alexclaber

Awesomeness. Thanks to all for entertaining and humouring me! Alex

Just to let y'all know, I shall be bringing the following from the Barefaced stable: 2 x Midget, 2 x Compact, 1 x Big One. Alex

[quote name='Finbar' post='621877' date='Oct 9 2009, 06:09 PM']Right... where to start...Really want to try a few things out to get more of a feel for it all though. Pretty much all of these options are horrendously expensive, so it's worth holding out for something I know is good [/quote] Beg, borrow or steal some guitar rigs. Alex

[quote name='Finbar' post='621877' date='Oct 9 2009, 06:09 PM']Currently, yes. May change this aspect of things, may not. I'm not entirely sure yet. If I go with a cranked guitar amp, I fear it might not have enough 'rumble' to fill things out a little bit on its own though.[/quote] I bet it will - we've all suffered enough pain at the hands of guitarists to know that guitar amps can go disappointingly low. I'd look for a 100W Marshall and 2x12" guitar cab. Another trick to get you more consistent power valve overdrive at different SPLs is to EQ in more lows on the guitar amp at quiet venues and less lows at loud venues (which will respectively eat up headroom or give you headroom back). And on your clean rig do the opposite (preferably with a ~100-150Hz EQ knob, not a normal 40-80Hz bass knob). Alex

[quote name='Uncle Balsamic' post='621820' date='Oct 9 2009, 05:13 PM']And the Double Midget...?[/quote] Soon! Alex

I have the very first complete Midget here! It is most awesome looking and will be coming to the SE Bass Bash tomorrow along with a grill-less brother. Alex

Our guitarist was quite reluctant to do backing vocals but after a year or so of trying he's got pretty damned good, especially considering he's often playing quite syncopated guitar parts. Last night was my last rehearsal as a lead singer and he did some great subtle harmonies against my parts - one more gig with this line-up (next Thursday at the Prince Albert by Brighton station if anyone's about!) and then we hope to have a proper singer front centre plus the two of us on proper backing vocals and our drummer on comedy vocal noises! If you get an opportunity to try doing backing vocals, give it a go, it really is good fun and if you're having a moment of tuning/lyrical paranoia you can just back off from the mic. Alex

It's probably just held on with velcro - might take a fight to get it out! Alex

[quote name='stevie' post='621672' date='Oct 9 2009, 02:41 PM']This is well worth doing and you'll hear the difference.[/quote] +1 I've had at least one basschatter pm me for advice on this and been very happy with the end results! Alex

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='621629' date='Oct 9 2009, 02:14 PM']So, if I want to put some padding round the inside of my recent cab, what should I use and is it available from B&Q?[/quote] Get a roll of loft insulation and use what's left over to keep your house warm! Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='621618' date='Oct 9 2009, 02:07 PM']Got a citation on that? Wanna present it to the speaker designer at AVI, who told me it, as well as other stuff I know not to be true (my amp wasn't worth fixing because it didn't have 'Marshall' written on it.[/quote] My understanding is that in a closed box the loss of volume by filling with stuffing loses you as much or more internal space than the very very marginal decrease in the wave speed. In a transmission line the stuffing makes the line appear very marginally longer - but the main function is to damp the overtones of the 1/4 wave resonance. In a ported box stuffing damps the port response killing the lows. However the driver does perceive a different box size to what measurement suggests but this is due to losses in the system. Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='621597' date='Oct 9 2009, 01:50 PM']Does packing the cab with stuff (not just covering the walls) lower the speed of sound and make the cab respond as if it is slightly larger also?[/quote] No, that's an old idea that has since been proven to be incorrect. Alex

Is anyone coming from the east end of London who has the space/inclination to transport a Barefaced Vintage? Alex

You are still running two rigs aren't you, one clean, one dirty? Alex

[quote name='thedonutman' post='620839' date='Oct 8 2009, 06:28 PM']Have I missed the boat on this? (I'm in Sheffield.)[/quote] I need to work out where they've been and where they have yet to go - my inclination is to keep these cabs touring until there's no more bass players left to try them! So no-one has missed the boat but there may be a wait before it returns to your vicinity. Alex

I'd look at guitar heads instead - 50W or 100W. I'd also consider using a pair of 1x12" cabs, or a 2x12" with separate wiring, so on quieter gigs you only use one 12" to lower the sensitivity of the rig and allow you to push the amp hard enough. And/or an amp that allows you to switch off pairs of valves for lower power. Alex

