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Came across these on Facebook the other day and subsequently searched Youtube and there's plenty there too, absolutely awesome. Here's their version of Distant early warning:

In the last 10 years I've only played Bergantino and Barefaced. The Berg tone was particularly impressive and I felt I'd reached a whole other level in bass sound when I got them. IMO my Barefaced cabs are another level again, they are monsters for sound and get even more positive comments than my Bergs did, and they generated a lot of praise. IME people do notice the bass player, if you sound good enough! The BF cabs are lighter and I need fewer of them to cover all levels of volume that I require. If my rig was stolen I'd happily replace it with either, but a BF rig would be at the top of the list. I'd expect all of these cabs to sound totally different to your Markbass rig. You might find that a little off putting, maybe not, but the difference will be very noticeable. IMO the difference was a revelation to me and the extra tone and clarity gave my bass playing a boost. I've not heard an amp that didin't sound good through either Bergs or BF cabs. You can go down to Brighton and try Barefaced cabs in the factory. If they have a demo unit on the shelf you can borrow it. You can send the Barefaced cabs back if you don't like them. You can't audition the other cabs and you'll be stuck with them if you change your mind. I'm sure that if I heard one I'd love the VDK. At this level there are no bad cabs, just preferences. PS Sorry, but Barefaced cabs are not flimsy. Don't confuse light for "flimsy". They are as solid as any standard designed cab. If you are careless enough to damage a BF cab you'll have done more damage to a regular cab. I carry all my gear and don't have access to roadies. In 10 years my cabs have never even been scratched. Good covers and care are all that is needed. my 2p

Coffee and KitKat at inflated price at a convenient filling station.

This has the makings of one of the most useful BC threads ever.

More my era of Rush, but this is terrific, too, especially the vocal: I've heard Geddy worse...

Hi everyone, I bought a cheap bass Sunday for parts or maybe another build, its a spider bass ? never heard of them. Anyway it has pups and tuners a bridge the neck has been very poorly converted to fretless, the body is a plywood thing that has been butchered in the neck pocket, I thought about re fretting it but ive never done that before but it hasn't cost anything yet so nothing to lose, this is were you come in what fret wire do I buy ? this may not happen depending on the state of the neck, it has been filled in the slots with a softish filler so it might clean up without to much hassle because I haven't got a fret cutting saw. I have an old front door that I took apart to make a body but I wont start that until I sought the neck out, ideas and criticism gratefully received.

I too used Markbass very happily for many years, had 2x10, 4x10, 1x12 (x2) and 1x15(x2) and have held onto a couple 1x12s. Still great stuff but Vanderkley and Barefaced are in a different league, which their price would suggest I visited Bass Direct a few years back and did a direct comparison between Bergantinos and Vanderkleys, and I went for the Vanderkleys.. I have been using Vanderkleys for about five years. I recently acquired a preowned Barefaced Super 12T which is a superb one cab solution and I now have trouble choosing between this and two MNT112 or a single LNT210. I visited Barefaced in Brighton and did a direct comparison between the Big Twin and Super Twin. The Big Twin was probably the best single bass cabinet I have ever heard, but as I am nearly always DI'd hrough PA, I went for the portability of the smaller cab, but sonically the Big Twin Is quite a bit more impressive. Barefaced cabs do use relatively thin ply, but are very rigid and well braced. If you respect them and dont hurl them about they are robust enough and really easy to touch-up. The pre and after sales service at Barefaced is excellent . Vanderkley cabs use thicker ply, have less bracing and do seem more robust. I have always preferred tough carpet covering to Tolex, but the 'lumpy' paint on Barefaced cabs is a doddle to maintain. Vanderkley use custom Faital Pro drivers, Barefaced use Eminence drivers wound to Alex's specs. Both companies give exceptional service. A difficult choice, unless you get both!!

It's one of those things, they'll all be good, but you just have to make the best guess, if you can't try them. Everyone is just going to say what they use is best for X reason. FWIW, I had a VK 212MNT. Don't be put off by it being rated at only 600w... It's a hugely loud cab and took all a 900w amp had to offer. With very strong lows and clear highs. I went back to Markbass however, and for what I want it does the job far better. Its obviously not a better cab, just better suited to what I need.

I love playing The 100 Club, iconic venue, you just get the feel of the place when there. Also love The Star & Garter in Manchester, just great gigs and great audiences, in a venue that is standing proud in a development area and not moving. And lastly The Rebellion Festival at The Winter Gardens in Blackpool, just love that, the biggest and best punk festival, being asked to play there is awesome. 200+ bands over a weekend, you get to catch up with so many people that you`ve met over the previous year, it`s just an amazing time. We`re setting off tomorrow (playing Sunday afternoon), am so looking forward to it.

@TimAl. Been on your site. Very nice job! Seeing that you can make everything you are the obvious choice.

