Warwick Gnome or Trace Elf?

[ikay]

I'm looking for a small amp to use as a backup. I've read lots of good things about the Elf but not seen many comments on the Gnome. They both seem to do pretty much the same thing, same power rating, same features etc but the Elf is more expensive at £250 compared to around £165 for the Gnome (basic model). 

 

One of the comments I've read about the Elf is that it adds grit and compression as you turn the gain up, but the compression also restricts the final volume you can squeeze out of it (ie. the more you crank the gain the more it gets squished). Having watched the video demo below, the Gnome does appear to have much more headroom than the Elf. In the demo, the Gnome gain and master are both set to around 9 o'clock while the Elf gain and master are set closer to 12 o'clock to achieve the same volume.

 

Would be interested in any comments on either of these amps or suggestions/recommendations for something similar or better.

 

For context, my gigging rig is an LMIII and Bergantino 112. Band plays 70s rock, small venues, not overly loud. The Gnome/Elf/other would only be used as an emergency backup. Something I needed a few weeks ago and didn't have 😵. Hence this post!

 

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by ikay

[JohnDaBass]

Both tidy amps but you should also consider the BAM 200 prior to a final conclusion. 

Take a look at the threads which consider the inuds of all three offerings at this price point. 

[eude]

This might be helpful?

 

To my ear, in the above video at least, the Gnome sounds a little dull compared to the others? Very little character or colouring, but of course that could be a brilliant thing to others.

 

I've only tried the ELF myself and heard in a band context too, and it really does sound good, very very good in fact.

In a not overly loud ensemble, it would be fine I'm sure.

 

Hope that helps!

Eude

 

 

[eude]

There are other options too.

There's a little Harley Benton >>

https://harleybenton.com/product/block-300b/

Might be a smidge bigger, buy it's louder, in paper and has much more going on eq wise.

 

And, the BAM-200, as noted above by @JohnDaBass >>

https://www.tcelectronic.com/product.html?modelCode=P0DI5

 

As far as I've seen, the Gnome and the BAM are nearly identical internally.

[Phil Starr]

@Chienmortbb and I have had these two on the test bench and I use the Gnome myself; bought as a backup and for open mic/jam sessions I probably use it a little more than my gigging amps. The TC BAM is also very similar. I go through the PA so my bass amps nowadays are used for stage monitors at gigs and rarely get a run out at high power levels. The Gnome (hence all of them) is loud enough for most small gigs with my 12" LFSys Silverstone and for stage monitoring with my 10" cab. With a couple of 12's the extra 5db means it will cover all my volume needs and would fill a decent sized venue.

 

In terms of measurement power output is the same for all three and as advertised. The voicing is different and somewhat surprising though with one similarity between all three. Set to 12 o'clock the Elf has a smiley face response with the bass and treble boosted and hence a mid cut. That's very nice sounding at low/medium volumes and effectively a 'loudness' boosted sound. The gnome has a small bass peak another mid suckout at around 400hz and a climbing treble response which makes it very clean sounding. the TC is the flattest response somewhere between the other two. The striking similarity between them is that the mid tone control works at exactly the same frequency in all three and the mid dip in all three is at this frequency. This means you can pretty much dial up the same sound in all three. The Gnome is more or less flat with bass at 2.00 mid at 1.00 treble at 10.00.

 

You could happily buy any of these, I only bought the Gnome because the BAM was out of stock and though I preferred the colour it wasn't enough of an issue for me to wait. I think most of us would prefer the voicing of the Elf but whether you think that is worth the extra money is your choice. You can get almost the same sound out of all of them mine has been 100% reliable and has the blessing of a nice quiet fan.

 

 

[ikay]

Thanks for all the replies. Having listened to various demos I think I prefer the sound of the Elf, but not the price! I've also read that it has a very noisy fan. The Gnome and BAM sound a bit clinical in comparison but the difference in price is hard to ignore. Cash wise it probably comes down to the Gnome or BAM. I may put feelers out for a used Elf first.

