Conan

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1387131549' post='2308509'] I can prove this with my current Orange 1x15, the test I did with a Compact Gen 1, and the cabs I have here that do have decent horns. [/quote] "[i]Prove[/i]" what? You're talking about personal preferences there. How can they ever be "proved" other than to yourself?

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1387118467' post='2308321'] I've used my Streamliner through a Compact and a TechSoundsystems 2x12 and have to say that the 2x12 wins hands down. Compact is a good cab but won't compete with your Neox if you ask me. [/quote] Interesting. My experience was exactly the opposite! Just shows how subjective sound is...

If Barefaced had a slick website, people would accuse them of being all style over substance or "fur coat an' nae knickers". You can't win!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1387060485' post='2307938'] Not sure about that.... Anything high up the fretboard gets lost...like slides and trills [/quote] Garbage! IMO of course! And if that were the case, I think you'd need to look at your EQ settings... even with a J bass and Hartke LH500 (both known to be rather shy of mids) I have no problem whatsoever with hearing myself through my Compact - anywhere on the fretboard. However, when I tried a Genz Benz NX2-212T... mids all gone and poor audibility. Horses for courses, naturally - but to say any BF cab causes lost signal is just wrong (IME).

Welcome to the discussion Mr Budbear! Excellent post my friend! The whole point of a bass guitarists' forum is that it represents the tip of the iceberg - the players who [b][i]are[/i][/b] interested in discussing their trade/hobby, who are interested in new gear, new techniques, styles, etc. By their very nature, they will be the ones who are open to new developments. Of course, for every bass player who is a member on here (and/or Talkbass) there will be dozens more who are not - who are happy to gig every weekend with their Ampeg, Trace Elliot, Peavey, Ashdown, SWR gear with no idea of and no interest in what else is out there. Goodluck to 'em! What a dull world it would be if we all just stuck to old dogma

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1386971648' post='2307151'] Let your ears and heart make the choice. [/quote] Ears, yes. But where does the heart come in? I think that's what causes the problems with some people - their expectations based on past experiences. Big + heavy = good Light = cheap and shoddy. Lightweight box = lightweight tone. Try 'em all, and go with what you like best! In my case, there are many brands and cabs yet to try - but I am yet to play/own a cab that I liked better than my Compact (except maybe my Vintage - but that was just a bit on the large side for what I am currently doing).

I think it depends on what you are doing, music-wise. If you play a lot of slap or use a lot of harmonics - then a [b][i]good[/i][/b] tweeter can be an asset. Otherwise, a tweeter can introduce a nasty, clicky, fizzy bite to the tone IME. Like every piece of gear, you need to be careful how and when you use it. I think the ideal compromise is a cab with an adjustable tweeter- this allows experimentation. I haven't had a cab with a tweeter for a couple of years, and haven't missed one... until this week when I trialled a TKS H115. It has a very nice adjustable tweeter, and in many other ways is quite similar to a Compact. Nice cab, nice tone. Maybe worth consideration if you are thinking about a Compact but want to keep the option of a tweeter?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1386962967' post='2306997'] The only thing that bugged me a little about the 1126 is that it's squat, like the Berg 12s and Aggie DBs, so it's firing at your calves. Not a problem with a pair (that would sound massive..!) but if it was my main single cab, I'd get one in vertical configuration. [/quote] Yes. And, er..... YES!!

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1386964864' post='2307030']Mind you what I would like is all these barefaced critics to point me in the direction of something like the big baby 2 that I could build myself -that would be more useful! [/quote] You need advice on making babies?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1386950604' post='2306757']I think an EQ tweak would have worked wonders on the 1126. I actually found it to be the opposite... very wide, with a big, open low end. [/quote] I suspect you are bang on there mate! But my constant changing over of leads was starting to irritate my bandmates, so the review was somewhat curtailed! I'd like to give it another blast in the cause of fairness. But my son has been playing his guitar through the 1126 this evening, and it sounds brilliant! I could see a lot of guitarists loving this cab - especially in the tweed!! Fender-tastic!

