Barefaced Big Twin. Do i take the plunge?

[Ant_On_Bass]

I have a Gallien Krueger 2001RB and play through a Mesa Powerhouse 1000. Whilst i love my setup, it weighs a fricking ton! i kind of like the idea of a lightweight cab, i see a lot of love for Barefaced but was wondering how good they actually are? how do they compare to some of the big cabs around? be good to hear your thoughts :-)

[discreet]

[url="http://barefacedbass.com/customer-feedback.htm"]http://barefacedbass...er-feedback.htm[/url]

Edit: Obviously you'll have to try Barefaced for yourself if light weight, power and great sound is what you're after. All I can say is that I've used various BF cabs in various situations and they're always (in my opinion) right on the money.

I've played through pretty much every type and brand of amp and cab over the last 40-odd years and I really rate Barefaced. Your mileage may vary of course, they are not for everyone. God alone knows why, but they're not.

Edited April 23, 2016 by discreet

[FinnDave]

I have a Super Twin, and it sounds awesome. I have played briefly through a Big twin (same amp and bass) and it was even awesomer.

[warwickhunt]

The ones that I've tried don't do it for me but each to his own.

[Bobthedog]

I have a Big Twin ll on order. I do not know if it will work for you but worth a 30 day trial perhaps.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Bobthedog

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='Ant_On_Bass' timestamp='1461446489' post='3034766']
I have a Gallien Krueger 2001RB and play through a Mesa Powerhouse 1000. Whilst i love my setup, it weighs a fricking ton! i kind of like the idea of a lightweight cab, i see a lot of love for Barefaced but was wondering how good they actually are? how do they compare to some of the big cabs around? be good to hear your thoughts :-)
[/quote]

Well I went through a phase some years ago wanting the best bass cab in existence, money no object. After much research it seemed that the darling of the day (were talking 2004 ish) was Epifani. So I ended up with a UL310 which was (and still is) by any measure a superb cab, it was even fairly light weight at a time when that wasnt yet fashionable and neo based cabs were a relative rarity. I now use barefaced because they sound just as good and are much smaller and lighter.

You can rest assured that youl be getting a cab that is as good as anything else out there at doing what its designed to do but ... only you can decide if you like what its designed to do (but the same goes for any make of cab really).

[Lozz196]

I`ve used many different cabs and although at the moment I`m gassing for the new Barefaced 410, my Super 12Ts are just great, do exactly what I want/need, are easy to cart around, and fit nicely in the car as well. If the Big Twin 2 is an improvement on the Super12 then it must be one hellova cab. Plus as bobthedog mentioned, the 30 day try/return period is worth taking advantage of. Not many manufacturers offer this.

One thing to think of though is that in comparison to most cabs, Barefaced are pretty neutral sounding, so you generally have to re-eq to get the same sound. For me this is a real plus point, as what I hear on stage is pretty much the same as what goes to FOH, so the audience hear what I want them to, whereas with a good few other makes what ends up FOH sounds vastly different to on-stage due to the colouration of the sound.

[Grangur]

Have you ever heard or read of anyone not liking a Barefaced cab?

You could go and try a Barefaced cab. There's a guy near you with a Big Baby II

http://barefacedbass.com/barefaced-map.htm

Also, I've got a One10 and will be staying over near Exeter on Wednesday night.

[sunburstjazz1967]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1461448203' post='3034790']
The ones that I've tried don't do it for me but each to his own.
[/quote]
[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1461483014' post='3034890']
Have you ever heard or read of anyone not liking a Barefaced cab?

You could go and try a Barefaced cab. There's a guy near you with a Big Baby II

http://barefacedbass.com/barefaced-map.htm

Also, I've got a One10 and will be staying over near Exeter on Wednesday night.
[/quote]

Yes but they are always told that they are wrong, ignored or declared liers looking at other threads, lol.

[ern500evo]

If you're ever up in Bristol, you're welcome to come and try my Big Twin 2.

