Ampeg SVT-810AV or Barefaced 69'er?

[Johnnyc]

Hey guys!

So I'm thinking about getting a new cab in the next few months; still going to keep my Super Twelve for smaller shows but I'm after something bigger now that my musical situation is changing and I can afford to be more self-indulgent

When I bought the S12 I was in a number of small musical projects playing/rehearsing all over the place and the S12 was great for that, portable, lightweight, sounds amazing and loud as hell.

Now I'm only in one band & things are going pretty well for us, we have a few things coming up soon and I'm anticipating playing alot more shows & support slots etc by the end of the year. As it is my rig already gets dwarfed on alot of stages I play now (even though it has more than enough volume).

Just for some reference we play rock music (think Deaf Havana, You me at Six Mallory Knox etc) & I play a Fender P-bass through an Ampeg SVT-VR.

So I wanted to ask you fellows about the SVT-810AV and the Barefaced 69'er. Obviously they both have their pro's & cons, Barefaced's being lightweight and far more portable, with Alex's magical engineering, but also more squat and somewhat boxy, & the SVT being taller (I'm a tall guy - 6 4" so it's nice to have a cab that bit closer to my ears!) matching my head & looking incredible, though weighing a freaking tonne.

We all know what it feels like after a show when you have to pack your gear away... I love the idea of the 810 but I'm not sure I could be bothered with the weight of the SVT every night.

Do we know how similar tonally these two cabs are yet?

What would you guys choose?

[discreet]

Ask bertbass, he had an 810 and now has a 69er.
I believe he thinks it's the bee's gonads, or the cat's pants or something...

[bertbass]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I think it's the bee's gonads, or the cat's pants or something...... [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I've not got an Ampeg 8x10 but I do have a Carvin one and side by side you can't tell the difference sound wise and standing in front of it on stage I've not noticed that the 69er is 12" shorter either, plenty of top reaching my ears. As for the weight of the 69er, it's nothing compared to the Carvin, in fact, it can be a one hand lift, it's that light. As an added bonus, because it's so light our crew insists on moving it for me, love it![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The dispersion in also a great improvement on a normal 8x10. Everyone, everywhere, can hear my wonderful bass lines or should that be cock-ups. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The only possible minus side I can think of, is that it doesn't look as impressive sitting at the back of the stage as an 8x10, but being a Barefaced, for those in the know, it's seriously impressive.[/font][/color]

Edited May 20, 2013 by bertbass

[brensabre79]

The Ampeg 8x10 was never designed very well and the reason they sounded so good is more by luck than judgement from what I've heard - that and usually being coupled to an Ampeg SVT which sound excellent whatever you plug them in to in my opinion. However I believe speakers have moved on. The Barefaced IS well designed, they all are, and like others have said, the dispersion, light weight and big, big sound from a small(ish) box should be pointing you in that direction. Plus, if you're used to a Super12, you'll probably prefer the 69'er to an Ampeg 8x10. And if you're worried about the size of your stack you can always pop your S12 on its side and use it as a stand for the 69'er

[Mr. Foxen]

If being imposing is the failing, get two. Probably posted my pair of Barefaced 2x15s pic enough now though.

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1369068850' post='2084502']
Probably posted my pair of Barefaced 2x15s pic enough now though.
[/quote]

One can never see too much gear porn, show us some more!

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1369069232' post='2084511']
One can never see too much gear porn, show us some more!
[/quote]

Clickable so not spamming up thread with massive pics:

[url="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/Incarante/DSCF1467.jpg"]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/Incarante/DSCF1467.jpg[/url]

[chris_b]

Your amp will run at 2 ohm, so I'd look at another S12.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1369070554' post='2084536']
Your amp will run at 2 ohm, so I'd look at another S12.
[/quote]

That was going to be my suggestion. Monster rig in the making.

[Musicman20]

I thought the S12 was supposed to cover 4x12 volume?

If you want the traditional rock rig, get the Ampeg 8x10.

[mildmanofrock]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1369070554' post='2084536']
Your amp will run at 2 ohm, so I'd look at another S12.
[/quote]

+1.

[mildmanofrock]

I seriously doubt an Ampeg 810 could compete with the full-and-fruity-frequency-range abilities of two Barefaced cabs.

And as you're a tall chap, if you're sticking with the one cab, why not pop it on one of these? (Draped in black material - as recently recommended by a wise Basschatter, whose name escapes me right now).

[url="http://www.screwfix.com/p/square-hop-up-work-platform-aluminium/38093"]http://www.screwfix....aluminium/38093[/url]

Edited May 20, 2013 by mildmanofrock

[Roland Rock]

I've not heard the Ampeg, but the '69er is just sooo good, and you can lift it with one hand!

Edited May 20, 2013 by Roland Rock

[HotelEcho]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1369069580' post='2084521']
Clickable so not spamming up thread with massive pics:

[url="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/Incarante/DSCF1467.jpg"]http://i17.photobuck...te/DSCF1467.jpg[/url]
[/quote]

Jesus christ Oli, is that the small room at the Croft? I'm surprised the whole crowd weren't killed outright.

