WinterMute

Been absent from this thread for a while, been building studios for other people, just popped in to say it is entirely possible to increase isolation in any room, but it's likely to be reasonably expensive and not especially easy to do unless you've a good builder or a VERY handy DIY'er. I did mine with the help of a very decent local builder, but I had to lay out exactly what I wanted in terms of the construction and materials, it cost about £8K to fully proof the garage to the point where I can work at proper levels into the early hours without disturbing the good lady wife or the boys. As pointed out above, isolation is not acoustic treatment, and you'll need to do both if you want the room to be useful with other people in the vicinity. Skol: your room looks grand mate.

3 years with a Big Twin in and out of studios and (a few) gigs, not a scratch on it, handles still functioning, wheels intact. Moved it on knowing it was a tough cab. My Ampeg 8x10 didn't look anywhere near as good after 3 years, and you can't pick one of those up with one hand...

Ooooooo 800RB, that was an amp, used to run one bi-amped into an 8x10 and a 4x10....

I'd really urge you to try the BT2 if you can, I know it's a ton of cash, but it's so far from the sound of the original designs now. If you can get down to Brighton, Alex will show you the whole range and make you some tea.

Agreed on the pick guard, and the G string on the Bongo took some getting used to I'll admit, but the 20th Anniversary SR5 without the guard and with slightly different spacing is in a different league... The 25th Anniversary is also a monster, but I don't like the semi-single cut shape so much. Sounds magnificent though.

The only thing that sounds better in the mix than my Bongo 5 is my SR5 20th Anniversary....! Seriously, balls-out tone, great build quality and necks that fit my little hands (no I'm not Trump). Pretty much what Skol said actually. I'll get me coat.

Alex has some interesting this to say about excursion for bass drivers, the units he uses now are designed for extreme excursion specifically to handle the sub 60Hz content. The reason a lot of studio guys (and live I believe) hard filter the LF is that LF below 50-60Hz is very difficult to hear accurately and causes all sorts of problems. Most studio monitors roll off quite dramatically below 50Hz, and as the saying goes, if you can't hear it you should fear it...

I've got a Super Flightcase in my studio, the PB300 looks grand with that as the SF only has line out as well. Quite like the idea of a 12x5 rig...

Yep, live and studio, quite separate things. I still like my audio as accurate as possible however... Don't see much point in compromising if you can afford it and the kit is available that'll do the job. I ran the BF BT for 3 years in a number of not always perfect environments, and all I got was praise for how good the bass sounded from the FoH guys, it's absolutely not all about the 30Hz, it's about the way the cab articulates the sound you put through it. For me I've yet to come across a cab that does that as well as the BF. As always, your mileage may vary...

The Big Twin absolutely does, it's really remarkable how good they are at reproducing the B string. As to volume, in terms of raw SPL, the BT2 puts out roughly the same level per watt as an 8x10 or a very good 2x15, and that includes the extended LF. I really can't praise Alex's work enough in this respect. I'm a veteran studio engineer, been recording and building studios for 30 years, and bass response has alway been a big issue for me, I'll only use a HPF where the recording has noise in the LF, I do set a very steep HPF at about 23Hz on kick drums and bass instruments in a mix but only if I have bass issues. To be honest, most "studio" monitors don't reproduce much below 50Hz, and those that do accurately are very expensive, and then the room comes into play as well, it's a minefield. Notable monitors for me currently: Unity Audio Rocks Mk2 and Mk3, Amphion One 18 and Two18, both of which will set you back nearly £3k a pair, but both have excellent LF reproduction. I don't like using a sub in the studio, but I have a ATC 2.1 hifi system, go figure.

