Is the Barefaced big baby 2 the best small cab?

[artisan]

I use a BB2 in two bands.
One playing upright bass in a Rockabilly band & also playing an active 5 string bass guitar in a Black Sabbath tribute band.
My amplifier is GK MB Fusion 800.
I couldn't be happier with it,both bands were equally impressed & amazed with how good it sounds,it has all the volume I've ever needed too.
Previously I was using a Genz Benz 212 cab & have to say the BB2 is way better in every respect,safe to say I love it.

Edited February 10, 2017 by artisan

[discreet]

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1486724913' post='3234087']
I couldn't be happier with it [BB2] both bands were equally impressed & amazed with how good it sounds.
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]My amplifier is GK MB Fusion 800.[/font][/color]
[/quote]

I'm not surprised you're happy with your BB2, but let's not forget the role of your Fusion in all this - that is one hell of an amp!

[Prince_phil]

Good to know it works well with upright too!

[artisan]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1486726290' post='3234105']


I'm not surprised you're happy with your BB2, but let's not forget the role of your Fusion in all this - that is one hell of an amp!
[/quote]
Lol yes indeed it is,I'd go so far to say that it is the best amplifier I have owned to date.
Anyone who thinks class D amps lack heft clearly haven't tried one of these little beauties.

[discreet]

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1486736700' post='3234234']
Anyone who thinks class D amps lack heft clearly haven't tried one of these little beauties.
[/quote]

Quite. I thought the whole 'preamp valves run at high voltage' speil was pure marketing, but no. Mr Gallien has something there. Most 'hybrid' amps with a valve in the pre are no such thing - they are solid-state amps that happen to have a valve in them for marketing purposes. Same with many so-called 'valve preamp pedals'. I don't include the Noble, though - I believe that also runs its valve at high voltage.

Edited February 10, 2017 by discreet

[Prince_phil]

Great Im going to needing a new amp head too by the sounds of things! haha..

[bassjim]

Going by the blurb on the BF site I though I was going to really like one. When I tried it I didn't. Not even a little bit. Stayed where I was but at least I knew that I didn't like it through personal experience. I got to A B it with my usual brand.

Alex let me pick one up and try it which was very nice of him. So now I know. You may find unless your ears are used to something different you may like them straight away.

However they do seem to be a winner for many so if the try before you buy thing is still going.......

[Grangur]

I've owned 3 Barefaced cabs. Loved 2 but there was one that was too top-end for my ears. So they're not all the same.

Alex is a really good guy though. So, get in contact with him. Tell him what you're looking for and he'll give some good honest advice.

[Chienmortbb]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1486739014' post='3234271']
Going by the blurb on the BF site I though I was going to really like one. When I tried it I didn't. Not even a little bit. Stayed where I was but at least I knew that I didn't like it through personal experience. I got to A B it with my usual brand.

Alex let me pick one up and try it which was very nice of him. So now I know. You may find unless your ears are used to something different you may like them straight away.

However they do seem to be a winner for many so if the try before you buy thing is still going.......
[/quote]This is the point. It is the best for whom? If you love the sound it is the best, if you don't, it ain't. I suspect there are BF 1x10 owners that would also argue with this.

[funkle]

Hey Phil. I just bought a couple of the Fearless F112 cabs secondhand; they are extremely powerful cabs with tons of low end. Very clean and uncoloured; they are one of the 'super 12s' kicking around these days. I think a BB2 would go louder, but doesn't go as low; these go as low to my ear as Acmes/Audiokinesis cabs (and I have owned or demo'd both).

I'm still getting used to them, but they are another boutique/high end option. You're welcome to try mine out sometime. One F112 is huuuuge sounding and very even, 2 is monstrous.

[funkle]

Caveat: The Fearless F112s really need 500w into 8 ohms per cab to put out decent volume. Not sure if your LM2 will have that ability....but it would probably work pretty well with a BB2 (which I also demo'd at one point).

Honestly, a BB2 is superb one cab solution, and has more than enough low end for most people. It's efficient and loud.

Given what you have, and your requirements for multipurpose use, I think it might be a very good solution for you.

Pete

[Prince_phil]

Hi Pete- I hope your well! Are the fearless cabs quite hard to get here in the UK? I quite like that barefaced are based in the UK and that the support seems to be pretty good.

