Green Boy design, BNA F112 review.

Chris Rhoades · #1 11-29-2012, 10:39 PM

I got my new BNA F112 a few days back and have had a chance to play some gigs on it and I can give you some thoughts. I have used this on 3 gigs and a rehearsal and to say it is everything Mark and Dave have claimed it to be. The first thing you notice is how professionally built these boxes are, this is not the bass cab you and your father built in the garage, this is every bit as profession as anything else on the market, actually looks better than my old EA 410. Mine is a custom red cab, white baffle and black grill. Somehow it is classy and looks totally rock n roll at the same time..

This baby has a 12, a 5 and a tweeter with an attenuation dial and a button to switch between upright voiced crossover or standard comes in at 37lbs. It also has a tilt-back option which is very cool i just haven't needed to use it yet because it disperses sound so well. Before this cab I had a Bergantino 210, 37lbs for my small local rig, I really liked this cab before i played my BNA, it was comparable in price and had a nice tone. I just figured it would always have to deal with having a small cab break up when when pushed but now I don't have to settle. The BNA is crazy, I have not had it break up yet, 3 gigs one outdoor private party, one inside restaurant gig and one honky tonk, all with drums and I have not ran out of room to go up, I actually had to turn down at the honky tonk gig.

I payed for this cab, it was not free so don't think i am just blowing smoke, this cab is legit. Lets not kid ourselves, its 37lb cab and it has one 12 in it so it has its limitations. You may ask "can you play this in a rock band competing with a half stack?" Probably not, but will it hang with all your small, midsized and reasonable volume big gigs, with out a doubt YES! I am very please, this might be the last small cab ill ever buy, I am hooked. I live in Austin, i will be playing this cab Sunday at the Whitehorse if you are close by and want to check it out in person.

JimmyM · #2 11-29-2012, 11:16 PM

Looks great, Chris. For most of your stuff it's likely plenty, although I hear some of those guitarists in Austin can push you to the brink with volume.

Foz · #3 11-30-2012, 05:20 AM

Oh hell yeah - its Pink!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44CFc1RCsyI

**bassdude51** · #4 11-30-2012, 05:32 AM

Wonderful looking cab! And with your very postive remarks, a wonderful sounding cab too! @ 37 lbs............whoa! Fantastic!

For those of us getting a bad case of GAS over your cab, who built it and how much did "she" cost?

Thanks for sharing.

**CL400Peavey** · #5 11-30-2012, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassdude51

Wonderful looking cab! And with your very postive remarks, a wonderful sounding cab too! @ 37 lbs............whoa! Fantastic!

For those of us getting a bad case of GAS over your cab, who built it and how much did "she" cost?

Thanks for sharing.

BNA Audio

Sundogue · #6 11-30-2012, 07:51 AM

Very cool. I love the design of the F112 so much and I love my fEARful 15/6 so much it makes me want to redo my fEARful into an f115.

There are times when having a wedge monitor might come in handy. I've been keeping an eye on these things for a while now.

Thanks for sharing.

**Freddels** · #7 11-30-2012, 09:35 AM

Don brought one of these to a recent gtg. I had to try it out b/c I really love the F215. Well, this F112 is all that and a bag of chips. It sounds so much bigger than what it is. It's clear, deep, articulate, all that stuff. It's just a bit out of my price range at the moment.

dukeorock · #8 11-30-2012, 01:20 PM

Great review, Chris. Thanks!

Those little cabs are a real shocker...I have the same setup as Chris currently. F112 for practice and gigs that aren't brutally loud, and an F215 for big gigs and outdoors stuff. Though I'll also have an F115 in a few days so, we'll see

Honestly the F112 can get loud as heck and I can hear myself even at the loud gigs, but I can't resist the F215 for the big gigs, if only to watch peoples faces when they hear how much volume and low end I can get on an upright bass without feedback

monsterthompson · #9 11-30-2012, 01:36 PM

Interested to see how this evolves.

4Mal · #10 11-30-2012, 02:05 PM

I'm a little out of the loop on this cab. How does it compare to a Fearful 12.6 in terms of cabinet size, internal volume. It is wonderfully appealing form factor for me...

**Chef** · #11 11-30-2012, 02:29 PM

Hey Mark; is there a 15" version of this?

rpsands · #12 11-30-2012, 02:34 PM

I believe the first couple F115's are being built now.

rpsands · #13 11-30-2012, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Mal

I'm a little out of the loop on this cab. How does it compare to a Fearful 12.6 in terms of cabinet size, internal volume. It is wonderfully appealing form factor for me...

It's a bit smaller than the 12/6 IIRC, F3 probably closer to mid-50s than mid 40s. Can't recall for sure though.

rpsands · #14 11-30-2012, 02:36 PM

I believe that's a pic of the F112 and F215 stacking.

Measurements on the F115 were 26" T x 20" W x 16.75" D last I heard.

**Freddels** · #15 11-30-2012, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Mal

I'm a little out of the loop on this cab. How does it compare to a Fearful 12.6 in terms of cabinet size, internal volume. It is wonderfully appealing form factor for me...

From what I know, it's like the F215 (a more traditionally tuned cab without the extended low end of the FearFul cabs) only smaller.

dukeorock · #16 11-30-2012, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Mal

I'm a little out of the loop on this cab. How does it compare to a Fearful 12.6 in terms of cabinet size, internal volume. It is wonderfully appealing form factor for me...

It is a nice form factor for sure...it's a little smaller, typically weighs about 6 lbs less and uses a Faital 5" mid driver instead of the 18 Sound or Alphalite. The lows, though still massive, are a bit tighter on the F112. I find them to be more than enough unless you play below Low A on your B string, then the fEARful is somewhat better suited. I prefer the midrange on the FEARLESS cabs and they come with a mid voicing switch that goes from the more traditional mid-forward thing, to a voicing that smooths out the 2k-4k area, which is what I tend to use, esp for upright bass.

**Chef** · #17 11-30-2012, 03:48 PM

I much prefer the Fairal mid driver to the 18Sound.
I liked the alpha in the cab I had it in.

dukeorock · #18 11-30-2012, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef

Hey Mark; is there a 15" version of this?

Yessir! Just built a demo cab F115 and at the risk of sounding cheesy, it's my favorite greenboy cab to date and I love all of his cabs

Like the F112, the F115 can be placed in the wedge position, or not, and has the mid voice switch. Also uses the Faital 5" mid driver and we've started running Faital HF102 tweets which are crazy light and sweet sounding, though very subtle because the mid driver goes up much higher than the 18 Sound.

dukeorock · #19 11-30-2012, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef

I much prefer the Fairal mid driver to the 18Sound.
I liked the alpha in the cab I had it in.

Though that's pretty subjective stuff, I tend to prefer the Fatial mid drivers as well. I love the Alphalite 6a as well. Used to tour with a 12/6/1cube with the Alphalite mid and it was really nice. On slap upright, I thought there was a very small 'gap' between the mid driver and tweet, but again the Faital goes up much higher so I can't hear any gap at all

MrCool84 · #20 11-30-2012, 05:01 PM

Im sorry if ive missed it (i have read the entire thread) does the f112 come with or w/o the tweeter? Mark u said there is a very small gap between the mid and tweet and the 5" mid goes very high so i think if i were to order one i would choose w/o tweet. thanks