I saw that clip last week and was really impressed. The bass player gets a great Geddy sound from his G&L bass. Another fun Rush cover band are "Fred Barchetta" who feature Uriah Duffy (ex Whitesnake) on bass. The girl singer really nails the early Rush vocal on this track, I've included a YouTube link below: (Incidentally, how do you embed YouTube clips in replied on this forum?) http://youtu.be/HodK8zn7xz4

These puns are boring; the're just going rind and rind.

FRFR. Line out from your preamp of choice (or amp, just don't use the power stage), into... RCF 735A or RCF 745A. Will smoke all the aforementioned cabs, especially on treble extension.

My back wants me to like Barefaced, but 40 odd years of playing through cabs with ‘baked in tone’ mean I struggle to hear what my brain wants to hear with the ‘clean’ output of the Barefaced range. i haven’t tried the Bergantino, but have played through the Vanderkley albeit at low volume, and I loved the sound. Very creamy and musical sounding, even with the matching amp set ‘flat’. If I was to be persuaded to move away from my SWR Goliath, then the Vanderkley would be top of my list.

Based on this I would say Barefaced. They're the one cab that with the 12's I couldn't give you and description of their voice. They're just very flat, and I'm often really surprised at how different, different amps can sound with the same cab. The treble extension with the BT2 is also really nicely executed. The Bergantinos have probably more of the colour I prefer, but they are coloured, which isn't really what you're after based on that quote. Not much experience with the Vanderkleys, I was always recommended against them for one reason or another at the time of buying. Barefaced it is in my view!

Gigs I love? I love playing in big fields. Open air festivals, that is. Big stages, big sound systems, big stage sound, captive and appreciative audiences and you also get to see some great bands on the bill. We were booked to play one early this year that was washed out and had to be rescheduled but I haven't been rained on at an open air gig in a few years.

I was trying to think of a polite way of pointing that out too haha Si

Hmmmmm....seen at the double bass bash in April......

Eww. just kidding!!

1972 all original Fender Jazz, with the original case, she’s aged beautifully with great looking wear and checking all over, she was Olympic white but is now a gorgeous buttermilk colour with the most beautiful piece of tort I’ve seen, I think my soul was a small price to pay.

So, after many moons using Markbass, I think it's time for a change and I'll be putting my stack up for sale to free up some funds. Thread to appear later today. So, What I'm after is a 2x12 one cab solution like most people it would seem. Preferably light (naturally) with as faithful a response as you can get. In an ideal world, what I want is the signal which goes in sounds exactly like what comes out. I appreciate that's not possible, so I've settled on the 3 brands above as possibilities. As they all cost about the same, I'm not bothered by that aspect of the equation. So with this in mind, I come to 3 choices - Bergantino HDN212, Barefaced Big Twin 2 and Vanderkley 212LNT. From my own point of view they each have their plus and minus points. Bergantino (it was a CN212 I'm basing this on) had a very pronounced low mid profile and maybe less treble extension? This was in the cab shootout as played by Lozz at the SE bash a couple of years ago. My thoughts on Barefaced are of the cosmetic variety and I just don't dig on the looks. Yes, I'm that shallow and I admit it. I played a prototype one at the SE bash in 2013, and thought the dispersion was great, but not using anything that resembled my own settings it was difficult to gauge quite how it was relative to me. Lastly Vanderkley. I've heard that some think they're a bit bright. Is that accepted wisdom? Having played Al Krow's 2x10 I was very impressed. I also had a go on another 2x10 at last year's SE bash. Very loud. The treble extension is very important to me as I quite often play 12 or 8 string basses, which are distorted in the upper edge for more bite. That is the acid test for me and indeed my own unique criteria which probably nobody on the forum will look at as something they would use to subjectively measure something. I can't really try before I buy and I won't have any gigs for some months due to holidays of the various bands I'm in. I'm just wanting the switcheroo to happen before everything kicks off again. I appreciate that everyone will have a tendency to recommend their own stuff, however, has anyone moved between all or some of these? Thoughts? Opinions? Missed anything? All advice is welcome.

I carry a passive DI, and let the sound-person know that I have that, a head with a DI or am happy to use their preferred DI. Some prefer to use their gear in which case I concede to their preferences (they know their system), some concede to what I want (usually the Orchid DI over the Markbass amp DI), either way, if everyone is happy, everyone has a better gig. Si

I have a FRFR system, a Vanderkley 210LNT and a Barefaced Compact. I use a range of DI pedals and Helix through the FRFR, I use an EICH T1000 through the Vanderkley, and I’m looking for a valve head to pair with the Barefaced. The FRFR is in the car more than any other - it works on any size stage and sound engineers love it. The Vanderkley is just a glorious sounding cab and the T1000 has volume for days. It’s just so nice and rich.. The barefaced is light and adept and totally different to the others. Put it up for sale but changed my mind as it’s a brilliant cab. Conclusion? I’m no bloody help to you whatsoever, I’m a gear head, I like to mix it up.