I'm a bit suspicious of DSP in monitor systems generally, I don't like it in studio monitors. The QSC I tried was the K12 and I also tried a couple of FBT and Nexo wedges after the idea was floated in the FRFR thread (which I don't think I contributed much to TBH.) I've spec'ed RCF PA's but never tried one against a backline rig. Dispersal wise, the wedges are fine if you're static, but move around any and they get a bit hit and miss I find, the vertical stacked cab design favoured by BF (and others) provides better coverage on larger stages. I'll freely admit I've never used a wedge based FRFR in anger on a stage mind. It's not the HF, it's the LF and the low mid that is projected really well by the Barefaced, I find most cabs with a tweeter or horn will chuck enough HF at you as not to be a problem. If I was looking at small venues or a very portable system I think the FRFR route might have merit. I have a PJB Super Flightcase in the studio now, which works brilliantly as a monitor and a recording option as I don't record loud.

The Big Twin doesn't have a coloured tone, it is essentially a boutique FRFR cab, so I saw no reason to shift over, despite the QSC being cheaper. My rig was also louder with better dispersal onstage, the only downside being the size of the thing, although it;s a one hand lift into the car. So not enough gained benefit to change.

I tried it, stayed with the BF Big Twin. My guitarist went FRFR from Valve combo backline and a truss... As I said earlier, if I go back to playing live I will look at the FRFR options, but I will also look at BF's newest designs, and whatever else the market has to offer.

Fair enough, I tune to B, and have to contend with a guitarist that seems to want to induce continental drift... Fundamental frequency of an E string is 41.2Hz, it's 31Hz for a B. 32.7Hz for drop C. And whilst fundamentals aren't the whole story, I like a speaker capable of delivering the fundamental of the lowest note I'm likely to play. Your milage may vary.

PJB do 2 cabs, a little 100w and a big 300w http://pjbworld.com/product_powered_pb100.html http://pjbworld.com/product_powered_pb300.html

Talk to Alex Clabber at Barefaced, the Big Twin goes down to 30Hz, and whilst that doesn't sound like a lot lower than 45Hz, the OP states he uses extended range basses and I know from experience that running bass through a speaker designed for general PA use (the QSC and RCFs etc.) does not give the same response as a properly tuned bass cab, not without using a sub, which is exactly why all PA designers offer a sub... This is not to say that a QSC K12.2 or an RCF 735A won't be a good replacement for a "traditional" backline, because anyone with sense will know that it is, the wedge shape and size is a good tradeoff if you're playing small venues. It will come down to personal choice, and the OP stated he's looking at backline, not FRFR. I moved my Big Twin on because I'm not playing live anymore and it was taking up a large amount of room in my small studio, but if I went out live again I'd consider the QSC K12.2, but not before I'd had a serious look at what Alex was up to...

The Barefaced Big Twin is a monster, I suggest you take a listen to the Gen 2 if you can, they've come a long way since the prototypes. Yes, the looks are a bit spartan, and they do not have a "signature" sound, but if you;re looking for a cab that'll show off your amp and bass tones, I haven't heard anything that works quite as well. I ran 5 string fretted and fretless through mine and did all the tone shaping in the pre, including wedges of distortion and filter effects, the variable tweeter (compression horn in the Gen 2) allows you to set the cab up for a room without having to mess about with your sound. Never had a better stage sound.

Well, it works, but it still leaves you with issues to deal with... The ideal is that you spend minimum time administering your computer and maximum time making music, in my experience Windows PC's and Hackingtosh's require more admin than Macs, the relative cost notwithstanding. Each to their own I guess, but I'd recommend a proper Mac unreservedly for music production.

PJB do a powered cab that connects to the line out. Any combo with an aux input will also work.

If you can afford it, a Mac Pro Cheesegrater is the way to go, I've been using Macs for music production for decades now, and they are intrinsically less hassle than PC's, but they do cost an arm and a leg. My 2012 17" MBP died at the beginning of the year, needed a new motherboard, £500 thanks very much, so I bought a second had 6 core Mac Pro pedal bin with 64Gb or RAM and 2 TB of SSD, cost north of £2k but I'm not short of power or storage now, or at any point in the future I suspect...

To be fair Si, you're also really nosey...

Barefaced all the way for me, despite having sold my Big Twin earlier this year, I think their range is brilliant. I used a lot of modelled tones onstage and the BT just ate it up, the Big Baby is a magnificent little all-rounder, very similar to the FRFR, worth a look.