Double Bass Ultimate DB Cab (or amp) Shootout, Anyone?

[Ric Vice]

My most exciting purchase in the last 6 months or so has been the Grace Design FELIX pre. I paid full price for it, so no dodgey endorsement or sly marketing of my own stuff here!

+1 As did I, I just finished a gig last night with Roseanna Vitro, and the Felix made all the difference in the world. The sound you can get with this preamp is as Mike Arnopol best put it "my bass sound but better. What I mean by that is, if were lucky, and I truly am, our instrument sounds beautiful acoustically. What the Grace Felix does, is allow the player to get very close to the natural sound of the Double Bass in a variety of different rooms, with varying acoustics. I saved my pennies, from nearly 6 months of working various gigs and jobs, making a significant investement in the Grace Felix. With my Mirecourt Bass, the Ehrlund Pickup, and the Grace Felix Preamp it's payed off. So in my case, it isn't so much a function of the cabinet, which I have two main ones, as it is the Bass, Pickup, and Preamp.

Ric

 

[rickwolff]

ANOTHER CONTENDER ?? Review of Barefaced One 10

Barefaced Bass - One 10

Rick,

I continue to love this speaker and have found it to be the best small speaker I've ever owned for double bass--at least for my double bass which is a LaScala Hybrid with Evah Pirazzi strings, and a Rev2 Solo pickup played through either an AI Focus S. III or an older AI Clarus XL. It is compact and fits easily in a Deluxe Cajon bag with an amp, and weighs only 16 pounds. It has a fat, quite traditional sound and I often take a little off the bottom with the HighPass filter of the Focus or my HPFPre when using the Clarus XL although there is plenty enough top end in the single speaker to put some air in the double bass. It sounds particularly good when you want just a little amplification to fill in the bottom notes, like when playing with an unamplified acoustic pianist. However, it can put out plenty of volume and I've used it as my only piece of equipment playing with a reasonably loud, 17-piece big band. I've also been rehearsing with a three-horn, 4 rhythm band being put together by the vocalist/guitarist leader that plays a mixture of swingy stuff (think Michael Buble) as well as older rock & roll like Gerry Rafferty for which I play bass guitar. The One10 is plenty loud enough for the rehearsals and I've been asked to turn down--which actually kind of bugged me. Assuming we have PA support at the performances the One10 should be plenty for performances as well.

This past weekend I had four Rat Pack theatre show one-night stands and while I have used the One10 as my on-stage monitor with this group before, this weekend I wasn't confident about the quality of the sound crews we would be using and I elected to take my Barefaced Big Baby 2 instead. The BB2 has 1 12-inch speaker and a horn tweeter in a ported cabinet that weighs 29 pounds and is relatively easy to handle. This ended up being a good decision as the sound monkey lost all of the monitor mixes between the sound check and the performance so that I had no sound in my monitor, and I was playing next to a loud drummer and with 5 loud horn players behind 3 high volume vocalists with side-fills. I had the volume knobs on my Focus set at about Noon and 1:30, and needed this much power to hear myself and not overplay. I think the One10 might have been pushed a bit too hard for this. BTW, God only knows what the people in the audience were getting?!!

Previous small speakers I have used include a couple of Wizzy10's, the really early Euphonic Audio speakers whose numbers I can't remember, a Schroeder 110, a GK MB150X, a fibreglass Crazy 8, an Acme B-1 (the BF One10 puts out way more volume than the Acme) and my AI Ten2EX speaker that I still own and use occasionally for duo or trio gigs with no drummer although the much lighter weight of the BF One10 keeps drawing me back to it.

Hope this is helpful.

Erik Hansen aka Lownote
Edinburgh, Scotland

I got a One 10 about a month ago and am loving it. Louder than the EA CLX10, slow to feedback, and very, very light. Musical. Pretty amazing.

Steven

 

[Ric Vice]

ANOTHER CONTENDER ?? Review of Barefaced One 10

Barefaced Bass - One 10

While I'm sure the Barefaced 1x10 is a great cabinet, it's only a single component in a signal chain. A signal chain, can be as simple as a single pickup into a little GK MBS combo and sound remarkable. There are more refined setups of course, but there not as easily obtained.

