NCD: Fearless F112 x 2
{ Pictures below }
It's not every day that I make a serious investment in new bass cabinets while simultaneously taking a leap of faith in the process.
The credit for me making this purchase was not so much due to the numerous TalkBass posts from the Greenboy faithful, nor the glowing print and video reviews by Bass Whisperer, Ed Friedland, but primarily due to my own aching back. My days of one-man cabinet transporting, up and down stairs, twice-over per gig, were severely numbered if I did not find some relief in form of lighter cabs.
Certainly there are other and less expensive, lightweight cabinets currently on the market besides those in the Fearless line, but over the years I had become very spoiled moving much air with large, but unfortunately heavy, bass cabs. My rationale being, if I were to down-size now then it better not disappoint.
Additionally, I wanted cabinets that had a flat, full-range frequency response to support my ongoing infatuation with amp/cabinet modeling devices, along with the ability for the cabs to take a pounding from both standard bass heads and live sound power amplifiers.
Rather than repeat all that is easily found on the Internet regarding Greenboy, Fearless enclosures, and the F112 model I purchased, instead I would like to describe my experience with the builder I worked with, Joseph Hawley of jHawk Customs, part of Greenboy Audio, and my recent experience with the cabinets themselves.
The Builder
Fearless cabinets are built by Greenboy authorized builders. One must select a builder and there are a few to choose from. After browsing numerous online pictures of completed builds from various authorized builders, those from Greenboy Audio, in particular, jHawk Customs, were the ones that most caught my attention (more on this later) and prompted me to contact Joseph at jHawk.
As Fearless cabinets are not sold in retail stores, nor did I know of anyone nearby with one to try, I feared the unavoidable potential for purchase before audition. My first conversation with Joseph focused on his understanding of my existing equipment, gigging situation, and tone goals. As a musician, builder and Fearless player himself, he was not only able to offer cabinet and equipment suggestions, but he was also able to help me understand the associated pros and cons of each, as well as answering the many questions I had. With the biggest of my concerns being, "What if I am unhappy with my purchase?", Joseph was equally successful in making me feel comfortable about placing an order with him. He was courteous, knowledgeable and professional, right down to the impressive build quote PDF he e-mailed to me. Further dealings with jHawk Customs were then on-hold for six-weeks, until I next received completed build photos and Fed-Ex tracking numbers in my e-mail box.
The Cabinets
I had briefly wondered how the completed cabinets would be boxed for shipping and I was not disappointed in how it was accomplished. The cartons used were heavy duty moving-grade corrugated from Home Depot, sized slightly larger than cabinet inside. Each cabinet was tightly wrapped in multiple layers of plastic wrap, with each then fully cradled in a custom inner-box made with additional card board and foam board insulation also from Home Depot. The packaging was both ingenious and extremely protective. The scent of fresh DuraTex finish was in abundance upon unboxing and faded from the cabinets in about one week.
Being the product of a small-production shop, cabinet construction is as excellent, if not greater than, from a commercial, large-production facility. Color-wise, my choice was basic black. The cabinets do not look D.I.Y. and exude a high-quality throughout. In particular, Greenboy Audio builders' exclusive metal grill is what steered me to their group, and when combined with the available black chevron corners, sealed the visual deal. Quality Penn Elcom hardware, feet and handle are used throughout. Two Neutrik SpeakOn jacks, L-Pad, and pad switch are mounted in a single cabinet dish. Construction is rock solid and from every angle the cabinet is visually impressive and appears built to last.
The F112 cabinet is wedge shaped and can be positioned either as a traditional speaker cabinet or a monitor wedge. The single top handle is optimally positioned for a balanced one-hand lift and carry. Ergonomically, the angled wedge corner allows for close proximity to one's body side during the carry.
My decision for going with two smaller cabinets instead of one larger cabinet came at a significant, unfavorable cost difference, but in doing so, it addressed my first priority of aching back relief and this route now provides me with modularity benefits. If needed, separate cabs could also double as stereo live sound speakers or stage monitors. The drivers in my top cabinet were intentionally mirror-mounted on the baffle board to prevent comb filtering with the bottom cabinet when arranged in a vertical stack.
To summarize audio performance, quite simply, whatever signal goes into a Fearless cabinet faithfully comes out. In addition, speaker dispersion in the room and across the sound stage is very clean and clear. One can hear the original signal, for better or worse, with great intelligibility, smoothly, from the lows through to the highs. Finally, the amount of signal power one can push into the Fearless cabinet is well-past what most other cabinets having similar-size drivers can typically handle or with comparable fidelity.
The new found clarity and power provided by Fearless cabinets come with a catch in that they may expose poor technique in one's playing. One may now hear finger, string, and other noises previously masked by traditional bass cabinets. Some EQ adjustments and/or other compensations may also be in order.
With me being an amp/cab modeling enthusiast, I have now achieved the best results ever in using those devices with the Fearless cabs. The Fearless fidelity, clarity and power when combined with the modelers is nothing short of spectacular. In this way, with modeling, one can transition to Fearless cabs with full benefits and without a re-learning curve.
Many thanks to Dave "Greenboy" Green for designing these fantastic enclosures and to Joseph from jHawk Customs for building mine.
My back has been feeling pretty good, but this may partly be due to my drinking of the green Kool-Aid.
