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Warwick Hellborg High-End Bass Amps

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What you want me to tell you? That the Barefaced was less sensitive to the same Power and was Dark with no mids with just lows and Highs, that's maybe what you wanted to know.....
The BF cabs with 10" drivers have more of a vintage voicing, you should compare the Helborg cabs with the BFs with 12" drivers - apples and apples.
 
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Barefaced publicity campaign is full of lies and false technical specs

Hi! First things first. I see from your profile that you’re new here. Love your avatar. I need to try that next time I fly with an instrument. Welcome to Talkbass. :):thumbsup:

Ok. To business. I’d appreciate hearing your evidence to support your accusations of false advertising and deception on the part of Barefaced Ltd.

Just to avoid any possible misunderstandings in advance, I have zero affiliation with Barefaced Ltd. I’m also neither a Barefaced owner nor have I ever considered buying one. I’m simply curious what factual basis you have for making an accusation of fraud and deceptive practices against that company - both of which, if true, risk legal penalties - as do false accusations.
 
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I had the Preamp and the Mono 500. Never tried the cabs, because Ive already found the cabs I love and nothing would convince me that there was some magical difference created above and beyond the nirvana I already had to be worth the money... although they LOOK sweet. btw.. I kinda suspected the problems the OP mentioned with the two drivers in the same enclosure.

Anyway... I need and use huge power. I like having 750 or more available watts when it comes to solid state, or 300 for tubes. I dont go stupid loud, but i love the authority to the notes, especially the low ones that it lends. I found the Mono 500 to be like any other 500 watt amp, just barely short of what I need in practical use. The Preamp though was amazing. However, it eventually passed on to another because while it was enamoring, it didnt fit my live needs and I only have soooo many available gear dollars and if something doesnt see the stage regularly it gets sold no matter how much i love it. It was probably the most audiophile, pristine, clean tone Ive ever had. (strangely, a $500 Ashdown Mark King was quite close). Some hear those words and think "sterile". It definitely wasnt. It had a rich bell like tone with any good bass. I realized quickly though that given the choice between it and either of my Reiner preamps to take to a show that the Hellborg would lose every time. But you cant front on a beautifully crafted tube preamp. Its just not a fair comparison. I cant say enough praise of the Reiners, but thats a topic for a different thread.

ps... Ive got about a dozen sets of Hellborg strings in reserve. I absolutely LOOOOOOOOVE those. soooo good.
 
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Ive got about a dozen sets of Hellborg strings in reserve. I absolutely LOOOOOOOOVE those. soooo good.

I’ve got those on one bass, and I’ve tried them on a few others. ‘Different’ is the word I’d use to describe them.They definitely have a their own sound and feel. Something you’ll either like or you won’t. If you’re into chording, or ‘art metal’ and similar genres you’ll probably like them a lot. For other genres I think there are better choices when it comes to strings. But that’s just me. Like anything when it comes to bass - YMMV. :)
 
Hi! First things first. I see from your profile that you’re new here. Love your avatar. I need to try that next time I fly with an instrument. Welcome to Talkbass. :):thumbsup:

Ok. To business. I’d appreciate hearing your evidence to support your accusations of false advertising and deception on the part of Barefaced Ltd.

Just to avoid any possible misunderstandings in advance, I have zero affiliation with Barefaced Ltd. I’m also neither a Barefaced owner nor have I ever considered buying one. I’m simply curious what factual basis you have for making an accusation of fraud and deceptive practices against that company - both of which, if true, risk legal penalties - as do false accusations.

Its easier to prove their false Claims than my False accusations.....

But they are not lying when they say that they are the lightest because they are.....

I'm so sorry BF lovers to hurt your sensible hearts...

It's not only them, but most manufacturers that talk about the wonders of their products are also lying, even Warwick with the Hellborg System that is the subject of this thread and not BF.

So please not more BF Bull**it in here.
 
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I had the Preamp and the Mono 500. Never tried the cabs, because Ive already found the cabs I love and nothing would convince me that there was some magical difference created above and beyond the nirvana I already had to be worth the money... although they LOOK sweet. btw.. I kinda suspected the problems the OP mentioned with the two drivers in the same enclosure.

Anyway... I need and use huge power. I like having 750 or more available watts when it comes to solid state, or 300 for tubes. I dont go stupid loud, but i love the authority to the notes, especially the low ones that it lends. I found the Mono 500 to be like any other 500 watt amp, just barely short of what I need in practical use. The Preamp though was amazing. However, it eventually passed on to another because while it was enamoring, it didnt fit my live needs and I only have soooo many available gear dollars and if something doesnt see the stage regularly it gets sold no matter how much i love it. It was probably the most audiophile, pristine, clean tone Ive ever had. (strangely, a $500 Ashdown Mark King was quite close). Some hear those words and think "sterile". It definitely wasnt. It had a rich bell like tone with any good bass. I realized quickly though that given the choice between it and either of my Reiner preamps to take to a show that the Hellborg would lose every time. But you cant front on a beautifully crafted tube preamp. Its just not a fair comparison. I cant say enough praise of the Reiners, but thats a topic for a different thread.

ps... Ive got about a dozen sets of Hellborg strings in reserve. I absolutely LOOOOOOOOVE those. soooo good.
Thanks for not mentioning the bloody BF thing as many others on this thread and let's talk about Hellborg Gear.
You are right in the sense that the power amp is not very powerful and that is mainly because is more related to a Tube Amp on its output stage than to a transistor Amp because of the output transformer.
On an output transformer, you always have the same output level on any of the impedance settings 2, 4 or 8 ohms. On a transistor amp the lower the resistance of the speaker the greater the output level.
Most transistor amps power is rated at 8 ohms and then you can almost double that at 4 ohms and in some cases if they work at 2 ohms more than that.