[quote name='Protium' timestamp='1386960951' post='2306946'] I wonder how long a BF would last getting thrown in and out of a van twice a day. [/quote] From my experience, quite a while! The reputation for flimsiness is undeserved.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386275903' post='2298231'] Great stuff! I should hopefully be borrowing both of these cabs for a few days (thanks in advance WoT!) and will get the opportunity to use them at a full band rehearsal on wednesday. I'm looking forward to it! [/quote] Well, I borrowed the cabs last saturday (thanks WoT!!) and got the chance to try them on wednesday. First impressions - very nicely made. Good attention to detail and some interesting variations available. The two cabs I borrowed were the H115 and the 1126. The H115 is, in some ways quite similar to my Barefaced Compact. It is a reasonably small, reasonably light 1x15 that uses (I believe) a Neodymium speaker. It also has a tweeter, which the Compact doesn't. Soundwise, I really liked it. Despite disliking tweeters in general, this one sounds really "musical", and can be adjusted to taste. My taste is "off", but when I dialled it in it gave some very usable sounds. The overall sound is kind of "tight". No sloppiness, woolliness or any other the sounds that are deemed to be typical of fifteens! Very clear and very full-range. No shortage of anything really - but not as prominent in the midrange as my Compact (with which I compared it). I would be very happy to own one of these cabs. At current conversion rates it would cost £515 (before shipping), which makes it broadly similar to a BF Compact. The 1126 was an odd one. I wasn't keen on it's tone - but that is with my own personal set-up of Hartke LH500 and MIM Jazz bass. I found the tone was a bit lacking in bottom end, and almost "nasal" in the upper midrange. To be fair, I didn't re-EQ when switching between the H115, the Compact and the 1126 - so maybe this cab was at a bit of a disadvantage. It contains a 12" woofer and a 6" midrange driver, in a fairly light but very deep box. An easy one-handed lift, but heavier and a bit more awkward than the Compact. Cost for this version (with cloth grille and tweed vinyl) would be £630 before shipping. Stock version is £580. But where the 1126 really shone, was as a guitar cab!! Our guitarist ran his Custom Shop Strat through his Carvin V3M ([url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/carvin-v3m-amp-head/52029"]http://www.gak.co.uk...-amp-head/52029[/url]) and into the TKS cab. Absolutely stunning! Clear as a bell in the high frequencies, full and rich in the lower notes. Amazing dispersion too - with his volume being the same wherever you stood in the (large) room!! What a revelation! Anyway, I switched between all three cabs in different songs. I tried all possible combinations of the three. Best combination was the two TKS cabs together - but I still thought the best sound (for me) was the Compact on its own. Conclusion? I would be happy to own a H115. Great sound, and easily portable with the side mounted, recessed metal handles. The tweeter is a very useful addition, even though I would not use it with my current set-up. A few inches taller than my Compact, making amp adjustments easier. The 1126 does not suit my taste and style (if I have any!). It looks great, but the sound was just "wrong" for me. Great for guitar though! Price-wise, these cabs are still quite pricey I would say. Maybe not in the Aguilar/Bergantino/Vanderkley type of bracket, but certainly up there with the "equivalent" Barefaced cabs. I like the variations that are available, and it would be nice to see BF go down this route in the future... It would have been nice to have another bass player there to get some more objective views, but within the scope of this test I think I was pretty fair

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1386947975' post='2306721'] I wonder how many people would still use Barefaced if they were in a large, well paid touring band with roadies to do all the lifting... [/quote] Dunno! I'd like to be in the position of having to make that decision! I suspect your roadies would love you... but your accountant might not!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1386945046' post='2306689'] They aren't the only cab around ..... a product that doesn't really register in the big wide bass world... You don't see it on stages and its market in the pub world. [/quote] To be fair though, how many young, one-man companies have their products regularly displayed on big stages? And aren't a lot of those cabs mainly there because of sponsorship/endorsement deals? Or supplied by the venues themselves? And isn't the largest market of [i]all[/i] cab manufacturers the pub/club market? By sales? So it's not really a fair comparison. And of course they're not the only cab around - nobody said they were! But as a relatively new, UK-made product that is trying to be something a little bit different - I think the discussion is justified.

