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Official Barefaced Bass Cab Club

#9,861
DrGDP said:
re: SC efficiency, I just noticed that I had to turn the volume up on the BB800 from where it was when powering a single Eden EX112 for the volume for the SC to equal that same volume. (I was surprised, I even checked with a SL meter) HOWEVER, when you increase the volume the Eden will soon struggle and reach its limit; the SC volume will go way beyond what the Eden can handle and have way more headroom, and sound great doing it and not break a sweat. The SC sounds great at any volume and will do just fine with a lower powered amp, I was just making a comparison between two cabs and one amp. Just for giggles and grins, I did the same test with the SC with an AI Upshot --- that was no contest, you need a lot more power to drive the Upshot (which I think is a nice tiny cab, pretty flat sounding but not quite as flat as the SC in my opinion) to reach the same loudness levels, but the Upshot will struggle mightily in sound quality as that volume increases! Again, I think the SC is great, I am not complaining, it fits my needs of a very flat, neutral sounding cab that makes it very easy to work with. I think Alex has come up with a brilliant one driver design that excels in a colorless, well dispersed sound, and sounds great at any volume level. One more point I would like to make is the SC goes down way low, but a very clean, flat, fundamental way low---nice.
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That's how efficiency or lack of efficiency gets traded. In this case there is a sizeable net SPL output gain from putting in a gazillion watts and low end extension. But plug one in next to a E140 and don't go for too many lows and you probably couldn't be sure the Barefaced was plugged in.

Sensitivity is not loudness until you add watts.
 
#9,862
I think the fact that the Barefaced twelve will happily take oodles of power can make one assume it needs more power. When I first got my (used) BB2 and was using it with a Mesa 800+ I originally thought it needed more power simply because it showed no signs at all of struggling at high volume. I then used my incredibly loud Aguilar 751 and again no signs of struggling, it just got incredibly loud, way more than I needed for the gig. Bottom line is that maybe psychologically we equate lack of sensitivity with how loud a speaker can go before it starts to fart out/distort, or alternatively loud equals farting......if you know what I mean (not sure that even I do:bag: ). One thing for sure, the Barefaced 12 is not insensitive, but maybe it is part of the new approach in custom design bass speakers/cabs that belies traditional comparisons.
 
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#9,863
DrGDP said:
re: SC efficiency, I just noticed that I had to turn the volume up on the BB800 from where it was when powering a single Eden EX112 for the volume for the SC to equal that same volume. (I was surprised, I even checked with a SL meter)
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Ok, that makes sense then. Eden have historically tended to make speakers that are very high in efficiency and with relatively high harmonic distortion (which adds more loudness) but lacking in true lows and real world power handling. I wouldn't say the Super Compact goes down WAY low but if you're used to an EX112 or an Upshot I can see why you'd think that!

However it may be the case that the Super Compact is as loud or louder than the EX112 in the pistonic region but because the mids are more accurate without humps in response or distortion, it neither sounds as loud or measures as loud with a meter (SPL meters aren't great for measuring bass guitar SPL honestly).
 
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#9,864
Alex is correct. The Ex112 to my ears has a peak around 200 Hz and around 2KHz, and doesn't go as low as SC. The SC is flat. That louder peak may make it sound louder, and probably measure louder also (although I did use C weighting). And of course that loudness is achieved with some distortion! Again, can't compare the two. As far as the way low, I would imagine Alex's driver in a larger cab would go even lower, but I am very happy with where the SC is for my use.
 
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#9,865
DrGDP said:
Alex is correct. The Ex112 to my ears has a peak around 200 Hz and around 2KHz, and doesn't go as low as SC. The SC is flat. That louder peak may make it sound louder, and probably measure louder also (although I did use C weighting). And of course that loudness is achieved with some distortion! Again, can't compare the two. As far as the way low, I would imagine Alex's driver in a larger cab would go even lower, but I am very happy with where the SC is for my use.
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Well, I for one, am happy we got this all ironed out. :D
 
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#9,868
I agree. We were just talking about a small position difference in the volume knob which in the overall scheme of things is immaterial. After all, we are just making a string vibrate, and there are a zillion things that will affect the final sound when it is processed by our brain. Removing the speaker from that equation just makes dealing with all the rest that much easier, and the Barefaced 12 inch driver does a capital job of removing itself from the equation (a very good thing).
 
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#9,869
G Aichele said:
Interesting. I sold my 2 Ex112s after I bought my 2 SCs, for pretty much that reason ...
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I have one SC, but I've been wondering about buying a second SC for gigging flexibility, rehearsal etc. Can you give some idea of the difference you hear between one and two SCs when you have them both plugged in? Is the combination just louder? Or do you get a fuller sound even at lower volumes?
 
#9,874
remcult said:
anyone try playing a guitar through their barefaced? would I damage the cab at all at low bedroom levels? I have Big Baby II (with tweeter). I realize it's not ideal, but I have a guitar coming today and no guitar amp atm
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It's been fine for me. I don't do it often, and I have a cab sim. It's not going to get you a great classic, iconic tone, but it'll work.
 
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#9,877
remcult said:
anyone try playing a guitar through their barefaced? would I damage the cab at all at low bedroom levels? I have Big Baby II (with tweeter). I realize it's not ideal, but I have a guitar coming today and no guitar amp atm
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You won't damage anything.

Use some kind of amp/speaker simulation and you will get better results than without.

I no longer have a BB2, but the Two10. Guitar into a MarkBass LM3 or a TCE BAM200 (both bass amps) with a Two10 sound actually very good... but not without pedals. What I use is a Joyo American Sound (Fender amp simulation and speaker emulation), cheap (£35) but very nice sounding pedal, plus a little reverb (I use either a Caline Snake Bite reverb or a Joyo D-Seed delay set to 1-2 repeats with fast decay... It sounds very good. Just add any other overdrives or whatever -if you like- before the American Sound. I no longer bother using a dedicated guitar amp at home.
 
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#9,878
remcult said:
anyone try playing a guitar through their barefaced? would I damage the cab at all at low bedroom levels? I have Big Baby II (with tweeter). I realize it's not ideal, but I have a guitar coming today and no guitar amp atm
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You won't damage it at any level. Bass guitar with distortion and over intense effects is far harder on any speaker than skinny stringed guitar. King Buzzo, guitarist/vocalist/frontman for grunge legends The Melvins gigs with two Super Twins. Actually he bought two for his European rig (replacing two 4x12" guitar cabs) and then liked them so much he shipped them back to the USA and then bought two more for Europe. Hearing them for the first time at soundcheck was just epic.
 
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#9,880
alexclaber said:
You won't damage it at any level. Bass guitar with distortion and over intense effects is far harder on any speaker than skinny stringed guitar. King Buzzo, guitarist/vocalist/frontman for grunge legends The Melvins gigs with two Super Twins. Actually he bought two for his European rig (replacing two 4x12" guitar cabs) and then liked them so much he shipped them back to the USA and then bought two more for Europe. Hearing them for the first time at soundcheck was just epic.
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Wow! What head or heads does he use with them? That must have been incredible.
 

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