Barefaced Compact

[Born 2B Mild]

I gigged my Compact for the first time last night, with [i]Chainsaw[/i], a six-piece rock covers band that has been going for 30 years. Drums, bass, two guitars, lead singer and backing singer. The venue was the Three Horse Shoes, Otley near Leeds; one of my favourite pub venues because bands play on a raised floor and the audience likes a good gig. I like to think we delivered on that front, but best ask the opinion of someone who was there.

I turned up with some trepidation. I 'just' had a Shuttle 6.0 and a Barefaced Compact, and with this band, the decibel levels are high. This year, I've often used an Eden stack with the Shuttle, and also sometimes a pair of GS112s, but all cabs have now gone to new homes and all I've got left is the tweeter-less Compact. For most of the night, I used my Stingray 5, but I also used the Modulus Quantum SPX5 for a few numbers.

Well, my anxiety about not having enough air-shifting presence was soon a thing of the past. I had a clear, loud sound on stage which kept up with the rest of the band, no problem. But that's not all. The bass end of things was immense. I could have boosted the bass much more than I allowed but that would have felt like being at an earthquake movie at a Suroundsound cinema. What became apparent was that I could hit each of the first five frets on the low B string and actually hear them as separate and distinct notes. Yes, that's not difficult in a quiet band with a couple of Bergo's or Agui's, but in a full-on rock gig, I've found that takes some doing. Admittedly, these are all 12" speakers, so perhaps it's unfair to compare them with a 15".

I've always thought that "cutting through the mix" meant being able to hear the mid and top end of things amidst the melee, but the Compact has made me realise that this can also relate to hearing the low bass and being heard amongst all other instruments as discernible notes rather than just a harmonious rumble. But what about my other worry concerning the lack of higher frequencies? Again, I was placated. I had the Shuttle on maximum treble boost, and this with the power of the SR5, gave me the bite I needed (e.g. for my occasional faux slapping moments). I'm not one to boost the mids, so I can't really give an opinion on the Compact 's ability in that part of the spectrum yet.

A true appraisal of the cab's ability to be heard at different angles requires more venues, but I certainly felt that it had a wide radius of projection last night.

The rest of the band were very impressed with the Compact. One of our guitarists, who rarely speaks with more than three words in a sentence (he's not stupid, and he has a first class university degree, but he's a genuine Tyke) said "that cab seriously kicks arse ...is it an 18 inch?" I also got some respectful comments about my playing after the gig from folk I've never met before. Believe me, this isn't a common occurrence. Maybe my brilliance just hasn't been as detectable before .

I can only criticize the cab on one thing and that's it's appearance/finish. Alex has rightly focussed on delivering a 'Tardis' job in sound and weight but Barefaced cabs in my opinion have yet to have an exterior that matches their price tag. But that aside, we should be grateful for Mr Claber's genius contribution to the world of Bass. Furthermore, his pioneering 'Barefaced On Tour' trials have been a great initiative.

I am so pleased that I have found a solution to lugging and to sound quality. I really could have come on the bus with my rig. One day I may well add another cab to sit on top of the Compact , but only to draw a better impedance load and to increase ear-height monitoring, but that would be a [i]want [/i]and not a [i]need[/i].

[jonny-lad]

I was in the audience at this gig and the compact sounded awesome! It's the first time I've met Born 2B Mild and having noticed in his signature that he's now using Barefaced cabs, I was really keen to see what they sounded like.

Out in the audience, the sound was full, warm and clear and the compact is more than capable of producing plenty of top-end, especially considering there is no tweeter...The amount of low-end from such a small cabinet is surprising in itself, but the amount of top-end available can easily put to rest any preconcieved ideas about what frequencies a single 15 can produce. Also worth noting is how sweet the treble is - there's no harshness that can be sometimes cause tweeters to be a bit of an aquired taste. AFAIK, the bass was running without any PA support aswell, which really helps to show how capable the compact is!

I agree about the finish and can understand why some people don't like it, but I can definately see the purpose of using that type of finish - it's hard wearing, easy to touch up AFAIK(?) and it wouldn't rip like tolex sometimes does or go fluffly like carpet can. Having said that, I think a few options regarding the finish could make the compact more attractive to more people, although IIRC, some people have already had Compacts built with different finishes, like carpet.

The weight is also incredible - it really is an easy lift. I'd really recommend that anyone with any doubts about this cab checks one out in person at a gig. It's especially useful hearing one from the audience's perspective and it's really the only way to answer any questions about what the cab is really like.

[TPJ]

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='683459' date='Dec 13 2009, 09:53 PM']I am so pleased that I have found a solution to lugging and to sound quality. I really could have come on the bus with my rig. One day I may well add another cab to sit on top of the Compact , but only to draw a better impedance load and to increase ear-height monitoring, but that would be a [i]want [/i]and not a [i]need[/i].[/quote]

Hi Mate,
Glad to hear the Compact is doing it's thing. ( I swapped my Compact for B2BM's 2 Aggie GS112s)

I can confirm the points mentioned in the the above review. From my experience, the Compact filled a leisure gymnasium with no PA support using about 300 watts. In general, the band were always happy, especially the drummer, because they could hear the bass clearly as well as feel it. The finish never bothered me as I'm not hungup on aesthetics, the thing just needs to work.

I wish the Midgets where out earlier. The Compact is a great cab IMO, and the only reason I needed to move it on was that it's too big for my double bass gigs. The Aggies are great becasue I can split the stack as and when and one cab sounds really nice with UDB.

I imagine a Compact and a T'Midget would be ideal for my circumstances to cover electric bass and double bass.