User experiences, comments and comparisons

[Protium]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='462689' date='Apr 15 2009, 08:48 AM']Just received this email: "Received the cab today. My first impression is that it looks great, is very well finished and is just the right size for my ABM500 to sit on top :-) I've only tried it out in the house but it sounds fatter, bassier and cleaner than anything I've owned before and the bass extension puts my Schroeder 1212 to shame - that's probably not much of a surprise though!!"

Alex[/quote]

No need for an A/B now then

[Etienne]

I've just borrowed our guitarist's late-70's silverface Bassman 50 valve head for a few days- had a quick play with it hooked up to the Compact earlier this evening, running my US Jazz (with Nordstrand NJ4's) straight in. WHAT a sound!

With the treble and bass knobs up full (and the Deep switch off), I'm getting this lovely grind tone when I dig in, yet with loads of punch and thickness too. I don't even have to crank the volume particularly high to get it either! I'm definitely going to have to try this set-up for recording...

Right, I'm off to try it with my old Squier JV P-bass next!

[steve-soar]

[quote name='Etienne' post='463418' date='Apr 15 2009, 09:33 PM']I've just borrowed our guitarist's late-70's silverface Bassman 50 valve head for a few days- had a quick play with it hooked up to the Compact earlier this evening, running my US Jazz (with Nordstrand NJ4's) straight in. WHAT a sound!

With the treble and bass knobs up full (and the Deep switch off), I'm getting this lovely grind tone when I dig in, yet with loads of punch and thickness too. I don't even have to crank the volume particularly high to get it either! I'm definitely going to have to try this set-up for recording...

Right, I'm off to try it with my old Squier JV P-bass next!

[/quote]Hi Etienne, any chance we can get together and A,B,C this with my Glockenklang and Tech Soundststem cabs?
I live in Birkenhead.

Edited April 15, 2009 by steve-soar

[Etienne]

[quote name='steve-soar' post='463500' date='Apr 15 2009, 10:54 PM']Hi Etienne, any chance we can get together and A,B,C this with my Glockenklang and Tech Soundststem cabs?
I live in Birkenhead.[/quote]

Hi Steve, of course we can! It may have to be in a couple of weeks when I've got a bit more spare time though... PM me your number and I'll give you a bell mate!

[johnnylager]

[quote name='Merton' post='462496' date='Apr 14 2009, 09:15 PM']The Compact will win

EDIT: and I don't even know what they're fighting (tone/volume/portability/low frequency extension...) [/quote]
Just one more poke in the eye for the sceptics.

New forum added to favourites!

[alexclaber]

JonnyM's Compact review: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34439"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34439[/url]

Sharkfinger's Compact review: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46464"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=46464[/url]

Alex

[alexclaber]

johnnylager on LH1000 with Compact/Big One: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=47806&view=findpost&p=475845"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=475845[/url]

and on Compact/Big One vs loud band: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=47806&view=findpost&p=476760"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=476760[/url]

51m0n on Compact (with LM11 and M-Pulse 600): [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=48086&view=findpost&p=480176"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=480176[/url]

4000 on Compact: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=48086&view=findpost&p=480355"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=480355[/url]

and on UL502 with Compact: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=48086&view=findpost&p=480466"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=480466[/url]

and on Compact (with ABM500) vs old Trace Elliott cabs: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=48086&view=findpost&p=480526"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=480526[/url]

Alex

[johnnylager]

Busy day Alex? Excellent idea mate.

Edited May 7, 2009 by johnnylager

[pbass67]

Hello Etienne

Have sent you a PM

Ta Paul

[JackLondon]

I just tried my Compact with GK 1001 RB II





I don't think that words can describe it


WHAT A SOUND!!!
WHAT A VIEW !!!

[attachment=25299:Barefaced.JPG] Edited May 15, 2009 by JackLondon

[Etienne]

[quote name='pbass67' post='489056' date='May 15 2009, 04:44 PM']Hello Etienne

Have sent you a PM

Ta Paul[/quote]

Replied Paul!

[Happy Jack]

[size=4][b]The Big One - my first pub gig with a Barefaced cabinet:[/b][/size]


I've sold three Eden cabs to make way for the Big One. For a smallish pub like this one (the Salmon & Ball in Bethnal Green) I might previously have taken a D210XLT but more probably my Nemesis NSP115.