[quote name='Ray' post='621309' date='Oct 9 2009, 09:11 AM']I think I know what you mean but would you mind explaining this in a little more detail please. Thanks.[/quote] You know those gigs that have happened at Battersea Power Station, where the sound was always terrible because you'd hear the sound from the PA and then a moment later hear the same sound echoing off one of the power station walls? Just like that but on a smaller scale. Because it's on a smaller scale instead of hearing discrete echoes you end up with out of phase signals mixing, which means you gets lots of sharp peaks and troughs in the response as some frequencies add but some cancel, which causes uneven midrange and treble response and a blurrier sound. Alex

[quote name='fenderiko' post='620809' date='Oct 8 2009, 05:47 PM']you talked earlier about the 3 parameters, whilst you designed your cabs in your models did you have to sacrifice one parameter ( If I can call these parameter ) ? if so , which one ?[/quote] It varies from model to model. The Midget is loud and small so doesn't go low. The Compact is equally loud but larger so it goes lower. The Big One is also equally loud but larger still so it goes even lower. The Vintage is louder but even larger so goes as low as the Compact, not the Big One. Bear in mind that the 'lowness' is a description of the unEQ'd bass extension - if you add bass boost to the Midget it will go as low as the Compact - but by adding bass boost you're requiring more power, so you're getting more lowness as the expense of loudness. Alex

Yes, it should be there. A well built bass cab will be internally lined with some kind of sound absorbent material to stop midrange from the backwave being reflected and messing up the sound. Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='620728' date='Oct 8 2009, 04:35 PM']So is the Vintage happy with a 50w valve head? What other factors are significant? And when you say running out of power, will that mean clipping and valve drive sorta sounds? Cause JoeGarcia was loving a 100w valve head into the Compact and he is all about filthy valve drive sounds.[/quote] Yes, dirt et al. It's too hideously overcomplicated to generalise which is why I ask potential customers a lot of questions to make sure they end up with the right cab. Alex

[quote name='tayste_2000' post='620692' date='Oct 8 2009, 04:07 PM']I wouldn't really call 100w and 200w low power in the tube world and I did put my 400+ into but didn't think it was worth mentioning as I doubt anyone with a 400+ is looking for a cab they can carry with 1 hand.[/quote] You might not but it's not about opinion - it's about what can drive that speaker happily. I'd be more than happy with 200W of valve power - but I'd use two Compacts or a Vintage to give the amp an easier load and thus a better tone. Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='620697' date='Oct 8 2009, 04:09 PM']What sorta outputs are you calling low/hefty? And how far either side of nominal does the impedance swing in a Compact compared to an oldschool ceramic type speaker?[/quote] 100W valve is low. 300W is hefty. I do think that there's more to it than the power rating though. The impedance of the Compact doesn't swing any more than a really high quality old 15", the kind with magnets that weigh as much as a small horse. But the cheap speakers that tended to be used in bass amps have much smaller magnets and therefore much lower peaks at resonance and weaker cone control - the former is easier for a transformer coupled amp to drive, the latter gives more bass from a lower powered amp. Alex

As I said in the light vs heavy thread, a single Compact does not like lower power valve amps - difficult impedance curve equals premature clipping. The EA cabs should be quite good with valve amps because their higher Qts drivers (essential for a transmission line) result in a flatter impedance curve and thus an easier load for a transformer coupled amp. Alex

[quote name='tayste_2000' post='620643' date='Oct 8 2009, 03:17 PM']I agree with this I had an EA NM410 very light but very qide, very difficult to carry, then I have my Matamp 4x10 (Non Neo) a lot heavier than the EA but easier to move as it isn't as wide.[/quote] No, I didn't mean size matters more for portability than weight does, I meant that size has a measurable effect on output (though it's complex) whilst weight has no effect whatsoever (assuming rigidity is maintained). Alex

[quote name='Monz' post='620647' date='Oct 8 2009, 03:21 PM']As I said in my experience... limited though it is, the comparison was between a newly designed 2 x 12 that I had made as a one off by Matamp, a Markbass 1 x 15 and the Barefaced Compact. Whilst the Markbass and Barefaced were very good at what they did there seemed to be a point at which they struggled whereas the 2x12 just seemed to keep going, and also the Matamp didn't vibrate at all and was louder than the other two. My assessment was also backed up by another BCer who was there at the time. Just in case it makes any difference the amps used to test them were both all valve... a GT200 and a Simms Watts PA100[/quote] One thing I've found with the Compact is that it doesn't get on very well with lower power valve amps - they seem to struggle with the impedance curve of the high forcefactor motor and consequently run out of power long before the Compact really gets going. Use a heftier valve amp, a powerful solidstate amp or a pair of Compacts (which ups the efficiency so the amp doesn't have to work so hard) and it's an entirely different story. So yes, the amp makes a HUGE difference! Alex