Barefaced v Peavey / Ashdown

[lownote]

Having owned cabs priced from £50-500 I’ve grown the opinion that you get what you pay for. So I was considerably excited to partner my MB LM3 with an as new Barefaced Two10.
 

Only the BF didn’t turn up until after I’d left for band rehearsal. Which put me in the disagreeable position of using the studio-provided bass stack. Yuck. A dusty old Ashdown 210 and an ancient Peavey 410, adorned with what looked like the remains of a melted plastic coffee cup, topped off with an unsavoury looking tatty Behringer Ultrabass head. With no alternative until I got home to welcome the BF, I reluctantly plugged in.

 

Quelle surprise. Wonderful punchy gut thumping rock-toned bass goodness, even at volume.

 

Once I tried the Barefaced I  was impressed. But I have to say that if the studio stack also weighed 13 kg and not more like 70 kilos and I owned a small van and not a small hatchback, I know which rig I’d be gigging. Not knocking Barefaced, just saying there may be unexpected answers to kit needs. And price or even condition may not always be the decider. As with basses, try before you buy.

Edited March 30, 2022 by lownote

[Lozz196]

That`s how I found - and stuck with - Ashdown, by a moment of serendipity. My preferred sound had been established by playing through an Ampeg SVT & 810, and no matter what gear I bought I couldn`t get that "slam" to the sound. 

 

But at one gig the provided rig was an Ashdown set-up, an ABM head with 2x15 cab. I`d never used Ashdown before so plugged my gear in, got a sound I liked and we started to play. And I developed that inside grin, the one that happens where you just get that wallop in your back from the sound of the bass, a feeling much like that Ampeg stack delivered.

 

So by accident I`d found gear that would do what I wanted. Sure it was bigger & heavier than what I was using at the time (Aguilar Tonehammer & Barefaced Big Twin) but it was still doable. 

[uk_lefty]

There was me nervously opening this thread expecting to be looking for secondhand Barefaced bargains....

 

Anything that says "Peavey" on it, particularly the 80s jagged logo and bluey-green trim stuff will kick like a Bronco. It's indestructible.

 

I used to be very wary of Ashdown having only used horribly abused MAG series stuff on rehearsal spaces but since joining this forum I'm a full Ashdown convert. I played a wedding at a hotel this weekend with an RM500 on about 30% master volume and two ABM Neo 15" cabs, no PA support for the bass. Absolutely wonderful sound. There could be marginal gains from upgrading the head and the cabs but to be honest I know what I like and I like what I know. Best not interfere with the formula.... Until summer festivals when no doubt I'll plug into a Mesa or something and immediately be hitting the for sale section 😂

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

There could be marginal gains from upgrading the head and the cabs but to be honest I know what I like and I like what I know.

I think this is the real point. In ideal conditions, with trained athletes, marginal gains win medals. However the Ashdowns and Peaveys are more than adequate for most bassists. To be honest the ABM series from Ashdown and the old Peavey Mk 4s are some of my favourite amps. Mesa and Ampeg might seem more desirable in a sort of reverse "Not Invented Here" sort of way and, especially the Mesa's have some unique features but my dad's 1960s Raleigh got him to work more comfortably that a Chris Boardman bike. 

[bassbiscuits]

Yup - used plenty of old Peavey heads and cabs along the way, both my own and dusty stuff at rehearsal rooms - absolutely fine, reliable and built like a tank.

 

Can't say I really got on with Barefaced cabs at all though - loved the idea and the design, but the whole FRFR thing wasn't my cup of tea at all. Prefer old school thud any day.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, bassbiscuits said:

Yup - used plenty of old Peavey heads and cabs along the way, both my own and dusty stuff at rehearsal rooms - absolutely fine, reliable and built like a tank.

 

Can't say I really got on with Barefaced cabs at all though - loved the idea and the design, but the whole FRFR thing wasn't my cup of tea at all. Prefer old school thud any day.

I don't have a barefaced (and many of those are not FRFR) but my BC112 MK3 is FRFR and has thud aplenty. I have never had my trousers flapped as much as  this cab..

[alexa3020]

I bought 2 x Barefaced 210 cabs, and decided to sell one, because one on its own was loud enough most of the time -Also when running 2 I had to set the cabs at 12ohms.

I bought an Ashdown ABM Evo 2 15inch cab for cheap, for the rare occasion I might need an extra cab for extra volume. Surprisingly I really preferred the Ashdown over the barefaced - I really didn't expect to, but I did.

So I soon sold on the other Barefaced cab and got another 15inch Evo 2 Ashdown Cab and am really happy with them.

I'm not knocking Barefaced here, I think the 210 wasn't to my taste and if a super compact comes up for sale near me, then I'd be pretty tempted by it.