[discreet]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1461483463' post='3034894']
Yes but they are always told that they are wrong, ignored or declared liers looking at other threads, lol.
[/quote]

Other companies haven't gone out of business yet, so one must assume that people are still buying their bass cabs. It would be a funny old world if we all liked the same thing, one man's meat is another man's poison, there's no accounting for taste, there's nowt as queer as folk and so on and so forth. Some people just plain don't like the appearance of Barefaced cabs, which is fair enough - obviously I think they're great, but I'm shallow enough that I probably wouldn't buy one if I didn't like the look of 'em...

[Ant_On_Bass]

[quote name='ern500evo' timestamp='1461483884' post='3034899']
If you're ever up in Bristol, you're welcome to come and try my Big Twin 2.
[/quote]

Appreciate that :-)

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1461483463' post='3034894']
Yes but they are always told that they are wrong, ignored or declared liers looking at other threads, lol.
[/quote]

LOL indeed.

The history of Barefaced has a lot to do with it ... essentially the company could almost be seen as a spin-off from Basschat, with Alex Claber proving his point / putting his money where his mouth was by actually designing, building and marketing his own cabs.

For no reason that I've ever understood, that's left a legacy of ... best choose my words carefully here ... friction between Alex and a number of others with ... erm ... strong views on the subject.

That in turn has spilled over into a daft feud between Barefaced fans (including me, though life's too short for feudin' and fightin') and the inevitable Barefaced haters.

Just another day on t'Internet.

[Ant_On_Bass]

To be honest knowing what I'm like, I'll end up buying one, whilst keeping hold of the Mesa for the time being. The Gas is to strong in this one!

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1461483014' post='3034890']Have you ever heard or read of anyone not liking a Barefaced cab?[/quote]

I've not liked any that I have tried, they 'lack' a quality that I don't hear in them and that included the ceramic loaded cab that did the rounds BUT that is just my personal taste.

I have no axe to grind with Alex or his company and there are a LOT of folk who do love the BF sound, I do however think that in the early days there was lots written about the fact that Alex was revolutionising cab design and building them from the ground up (my words) rather than copying badly thought out dated designs that had no basis in acoustic design. I recall many threads before BF was even thought of where I would hear Alex, Bill et al rip into poor cab design and give us valuable insight into how it 'should' be done; hence Alex went off to plan BF and many of us waited to see what would transpire. Several years down the line we have a BF 4x10 that looks exactly like every other 410 and yet that very design was criticised and lambasted by Alex et al for being the antithesis of all that was bad with bass cabinet design. Alex has every right to cater to what others want/expect but for me personally other than maintaining the use of the lightest materials and superb bracing to make a cab uber light (is the 410 light?), BF has drifted from where I imagined it would go. Just my own personal view of the BF story.

[TPJ]

The Fearless cabs are great too.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1461489236' post='3034977']
Several years down the line we have a BF 4x10 that looks exactly like every other 410 and yet that very design was criticised and lambasted by Alex et al for being the antithesis of all that was bad with bass cabinet design.
[/quote]

Barefaced [i]fanboi [/i]that I am, I have to say that I saw the 410 and thought ... Hmmmm ...

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1461490347' post='3034995']
Barefaced [i]fanboi [/i]that I am, I have to say that I saw the 410 and thought ... Hmmmm ...


[/quote]

Me too, Jack. Must resist..............................

[discreet]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1461489236' post='3034977']
Several years down the line we have a BF 4x10 that looks exactly like every other 410 and yet that very design was criticised and lambasted by Alex et al for being the antithesis of all that was bad with bass cabinet design.
[/quote][quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1461490347' post='3034995']
Barefaced [i]fanboi [/i]that I am, I have to say that I saw the 410 and thought ... Hmmmm ...
[/quote]

Is anyone actually reading the specs and info on the 410? It[i] looks [/i]exactly like every other 410 (if a little smaller and lighter), but that's where the similarity ends. Alex rightly criticised conventional 410s for their dispersion issues and the fact that they tend to lose bottom end at extreme volumes. Both these issues have allegedly been resolved in the new Barefaced 410. I have yet to hear one, but my experience of the company and its products over the years leads me to believe that I wouldn't be disappointed with it.

http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/four-10.htm

If I had been holding off buying a Barefaced because I had a full-size all-valve amp that would overhang a conventional BF cab, I'd be clicking the 'buy' button right now.

