Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Official Barefaced Bass Cab Club
- Thread starter Stumbo
- Start date
Placed my order for a 69'er in white on Sept. 19, then after discussing with Alex we decided the retro 215 would be a better fit for me. He is thinking of trying a different porting scheme and I hope to have the cab by Christmas or soon after. If anyone else is looking for white it might be a good time to coordinate the build with mine.
Gen 3 Big Baby 2 Number 1 now residing in my front room. Pictured next to a GK 212MBE cab for comparison.
The last pic is what I will be running as my main rig - Gen1 Big One and Gen 3 Big Baby 2.
The last pic is what I will be running as my main rig - Gen1 Big One and Gen 3 Big Baby 2.
random thinking for Alex,
my "one off" BB2 will come to light soon...
I can't stop thinking about these cool designs. I red on the website that new PA gear is about to come and maybe the subwoofers will be equipped with those same drivers of the Big Series models....more, the BB2 and BT2 are supposed to be very transparent and high-fidelity with the mid/highs driver on full.
My imagination...it would be VERY interesting to have an option on the BB2s, that can allow to put them on a universal stand just like a PA top. Maybe this is not their optimal position, but this way one could minimize the mechanical and acoustic coupling (wich sometimes is a bad factor on certain gigs) and hear the pure tone that oozes from these cabs.
If it was a more traditional cab I doubt that such a kind of positioning would be pleasant as a rule because of the missing low mids/bass enhancement, but with a cab like one of the Big Series Models?
It seems that they are capable of massive low end output because of their intrinsic design...
what do you think about this point Alex?
For sure you are thinking I'm a curse, I just asked you particular things when placing my order, and now I'm thinking about these blaphemies...
sorry, my creativity is encouraged by your ideas and work
my "one off" BB2 will come to light soon...
I can't stop thinking about these cool designs. I red on the website that new PA gear is about to come and maybe the subwoofers will be equipped with those same drivers of the Big Series models....more, the BB2 and BT2 are supposed to be very transparent and high-fidelity with the mid/highs driver on full.
My imagination...it would be VERY interesting to have an option on the BB2s, that can allow to put them on a universal stand just like a PA top. Maybe this is not their optimal position, but this way one could minimize the mechanical and acoustic coupling (wich sometimes is a bad factor on certain gigs) and hear the pure tone that oozes from these cabs.
If it was a more traditional cab I doubt that such a kind of positioning would be pleasant as a rule because of the missing low mids/bass enhancement, but with a cab like one of the Big Series Models?
It seems that they are capable of massive low end output because of their intrinsic design...
what do you think about this point Alex?
For sure you are thinking I'm a curse, I just asked you particular things when placing my order, and now I'm thinking about these blaphemies...
sorry, my creativity is encouraged by your ideas and work
alexclaber
Commercial User
- Jun 19, 2001
- 5,189
- 2,744
- 4,921
- Disclosures
- Director - Barefaced Ltd
The BB2 and BT2 have been designed to sound best when on the floor (or as part of a stack that's on the floor). However, I've been thinking exactly the same thing with regard to a light, loud, great sounding PA system using just two Big Baby 2 cabs on stands. To get the same response as on the floor they'd need EQing but the 12XN550 drivers have such huge power handling and excursion that they should be able to take that extra boost in the lows and still play very loud whilst sounding clean.
Definitely something we need to try - I suspect that they would be ample for to handle the kind of gigs that normally require a pair of pole-mount mains plus a hefty sub or two.
Along those same lines... If your PA needs aren't too demanding I like the idea of a high performance cab like the BT2 which works well for bass guitar and PA. Would a pair of BT2's powered by a Crown XTi4000 (1200 watts per side into 4 ohm loads) be enough for a 5 piece rock/funk/blues band in a club that holds 250 people? I'm assuming the SPL would be pumping close to the front and around the dance floor but allow for reasonable conversation levels toward the back of the room. My current system which can get the job done is a horn loaded Bill Fitzmorris pair of T39 subs with an Eminence 3012LF in each and the OTop12 tops with an Eminence 3012HO and HF horn in each. It would be nice to downsize but I didn't know if a pair of ported cabs with these exemplary drivers would be able to replace a horn loaded system here? Also, for BT2 cabs with these new 12XN550 and HF drivers sold in the US, would recone kits be available if these drivers ever needed servicing.
svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
- 4,724
- 4,571
- Disclosures
- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
I wish these were more accessible in the USA. I would love to know the difference between a Fearful,Barefaced
or the Xsonics.. Would love to find a lightweight, LOUD, 4Ω box that sounds big and punchy that can keep up with a Marshall x2..
or the Xsonics.. Would love to find a lightweight, LOUD, 4Ω box that sounds big and punchy that can keep up with a Marshall x2..
alexclaber
Commercial User
- Jun 19, 2001
- 5,189
- 2,744
- 4,921
- Disclosures
- Director - Barefaced Ltd
I misread this at first and thought you said BB2 - they might manage it, we shall see... However a pair of BT2s, no problem, they'll go ridiculously loud. Yes, we have recone kits for the new drivers, so they're cheap to fix if you manage to toast a woofer (which would take some doing!) We don't have replacement diaphragms for the HF drivers but they're pretty well protected against damage by the new crossover and overcurrent cut-out circuitry and they're an easy swap and not too expensive.
alexclaber
Commercial User
- Jun 19, 2001
- 5,189
- 2,744
- 4,921
- Disclosures
- Director - Barefaced Ltd
If you have enough power and your tone is right then it punches through just fine. Comparatively the new Big Twin 2 doesn't need as much power and has more transient slam so punches harder.