There's no stage at the pub, and the set-up space for the band is really tiny.

Musically it went really well. I placed the Big One right at the back, between the drummer & the keyboard player, and I stood directly in front of it. The sound was great - I could actually hear myself clearly without having to turn up so loud as to offend my lead guitarsehole. Alex's comments to me about the dispersion from the small speaker were spot-on ... you can hear yourself from anywhere on stage, and so can the rest of the band.

I was playing a Lakland DD --> Aphex Xciter --> DHA VT2 --> Eden WTX-260 --> Big One.

Friends in the audience told me afterwards that my sound was very bassy but still cut through the mix with ease. I suspect that much of the "bassiness" came from the Xciter.

Also, I have flats on the DD and some foam rubber muting under the strings at the bridge, all of which makes me more "thuddy" anyway. (That Hofner influence isn't easy to lose!)

The WTX-260 produces 260W at 4 Ohms. With an 8 Ohm cab like the Big One it claims to put out 180W. I kept both the Gain and the Volume knobs at about the 11:00 position and was easily able to hold my place with a loud drummer and a pair of guitarists playing through a big Marshall and an incredibly toppy Session.

Stomp on the button on the VT2 to bring in another valve and the floor was shaking, but with absolutely no muddiness. I really can't wait until I can take this cab somewhere where I can open it up properly.

The car ended up being parked 100 yards away. The keyboard player set off to carry the cab for me (no, I don't know why either) and was genuinely impressed when I showed him the whole damn thing was on wheels. He loved it.

On a straight comparison, the Big One knocks both the NSP115 and the NSP210 into a cocked hat. The power, punch and clarity of the Big One means that it's simply playing in a higher league.

I'd need more time and a wider range of venues before I could be so dismissive about the sound of the D210XLT, which is a [i]bloody [/i]good cab, but already I suspect that the Big One will come out ahead. Add the useability issue into the equation (weight, shape, wheels, etc.) and it's a no-brainer.

***************************************

Non-musically, the gig has already gone straight into band lore as The Battle Of Bethnal Green. How we lasted over an hour before the main fight broke out I'll never know - there had already been so many incidents by that stage.

10 minutes into the second set it all kicked off - massive punch-up leading to an attempted glassing, which resulted inevitably in the clown with the glass slashing all the veins in his own hand, blood everywhere.

The landlord kicked the trouble makers out, bolted and barricaded one of the two doors, and then stood guard in the other for the rest of the gig looking like an extra from a [i]Die Hard [/i]movie with blood spattered liberally across his chest.

I'm not making this up, you know.

Half the punters were so shocked by the violence that they left, which meant that we played our last 30 minutes to a small audience of people who liked our music enough to want to stay, and we played in what felt like [i]Fort Apache - The Bronx [/i](probably a bit before your time Alex). It was bloody wonderful.

After the gig, the landlord was particularly keen to make sure he had our contact details, so as to be sure that he would be able to re-book us.

Edited May 17, 2009 by Happy Jack

[JonnyM]

Blimey! I can't top that HJ!

I was in the opposite end of that blood 'n' guts situation last week: just down the road in a brand spankin new, rather genteel studio in Limehouse...

My setup was: Bass (see sig.) into Summit Audio TD 100 (valve DI), DI signal to desk, Mark Bass LMII and Compact on an Auralex Gramma Pad and Neumann M147 valve mike, fairly close & slightly off-axis (see pic below).

The studio people were very impressed with the instant great sound, really helped by just having one speaker in the cab - no problems with mike placement. The first thing I said when listening back to the 1st take was, "...and this is the flat cab sound...???". Yes, the straight un-equalised cab sound was right on the money and no need to have it stupidly loud to get a good tone, no moving around of the mike or radical eqing required either - the producer was one happy bunny . I can honestly say this was hands-down the best cab I've used in a studio.

So whilst The Compact is advertised as as loud, live cab, it works very well as a studio solution too, mission accomplished.

(I've edited my review in the umm, Reviews Section to include the above).

[JackLondon]

Right,

I had a 2nd gig with the Compact last night and can now share my experiences with you. For some of you it will sound like a rant because in essence it is one but not about the cab from Alex

The venue was The Ballroom @ Cavendish Arms in Stockwell

We arrived for our sound check at 6pm. My stuff was already at the venue because I dropped it off the day before and met the sound engineer named Bernie.

