Trace Elliot ELF mega review and a link to my Barefaced Two10 (and FR800) review. I will try and get these cabs together sometime, though, and report back.

Hi Tom, To chime in here I actually used two of the Trace Elliot 2x8 Elf cabs this past weekend with a Genzler 800 head and was totally blown away by the sound of these small cabs.
I had actually bought the two Elf cabs a few years ago and never played them out till last weekend thinking that they wouldn’t be up for the task but boy was I wrong. They sounded great with a wonderful midrange and also had a decent low end.
We’ve got an outdoor gig coming up at the end of the month and I’m planning on putting a rig together with a Genzler 1-12 Bass Array cab that has a great low end on the bottom and putting the two 2x8 cabs on top of that and use my Genzler 800 to drive the whole setup.
I’m thinking that combination should sound pretty awesome.
I also have a couple of the Elf 1-10 cabs and I switched out the speakers in them for the more capable and better sounding Genz-Benz version of the Faital Pro 10” speaker, renamed as the
GNX-10300 and they really sound great.
They’re basically a full range speaker and are flat out to 5k so you really don’t need a tweeter with them.
They’re also rated at 300 watts so I’m able to drive them much louder than the original speaker and the cab only gained a pound or two keeping the weight to less than a very light 20 lbs.
I’m driving these with one of the Warwick “Gnome”200 watt, 2 pound mini heads that appears to be a copy of the “Elf” head except it’s all metal where the Elf has a plastic faceplate to it.
But, the Gnome 2 pound head and the Elf 20 pound 1x10 cabs have become my new practice rig and most of the time I only need one cab as most of the groups that I practice with do low volume practices.
I haven’t tried stacking the “Elf” cabs like you’re doing as I’ve found they lose too much low end when I’ve tried that.
But, that would always depend on the room, and the room, and the room -

 

[tombowlus]

Hi Tom, To chime in here I actually used two of the Trace Elliot 2x8 Elf cabs this past weekend with a Genzler 800 head and was totally blown away by the sound of these small cabs.
I had actually bought the two Elf cabs a few years ago and never played them out till last weekend thinking that they wouldn’t be up for the task but boy was I wrong. They sounded great with a wonderful midrange and also had a decent low end.
We’ve got an outdoor gig coming up at the end of the month and I’m planning on putting a rig together with a Genzler 1-12 Bass Array cab that has a great low end on the bottom and putting the two 2x8 cabs on top of that and use my Genzler 800 to drive the whole setup.
I’m thinking that combination should sound pretty awesome.
I also have a couple of the Elf 1-10 cabs and I switched out the speakers in them for the more capable and better sounding Genz-Benz version of the Faital Pro 10” speaker, renamed as the
GNX-10300 and they really sound great.
They’re basically a full range speaker and are flat out to 5k so you really don’t need a tweeter with them.
They’re also rated at 300 watts so I’m able to drive them much louder than the original speaker and the cab only gained a pound or two keeping the weight to less than a very light 20 lbs.
I’m driving these with one of the Warwick “Gnome”200 watt, 2 pound mini heads that appears to be a copy of the “Elf” head except it’s all metal where the Elf has a plastic faceplate to it.
But, the Gnome 2 pound head and the Elf 20 pound 1x10 cabs have become my new practice rig and most of the time I only need one cab as most of the groups that I practice with do low volume practices.
I haven’t tried stacking the “Elf” cabs like you’re doing as I’ve found they lose too much low end when I’ve tried that.
But, that would always depend on the room, and the room, and the room -

Nice! Yes, I have found that if you throw 800w at a pair of those ELF 2x8's, they do amazing things. With some decent wattage behind them, I find that the vertical stack has all the low end whomp that I need, and the dispersion is really great.

I have wondered about what the ELF 1x10 might sound like with a different driver. It's a nice compact size. I may have to talk to Jeff about getting some of those drivers...

BTW, this was a pretty amazing combo, as well.

 

[BOOG]

Nice! Yes, I have found that if you throw 800w at a pair of those ELF 2x8's, they do amazing things. With some decent wattage behind them, I find that the vertical stack has all the low end whomp that I need, and the dispersion is really great.

I have wondered about what the ELF 1x10 might sound like with a different driver. It's a nice compact size. I may have to talk to Jeff about getting some of those drivers...

BTW, this was a pretty amazing combo, as well.

That’s one of the coolest TB photos I’ve seen in a long time!

It looks like a little monster.
(it’s Friday night, don’t ask)

 

[impacs]

Nice! Yes, I have found that if you throw 800w at a pair of those ELF 2x8's, they do amazing things. With some decent wattage behind them, I find that the vertical stack has all the low end whomp that I need, and the dispersion is really great.

I have wondered about what the ELF 1x10 might sound like with a different driver. It's a nice compact size. I may have to talk to Jeff about getting some of those drivers...

BTW, this was a pretty amazing combo, as well.

