Just noticed new Barefaced product

[Bass Culture]

I had a Compact for a while which I ultimately wasn't convinced by and sold, but I think that had more to do with my ears being more attuned to 12" speakers and the fact I convinced myself I was lacking a bit of mid-range punch and definition. I really like the look of the Super 12 though and still really want to like Alex's cabs - I think a 2 x 12 like this could be just the answer for me. One cab to rule them all!

Edited May 5, 2010 by Bass Culture

[Me And My Bass]

The cab in the photos in mine! Woo-hoo!

Should be here monday, cant wait!

[Merton]

[quote name='Me And My Bass' post='829417' date='May 6 2010, 11:08 AM']The cab in the photos in mine! Woo-hoo!

Should be here monday, cant wait![/quote]
You lucky git

[BassBen]

[quote name='Me And My Bass' post='829417' date='May 6 2010, 11:08 AM']The cab in the photos in mine! Woo-hoo!

Should be here monday, cant wait![/quote]

Make sure you get some good pictures and reviews up!

I think this could be the ideal cab for me. I own a compact but i miss the click of a tweeter this could be just what I am looking for.

[Me And My Bass]

I will do some good pictures and a video review will follow.

[largo]

[quote name='obbm' post='827105' date='May 4 2010, 08:59 AM']Also why do cabs have to be made narrower than a typical rack case or valve head? This would go well with an Orange AD200 but the head will overhang the cab by a couple of inches either side. Looks daft.[/quote]

Back to obbm's comment I completely agree, why not make a cab that an amped rack looks good on? I asked Alex about making a custom Compact but because of the physics that's gone into the design it can't really be done. Fair enough, but aesthetics do matter and I really wish he'd made the cab an inch or so wider.

[alexclaber]

Hey y'all! About the width thing, having spent plenty of time with the rack width Big One and the slightly narrower than rack width Compact and new Super Twelve, those few inches make a significant difference in how easily you can get through doorways without skinning your knuckles. Also, if you put a lightweight round corner rackcase like an SKB or Gator on the Compact the difference isn't visually jarring, though I accept a traditional heavyweight rackcase would look too wide. But if you're buying a lightweight cab do you want to haul a heavyweight rack? We don't do custom cabs for anyone because of the time it would take to do them right but if someone has a great idea then it might cause a cab to happen, as with the Vintage (which is deliberately valve amp width - apart from a rare few monsters).

Regarding the handles, if these strap handles compromised portability then we wouldn't use them. What would be the point of making a cab really light and then making the handles horrible to use? But when you're dealing with this little weight they're very effective. A hole in the side of the cab would be detrimental, especially with our bracing approach, and with a port up the side of the baffle like the Super Twelve then the recessed dish would obstruct the airflow. I know a lot of manufacturers don't care about that but we do.

Nice to hear the positive feedback on the new model - first one is leaving tomorrow! Very pleased with the performance, sounds much bigger than I was expecting.

[Shockwave]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='830080' date='May 6 2010, 09:49 PM']But if you're buying a lightweight cab do you want to haul a heavyweight rack?[/quote]

Because its easier to carry a heavyweight rack, then a heavyweight cab?

Anyway, still loving my Vintage Alex, destroyed a village fete in telford the other weekend. Using either an Ampeg SVTII-P or Trace elliot GP12 SMX Pre, into a Crown XS-700 1900 Watt mono bridged PA.

Nice

[Tee]

Just when i as considering a Compact. Same footprint, but taller. Looks nice.

[largo]

Hi Alex, nice to hear from you and thanks for replying. Totally understand your reasons regards the custom cabs. but have to agree with Shockwave in that my 3u amp rack with Markbass SA450 & Korg tuner is way lighter and easier to carry than most cabs. The full flight case protects the amp from knocks & likes when it's "flung" into a trailer every week. If carrying your Compact using the side handle doesn't that make the depth not the width of the cab the important factor when trying to get through doorways etc ?

[Prime_BASS]

Looks awesome.
BTW Alex im in love with my compact and still luagh when people expect it to wiegh 30KG not 14kg.

Still im going for the midget as my next purchase for the same 3 way rig.

[synaesthesia]

[quote name='Toasted' post='827677' date='May 4 2010, 05:24 PM']If you take a look at Alex's FAQ page, in his usual way (4 lines, no full stops) he writes:

[i]Because by not cutting a hole in the enclosure to mount the handle the enclosure strength and stiffness is greater, because a plastic bar handle would be weaker than our steel cored strap handles, because a steel bar handle would be strong enough but would add excessive weight and because most of our cabs are light enough to carry in one hand and a strap handle is comfier for that and if they're not a one-hand-carry then they have wheels anyway![/i]

From my own industry I must disagree that cutting a hole in the side of the enclosure reduces the strength - unless of course you cut accross a corner. I definitely agree that the plastic bar handles are not as strong as the steel strap handles. That said there's nothing so comfortable as a steel bar handle of the type that Ampeg/Bergantino/Epifani/Genz Benz/Aguilar/Mesa/Ashdown/Orange/SWR/Accugroove/Hartke/EBS/GK/Low Down Sound/Trace Elliot/Purple Chilli/Marshall/TC E/Phil Jones use.[/quote]

+1. The integrity of the shell is hardly compromised, the info provided is mis-leading. Stiffness is not greater because there is no cutout in a planar sheet of ply, a full planar sheet is what it is until it is reinforced or tensioned for stiffness. There are loads of ABS handles which weigh as much as the strap handle, and you lose the chunk of wood in the cut out as well. At the end of the day, it is about how one manipulates these things about with comfort; saving weight is not the only issue. For me the weight saving has become a game of trump cards in the world of gigging. You have to carry or move something a the end of the day, roadie or muso, - the question of reasonable weight has lot all sense of proportion amongst some DIYers.