When I was dropping off my stuff on Friday I said to lovely Gem that my rig will probably shake this place a bit, she said it will not, because they had death metal bands playing there and Bernie managed it well, good I thought will be a nice one…not

My set-up was simple:

Ibanez BTB556MP-->Boss GT10B-->GK1001RB II-->Barefaced Compact

When I was setting up the engineer started chatting to me and said how GK heads are rubbish and Mark Bass is the best because he’s selling them and how my 15” is going to sound ‘’muddy’’. I kindly told him to “F*ck OFF” and wait until I start playing.

The volume on my equipment was set at the same level as it was on the practice which is Output at 12 o’clock on my Boss, Level on 9 o’clock and Woofer on 11 o’clock on my GK.

When I’ve lightly touched my B string one of the glasses fell on the floor from the nearby table Result Bernie was around in a second saying it sounds ‘’too boomy’’ and it’s too ‘’bassy’’, WTF ? I showed him that the bass knob on the GK was -12dB and his jaw dropped at that second, he told me that I’m too loud and blah, blah, blah. I said wait until the drummer and guitarist start playing and then we’ll see.

When we all got set-up at our practice levels and started playing he said we need to turn down about 50% because the singer can’t be heard. Only at that point I’ve realised he only had 2 PA speakers which were tiny little farting things so I said to him, why can’t you get more speakers? They didn’t have any.

We didn’t got on to a good start and he kept saying it’s too loud and all that, well annoying man he was. He came around and started fiddling with my amp at which point I simply told him ‘’Touch it again and I’ll smash your head on the wall, tell me what you want to do and I’ll do it’’ He told me to cut the 20HZ frequency which I’ve done and it made my bass sound like a f*cking guitar and none of the band members could hear me and few of the mates said that they couldn’t hear the bass.

Only at that point I said to the man to take the cab of the beer crate and put it on the stage floor. I’ve done that and straight away the bass sounded much better. The band members could feel me through the vibrations and it was finally nice.

Our sound check was over and I had a word with my mates to tell me during the gig if the bass is too flat.

When we played the first song the bass was present but it didn’t fell like bass so I whacked some boost to the lower frequencies and set off to a good gig. At the end many people said that the bass sounded lovely and was ‘’rich’’ which made me happy.

All in all it was a great gig except for the sound engineer who didn’t had a clue what he was doing and couldn’t handle our band.

I love my Compact like nothing else because it can do fore me whatever I want it to without braking a sweat. Even my drummer said that he can finally hear the notes clearly so he knows when to hit harder accents.

If anyone out there is still debating whether to by a cab from Alex I can honestly say do it without any hesitation, you will not regret a single penny spent on it. Only thing you have to do is to avoid Bernie from Cavendish Arms and your life will be full of bass

Cheers
Jack

[sk8]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='490636' date='May 17 2009, 04:35 PM'][size=4][b]The Big One - my first pub gig with a Barefaced cabinet:[/b][/size]


I've sold three Eden cabs to make way for the Big One. For a smallish pub like this one (the Salmon & Ball in Bethnal Green) I might previously have taken a D210XLT but more probably my Nemesis NSP115.

There's no stage at the pub, and the set-up space for the band is really tiny.

Musically it went really well. I placed the Big One right at the back, between the drummer & the keyboard player, and I stood directly in front of it. The sound was great - I could actually hear myself clearly without having to turn up so loud as to offend my lead guitarsehole. Alex's comments to me about the dispersion from the small speaker were spot-on ... you can hear yourself from anywhere on stage, and so can the rest of the band.

I was playing a Lakland DD --> Aphex Xciter --> DHA VT2 --> Eden WTX-260 --> Big One.

Friends in the audience told me afterwards that my sound was very bassy but still cut through the mix with ease. I suspect that much of the "bassiness" came from the Xciter.

Also, I have flats on the DD and some foam rubber muting under the strings at the bridge, all of which makes me more "thuddy" anyway. (That Hofner influence isn't easy to lose!)

The WTX-260 produces 260W at 4 Ohms. With an 8 Ohm cab like the Big One it claims to put out 180W. I kept both the Gain and the Volume knobs at about the 11:00 position and was easily able to hold my place with a loud drummer and a pair of guitarists playing through a big Marshall and an incredibly toppy Session.

