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ELIN |
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ELIN or the l'alternative Europenne
ELIN, or Electronic Innovation is the brand created by Charles Malenberg.
One day, a bass player friend gave him a Walter Woods amp out of order. A few months before, Charles has been requested to design a small and powerful bass amp. This coincidence lead him to create his own amp and in 1976, the first Elin was marketed.
The range of amps contains 3 models: a 1 channel, a 2 channel with mixing and a 2 channel with stereo power amp. The first amp delivers 75W/8 Ohms (115W/4 Ohms), then, more powerful models appear. The Elin presented is the E41. This is the most common. The two channels are equipped with a parametric filter. Frequencies of the equalisation are different on the two channels. Typically European, the layout is neat and the aluminium box calls to mind an industrial appearance. The Elin pre-amp is vertically installed, against the front panel. The switching power supply is enclosed in a box, to avoid interference and any electrical shock. The Elin is well protected. It has a variable fan and comes with thermal protection equipped. Overall, the realisation is one of good quality. The Elin are hand made by Charles himself. He has his workshop near Amsterdam in Holland.
The Elin tone is much appreciated and some bass players prefer the Elin to the Walter Woods because of more transparency, more precision and better tone definition. Charles explains that the circuitry is designed to obtain a null phase difference at all frequencies. This does not disturb phase rotations naturally generated on acoustic instruments...
The last Elin was sold in France in October 1999. These days Charles Malenberg has ceased his production and pursues other activities.
The technical side
Elin is a complex amp, in particular its switching power supply. This one is equipped with an auto oscillator, a soft start and a protection against over intensity current. These features result in a a schematic complexity, and repairing a such supply is not for pleasure.
The mechanical side is well designed but with an incredible complexity.
