MrDaveTheBass

Do you absolutely have to have a 5er? You'll find a much larger variety of 4-stringers within your budget. You could pay hundreds of dollars more for that extra B-string, and then discover that it's a very expensive thumb-rest. 😜 If that low B is essential, you could use the bottom four strings from a set of 5, and tune your bass B-E-A-D.

Before buying my Two10 I looked all over t'interweb for consumer reviews, but there's not a lot out there - lots of love for its little brother the One10, which was a good sign, but not much stuff about living with the Two10 day-to-day. The one question that I struggled to find the answer to was, "Can it replace my 4 x 10?" If you're in a similar position to me - keen amateur/semi-pro tired of lugging a "normal" - (i.e. not Barefaced) 4 x 10 to pub/club gigs every weekend, I can say, "Yes! It's plenty loud enough and more." What cab is the Two10 replacing? My old cab is a Genz Benz Focus LT 410. It's light for a 4 x 10 (64 lbs), it's well designed, plenty loud and has a nice tone. OK, it's not a top-of-the-range "Uber" cab, but it's done me proud for the last three years, and I love it's tone, volume and reliability. If the current cab's so great, Why replace it? It all comes down to weight. I sustained a back injury this year, and although now on the mend, I can't manage to lug a 4 x 10 about on my own. I've always used a sack-truck, so for a flat, level load-in I managed OK, but I still had to lift my cab into my car, and any venues with stairs, steps or raised stages were becoming a very literal pain. Preconceptions Before the Two10 arrived, I hoped that despite having half the cone area of the Genz Benz, if I really cranked my amp through the Two10, I should be just about able to squeeze enough volume out of it to keep up with my loud drummer. I expected a drop in performance, but hoped that the reduced handling effort would make up for a shortfall in SPL. First Impressions I was able to A-B the Two10 against the Focus 410 in my front room. First, I played through the Genz Benz, which sounded great as usual. Without changing the controls on the bass or the amp, I swapped the Speakon lead over to the Two10, set at 4 Ohms. Bloody hell! - I didn't have an SPL meter, but to my ears at least, the Two10 sounded louder than the 4 x 10. More bass, more mids, just more of everything! I was puzzled at how this could be possible, but I guess that the Two10's 4 Ohm load was allowing my Markbass LM3 to output its full 500W, as opposed to 300W through the 8 Ohm Genz Benz. I tentatively tried cranking the amp a bit beyond front-room levels, but was forced to stop when the ornaments on the mantlepiece started to jump into the fireplace. The door burst open, and I was confronted by a very angry Mrs TheBass wanting to know what exactly the f**k I thought I was doing. Verdict - IT'S LOUD! First Gig (Quiet band) The next day I was able to try out the Two10 in more appropriate surroundings. A gig with my originals band - two clean electric guitars and a refined drummer with an above average grasp of volume and dynamics, swapping between brushes, rods and sticks. We play an eclectic set ranging from quiet acoustic ballads to heavy dub-laden ska numbers. I'm playing a fretless EB MM Sterling through the Markbass LM3, and the Two10 doesn't miss a beat. The venue has its own PA, so my rig is for stage monitoring only. One of the guitarists uses a lot of phase and flange - think Cocteau Twins - which can sometimes bury my bass, but tonight it's easy to find a balance and sit nicely in the mix. The LM3 is barely at tickover. The load-in and out is a joy - I can lift the Two10 with one hand, and by back is thanking me almost as much as the drunk punter who we played "Happy Birthday" to. All in all, a very good night. First Rehearsal (Loud Band) The following night is rehearsal night with my loud punk/rock covers band. Two deaf overdriven guitarists playing through 4 x 12 Marshall half-stacks and a shed-building drummer who thinks that John Bonham played like a wuss. We're really loud, especially in a small rehearsal room, and I'm glad of the 18dB of volume-reduction from my Alpine earplugs. I'm running an SVT amp-sim through the Markbass to give me a bit of "Grrr", which sounds great through the Two10. With this band, I'm playing a fretted Sterling, for lots of bark and fret-clank. It's a small rehearsal room, and my rig keeps up easily without needing to be pushed. I notice that I've had to wind the master level anticlockwise from its usual setting with the Genz Benz, and cut some of the Lows and Low Mids. First Gig (Loud Band) This is the acid test - my loud band at full gig volume. The venue is a medium sized pub - the room is actually the ground floor of three terraced houses knocked together into one open plan space. I set up as normal, and DI into the PA. The bass drum and both guitars are miked up, and the guitarists are packing a Marshall 4 x 12, and a 2 x 12 respectively. We're fortunate to have an ex-pro soundman who knows how to get a good balanced mix, and manages to keep the volume to a realistic level. He's got a great pair of ears and a wealth of experience, and I trust his judgement. After the soundcheck, he beckons to me, and I walk over to the desk. He points down, and I notice to my amazement that the fader for my bass is at zero - my new little rig with its tiny Two10 cab is doing 100% of the work, with no reinforcement from the PA at all! Verdict My Two10 doesn't just keep up with the "ordinary" 4 x 10 it replaces, its louder. It's not just about volume though - the tone is great, and the sound fills the room better than my old cab. I originally thought that I'd end up getting a pair of Two10s, but that would be absolute overkill for my situation, even for my noisy covers band. At first I was skeptical of Barefaced's claim that the Two10 could replace a 4 x 10, but in my experience, that's absolutely the case.