Do people tend not to like them as they are too flat sounding? Im getting the impression that they have more the sound of a good PA monitor rather then a coloured bass amp..

Looks like Im going to be buying one new now (unless anyone has one for sale here) so I can always take advantage of the returns policy if it doesnt suit.

[Kev]

[quote name='Prince_phil' timestamp='1486910255' post='3235417']
Hi Pete- I hope your well! Are the fearless cabs quite hard to get here in the UK? I quite like that barefaced are based in the UK and that the support seems to be pretty good.

[/quote]

Not at all, there is a dedicated UK builder http://trickyaudio.wixsite.com/trickyaudio/products

[funkle]

[quote name='Prince_phil' timestamp='1486910255' post='3235417']
Hi Pete- I hope your well! Are the fearless cabs quite hard to get here in the UK? I quite like that barefaced are based in the UK and that the support seems to be pretty good.

Do people tend not to like them as they are too flat sounding? Im getting the impression that they have more the sound of a good PA monitor rather then a coloured bass amp..

Looks like Im going to be buying one new now (unless anyone has one for sale here) so I can always take advantage of the returns policy if it doesnt suit.
[/quote]

Fearless cabs have to be ordered from Guy at Tricky Audio. No returns....

At least with BF you can order and return within a month if you don't like it. It's why I never ordered new with Fearless stuff...couldn't quite stomach the risk. Got mine secondhand. Best way for everything, lol

The Fearless cabs do not have the typical colouration of many bass cabs. They are much more studio monitor like. For jazz gigs I think that is fine; for rock or other gigs I'll use my Zoom B3 pedal to color it up.

Mind you, the BB2 is also extremely faithful to the audio input. But it has less low end (but plenty enough IMO). It's not a typical 'coloured' cabinet either.

You might find that both are too clean for your tastes.

Edited February 12, 2017 by funkle

[Kev]

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1486925908' post='3235615']
Fearless cabs have to be ordered from Guy at Tricky Audio. No returns....

At least with BF you can order and return within a month if you don't like it. It's why I never ordered new with Fearless stuff...couldn't quite stomach the risk.

[/quote]

Bit harsh on Fearless to single them out as having the same Policy as pretty much all cab builders out there, with exception to BF

Id love to try one, but all this talk of them being crystal clear puts me off. If players want a PA monitor sound, why bother with a power amp and cab at all? I guess many don't these days, AxeFX etc. The BF cabs I had were very clear as well, particularly the 2nd Gen Midget T. The SC seem to have a bit more character to it, although perhaps that was the lack of tweeter/high end.

[Dood]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1486928327' post='3235654']
Id love to try one, but all this talk of them being crystal clear puts me off. If players want a PA monitor sound, why bother with a power amp and cab at all?
[/quote]

You are gigging right? He he! So many venues have monitors that just aren't up to the job of handling bass guitar, especially for those bassists who tune anything below Eb lol. So, for me, being able to bring along a 'monitor' that can more than handle the job [i]and[/i] that i have some control over takes the pressure off the rattley vocal monitors held together with gaffer tape!

I think it's easy to get 'crystal clear' confused with 'toppy'. The BF BB cabinets (for example) only reproduce what you put in to them, like a top quality PA. (Quite the opposite from coloured bass cabinets I suppose, not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that, if that is what is wanted I hasten to add.) So if it sounds toppy, it's not the fault of the cabinet, it's what is being put in to it

Edited February 12, 2017 by dood

[Kev]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1486929671' post='3235679']
You are gigging right? He he! So many venues have monitors that just aren't up to the job of handling bass guitar, especially for those bassists who tune anything below Eb lol. So, for me, being able to bring along a 'monitor' that can more than handle the job [i]and[/i] that i have some control over takes the pressure off the rattley vocal monitors held together with gaffer tape!

I think it's easy to get 'crystal clear' confused with 'toppy'. The BF BB cabinets (for example) only reproduce what you put in to them, like a top quality PA. (Quite the opposite from coloured bass cabinets I suppose, not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that, if that is what is wanted I hasten to add.) So if it sounds toppy, it's not the fault of the cabinet, it's what is being put in to it
[/quote]

I am, perhaps I am just lucky with venues But then again, I am not one of those bassist that does rely on monitors, so perhaps I would notice if I went ampless

If you play a distorted tone, you don't really want or need cabs that are crystal clear, toppy or however else you want to refer to it With the Barefaced, I used a cab simulator to 'colour' up the sound somewhat and smoothen things out. I haven't gigged the Bergantino that replaced it yet and wont for a few weeks, from rehearsals I am undecided if I will still use the cab sim or go without. The cab sim will still be used to send signal to FOH though.