[quote name='Bass Culture' timestamp='1386926048' post='2306401'] I own a BF cab and an ACG custom bass (get me and my sophisticated tastes!). I'm genuinely bemused - when you could say they were similar types of companies in terms of their approach to their (obviously completely different) products - why the former attracts such rabidly, schizophrenically differing opinions and the latter much less so. [/quote] I'm starting to see a pattern emerge here. I could be wrong of course, but that doesn't normally stop people on here voicing their opinions! Trawling back through some (most) of the Barefaced threads, there are some BC members who like to bait and antagonise Alex Claber. Several of these threads would have ended in horrendous arguments if Alex had defended his product as vehemently as those members attacked them. That he doesn't is a credit to him. I'm starting to sound like a fanboy now - which I am not. I have never met Alex or even spoken to him. Equally, I am not a fan of the belligerent approach that these keyboard warriors adopt in order to score personal points.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1386875289' post='2305871'] That's the problem to my mind, you're possibly suggesting opinions people wouldn't otherwise have. You've also put more than one idea per selection, which means that I can't select, for example 'not tried them' without also selecting 'don't fancy them' with also selecting 'cheap looking but expensive' (not that I would select this of course). If I were Alex I probably wouldn't be overly happy about this thread, and given it's his (and I assume his family's) livelihood, it seems inappropriate. I will add that the last person with whom I discussed BF cabs offered an extraordinary level of detailed criticism, yet on further discussion it was evident that he'd never played one or even seen one, he'd just read a few threads on here.[/quote] I hope it doesn't come across as inappropriate. I have taken into account how (I think) Alex may feel about this, and would be perfectly happy to remove it (or ask a mod to) if he took umbrage. As someone else said though, it is a form of publicity - and that is rarely a bad thing. Not trying to sound flippant or dismissive there... I totally agree about the critics who have no actual experience of the products. Or who have tried one for a few minutes in their house but never gigged one in anger. I think because Alex has been so open and transparent about his products, everyone who reads a couple of posts feels like an expert. And says so. Ad nauseam... I am genuinely interested in the results of the poll, but I have no plans to "do" anything with them. If they are of any use to anyone (BC or BF) then it will have been a worthwhile exercise. If not, it will still have been interesting and a bit of fun. No harm intended. I've added another poll choice which will hopefully fit your criteria better.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1386883133' post='2306055'] I would personally like to understand the pricing structure VS TKS, which offer similar cabs, with very luxurious finishes, [/quote] Well, I took three cabs to my band rehearsal on wednesday - two TKS and my Compact. I tried all three separately and all possible combinations of them together (except all three, of course!). To cut a long story (or review) short - the TKS cabs were significantly heavier. They sounded good, but (to my ears) not [i]as[/i] good as the Compact. My bandmates agreed with this too. I've spent quite a bit of time looking at the TKS range. Yes, there are funky finishes (all at extra cost!). Yes, they offer the choice of Neo or ceramic drivers. But unless my currency conversions are way out, they are only cheaper when you look at the bottom of their range - the little 112s. Everything else is, more or less, similar in price to its Barefaced equivalent. And that's [i]before[/i] shipping costs.

[quote name='SolomonHelsing' timestamp='1386860636' post='2305542'] Funny, and hence why i'm still the only person that went for option 10 [/quote] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw9oX-kZ_9k"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw9oX-kZ_9k[/url]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1386853272' post='2305348'] or Alex's own attitude - with regard to the way that he posts on here. [/quote] Ah! Now we are getting somewhere!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1386853044' post='2305341'] At the premium that the cabs are, there are far too many cons in that list for my liking. [/quote] Maybe - but there are very few people who have listed those as "cons". A sense of balance is always useful.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1386846907' post='2305223'] I went for the couldn't give a monkeys option... In fact why am I even here? [/quote] Your support is appreciated

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1386851794' post='2305305'] Fair enough, if it were Fender, Ric, Warwick I don't see a problem, seems potentially unfair on what is after all a one man show. The web is a big audience? [/quote] Yes, that's a good point. I certainly did not intend this to be a platform for anyone to have a go at anyone else. However, some of the comments addressed at Alex Claber and users of his products have already been excessively vitriolic IMO. He is clearly seen as fair game to some. Besides, I have chosen most of the poll options to reflect opinions I have already seen expressed in a number of threads relating to BF/BF products. If this poll contravenes any forum rules, I have no issue with it being locked and/or removed.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1386851821' post='2305307'] For the OP, Bill Fitzmaurice = BF as well as Barefaced = BF [/quote] True - but many of the criticisms of BF apply to both IME.