Edited April 24, 2016 by discreet

[chris_b]

If people think the BF 410 is just another 410 they should read the info on the website. It isn't 4 full range speakers.

[taunton-hobbit]

AOB - I'm in Torbay, have a couple of BF Dubsters in my lounge - you are welcome to pm me if you would like me to dem some music for you (I'm a sound system, so no real instrument inputs).....it might give you an idea (or two)....

[chris_b]

[quote name='Ant_On_Bass' timestamp='1461488330' post='3034954']
To be honest knowing what I'm like, I'll end up buying one, whilst keeping hold of the Mesa for the time being. The Gas is to strong in this one!
[/quote]

That's the right way to do it.

I never sell anything until I've gigged the next piece and proved it's a step up in tone and fits exactly with all the other parts. Barefaced cabs will sound very different. There's a learning curve, where you have to readjust your ears, when you start hearing your playing in more detail and definition than you've been used to.

I used Mesa Boogie EV 115 and 210 cabs for 10 years and I'm now using 2 Barefaced Super Compacts. In between I owned Epifani and Bergantino. If neo cabs didn't sound good I wouldn't be using them. If the SC's didn't sound better, a positive upgrade, I'd have sold them and kept the Bergs.

[BanditSid]

I have been using a pair of Big Baby 2's for almost a year now and can comment on how they perform compared to what I used before.

I used to gig with a GK Neo 212, then a GK Neo 410 and would add a GK Neo 215 for larger venues when I thought I needed the extra output, these were both driven by a GK MB800. They used to get the job done (I used them for 2 years and twice a week at least), the 215 wasn't as good for deep bass as the 410 or 212 but it did give a good low to mid range sound. I had before that gigged with a Trace Elliot 15 combo and extra 15 cab - heavy as hell.

I bought a pair of Baby's to allow me to have one for smaller gigs and the pair for larger venues, but to be honest a single Baby would almost cover all of my needs. They are amazing for the size, after around 50 or 60 gigs I am still amazed by the amount of bass they produce, and so is our guitarist. I have used them at weddings, in pubs and clubs, a week in a pit band and at a few jazz/swing big band gigs and they just deliver every time.

You are effectively looking at what I use when I have both cabs together, I had quite a lengthy chat on email with Alex and my original thought of buying a Big Twin was then changed to buy the Baby's - this might be they way to go for you as well. One of the advantages of these cabs is their size and weight, the Big Twin is still smaller and lighter than the GK kit I used to lug around, but a pair of Baby's are easier to move around and store.

[Ant_On_Bass]

I was using the GK 410RBH and 115RBH series cabs, whilst they sounded fine they were just awkward to carry, load etc so i had every intention of going lightweight back then but then the Mesa popped up and i couldn't help myself

[JTUK]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1461488177' post='3034951']
LOL indeed.

[b]The history of Barefaced has a lot to do with it ... essentially the company could almost be seen as a spin-off from Basschat, with Alex Claber[/b] proving his point / putting his money where his mouth was by actually designing, building and marketing his own cabs.

For no reason that I've ever understood, that's left a legacy of ... best choose my words carefully here ... friction between Alex and a number of others with ... erm ... strong views on the subject.

That in turn has spilled over into a daft feud between Barefaced fans (including me, though life's too short for feudin' and fightin') and the inevitable Barefaced haters.

Just another day on t'Internet.
[/quote]

All before my time then. I'm not a fan because I thought they were built poorly ..not sure if that still applies, but I also don't much like the modern asthetic or the sound.
I'd be quite prepared to leave it at that... but I think it should not be assumed that their is universal love for them
so I post for the balance if nothing else. What people use hardly matters to me but new posters here shouldn't assume that everyone here rates them.
But yes... no other cab generates as much OOT love or hate. Must be something in that..??

Edited April 24, 2016 by JTUK