Time is a great filter. It strains out all of the crap, so that we only remember the good stuff. Actually, thinking about it, it strains out all of the bland, "meh" stuff, leaving us to remember the good stuff, plus the outstandingly bad - Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep anyone? That said, there was a queue at my local old-git barbers last week, so I ended up sitting in the trendy yoof establishment next door, listening to Radio 1. I was amazed at just how anodyne all of the songs were. Whilst I was in the shop, every song they played sounded exactly the same - some guy mumble-rapping something about how down he was that his "GF" wouldn't give him a "BJ", over a dull backing track consisting entirely of generic Garage Band marimba samples. By the end, I was so worn down by the suffocating, emotionless blandness of it all, that I wasn't even annoyed when it was time to pay and the hairdresser called me "Babes".

I had a very positive experience with them - I returned an acoustic that had been bought as a Christmas present for my daughter by her grandmother, as I thought the soundboard bracing was buzzing. They accepted the return without question, (I'm not even sure that we had the receipt) and sorted the problem within a week - the buzzing turned out to be a loose battery box. Excellent customer service, and a pleasure to deal with, even though I hadn't made the original purchase.

#5 The two steps to being a sought-after musician: Play well. Play nice. (even more crucial than 1 in a small pool of people).

I discovered recently that the Number One record in the UK charts on the day that I was born was "Double Barrel" by Dave and Ansell Collins. I like to think that this subliminally inspired my later love of dub and reggae, and my musical career as a low-note specialist.

This^^^ 😜 I was at college in 1991 and still considered myself a g****rist. Then a funk band with two gorgeous female singers came along. The guitar chair was filled, but they needed a bass player. I had a bass, but no bass amp, so played through my 100W Laney Linebacker guitar combo, so I must've sounded awful. I was blagging it terribly, but the rest of the band were a talented lot, and we were well received wherever we played. Though I failed to seduce either singer, I was myself seduced by the ways of the low note. People started calling me 'Dave Bass', and it stuck. (On reflection, I do actually remember a successful liasion with our backing dancer, so perhaps the low-notes did the trick in the end - My playing hasn't inspired anyone else to take their clothes off since, mind.) 😕

"The Plugs Don't Work" - isn't that a Verve song from the '90s?

We have had some erratic weather over the last couple of weeks - especially hot and humid.

^^^ This. Play as many different basses as you can. Go for something second-hand - you'll get a lot more bass for your money, and you shouldn't lose any money if you sell it on. You'll probably find your next bass on t'internet, but whatever you do, play it before you hand over the dosh.

I've got a couple of Thunder 1As - one fretted, the other fretless. The fretted one was my first bass, and now lives in my daughter's guitar rack. If you're into Westones, you might find this forum useful: http://westone.forumotion.com/ There's a lot of information here too: http://www.westoneguitars.net/

I've been using EB Cobalt flats for over three years, and haven't noticed a problem with tuning. When I first put them on though, they were higher tension than the rounds that I'd used previously, so I needed to give the trussrod a tweak to compensate - after that, every new set of cobalt flats have been pretty stable - they've held their tuning just as well as any other sort of strings - I must have got through over half a dozen sets by now.

Re-reading my post, I sound like I'm an adrenaline junkie, but that's the last thing that I'd describe myself as. Just like you, my happiest state is one where I'm completely relaxed. It's weird though, but without the fear/excitement beforehand, I can't seem to reach the cosmic nirvana in the middle of the gig when everyone's playing perfectly together and the crowd are dancing and singing along. I guess that the pleasurable release of tension is only possible from being tense in the first place (ooer missus!).

I used to be almost paralysed with nerves before a gig. They're a natural, hard-wired response to a stressful situation - the ancient caveman-part of your brain pumps adrenaline around your system in order to escape or kill that sabre-toothed tiger! The turning point for me was when I recognised that the sensation of fear before the gig was exactly the same feeling as being excited. I still feel the butterflies, but I'm able to tell myself that I'm not frightened, I'm just excited. It's got to the point now that if I didn't get that rush before a gig, I don't think that I'd enjoy it - for me now, it's all about chasing that buzz that makes me realise that I'm alive.

What ear defenders are you using? Standard foam plugs can really affect what you hear. If you get yourself a "musician's" set you should find that you should still be able to hear everyone, but at a lower volume. With the Alpine plugs, I find that I can actually hear everything better, as my ears aren't distorting with the volume. It did take a couple of rehearsals to get used to them, but now I won't play without them.

Mine live on my key fob with my car keys - I don't leave home without them!

I swear by these - I always use them when I'm rehearsing or gigging, or even in the crowd at a gig. They're comfy to wear, and actually make it easier to hear everybody, at a safer volume: https://www.alpinehearingprotection.co.uk/earplugs/musicsafe-classic/

Don't worry, it's a fine line between 'clever' and stupid'!

This sounds like the 'narrative arc' of many bands that I've been in. Take time to enjoy your new family - before you know it your house will be full of grumpy teenagers, and it'll be time to get that three-piece on the road.

Has anyone replaced the tweeter in a Genz Benz Focus 410? I thought that I'd be able to replace just the diaphragm, but the screws on the driver have been epoxyed over. Even more annoyingly, the horn has been epoxyed onto the driver, so I can't even unscrew the driver and reuse the horn. Can anyone suggest where I might be able to source a replacement driver and horn? Many thanks, Dave.

Thanks Andy, I've passed your number onto Dunc, who's Rev Schnider's guitarist. Cheers, Dave

This is weird: When I play with a pick, I can sing at the same time. If I try to sing whilst playing the same line with my fingers, my mouth doesn't open, and my face gurns about like I'm having a stroke. Who'd have thought moving two fingers took up so much brain power?

My guitarist uses all sorts of weird tunings. One rehearsal I took my fretted bass along, rather than my usual fretless, and it just sounded wrong. I realised that I must automatically compensate the pitch on the fretless to match the guitar - I was rather chuffed - my ears must be better than I thought they were. If you're going to use any sweetened tuning system, make sure that you're using the same one as the guitarist.