Ric

 

[rickwolff]

While I'm sure the Barefaced 1x10 is a great cabinet, it's only a single component in a signal chain. A signal chain, can be as simple as a single pickup into a little GK MBS combo and sound remarkable. There are more refined setups of course, but there not as easily obtained.

Ric

I couldn't disagree, Ric. However, as this thread was meant to elicit comments on that particular part of the signal chain I find Lownote's (Erik's) reply very worthwhile and enlightening. Especially so, as he mentioned a number of other great rigs he has owned and used. The fact that the One 10 is, in Erik's opinion, a rather exceptional piece of 'kit', the fact that it is only 16 pounds and $500 (including shipping - which, to me, seems very reasonable for a 'botique' cab) make this cab very tempting.

I also found the following comment of Erik's to be nicely descriptive: It has a fat, quite traditional sound and I often take a little off the bottom with the HighPass filter of the Focus or my HPFPre when using the Clarus XL although there is plenty enough top end in the single speaker to put some air in the double bass.

 

[Ric Vice]

I couldn't disagree, Ric. However, as this thread was meant to elicit comments on that particular part of the signal chain I find Lownote's (Erik's) reply very worthwhile and enlightening. Especially so, as he mentioned a number of other great rigs he has owned and used. The fact that the One 10 is, in Erik's opinion, a rather exceptional piece of 'kit', the fact that it is only 16 pounds and $500 (including shipping - which, to me, seems very reasonable for a 'botique' cab) make this cab very tempting.

Rick,
Absolutely, I had a very interesing conversation with Alex about the Barefaced 10. I liked it's form/factor and compact design. What keeps me from getting one is the all the issues with service, when shipping the unit back to the UK, if, god forbid, if the cabinet had to be repaired. It's a PITA, no ones fault mind you, but, I've had to deal with this issue recently and I'm just not willing to do it agian.


Ric

 

[alexclaber]

Rick,
Absolutely, I had a very interesing conversation with Alex about the Barefaced 10. I liked it's form/factor and compact design. What keeps me from getting one is the all the issues with service, when shipping the unit back to the UK, if, god forbid, if the cabinet had to be repaired. It's a PITA, no ones fault mind you, but, I've had to deal with this issue recently and I'm just not willing to do it agian.

There isn't a lot to go wrong with a One10! There's a speaker and a box and that's it. We test everything before it ships but occasionally a woofer fault shows up after testing in the first few hours of use, in which case we ship a replacement speaker for our customer to swap in. Amazingly we haven't yet had a single 10CR driver need a warranty replacement or be blown - that can't continue for ever but from a few hundred speakers that's pretty good going! I can't honestly see what else could go wrong that requires repairing.

 

[Ric Vice]

There isn't a lot to go wrong with a One10! There's a speaker and a box and that's it. We test everything before it ships but occasionally a woofer fault shows up after testing in the first few hours of use, in which case we ship a replacement speaker for our customer to swap in. Amazingly we haven't yet had a single 10CR driver need a warranty replacement or be blown - that can't continue for ever but from a few hundred speakers that's pretty good going! I can't honestly see what else could go wrong that requires repairing.

Alex,
Good to know, and thanks for your response. The issue for me isn't the quality of your builds or your exempilary service record, that goes without saying. I've just decided to avoid any issues buy purchasing equiptment that can be repaired or replaced in the U.S. Just my take. If I lived in the U.K. or Europe, I'd likely be playing through a Barefaced cabinet.

Ric

 

[rickwolff]

There isn't a lot to go wrong with a One10! There's a speaker and a box and that's it. We test everything before it ships but occasionally a woofer fault shows up after testing in the first few hours of use, in which case we [would]ship a replacement speaker for our customer to swap in. Amazingly we haven't yet had a single 10CR driver need a warranty replacement or be blown - that can't continue for ever but from a few hundred speakers that's pretty good going! I can't honestly see what else could go wrong that requires repairing.

Alex, thank you. That was my thinking and I appreciate you verification.

By the way, Alex, I'd like to offer to start a 'traveling DEMO' for the Barefaced One10. I did this a couple years ago when Headway came out with some very nice new gear and it was very successful in getting much wider and quicker exposure to a lot of us here on TalkBass who were interested in the gear. Here is the link to that 'Traveling Demo' thread: New EDB-2 and EDM-1 from Headway For Trial

It seems to me that shipping on a 16 pound (app 8 kilo) speaker would not be prohibitive (certainly not for someone, like me, who is interested in experiencing this gear 'first hand'. The way the Headway 'Demo' worked is that I tried it for a week or two, then I paid to ship it to the next TB member who was interested in reviewing it. And on and on until finally it was shipped back to the distributor.

