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NCD - Barefaced Big One *Review*

discreet

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discreet Grand Master

discreet

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[b]NCD - Barefaced Big One[/b]

This probably should be 'NODCD' - New Old Discontinued Cab Day - but whatever... :)

Met with Mudpup (Jon) today and exchanged a bundle of notes for the cab in a traditional Basschat dodgy car park deal (thanks, Jon). Initial impressions are very good indeed, but I'll post a proper review and some pics in the next day or two.

Very happy! I'm in the Barefaced Club at last - albeit at Generation One Level! :D
And what's more I can finally say, 'I've got a Big One' without fear of contradiction... missus. And so on.


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discreet Grand Master

discreet

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[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1397543234' post='2424888']
come on man! We want more info than that! Especially comparisons to your J12's and Schroeder.
[/quote]

It's coming! Was in the car for most of the day - took an 810 to bertbass in Hastings then met Mudpup in Bluewater later on for the Big One, plus I had young master discreet with me - knackered! And now I've woken up too early!

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discreet Grand Master

discreet

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[quote name='Ticktock' timestamp='1397549199' post='2424941']
Whaddya gonna call it then, Ivor? ;-)
[/quote]

No idea, and stop calling me 'Ivor'. :P

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1397553433' post='2424985']
I had one of those. Rock solid bass with oodles of extension in the very low end. No lumps and bumps in the output, and with a silky smooth mid and treble on top. Needs a decent amp to drive it but you get the rewards. Good purchase.
[/quote]

Thank you for that sir - this corresponds exactly with my experience so far - I'm waiting for my camera battery to charge up so I can take some pics... so I may as well continue to 'appraise' the cab, no..? :) Using my Fusion atm which sounds very good indeed. Will try Burman amp later.

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ShergoldSnickers Community Regular

ShergoldSnickers

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Having an S12T at the moment, the difference is there.

[b]Where the Big One scores:[/b]
That monumental bass extension. Anyone with an octave divider will be grinning for months. A low E, B or even lower gets reproduced with authority. A non-peaky and smooth mid and treble. It all blends into a fine and coherent sounding cab.

[b]Where the S12T scores:[/b]
It goes a bit louder than the Big One (not that I've ever had it really, really loud), and is more efficient. Fewer watts for the same SPL. A more mid-forward and slightly more aggressive sound, which suits the fretless basses I have. The treble extension goes higher, and this works better on some effects I use. Plus I made excellent use of it for the odd party in the back garden. :yarr:. It's not deficient in bass by any means, but a side by side would show just how well the Big One does very low notes.

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barkin Mentor

barkin

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1397513367' post='2424775']
Met with Mudpup (Jon) today and exchanged a bundle of notes for the cab in a traditional Basschat dodgy car park deal (thanks, Jon).
[/quote]

Phew ! I'd seen that Mudpup now had 2 babies, and was debating dropping him a PM about this.

I thank you Mr Discreet, from the bottom of my wallet...

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discreet Grand Master

discreet

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OK then, apologies for the delay. This is a pic of the actual cab... it has one fifteen-inch driver and one six-and-a-half inch midrange unit in a typical thin-walled, heavily braced Barefaced ply cab covered in TuffCab textured paint. It has one Speakon input socket on the back and has various handles placed at strategic points for ease of haulage. It has plastic corner protectors (Jon also kindly provided some nickel-chrome alternatives and a Roqsolid cover) and also has two little wheels at the back, a black steel grille and a very large port at the bottom. This is Jon's pic and I hope he doesn't mind me using it. :)




This cab is about bass. I was expecting some heft from it, but the reality was still a surprise. A LOT of low-end extension is apparent, [i]but [/i]it's very even in its delivery - as ShergoldSnickers says, there are no weird lumps or bumps in it. What I really like is the fact that you don't have to dial in any bass at all, as the cab automatically provides it for you. Plus it's never muffled or muddy in any way - the depth is very usable, clear and solid. When I did add some bass - more than I would ever use normally, in fact - the cab was unruffled and continued to provide an endless vista of LOW off into the horizon and started to rattle loose objects all over the house. Impressive!

When playing along to some band recordings, the word that kept popping into my head was 'authority'. It's the kind of punchy low end that not only hits you in the chest, it also hits you in the guts and the womb (if you have one). It also shoots up your trouser leg and oscillates your scrotum. Oh, yes. Having said this, the pitch of each note is never lost - the power is handled extremely well and there is always plenty of definition.

But it's not [i]all [/i]about the lows... the mid-range unit is also a winner. Very smooth and silky and again, no unwanted peaks or unexpected abberations in delivery. The top end seems to have lots of 'space' in it. I believe the two-way crossover is a bit special and more complex than that usually found in such a cab. With my GK Fusion set flat and using my Hayman 4040, I got the uncoloured sound of the bass as it is - and yet it's a version that is huge, hefty, very present, well-defined and three-dimensional... this is how you like to think you sound! There is a lot to be said for a cab that puts a huge grin on your face and keeps it there.

