diff --git a/astromodels/core/parameter_transformation.py b/astromodels/core/parameter_transformation.py
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/astromodels/core/parameter_transformation.py
+++ b/astromodels/core/parameter_transformation.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+import math
 from builtins import object
+
 import numpy as np
 
 
@@ -32,13 +34,15 @@ class LogarithmicTransformation(ParameterTransformation):
 
         with np.errstate(invalid='raise'):
 
-            res = np.log10(external_value)
+            # math is 4 times faster than numpy here
+            res = math.log10(external_value)
 
         return res
 
     def backward(self, internal_value):
 
-        return 10**internal_value
+        # math is 10x faster than numpy or numba
+        return math.pow(10., internal_value)
 
 
 _known_transformations = {'log10': LogarithmicTransformation}
switch to the math library for some speed