symcbass Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 Now I've had my cab for a bit I thought it was time for more info, just like it deserves. Played a good number of gigs in big and smaller venues and some studio rehearsals to date. Features/Build quality 2 side handles, 1 handle on the top to the rear of the cab. The handles are robust looking and feeling. The concerns I read about previous generation handles have well and truly been addressed. I've previously described the finish, but to recap, it is a smooth Acrylic type rolled on finish ( tuff cab, duratex type). It's a lot nicer in the flesh than I expected. I had a big smile on my face when I opened the box in fact as the cab is nicely finished, looks classic/ retro, right up my street. The new grills make a big difference from previous gens also I think. Solid, well finished. 2 rear caster wheels are well placed and make wheeling this a breeze. I wouldn't try and use them on an uneven surface as they are small and hard, but for indoors/ flat surfaces they do the job. 2 rubber feet ground the cab at the front. No rattles from the wheels when playing. Double speakon and mid/high attenuator on the rear input plate. Totally solid and well put together. Silver corners are simple, decent quality, look nice and well seated. The ply is thinner than most cabs, but not so as to feel flimsy. I thought the ply might look too thin for me aesthetically, but the cab is solid, no flex and looks great. Side porting looks good too, and the engraving inside the top port is a nice touch. The cab is stupid light...really it's a revelation to me. I can't believe I stuck with my old cab for so long. I didn't for a minute quite believe that a cab this size an weight could compete with my Aguilar cab, but it's surpassed all the qualities of my old cab with some improvements. Tone/sound quality My genre of playing/music is pretty much confined to upright bass, Rockabilly/old school jazz/r&b/Django Jazz styles. A lot of slap and pizz, a little arco Slam Stewart style, so definite and consistent in terms of required tone. Played a gig the first night I got the cab. Picked it up, drove to the gig, unpacked it and played 2 sets with very little opportunity to eq. My first opinion was positive, but not a "wow this cab is the best thing ever" kinda moment. I struggled with my sound a bit at first due to my pre conceived ideas about eq' ing, this being down to my previous cabs(trace Elliot 1048h, ashdown 410&15, ampeg 410hlf, Aguilar db410, 2 x db112's and finally an Aguilar GS 412). This cab has none of the frequency dips my old cabs had, and they were all different flavours...... I emailed Alex regarding my initial tone frustrations and he gave me a rundown of basics I should try. I read up on frequencies I should be cutting/boosting too, and now......... This cab is a monster. Honestly I can't believe the sweet tone, punch, depth and volume available. I realise my eq will differ from many due to my required tone, and the tone I'm getting out the cab is due to my own hands, bass, strings, pickup, preamp and amp which live, sounds very much like Willie Dixon's recorded bass tone. The bottom end is absolutely huge, it "feels" bigger than my Aggy 412, which used to get a bit pillowy at volume in the lower registers. Nice for some, but for upright it felt too loose. This cab is tight tight tight down low. I've pushed it real hard and the lower register remains solid, warm and musical, no farting out. The mids are present, but not harsh, highs can be smooth or glass cutting if you want it. I was getting on well with my Iamp800 set flat with a preset mid cut engaged, my Dtar Solstice preamp cut in the lows and mids, highs at noon. I started using the semi parametrics on the Iamp. At first struggled a bit, probably my in built fear of cutting rather than boosting. I've cut my lows and mid lows a little, cut my high mids about 2.4k getting rid of the piezo honk, preamp lows and mids just below flat, highs just above, and there it is! Huge, woody near acoustic bass sound that rattles the room. Live this cab shines. It sits right in the mix, very present but smooth and musical! I had to boost my mids before to cut through live, not any more. Out front, to the side, very even dispersion. For a predominantly rockabilly bass player, this cab has it all. Tight lows, mids and highs that suit slap bass, looks suitably retro, isn't too big and is silly light. I know my style and sound isn't for everyone and is a bit of a niche genre, but this cab seems to me to be a huge blank canvas that you could eq to achieve whatever sound you want. With regards to customer support I cannot fault Alex. I know Barefaced aren't for everyone, and at first I doubted the hype even after I got the cab, but having had time to sort my eq and let the speakers break in a bit I'm converted, it really is that good!!!! It's a game changer for me. Load in and out is so easy now, can't get over the difference a light cab makes. I know he must get inundated with emails, but he always got back to me promptly with regards to my queries, even before I ordered a cab. After sales too, helping out with my eq issues etc. his track record of good support plus reading his articles on amplification helped make my mind up regarding ordering from him. I'm sure glad I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artisan Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 I was talking to Alex about one of these a couple of months ago & after reading this i have to get me one soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salt on your Bass? Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 Nice review. Hoping mine will be with me in the next few weeks. Very informative about reworking the eq. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 (edited) Really useful review, thanks. I use an EA amp too, incredibly clean and flat, and it sounds like the big twin matched well. I'm keen to see one of these for real to get a sense of its bulk on stage. Edited October 22, 2013 by fatback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ern500evo Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 What you should do now is order a nice Roqsolid cover for it, then they'll have the dimensions so I can order one for mine, ready for when it arrives!! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 We'll be sending Roqsolid dimensions asap for all the cabs! fatback, I think for more normal upright bass requirements the Big Twin 2 would be complete overkill as the Big Baby 2 goes well into 'can't hear the drummer and the singer is giving me looks of hate' SPL territory on its own. However, in the process of creating a cab which combines the best aspects of the Big Twin T, S12T and S15, I think we've ended up creating the ultimate rockabilly slap cab! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1382518310' post='2253014'] We'll be sending Roqsolid dimensions asap for all the cabs! fatback, I think for more normal upright bass requirements the Big Twin 2 would be complete overkill as the Big Baby 2 goes well into 'can't hear the drummer and the singer is giving me looks of hate' SPL territory on its own. However, in the process of creating a cab which combines the best aspects of the Big Twin T, S12T and S15, I think we've ended up creating the ultimate rockabilly slap cab! [/quote] Thinking of changing our genre so I get to use that cab. I'll defo be interested to hear of anybody using the Big Baby with upright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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