PS @Wolverinebass Come to the dark side and kill Rock n Roll.

Fabulous. That is quite remarkable 😮

That's very very well done, and not easy to do.

Like Chris B, I've played mostly Bergs and BF for a good long while now (tho I've had MB cabs, too), and if I was playing in different bands than I am, and got to sit down and listen to my cab a lot on its own in a Scott Devine kinda way, I'd love a Berg HDN212 just for the hell of it, but my Super Twin does exactly what I need lighter and more easily handled - 40lbs and wheels is genius 🙂. I've total confidence in that whatever I put into it, and however loud I need it to be, it'll deliver. I've run it with Class D stuff, with lots of effects, and with a warm Walkabout, and it produces what I put into it. I've never met a tweetered cab I liked (or at least liked until after I'd turned the tweeters off - the AE112s were an example of that) so my tone goals are different to yours, but I'm sure a Big Twin will do it. Oh, and we use RCF ART735s in our PA, so I get to play through those (and a sub) a lot, too... 🙂 Edit: the 735s are so good we're seriously considering dropping the sub and going for 745s instead, for small to medium venues... Edit 2: Actually, I have the PA here under my stairs, so I might just dig out one of the 735s and have a play later, just to see how loud it'll go with a bass... 😁

Oooh, now there's a difficult band to emulate.... seem to be doing a damn fine job though and now Rush have stopped touring (or so I read somewhere recently) there's a gap in the market :-)

I appreciate your comment Chris but in 30 odd years of playing, a BF cab (a compact gen1) is the only cab I managed to crack the shell on and bust the handle off. I'm sure construction has improved since the early days of production but it managed to put me off them as a brand.

Well, in engineering, you mostly have tradeoffs. You can't make a car with an internal combustion engine with the performance and mileage of a Tesla Model S, or make a car with the performance of a Ferrari, capacity of a lorry, and the mileage of a Honda Civic. Let's see: the RCF 745A is, compared to the Acme Low-B2: *more expensive *considerably bigger *louder. Much louder. It's impossible to say one way or another regarding the fidelity. Acme docs state the freq response to be "Frequency response: +/-3 dB 41Hz to 22 kHz -6 dB at 31 Hz" While RCF says: 45-20000 Hz and the curve shown in the specsheet makes me speculate the RCF -6dB frequency is likely the 45Hz stated. The customer is left with assigning value on the different engineering goals and choosing the product where those goals are pursued at the expense of others.

Nice shirts and hats are more his thing! 😎

I think it's a reputation based on the guitar gear of the past. Was discussing the brand with my Dad a couple of days ago who gigged as a guitarist through the 80s and 90s who effectively said "great Laney = Alright compared to most other stuff, alright Laney = terrible". I've always found the bass stuff to be very solid and punchy, but the tonal profile not to fit my needs.

I think they finally learnt to glue it properly (fingers crossed, I use my Two10s regularly and they still look fine) edit: one of the handles seems to be coming loose... I'm not kidding. Really. Deep breath.

I think it was Mike, gas oven rings burning in the kitchen for heat if it was winter!

While I don't have any current love for Laney, a long time ago I used to run a rig - 2x15, 2x10, big old DP150 head (I couldn't afford the DP300). I'd never loved whatever was passing for the affordable/budget end of bass playing back then...people just too obsessed with Marshalls to be honest. Anyhow this was my set up. It was furiously loud and I never ran it more than about halfway.

The tolex will probably fall off fairly soon anyway

My advice would be even simpler : follow the snare drum, not the bass drum as you'll get lost after the first measure. Don't try to understand and decompose the signature, but let the music flow. On the opposite, as I'm into weird time signatures (I've been listening to strange time signatures, being it classical, jazz or even rock, since I'm a teenager), it's hard for me to play in 4:4, I think because I get bored very quick.

Blood and sand, Jez! For a start they look wonderful (mine's the one at the bottom if you are sending them as free gifts to deserving sycophants ) Secondly - we retirees rely on you employed folks to keep us in the manner we once dreamed could have been possible until we all realised that money purchase pension schemes are just charity donations to rich financiers. So it is always a concern if the employed tax-payers start letting their attention drift away from their prime purpose - that is of keeping the state pension provision afloat. So to come to the leading question - when on earth do you have time to work on your proper tax paying job if you have all those beauties on the go and should Phillip Hammond be informed? More specifically, do I need to tighten our family's belts and hide the gin from MrsAndyjr1515? Trust me, she's a very scary woman when she's sober! Ps. My wife's solicitors have served a cease and desist request based on the hurtful comment above. She wishes me to clarify that she is a very scary person whether she has consumed gin or not. I fully concur and apologise for what might have been a seen as a misleading statement.