I think that many of us, used to the common "boutique" brands, are not completely aware to what a pure and truly linear frequency response is in the acoustic domain.
There is a possibility that many of us have become used to the baked in EQ of cabs that point on strong bump at certain frequency ranges to sound good or acquire punch, or simply sound like a typical bass cab.
Or, on the contrary, some commercial cabs could be less than ideally braced/damped so that the lowmids, usually those responsible for big and boom (think 120-180 Hz), come out and contribute substantially to the overall tonal impression.
This is one of the reasons because I have ordered a Big Series Cab, I want to ascertain what a good linear and clear response is.
In fact, I want to forget the issue of equing to compensate for baked in EQ of cabs and concentrate in building my tone starting from a neutral point.
This way, these cabs should take EQ extremely well and respond with accuracy.
Let's see, I have great expectations
There is a possibility that many of us have become used to the baked in EQ of cabs that point on strong bump at certain frequency ranges to sound good or acquire punch, or simply sound like a typical bass cab.
Or, on the contrary, some commercial cabs could be less than ideally braced/damped so that the lowmids, usually those responsible for big and boom (think 120-180 Hz), come out and contribute substantially to the overall tonal impression.
This is one of the reasons because I have ordered a Big Series Cab, I want to ascertain what a good linear and clear response is.
In fact, I want to forget the issue of equing to compensate for baked in EQ of cabs and concentrate in building my tone starting from a neutral point.
This way, these cabs should take EQ extremely well and respond with accuracy.
Let's see, I have great expectations
A couple of things. First, the Big Twin takes eq very well. No problem to add plenty of lo mids as long as your amp or pre allows it.
Another thing, which is of course all subjective and only my opinion, is that low mids tend to clutter things quite a bit. Which is a reason why Sadowsky basses sit in the mix so well, there has to be a low mid cut somewhere in that Sadowsky pre.
Takes some getting used to, but the band mix will usually benefit from it IMO/IME. YMMV obviously.
Another thing, which is of course all subjective and only my opinion, is that low mids tend to clutter things quite a bit. Which is a reason why Sadowsky basses sit in the mix so well, there has to be a low mid cut somewhere in that Sadowsky pre.
Takes some getting used to, but the band mix will usually benefit from it IMO/IME. YMMV obviously.
I've been thinking exactly along these same lines recently. I'm very interested in the new Big Twin 2.
Alex- I'd been think about building a couple of 8ohm 2x12 cabs to be used separately for smaller gigs and together for big ones...weight and form factor are big considerations but I also want maximum output with very even response throughout frequencies so that my effects sound true and I can eq more to taste depending on the music I'm playing. I realize that not all cabs are alike and there are many additional factors but in a basic hypothetical how do you think the Big Twin 2 would compare volume-wise to a pair of 8ohm 2x12's using high end neo drivers (Faital 12pr300 or Eminence 3012HO)??
Thanks!
It also helps having if you're using your amp as the source of your DI tone to the house to have a cab that more closely matches the response of the PA mains. That way your EQ won't need to be as heavily compensated for by the FOH.
Speaking of compensation, what's up with Eminence's freq response chart for the 3015HO? It shows a big bump across the mids but my Compact totally doesn't sound like the chart would imply. Does the cab produce more lows to even up the response in comparison to the Eminence chart?
Speaking of compensation, what's up with Eminence's freq response chart for the 3015HO? It shows a big bump across the mids but my Compact totally doesn't sound like the chart would imply. Does the cab produce more lows to even up the response in comparison to the Eminence chart?
Don't rely on the driver's specifications only to judge the full packet of a bass cab.
It's like cooking a supreme cake, the basis is butter and milk, but many other factors act and change the end result.
cab engineering is the key, the same driver can have completely different tone when put in different enclosures
I have used my (1st gen.) BB's as PA speakers in a pinch and they sounded awesome. They also make for excellent digital piano/organ cabs, and sounded better doing it than many dedicated PA cabs.
I am also surprised to hear that my bass sounds quite different though this cab than through my PSI A21 studiomonitors. I do not miss any lowmids in my monitors as I do with this cab. The monitors are pretty linear.
interesting...
do you apply room correction when using your studio monitors?
Even studio monitors, albeit nominally almost linear, are not usually used in open air, so you are also hearing a big contribution of the room you are in.
For example my Adam Audio high grade studio monitors (I'm a studio guy) and every other pro audio gear I use need a tweak of the room EQ controls on the back of those studio monitors to tame some bumps and valleys that a closed room always produces, even in the listening sweet spot and in a properly acoustically treated room.
It could be very interesting if you could perform an open air hearing test, in a field or similar.
It could be very interesting even without using objective measurements like frequency analyzers and so on...
My request is asked referring to "big drivers" audio test, not headphones.
High grade studio headphones for editing and mastering are more suitable for studying sounds, whereas studio monitors are more useful for mixing track volumes usually, and I have a feeling that when using big sound sources, like a woofer in a bass cab, the perceived sound changes also solely because of the use of the big driver, so it could be more useful to compare tones coming from big sources, like reasonably big studio monitor and a bass cab in open air
Let we know if this is possible, very curious...sometimes I have to do it myself using frequency measurements gear
My rom have acoustic treatment, I have measured with SMAART, and it's pretty good actually. Open air listening wound be interesting, but I don't think. I will take the time to do this. I will play the Big Twin on a rehearsal next week with a 12 piece band, then I will see if this cab is for me or not.