NCD - Barefaced Big Baby 2

[thebassman]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1385683119' post='2291252']


The BF is phatter, rounder, smoother, bigger sounding. HF unit sound very nice.
The GK is more boxy and middy. The HF unit is pretty raspy and hard to get sounding good. Remember it was half the price of the BF though.
The GK sound louder but not in a good way compared to the BF - its shoutier and very coloured.

Whole different sound
[/quote]

Hi mudpup
Do you have any problems using just this one cab, as in hearing yourself ok, as it's very small?
Do you ever need to put it on a stand?
Maybe a stupid question, but I'm looking for a one cab solution.
Cheers
Thebassman

[Mudpup]

[quote name='thebassman' timestamp='1390344823' post='2344452']
Hi mudpup
Do you have any problems using just this one cab, as in hearing yourself ok, as it's very small?
Do you ever need to put it on a stand?
Maybe a stupid question, but I'm looking for a one cab solution.
Cheers
Thebassman
[/quote]

Nope not really.
It'll cheerfully take the Shuttle at +50% master volume and fill a medium sized pub.
I tried it at one gig sat on top of the Big One (with the Big One unplugged) to raise it up but i found it lost its oomph a bit. Floor coupling definitely works in its favour.
It throws a fair bit too - you can feel the air on your flares as much as hear it close up but if you walk into the audience its definitely getting heard.
I am just in the process of going thru my first attempt at editing the recording on my Zoom from Saturday nights gig and have found the mix to be really good - on the night i thought i was a bit quiet (actually its a bloody loud drummer too) but it has really come through nicely. The recorder was on a shelf at the back wall of the pub. I could hear myself ok on stage but the outfront mix says it was louder out there.
Youre welcome to pop down the M11 for a blast anytime - i am near Bishops Stortford.

[thebassman]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1390345819' post='2344472']


Nope not really.
It'll cheerfully take the Shuttle at +50% master volume and fill a medium sized pub.
I tried it at one gig sat on top of the Big One (with the Big One unplugged) to raise it up but i found it lost its oomph a bit. Floor coupling definitely works in its favour.
It throws a fair bit too - you can feel the air on your flares as much as hear it close up but if you walk into the audience its definitely getting heard.
I am just in the process of going thru my first attempt at editing the recording on my Zoom from Saturday nights gig and have found the mix to be really good - on the night i thought i was a bit quiet (actually its a bloody loud drummer too) but it has really come through nicely. The recorder was on a shelf at the back wall of the pub. I could hear myself ok on stage but the outfront mix says it was louder out there.
Youre welcome to pop down the M11 for a blast anytime - i am near Bishops Stortford.
[/quote]

Thanks for the reply, and even more so for your offer to let me come down for a blast. Next time I'm down that way, i'll give you a shout.

I was wondering if a gramma pad might give it a bit of height, without messing with the floor coupling too much.

Cheers
Thebassman

[Mudpup]

[quote name='thebassman' timestamp='1390375047' post='2344550']


Thanks for the reply, and even more so for your offer to let me come down for a blast. Next time I'm down that way, i'll give you a shout.

I was wondering if a gramma pad might give it a bit of height, without messing with the floor coupling too much.

Cheers
Thebassman
[/quote]

I have a Gramma pad and tbh i try not to use it if poss.
It definitely takes the rumble out too much for my liking on a normal floor and i only use it in specific circumstances.
And it will only raise it an inch anyway.

[thebassman]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1390378943' post='2344579']
I have a Gramma pad and tbh i try not to use it if poss.
It definitely takes the rumble out too much for my liking on a normal floor and i only use it in specific circumstances.
And it will only raise it an inch anyway.
[/quote]

That's interesting to know about the Gramma.

We seem to use similar gear/ covers and venues......... iv'e been having a gander at your facebook page.
Can you get away with using the BB2 at most of your gigs on it's own?
I play a lot of pub gigs and play loud covers like Foo's, QOTSA, Green day etc, so i am ike to sit fairly high in the mix with a mid/ trebly bass tone.

cheers

thebassman

[Mudpup]

[quote name='thebassman' timestamp='1390397460' post='2344887']
That's interesting to know about the Gramma.

We seem to use similar gear/ covers and venues......... iv'e been having a gander at your facebook page.
Can you get away with using the BB2 at most of your gigs on it's own?
I play a lot of pub gigs and play loud covers like Foo's, QOTSA, Green day etc, so i am ike to sit fairly high in the mix with a mid/ trebly bass tone.

cheers

thebassman
[/quote]

It'll happily do small/mid sized pubs. I thought that my Gallien amp was struggling a touch at 350 watts into 8ohms but the Shuttle has loads more headroom and the cab seems to like it better. Just had to get over my fear of walloping the volume up! Once you get past halfway, the cab comes alive - the more power you dump into it the better it seems to like it :-)
If you like zingy, that mid driver thingy is luvverly too - you can turn it down to taste.
For the bigger gigs, I use my Big One too.
If you wanted a proper play, you can always book a local studio for an hour or so and have a real blast if you get down my way.