What does surprise me is some of the hate that Ashdown gets on here. I wonder if its because they're fairly popular in rehearsal rooms and the amps are pretty battered most of the time. That said, I don't really rate the MAG series, but the ABM stuff to my ears is great.

 

 

[uk_lefty]

31 minutes ago, alexa3020 said:

What does surprise me is some of the hate that Ashdown gets on here. I wonder if its because they're fairly popular in rehearsal rooms and the amps are pretty battered most of the time. That said, I don't really rate the MAG series, but the ABM stuff to my ears is great.

 

Agree completely, rehearsal rooms kit is often thrashed to death by kids playing as loud, distorted and detuned as possible. I also think it depends what other gear you're using. For example, using my Stingray I thought Orange amps were terrible. But then I ran a passive p bass through an Orange amp and thought it was a superb pairing. 

[Linus27]

I'm currently running an Ashdown MiBass 550 through a Barefaced Two10 and it sounds pretty decent. I used to run an Ampeg PF500 through it which also sounded fab with my passive Fender Jazz which really suited the 50's Rock N Roll I was playing. However, I do find the Barefaced has a warm vintage sound and now I play a fretless Stingray, I wonder if something a bit more articulate would suit me better. I do love Ashdown gear and my MiBass 550 along with the ABM stuff I've had has been great.

[StingRayBoy42]

I loved my old Ashdown rig - ABM 500-410h combo and a 15" extension.
Sounded great, and more volume than any sane man needs.

I only got rid of it cos it took three people to move it.

I certainly don't understand the hate Ashdown stuff gets on here.


I've plugged into more Peavey amps than I care to recall and OK, they're not hi-fi or boutique, but they can certainly move some air!

[Ed_S]

I never mind turning up to a rehearsal studio or a shared/house backline gig and finding an Ashdown or Peavey cab to use - it tends to mean that as beaten as it may look, it'll probably still give me a useable sound at a reasonable volume. I just hate shifting big heavy lumps of equipment round and risking hurting myself in the process, so I have a Markbass 4x10 that lives at the studio and a Barefaced gen-2 Super12 and Midget that I take one or both of to gigs depending on size. They may not have old-school visual appeal, and maybe even lack trouser-flapping-heft, but as far as I'm concerned nothing sounds as good as uninjured feels!

[Lozz196]

I think the thing with Ashdown is that you have to find your sound rather than it being immediate, so a percentage of players then discount it as not being any good. I’ve found that not being afraid to tweak massively yields great results. 

[Muzz]

I've no real skin in the game, never having owned an Ashdown cab (other than a VS212 briefly, which was underwhelming to say the least), but the OP judging 6x10 stack against a single 210 is a bit of a mismatch....

 

I'd say that moving to any FRFR cab (tho the BF 210 isn't one of those) would be the same as Lozz says above, tho: it's a bit of a different playing field than more voiced cabs, and needs some adjustment.

[stewblack]

Was it a Behringer BX4500H?

I only ask because that was an exceptionally good amp which might have had a bit to do with it.

[lownote]

21 hours ago, stewblack said:

Was it a Behringer BX4500H?

I only ask because that was an exceptionally good amp which might have had a bit to do with it.

Yes it is! Well spotted. Even thought of asking the studio bloke to swap it for my old Mag 300 head. But it’s just too heavy, and too dirty. 

Edited March 30, 2022 by lownote

[lownote]

On 30/03/2022 at 07:03, lownote said:

Yes it is! Well spotted. Even thought of asking the studio bloke to swap it for my old Mag 300 head. But it’s just too heavy, and too dirty. 

@stewblackWhat EQ settings do you / did you use on the 4500?  I gather quality of tone is highly dependent on them with that head. 

[stewblack]

4 hours ago, lownote said:

@stewblackWhat EQ settings do you / did you use on the 4500?  I gather quality of tone is highly dependent on them with that head. 

Honestly there is so much variety available given not just the multiplicity of tone knobs, but the ultra high/ultra low switches and above all the shape control.

I keep this around the 10 to 12 area as I particularly like it there but it offers a lot of choice

[lownote]

Tnx.  Got my eye on one coming up on eBay in next two days although not sure I'm doing the right thing.  From what you say I am.

[FinnDave]

I've used various Ashdown amps for some time, but my main rig for the last year or so has been an Orange LBT and Barefaced Super Compact - both small and light, but a few days ago I bought an ABM 500/2x10 combo which is certainly no lightweight - but it sounds incredible -  played it at rehearsal last Sunday (day after buying it) and even the guitarists were moved to comment favourably on the tone - even the one who was conscripted into helping me carry it down the stairs!

 

I have to keep hold of the lightweight rig for places with difficult access, but it certainly doesn't have that huge enveloping warmth and clarity that the ABM combo has.