NCD Barefaced 212

[dmccombe7]

Not quite new but in such good condition it looks new. Its one of the earlier 212 cabs i believe.

Bought @eddbass cab from the for sale section yesterday.

When i went to try it Eddie had it set up in his conservatory with a TC Staccato amp. Boy that thing was loud. All set flat same as the bass.

He let me use his gorgeous Warwick Jack Bruce Signature Thumb bass to test the cab. Oddly enough i'm a huge JB fan from his session era with Cozy Powell etc. He was a big influence for me along with Neil Murray.

Initial reaction after the volume was how deep and yet clear it was. The tone was even across the full bass range. No boominess anywhere and no high end shrill that i've experienced with some amp/cab set ups over the years when you boost the EQ on the bass.

Loved it, bought it there and then.

An easy one hand lift too so that was another huge bonus.

Got it home and set it up with my Mpulse 600 and using my Geddy Jazz it just sounded so bloomin good.

Left the amp with the same settings as with my Mesa PH212 cab but this sounded deeper and clear with every note. 

As i positioned myself around the bass cave (its a small box room so not a lot of space  between Mesa rig, multi bass rack, filing cabinet, Hi-fi separates and my album and CD collections along one full wall) but if you stand to the side of the cab you can still hear it as clearly as standing in front of it.

I've never experienced that with a cab before. The volume and tone remained the same even leaning over it and beside it. Its hard to describe that TBH.

Its a very well built solid cab. 

Handles at each side and one on top and a set of inbuilt wheels at rear bottom edge to tilt and run more so on even floors i would imagine.

Only one Speakon connector on the back. Not that i'd need to hook up another cab with this one as its fairly loud at 4ohm.

 

My only minor criticism and its been rectified in newer models i believe is that having strap handles on the sides means it can't be stored securely on its side in the car so i may put some small rubber feet on one side fixed to the corner metal protector screws. Might need to use slightly longer screws but that's fine. Doing it this way means no other holes drilled in cab for extra feet.

That way it will sit flat on its side in the car.

Other than that i can't fault the cab. 

Will use it at Beat Generator gig in Dundee this coming Saturday to give it a proper test but i'm confident its gonna work a treat.

I think i may be a BF convert after this cab.

Dave

 

Edited May 22 by dmccombe7

[jezzaboy]

That`s high praise indeed Dave having had a play through your man cave amp and cab setup which was rather loud 

 

I take it the only way in the Beat Gen is up those bloomin stairs? Good job the new cab is an easy lift. Have fun!

[dmccombe7]

1 minute ago, jezzaboy said:

That`s high praise indeed Dave having had a play through your man cave amp and cab setup which was rather loud 

 

I take it the only way in the Beat Gen is up those bloomin stairs? Good job the new cab is an easy lift. Have fun!

Saves carrying both my Mesa Subway cabs up those bloomin stairs. I aint getting any younger you know. 😂

The practice rig you used is the Mpulse 600 into my Mesa PH212 cab but both are quite heavy.

Don't keep the Mesa Subway cabs in the house cause i'm getting lazy. 

I think the Barefaced cab sounds similar to the Mesa PH212 cab tho. Not much in it.

The PH212 is better than the Subway cabs for tone IMO but not much in it either.

The Barefaced is 24Kg same as one of my Mesa cabs so it just makes sense and having wheels on the back edge makes it easy to wheel once up those stairs. Not looking forward to the stairs but the gig should be great fun. Its a good crowd in Dundee or it was last time we played. Hope they all come back for more.

Dave

[Lozz196]

They are great cabs Dave, I had two of the ones with tweeters (tho never used those), only ever used both for show as one was plenty enough. 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

They are great cabs Dave, I had two of the ones with tweeters (tho never used those), only ever used both for show as one was plenty enough. 

I'll be using it on Sat night but its just backline this gig but it will still be a good test.

Looking forward to hearing it a gig without PA support.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

Would have posted an update on how it sounded at the gig but apparently someone complained the NCD was in the wrong forum of General Discussion.

