To provide some context to the above post, here is the full review by that "someone" (aka me!) including comments in the second paragraph about how the damage arose due to poor packaging by the retailer of a used GR cab (i.e. this was not sent by GR Bass)
TLDR: I agree with
@MOSCOWBASS and @johnpaulbass that the GR cabs stand up on a sound test very well to a high-end lightweight cab such as Barefaced and I think all three of us would say that the GR wins on overall sound quality, with an understandably bigger margin over the Super Compact than its more full range sibling the BB2. If GR can address construction concerns with their AT series cabs, they will most certainly have a winning product on their hands.
Sadly the cab had to go back due to one edge and associated corners being damaged by the courier en route. Tbf I've seen a lot better packaging of cabs from fellow BC'ers than occurred here : the retailer didn't have a particularly well fitting box, no bubblewrap and very minimal use of polystyrene both of which would have shielded the cab a lot better. But I get the sense that courier transport of cabs isn't risk free from comments elsewhere, although this experience didn't help with my concerns regarding the robustness of construction of these cabs.
Barefaced BB2 vs GR AT212-4 mini-shootout
View attachment 4240364
GRBass AT212, 4Ω - 700w, 12.9kg, 4Ω, 35Hz - 222kHz, 102dB. Signal chain: Spector Euro LX5 and DG M900 set flat / clean.
"Lockdown A/B" done with assistance from a family member who is a classically trained musician and undoubtedly has younger and better hearing than my aging ears!
Sound comparison – the GR AT is excellent!
EQ set flat on both amp and bass and played both (i) finger and pick and (ii) at both neck and bridge pups.
Immediately obvious that the AT 212 is louder at a given amp volume setting. This was entirely expected when pitting a quality 2x12 4 ohm cab against a 1x12 8 ohm cab. The amp master volume was adjusted to eliminate the volume difference when comparing the sound/tone of the two cabs.
Overall, there was not a huge amount of difference in tone between the two.
- BB2 mellower and would probably sit better “in the mix”;
- AT212 was richer and more resonant = more “acoustic” / akin to having reverb added to vocals. Its greater clarity and articulation mean that it would likely “cut through the mix” more easily.
Whilst they both handle the open low B well, the AT212 delivered the low B with more punch whereas the BB2 was slightly muddier.
From a sound / tonal perspective the AT212 got both our votes.
Aside: - when I had the amp set up to optimise the tone from the BB2 to my liking (slight boost to 'presence' i.e. upper mids and treble, v slight cut to mids and lower mids and v slight boost to bass at 80Hz to give a bit more low end "weight"), my co-listener preferred the BB2 to the GR Bass as the GR started to sound sound more "metallic" to her ears with those settings. However all that is saying to me is that optimising the sound for one cab with your amp EQ won't necessarily be optimal for another cab!
Construction / ease of "toppling"
I commented earlier about a concern over the GR cabs being easy to topple, based on a couple of YT clips, so I specifically checked for this. The BB2 and AT212 cabs are the same weight, with the weight distributed towards the front panel. This means they are pretty stable in three directions, but both relatively easily topple front-panel-forward if knocked from the back (or possibly tugged at by the lead connected to amp perched on top of the cab, although this is probably very unlikely); the BB2 with its lower centre of gravity is the more stable of the two. But given these are backline cabs this hopefully is not a major concern.
I have reservations about the apparent robustness of the construction of the GR cabs and the CEO is looking to address some of these e.g. with with strengthened corners and anti-scratch plastic / rubber bars. The BF has the feel of a sturdier construction e.g. the additional reinforced side panel on both the Barefaced BB2 and Fearless F112 structurally strengthen and provide further rigidity which the GR cabs could perhaps do well to emulate. He did say that in strength tests (e.g. being thrown 3 metres) the AT cab housing actually came out favourably against wooden housing.
IMO weight advantage is of no major benefit for pure home use and where damage is likely to be minimal; its real benefit is for the (aging) gigging bassist whose backs are not as strong as in their youth! By its nature of use, gigging gear is going to get more knocks and therefore needs to be robustly constructed and designed and which is partly why Boss pedals are so well loved.
