Barefaced Compact ???

[UNITY GAIN]

I am very seriously thinking of buying this cab.

1. any possible negatives?

2. 26 pounds seems very light. I have known some cab makers to be less than honest on their weight ratings. Is it really 26LBS

3. what are its limitations?

thanks!

[Salt on your Bass?]

Hello! I have a compact and midget - just posted a bit of a review on the barefaced affiiates page trying to get a show your rig thread going.

I love mine, but i guess negatives could be you dont like the finish compared to other manufacturers. Its a bit home made in some ways (personally this is something i love), the outer coating isnt liked by everyone.

IT IS THAT LIGHT! amazing! And so loud for its size and weight, and i love the ton i get from it!

Limiations are if you turn up too loud your house might collapse.

Id recommend one any day, and alex does a one month trial. Drop him a line and tell him what your goals are. Great customer serice!

[quote name='UNITY GAIN' post='1040694' date='Nov 29 2010, 02:51 AM']I am very seriously thinking of buying this cab.

1. any possible negatives?

2. 26 pounds seems very light. I have known some cab makers to be less than honest on their weight ratings. Is it really 26LBS

3. what are its limitations?

thanks![/quote]

[wateroftyne]

I've got a loan Compact at the moment.

Yes it *really* is that light.

Negatives for some - It'll bark, growl and bite, but it doesn't to really the really sizzly treble you get from a horn. That's actually a plus for me - I love the natural roll-off of a full-range speaker.

Also, it doesn't seem to do a that huge bottom-end WHUMP. BUT - I'm actually trying to work out if I actually need that or not - after all these years, I'm not sure how useful it is. It has punchy bottom-end in spades, though.

[Conan]

[quote name='UNITY GAIN' post='1040694' date='Nov 29 2010, 02:51 AM']2. 26 pounds seems very light. I have known some cab makers to be less than honest on their weight ratings. Is it really 26LBS[/quote]

I haven't placed one on the scales, but all I can say is that when I first picked one up I did a real "double-take"!! I assumed that Alex must have forgotten to put a speaker in the box!! Incredibly light. My twelve year old son sometimes accompanies me to rehearsals, and even for him the Compact was a one-handed lift!

Tone-wise, massive - that's [i]massive[/i] mid-range honk/growl. I think of it as "shouty". No problems being heard with this one.

As WoT says, the sparkly ultra-top end is lacking but if you want that I guess this cab wouldn't be your first call anyway. Again, the sub-woofer lows are not there either but other than mushing up the on-stage sound, do they really contribute much? If you are simply using your on-stage set-up as a monitor and going through a decent PA you won't need that low end anyway.

If you like the tone (and I think it is rather subjective and depends what you are used to) then your arms and back will definitely thank you for it!!

[Prime_BASS]

negatives?
Well my only negative is that when I brought my midget it states on his website that they have them
In stock and you can get it within a few days, but delays can occur. I placed my order and I still had wait a month, which wa the initial build time before the message was on his site.
My midget arrived damaged, it was clear that something happens in transit as the box had a giant hole in it, emailed Alex and he said I'd get a replacement, that was at the end of march. I thought that at least I'd wait a month and I've emailed him twice and I am just told that I'll get one when he has one in. :/

Although I was very happy with my compact it is a huge sound, so I sold it and brought a midget, and despite the negative above I'm more than happy with it, took it to a bass bash the other week an everyone was surprised that something so small has so much low end, and a big sound.

Don't worry about it being voiced in a particular way, the cabs I find don't have a specific "sound". Basically you get what you put in.
Put a fat tube amp into it you get a fat tube tone, go straight through (bypassing a amps preamp) an you get te sound of your bass. The only thing I find is that I have to lower the high mids on my amp head which takes out some "nasaly" sound out of it.

Also you have to remember that the speaker needs breaking in, and it's takes roughly 20 hours of hard playing to do that.

I walk 10 minutes to practice rooms with guitar on my back a satchel for te amp head and the the cab in one arm.

People criticise the cab handles Alex uses, but it reality they are so light and the handle so strong that's I doubt it'll ever be an issue.

