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Official Barefaced Bass Cab Club
- Thread starter Stumbo
- Start date
Did you consider any of the other Barefaced cabs? If so, what led you to decide on the BB2?
Depending on your volume needs, I'd throw the Super Midget out there as another option.
Unless you have a high-pass filter handy, you might get more manageable lows out of the SM mated with the BIG lows of the Streamliner.
Owned a stl 900 for a while.
The amp has wide extended lows, sub, and low mids. Used with the BB2 it was too bassy and subby for my tastes, and the tube distortion it produces does not pair with the BB2 accuracy.
I suggest a sealed cab or vibe. If you want to go barefaced I suggest one of the 10 models, for example the 410. They seem to be far from dark sounding but these drivers love raspy tube clipping and the construction tweaks the sound toward a sealed cab vibe with more controlled low lows.
If I wanted to use a barefaced cab for electric guitar, I would choose a 10 model, without any doubt. The 12 xn 550 driver is too accurate and revealing for this kind of purpose.
The amp has wide extended lows, sub, and low mids. Used with the BB2 it was too bassy and subby for my tastes, and the tube distortion it produces does not pair with the BB2 accuracy.
I suggest a sealed cab or vibe. If you want to go barefaced I suggest one of the 10 models, for example the 410. They seem to be far from dark sounding but these drivers love raspy tube clipping and the construction tweaks the sound toward a sealed cab vibe with more controlled low lows.
If I wanted to use a barefaced cab for electric guitar, I would choose a 10 model, without any doubt. The 12 xn 550 driver is too accurate and revealing for this kind of purpose.
SM is the best bet for taming the notorious low end of that head (though I've only read about them). I think the 10" cabs would be too mushy with the Streamliner (just my guess).
The crossover tweeter/diver cabs are best for players after sparkling brightness. The SC is plenty bright for many users.
Get the BB2 and a DSM Omnicab for doing double duty as a guitar amp. It'll be able to tame the low end, too. Obviously a pricey way to go. There are other cab sims and they'd each work just as well with the SM, and probably fairly decent with the SC.
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Thanks.
Just my guess on the interaction. The 10" series does roll off the deeper lows, so it might be okay, but my guess is that with the rest of the characteristics of those cabs, that head might be tougher pairing.
And you're in upstate SC...I've got family there. Very temped to grab it to add to my existing One10. But then I'd need to buy a new head!
I gigged a Streamliner for several months. I owned two BB2s and now have a SM.
For my tastes, the Streamliner was too "dark" - and that was due to the preamp voicing. I swapped tubes, twisted knobs, and did my best to get a brighter tone out of it. No luck. So I sold it. Sometimes you can't squeeze good tone out of an amp no matter what the rest of the signal chain sounds like. The flats are going to make it even more difficult to overcome the built-in darkness of Streamliner.
If you're already fretting about Streamliner's (dark) tone, it's time to sell it. Sorry.
My main gigging rig is the Streamliner 900 with Barefaced BB2 + SM (SuperMidget) - both of which have the HF horn. Playing with 66 P, 68 Tele, or Ovation Magnum 1 - all with rounds. Could NOT be happier with the combo. Apparently the BB2 low end suits my playing style and tastes, but the SM adds a wonderful thick mid which I'd rather not do without.
Still experimenting with horn settings. Has been mostly on and mostly off but never disliked the result. Lately settled at 1/3 on.
One measure of my satisfaction: I bought a Darkglass MT900, bring it to gigs, but find the STL so good can't bring myself to swap in later sets.
Note: putting a Genelex Gold Lion in V1, Tung-Sol in V3 made great better for me
I play a Streamliner 900 through 2 SCs and couldn't be happier with my tone. I've never played any other BF cabs so I can't make any comparisons. As far as strings, I use GHS Pressurewounds on a PBass with EMG Geezer Butler pups. The bass sound is huge on stage - all of the characteristics you list seem appropriate. Never muddy and you can eq clank or thud, whatever you need. My gigs are all rock music - classic rock, 80s rock, hair metal, hard rock, and some pop. The SCs are perfect for what I need.
