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GR Bass Natural Fiber cabs

gtirard

gtirard

Feb 22, 2020
5,634
1
17,006
58
Paris, France
inred-music.com
#1
At last, after 1 year of wait, the GR Bass product line is viewable on their website.

I have bought mine in the meantime, directly from a local vendor in Paris, when I had only seen the teaser video. I was already surprised that the actual color was much darker than on the teaser video, but now they have published the product pages on their websites, photos are even ligther than the video, so the color difference between my cab and what you see on the website is huge!

I love mine, it's not an issue, I just wonder if my cab is an exception (and if so, how can that be?), or if the photos on the website are completely missleading?

My cab

NF210-01.jpg



A photo from the website:

NF-210v-2.png


That's quite a bit of a difference, isn't it?

Also, I can understand that the color of a natural material can vary, but what about the grill cloth? It's also yellowish on the photos of the website, and I can assure you that it objectively grey in real life. So I believe the photos of the website have a global yellowish filter, and I think this is not very honest.

Apart from that, it's an amazing cab, the best sounding I ever heard so far.
 
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#3
JimChjones said:
Welcome to the delights of web colour reproduction and electronic cameras... The extent to which much modern kit changes colour amazes me.

It's hard to believe that those grill cloths are the same colour, but I wouldn't care to put money down either way.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a problem of web colour reproduction or digital camera (I'm a web designer). They had a full year to prepare the photo shooting, I think somebody spent a hard time retouching these photos, and somebody must have validated them.

Marketing is the art of cheating just enough to keep some credibility, and I don't understand how they didn't see this is too much
 
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#6
MaHei said:
The dress is clearly blue. (Don't mind me, I am having flashbacks.)
Click to expand...

LOL.

The joke is funny, but I think that from the website, everybody is going to see the NF cab like being made out of wheat fiber, whereas in front of the real product, everybody will see it like being made out of wood fiber.

MaHei said:
According to the website the natural fiber is just as light as the carbon weave. Gtirard, can you confirm?
Click to expand...

I don't have a scale, but yeah, it seems to weight 8kg like the normal carbon fiber version. My only reference is my other cab, a Barefaced One 10 (7 kg), and when I compare them, both weigth roughly the same. Both are super light, you can carry them with your little finger (except we are comparing a 2x10 with a 1x10).
 
Last edited:
#7
gtirard said:
At last, after 1 year of wait, the GR Bass product line is viewable on their website.

I have bought mine in the meantime, directly from a local vendor in Paris, when I had only seen the teaser video. I was already surprised that the actual color was much darker than on the teaser video, but now they have published the product pages on their websites, photos are even ligther than the video, so the color difference between my cab and what you see on the website is huge!

I love mine, it's not an issue, I just wonder if my cab is an exception (and if so, how can that be?), or if the photos on the website are completely missleading?

My cab

View attachment 5133018


A photo from the website:

NF-210v-2.png


That's quite a bit of a difference, isn't it?

Also, I can understand that the color of a natural material can vary, but what about the grill cloth? It's also yellowish on the photos of the website, and I can assure you that it objectively grey in real life. So I believe the photos of the website have a global yellowish filter, and I think this is not very honest.

Apart from that, it's an amazing cab, the best sounding I ever heard so far.
Click to expand...


I certainly understand your concerns. I will say that I much prefer the appearance of your cab.
 
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#8
In a previous thread, GR asked for suggestions for shops they should be in. I suggested my local, large brick and mortar store, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center. They said they are in contact with them and should have stock soon. Let's see how this turns out.
My only real thought is that the big issue for many of us in the US is there are only a few shops across 3,000 miles with just a few pieces of gear in stock. Adding another 12 products to a website of 48 products tells me that no shop will stock anywhere close to 60 different bass cabinets and amps.
Did these guys learn marketing from GK?
 
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#10
Jim C said:
In a previous thread, GR asked for suggestions for shops they should be in. I suggested my local, large brick and mortar store, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center. They said they are in contact with them and should have stock soon. Let's see how this turns out.
My only real thought is that the big issue for many of us in the US is there are only a few shops across 3,000 miles with just a few pieces of gear in stock. Adding another 12 products to a website of 48 products tells me that no shop will stock anywhere close to 60 different bass cabinets and amps.
Did these guys learn marketing from GK?
Click to expand...

I bought my GR cab from a physical store in Paris who don't even have a website. They have between 5 and 10 GR Bass cabs, same number of Markbass, Ampeg, and a few other brands.

Of course they didn't have the particular cab I wanted available in stock. But I could try other carbon fiber cabs, move them to feel the weight, and compare them with other brands. Then I ordered the particular model I wanted, and they had it in store for me 3 days later.

I think it works...
 
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#11
gtirard said:
I bought my GR cab from a physical store in Paris who don't even have a website. They have between 5 and 10 GR Bass cabs, same number of Markbass, Ampeg, and a few other brands.

Of course they didn't have the particular cab I wanted available in stock. But I could try other carbon fiber cabs, move them to feel the weight, and compare them with other brands. Then I ordered the particular model I wanted, and they had it in store for me 3 days later.