[Mr. Foxen]

The Croft is no more. I mean, not because of that gig, but "Croft [RIP]", as the closed earlier in the month. There definitely was a reaction going on. One guy described it as "mind warping minor manic euphoric episode". Really, the big cabs are because not super powerful amps, and high volume requirement. the low end head is 140w, but has transformers the size of SVT ones as is specced to have a very broad frequency response.

[Ghost_Bass]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1369069580' post='2084521']
Clickable so not spamming up thread with massive pics:

[url="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/Incarante/DSCF1467.jpg"]http://i17.photobuck...te/DSCF1467.jpg[/url]
[/quote]

Amazing VOX rig, too bad it takes so much space on stage...

[Johnnyc]

Hmm well after all these responses my thoughts are going with the 69'er. Only annoying thing is I'd never get hold of one in time to use it when we head into the studio in a month's time with our producer. Don't suppose Alex would do a rush job

The dual S12 idea doesn't really appeal to me as I want something sealed with a bigger form factor ie 6x10/8x10 which is still fairly tall but wide enough for my amp. Plus the only real option with them would be to have them sat next to each other so the amp sits properly on top (try lifting an SVT up on top of two vertically stacked S12s?!).


Cheers for the replies guys!


Johnny

[JTUK]

If you want visual and credibility, you have to go Ampeg.

The reason those fridges are good in that envirnoment is that they do the job as a bass monitor and
it is quite easy to contriol the sound on a decent sized stage.
This may be the inherrent clumsy design or whatever but it works.

The last thing you need is the bass getting everywhere ..it will likely try and do that anyway...but there are little cabs and big cabs
and they find their uses. Adding bass is easy, getting rid of it is not..!!

[Johnnyc]

Damn you! haha! Now you're making me want the Ampeg again! Would be alot easier to get hold of one too....

[mokkat]

In addition to making up for the the height difference, the vertical-array-effect in the 69er should provide a much more evenly distributed sound for the benefit of the audience and sound-guy

[Musicman20]

I'd like to know if anyone has side by side tested the BF, Ampeg, and Berg NV610.

[Johnnyc]

Yeah me too I would love to know how they compare. I think what I'm gonna do now is try and pick up a 2nd hand SVT-810Av and see how I get on with it, if it's a pain in the arse I can flog it once my 69'er is ready.

[hamfist]

[quote name='mokkat' timestamp='1369756402' post='2092377']
In addition to making up for the the height difference, the vertical-array-effect in the 69er should provide a much more evenly distributed sound for the benefit of the audience and sound-guy
[/quote]

I think the whole point of bass monitoring on stage, when your main sound is going through FoH anyway, is to NOT distribute your stage sound to the audience or sound guy. The more mixing of your stage sound there is with the FoH sound, the less control the soundman will have, and the more unpredictable the sonic interactions between the two will be.
Personally, I think 99.5% of the audience will not give a sh1t what your rig looks like. I have also lived with a heavy 8x10 for a short time. And it was only a short time because the weight was a complete pain in the @rse. If you are happy with your S12 sonically, I'd stick with it. If you want the 69'er for it's tone I'd go for that. An Ampeg 810 for pose value ? .... meh, IMO waste of time.

[clauster]

I was going to say the BF, then I read your first post properly

Get the Ampeg!

You've said you're keeping the S12, so you've got light and loud covered for smaller gigs where you have to move your own gear. You don't NEED another lightweight cab. If you were selling the BF to raise cash for the new cab the following would be different.

The fact you're now in one band that's started going places and gigging a lot says to me you want two things (among many others) - reliability and credibility. The Ampeg has both in spades.

One of the top selling points for "proper" Ampeg kit is its reliability. I'm not saying BF is unreliable but I've not heard of many (any?) extensively touring bass players who've tested them with day after day of "unpack-from-the-van-move-to-venue-place-on-stage-play-gig-hastily-remove-from-stage-store-backstage-repack-into-van-and-keep-repeating". You can trust Ampeg to stand up to that sort of abuse.

Credibility - sound engineers take a bashing around these parts, so do musos around sound engineers. Ampeg says to venue managers "professional kit" and to sound engineers the 810 is a known quantity. Makes their (often thankless) job a lot easier. Again, I'm not knocking BF. I've got a Compact, love it and the sound from a box that light and size is amazing. But engineers look at and don't know what it is. They know which mic and where to place it with Ampeg.

I'm not saying BF aren't reliable and can't become a known quantity - but in your shoes, this could be your one chance at "making it". Stack the odds in your favour.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1369734927' post='2092020']
If you want visual and credibility, you have to go Ampeg.

The reason those fridges are good in that envirnoment is that they do the job as a bass monitor and
it is quite easy to contriol the sound on a decent sized stage.
This may be the inherrent clumsy design or whatever but it works.

The last thing you need is the bass getting everywhere ..it will likely try and do that anyway...but there are little cabs and big cabs
and they find their uses. Adding bass is easy, getting rid of it is not..!!
[/quote]
The knobs do turn anti-clockwise.