Tim1

Auto bias problems have been a common issue, especially with the early versions of the amp. When mine played up Fender sent a new board without question and free of charge, even though it was well out of warranty. It was an easy and quick fix. Surprised to hear there has been a repair problem.

I run a bb2 and/or a super midget with a Mesa 800+ or Bergantino Forte hp. I find with a passive jazz or precision both cabs benefit from the treble boost on the 800+ but the forte hp gets most use in a gig situation. Both are great heads, very much a case of which one your ears and style prefer. I have no experience of the AG 700 but do own an Aguilar DB751 which rocks over everything when I feel like carrying a lead sled to a gig.

I have the Forte HP which I use with a variety of Barefaced cabs, among them a big baby and six 10. Heaps of power and tonal variety available. The downloadable firmware is excellent and easy to use. The compression is subtle and natural, and having both hpf and lpf is icing on the cake. I find having the extra power on tap seems to add control at loud volumes, as might be expected. A great match for Barefaced cabs ime.

I had one for a while but could not bond with it, too mid focused for me and for some reason I found the bottom too dry (for want of a better word). That said, I can totally understand why it is the small cab of choice for afficianados of the fridge. Personally I much prefer the Barefaced 10s, but of course ymmv.

I used to own one. Nice bass tone but nowhere near enough volume to gig with on bass unless you are accompanying an acoustic act in a Coffee shop. Superb guitar amp, really rocks.

For a high power, light and and incredibly versatile head the Bergantino Forte HP is pretty hard to beat.

I would also consider lowering the pickups. I once had a similar issue and it was the string hitting the pickup when I played hard.

Aguilar DB751. Huge sense of power in reserve and wonderful bottom end. Only non- power tube amp I have played that has come anywhere close to the feeling of headroom and grunt that you get from an svt.

Bergantino Forte HP. 600 watts into ohms, 1200 watts into 4 and 2 ohms.

250 watts at 8 ohms is no good for me asI was considering it to use with my 8 ohm Barefaced Big Baby 2. The 400 watts of the Mesa 800+ easily trumps it.

Hey Stofferson, thanks for that power rating data from the manual. Like some of the others my computer would not let me download the manual.

I have been looking at these for a while, but nowhere can I find the power output at 4 or 8 ohms. 700 watts at 2.67 is all they seem to reveal.

Surprised that nobody has mentioned that the Ampeg is a sealed cabinet, unlike many other 810s.

There has been much discussion concerning this on Talkbass. Alex Claber chipped in and said that as far as he was concerned the cloth as they use it is as durable as the steel grille and to just go with whichever you find the most aesthetically pleasing. Me, I prefer the black steel grille for both looks and durability,. It also means that when I lift my Four 10 from the front it does not matter if it leans into my body.

Just have to say, in response to the Barefaced naysayers on this thread, that my experience with the Barefaced tens runs contrary to the reservations that are expressed here. I am in New Zealand, yet the communication and customer service from Alex has been superb. I have two One 10s and a Four 10 which I combine with anything from a Mesa Subway 800+ to Orange AD200, Fender Super Bassman, Ampeg V4.....so I have a reasonable experience with these speakers. I also own Bergantino, Fender, Ampeg etc cabs for comparison. I do not want to get into a which is best scenario as that has been done to death, but IME and combined with decent amplification the Barefaced 10s far exceed others in volume and the type of tone that I enjoy. Yes, they are coloured but they are designed to be that way and it suits me. They go very loud without farting out and sit nicely in the mix. So light.... Anyway, it does boil down to opinion and we are all entitled to one, but I was surprised to read some of the comments here so looking to balance them from my own experience over 40 plus years of playing.

I use two One 10s as well as a Four 10, so cannot directly compare with a Two 10 but my gut is that you will barely notice a difference, if any. This topic has been addressed on Talkbass and I think the consensus was that the low end and mids would be identical and you might marginally notice more highs due to the low pass crossover on one speaker in the Two 10. In reality I honestly don't think you would notice. Two One 10s make a wonderfully portable and modular syatem. I never cease to be amazed at how much a single One 10 cab can fill a small to medium room - I recently ran a side by side comparison of a single One 10 with an Ampeg 212AV for a couple of bass players and they were amazed that in a medium room it could match the 212AV with no sign of farting out. This was with a Mesa 800+ and a touch of HPF for both. That said, if playing with a drummer I always take two of the One 10s or the Four 10 - just because I can

I think the problem with this idea is that the device would have to be some sort of (large) resistor which would then absorb its share of any extra wattage you gained, hence making no significant difference to actual volume.

Yes, this has been dealt with in detail on the Talkbass thread. Alex did respond at one stage, IIRC along the lines that impedance varies with frequency ( no doubt I have this wrong as I am not a tech but that was the rough gist) and that it was safe to use the speakers as rated - which is obviously correct as I have not heard of any issues.

I have two One 10s and a Four 10. Fantastic match with my Mesa 400+ and gives me heaps of options up to a Six 10 when I link the two One 10s in series. The Four 10 with the Mesa sounds absolutely huge, when I add the two One 10s it still sounds huge and have not really needed that combo. With hindsight for my purposes a Four 10 and a One 10 would suffice, but the pair of One 10s turned up used and I grabbed them. The Four 10 is an easy schlep and great value imo.

I have a Barefaced Four 10, which I use with a variety of tube (Orange, Fender, Ampeg) and non-tube (Mesa Subway and TC Classic) heads. Yes it is efficient, but I can honestly say I have not encountered this problem at all with any of the heads. The Four 10 is a wonderful cab, well suited especially to tube heads, I would be looking at a different head before considering changing cabs.

I sometimes run my Barefaced Four 10 with an 800+, although I usually favour all-valve heads. A touch of hpf and boost in the upper mids works for me with a passive Fender, and I tend to crank the voicing a bit to get a tube sound. Amazing speakers coupled with an amazing amp. I honestly don't think that the Barefaced tens, with their baked in character, could sound "bad" with any amp. Similarly the Mesa 800+ is versatile enough to be a decent match with any speaker, despite having a complex looking front panel I have found it remarkable intuitive to tweak.

I often run a Barefaced 410 with a 100 watt Ampeg V4B. This cab loves tube valve amps and tonally it is a match made in heaven. Certainly well worth the search if you can find a second hand one. Alternatively you could remind Alex that it is the festive season and a time of good will to all......

One thing to consider is that the volume control in the Mesa D800+ is far more linear than many other amps I have played. It keeps getting louder all the way up, it is possible that the GK has much more of its power in the first 50%. I have played a few amps which fall into this category and seem incredibly loud at a one third turn of the volume knob, but then have little useable clean volume after that.

I own a V4B, having previously owned the Fender 100T. In my experience the V4B has a softer and more euphonious breakup than the Fender which gives it the impression of having more headroom than some other 100 watt tube heads I have played. If you want more grind from it at lower levels you may want to try going to a smaller or less efficient cab such as a 210 or 212 which should allow you to drive the head a bit harder. The Fender 100T breaks up earlier and more aggressively in both 25 watt and 100 watt modes, so that is an alternative - albeit expensive. Otherwise a pedal is, as you have stated, an easy option.