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Using barefaced for guitar


Prime_BASS
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Had a guitarist turn up at a gig without his own amp - he'd left it at home, 50 miles away.

Luckily enough, I had one of these with me: http://www.studiomaster.com/product-view/pax12px1212/89/

In truth, he sounded better through it than he did through his own valve amp. Better still, because it's a wedge and pointed at his ears, he could hear himself properly without having to pin the punters to the back wall of the pub with excessive volume.

Being a guitarist, of course, he wouldn't be told. :rolleyes:

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[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1434360778' post='2798829'] The prototype Barefaced guitar cab is sitting here, I just need to finish off the electronics and fine tune a few other details... [/quote]
Ooh!, any teasy details? Form factor, size, weight? [b][i]anything[/i][/b] to further whet our appetites!

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A while back I A/B'd my Bagend bass 212 cab against a dedicated guitar 110 cab .... Bagend say that this cab can not only be used for bass but also electric guitar .. Both me & our guitarist came to same conclusion ...

Distorted / overdriven guitar sounded better through guitar cab .. it must be something to do with the speaker / cone construction etc.

Cleans however did also sound nice through the bass cab and if my memory serves me well I think they sounded fuller (maybe bass freq are enhanced due to its design) but it was a 212 vs 110 so maybe not a fair comparison.

I think it's speaker cone breakup which is key for a good driven guitar sound but let the experts out there correct :)

Edited by sifi2112
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[quote name='sifi2112' timestamp='1434782140' post='2802718']
A while back I A/B'd my Bagend bass 212 cab against a dedicated guitar 110 cab .... Bagend say that this cab can not only be used for bass but also electric guitar .. Both me & our guitarist came to same conclusion ...

Distorted / overdriven guitar sounded better through guitar cab .. it must be something to do with the speaker / cone construction etc.

Cleans however did also sound nice through the bass cab and if my memory serves me well I think they sounded fuller (maybe bass freq are enhanced due to its design) but it was a 212 vs 110 so maybe not a fair comparison.

I think it's speaker cone breakup which is key for a good driven guitar sound but let the experts out there correct :)
[/quote]

Guitar distortion/overdrive tone is very sensitive to the mids and highs in terms of how good it sounds, and people also seem to have a very varied range of ideas about what sounds good. When I'm playing there are only a few speakers I like the sound of distortion through, and I have a strong preference for alnico speakers. That's for a clean amp with overdrive or distortion pedals in front. Once you start pushing the speaker hard enough to breakup (and some are much earlier to breakup than others, plus some are great and some REALLY nasty) generally they sound better.

Guitar speakers are very much part of the tone, and can make as big a difference as pickup type, but for most people that's a variable too many, and they'll generally just go with whatever the amp designer spec'd.

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[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1434909254' post='2803774']
Guitar distortion/overdrive tone is very sensitive to the mids and highs in terms of how good it sounds, and people also seem to have a very varied range of ideas about what sounds good. When I'm playing there are only a few speakers I like the sound of distortion through, and I have a strong preference for alnico speakers. That's for a clean amp with overdrive or distortion pedals in front. Once you start pushing the speaker hard enough to breakup (and some are much earlier to breakup than others, plus some are great and some REALLY nasty) generally they sound better.

Guitar speakers are very much part of the tone, and can make as big a difference as pickup type, but for most people that's a variable too many, and they'll generally just go with whatever the amp designer spec'd.
[/quote]

On the other hand, I couldn't count the number of times I've heard amps/cabs/pedals being tested or played around with, and the result is (to me...) exactly the same, whatever knob is tweaked or cab plugged in. Once it's distorted 'mush' (technical term...), it's distorted 'mush'. The fine nuances between a 'Wild Taurus' or 'Enraged Bear' compared to the 'Dying Rat' scape me. Whatever speaker come across as too harsh, I'd have thought that backing off the treble a tad might make it acceptable. Strange to think that the original 'disto' was literally slashed speaker cones. Question of taste, of course, and afficianado expertise, but the detail differences are not always so flagrant, imo.
Disclaimer: My hearing has, for various reasons, deteriorated over the decades, so I would no longer claim 'hifi' audition. 'Twas not always thus, but all those years ago there was only really Colorsound or Fuzz Face, so there was less variation, anyway...

Edited by Dad3353
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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1434911631' post='2803803']
On the other hand, I couldn't count the number of times I've heard amps/cabs/pedals being tested or played around with, and the result is (to me...) exactly the same, whatever knob is tweaked or cab plugged in. Once it's distorted 'mush' (technical term...), it's distorted 'mush'. The fine nuances between a 'Wild Taurus' or 'Enraged Bear' compared to the 'Dying Rat' scape me. Whatever speaker come across as too harsh, I'd have thought that backing off the treble a tad might make it acceptable. Strange to think that the original 'disto' was literally slashed speaker cones. Question of taste, of course, and afficianado expertise, but the detail differences are not always so flagrant, imo.
[/quote]

Everyone's ears are different - I have the advantage or disadvantage of being fairly sensitive to tone, but for some everything sounds just the same. However if what you're hearing is mush then no amount of fiddling with speakers is likely to save it.

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[quote name='Ancient Mariner' timestamp='1434912175' post='2803810']
Everyone's ears are different - I have the advantage or disadvantage of being fairly sensitive to tone, but for some everything sounds just the same. However if what you're hearing is mush then no amount of fiddling with speakers is likely to save it.
[/quote]

Absolutely, as I indicate in the post I'd not quite finished typing..! :lol:
I hear nuance in hi-hat cymbals that others would describe as just clashing metal. ;) I'm very 'picky' with my cymbals; they can't be bought unseen (or rather, unheard...).

Edited by Dad3353
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Did a test in a large rehearsal room this afternoon.

BF Gen 3 Super Twin

Fender Twinzilla. A late 60s Silverface Twin converted to 64 Blackface AB763 circuit, HT impedance increased to give voltage drop/sag, two 1958 Alnico Jensen P12Ns reconed/recoiled by Uncle Bulgaria. Speaker series/parallel switch to allow different valve configurations. 1987 Tele '52 RI and a Klon Centaur clone.

With 4 6L6s to give 85W of super clean, the BF was quite interesting. Very much into Dick Dale territory. Huge sound but not my cup of tea. Back to the Jensens. Sound was a lot looser and got a lot of Tele twang back.

With two Mazda 6V6s ('50's French war department NOS chaps - filthy, filthy, filthy) the BF was horrible. Much too flat to shape the distortion into something sweet.

As you'd expect really.

Edited by tonewheels
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[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1434702592' post='2801927']
This is BASSCHAT, we don't want your guitar-playing kind around here - leave this place and never return!
[/quote]I have seen the light but you know I used to use a dummy till I was two and I not ashamed of that either (mind you I still have an acoustic guitar and I am taking the 5th on the dummy)

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