Each of us who demoed the units wrote up our experiences here on TB, and I think it's fair to say that our largely positive reactions generated a lot of buzz (and it was a lot of fun and a way for some of us to get to know each other (online) a lot better.

Let me know if you would be interested. I'd be happy to get this rolling.

Rick

 

[PaperbackRyder]

Alex, thank you. That was my thinking and I appreciate you verification.

By the way, Alex, I'd like to offer to start a 'traveling DEMO' for the Barefaced One10.

Rick

I'll sign up for that!
=JR=

 

[peterpalmieri]

I used to use my doubler with a wizzy for small gigs and bring a vl208 to bigger gigs. I find for the small grab and go gigs my GK combo does just fine. As Aric mentioned all in one no fooling around. I Velcro my Fdeck HPF to my tailpiece and I've got all the conveniences of a modern slab with an active pre without getting off my stool. Bigger gigs I still have a bunch of combo options. Not sure I'd play the game of mismatching separates again.

 

[rickwolff]

I'll sign up for that!

=JR=

ALEX????????

 

[Ric Vice]

I find for the small grab and go gigs my GK combo does just fine. As Aric mentioned all in one no fooling around. I Velcro my Fdeck HPF to my tailpiece and I've got all the conveniences of a modern slab with an active pre without getting off my stool. Bigger gigs I still have a bunch of combo options. Not sure I'd play the game of mismatching separates again.

Peter,
Almost the same for me as well. I have a QSC K8/Grace Felix combo for the small stuff. Actually, I often take it along on as backline, for concerts with decent FOH as well. For the big stuff, I have a Grace Felix Preamp/M700/Audiokinesis TC 112, but, that only comes out for rooms without decent FOH.

 

[dukeorock]

My Grace Felix comes to every gig

 

[Ric Vice]

My Grace Felix comes to every gig

As they say, "don't leave home without it"

 

[Roger Davis]

Ah, it seems Felix will beckon in the New Year. In anticipation of that I'm interested to know how the QSC K8 compares to the equivalent Mackie. I had a K10 once and, apart from being a bit heavy for a ten, I thought it may have lacked some warmth. But that was with a Headway and not a Felix.

What do you guys prefer?

 

[Ric Vice]

Ah, it seems Felix will beckon in the New Year. In anticipation of that I'm interested to know how the QSC K8 compares to the equivalent Mackie. I had a K10 once and, apart from being a bit heavy for a ten, I thought it may have lacked some warmth. But that was with a Headway and not a Felix.

What do you guys prefer?

Roger,
Well, for me personally the QSC K8 is an issue of portability, not high fidelity. Since I already owned the QSC, I just continued to use it with the Felix. There is however, a distinct improvement in tone quality with that paring. That said, there are EQ options offered on the DLM8/12 that aren't avaliable on the QSC K8/10. To me their redundant, but you might benefit from having them.

Ric

P.S. The QSC K8 sounds quite good for it's size.

 

[alexclaber]

Alex, thank you. That was my thinking and I appreciate you verification.

By the way, Alex, I'd like to offer to start a 'traveling DEMO' for the Barefaced One10. I did this a couple years ago when Headway came out with some very nice new gear and it was very successful in getting much wider and quicker exposure to a lot of us here on TalkBass who were interested in the gear. Here is the link to that 'Traveling Demo' thread: New EDB-2 and EDM-1 from Headway For Trial

It seems to me that shipping on a 16 pound (app 8 kilo) speaker would not be prohibitive (certainly not for someone, like me, who is interested in experiencing this gear 'first hand'. The way the Headway 'Demo' worked is that I tried it for a week or two, then I paid to ship it to the next TB member who was interested in reviewing it. And on and on until finally it was shipped back to the distributor.

Each of us who demoed the units wrote up our experiences here on TB, and I think it's fair to say that our largely positive reactions generated a lot of buzz (and it was a lot of fun and a way for some of us to get to know each other (online) a lot better.