Edited May 9, 2010 by synaesthesia

[largo]

Surely by installing an ABS handle it then compromises the inside of the cabinet, deflecting sound waves differently to how a straight edge would?

[Alien]

[quote name='largo' post='832818' date='May 10 2010, 09:15 AM']Surely by installing an ABS handle it then compromises the inside of the cabinet, deflecting sound waves differently to how a straight edge would?[/quote]

Generally, that's a good thing. 2 flat surfaces facing each other allow for standing waves at certain frequencies, which can create boom at those frequencies.

A

[chris_b]

We're off again. Everyone knows how to design bass cabs, except Alex!!!

[JackLondon]

Everyone is suddenly an expert on handles as well.

[Me And My Bass]

Cab arrived this morning, first impressions.....its stunning. Built quality is top notch. Caster wheels make it even easyer to shift, its an easy one hand lift if carrying it.
Sound wise, had a quick blast at 9.30a.m down low! lol! My god the thing backs a punch. Cant really comment other wise till l can open it up a bit and stretch its legs. Got an ideal gig for it on friday night with little P.A support,I will get some good pictures and post a review at the weekend.
Here is a quick pic -
[attachment=49381:cab_new.jpg]

[JackLondon]

Nice

[obbm]

[quote name='JackLondon' post='832882' date='May 10 2010, 10:44 AM']Everyone is suddenly an expert on handles as well.[/quote]

Seeing as I started this debate on handles with my personal comments I will clarify where I was coming from.

Being 5'6" tall, slightly built and well past my sell-by-date, carrying a cab of this size, regardless of weight, by a single handle is not practical. I have found the best way to move these sized cabs is in a kind of bear-hug and two recessed handles on the side would make this very easy, otherwise there is nothing to grip. They would also make it easier to lift vertically, for example onto a stage or into the car. It is purely a practical and logistical consideration. If fitting these is detrimental to the performance of the cab then that has to be taken into consideration in the cab design by the boffins who know.

[synaesthesia]

[quote name='Alien' post='832865' date='May 10 2010, 10:17 AM']Generally, that's a good thing. 2 flat surfaces facing each other allow for standing waves at certain frequencies, which can create boom at those frequencies.

A[/quote]

That is correct to an extent, 'boom' is not a typical consequence, the excited resonances of typical speaker box from standing waves are more likely to be of a midrange 'honk'; and a good cabinet is lined. And yes to others who are offended, more than one person on the planet has acoustically and physically designed and built speaker cabinets; including the placement of grips and handles.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='obbm' post='832904' date='May 10 2010, 11:17 AM']Being 5'6" tall, slightly built and well past my sell-by-date, carrying a cab of this size, regardless of weight, by a single handle is not practical.[/quote]

That's why this cab has three handles - one on each side for lifting it in the way you describe plus one on the top for rolling it - and rollerblade style wheels so you can tilt and roll. If a significant proportion of owners didn't like the handles then we'd have a rethink - we ask our customers for feedback and based on what we hear the handles are a non-issue: In fact they all seem to love how easy the cabs are to move!

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='833264' date='May 10 2010, 05:10 PM']That's why this cab has three handles - one on each side for lifting it in the way you describe plus one on the top for rolling it - and rollerblade style wheels so you can tilt and roll. If a significant proportion of owners didn't like the handles then we'd have a rethink - we ask our customers for feedback and based on what we hear the handles are a non-issue: In fact they all seem to love how easy the cabs are to move![/quote]

+1

This works.

Regardless of the posts from people who don't actually use these cabs, Barefaced handles do exactly what they need to do, don't feel flimsy, don't fall off or rip out.

They're not perfect. I think the top-mounted handle on the Big One should be nearer the front of the cab to make it easier to tow. Having it near the back of the cab forces me to bend over as I walk (think Groucho Marx), otherwise the cab tries to tip back up to the vertical.

And Barefaced handles don't feel like they just escaped from a Mercedes or a BMW. The recessed steel handles on my old Eden cabs just oozed strength and quality, but then they needed to because the cabs were so damned heavy.

I'm just off to set up my new forum ... HandleChat.

[BassBod]

My experience is limited to the Compact that went round the country last year, but I really disliked the look of the strap handle whe I saw photos of that cab. I thought it looked cheap and flimsy and would last about three weeks. Once the cab was here and I'd lifted it twice I never thought about it again. The additional wheels on the 2x12 would be a doddle. However, I think I should be sent another to try out, just to be sure.....I'll look after it, honest!

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='BassBod' post='833308' date='May 10 2010, 05:36 PM']My experience is limited to the Compact that went round the country last year, but I really disliked the look of the strap handle whe I saw photos of that cab. I thought it looked cheap and flimsy and would last about three weeks. Once the cab was here and I'd lifted it twice I never thought about it again. The additional wheels on the 2x12 would be a doddle. However, I think I should be sent another to try out, just to be sure.....I'll look after it, honest![/quote]

That was the old heavyweight one too.

[obbm]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='833264' date='May 10 2010, 05:10 PM']That's why this cab has three handles - one on each side for lifting it in the way you describe plus one on the top for rolling it - and rollerblade style wheels so you can tilt and roll. If a significant proportion of owners didn't like the handles then we'd have a rethink - we ask our customers for feedback and based on what we hear the handles are a non-issue: In fact they all seem to love how easy the cabs are to move![/quote]

Points taken Alex. I must try one of these sometime. It might enable me to rationalise my cab collection. I couldn't borrow on for the weekend of July 3/4 could I?