ShergoldSnickers

One spine hugely tingled. Bloody marvellous.

Two gigs at the Cottingham Springboard festival – I kept looking for the "Come to Cottingham for all your springboard requirements" signs. Cross Keys on Friday night. Supposed to start at 6.00pm but we actually went on at 6.45, so a few more punters had turned up when we did start. Delayed start due to the PA not being ready and set up on time, but it was worth the wait. A 12k rig with properly built subs and so the PA could function without getting anywhere near the upper headroom limit. Keeps everything clear, dynamic and reasonably ear friendly. Excellent sound out front. Supplied backline rig was a TE AH250 amp and a TE 1048H 4x10cab. Loud and punchy, but I missed the real bass weight and definition of the Barefaced Super Twelve. Still a decent rig though. Tried out the Alpine MusicSafe ear plugs. Excellent. I could still hear everything clearly but at a comfortable volume - they really work. Not a bad turnout for that time of the evening, and there were more there when we finished that when we started. It doesn't [i]always[/i] work out that way. King Billy on Saturday lunchtime, 1.00pm and the start act for the day in that venue. Small PA so we relied on backline only and this time I used my own rig. The Old Brewery section where we played has a decent acoustic, and we could all hear each other perfectly. Not a massive crowd but we'd be happy playing to just one. Harrogate born guitarist and singer/songwriter [url="http://www.karlculley.co.uk/index2.html"]Karl Culley[/url] was on that evening, so I made a special effort to see him. If you ever get chance, do the same. Highly recommended.

OK.... after doing a few more gigs, I can give a few more thoughts to the Super Twelve T, in use with an Eden WT550 and Shergold Marathon fretless. [b]Sound Quality[/b] I can't affirm enough the sheer effortlessness this cab displays. I use a Boss GT-10B with everything from full 'in yer face' distortion to earthquake sub-octave effects, as well as just the straight bass tone. Everything just sounds right. The sub-octave is meaty, strong and defined with a real solidity there. Not only that, but it's even. There is no pronounced hump or peak in the bass output, just a wide solid chunk that tails off evenly below a low 'B'. The straight bass tone just mirrors what the bass sounds like, the Eden and Super Twelve producing a pleasantly warm rather than a cold and clinical sound. They seem to work together extremely well, as does the Genz Benz Streamliner which I tried at a Bass Bash a while ago, courtesy of WoT. The mid and treble sounds are also smooth and defined. No nasty peaks or resonances. This cab gets out of the way and presents the signal sent to it beautifully. No boxiness, no honkiness, it just lets your bass sing, and what's more it projects the sound evenly on the stage, all the other band members can hear me. I can play really subtly and the cab let's it shine through. Not many cabs do subtle and also sound massive when required. 9 out of 10. I mark it down as it doesn't go quite as low as the Big One, but I'm being hypercritical. It's a tough world. [b]Build, Practicality and Reliability[/b] It's solidly put together, with lots of extra bracing inside to help rigidity. It's light. I can lift it with one hand. I can lift it and hold it above my head with two. Put wings on it and it would probably fly. The tilt and go wheels are fantastic – although I'll be making a special strap to go round the top handle so I don't have to stoop when wheeling it. I don't have to stoop much, but over a large car park's worth the back starts to complain. Age. Completely reliable to date. I feel really confident using it loud if necessary, but at no time have I gone past 2 O'clock on the master volume on the amp – except once in a sound check when it went close to full whack just to see. Never again. Loud doesn't begin to describe it. It was that loud I had trouble controlling feedback from the bass. 9 out of 10. The finish is not everyone's cup of tea, but I've got used to it. On the practical side, it's close to perfection, but I must get that strap sorted. [b]Customer Support[/b] Barefaced obviously care about what they do, how they do it, and want the bass world to know. You would be forgiven for thinking it's all hype. There may be a tiny smidge, but the words are backed up by the product. Alex knows what he is doing, and has produced an outstanding range of products. If none of them were suitable for what you do, I think he'd be honest enough to tell you. It's always worth getting in touch before buying to let Alex know what type of music you play, and a few other details besides. Your cab choice depends on it. Alex is a bass player so there will always be plenty to discuss. 10 out of 10. [b]Overall[/b] I played a gig last night with a supplied backline - a Trace Elliot AH-250 amp and a 1048H 4x10 cab. It was pretty loud and there was nothing really wrong with it, but I was missing that proper bass slam, as well as some articulacy and definition. If I hadn't got a Super Twelve, I'd have probably been impressed, but I've been spoiled by the Super Twelve, and it ruthlessly shows up failings in other cabs. At the very worst you may get one only to have to return it after a trial period, as Barefaced do allow you to try cabs. Great idea. I can't give ten as that has to be reserved for some mythical perfect cab. This cab is as close to perfection as I'll get in the real world. 9 out of ten then.

