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Shopping Barefaced. Advice needed

Mo cowbell

Mo cowbell

Mar 2, 2017
370
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Colorado
#1
Looking at trying a Barefaced cabinet. Not gigging currently but want something to go with a GK head and in the future add another cab if the need arises.

What I am wondering is if anyone could advise between these 3:

Super Compact

Big Baby II

Two 10

Thoughts?
 
#4
They love to answer questions like that at the company. I play rock, and take a poor stab at jazz, reggae and funk and use a Super Twin which is like two Super Compacts so my characterization describes the SC. It's fast and flat in its sensible frequency response. My personal tone can be a little bratty which this accentuates; that's ok. The mids are not laid back. It takes EQ. 500w is more than enough volume to gig with (as 300 would be with the SC at 8 ohms) but it puts out a lot more depth and low end feel with more power. In retrospect I probably didn't need more than the Super Compact.
 
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#5
The BB2 is going to put out the most sound and the biggest lows. The compression driver is nice if you run a clean tone and want sparkle. If you’re running a moderate amount of dirt, you’ll want to roll it down most of the way to avoid harsh clipping.

The SC is like a BB2 with the compression driver rolled back, and less depth in the lows (but still plenty). It’s an easier carrier at the lighter weight and smaller dimensions. My SC felt a little congested in the mids until it broke in, and I was able to find some EQ settings that worked for me. After that it was great. I loved it with a Mesa Buster head.

With the BB2 and SC you’ll benefit from having a cab sim or good set of midrange EQ options. They sound good without these, but having the EQ options opens up the flexibility. They get comparably loud IME.

Two10 will get in the same volume range. It sounds great just plugging an amp in. You’ll have a solid “traditional” cab voice right there and ready to go. You can EQ a SC or BB2 to sound similar to a Two10, but you can’t go the other way with the Two10 (not easily).

Unless you need the deep lows or sparkling highs, the BB2 might be more than you need. The other two still get plenty deep and bright for most players. I use a BB2 pair as a PA system, along with a stereo power amp.
 
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#7
I have and play an almost new BB2, and also have an older but much-loved GK MB 150E-III, that I still use when I need super portability and low volume (eg: gigs with acoustic bands). I play the BB2 with an Ampeg PF500 in a loud jazz/funk/blues band and I love it for indoor gigs. It's 29lbs, handles an insane amount of power, gets plenty of volume and sounds brilliant the whole time. Our drummer is very loud and it keeps up easily. You can dial in how much high frequency content you want as well, with a control that shifts the crossover point to the Faital HF driver. I've gotten really positive comments from bandmates and folks who've heard it without PA support at some small places we play. Read through TB to hear other folks' perspectives: -- it's not cheap, but it really delivers.

My advice is to contact Alex at Barefaced and describe what you need. A big benefit of it being a small company is that you can communicate directly with someone who really knows and cares about the product, and another benefit is that your money goes more directly to them. Good luck!

Edit: Just saw your post above. Good choice! Icing on the cake :) Enjoy it!!
 
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#9
Howdy Mo,
I also have the GK MB 150E III, and while it's a great little combo amp, I too wanted a bit more, so after talking to Alex, I ordered the BB2. Wow, what a great cab!!! And get this, the BB2 actually sounds great using the amp in the GK MB 150E III, either with the internal speaker in the amp turned ON or OFF.

However, I did end up purchasing a separate amp, the Quilter BB800, and it's been a perfect match for the BB2. In any case, enjoy your new cab. It will sound great right out of the box, but gets even better after you break it in for awhile.
 
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#10
triode6L6a said:
Howdy Mo,
I also have the GK MB 150E III, and while it's a great little combo amp, I too wanted a bit more, so after talking to Alex, I ordered the BB2. Wow, what a great cab!!! And get this, the BB2 actually sounds great using the amp in the GK MB 150E III, either with the internal speaker in the amp turned ON or OFF.

However, I did end up purchasing a separate amp, the Quilter BB800, and it's been a perfect match for the BB2. In any case, enjoy your new cab. It will sound great right out of the box, but gets even better after you break it in for awhile.
Click to expand...


My friend that I bought the MB from used it almost exclusively back in the day in a hard rock band. I think I used it with a Hartke 410. Worked for almost all gigs. Anyway, my plan is to use the MB and let my desire for a Fusion to fester.
 
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#11
Mo cowbell said:
Thanks.

Amazing. I emailed them and Alex responded immediately. A few back and forth emails and within minutes I ordered the BB2. I explained I have never cared for horns or tweets but he confirmed what DrDav told me....theirs are way better than others. Thanks again for your thoughts. Helps to validate my purchase! Play on!
Click to expand...

Theirs is very good. Even if you don’t use the compression driver, the larger cab dimensions will beef up the lows and output.
Enjoy!
 
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