[thebassman]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1390428016' post='2345456']
It'll happily do small/mid sized pubs. I thought that my Gallien amp was struggling a touch at 350 watts into 8ohms but the Shuttle has loads more headroom and the cab seems to like it better. Just had to get over my fear of walloping the volume up! Once you get past halfway, the cab comes alive - the more power you dump into it the better it seems to like it :-)
If you like zingy, that mid driver thingy is luvverly too - you can turn it down to taste.
For the bigger gigs, I use my Big One too.
If you wanted a proper play, you can always book a local studio for an hour or so and have a real blast if you get down my way.
[/quote]

Hi

Thanks again for the offer, i might bear that in mind

So you sometimes use the BF big one and BB2 together, i bet that is one hell of a sound.

cheers

thebassman

[Mudpup]

[quote name='thebassman' timestamp='1390484641' post='2345904']


Hi

Thanks again for the offer, i might bear that in mind

So you sometimes use the BF big one and BB2 together, i bet that is one hell of a sound.

cheers

thebassman
[/quote]


Sure do but it has to be a pretty big place to need the combination

[gillento]

I just broke in my second BB2.


As Alex is suggesting “regular playing” to break it in, I downloaded a couple of clips from the Lakland basses site, where they are showing their different PU sounds.

I made a playlist of approx. 15 minutes which I played for approx. 30 hours with increasing output level.

Anyway, here’s alink to that section of the Lakland site. http://www.lakland.com/audio.htm
It might help other people too, who do not have the time to break the cabs in with their own playing.

[chris_b]

Hi Gilles, how do you find 2 BB2's? What is the difference between 1 and 2?

[gillento]

Hi Chris,

Actually I haven't got the possibilty to get both in the same room.
One of them is at the rehearsal space the other is at home with me.

It'll take 3 more weeks before I'll can use them together.

[chris_b]

I'll be asking you then! Cheers

[Audiokostas]

Last week I had the chance to get my hands (and ears) on a BB2 as part of a test/review of 1x12s we are doing here in Greece.
This must be one of the first (if not the first) Barefaced cab (let alone BB2) this side of Mediterranean and I can not thank Alex enough for this opportunity.

I would not like to go into details yet but since it was brought up as a thread, I thought it is good chance to give my (rather epigrammatic) initial observations.
Please note that we received a pre-production model therefore, please take my comments with a grain of salt.[list]
[*]The cab is light. Alex has used very thin (1 cm !!) plywood throughout but the (at last !!) extensive and carefully placed bracing, choices that point to a well designed cab. There are lighter 12” cabs but none that I know of with that size and spl ability like BB2.
[/list][list]
[*]The star of the show is the 12” driver with its extensive frequency range (you got to love those lows), leaving the Faital to handle the frequencies that no hairy-chested bassist should care for . Interesting and serious crossover and certainly not a quicky single cap/resistor job.
[/list][list]
[*]It can certainly handle small to medium gigs. In any case, when more dbs are needed, I am usually patched through my amp (pre-di) to gig's main console, leaving the cab as monitor.
[/list][list]
[*]Alex, I agree with Merton that black screws on the drivers basket is a must. I also have couple suggestions about the T-nuts... Rubber feet in two adjacent sides is a very nice touch but the handles should follow on both opposite sites. The attenuator can be dialed even with boxing gloves on. Nice change from the usually puny knobs. Even with the added 1 kg, I would take the metallic grill over the cloth one, any day.
[/list]
That's it for now and when we finalise testing and recording samples, I ll let you know (if you care of course) about more details.

Cheers

Edited February 10, 2014 by Audiokostas

[mcnach]

I had the opportunity to have a play with a BB2 yesterday, thanks to a very kind local musician who let me try my Compact (2nd generation, not the newer ones) with his BB2 and his supermidget, my Shuttle 9.2 and various other things.

He demoed the BB2 with double bass first. It sounded huge. Very nice bottom end... but unlike the Compact, its top end was also really good. I like my Compact, but the BB2 is probably the cab I would have gone for over it, had I known about it at the time (well, it was not available at the time ). The horn can be attenuated but I did not notice a huge effect, as the main driver can take care of the top end reasonably well (I have a hairy chest, so I'm not looking for extremely trebly sounds )

BB2 by itself was really nice. I'm glad I have one ordered and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

BB2 + Compact was extremely sweet. It sounded really big. We played it loud but I did not push it very hard because I did not have earplugs and it was starting to scare me.
I suspect I will personally prefer 2x BB2, because it can handle lows very well. Perhaps not as well as the Compact, and the Compact may be louder but the BB2 is a more "balanced" cab, I felt.