[quote name='icastle' post='1245045' date='May 26 2011, 12:10 AM']I won't even ask what you thought [i]Kramer Vs Kramer [/i]was based on... [/quote] Or Marathon Man...

And again... This one – a Wilson Rapier medium scale. Frets knocked out and plastic card inserts placed in the slots, the original flame orange colour was removed and replaced with a crappy wood stain. The second bass is in the background. Fretted Shergold Marathon leaning on an HH VS Bass Combo.

Just bought a set of Elixirs, having previously had TI Jazz flats on. Feel better than uncoated roundwounds and give a really balanced tone, with good fundamental and a defined but not clangy middle and top. there's a slight adjustment needed from the fairly loose feeling TIs, but I'm impressed so far. The TIs had been on for years, so we'll see how long the Elixirs last.

Never used the stereo on my Marathon either. Bit odd really as the E and A strings go to one output jack and the D and G to the other.

[quote name='matski' post='1242745' date='May 24 2011, 11:25 AM']Logic EXPRESS...[/quote] Have to agree. I did try Reaper on Mac OS X, but didn't get on with it for some reason. . I can see why others do though. I find Logic nearly as instantaneous to use as Garageband, but far more powerful in routing, flexibility and general abilities.

Marathon.... Sprint. Yep, another one for the Triumph Dolomite Sprint. British, not too flash, and is at least half decent. Those Triumph 4-pot engines were just fantastic - Saab developed a range of engines heavily based on this design.

[quote name='Wooks79' post='1242488' date='May 23 2011, 11:59 PM']Getting hold of a Sound City b120 mk4, and its my first foray into the world of fully valve amps, so I'm pretty excited! Who's got one? Any tips or tricks, or any good or bad stuff to say about them?[/quote] Battleship build. I had one many moons ago. During one rehearsal it was on the floor near the bass cab - not sure why now. On top of the bass cab was a pint. Yes - the vibrations moved the pint to the edge, gravity took over and contents of pint glass ended up going through the vent grille on top of the amp. Massive cloud of steam with a large farty noise then silence. The instrument cord was pulled out sharpish. All the exposed power stage valves had shattered. Cleaned up, allowed to dry, six new power stage valves later and it carried on as if nothing had happened. Wish I'd kept it, along with a Marshall Superbass 100 MkII I used to have.

I can almost feel the weight of that bass round my neck just looking at it. Good combination with the 4 and eight. It's left me wondering what happened to the black plastic 'ashtray' that covered the original bent metal bridge on my bass. Must still have it somewhere. Not quite in heady twin neck territory but... Non-standard, with a Badass bridge fitted in the early 80s, and an extra Wizard J-type in the bridge position, together with non-standard wiring for the two pickups. Volume, tone and 3 way selector. Pulling the lower volume out mutes the bass. The fingerboard has 'weathered' nicely, being given coats of Danish Oil every now and again. I had a fretted version first, and this sounded quite twangy with new strings, but a nice rich twang. Cut through like a velvet coated razor.

Thieving gits..... just realised my bass neck is sat on a pile of bricks - no sign of the alloy.

I don't often stray on this side of the bass stave tracks, but I'm glad I did. A luverly bunch you've got there. The family of a drummer I used to know had a German 3 string that was worth a fortune - this was back in the early 80s - and hearing it sparked a latent interest that has been left unsatisfied since.