 

I also like the look of the now discontinued GK MB200 micro amp but they're hard to find. I have an old-tech GK200MB combo (1980s) which, thinking about it, might do the job as an emergency backup anyway. It's not what I had in mind when I started this thread (I've used it mainly for acoustic level gigs) but I'll take it to rehearsal this week and see how well it stands up.

[eude]

I bought a GK Legacy 500, which I adore, but I tried and ELF a few weeks after I got it, and I honestly would've gone with the ELF had I tried it first. It really does sound that good, but I appreciate it's a pricey compared to the others.

[BassAdder60]

I love the tone out of the ELF and mine is for backup to my band playing rock 

 

Through enough speakers you can easily gig with it 

 

Don’t forget it comes with a small gig bag ( keeps it scratch free ) 

 

Fan is loud but for a gigging amp that doesn’t matter 

 

Highly recommended and worth its price in my opinion 

[Happy Jack]

56 minutes ago, ikay said:

Having listened to various demos I think I prefer the sound of the Elf, but not the price! I've also read that it has a very noisy fan.

 

I wasn't aware that my Elf even had a fan! It's totally silent in operation.

 

As to headroom, any venue large enough that your backline runs out of headtroom from an Elf is a venue where you'd have PA support anyway.

 

[asingardenof]

I've just been in exactly the same position as you and went for the Elf. I don't regret my decision one bit, it sounds lovely.

[SuperSeagull]

Haven’t played a Gnome but I own an Elf and I think it is brilliant. Love the sound, and when I had to use it in a loud band gig when my MB cut out, it held its own volume wise. If TE did a 500w version I’d be at the front of the queue. 

[Skin Lewis]

25 minutes ago, SuperSeagull said:

when I had to use it in a loud band gig when my MB cut out,

Familiar. I bought my Elf as a backup for my MB, and having needed to use it a couple of times, it's now my main amp for smaller gigs. Responsive and punchy, sounds great.

[ikay]

As time goes by I find myself feeling more and more Elfish! 

[bagsieblue]

12 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

@Chienmortbb and I have had these two on the test bench and I use the Gnome myself; bought as a backup and for open mic/jam sessions I probably use it a little more than my gigging amps. The TC BAM is also very similar. I go through the PA so my bass amps nowadays are used for stage monitors at gigs and rarely get a run out at high power levels. The Gnome (hence all of them) is loud enough for most small gigs with my 12" LFSys Silverstone and for stage monitoring with my 10" cab. With a couple of 12's the extra 5db means it will cover all my volume needs and would fill a decent sized venue.

 

In terms of measurement power output is the same for all three and as advertised. The voicing is different and somewhat surprising though with one similarity between all three. Set to 12 o'clock the Elf has a smiley face response with the bass and treble boosted and hence a mid cut. That's very nice sounding at low/medium volumes and effectively a 'loudness' boosted sound. The gnome has a small bass peak another mid suckout at around 400hz and a climbing treble response which makes it very clean sounding. the TC is the flattest response somewhere between the other two. The striking similarity between them is that the mid tone control works at exactly the same frequency in all three and the mid dip in all three is at this frequency. This means you can pretty much dial up the same sound in all three. The Gnome is more or less flat with bass at 2.00 mid at 1.00 treble at 10.00.

 

You could happily buy any of these, I only bought the Gnome because the BAM was out of stock and though I preferred the colour it wasn't enough of an issue for me to wait. I think most of us would prefer the voicing of the Elf but whether you think that is worth the extra money is your choice. You can get almost the same sound out of all of them mine has been 100% reliable and has the blessing of a nice quiet fan.

 

 

Great post - Thank You

[msb]

The GK MB200 is another pint sized beauty. It also has a mini aux in and a headphone out , so you can plug in a tablet and play along quietly.

[SuperSeagull]

14 hours ago, Skin Lewis said:

Familiar. I bought my Elf as a backup for my MB, and having needed to use it a couple of times, it's now my main amp for smaller gigs. Responsive and punchy, sounds great.

Same here. I use it for small stuff with my MB 1x12. Lovely punchy sound, but just a bit underpowered to be used all the time sadly. 