I think it works...
Click to expand...
Maybe the supply chain works in Europe, but I could only buy one used on the east coast of the US. I'm just not spending THAT much for an untried product that might not exist in 3 years.
Agree that your grill cloth is a different color than the new production models. The cabinet looks to be the same.
Is the store in Paris an authorized dealer? That would be the guy to ask IMO.
 
Last edited:
#12
Jim C said:
In a previous thread, GR asked for suggestions for shops they should be in. I suggested my local, large brick and mortar store, Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center. They said they are in contact with them and should have stock soon. Let's see how this turns out.
My only real thought is that the big issue for many of us in the US is there are only a few shops across 3,000 miles with just a few pieces of gear in stock. Adding another 12 products to a website of 48 products tells me that no shop will stock anywhere close to 60 different bass cabinets and amps.
Did these guys learn marketing from GK?
Click to expand...

Interesting. Chuck Levin's is already listed on the GR Bass site as I was looking last night. On the other hand, Sonata Marketing, who I thought was the U.S. distributor, no longer mentions GR on their website.

I agree with your point. I'm guessing it's a rather high percentage of products that never see stateside, with the focus being on the 1x12, 2x12 and 2x10, to include the OP's natural fiber cabs - which do look nice.
 
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#13
gtirard said:
At last, after 1 year of wait, the GR Bass product line is viewable on their website.

I have bought mine in the meantime, directly from a local vendor in Paris, when I had only seen the teaser video. I was already surprised that the actual color was much darker than on the teaser video, but now they have published the product pages on their websites, photos are even ligther than the video, so the color difference between my cab and what you see on the website is huge!

I love mine, it's not an issue, I just wonder if my cab is an exception (and if so, how can that be?), or if the photos on the website are completely missleading?

My cab

View attachment 5133018


A photo from the website:

NF-210v-2.png


That's quite a bit of a difference, isn't it?

Also, I can understand that the color of a natural material can vary, but what about the grill cloth? It's also yellowish on the photos of the website, and I can assure you that it objectively grey in real life. So I believe the photos of the website have a global yellowish filter, and I think this is not very honest.

Apart from that, it's an amazing cab, the best sounding I ever heard so far.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't be surprised if your cab is in fact the same color as the one in the marketing photo. I've bought a lot of things online... the lighting conditions and the camera used to take the photos can make noticeable differences in what you see vs what you get. The marketing photo seems like it was either lit with an incandescent/imitation incandescent bulb and the white balance was not set to correct for this, or it was taken with a more neutral light and the white balance was out of wack anyway.
 
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#14
To me, the "website shot" looks like a 3d rendering, not a real photograph.
The cover pattern perspective looks off, and there are zero actual reflections or surface variations in the brightwork.
At minimum it was airbrushed and tweaked, but I cant reconcile the lact of perspective in the side covering... the shape shows perspective but the material pattern does not.
 
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#16
steelbed45 said:
On the other hand, Sonata Marketing, who I thought was the U.S. distributor, no longer mentions GR on their website.
Click to expand...

I wonder how long this has been going on?? I've been telling people to contact John Files at Sonata for GR Bass gear in the USA, but it indeed looks like GR Bass is no longer available through them. Sonata no longer has a phone number listed and calls to the old number always 'fail'. I myself have been waiting for covers for my two custom 212 Slim combos, but it looks like those are a lost cause now. Not good.
 
#17
BuddhaFingas said:
To me, the "website shot" looks like a 3d rendering, not a real photograph.
The cover pattern perspective looks off, and there are zero actual reflections or surface variations in the brightwork.
At minimum it was airbrushed and tweaked, but I cant reconcile the lact of perspective in the side covering... the shape shows perspective but the material pattern does not.
Click to expand...
On my 2K monitor, I would be very surprised if this was a 3D render. A render this good would probably cost more to outsource than to just build a mockup and have professional photography taken.

Reflections on a product like this can be minimized by using proper studio lighting. Multiple well-diffused lights would illuminate the product evenly like this without inducing glare or shadows. Proper studio lighting also wouldn't make the product appear so yellow, either, so I am a bit confused.

As far as the grill, I can't comment. The single amp grill I have for my eyes to look at right now (a Barefaced Super Compact with black cloth grill) doesn't have much "perspective" or texture to it unless viewed very closely.
 
#19
Hmm, natural fiber, do these keep you regular?

I worked in manufacturing R&D for 7 years, IME marketing/sales types will push the R&D teams for prototypes they can photograph NOW so they can sell more than just an idea. Inevitably by the time you reach production there are supply chain issues and you go to market with whatever meets the functional specs. Or as other folks surmise, someone in marketing tweaks the color to look good on screen or in print but it no longer resembles the genuine article.

GR stuff looks great, would love to hear it but haven’t seen any on the West Coast US.
 
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#20
pingvuiini said:
I wonder how long this has been going on?? I've been telling people to contact John Files at Sonata for GR Bass gear in the USA, but it indeed looks like GR Bass is no longer available through them. Sonata no longer has a phone number listed and calls to the old number always 'fail'. I myself have been waiting for covers for my two custom 212 Slim combos, but it looks like those are a lost cause now. Not good.
Click to expand...
GR is in the process of revamping their dealers… new ones on the way soon. I think the Sonata thing was a bad misstep.
 
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