4 Strings

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1376293344' post='2171676'] Some banging Latin jazz funk from me and my band (again) - hope you enjoy (let me know!) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpGPk4jRTPs[/media] [/quote]Yes, I did enjoy. As much as I am envious!

[quote name='Ziphoblat' timestamp='1376975832' post='2181638'] Probably the millionth rendition of this on YouTube, but oh well; this is mine. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Rl_XRI3ys[/media] [/quote] Nicely done. I always like to look for how different people finger the middle 8 bit. Good feel for a really great bass track

[quote name='grunge666' timestamp='1377016609' post='2182275'] That's the feeling/impression I got reading some of the posts and comments. My opinion. I had a faulty driver (Emminence's fault, not BF's) - emailed Alex after an evening rehearsal. Returned home from work next day - new driver waiting for me! That's my experience of their customer service, I'm disappointed ppl are having bad experiences. [/quote] Not had to trouble them much, I lost a rubber foot, they sent me a full set (8) the following day. Just a dab of glue on the screw, never happened again. I also remember reams of emails with Alex about which cab, what I'm trying to achieve etc and the best part of a Saturday morning comparing a Midget with my then current cab, all before I spent a penny. I went home with two cabs and went back a few weeks later to swap the Midget for a Midget T. I have never looked back. Regarding their looks, I would agree that most other cabs look better. But, to be frank, this is of no consequence to me at all. If you feel satisfied with someone saying to you 'looks like a nice cab', then go for the polished cabs. The reaction I got from band members was two lots of 'That is unreal!' when I got them to lift one and then when they heard what came from such a tiny box at a gig.

I think most of those who buy BF also take on the idea of it being a small concern who only sell direct (the markup on selling through 'normal' outlets would put them into another price bracket) and so are more tolerant of details such as parts of handles fraying, corners, feet etc as these are outsourced items, easily replaced and, although selected by BF are not primarily their design. It's true, for that money there shouldn't be detail issues, but, for me at least, I feel the money has gone into one of the most expensive drivers you can find, an expertly designed box and port all made from materials which perform at least as well as anything else in the world and is life-changingly light. This is why I bought mine. The context of things like a bit of fraying from the handle is always important. Also, if BF said 'oh well, like it or lump it' things may also be perceived to be different. But they haven't. Can I be bothered claiming my new handle? Not at the moment.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1376387972' post='2173046'] I still have my grandad's old Wharfedale Chevin XP2 speakers, they are also still thoroughly excellent, off the back of a NAD amp I got for about a fiver 15 or so years ago, and my old Djing deck. Second hand is your best bet. [/quote] Yep, s/h and British.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1376371769' post='2172851'] Will you need a power amp with that setup? [/quote] Whoops, well spotted! Here's an integrated amp - the important thing was to get one with the phono stage. Bags of power and a noticeably better sound than the Cambridge it replaced. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audiolab-8000A-high-quality-Integrated-Hi-Fi-Amplifier-/330987014732?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item4d105d0a4c

Rega Planar 3 [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/REGA-PLANAR-3-TURNTABLE-RECORD-DECK-/261261357277?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item3cd463f0dd"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3cd463f0dd[/url] Audiolab amp [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audiolab-8000C-Pre-Amp-Phono-MC-MM-/190883805588?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item2c718fb994"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c718fb994[/url] Rogers LS6 speakers [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rogers-LS6a-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/231030896759?pt=UK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_HiFiSpeakers&hash=item35ca83b877"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item35ca83b877[/url] All British and will sound fab

Bridge pups will sound similar, but the Stingray H can't do the neck sound. How much of a big deal that is depends how much you'd use the neck pup sound. From my experience, the extra H wasn't as useful as I thought. There's a setting of coils that gives an outrageous slap sound but I found the neck pup on its own was more Gibson than P. I was after the P for soul.

It's this, the 'loop' on the rubber bit splits at the end and then when the strap gets extended to its full range, gets caught on the metal cap and doesn't sit flat. I taped mine. [attachment=141439:strap_handle_fixing.jpg]

I'm hanging onto my 'Original Handle' Midget and Compact, clearly the sound colouring from the little bit of rubber fraying helps with the sound and will increase it's value once BF start using different handles.

It is a fair point, not sure they are necessarily cheap handles, and they still work ok, just seems after a while the innards fray. Still shouldn't happen, of course, but I think it's about finding a source for handles which remain suitable in other ways too. Clearly BF thought they had.

[quote name='pantherairsoft' timestamp='1376294145' post='2171686'] That would work. Though my knuckles would still be catching something (ie a flat surface) and I'm a sensitive little thing [/quote] I'm comparing my knuckles touching something to the pain of lugging my old 4x10 about when my knuckles were fabulously vulnerable!

[quote name='pantherairsoft' timestamp='1376293613' post='2171679'] My only observation is due the weight in my cab, when carrying the handles flex to thier limits, which in turns means I can catch my knuckles on the abrasive coating of the cab. [/quote] How about sanding it smooth under the handle and touching it back with black?

