steve_k
New member
The Elmo is an awesome amp that will go from mild to wild in a hurry. I haven't really placed the voicing yet, primarily because it is so responsive to the channel and global EQ adjustments. This is my first KT88 amp and it really has a lot of depth and character, even when the gain is dimed out. At high gain saturation, it still remains very articulate and has some more headroom above it. No overdrive needed for this amp at all. The two master volumes are great for boosts as well as the drive channel changes.
Channel 1 cleans, sound like clean. I don't hang about here very much. Now, crank the gain without much drive and this thing has Plexi written all over it. Kick the drive in all the way and the only difference I hear in this and an early JCM 800 is the depth. The Elmo has a much wider sound. I haven't played it with any single coils yet, but I would imagine this has some nice blues at lower drive settings. With the drive cranked, you can play your AC/DC all day long.
Channel 2 picks up where 1 leaves off (which is good) - many amps leave a large gap between two channels. Crack the gain and drive a little and you are in the Soldano SLO range. Crank the gain and drive, you are in Uberschall on steroids territory, just less compressed.
The front panel is laid out very nice and has a couple toggles to set up your preferred foot-switchable options. the rear panel has the usual rear panel stuff, but also has the global Edge and Fat controls. Edge sweeps from the mid to high range and Fat controls the mid to bass range. Start playing with these and the EQ capabilities of this little swedish meatball comes alive with possibilities. With the edge around noon, you will hear what I described above, but crank it toward 3:00 and it gets in the Dual Recto Ch2 and 3 realm.Twist the fat knob and it takes all the paint off the walls and moves small figurines around. It really has the bottom end. Which, makes it great for heavy dropped tuned grind and riffs in drop A and drop B or C.
It has a built in fan to cool the 88's. The only negative is the FX loop not being switchable. However, for me, I didn't plan on using an FX loop with the amp anyway, so it is not a bother. But for some it may. Mine is in black tolex with the metal grill, so it sits up there nicely in the VH4 and Uber motif. The head shell is compact, sort of like a Mark IV head and is fairly light, compared to its German friends.
I have played it through a Mesa 4x12 Recto cab and it sounds good. It also really tightens up with the FL Diezel 4x12. But, the Uber cab with V30/G75's is the way to go for this amp. It really thumps through it.
All in all, this is a fun and versatile amp to play. I will gig with it next weekend and get to air it out a bit. It definitely has some voicing in it to carry you through several amp era's. Comes with 3 button footswitch for channel, drive and master. Front panel lights are blue LED's which can be seen from low orbit satellites.
That's all...
Steve
Update since original post...
I have had the Elmo for about a couple weeks now and can easily say out of all my arsenal this is my favorite amp. Got to use it is practice this week at gig volume and I am so blown away with the growl, punch and articulation of this amp. No pedals, just guitar, cord and amp. I ran it through two cabs - my Diezel FL 4x12 and my Bogner Uber Cab. This amp has so much depth with the KT88's with well defined bottom end using drop B and drop A tunings, and searing leads on the other end. Nothing got lost in the mix. It handles both active and passive pickups great and it very quiet even with the gain/drive dimed out.
Got 3 weekends of gigs in a row and now the dilemma, where does it go in the road case - the Uberschall's lot or the VH4's slot? Easy, it will replace the Uberschall. The VH4 actually compliments the Elmo fantastically. But, I think I will run the Elmo through the Bogner Cab and one side of the Diezel cab and the VH4 through one side of the Diezel cab as taking 3 cabs isn't too practical.
Yeah, I am excited as hell about the M90 and it really is a pleasure to play and easy to dial in. If you have a chance, give one a go.
Channel 1 cleans, sound like clean. I don't hang about here very much. Now, crank the gain without much drive and this thing has Plexi written all over it. Kick the drive in all the way and the only difference I hear in this and an early JCM 800 is the depth. The Elmo has a much wider sound. I haven't played it with any single coils yet, but I would imagine this has some nice blues at lower drive settings. With the drive cranked, you can play your AC/DC all day long.
Channel 2 picks up where 1 leaves off (which is good) - many amps leave a large gap between two channels. Crack the gain and drive a little and you are in the Soldano SLO range. Crank the gain and drive, you are in Uberschall on steroids territory, just less compressed.
The front panel is laid out very nice and has a couple toggles to set up your preferred foot-switchable options. the rear panel has the usual rear panel stuff, but also has the global Edge and Fat controls. Edge sweeps from the mid to high range and Fat controls the mid to bass range. Start playing with these and the EQ capabilities of this little swedish meatball comes alive with possibilities. With the edge around noon, you will hear what I described above, but crank it toward 3:00 and it gets in the Dual Recto Ch2 and 3 realm.Twist the fat knob and it takes all the paint off the walls and moves small figurines around. It really has the bottom end. Which, makes it great for heavy dropped tuned grind and riffs in drop A and drop B or C.
It has a built in fan to cool the 88's. The only negative is the FX loop not being switchable. However, for me, I didn't plan on using an FX loop with the amp anyway, so it is not a bother. But for some it may. Mine is in black tolex with the metal grill, so it sits up there nicely in the VH4 and Uber motif. The head shell is compact, sort of like a Mark IV head and is fairly light, compared to its German friends.
I have played it through a Mesa 4x12 Recto cab and it sounds good. It also really tightens up with the FL Diezel 4x12. But, the Uber cab with V30/G75's is the way to go for this amp. It really thumps through it.
All in all, this is a fun and versatile amp to play. I will gig with it next weekend and get to air it out a bit. It definitely has some voicing in it to carry you through several amp era's. Comes with 3 button footswitch for channel, drive and master. Front panel lights are blue LED's which can be seen from low orbit satellites.
That's all...
Steve
Update since original post...
I have had the Elmo for about a couple weeks now and can easily say out of all my arsenal this is my favorite amp. Got to use it is practice this week at gig volume and I am so blown away with the growl, punch and articulation of this amp. No pedals, just guitar, cord and amp. I ran it through two cabs - my Diezel FL 4x12 and my Bogner Uber Cab. This amp has so much depth with the KT88's with well defined bottom end using drop B and drop A tunings, and searing leads on the other end. Nothing got lost in the mix. It handles both active and passive pickups great and it very quiet even with the gain/drive dimed out.
Got 3 weekends of gigs in a row and now the dilemma, where does it go in the road case - the Uberschall's lot or the VH4's slot? Easy, it will replace the Uberschall. The VH4 actually compliments the Elmo fantastically. But, I think I will run the Elmo through the Bogner Cab and one side of the Diezel cab and the VH4 through one side of the Diezel cab as taking 3 cabs isn't too practical.
Yeah, I am excited as hell about the M90 and it really is a pleasure to play and easy to dial in. If you have a chance, give one a go.
(maybe after I get a Herbert)....
...And a Diezel FL 4x12...and a new Uberschall...and...ah, hell it's hopeless.
