Comparison: Trace Elliot ELF vs Markbass Nano Mark

#21
I have not looked into that Mark Bass however the TE Elf has me interested. All the reviews I've read and sound reviews I have watched have been positive so far and my ears have liked it. Not right now but years down the road when they start to come up in the used market I'll be grabbing one. Loading in and out would be that much easier.
 
#23
ELF1.JPG ELF2.JPG I bought the ELF and think it was a great buy. Want a certain amount of loudness? Run it with a cab that has multiple speakers. I ran mine though a 212 and a 610. Both sounded nice and the amp is plenty loud. With the 610, wow!!! IMO.
 
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#24
alaskaleftybass said:
Hi there. Very good question. Please note whenever you mention Markbass, people are going to come along and bash it even if they don't own the product. Ever since MB went to China.

I own a GK MB500 as my main amp and an MB200 for backup. The MB200 is twice the size as the Markbass and the Trace Elliot ELF. I don't have experience with either of these, so the best bet would be to get somewhere you can test them both out and see which one you like. I'm interested in the Trace Elliot because of the size and novelty. Although I've never owned a Markbass amp, I've always liked the sound of their combos. To me they're loud and punchy.

The original British made Trace Elliots have a great legacy and respect here on TB. But Peavey bought TE and the new ELF is made in China and I'm wondering if it will be true to the original Trace Elliot tone and reliability that they were known for.

Good luck, tough choices nowadays! :)
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Slight correction. Markbass is now made in Indonesia, not China. My personal sense is that Indonesia turns out a higher quality product. I'm not afraid of anything Indonesian. China, on the other hand..
 
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#25
alaskaleftybass said:
I had a revelation regarding Class D watts. In the past I could use a Peavey TNT or Combo bass combo with 100 or 300 watts respectively. These older amps could keep up with nearly any band. Nowadays I have an MB200 and MB500. Well I've been playing with a band recently. Our sessions went fine until we added a drummer. I found I was pushing the MB200 up to 1:00 to get the thump I needed with a drummer. I could feel the compression killing my notes.

Next rehearsal I brought in my MB500. It had the oomph needed to push against the drummer. I was amazed how much more fullness those extra watts bought me. Now I'm not straining the amp and it has plenty of bottom end. Also bear in mind I'm using an Eden EX110 which is a pretty incredible speaker and is rated at handling 300 watts. So at 8 ohms the cab is handling 350 watts. But I am not even near the halfway point on master volume.

If you're going to buy one of these nano amps make sure you have at least a 12" or 210" cab to push it. For less power use a larger cab to get more volume. At 200 watts you'll need to push the amp near 75-80% to keep up with a drummer.
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I'd think that the mb200 would have been sufficient if you had more spkr than the ex110. Small box! Agree you need twice the spkr to be heard comfortably with a drummer.
 
#26
alaskaleftybass said:
One more suggestion. If you're buying from an online company like Sweetwater, Music123, Sam Ash, or Musicians Friend, they have a 30 day return policy if you don't like the amp. I've taken advantage of that more than once. MF will even pay return shipping. I also do a lot of musical gear shipping at Amazon.
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* MF will NOT pay return shipping any longer unless the equipment is defective. I just went through this with them.
 
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#29
I have tested Elf in a shop and I started loving it right away! I am not familiar with Nanomark, but I do use Markbass Little Mark III as my main amp. My thinking is: if you would be planning to buy your main/only amp, I would go for additional 100watts of Nanomark. If you are planning to buy backup amp, I would go with Elf because it's smaller/lighter.
 
#30
So, I just came home with a MarkBass Nano after trying both the Trace Elliot Elf and MarkBass Nano. So to be honest, I am already partial to the MarkBass because I love my LM III and I really wanted the 300W vs 200W. But, I wanted to compare to see which one I would prefer. I did not get to check out the DI on ether unit, and still haven't. Also, having said that, if the Elf had been 300W, I probably would have brought it home.

Sound wise, I found the Elf had a more old-school punchy sound, and it did not distort when maxed. The Nano was a bit warmer and deeper, and of course, louder. I haven't done a one-to-one comparison, but I keep thinking the Nano is warmer sounding than the LM III too.

So the Nano will get gig tested over the next month, and we'll see what I think of it after that :)
 
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#32
I found myself looking at exactly those two heads, too. Perfect size and price for a backup that never leaves the case until needed. I do have two other Class D heads that are pretty small but too big to lug around everywhere and too expensive to stay in the case.

Can anyone here comment on the quality of the DI signals of each?

And can anyone tell me if the FX return on the nano is the same as the other MB heads, with the EQ affecting the return signal?
 
#34
IMHO,these little class d amps require far more headroom to perform as well as an older amp with a much lower power rating. But for class d, watts are cheap. Buy more and you won’t be disappointed.
 
#36
just got the markbass nano. went with that so I can use the effects loop with other preamps. I have tried the elf, sounded great. so does the markbass. honestly yes markbass is larger, but they are both tiny and gig bag worthy. but effects loop more eq, ground lift pre/post, and 300watts got me
 
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#37
Blind owl bass said:
just got the markbass nano. went with that so I can use the effects loop with other preamps. I have tried the elf, sounded great. so does the markbass. honestly yes markbass is larger, but they are both tiny and gig bag worthy. but effects loop more eq, ground lift pre/post, and 300watts got me
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first gig with the mark bass Nano. freaking hated it. for some reason could not get my gain staging right and I was feeding back all night with my upright bass. this is not my first rodeo and it was a pain to dial it in. done with it. will be for sale soon!
my ashdown or ampeg heads still reign supreme. but man I was excited about how teeny it is. i
 
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