Stomp on the button on the VT2 to bring in another valve and the floor was shaking, but with absolutely no muddiness. I really can't wait until I can take this cab somewhere where I can open it up properly.

The car ended up being parked 100 yards away. The keyboard player set off to carry the cab for me (no, I don't know why either) and was genuinely impressed when I showed him the whole damn thing was on wheels. He loved it.

On a straight comparison, the Big One knocks both the NSP115 and the NSP210 into a cocked hat. The power, punch and clarity of the Big One means that it's simply playing in a higher league.

I'd need more time and a wider range of venues before I could be so dismissive about the sound of the D210XLT, which is a [i]bloody [/i]good cab, but already I suspect that the Big One will come out ahead. Add the useability issue into the equation (weight, shape, wheels, etc.) and it's a no-brainer.[/quote]Sounds great. I'm getting a big one to go with Shuttle 3.0 which will push about 175 - 200 watts into it. Sounds like it will do just about all i need with the minimum of watts

[alexclaber]

P-bass, LMK and Compact in a rock/metal band: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=47013&view=findpost&p=511873"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=511873[/url]

Alex

[chris_pokkuri]

On Saturday I took my LH1000 and BigOne to a gig. The other bands were going to use a huge Peavey 8x10 and some old head that i've never heard of. Now this venue was up two flights of stairs - i've no idea how they got it up there without a crane.

Anyway, I turned up carrying my BigOne by myself and I could see the other bassists looking at me and thinking 'ha, look at his tiny cab, he isn't gonna make much noise with that'

The headline band sound checked and the peavey cab farted out a horrible muddy sound while I sat there quietly knowing what was coming.

The band on after us isn't there yet so we sound checked next - my bass sound was warm and clear, it punched through the mix with ease and there was no distortion at gigging volume. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

After the sound check the bassist for the opening band comes up to me "hey, can I use your setup when I play" "sure thing" I reply. They are going to do a quick line check before they play. Now I get to hear what my rig sounds like from the other side. Ooh yeah - it sounds sweet!

Our turn to play - the set goes really well and the crowd really enjoys it. As I start packing up my stuff the bassist from the next band comes up to me "scuse me mate" "yeah" I reply with a wry smile knowing exactly what he was about to say next "Is it ok if I use your rig?" " Yeah go for it" I say.

The bassist for the headline band decides he's gonna be stubborn and stick to his fart machine. When the gig is over I chat with the other bassists and tell them all about barefaced and how awesome the cab is. They all agree how amazing it sounded. Then I tell them to pick it up, they are completely shocked at how light it is.

It just shows you dont need a massive stack to sound really good.

I think there may be some more converts coming your way Alex!

Now, hows about an endorsement deal... :brow:

[alexclaber]

Big One beats monolithic 8x10"! Excellent anecdotal evidence for the prosecution of inferior cabs.

Alex

[davidmpires]

I swapped an Acme for a Compact

So Friday I went to pick up my new Compact. If you don’t care to read scroll down to see the pics.

But before that a little bit of story. I had never met Alex before Friday despite speaking to him on the phone or on email countless times.
Alex is a 5 star guy, when I got there we started chatting just to realize ten minutes later than we had never really met, funny moment.

Now the cabs, Alex had my cab there ready for me to take home, plus about 5 or 6 others ready to have the speakers placed and the grilles fitted.
Also there were two Big Ones ready to go, more on that later.

The Compact:
first impression is that the cab is really and I’ll repeat really light. The wood used is very thin, thinner than expected. Alex’s finish looks good and it will be easy to clean if needed, I was a bit worried about scratches but after having a closer look at home, that shouldn’t be a problem, the finish looks though enough. This is the most straight forward cab I ever owned. One speaker 1x15, one speakon input and that is it, no bells or whistles. The cab looks much better in person than it does on the pics and the port and logo help to a very good look overall. The grille is something in between Trace Elliot grilles and the Ampeg ones it looks good as well, the whole cab is finished to a high standard with no rough edges.

