Hey All, I made a thread a while back asking for help and I ended up going with just a horrible purchase which I promptly returned. I've decided to wait and save up for a rig that won't leave me wanting for anything more. I've been talking with Alex from barefaced and am 100% sold on getting one of his cabs (most likely the big twin 2). I'm a tube guy when it comes to guitar and have recently dug into the wonderful world of tube bass amps. So I'm wondering which of these two amps would be best with the barefaced cab? Runner up heads I've considered are a svt-4 pro as well as a sunn 300T.
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Horses for courses. Which course?
You won't get much overdrive from the big one without getting a lot louder than a lot of bands need. But you might not get enough clean from the little one either.
You won't get much overdrive from the big one without getting a lot louder than a lot of bands need. But you might not get enough clean from the little one either.
Hard for me to tell because I've been playing out of yorkville bloc 100k for the past 4 years, bands and all. I'm not trying to rattle the foundations of my home but I'd like to be able to play with louder rock drums and guitars. Likely either of these choices will blow my head off compared to my keyboard amp.
If that is 100W and a single 15 you probably ok with the little one. But I would get the big one just in case.
The Big Twin II is 2x12, thanks for the tip. I have no real world experience with tube headroom and bass amps. I generally like to be on the edge of breaking up with my guitar but not quite all the way, I'll probably be similarly inclined with tube bass amp.
Hell loud as in hell yeah or hell no? I know these cabs are supposed to be LOUD so I'm wondering if I can get away with the V4B and save some cash. I never play shows over 100 anymore but that might change.
A V4B with an efficient cab is loud; easily loud enough for a crowd of 100. Probably good for a 500 seat venue too.
The only time I felt my V4B was wanting was an outdoor performance, but with PA support you’ll be fine.
I don't think the sensitivity is up with a standard 810 so not quite that loud but you get the idea. Sensitivity is king when you are playing with limited wattage. A 3dB sensitivity deficit takes double the wattage to make up. Modern cabs like BF tend to be a bit down on sensitivity but high power handling more than makes up the difference.
Pure conjecture on my part but you are probably overkill with the big one @100 size gigs. Maybe get an Elf amp for a backup and see how that goes. If it is loud enough you can go with the V4B and let it rip.
If you punch v4b into the search box while in the giant Barefaced club thread, tick the " this thread" box and hit search it will pop all the mentions.
Ok sweet I couldnt figure out how to do this. Juest curious what db sensitivity qualifies as efficient? I think the big twin is rated 100db sensitivity with some of the BF 10cr cabs going higher.
100 dB is pretty efficient; the Ampeg svt212av, which is the cab Ampeg designed to be paired with the V4B is 99. I think the 810e is 103 dB (assume all of these are @ 1 watt @ 1 meter @ 1kHz. That’s the typical measurement).
Most here who have a V4B/svt212av pair consider it pretty loud. Add a second svt212av and it gets pretty close to the 810 for theoretical efficiency.
So, in theory, the Big Twin would be ever-so-slightly louder than the svt212av but detectably quieter, although not hugely, than an 810e at the same amplifier eq and volume settings.
None of this, however, takes into account the actual frequency response of these cabs though; the more lower frequencies the cab can produce, the more power tends to matter. This is why the SVT seems to have so much “heft” in lower frequencies.
This also means nothing to how the cabs sound to you. I happen to really like the Ampeg sealed speaker sound. YMMV
Marc
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Super sick firebird bass. Do you play distorted often or can you hold a clean tone with your amp even in a group setting?
Rooibos99, Gibson Thunderbird but that’s nitpickin’ lol.. Yes I can stay pretty clean. Three-piece blues/rock with relatively sane volume levels. That said, I’ve listened to enough isolated bass tracks (e.g. Jamerson ) to get that, in the overall mix, slightly overdriven tone is not perceived as such Love the V4B!
Marc
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I'm in the Ampeg V4B club. I run mine with the SVT-212av. It's worked every where. I do have a second SVT 212av but have never had to use it on a gig. V4B also works well on a HSVT-410
I meant no offense with the misname, Ive always loved gibson bass tones and would love an eb-0 myself. thanks for the field report!
No offence taken at all! Really suspect the V4B would meet your needs. Good luck.
Marc
May be just me but I always recommend getting the big Ampeg over a V4-B for a few hundred more, there is a big difference between a 100 watt and a 300 watt amp. That being said I use an 85 watt Fender Dual showman in good shape with an Ampeg 410 sometimes and it gets loud enough for small rooms but if it's a new small room I'll bring the SVT head and leave it in the car just in case.