Happened on my Midget after about a year, it's in constant use and has otherwise stood up very well to usual loading/gigging/rehearsal etc. The handle still worked ok, but had a bit of plastic fraying and so didn't seat nice and flat when not in use. I can imagine how having to use the handle sideways (as opposed to a straight lift) might make things worse. I unscrewed the metal cap put some tape around the fraying plastic and popped the cap back on. Been a good few months of use now and it's been fine (in fact I'd forgotten about it). I accept comments about paying for a 'recall' type replacement but I can understand how hard this would hit a little firm like Barefaced if everyone demanded free handles. So long as it's not too much I don't mind a few quid for a better handle, although I'm actually not that bothered either way.

[quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1376044055' post='2168898'] ... there isn't a fine line between your bass getting damaged in transit and it arriving safely. If the courier does something that could damage your bass while it's in a soft case, it would probably damage whilst in a hard-case too. Not always, but in most situations. [/quote] I'd go along with these 'less is better packaging' comments, but I have to say I now use a semi-hard case, you know, hard foam gig bag type thing, since a machine head got bent in a soft gig bag. They're really light and offer way more protection than the soft case - which was quite an expensive one.

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1375733963' post='2165011'] But the polystyrene slabs were better protection than the polythene bag the OPs Warwick came in, which was my point. You can package something all you want but you can't counteract the actions of an idiot courier. Telebass' new Bareface cab turned up with a hole right through the side of it from a forklift fork I seem to remember. Sometimes a reinforced steel case won't be enough. [/quote] Wonder who ended up copping the cost of that?

Manufacturers won't want basses being damaged in transit and so if more packaging was required, they'd do it. If it's not needed, packaging is a waste of resources. Just because something is expensive doesn't mean resources should be wasted on it. If the bass was safe, I can't see what the issue is, even if the packaging was surprisingly simple. If you're saying a bass of that price should come with a decent case, that's different.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1375704230' post='2164434'] I had the chance to try my Compact properly last night, for the first time. ... I see a future where I sell the RS210 and buy another Barefaced... [/quote] Not sure I can think of a situation where 2 Compacts can be justified, but I'd recommend a cab with a tweeter, maybe the Midget T.

[quote name='BenTunnicliffe' timestamp='1375374850' post='2160525'] Last week's video just varying the bassline to Danny Brown's tune Party All The Time. Solidly working on hiphop lines lately. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOMDo7DUEJ4[/media] [/quote] Not the sort of tune I was expecting with that title! Nicely played though, lots of feel (and bassface - I love it!)

For me, it's one you can sing. Here's a whole album full. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZulzvVnFzo

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1375116073' post='2156892'] As with all your videos , Huw , your playing is a different class , and this band sound like proper professionals . Top quality all-round . [/quote] +1

Should we start a 'Here's my Midget in a silly situation' series? Here's a start, a little charity do at a school, but outdoors, just vocals through the pa. Not a metal-loud gig but pretty punchy. Midget handled it just ticking over, plenty of capacity left. I would not expect a 1x12 to be able to sound like this. Recorded by audience member on an iphone. There will be more, let's see some more examples of Midgets in places where you'd expect something bigger. (Try with headphones or linked to some proper speakers, laptop speakers won't reproduce the bass) [media]http://youtu.be/tLqkveQuVVU[/media]

For my tuppence, I've got two Pre-EBs and had two EBs, one 90s the other 2006. I have sold the two EBMM models and hope to keep the Pre-EBs forever. The pre-EBs have a slimmer (front to back) neck and are not as heavy as the two EBs I had (especially the 2006). I really like slim necks and find the Pre-EB fantastically comfortable. I found the neck on the 2006 too clubby altogether. I've played on another recent offering and found it the same. Regarding the neck, for me, Pre-EB, no question. I'm having a custom made and the neck will be heavily based on my '80 'Ray. The wood selected for the neck is far superior for the older models. The grain is flat as you look at the end of the neck and consistent. The pattern is to the top and the grain very even and tight. The grain on the neck of the 2006 was, frankly, all over the place, not consistent and the pretty bit was on the bottom. Some care was evident in wood selection and positioning for machining on the Pre-EBs, not on the later models. Soundwise, way less preference. They all sounded absolutely fab. I really like Stingrays, I think only some experience on G&Ls may sway me away. I prefer the 3 band EQ which would tend me away from Pre-EB.

[quote name='lee4' timestamp='1375026509' post='2155902'] Always an option. or try to find a Status Shark...... [/quote] Or a Stingray, Jaydee, or many other basses which balance nicely. The bit of neck dive is one of the first things I notice on the old P I use for church on Sundays, having played a Stingray all week.

If it's unintentional, it's not good technique. You can avoid it if you try, spanning your fingers, placing your fingers as chris says. If you want a squeak then do it, if you can't its something to improve. Flat strings help, Newtone's Platinums have finer out windings which may also help if you can't stomach flats, but best of all practice not making squeaky noises. I remember Julian Bream (I think it was him) having a little rant about popular music he really enjoyed but, for him, was ruined by squeaky guitar playing.