Cheers!
{ Pictures below }
It's not every day that I make a serious investment in new bass cabinets while simultaneously taking a leap of faith in the process.
The credit for me making this purchase was not so much due to the numerous TalkBass posts from the Greenboy faithful, nor the glowing print and video reviews by Bass Whisperer, Ed Friedland, but primarily due to my own aching back. My days of one-man cabinet transporting, up and down stairs, twice-over per gig, were severely numbered if I did not find some relief in form of lighter cabs.
Certainly there are other and less expensive, lightweight cabinets currently on the market besides those in the Fearless line, but over the years I had become very spoiled moving much air with large, but unfortunately heavy, bass cabs. My rationale being, if I were to down-size now then it better not disappoint.
Additionally, I wanted cabinets that had a flat, full-range frequency response to support my ongoing infatuation with amp/cabinet modeling devices, along with the ability for the cabs to take a pounding from both standard bass heads and live sound power amplifiers.
Rather than repeat all that is easily found on the Internet regarding Greenboy, Fearless enclosures, and the F112 model I purchased, instead I would like to describe my experience with the builder I worked with, Joseph Hawley of jHawk Customs, part of Greenboy Audio, and my recent experience with the cabinets themselves.
The Builder
Fearless cabinets are built by Greenboy authorized builders. One must select a builder and there are a few to choose from. After browsing numerous online pictures of completed builds from various authorized builders, those from Greenboy Audio, in particular, jHawk Customs, were the ones that most caught my attention (more on this later) and prompted me to contact Joseph at jHawk.
As Fearless cabinets are not sold in retail stores, nor did I know of anyone nearby with one to try, I feared the unavoidable potential for purchase before audition. My first conversation with Joseph focused on his understanding of my existing equipment, gigging situation, and tone goals. As a musician, builder and Fearless player himself, he was not only able to offer cabinet and equipment suggestions, but he was also able to help me understand the associated pros and cons of each, as well as answering the many questions I had. With the biggest of my concerns being, "What if I am unhappy with my purchase?", Joseph was equally successful in making me feel comfortable about placing an order with him. He was courteous, knowledgeable and professional, right down to the impressive build quote PDF he e-mailed to me. Further dealings with jHawk Customs were then on-hold for six-weeks, until I next received completed build photos and Fed-Ex tracking numbers in my e-mail box.
The Cabinets
I had briefly wondered how the completed cabinets would be boxed for shipping and I was not disappointed in how it was accomplished. The cartons used were heavy duty moving-grade corrugated from Home Depot, sized slightly larger than cabinet inside. Each cabinet was tightly wrapped in multiple layers of plastic wrap, with each then fully cradled in a custom inner-box made with additional card board and foam board insulation also from Home Depot. The packaging was both ingenious and extremely protective. The scent of fresh DuraTex finish was in abundance upon unboxing and faded from the cabinets in about one week.
Being the product of a small-production shop, cabinet construction is as excellent, if not greater than, from a commercial, large-production facility. Color-wise, my choice was basic black. The cabinets do not look D.I.Y. and exude a high-quality throughout. In particular, Greenboy Audio builders' exclusive metal grill is what steered me to their group, and when combined with the available black chevron corners, sealed the visual deal. Quality Penn Elcom hardware, feet and handle are used throughout. Two Neutrik SpeakOn jacks, L-Pad, and pad switch are mounted in a single cabinet dish. Construction is rock solid and from every angle the cabinet is visually impressive and appears built to last.
The F112 cabinet is wedge shaped and can be positioned either as a traditional speaker cabinet or a monitor wedge. The single top handle is optimally positioned for a balanced one-hand lift and carry. Ergonomically, the angled wedge corner allows for close proximity to one's body side during the carry.
My decision for going with two smaller cabinets instead of one larger cabinet came at a significant, unfavorable cost difference, but in doing so, it addressed my first priority of aching back relief and this route now provides me with modularity benefits. If needed, separate cabs could also double as stereo live sound speakers or stage monitors. The drivers in my top cabinet were intentionally mirror-mounted on the baffle board to prevent comb filtering with the bottom cabinet when arranged in a vertical stack.
To summarize audio performance, quite simply, whatever signal goes into a Fearless cabinet faithfully comes out. In addition, speaker dispersion in the room and across the sound stage is very clean and clear. One can hear the original signal, for better or worse, with great intelligibility, smoothly, from the lows through to the highs. Finally, the amount of signal power one can push into the Fearless cabinet is well-past what most other cabinets having similar-size drivers can typically handle or with comparable fidelity.
The new found clarity and power provided by Fearless cabinets come with a catch in that they may expose poor technique in one's playing. One may now hear finger, string, and other noises previously masked by traditional bass cabinets. Some EQ adjustments and/or other compensations may also be in order.
With me being an amp/cab modeling enthusiast, I have now achieved the best results ever in using those devices with the Fearless cabs. The Fearless fidelity, clarity and power when combined with the modelers is nothing short of spectacular. In this way, with modeling, one can transition to Fearless cabs with full benefits and without a re-learning curve.
Many thanks to Dave "Greenboy" Green for designing these fantastic enclosures and to Joseph from jHawk Customs for building mine.
My back has been feeling pretty good, but this may partly be due to my drinking of the green Kool-Aid.
Cheers!