If you use your ears and don't push the volume and bass eq you should be okay. I ran an 800w head with my Two10.
Off topic slightly but does anyone have a supertwin and darkglass M900? I need to compare experiences
I run a pair of One 10s (= Two 10/4 ohms) with my 800+ with absolutely no problems. In fact, I often use the 800+ with a single One 10 and it handles plenty of grunt if you use your ears sensibly. I certainly would be confident with a 4 ohm Two 10. You can also set your 800 to the two ohm setting which will limit the power to your speakers although I don't normally worry about this.
I had looked at cab sims for this purpose a few weeks ago and hadn't come across the DSM - I'll check it out.
Does HF crossover or a tweeter help, hurt or not make a difference when it comes to a cab's suitability as a guitar cab with a sim? That is, would the BB2 or the SM's HF or tweeter make it better than the SC or Two 10 for this purpose?
Without a ton of experience describing bass amp and cab sounds, it is possible that I'm not thinking of the same thing as others when using certain terminology. For instance, I may be worrying too much about what is considered defined/undefined in the lows.
I bought the Streamliner because I like the sound of a tube amp. I'm downsizing from an SVT-CL and 810 and am, like many people, very happy with that sound (and just not the size and weight). So I do mostly want a big, fat, open sound with big lows (where the Streamliner excels). I guess I just wanted to make sure that I could tighten the sound a tad, if needed, and that any of the cabs I'm considering didn't constitute an objectively bad pairing.
I'm not sure if I'm giving a good or correctly used example, but I think the most tight/defined sound I'd need would be like Chuck Rainey from Steely Dan records. I'm not sure how tight/mushy, defined/undefined that sound is considered, but as long as I can get that level of definition, I'll be fine. If you need an example, here you go:
I would also like to be able to get a good overdrive sound, from a little hairy and gritty to fairly overdriven (though I don't need really high gain distortion). I'm happy to get that from the Streamliner or a pedal.
I also assumed that the Two 10 would be considered a bad pairing with the Streamliner (a bit too much of a good thing) and that the SC or BB2 would pair better because, in most people's opinions, the Streamliner needs a little tightening. Maybe it doesn't need tightening for the sounds I've described, maybe it does. Thoughts?
I bought the Streamliner because I like the sound of a tube amp. I'm downsizing from an SVT-CL and 810 and am, like many people, very happy with that sound (and just not the size and weight). So I do mostly want a big, fat, open sound with big lows (where the Streamliner excels). I guess I just wanted to make sure that I could tighten the sound a tad, if needed, and that any of the cabs I'm considering didn't constitute an objectively bad pairing.
I'm not sure if I'm giving a good or correctly used example, but I think the most tight/defined sound I'd need would be like Chuck Rainey from Steely Dan records. I'm not sure how tight/mushy, defined/undefined that sound is considered, but as long as I can get that level of definition, I'll be fine. If you need an example, here you go:
I would also like to be able to get a good overdrive sound, from a little hairy and gritty to fairly overdriven (though I don't need really high gain distortion). I'm happy to get that from the Streamliner or a pedal.
I also assumed that the Two 10 would be considered a bad pairing with the Streamliner (a bit too much of a good thing) and that the SC or BB2 would pair better because, in most people's opinions, the Streamliner needs a little tightening. Maybe it doesn't need tightening for the sounds I've described, maybe it does. Thoughts?
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I'd assume that it makes no difference if you set the cab sim to cut off below the highest frequency the cab can produce. However, you can dial out high frequencies but you can't add ones that the cab won't produce
That tight Chuck Rainey tone is not something easy to dial out of a Streamliner, whose tone is more "fat and gooey" to my ears. If you're set on staying with a Streamliner, you might check out an Empress Para EQ pedal. It includes an adjustable Q factor to help tighten up the tone is selectable, sweepable frequencies. It also has a boost button for some overdrive.
ParaEq
None of these tonal issues are related to the Super Midget or BB2. Both of those cabs reproduce what you put into them. Your challenge is further up the signal chain - not at the end.