Let me know if you would be interested. I'd be happy to get this rolling.

Rick

I like the sound of this! We did a similar thing with the original Compact in the UK (but being a smaller country it went hand-to-hand instead of needing shipping). However, we're very short on the 10CR drivers at the moment (to precise we have none, though we're expecting a batch next week but almost all are already allocated to orders) so I think we'll have to wait until February. Do you want to start a thread about it to organise who's going to be trying it?

 

[rickwolff]

From previous post: By the way, Alex, I'd like to offer to start a 'traveling DEMO' for the Barefaced One10. I did this a couple years ago when Headway came out with some very nice new gear and it was very successful in getting much wider and quicker exposure to a lot of us here on TalkBass who were interested in the gear. Here is the link to that 'Traveling Demo' thread: New EDB-2 and EDM-1 from Headway For Trial

It seems to me that shipping on a 16 pound (app 8 kilo) speaker would not be prohibitive (certainly not for someone, like me, who is interested in experiencing this gear 'first hand'. The way the Headway 'Demo' worked is that I tried it for a week or two, then I paid to ship it to the next TB member who was interested in reviewing it. And on and on until finally it was shipped back to the distributor.

Each of us who demoed the units wrote up our experiences here on TB, and I think it's fair to say that our largely positive reactions generated a lot of buzz (and it was a lot of fun and a way for some of us to get to know each other (online) a lot better.

Let me know if you would be interested. I'd be happy to get this rolling.

I like the sound of this! We did a similar thing with the original Compact in the UK (but being a smaller country it went hand-to-hand instead of needing shipping). However, we're very short on the 10CR drivers at the moment (to precise we have none, though we're expecting a batch next week but almost all are already allocated to orders) so I think we'll have to wait until February. Do you want to start a thread about it to organise who's going to be trying it?

Alex, That's great!

I'm really looking forward to this demo.

If I'm any example, bassists have short memories so let's wait until you're ready to ship before I start the 'official' sign-up thread.

That said, this thread has had over 6000 views, so ANYONE WHO HAS READ ABOUT THIS 'DEMO' HERE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME (LET'S DO THIS IN TB MSG - 'START A CONVERSATION'). ANYONE WHO CONTACTS ME WITH INTEREST WILL GO ON THE LIST IN ORDER RECEIVED. I will contact you again when I receive the cab to make sure you are still interested - Keep in my that YOU WILL PAY SHIPPING TO THE NEXT PERSON ON THE LIST, although at less than 20 pounds it shouldn't be too much. I will check into that prior to starting the 'Sign-Up Thread' closer to February.

 

[alexclaber]

Alex, That's great!

I'm really looking forward to this demo.

If I'm any example, bassists have short memories so let's wait until you're ready to ship before I start the 'official' sign-up thread.

That said, this thread has had over 6000 views, so ANYONE WHO HAS READ ABOUT THIS 'DEMO' HERE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME (LET'S DO THIS IN TB MSG - 'START A CONVERSATION'). ANYONE WHO CONTACTS ME WITH INTEREST WILL GO ON THE LIST IN ORDER RECEIVED. I will contact you again when I receive the cab to make sure you are still interested - Keep in my that YOU WILL PAY SHIPPING TO THE NEXT PERSON ON THE LIST, although at less than 20 pounds it shouldn't be too much. I will check into that prior to starting the 'Sign-Up Thread' closer to February.

Do you think it's worth us making a tiny lightweight flightcase for it, so there's no hassle with boxes and minimal risk of shipping damage? That would increase the shipping weight a bit but not that much.

 

[Roger Davis]

Roger,
Well, for me personally the QSC K8 is an issue of portability, not high fidelity. Since I already owned the QSC, I just continued to use it with the Felix. There is however, a distinct improvement in tone quality with that paring. That said, there are EQ options offered on the DLM8/12 that aren't avaliable on the QSC K8/10. To me their redundant, but you might benefit from having them.

Ric

P.S. The QSC K8 sounds quite good for it's size.

That's helpful, Ric. Certainly with a Felix all the eq stuff is a bit redundant and could even be a bit confusing - to me anyway. I had a problem with the K10 because I was using the Headway Mk 1 which wasn't a full two channel job and the gearing on the second, the pickup wasn't helpful. So I'll have a good look at the 8. Thanks.