The bass sound reminds me of Marcus Miller as on Miles Davis' 'Tutu'. Uncrowded, bags of space and every note counts. Excellent stuff there. Gav is absolutely right.

A track from an upcoming mini CD 'Serve Hot With Custard' The track is titled '[url="http://idisk.mac.com/ianhalstead/Public/BC/tracks/The-Lone-Stranger.mp3"]The Lone Stanger[/url]' and was improvised as usual, but we allowed ourselves some overdubs. The bass is deliberately kept fairly straightforward on this one, just to give a foundation for the percussion.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1226714' date='May 10 2011, 08:56 PM']I don't think the T part will be great if you get some drive involved.[/quote] There's an attenuator - the rotary dial sits set back in one of the port sections and is easy to miss until you look, so it should be OK after adjustment.

[quote name='charic' post='1227048' date='May 11 2011, 06:32 AM'] very jealous! Funnily enough go into a room like that and turn off the lights aswell. Then you'll really feel it![/quote] There's a pub near me that has just this sort of atmosphere. I'll suggest they change their name to The Brüel and Kjær. Or the Vacuum and Flask.

[quote name='Stompbox' post='1224336' date='May 8 2011, 06:29 PM']Following on from my earlier post, I'm acquiring a pair of 15" bass drivers - now I'm thinking about building a 2 x 15" vertical cab. How about one that will clip together (but have an open base on the top cabinet, and an open top on the bottowm one, if you see what I mean,) so as to make it more portable? Hmmm... [/quote] I would imagine this would be difficult to make so that it's entirely rigid - from a sonic point of view - when it's put together. With sympathetic bracing, neoprene gasketing and use of some neo magnets to hold the two halves together you could design a really quick to assemble/disassemble system. I don't know it the benefits would outweigh the trouble though. I'd do two cabs as Bill says.

[b]Super Twelve T[/b] - a brilliant compromise in power handling, sensitivity, bass output, size and weight. All cabs are a compromise, but this one does it better than any other I've heard so far. You get a cab that adds little of itself to the sound - it just lets the amp sound as it should, with a hint of warmth in character. It uses two 12" HO (high output) Eminence drivers, and is pretty efficient compared with most. The treble unit is very smooth sounding - no harshness or grit, unless that's what you feed it. Big sound with clarity but not sterile. [b]Big Twin[/b] - this uses two of the special low frequency LF 12" Eminence drivers. These extend lower than the 12" HO version, but are less efficient, so you need more power from the amp to get the same sound pressure level. The treble driver is a midrange cone based device rather than the bullet style tweeter of the Super Twelve, and whilst it extends the frequency range upward more than adequately for bass, won't go as high as the tweeter in the Super Twelve. This won't matter one jot for most. Having tried a Big One before the Super Twelve, the cone midrange driver is very smooth also, and I wouldn't really miss the extra extreme top of the bullet tweeter if I had to go back. The Big Twin should go lower than the Big One - and that went more than low enough. Bonkers low bass solidity and performance. You will need a particularly beefy amp though. The M6 would suit the Super Twelve better in this regard I think. The Big one had a voracious capacity to absorb watts, and the Big Twin will still have some of this tendency, despite being more efficient than the Big One. If it was me, I'd probably go for the Super Twelve, but as always, the best bet* is to contact Alex at Barefaced and get his opinion first hand. * As markstuk says, it's the only bet. Get in touch via the Barefaced website and get some first class advice.

Cheers guys that helps a lot, so thanks for the response. I'll probably use this for now and see how I get on, and then look at upgrading down the road.

Seems to be in perfect working order and in pristine condition, the faders respond as they should and it locks into 'Logic' mode (using it with Logic Express) without problems. At £80 it seems like a bargain.... BUT.... should I save the money and buy something better later? Fader and pan functions are straightforward, but things like EQ take a little more thinking about. Are there other decks out there that are more intuitive when it comes to controlling EQ, sends and plugins for example? As you may have guessed this is a new area for me.

Just put an Iain Ballamy LP on - Balloon Man - and I'd forgotten how good it was.