The Hellborg Amps are designed to be feed by the high output of the Hellberg preamp and is very easy to clip the input on them but don't worry that is just to don't get any distortion and we Bass Players may want some of that so you can clip the amp a bit without any danger.

The Speaker drivers on the Hellborg Cabs are PA Speakers and not Instrument Speakers for their higher sensitivity and flatter response if you check the specs of the Celestion Bass speakers you will see a sensitivity of around 96 dB when on the Truvox series used on his cabs the sensitivity is 98-99 dB and that means almost double the volume at the same power.
 
What you want me to tell you? That the Barefaced was less sensitive to the same Power and was Dark with no mids with just lows and Highs, that's maybe what you wanted to know.....

My friend didn't get a Hellborg because is too heavy for his needs but got something else...

Or you want to know that one of the Top Bass Shops in the world doesn't sell them anymore because of poor customer service and have better and cheaper options to offer to their customers...

I opened this thread to discuss the Hellborg system but you mentioned the BF and here you got your answer...

I won't buy any of the Hellborg Gear at its original price but at this ridiculous discontinued price, there's no better option.
Well what I want to know about this A/B test is what amplifiers were used - was the same amp chain used to drive the Hellborg and the Barefaced? What bass, or basses, were used in this comparison? What kind of playing? Just pick style? Or did you test them for fingerstyle and slap too? What kind of music did you play - just rock or did you play some funk or any reggae?

We want to know the details of this comparison.
 
Well what I want to know about this A/B test is what amplifiers were used - was the same amp chain used to drive the Hellborg and the Barefaced? What bass, or basses, were used in this comparison? What kind of playing? Just pick style? Or did you test them for fingerstyle and slap too? What kind of music did you play - just rock or did you play some funk or any reggae?

We want to know the details of this comparison.

As I said in one of the first messages, my friend came to my studio with one of (Those) boxes that we connected to the Hellborg Pre and Amp that was used with the Hellborg Cab.
The basses used were Warwick streamer and Music man Stingray.

Then I went to this famous Bass Shop and tested the BF Line they had at the time among other brands and the only thing I can say is that they are light....

So please no more BF on this thread this is about the Hellborg Amps/
 
What’s the point of this thread? An ad for hellborg amps? Okay. Fine. Great. Expensive, heavy and hard to find. No, no and no.
Great sound? Sure, according to the poster. The only amps with great sound? No.
If you read the previous messages you will see that I also mentioned bad things about them...
so, no is not an advertising, just comments about them but looks like people are bored at home and want to start an argument for whatever reason...
For an expensive Amp I prefer a Mesa Boogie if that makes you happy... but if you are able to find a Hellborg System for a reasonable price, go for it as I did...
 
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The BF cabs with 10" drivers have more of a vintage voicing, you should compare the Helborg cabs with the BFs with 12" drivers - apples and apples.
This. The two cabs are designed to sound completely different from each other, so it should be no surprise that they, in fact, sound completely different. The BF sounds darker than the Hellborg - yes, of course, that's how it's designed to sound.

Vintage Voicing? Good name for a bad sound... Is that what it says on the brochure?
BF are very clear that their 10" line of cabs are designed to mimic the characteristics that people tend to like about vintage Ampeg cabs. This is no secret.

You'll find plenty of real-world opinions about BF cabs on the Barefaced club thread here; that's not marketing, that's real players who probably like different sounding cabs than you do.
 
Its easier to prove their false Claims than my False accusations.....

I'm so sorry BF lovers to hurt your sensible hearts...

It's not only them, but most manufacturers that talk about the wonders of their products are also lying, even Warwick with the Hellborg System that is the subject of this thread and not BF.

So please not more BF Bull**it in here.

If you’re unable to - are simply refusing - to answer my question, please have the decency to just say so? No need to start with ad hominem attacks calling people here Barefaced fanboys, or resort to glittering generalities in an attempt to sidestep a very simple question.

Either Barefaced is lying and making false representations about their products -or- they’re not. If they are lying there are valid technical reasons that can be pointed to that show where their claims differ from established verifiable facts. Otherwise you’re the party who’s blowing smoke and hand waving.

I don’t know how it works where you’re from. But over here where I’m sitting, the burden of proof rests squarely on the shoulders of the accuser and not the accused. We presume someone is innocent until proven guilty. So Barefaced doesn’t need to prove their innocence. It’s you that needs to prove they’re guilty of what you’re accusing them of.

If you’re unwilling or unable to do that then there’s nothing else germane you can say in response. I don’t intend to go back and forth trading barbs with you on this. So with all due respect: “either put up or shut up” as the saying goes.

Otherwise let’s just drop it, ok? :)
 
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If you’re unable to - are simply refusing - to answer my question, please have the decency to just say so? No need to start with ad hominem attacks calling people here Barefaced fanboys, or resort to glittering generalities in an attempt to sidestep a very simple question.

Either Barefaced is lying and making false representations about their products -or- they’re not. If they are lying there are valid technical reasons that can be pointed to that show where their claims differ from established verifiable facts. Otherwise you’re the party who’s blowing smoke and hand waving.

I don’t know how it works where you’re from. But over here where I’m sitting, the burden of proof rests squarely on the shoulders of the accuser and not the accused. We presume someone is innocent until proven guilty. So Barefaced doesn’t need to prove their innocence. It’s you that needs to prove they’re guilty of what you’re accusing them of.

If you’re unwilling or unable to do that then there’s nothing else germane you can say in response. I don’t intend to go back and forth trading barbs with you on this. So with all due respect: “either put up or shut up” as the saying goes.

Otherwise let’s just drop it, ok? :)
Report me then...
 
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