As I've been mostly using my Schroeder 1212L (which has a pronounced low-mid bump), the Big One at first sounded as if it were slightly scooped by comparison - but this is not the case. The response is extremely flat, and this takes getting used to. It's telling that though the Schroeder is a 4ohm cab and the Big One is an 8ohm cab there is no apparent difference in perceived volume - I expected to have to give the Big One more beans, but no - same control settings. I assume this has a lot to do with its sensitivity.

So you can be sure that I'm liking it very much and it's easy to see why this was at one time Barefaced's flagship bass cab. I have in the past borrowed a Super Twelve for a few months and that was a superb cab. This is also a superb cab. I know a sample size of two isn't much to go on, but I suspect that the whole range is at worst excellent and at best superlative. I haven't heard any of the Generation Three cabs yet, but if they are better than this then they must be really something. I'm guessing that they are just different; and I'm happy to stay at Generation One level, certainly for the time being. I think that any Barefaced cab of any generation that comes up for sale second hand must surely be carefully considered - in my opinion, Barefaced's discontinued cabs are better than most manufacturer's current offerings and used models must surely represent something of a bargain, to say the least. It will need to be a truly remarkable cab that causes me to move this one on - I'm keeping it for the present. Where will I find another? :)

DIMENSIONS 29.5 x 21 x 16". WEIGHT 40lbs (18kg). RECOMMENDED AMP POWER 200-1000W RMS.
MAXIMUM OUTPUT Similar to a high quality 6x10 or 2x15. NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 8 ohms.

Next up - rehearsal on Friday and an A/B of the Big One with the Schroeder 1212L in a band setting. Also I will try the cab with my Burman 100W valve pre/power setup and report back. Meanwhile, here is the blurb about the Big One that was originally on the Barefaced site. I thank you! :)

[b][size=2]Barefaced 'Big One'[/size][/b]
[size=2]Massive bottom end, mid range punch, treble clarity and, for their weight, the loudest deepest bass cabs you can buy... [/size][size=2]'Is that another fifteen?' Why yes it is, a very special one. 'And what's that other speaker in there?' It's six and a half inches of punch, clarity, growl and sweetness. [/size][size=2]'But it's just a big speaker and a little speaker, all in one box. I've seen cabs like that from other makers.'[/size]

[size=2]The magic is inside the box - a full 2-way crossover, akin to that found in the very best studio monitors, which splits the sound between the two speakers, so each speaker can concentrate on doing what it does best. No other crossover found in a bass guitar cab has this complex topology, with very steep slopes so it is all but impossible to overpower the midrange driver, so that you get no interference between drivers either side of the crossover point, and so that you get the most accurate and realistic sound whether you're the bassist, a bandmate or a fan. [/size]

[size=2]Big One - our flagship model. [/size][size=2]The massive port may give away that there is something different about this classic looking cab. So what is going on behind that silver cloth grill? Well it's a very very special fifteen plus a tiny giant of a six and a half inch midrange driver. [/size][size=2]Prepare for a tone, bottom and output revelation![/size]

[size=2]Featuring a extremely high excursion neo woofers in an oversized ported enclosures gives the Big One the ability to move more air and give you a fatter high SPL bass sound than most cabs twice their size (and how many more times its weight?!) [/size]

[size=2]Because this woofer is so good at going low it is not good at going high - the rest of your sound comes from an extremely high output 6.5" midrange speaker which gives you more tone and volume than you can believe possible from such a small speaker - it can cut through even the densest rock mix. Not only that but because this speaker is small it disperses your midrange much better than if it were coming from a larger woofer. Stand anywhere in the room and you will hear almost exactly the same tone - no other bass cab can achieve this! [/size]

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discreet Grand Master

discreet

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Update: Used the cab at rehearsal on Friday last and it was great. EQ flat apart from a little push of the mids and it filled the room very well indeed with lush Barefaced goodness. Performed how I expected - gave similar results to my first tests, but at band levels. Didn't break into a sweat at all, and still has that vast acreage of low permeated by lovely audible note clarity and definition. Got favourable comments from the band too - a good sign.

Of course now I've got GAS for a G3 Big Twin or a Big Baby, but I can wait. This is the best I've had so far and I'm loving it. :)

Next: Big One with Burman MPA Pre and PowerPak 100W Valve Amp.

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karlfer Veteran

karlfer

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1398008793' post='2429472']
Update: Used the cab at rehearsal on Friday last and it was great. EQ flat apart from a little push of the mids and it filled the room very well indeed with lush Barefaced goodness. Performed how I expected - gave similar results to my first tests, but at band levels. Didn't break into a sweat at all, and still has that vast acreage of low permeated by lovely audible note clarity and definition. Got favourable comments from the band too - a good sign.

Of course now I've got GAS for a G3 Big Twin or a Big Baby, but I can wait. This is the best I've had so far and I'm loving it. :)

Next: Big One with Burman MPA Pre and PowerPak 100W Valve Amp.
[/quote]

[URL=http://s1354.photobucket.com/user/Karl_Altdorfer/media/smilelypopcorn_zpsc85bd64a.gif.html][IMG]http://i1354.photobucket.com/albums/q693/Karl_Altdorfer/smilelypopcorn_zpsc85bd64a.gif[/IMG][/URL]

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