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Barefaced Big Baby 2 vs Super Compact - your experience

IvanMike

IvanMike

TTRPG enthusiast, Happy, Joyous, & Free.
Supporting Member
Nov 10, 2002
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Middletown CT, USA
#1
Hey there, I’ve poked around the Barefaced website, read/watched the “which cab” & “all cabs explained” & listened to comparison clips by Alex and Anderton’s.

I just don’t have time to read the 500 pages in the Barefaced (mega) thread. I did post this question there but due to the length of the thread it kind of got buried which I understand.

I’m seeking your actual experience comparing the two cabinets. It’s great if you have one and are really jazzed about it but it doesn’t help so much if you haven’t heard both of them in person. Hell, if you have actually compared all three cabinets I talk about here that’s even better. Bonus points if you have compared them directly to bag and 115 and 112 cabinets.

The 110 sounds like a fun cabinet and maybe a couple might be neat but it’s not the tone I would really want all the time. Definitely reminiscent of the fridge, and if you want that thick sound it certainly seems to do it. This seems like it might be the tiny very portable cabinet solution for me when I want to bring the lightest thing possible that still sounds really good.

i’m more torn between the big baby 2 and the super compact. They both sound great.

YouTube clips are YouTube clip so it’s hard to get a really accurate representation, but you can hear a difference between the two. To me it sounded like the super compact had a more present mid range but that it was somewhat colored. It’s actually kind of reminiscent of how my bag and cabinets sound although I’m sure it has more low end. I’m wondering if anybody’s ever compared the two directly?

The big baby sounded a lot more accurate & the mid range cut through in a different manner, a bit smoother maybe? It sounded like there was something going on in the middle to upper mid range on the super compact that gave it a very aggressive sound. Listening on some speakers and headphones I could hear the big baby have more low and extension. Depending on what was being played I could hear the BB high frequency driver which sounded very polite.

i’m wondering if any of you have had the opportunity to compare them directly? Is there something that made you choose one over the other?

If I understand correctly the control for the high frequency driver on the BB2 can be set to completely eliminate it. I’m wondering how Close to the super compact tone you can get out of the big baby when you do that? I doubt that would do it as the difference I hear seems to be somewhere in the mid range. The super compact keeps sounding like an aggressive rock cabinet in clips. It’s interesting in a lot of the clips when he switches from the 210 to the super compact I instantly have the “oh yeah that’s much better” reaction. When he switches from the SC to the big baby it’s more of a “wow that’s different, really refined & accurate” reaction.

I see that the website does not necessarily recommend it, but I was Wondering if anybody has tried the BB2 & the SC together? I’m really kind of on the fence about both tones, it seems like it would be nice to have one of each… It’s a pity I can’t try them in person. (Actually, it would be nice to try a whole bunch of things in person but the nature of brick and mortar establishments has changed dramatically as far as I can see. It’s very difficult to find actual representations of a lot of gear these days.)

Thanks a lot for any and all replies.
 
#2
I have a BF Super Compact. The sad part is I have not used it in a band setting yet.
But I have compared it to Hathor 1203 and a BF one ten. I love the one ten but not loud enough.
Compared to the 1203 the BF SC, to my ears it’s much more open, louder and goes deeper. Also a few
pounds lighter. I also prefer a single driver cab. Hope this helps a little. The only real way to be sure is to buy and try. 2 SC’s would kill.
 
#5
MaHei said:
How important is the dispersion of the high and mid frequencies to you? Will you be using the cabinet as your personal monitor only, with PA coverage for band and audience?
Click to expand...
It’s important. I can’t imagine any set of circumstances where it would not be important. It really depends upon the gig sometimes I have to carry the room and sometimes I have PA support.

But I’m not asking which one to get. I’m asking if you have compared them together directly and what did you find the difference to be?
 
#7
Owned both but not at the same time. I did own a Super Midget about the time of the SC.

The Sound:
My SC came brand new from the factory and I was playing a old Genz head and had a Monique at the time. The midrange was forward and honked more than I wanted. I didn’t like the Monique EQ with the SC. The semi parametric on the Genz was much better. I switched amps and messed with EQ. The cab also “broke in” over time and started feeling more neutral. It was fantastic with a Mesa Buster tube amp. It worked great with a Demeter VTBP 800D head and pedals. I didn’t feel it needed a cab sim, but is worked well with the DSM OCSD.

I currently run a pair of BB2 cabs as a PA, but I also played bass in a band setting through the BB2. The bigger cabinet volume projects more oomph in the deep lows, which balances out the midrange of the SC. Add in the compression driver and the BB2 is a flat PA/Monitor sound. The SC will be more controlled in the deep lows (not that the BB2 is wooly). The compression driver control is not a “level” control but a crossover, so when you dial it “down” you’ve moved the crossover point so all frequencies go to the woofer. The result isn’t the same sound as the SC. I mean, fundamentally they are the same woofer in a cab designed with the same goals by the same brain, so there are definite similarities, but the BB2 feels more balanced with less EQ sculpting. If your amp has enough EQ in the right points, you can get them sounding close.

My preference playing solo is the BB2. The compression driver lets you dial in more attack and zing if you want it. The extra lows feel more balanced. In a mix, I had no complaints with either cab, but I was more likely to run a cab sim with the BB2.

For pairing, I think the SM is usually considered a better mate than the SC for the BB2. Alex has mentioned pairing in the Barefaced thread but I’m not sure I’m remembering his suggestion correctly, so I’d need to search for that.

Worth noting is that the SC is a much easier carry. The BB2 is light but big. The SC is lighter and smaller. The minimalist handles and their placement have been issues for some users. I wouldn’t want to carry them far without a glove for padding. I’ve also got a movement disability, so I’m particularly biased and sensitive.
 
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#10
That crossover and compression driver is nice. With fuzz and distortion, that driver is too much sizzle and it’s nice to dial it down. With clean tones, the compression driver is nice for dialing in the highs in way a little different from just EQ adjustment.
 

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