Shockwave

Just corrected some of the text above and made it slightly easier to read.

[color="#FF0000"][size=3][b]This review has now been updated here. [/b][/size] [/color] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70650&view=findpost&p=914557"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...st&p=914557[/url] Hey guys! Thought I would give you a review on the T'vintage. Cost £825 shipped. Now I am not an expert at cabs, indeed I try to avoid buying them at all costs. This is my first truly expensive cab. My grammar is poor, and many of my opinions might rub some people the wrong way. I may have gotten some things wrong that can be answered for. So please rip into me if i have stated something fundamentally wrong. Also apologies for my poor structuring and rambling. [b]NOTE: I have tested this cab with 3 different amp heads of varying brands, wattages and 4 different rooms of varying size and amount of people inside them and 3 different basses to draw my conclusions. [/b] [url="http://img402.imageshack.us/i/dscf2412k.jpg/"][/url] [url="http://img204.imageshack.us/i/dscf2415z.jpg/"][/url] [b] Pros. [/b] [i]*VERY lightweight for a 2x15. *Pumps out a ridiculous amount of volume. *Looks the biz from the stage. [/i] The cabinet produces a heck of allot of volume, it's not muddy or flabby at incredibly high volumes. It managed to take a minute or so noodling at full volume on the SVT 5 PRO. The tweeter really adds SO much to the range of the cab. I couldn't imagine being without it. There is allot of Midrange and it can cut through twin guitars no problem. I have had complaints from neighbours. Because of its ultra lightweight, it is a keeper as it is incredibly convenient as my back has all sorts of problems. [b]Cons. [/b] [i]*Construction issues. *Lack of Low end. *Deadlines broken repeatedly.[/i] Unfortunately this will be the meat and potatoes of the review. It's much easier to complain about something then praising! I first asked Alex about a Barefaced Vintage just after the SE bass bash. I was interested in getting a Wilhelm scream/Brian Robinson tone. But also with a good slap tone. He recommended the Vintage would have more than enough high end to handle what I wanted. I insisted on a tweeter being installed as I wasn't so sure. This cost an additional £75. I am glad I did go for the tweeter as I can't get that tone without having the tweeter on full. Minor point. Anyway Alex mentioned that he had a few Vintages in stock already he could install a tweeter into one of them and ship out within a week. (Paid for the cab on the 13th of October.) After many excuses which included not having enough grill cloth, being overloaded with orders and having the main workshop guy off sick. I received the cab on the 18th of November. First problem was encountered. The first time I tried to use the side handles, they ripped off in my hands, I wasn't even putting very much pressure on them. I was not very pleased considering I had spent this much money on a cab, haven't even plugged it in yet and the seemingly cheap handles ripped off. I plugged the cab in and everything else was fine, though I felt that the tweeter had a bit too much hiss. I emailed Alex about it. It seemed to be that the Screws weren't man enough for the job. He said it was probably that he probably missed the bracket inside the screw and that why it was ripped out so easily and that he would send me a £50 refund and some teen nuts to secure the screw in again. At this point I was not very happy, paying £825 for a cab only for me to actually have to do work on it! How hard is it to test a cabs handles after installation? I would have been surprised if anything else was tested. Anyway, I welcomed the £50 refund as money is incredibly tight at the moment, and I was happy to keep the truth concealed as it was probably a once off. Anyway. After preparing myself for the fact I had to work on my new cab I opened it up just to see what the exact problem was. The only way in was through taking off the speakers. The speaker grill was held on by some very flimsy stick on Velcro. When I pulled the grill off, most of the cab side of Velcro did too. Ultimately the Velcro side was too effective for the stickiness on the back of the Velcro to hold. (When I put the grill back on I had to rip the Velcro apart from each other and stick the cab side Velcro back on the cab.) I unscrewed the speaker and took a look inside. Little did I know that the tee nuts that held the speaker onto the cab were only lightly screwed in and they had all fallen out into the cab. Anyway, I looked into the cab and saw that the handle was screw did in fact get drilled into the bracket. Which reaffirmed my position that the screw was not man enough for the job. I emailed Alex stating that the bracket wood must have stripped away. I spent 4 hours dickering around with the cab trying to reinstall the tee nuts into the speaker area so I can install the speaker again. They kept falling out every time I applied screw pressure. It is hard to reinstall the tee nuts as much of the wood had already been eaten away from the first installation (Which appeared to my non expert eye) a terrible job in the first place! At this point, I had decided to send the cab back as this was obviously beyond me and frankly I shouldn't have to repair my brand new cab due to installation errors and non testing in the first place. So I contacted Alex who said it was no problem. Anyway, I had to pester Alex three times to try and get my promised refund back, as without it, I wouldn't be able to send the cab back (no mention of a further refund to send the cab back due to manufacturer error. I am pretty sure the sale of goods act states something to that effect) Eventually I got the £50 which was refunded for the reason that I had troubles with the cab (Note, not money to send the cab back) I spent 3 hours repacking the cab as I had already broken down the original box (my fault) I used something like 2 rolls of parcel tape and managed to send the cab back for a cool £50. (25/11/09) He said he would send out the replacement immediately... The day after I sent the cab back, Alex E-mails me saying that he just remembered why the first cabs handles failed. He took the original cab to bassday to show it off, but didn't install the big screws needed for the handles and just installed smaller ones so it looked completed. After bringing it back from bassday he forgot to install the new screws and just sent it out. I was bloody furious at this, I told him many times I thought it was the fact the screw was not man enough for the job and that he never missed the bracket, and somehow that didn't jog his memory that he didn't install the correct screws in the first place? So I had just spent the £50 which was not refunded to me because I had to send the cab back (But with money in apology for the problem in the first place) only to just have been told that I never needed to send it back in the first place as it was just a simple matter of installing larger screws. (Which even I could do) ...After more missed deadlines I finally received the replacement on 09/12/09, Whilst I promised to not make public the issues with the cab in exchange for the £50 refund, considering I had to spend that money to get the cab back to Alex I feel that I had to say something) So not only had Alex not performed some simple testing, sent me a cab that was never finished and never offered to refund the postage cost. (And I hate pressing the issue) The new cab was absolutely fine. With no problems. To the other negatives. There is a lack of fundamental low end with the Vintage which I was a bit disappointed at. But considering the depth and lightness of the cab, I was not surprised. Maybe this is a voicing issue but not sure. The cab Feels flimsy and seems badly constructed, sort of more of a bedroom project then a professional project when viewed up close. The replacement cab still has the same Velcro/grill issue as the original cab and the grill in fact fell out of the cab when I was wheeling it out of the car from last night's practice. [b]My conclusions. [/b] [i]The cab[/i] The cab is stupendously lightweight, and has a huge amount of volume and a decent quality of sound. The cab feels flimsy, has construction issues and appears that the most of the cost of the construction was spent on the speakers and little else, lacks a little bit of bottom and the tweeter is the hissiest I have come across. Due to the construction flimsiness/quality I think the asking price of £825 shipped for a T'Vintage is not worth the money. Whilst lightweight, I think the 2x15 concept for barefaced is flawed, the cab is still and awkward size to cart about, the handle placement is a little low to grab and the wheels don't seem to be able to take much abuse. [i]Barefaced/Alex[/i] I think Alex is generally a nice bloke, he has problems just like the rest of us and he never intended for all of these problems to occur, he responded to emails promptly and had a willingness to get things sorted, however I think the fact that some of his cabs have construction issues (And I know I am not the only person who believes this) means that they need to have a better build quality, such as better handles, screwed in grill and better wheels. Yes it adds weight but will make it a better quality cab overall. Alex on more than one occasion mentioned he needed to give up his day job to concentrate on Barefaced and I can only agree! I am sure the problems that I experienced was a rare occurrence. Also i think Alex should consider how badly a person can feel when something they have paid for goes so wrong and realise when people may have felt a little cheated. I also feel that Barefaced is overhyped by some of the fellow bass playing community, the fact they are so lightweight being the primary motivator. It echoes memories of a few years ago when people on bass world were going nuts over Ashdown gear, now a few years later the majority of people slate them. I fear that unless construction issues are addressed and less emphasis put on lightness then the cabs popularity could be just a passing fad. c I am also told by another forumite that Alex intends to just put larger screws in my original Vintage and send it back out again at the same price which to me is a no no. (Though this may now change since i posted the review) [i]Myself[/i] * I like the Vintage, its loud and light with a good solid punch. I don't think the cab is worth the money when you look at the parts used to make it. There are many manufacturers out there that make cabs for the same price which sound just as good, whilst they aren't light, they have more low end and are more solid. * The Big one would have been more suited to my needs as it has a little more low end then the Vintage. * If you want an ultra lightweight cab which is handy for carting around to practices that is very loud, get a barefaced. * However if you want a workhorse that can take the stresses of regular gigging, go for a mass manufacturer, Warwick, Ampeg, mark bass, GK etc. I will be keeping the vintage for its convenience but will probably invest in a more solid cab for regular gigging. I havent contacted Alex about the replacement cab since i recieved it as i wanted to post this review first. I am not after the further £50 refund that i should have received on principle and this is not the reason why i posted this review. I have tried to be as honest as i can in this review. I have had the cab for a while now so this is not a review written in anger. I hope everyone can make an informed decision as to whether they want a Barefaced or not The problem i have given myself is that i have probably devalued the cab by this review which could make it difficult to sell on if i decide to sell up at a later date. Robert Quick. [b]NOTE, I have posted this in amps and cabs to get peoples reactions and opinions, when that dies down i will move this to the basschatter review forums. [/b]

