Has anyone put there owned both a barefaced and a markbass 410?

[Paul C]

Hi just after some thoughts from folks out there who may have owned both a barefaced and a markbass 4/10 at some point.  

I'm on a budget, looking to buy used and wondering if if the more costly, but rarer Barefaced is worth being patient for, and waiting/saving longer for compared to the markbass equivalent. The BF 4/10s don't seem to come up very often used...... which might be an obvious indication how brilliant they are.

 

 The Markbass 4/10s do seem to come up fairly frequently on here, and Facebook marketplace, within 30 or 40 miles so from where I live and seem more 'get able'.

 

So yeah in summary......if you've got experience of both cabs and were due to buy one of them again would you:- 

1) be patient, save up and keep an eye out for a barefaced 

2) go for a markbass given they are likely to be a bit easier on the wallet and my fairly basic ears won't notice much difference 🙂

 

I know ideally I'd play through both but I think that's unlikely to happen anytime soon and it can be slightly awkward blasting away through a 410 in someone's house anyway.

 

Portability is not a major issue as the cab will sit in our rehearsal space 99% of the time. 

 

PS - there are loads of reasonably priced Ashdown ABMs out there as well. That's prob a third option. 

 

Hope this is a relatable question. Thanks.

[Ed_S]

I can't give the perfect answer as I haven't owned the Barefaced Four10, but I've got a Two10 and two One10s, and used to have both a Markbass 104HR and an Ashdown ABM410T.

 

The ABM410 was a solid cab and sounded fine but was heavier than I wanted to keep carting round so it got relegated to the rehearsal room. The 104HR was much lighter and sounded marginally better, but I even got fed up of the bulk of that eventually so it replaced the ABM in the rehearsal room. The pair of One10s now lives in a flightcase in the gear store at the rehearsal room and adequately covers everything that the 4x10 cabs did as long as you give them enough juice.

 

If I wanted a cab to sit in a rehearsal space that I'd never need to move, I'd buy an ABM and keep my money for other things... like maybe a Two10 to keep at home and take to gigs.

 

If I wanted one cab for everything that just happened to spend most of its time at the rehearsal room, I'd buy a Two10 as it's more than enough for rehearsals, plenty for most gigs and not a pain to shift.

 

If I absolutely had to choose one of the two cabs you're considering, I'd buy the Markbass as it's cheaper, still a great cab, and just as heavy and bulky as the Barefaced.

[Paul C]

Thanks much appreciated. All comments welcome 

[Lozz196]

I’ve had both, I found that the Markbass cabs seem to have a high end roll off, and the Barefaced have a more vintage sound with neither low lows or razor sharp highs. 
 

I think in your situation @Paul C I’d save a few pounds and get the Markbass. If I were going to gig the cab regularly then straightaway I’d choose the Barefaced.

[Paul C]

Cheers @Lozz196 much appreciated 

[fretmeister]

I’ve had a pair of BF 1x10 (one with a tweeter) and a Markbass 2x10 - the new Energy model. I’m assuming it’s basically scalable! 

 

Both great cabs, but I prefer the Mark Bass. It’s the sound in my head. There is a bit of a treble roll off but I find that to be cutting the annoying ice pick frequencies rather than anything that gets in the way of EQ-ing. 
 

They do sound very different. I found I was forever tweaking with the BF set, and hardly ever with the MB. 
 

I owned an ABM410 about 20 years ago and I’m never going back to that weight ever again! 

[Lozz196]

I forgot to mention on my post re the ABM410, the EVO IV version is an excellent cab, prob my second fave cab I ever had. Yes it’s quite heavy but even in my early/mid 50s and with a bad back I was able to cope with it. I put a set of 4” castors on it and it made it easy to move about.