Helluva deal. I have no experience with 8" drivers, but they're Faitals, and my experience with those is nothing but positive.
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Thoughts on the Elf
- Thread starter themickster
- Start date
Helluva deal. I have no experience with 8" drivers, but they're Faitals, and my experience with those is nothing but positive.
The 2×8" cabs are for real!. Kinda less thrilled by the amp's tone these days. Accidentally plugged in one of my tube amps a few months ago- forget-about-it.
But the cabs, bootylicious. Not like my 1×18" of course but the evenness of the bass freq is worth loosing that small bit of sub.
But the cabs, bootylicious. Not like my 1×18" of course but the evenness of the bass freq is worth loosing that small bit of sub.
Great little amp if size and weight are a major factor in your purchase.
Where I live it’s not too far off the price of a Peavey head which has more features so you have to weigh it up.
For me no pre/post is one feature I would have liked so I’d be using a DI box ahead of the input for that.
Horses for courses, small, light and 200W, if that’s enough it will make you happy. If you really need 800W for your situation it won’t fit the bill.
Where I live it’s not too far off the price of a Peavey head which has more features so you have to weigh it up.
For me no pre/post is one feature I would have liked so I’d be using a DI box ahead of the input for that.
Horses for courses, small, light and 200W, if that’s enough it will make you happy. If you really need 800W for your situation it won’t fit the bill.
Completely agree with you!
I read a lot of ‘armchair’ opinions about this gear all of the time, but don’t think many have actually played this rig, let alone owned it. It sounds great, and it’s plenty loud with the 1-2x8. I use 2 of them and either use the Elf head or my Tone Hammer 500w with the cabs and both sound great. It puts out plenty of volume, I use the compression of the drive and have it set just below the overdrive setting so there’s no distortion.
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Can some of you Elf owners do a demo.?I'd like to hear what they are like low down. Most bass reviews and demos are twiddling about on the top strings or slapping.
- Oct 22, 2015
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Thanks for this. With the Thing That's Going Around there are few avenues to empirically confirm the Elf's usefulness in a live setting. I use my Elf to drive one or two PJB Cab 27s. It'll serve first line duty anywhere I want the native Elf voicing. It's very musical (to my ear) that way. The right blend of Gain and Volume makes a world of difference
Idon't have a demo but I can tell you it handles the low B of my Bongo with authority
I play in a classic rock/blues/"outlaw" country band. Usually have vocals, acoustic guitar, lead guitar, bass and drums. Sometimes we have a fiddle/mandolin player join us. One of our regular gigs is outdoors at a small wine bar (15-30 people), and another is when the weather forces us indoors at a small pub (30-50 people). It handles what we need with the single 1x10"...but we don't try to blow the doors off the place. The city has an ordinance that requires us to be below 90db, so there is that to consider. Also, I've only ever run my active basses through it...not sure what it would be like with a passive.
Hope that helps,
B
Definitely helps, thanks. I mostly played similar venues, and of course am always asked to turn down. Probay stick with my 112 for now since gigging is on hold for the foreseeable future.
For me, using the 1x8" Combo with the 2x8" cabinet at an outdoor gig last month produced excellent results - with the gain turned up to 3/4 (just before the distortion circuit kicks in and at the ELF's maximum compression level) the sound was firm, natural and even without anything sounding choked or muffled by the compressor. The volume only had to be turned up a little less than half way to produce enough volume that could easily be heard over a 5-piece band. I usually turn up the Mids to about 3/4 to let my Precision bass's natural tone to be heard prominently from the amp (the 400hz frequency the ELF chose for the Mid adjustment makes the most articulate low-mid bass tones come to the fore without the overall sound being muddy or "honky"). For the music style we play (Early Rock and Motown), the ELF, combined with a Fender Precision (and a Fender Custom Shop '62 pickup upgrade) is very good at reproducing that classic Fender sound of those good ol' days.
If I felt I needed more power for a larger venue, I would either just use the DI out to the PA and use the ELF combo as a monitor or, if I wanted to keep the sound strictly from the stage, I would consider getting a second 2x8" cab and throw either a Quilter 800 or Mesa Boogie Subway 800 on top of the stack (I've heard great things about both amps). Pairing either amp with those 2x8 cabs (and those impressive Faital drivers) should sound amazing. But for right now, my ELF system is treating me well - and really don't want to make any changes for the forseeable future if I don't have to. ELF FTW.
If I felt I needed more power for a larger venue, I would either just use the DI out to the PA and use the ELF combo as a monitor or, if I wanted to keep the sound strictly from the stage, I would consider getting a second 2x8" cab and throw either a Quilter 800 or Mesa Boogie Subway 800 on top of the stack (I've heard great things about both amps). Pairing either amp with those 2x8 cabs (and those impressive Faital drivers) should sound amazing. But for right now, my ELF system is treating me well - and really don't want to make any changes for the forseeable future if I don't have to. ELF FTW.
Still love mine! I use 2 2x8 cabs stacked and my Elf is mounted on a pedal board. I use it weekly at rehearsal 3/4 on the gain and a lil’ under 1/2 volume but also roll the volume on my bass back to 6-7 (Status Streamline 5) until I need a little boost and it sits in amazingly well.
I also run my Keith McMillan 12-step into my iPad with 2 of the Korg apps, into the aux of my looper for some keys with my feet and that also busts through fine. The XLR also out goes into the board for recording our sessions. Pretty amazing little amp setup. Can’t wait to start gigging again.
I also run my Keith McMillan 12-step into my iPad with 2 of the Korg apps, into the aux of my looper for some keys with my feet and that also busts through fine. The XLR also out goes into the board for recording our sessions. Pretty amazing little amp setup. Can’t wait to start gigging again.