How it sounds? Well I had only a chance of trying it out yesterday at Alex’s garage and today at home at low volumes. This is a very well balanced cab, no harsh highs even when boosting the treble. That noise you ear when sliding your fingers down the strings from one chord to another it’s not so prominent so I’ll guess that this cab will be a great choice for recording. The lows are much defined even with the B string and Alex boosting all the lows on my F1, the cab just performs. I saw the Eminence speaker Alex uses and they do look the business, they look like they can take lots and lots of lows and volume.
I can see this cab cutting through very easily without the need to boosting mids, I tried it today with both my basses and I managed to get a very old school sound out of my T-Bass and a great growl out of my Spector. I’m very excited about practice today and then my gig on Friday, I want to see how it performs at a proper volume.

The Big One, well first thing, IT’S BIG, seriously the cab is not small, but weights very little, very manageable with the recessed wheels and two well placed handles one on the side and the other right at the top, pushed back so it doesn’t get on the way of you amp.
It sounds good too, but with more mids and a lot more highs than the compact, I can see it being a great choice for rockers who need tons of volume and a cab that cuts through a wall of guitars with ease. That’s the one. For me it is too big and it would be overkill, and plus it wouldn’t fit my car. Oh and if you plan on buying one ask Alex to ship with the vintage look, instead of black he has a kind of grey/silver grille that looks ubber cool.

I’ll let you all know how the cab did at the gig.

[Hodge]

So, last night was the first proper gig with the Big One.

I'd used it a couple of times in rehearsal, but due to volume restrictions and the abysmal acoustics in the old village hall we practice in, I hadn't been able to get an accurate idea of how it performed.

Suffice to say that by the end of the night I was one exceptionally happy bunny (and not just due to the jiggly lass in the lycra devil costume dancing at the front).

Firstly a word on the weight. Alex had mentioned how much (or how little) the current incarnation weighs in a PM, but I'd sort of read it and thought "oh that's good" without really taking in what it meant in real terms.
Honestly, when I first unpacked it I thought for a minute that he'd screwed up and sent me an unloaded cab. It's unbelievably light.....worryingly light until you hear it.

Both the placement of the handles, and the handles themselves are perfect for making it manageable ....even though it's light it's not small and poorly thought out ergonomics could easily have cancelled out the benefits of the low weight.
I said it's not small, but it seems alot narrower than most of the cabs I've had in the past, although I've not measured it...perhaps the excellent weight and ergonomics make it deceptive. I certainly didn't experience the usual knuckle skinning on the door frame of the pub we played at.

Chest height with the side handles, lengthways in front of you with the top handle and one of the side handles, above chest height to clear pool tables etc, or even trundled along behind you on the wheels with amp etc piled on top.....the design and weight give you numerous options and make this by far the most gig-friendly cab I've ever owned.

Of course all that is nice, but ultimately meaningless if it sounds sh*te.

That's not an issue with the Big One though. I actually felt my trousers flapping for the first time since I ditched my old Ampeg B25B 2x15 cab years ago (christened "The Bastard" by band-mates who would avoid helping to move it like the plague).

I'm not particularly well versed in all the standard phrases used to describe sounds, nor can I listen to a sound and analyse all the frequencies and how much of each etc......what I do know is that this thing sounds HUGE.
I was using a Lakland 44-01 through a Little Mark III, EQ all flat on the amp, VLE at 9 0'clock-ish...maybe a bit more, and the VPF around 8ish. On the bass I had the treble cut a little and a very slight boost on the bass end.
It sounded great to me, but of course that doesn't always mean alot, so afterwards I spoke to a mate who comes to see us play regularly.
He said it was the first time since I stopped using "The Bastard" that he'd really felt my sound hit him in the chest, but without being oppressive or overwhelming. He said it just seemed to be everywhere, very warm, very smooth, and very, very big.

The only negative comment he had was that the vibrations in his bar-stool gave him, what he called, "a lovely, special feeling" until he remembered it was me doing that to him and then he felt rather dirty.

I'm afraid he's going to have to get used to feeling dirty, since I'm going to be using this cab for a very, very long time.

This may not have been the most technically eloquent of reviews, more based on general perceptions both on stage and out the front, to me that's what matters....and besides, you know how when you're really happy with something and you've just got to tell some one who'll understand......?

I'm so happy to have joined the ranks of the ever-growing list of satisfied Barefaced customers.

P.S. have to dig out the camera now to stick the pair of Aguilar DB112s up for sale.....and they were so pretty, all in tweed.

[alexclaber]

Aarghhh, my laptop is dying...

Alex

[alexclaber]

If you'd like to contribute a review please email it to [email protected] and it'll be added to the website asap.

Alex