[Linus27]

I have the Gnome Pro i 280 version and I can say I love it. So much so that it is starting to become my main head that I use with my Barefaced Two10 and the last two gigs I have done, I have been swamped by compliments. I'm thinking of buying another as a back up and then possibly buying a really good DI/EQ pedal to give me some more tonal options.

 

@Phil Starr Its interesting that you say mid on the Gnome is bass at 2, mids at 1 and treble at 10. With my passive Jazz and Precision through my Barefaced Two10, I find that I have to run the bass at 9, mids at 1 and treble at 2. If I push the bass too much more, it becomes really bass heavy and the treble doesn't have enough range to compensate. It sounds phenomenal but I find it to be very bass sensitive.

[nikon F]

On 15/05/2023 at 18:47, ikay said:

I'm looking for a small amp to use as a backup. I've read lots of good things about the Elf but not seen many comments on the Gnome. They both seem to do pretty much the same thing, same power rating, same features etc but the Elf is more expensive at £250 compared to around £165 for the Gnome (basic model). 

 

 

 

had a gnome for just over a year now , like it so much ive just bought  another one .£129 from andertons. 

[JohnDaBass]

Sounds like there's no place like Gnome🤣

 

(I'll get my coat, as I've already upset one of our European friends on another thread)

[Aalin]

Talking about the Gnome I pro, there is a new one called V2.

https://shop.warwick.de/en/amplifier/bass-amps/bass-amp-heads/36949/warwick-gnome-i-pro-v2-pocket-bass-amp-head-with-usb-interface-and-aux-input-300-watt
Has an Aux imput,
Also for the new one Warwick write  300 W at 4 ohms instead of 280 W for the original one,
but still write 180 W for both of them at 8 ohms.
I wonder if they change something inside or not, to write 20 W more for the new V2 one, or just marketing ?

Edited May 18, 2023 by Aalin

[Linus27]

11 minutes ago, Aalin said:

Talking about the Gnome I pro, there is a new one called V2.

https://shop.warwick.de/en/amplifier/bass-amps/bass-amp-heads/36949/warwick-gnome-i-pro-v2-pocket-bass-amp-head-with-usb-interface-and-aux-input-300-watt
Has an Aux imput,
Also for the new one Warwick write  300 W at 4 ohms instead of 280 W for the original one,
but still write 180 W for both of them at 8 ohms.
I wonder if they change something inside or not, to write 20 W more for the new V2 one, or just marketing ?

 

Oooh, good spot, think I will get one when they become available. They are bloomin loud as it is but won't say no if they have a bit more oomph.

[Aalin]

If you get one, please tell us if you find a difference between the two.

[Linus27]

3 minutes ago, Aalin said:

If you get one, please tell us if you find a difference between the two.

 

Will do, Andertons are not advertising them at the moment so just looking now to see if anyone else has them.

[Aalin]

On 18/05/2023 at 17:25, Aalin said:

Talking about the Gnome I pro, there is a new one called V2.

https://shop.warwick.de/en/amplifier/bass-amps/bass-amp-heads/36949/warwick-gnome-i-pro-v2-pocket-bass-amp-head-with-usb-interface-and-aux-input-300-watt
Has an Aux imput,
Also for the new one Warwick write  300 W at 4 ohms instead of 280 W for the original one,
but still write 180 W for both of them at 8 ohms.
I wonder if they change something inside or not, to write 20 W more for the new V2 one, or just marketing ?

HI, I had the aswer from Warwick: No diffce in power between the old and the new one:

With regards to the Gnome, they are both identical, the V2 has, because ot the demand from the community, an AUX-input, that´s all.

Edited May 31, 2023 by Aalin

[Linus27]

7 hours ago, Aalin said:

HI, I had the aswer from Warwick: No diffce in power between the old and the new one:

With regards to the Gnome, they are both identical, the V2 has, because ot the demand from the community, an AUX-input, that´s all.

 

Thanks for letting us know Aalin, I was holding out for the newer model but may not as I have no use for the AUX input so I'll just from whoever has the best deal.