Agreed about the top end but te consensus at te bad bash was that the midget probably doesn't need a tweeter at all it's got a lot of high end. But obviously if you want the compact and high end I'm sure there is a tweettered versions.

What you put in you get out.

[jonunders]

i love mine, i have a mb lm III and i think it sounds fantastic.
if your near kings lynn, norfolk your welcome to try your amp with my compact. or alternatively i will have it with me at the east anglian bass bash. (see thread)

jon

Edited November 29, 2010 by jonunders

[UNITY GAIN]

Thanks for the replies!

I hate to be a downer and ask for the negatives, but sometimes gear gets hyped up a bit. Asking for the negatives cuts through some that.

Cheers!

UG.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='UNITY GAIN' post='1041307' date='Nov 29 2010, 04:04 PM']I hate to be a downer and ask for the negatives[/quote]
TBH, it's probably the best question you can ask!

[markstuk]

My favourite interview questions...

"What do you think is your greatest fault"

"Tell me about your role in a project that got screwed up" :-)

[Salt on your Bass?]

My greatest fault is that I work too hard. I'm sorry. A project getting screwed up?? I'm afraid I've never experienced that on anything I've project managed.



[quote name='markstuk' post='1041314' date='Nov 29 2010, 04:18 PM']My favourite interview questions...

"What do you think is your greatest fault"

"Tell me about your role in a project that got screwed up" :-)[/quote]

[markstuk]

or "I'm too loyal" :-) and "My Prince 2 certification means that projects always go well" :-)

Both of these answers usually end an interview :-)

Mark

[warwickhunt]

First off I don't own one of Alex's cabs so I have no need to plug him/them, I've had the opportunity to try a couple of the Barefaced cabs (inc the Compact and the 2x15) and I've elected to stick with my Aguilar DB12's. I personally prefer the 'different' low end that I get from the DBs which I couldn't quite get from the BF cabs; I've stressed 'different' low end, as you can get plenty bottom end out of the BF cabs but it is a bottom end that is different to the tone I get from the Aggies. However... if you are purely using these as on stage monitors and you are going through the PA then the tone of the BF cabs will be great but I do gigs where I want my backline to be the only source of bass (not through PA) and I think the Aggies trump the BFs in that respect.

Saying all of that, we have mentioned weight! They REALLY are that light and you can find something with a mass of 26lb but it will still catch you out when you pick one of those cabs up; it does make you wonder if they have forgotten to put the driver in or that they've sealed helium in the cab.

[UNITY GAIN]

Just wanted to get back to you guys and say that I did go through with the Compact purchase and I am quite pleased. I took a bit of a gamble ordering it as I live in Vancouver, Canada so the price was significant. However, I have no regrets. I have owned numerous cabs and I have found that usually portability comes at a cost. I used quite a few schroeders (1212r, 1210r, 1515L, 1212bmf and others) and felt I was always compromising my tone for portability. Not so with the Compact! And its even easier, more portable to move than the schroes. The amps I currently have that I have used with the Compact include the LMII, GK mb500 and markbass cmd121p 112 combo. They all sound good, but I like the tone of the LMII best. The mb500 is seemingly somewhat louder at 350w at 8 ohms. From my experiences the LMII compresses at 8 ohms when pushed. However, when adding the tech 21 VT Bass this rig just sounds amazing. Full and round yet still punchy. My main rig now is the markbass cmd121p + vt bass + Compact and I get lots of volume. Its also very portable as I have just two units to carry (I stick all cables, pedals in the back of the markbass cmd121p). Also, I love the height I get when I add the markbass cmd121p. The markbass cmd121p does have its limitations but these two cabs together is all the volume I'll ever need. For super loud gigs where I have no PA support and have to fill the dance floor with bass, I will use the Compact with my LDS 15/6 and I am sure that will be quite good.

My only wish now is that Eminence would make a 4 ohm 3015HO driver... although I guess that would mean I couldnt use the markbass cmd121p with it.

Edited February 7, 2011 by UNITY GAIN