Please help me setup my Barefaced Super Compact tone

[Big_Sam]

Hello good folks of bass chat, I’m new here and after some assistance. 
 

I recently picked up a Cort C5 as I wanted to experiment with 5 strings and get back into bass after a 20y gap, so far it’s been a roller coaster, went from 10w practice amp to 60w Ashdown to a Barefaced Super compact in 6 months…

 

I’m finding to hard to get the tone I’m looking for. I thought the round wounds on the Cort were too twangy so replaced with TI jazz flats and that helped, but still struggling to get a nice ‘bass tone’. Tried changing the amp from a TC BQ500 to Markbass little mark 58R and that helps a bit but I think it must be the Barefaced Super compact cab which is the problem. 
 

I like very solid lows, reasonable mids and no highs, so vintage knob 100% on the amp. But it still sounds hollow and not like I’m expecting. Tried boosting the low mids but still not there. 
 

also picked up an Ibanez from the 90s and it sounds the same. Compared to through the PA where it sounds fine, I simply can’t get a tone I like from the Barefaced Super compact. 
 

So the question is, can it be fixed via pedal/preamp or is it just the cab tone which can’t be changed and I might as well sell it. 
 

I’m looking for something very small and light but can do low C and make the window rattle, the barefaced does that but I don’t like the sound! Arghh!! 
 

Unfortunately I live in a remote spot hundreds of miles away from music shops and trying caba out is not an option. I did find a 70w Hartke to try locally and the C5 tone is nice but has zero bass thump in comparison. That’s the difficulty, the Barefaced does have insane subwoofer levels of bass when cranked up for its size, just don’t like the sound!

 

anyway, if any can recommend a light ish cab that goes lowww but has nice tone would be much appreciated. Budget probably up to £600-700

[Pea Turgh]

You’d probably be better off with Barefaced 10s - they are vintage-voiced (man I’m miss my Two10!).  The 12s are supposed to be more full range flat response (FRFR).

[Lozz196]

Yes the Barefaced 12s range are very clear & flat sounding, the 10s being more vintage and having a thicker sound. The low mids on your amp are at 380, whereas to me for what your describing I’d be looking at adding anywhere from 100 to 250 so maybe add in a cheap graphic eq to see if you can achieve what you want, should give an idea of where to move forwards.

[chris_b]

I use a PJ5 (flats) and a 5 string Jazz (very old rounds) through an Aguilar TH500 with my Super Compact and the sound is as deep, fat and as warm as you could want. I found that I get a sound I like out of Markbass amps with the VLE and VPF switched off, but I've never played your amp.

 

This cab will only put out what you pit in, so IMO it's the amp and bass that's not getting your sound.

Edited 22 hours ago by chris_b

[itu]

I might try an even cheaper parametric pedal, like Artec. It is easier to use to find the frequency area you want to boost or cut.

[Big_Sam]

Thanks for the replies, some good info there, I don’t want to give up on it (for one thing it was not cheap!) and it does do the low lows very well. 
 

I’ll have a look into some pedals, I suppose as it is quite a transparent driver I should look at my input signal more, I’ve been relying on the active eq knobs but that might not be covering the range I need. 

[Sparky Mark]

With that head and cab you should be able to achieve the type of tone you desire. I wouldn't max the Vintage filter; just set at 25% and reduce the hi frequency control. Reduce hi mids a little and perhaps boost low slightly. Use both or just the neck pickup to get a softer tone. Finally I'd go back to roundwounds because TI flats are very mid present. I loved TI flats on my passive Precisions but couldn't get a nice tone with my active Musicman basses.

I think you've got all the elements available to get your tone but need to experiment more without going to any extreme settings, either on your amp or bass guitar onboard preamp controls.

Edited 21 hours ago by Sparky Mark

[ossyrocks]

Ah  ha, I've been where you are!

 

I've had quite a few BF cabs. I started with the 10s, and loved them. But in my naivety at the time, I though moving up to 12s would be the same but bigger and better. I was wrong, I don't like the 12s for the same reasons you're talking about. They reproduce everything that goes into them from the top to the bottom. They do sound massive though.

The sound I have in my head is rounded, warm, fat and punchy, but has no top end, very old school.

I went back to the BF 10s, a Three10 to be specific, and I could not be happier.

With careful amp choice and eq I could get close to what I wanted with the 12s, the best I managed was with a Tecamp Puma 900 (same as an Eich T900) with the Taste control very much cranked over to the Rich side.

 

Rob

[Downunderwonder]

Put a duvet over it and turn it to face the wall.

[Stofferson]

I went from BF 10's to 12's

It does take some tweaking! but you will get there and be better for it.

As the super compacts are "honest" with no baked in tone, you really just need to give it one, the great thing then is what comes out your DI into the PA will be more or less the same as the cab.

Keep going, if its brand new the speaker does need running in a bit too!

[chris_b]

My Mike Lull PJ5 and Sadowsky Jazz make a great sound, but through the same amp and cab my Cort Jazz makes a much thinner sound.

 

I got around this by using a Sadowsky pre amp. The sound of the Cort is now 90% there. 

 

Barefaced 12" cabs put the rest of your gear under a microscope. Any inconsistencies or shortcomings are magnified. But with the right bass and amp and they will make you sound great.

[lemmywinks]

Does your Cort C5 have the old Bartolini Mk preamp or is it one of the newer Plus/Deluxe models with the Markbass pre?

 

An EQ pedal or preamp with a baked in sound tailored to what you like will be your friend here. Sadowsky pre is a good shout, search for a used SBP as you can always sell it on for what you paid that way, they go pretty quickly!

[Dan Dare]

The Super Compact is the most traditional sounding of the BF 12" cabs and should do the business with a suitable amp. It and your Markbass should be perfect for the old school sound you seem to crave. Which leaves the instrument. Something like a P bass would be far more likely to do the business, imho.

 

It's also worth noting that no single 12" cab will give you the sound you get from a large PA. The laws of physics and all that.

[Stub Mandrel]

Ditch the Barefaced and get a 40 year old Sound City 18" cab.

[ossyrocks]

23 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Ditch the Barefaced and get a 40 year old Sound City 18" cab.

and a Roadie....

[ossyrocks]

7 hours ago, Stofferson said:

....the great thing then is what comes out your DI into the PA will be more or less the same as the cab.

 

You make a very good point here. It depends how many of your gigs are DI'd to front of house, or "backline only". Mine are probably about 75% backline only at the moment, but if the band keeps up at current momentum, that will change. I do run wireless, so I get the opportunity to walk out front and check what FOH sounds like, and it's been OK so far with the BF Three10. When I run the vintage GK RB's I use an Orchid DI in front of them and run that to FOH, and when I run the modern GK Legacy 800 I use the built in DI. The bass I use does help, vintage P with flats, so I hope it's never going to veer to far away from what I'm looking for.

[Mudpup]

I'm thinking the bass may be the culprit here. That BF cab will put out pretty much exactly what you put in and it doesn't have a tweeter so shouldn't be too clangy. The MarkBass head can definitely do warm bassy traditional sounds. I'm not too sure about the TC head as I've never heard one. You've also come from an Ashdown amp which is really good at old school gooey sounds so you'll be kind of used to that - they're nowhere near as clear and exposing as the BF cab.

 

But you've got 2 active basses which are both pretty modern sounding and it sounds like you want an old school 50s, 60s, 70s sound. They'll both struggle to get there I think. See if you can borrow a P bass or passive single pickup bass of some sort without new strings on it, turn the tone down and see if that gets you closer. 

Edited 23 minutes ago by Mudpup