Supermidget was... a revelation. What a great little cab! Small, ultra light... and what a sound. NOt as much bottom end as the others, of course, but it was not shy. On the floor by a wall it produced a lot of deep bass.

BB2+supermidget was probably the nicest sounding combination, for my taste. Deep lows, loud and good definition.
Compact + supermidget was also nice, but the BB2 worked better, for me.

So... I'm really looking forward to getting my BB2, and I think I may just get a second one to replace my Compact, and they're just a tiny bit smaller in a way that will probably allow me to fit both in the boot of my car (the compact is a fraction too wide to fit perfectly, as it pushes the backseat tray up - VW Golf).

One thing: the new handle.
When I arrived to see the cabs, this man told me he loved the BB2 but there was an annoying rattle he could not track down. It rattled noticeably when playing a D, mostly. He said he tested all screws and everything he could think off, but it continued to rattle. It was a little annoying. He said he was about to call Alex to get the cab looked at.
Then I plugged in my Stingray. It rattled more, the D... and the G too for some reason (no particular G rattling from his double bass or Status bass guitar). How puzzling.
So I kept playing while he started putting his hands in various parts of the cab to see whether he could find where it really came from.
And we found it!
It was the metal handle rattling!
He put a tea towel under it and that was it, no rattling, beautiful.

So, if you notice a rattle... before returning it, check the handle!
It should be easy to use some rubber, or something else better looking than a tea towel to cure the problem, if you do have the problem.

[Me And My Bass]

[URL=http://s833.photobucket.com/user/crookysax/media/F4D170C7-0699-4C31-B449-17DB50D2E8F7.jpg.html][IMG]http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz256/crookysax/F4D170C7-0699-4C31-B449-17DB50D2E8F7.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Arrived today! Looking forward to giving it a blast tomorrow at practice.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Me And My Bass' timestamp='1393278313' post='2378271']
[url="http://s833.photobucket.com/user/crookysax/media/F4D170C7-0699-4C31-B449-17DB50D2E8F7.jpg.html"][/url]

Arrived today! Looking forward to giving it a blast tomorrow at practice.
[/quote]


what is that bass?
Is it a G&L L2000 with a different bridge and pickups, or an entirely different hybrid? it looks great!

[mcnach]

Just got news that my BB2 is in production, and paid the balance...

nail biting time starts...

[Me And My Bass]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1393416661' post='2379901']
what is that bass?
Is it a G&L L2000 with a different bridge and pickups, or an entirely different hybrid? it looks great!
[/quote]

Its my trusty old MM Sabre . . . beat up, but sounds amazing.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Me And My Bass' timestamp='1393435652' post='2380328']
Its my trusty old MM Sabre . . . beat up, but sounds amazing.
[/quote]

aaah! The lack of pickguard threw me off. Nice!

[mcnach]

Hmmm, this arrived this morning:





I wonder what it is?

[mcnach]

and here it is!

only got to try it at low volume at home, frustrating... I want to unleash the beast!

[Mudpup]

Oooh! Let me know how you get on with the Shuttle/BB2/ Compact combo will you please?
I am thinking of moving on my Big One and replacing it with a Compact - it'll be the same rig as you have then.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1396389715' post='2413153']
Oooh! Let me know how you get on with the Shuttle/BB2/ Compact combo will you please?
I am thinking of moving on my Big One and replacing it with a Compact - it'll be the same rig as you have then.
[/quote]


copycat!!!

I'm not sure when it'll be the first gig I can use the full rig, to be honest. Most times I only need a stage monitor, so it's a one cab affair, or using the Markbass combo. I have a gig on the 2nd of May that *will* see the rig in the picture in action, but I'm not sure if I'll have an opportunity before then.
I am not sure how the BB2 and Compact will work together, the Compact has more depth compared to the BB2, and the BB2 has clearly a lot more top end, even without the tweeter... it could be a great match, or terrible... we'll see!
One thing is sure, the Shuttle is not bass-shy through this. I had the windows rattling yesterday at settings that sounded a lot quieter with other cab combinations.

I think two BB2 might be a better combination, and a bit smaller too, which might be perfect for the boot of my Golf. I must check.

[Lozz196]

Sounds like it will be a good matching. I had a Compact & Midget set-up and the pair really worked well together, the smoothness of the Compact perfectly complimented by the bite of the Midget. From the description above I reckon your in for a treat with both.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1396391862' post='2413180']
Sounds like it will be a good matching. I had a Compact & Midget set-up and the pair really worked well together, the smoothness of the Compact perfectly complimented by the bite of the Midget. From the description above I reckon your in for a treat with both.
[/quote]


That was the idea behind this particular pairing