Barefaced Big Twin 2 Gen 3 or 2 x BB3 stack

[Paddy Morris]

Quick one for you experts.  I'm tempted by a Barefaced Big Twin 2 Gen 3 that has come up, reasonably nearby to me.  I already have a BB3, and the Big Twin would take up a lot of space in my car alongside an upright bass.  Possibly I couldn't get both in.  But in the heat of battle the BB3 alone feels like it's at it's limits.  I have already blown a crossover once.     In my position would you resist the Big Twin and look out for another BB3 to stack?  Am I going to get the same meat from 2 BB3s as I would from a Big Twin, do you reckon?  It's just easier to transport 2 smaller cabs, and I can leave one at home for smaller gigs.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[chris_b]

My take is that the smaller, lighter, modular option is always best.

 

So 2 x BB3's would be my choice.

 

On  the loud gigs I use my older BB2 with a Super Midget. I can also use my SC with the SM and can use all of them individually, depending on  the gig. IMO modular is the way to go.

[Lozz196]

I think two BB3s should work just fine, from recall, having had both, two of the BB3s would stack approx the same size/height as the BT so essentially the same cab, but in a more convenient to move set-up.

Edited Wednesday at 13:00 by Lozz196

[fretmeister]

If you are blowing the cross-over I can't see the risk being lowered - presumably the BT3 has the same cross-over for the split with the HF horn?

 

And as an aside - if you are that loud then surely the PA should be doing the hard work instead?

[BassAdder60]

Or sell it and get an additional Monaco 600w cab !! Awesome and a step up from BF cabs in performance so many are discovering! 

Edited Thursday at 06:38 by BassAdder60

[Paddy Morris]

1 hour ago, BassAdder60 said:

Or sell it and get an additional Monaco 600w cab !! Awesome and a step up from BF cabs in performance so many are discovering! 

A second Monaco is very much still in the mix.  I saw the Big Twin and had a rush of blood to the head.  And this is why my front room looks like a bass equipment hire co. warehouse.

 

With regard to the 'how much power is too much' question.  For backline, with the luxury of an FoH soundman, yes either a single Monaco or BB is enough.  But for gigs where we're lashing together our own PA coverage, I find it much better all round for most of the bass to come from the backline.  It's impossible to judge what is coming out of the front, and empty rooms at sound check rarely stay the same when they are full of sound-absorbing humans.

 

And for our set, powerful speakers driven modestly sound better than a single cab being cained to death.

[BassAdder60]

Yep I’ve always preferred most of the bass from backline in small / medium venues 

[chris_b]

IMO if 1 cab sounds good, 2 cabs always sound better. You move more air which can make you louder, but more importantly improves your tone.

[Lozz196]

Def, if you like the sound of one cab doubling up on it imo induces a very silly grin, an almost "I can`t believe it" sort of thing.

[Chienmortbb]

There is no magic to having two cabs. The power is split between the cabs giving the drivers an easier time. When you start pushing a speaker, power compression creeps in and close to maximum power will rob you of half you volume. Beyma used to publish power compression graphs for their drivers but as no-one else did, it looked to the layman that they were the only ones that suffered it.

 

The second cab is also closer to your ears and that has to be a good thing. 

[Jack]

My favourite ever rig was a pair of FR800s which were essentially powered big babies. I think you'd be very happy with the two smaller cabs. 

[Dan Dare]

If you're only doing larger gigs, the BT would make sense. If not, the scalable nature of two smaller cabs is helpful, in that you can just carry what you need. Perhaps a Super Compact would be a good choice, rather than another BB3. That would give you the equivalent of a BT.

[Sean]

I'm committed to Monaco cabs now. 

One is plenty, the second one is for when I'm running the big boxes of bottles without PA support. Rarely. 

Having run a Big Twin 2 for years, there's a big difference between BF and LFSys.  

[Pirellithecat]

Interesting.   What would you say is the main difference between the BF and the LfSys other than volume??

[Mudpup]

I used a pair of Big Baby cabs for about 10 years gigging almost every weekend. Never thought I would find anything better/more suited to me and they would be forever cabs. They're bloody good. 

 

But I retired from regular gigging last year. Sold them both with the intention of downsizing everything. Bought a GR212 but it wasn't the right cab for me sonically. 

 

Ended up with a Monaco and although I've only done a couple of rehearsals and a festival gig with it I think it's better than the BF cabs. It's more controlled at home levels and definitely fills a bigger room better. It's almost like the volume is more consistent wherever you stand whereas the BF cabs threw a long way but if you were stuck right in front of them (just using a single cab) then you could get a bit lost. They were still better than most regular cabs but I think the LFSys improves on it significantly. And they feel a bit tougher too.

Edited 8 hours ago by Mudpup

[Paddy Morris]

9 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

Interesting.   What would you say is the main difference between the BF and the LfSys other than volume??

For me, the BF FRFR cabs are like running a 12" cab but with an attached sub.  Despite the paper specification being the same, the Barefaced have a more pronounced bottom octave compared with LFsys.  So depending on what instrument you're playing, and what kind of music you're playing, and what venue you're playing, that might be a plus or a minus.

 

For an outdoor gig a Monaco with a BB (presumably also a Big Twin?) gives you a nice focused sound, but with a big of LF thump you can feel in your chest.  But in problematic small pub, or on a bare wooden floor, or a stage with difficult acoustics, that bottom octave from the Barefaced can be a bit of a liability.  Whereas the Monaco low end doesn't sound subjectively as extended, but it really stays tight and punchy and well damped.  They are both lovely cabs, but different in style.

 

BF slightly louder.  LFsys tighter and more controlled.

[Sean]

14 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

Interesting.   What would you say is the main difference between the BF and the LfSys other than volume??

Clarity and the ability to hear yourself when you're close to it in a full band situation. This text from the website sums it up...

 

"engineered to operate at a low enough frequency to avoid the off-axis midrange suckout found in almost all commercial bass cabs. This midrange "dip" is why  it is often difficult to hear your bass clearly when you're standing above or to the side of your rig. With LFSys, you experience exactly what you're playing, even when standing right beside your cabinet. No need for stands, tilting or boosting the mids – your sound remains consistent wherever you are. Your band members will hear you effortlessly and your audience will hear every nuance of your bass sound."

 

That is what made the difference for me. It's like a secret weapon.