Thats is a GORGEOUS ray. Never mind the pickguard!

Used to have a Spector Legend Classic 6 in Dark cherry flame maple. It looked the biz but i really hated the sound of the Spector tonepump pre-amp. Also something wasent quite right about the neck. Even after a decent setup it seemed like all the upper frets needed filing down.

[quote name='Moos3h' post='677511' date='Dec 8 2009, 09:00 AM']Overpriced tbh, you can get a new one for £[url="http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/P/100934/"]under 50 pounds[/url][/quote] Its uncanny!

A few images of seeing me progressivly getting more horrifying! These were taken at Strange and Scary Halloween festival this year in Bremen, Germany!

[quote name='shippo' post='677193' date='Dec 7 2009, 09:03 PM']Hey It aint going up for sale, its going to be used live on stage in a tribute band that I am being so anal about I really do care what the logo is on the headstock and also to respray the bass as well (If only all bassists in tribute bands were this into the stage show!) If someone has a late 70's early 80's black mockingbird vintage handcrafted bass they would like to donate or sell me for next to nothing then I'll gladly play that on stage instead, but while I cant find one this is the only solution. Unless anyone has another idea? Thanks for your continued assistance. Regards Shippo[/quote] If you were that anal about the logo then you would have at least gone out and got a Neck thru. Very few BCRS from that era were bolt on. I agree with Lorne on this one.