It was then hidden and only when i queried where it was that its now appeared in this forum.

No idea who complained as its where many of us post NCD or NAD posts.

 

Anyways the Cab worked a treat. An easy lift up 3 flights of stairs, fits my Gramma pad better because its not as deep so that was an added bonus.

Sound wise it was fantastic, clear, deep and quite balanced tone across the range.

Need to make a few little changes to EQ to get the mids  more forward tho. I think my Mesa rig has a little more mid punch with the 210 cab.

Not really much in it tone wise between the BF and Mesa cabs. Both 1st class bits of kit so i'll probably chop and change depending on the venue.

Amp wasn't running flat out with Gain at 12  and master at 11 o'clock, Bass at 11, mid at 2 and treble at 11-12 o'clock.

Would definitely recommend this cab. It just seems to do it all at circa 24Kg i think it weighs.

One of the best cabs i've tried.

Dave

[Lozz196]

Sounds like it was a good purchase Dave, sounds good and makes life easier, there’s a lot to like there.

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Sounds like it was a good purchase Dave, sounds good and makes life easier, there’s a lot to like there.

Cheers @Lozz196 with it being 2nd hand it was definitely worth the money.

Based on what BF state i have to admit that i now have no worries about running my amps hard. At 1000W and able to take more according to Alex at BF then i'm pretty safe there. 😂

Dave

 

Have you made your mind up about the Lionel bass yet. ?

Dave

[Lozz196]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Have you made your mind up about the Lionel bass yet. ?

Dave

Yeah decided to not go for it, if it were confirmed at 7lbs I would but if it gets here and it’s 7.5 it’s a load of faffing about so gonna wait until either a confirmed 7-pounder or my superlite turns up.

[dmccombe7]

5 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah decided to not go for it, if it were confirmed at 7lbs I would but if it gets here and it’s 7.5 it’s a load of faffing about so gonna wait until either a confirmed 7-pounder or my superlite turns up.

I'm guessing you have some back issues going on. I used to have problems but going to the gym past 4yrs seems to have resolved it. Old age isn't as easy as you'd think when you're a bass player.

Good luck with your search @Lozz196 and keep us posted if anything turns up.

Dave

[Lozz196]

12 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I'm guessing you have some back issues going on. I used to have problems but going to the gym past 4yrs seems to have resolved it. Old age isn't as easy as you'd think when you're a bass player.

Good luck with your search @Lozz196 and keep us posted if anything turns up.

Dave

Cheers Dave, yeah back issues at play, both upper and lower now, any form of exercise other than walking sadly just makes it worse. 

[dmccombe7]

Just now, Lozz196 said:

Cheers Dave, yeah back issues at play, both upper and lower now, any form of exercise other than walking sadly just makes it worse. 

Have you injured it or just age catching up on you. ?

I always forget how old i'm getting. At 65 i get aches and pains i never used to get plus things take a lot longer to heal.

Dave

[Lozz196]

36 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Have you injured it or just age catching up on you. ?

I always forget how old i'm getting. At 65 i get aches and pains i never used to get plus things take a lot longer to heal.

Dave

Two injuries - upper back/shoulder done in 1984, lower back two years ago. The upper whilst it`s caused me several issues over the years I`ve learned to manage due it it being so long term, the lower I`m still getting to grips with what I can & can`t do, with most things falling into the latter category. Age also having an impact on this, I`m sure if I were 39 with this lower back malarkey rather than 59 I would have been able to sort it with exercise/gym work.

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

Two injuries - upper back/shoulder done in 1984, lower back two years ago. The upper whilst it`s caused me several issues over the years I`ve learned to manage due it it being so long term, the lower I`m still getting to grips with what I can & can`t do, with most things falling into the latter category. Age also having an impact on this, I`m sure if I were 39 with this lower back malarkey rather than 59 I would have been able to sort it with exercise/gym work.

Might be a daft question but have you tried some kind of back support when gigging. 

No idea if that's even a thing ?

Dave