That’s a very cool looking rig!
I’ll have to try that with my Elf 2x8 and 1-10 cabs.
Should work pretty well especially since I’ve switched out the speakers in the
1-10 cabs for the more potent Faital Pro 300 watt drivers from Genz Benz era -

 

[Merton]

I have not A/B'd those two cabs yet, but they are voiced fairly differently. The Two10 has a bit more of an "Ampeg" voicing, and is probably more akin to two of the ELF 1x10's. The 2x8's are a bit more extended, on both ends of the frequency spectrum, and not as mid-forward as the ELF 1x10's, and I would imagine that this would carry forward compared to the Two10. Again, I have not A/B'd the two, but here is a link to my Trace Elliot ELF mega review and a link to my Barefaced Two10 (and FR800) review. I will try and get these cabs together sometime, though, and report back.

On Tuesday I took my Elf to a rehearsal with a loud (LOUD) rock band just to see what happened with my Two10S. The tone and volume was unbelievable! Really bang on what I’m looking for. So I think I’ve answered my own question on the basis that the Elf 2x8 cabs are voiced so differently; they probably won’t do what I am after. Saved myself a few quid I think (or dollars for those on the other side of the pond ).
Now to find a second Two10S

 

[tombowlus]

On Tuesday I took my Elf to a rehearsal with a loud (LOUD) rock band just to see what happened with my Two10S. The tone and volume was unbelievable! Really bang on what I’m looking for. So I think I’ve answered my own question on the basis that the Elf 2x8 cabs are voiced so differently; they probably won’t do what I am after. Saved myself a few quid I think (or dollars for those on the other side of the pond ).
Now to find a second Two10S

The Two10 is such an amazing cab. Two of them would be very potent, for sure!

 

[impacs]

The Two10 is such an amazing cab. Two of them would be very potent, for sure!

Hi Tom,
I saw that you are using one of the new Trace Elliot TE-1200 heads and was wondering if you knew of a dealer that might have one available as I’m interested in buying one.
I’ve been checking around to try and find one but it seems that nobody has any including Peavey who doesn’t expect to get any till, get this, the end of December.
So if you by chance happen to know of a dealer who has one to sell please send me a message.
Thanks and I enjoy your posts,
Larry

 

[tombowlus]

Hi Tom,
I saw that you are using one of the new Trace Elliot TE-1200 heads and was wondering if you knew of a dealer that might have one available as I’m interested in buying one.
I’ve been checking around to try and find one but it seems that nobody has any including Peavey who doesn’t expect to get any till, get this, the end of December.
So if you by chance happen to know of a dealer who has one to sell please send me a message.
Thanks and I enjoy your posts,
Larry

Thank you for the kind words, but unfortunately, no, I do not know of any dealers with a TE-1200 in stock at this moment.

 

[DELACIUS]

I've been wanting to try this combo live for a while, and so I had my chance to try the new TE-1200 with my ELF 2x8's this past weekend. The gig was outside, fairly decent sized venue, but with the band in a bit of a corner against a brick building and a repurposed metal shipping container, so a little bit of boominess to deal with on the stage, but then big open area for the crowd. I ended up dialing the lows way back on stage, and let the PA carry the lows for the crowd, and this worked fairly well. I will say, though, that even with the Bass cut a good bit, that rig still put out a good bit of low end, and I would have likely cut the lows on a "normal" stage, as well. The ELF 2x8's do not have tweeters, which is why I boosted the Treble so much. The Hi-Mid boost was more about being heard above the boomy stage area. All in all, this rig sounded great!

Three of my favorite-sounding axes: F Bass BN4, Mike Lull MV4, F Bass Studio 5:

Tom, which guitar stand that is? Looks like Fender but I don't think it is Fender.

 

[tombowlus]

It's a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], and I really love it.

 

[Scarlesolo]

I enjoyed the old Trace Elliot amps.
Now they have the Elf and this. I really hope they are going to produce even something in the middle such as 500/700w. But maybe Peavey prefers to have their own brand products, such as the Minimax, in that range.

 

[Razman]

I enjoyed the old Trace Elliot amps.
Now they have the Elf and this. I really hope they are going to produce even something in the middle such as 500/700w. But maybe Peavey prefers to have their own brand products, such as the Minimax, in that range.

If they do, it better behave like it has double the wattage like their old stuff! Doubtful they will - I personally don't see the need for it. Especially since I see so many comments around "ABC brand make a great 500w head, I hope they make a 1000w head one day..." - never seen one where a less powerful head was asked for, especially given their small size. And it might compete with their current offerings as you point out.

Unless it behaves differently (like GK's RB series heads) I don't think there's any need for another model - just leave the volume down. Especially with class D amps, I'd rather have the headroom available.

 

[Merton]

Is this the first example of a TE-1200 in the UK?

 

[Merton]

@jdwinva and @tombowlus - have either of you tried the USB recording output yet?
I had a very brief whirl this evening and it seems to be very quiet, but I literally had 1 minute of playing before the boss got home and I had to go cook dinner
Will have more of a play this weekend I hope.
Either way it certainly seems better than my Ashdown B-Social in terms of background noise from the USB…