By way of returning to the OT....yeah....as a %age of total bass players, those of us using fEarfuls or similar custom cabs are a minute group. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. It's a pricey niche product with essentially no significant advertising, limited availability and a limited audience. So what?
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Do you use fEARful?
- Thread starter SplinteredSkull
- Start date
Hmm. I wonder which Fearless builder Greenboy thinks is the best - and which Fearless builder do you think is the best and why?
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
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- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
It was not available before Greenboy designed it.
All the info was/is freely available. Most did not have the interest in sussing it out. Tweaking the initial design was done by a few people in an effort to "finalize" a good working model. GreenBoy had the drive and interest to make this his personal goal (spearheading). I applaud his efforts and his group for achieving their goal.
Well from talking to Greenboy on several occasions I would say he holds them all in very high regard. This question is kinda like asking a parent which kid they love the most. As for me I have to say I could not pick out a fav of any of them. They have been all top notch guys and all their builds are of very vigh quality.
I don't know what you mean by "best"?
Some have better access to lighter plywood than others.
Some may be more willing/able to do tradional cloth grills with piping.
Some have the capability to do CNC custom routed designs on the sides/backs.
And so on.......
All would refer a customer to another builder if they think that builder is better able to do a particular custom aspect.
I think value is a slippery notion often confused with bargain and cheap.
I don't usually post in the fEARful threads although I have built, and loved, a 15/6 and a 15sub.
However, I think that your thoughts and concerns are understandable and may be felt/had by others as well. When I stumbled on them in TB it seemed kind of elusive.
For me what helped put the "mystique" into perspective was that there were some "companies" that were building, marketing and selling "fEARfuls" that really weren't quite the real deal. They had made cost-saving changes in several aspects from materials selection, cab/port dimensions, crossover components/design, driver selection, bracing and dampening... you get the picture. All these things work together to make a cab that is either awesome or not that awesome and they were producing the latter and marketing it as the former. Those cabs are still tossing around in the classifieds.
If you have ever torn apart a cab that you can buy new at GC you will find immediate evidence of cost cutting and effective marketing at its finest. That is what companies do - get the maximum for the minimum.
In contrast fEARful is not a company. The margins on the authorized builder cabs are nowhere near the margins of commercial cabs if you take out the administrative/advertising/endorsement components. I don't even know how they can justify using their valuable time and talent with such little return - they must really love doing it.
I think where the value perception is hard to manage with fEARful or any other design where the exact specifications and sourcing of the materials/components is known and shared is that you know exactly what the base cost of those things are.
Try finding out what the base materials production cost is for anything in an Ampeg, GK, Acoustic, Hartke, Fender, etc.
I had just about every Hartke cab here was - half of them were made out of particle board. I have a pair of old JBL mains that are made of MDF. If either of those were made from cabinet-grade plywood the cost of that change alone would have made them less of a value for me at the time (better for my back though...).
I think that even if you get one from an authorized builder (authorized so you know you are getting one that didn't have any cost-cutting measures taken) fEARful cabs are a great value. They aren't cheap... but that is more a function of the cost and quality of all of the required materials and components than the per-unit markup cost of marketing, administration, endorsements, legal retainers... etc.
Hmm... this turned out to be a pretty long-winded post. Maybe it is a good thing I don't post more in these threads.
They build the cabs according to the design plans.....or do you mean which guy is the cutest?
All his builders build to spec. The differences are in materials and finish options. All of which are selected by the customer. In fact all of greenboy's current builders will suggest a different builder to a customer if they feel someone else has better expertise on a particular finish request.
+1
This isnt a "personals" site...
It sure isn't Mark/Dukeorock/BNA!
(Mark, If you're reading this, I'm just kidding.)
CrileyCore should put out a "builders of greenboy cabs" calendar...
I hope that is not a swim suit edition
If so I would suggest they hid behind their cabs 
Dont know... Have you seen Torin and Elliot? At least Tony and John can grow some kind of beard to cover up their fugly...
Have you seen my beard as of late?? ;-)~Elliot
Has that little patch of dirt on your chin expanded?
Going for the Duck Dynasty look
Is your beard growing in all patchy gre... er camo like Tony's?
Hope I'm not jumping the gun here, but I would like to take this opportunity to announce that CrileyCore Technologies has signed on as the latest builder of the pANTsFul speaker system and will be the sole authorized builder/distributor of our upcoming pANTsLess designs.
Details will be released in our quarterly newsletter but you may begin pre-ordering now.
Thank You,
The Management