[funkle]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1486928327' post='3235654']


Bit harsh on Fearless to single them out as having the same Policy as pretty much all cab builders out there, with exception to BF

[/quote]

Fair comment. But the Fearless stuff is very expensive...and there is nowhere to hear it first. At least with most other brands, I could go to Bass Direct or something...or a mate's gig, or whatever.

[Kev]

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1486933226' post='3235719']


Fair comment. But the Fearless stuff is very expensive...and there is nowhere to hear it first. At least with most other brands, I could go to Bass Direct or something...or a mate's gig, or whatever.
[/quote]

Also a fair comment

[Dood]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1486930643' post='3235692']
I am, perhaps I am just lucky with venues But then again, I am not one of those bassist that does rely on monitors, so perhaps I would notice if I went ampless

[b]If you play a distorted tone, you don't really want or need cabs that are crystal clear, toppy or however else you want to refer to it[/b] With the Barefaced, I used a cab simulator to 'colour' up the sound somewhat and smoothen things out. I haven't gigged the Bergantino that replaced it yet and wont for a few weeks, from rehearsals I am undecided if I will still use the cab sim or go without. The cab sim will still be used to send signal to FOH though.
[/quote]

I see what you are saying and I agree, if you aren't using some sort of shaping on a driven signal, a tweetered cabinet can possibly sound harsh. I do use 'shaping' only on the drive portion of my bass signal too, that is true however, any effects/direct bass tone I use gets the full range treatment and thus I need the tweeter to be alive and well. I either use a cab sim or DSP EQ. - Like you, the idea being that the tone, where ever it is sent, IEMs, FRFR, FOH, Foldback, whatever, is always the same. The tone is set without the need for a cabinet to be part of the overall sound.

[markstuk]

Don't forget that fearless and barefaced share quite a lot of "design DNA" as Alex will happily confirm..

[Kev]

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1486936345' post='3235762']
Don't forget that fearless and barefaced share quite a lot of "design DNA" as Alex will happily confirm..
[/quote]
I imagine the 3-way the Big Baby I shares an awful lot in common with an F112. The BB2 less so?

Edited February 12, 2017 by Kev

[chris_b]

I guess the sharing was what both could do with an off the shelf Eminence speaker. When Alex designed his own mods to his speaker their paths diverged somewhat.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1486929671' post='3235679']
I think it's easy to get 'crystal clear' confused with 'toppy'. The BF BB cabinets (for example) only reproduce what you put in to them, like a top quality PA. (Quite the opposite from coloured bass cabinets...
[/quote]

By contrast, I think the Big Baby is coloured. It's a subtle colouring but there's an upper midrange bulge and I thought it lacked clarity at least compared to the cabs I use. My cabs are coloured too but like a pair of headphones - a peak in the deep lows and crystaline but not brittle highs.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1486930643' post='3235692']
If you play a distorted tone, you don't really want or need cabs that are crystal clear, toppy or however else you want to refer to it With the Barefaced, I used a cab simulator to 'colour' up the sound somewhat and smoothen things out. I haven't gigged the Bergantino that replaced it yet and wont for a few weeks, from rehearsals I am undecided if I will still use the cab sim or go without. The cab sim will still be used to send signal to FOH though.
[/quote]

I use quite a lot of drive in my sound and it sounds fine using IEMS/recorded direct/BF cabs/PA worst case I have to back off a notch or two of treble EQ. So I think "cant use clean/neutral cabs with distortion" is a bit of an oversimplification.

As dood and others have pointed out, the big advantage of using relatively neutral cabs is that you only have to EQ your sound once and its the same for every signal path - if your using cabs with a lot of "personality" and going to DI to the PA (for example) you really have no idea what sound is going out front.

Really this quite easy for the OP to resolve: plug some headphones/ear buds into your amp - do you like that sound ? yes I love the clarity - buy a BB2 (or similar monitor type cab), no its too clean/sterile/whatever - you need a different cab.