Customer Feedback
30/07/24 - Four10 - UK
The Four10 arrived a few days ago band on estimated wait time. I had first run though in the practice room last night.
It delivered everything I’d hoped it would. More low, more highs, more clarity but still part of a cohesive wall of sound.
It paired up really well with the Matamp and its 4x10 which was a touch duller and maybe rounder/ slower in transients (isn’t describing sound fun).
Anyway just wanted to swing by and say thanks for the patience with the advice on sound and size, it fitted perfectly in the Mercedes A200 boot :)
Chris
26/07/24 - Two10S - USA
Hi there!
I have two of your Two10 bass cabs I bought last year (no tweeter). I just purchased a new Epifani bass amp head that’s rated at 1000W @ 4 ohms. Was just curious if I can use the amp with just one of the cabs @ 4 ohms.
I don’t tend to crank the amp, I usually have the gain around 3 and turn the volume up as needed. I just didn’t want chance overloading the cab. No problem using the 2 cabs I just would use the 12 ohm switches.
Thanks in advance for your response!
Ben
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Hi Ben,
If I were you I'd just use a single cab with it switched to 12 ohms. If you find the amp is clipping and you need more headroom then switch it to 4 ohm but keep your ears open for the speakers overdriving - you can push them so they growl but don't push them into full distortion or you'll blow them. Hope they're sounding good!
Best regards,
Alex
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Great, will do, thanks for the quick reply and the useful info! The cabs are sounding great, love them!
Ben
03/06/24 - Reformer 112 + Reality 112FR - UK
Hi Alex,
For the last few years I have been learning to play an NS Design electric cello. I normally play sax/clarinet with different jazz, folk and experimental musicians, often with a PA, often with a mixture of acoustic and electric instruments, rarely at high volume or in large venues.
Now I want to try using the cello with these musicians too. The NS Design has a completely solid body and piezo pickups. My priority so far has been trying to create a core sound which is as close as possible to an acoustic cello. However, I also want to explore its great potential as an electric bowed instrument in the future. Until recently, I had long term loan of an AER amp which I used with the cello. The sound I got was quite mediocre. It improved massively with the addition of Cello IR software from a firm called 3 Sigma Audio, I run it in a TC Electronic IR loader pedal. However, the sound still remained rather dull and boxy.
I have now returned the AER to its owner and have bought a Katana 100W head. I decided on this because (1) my cello is an electric instrument, not acoustic (2) It is highly dependent on Impulse Response to create a decent acoustic sound (3) the Katana has powerful multi effects built in, modelled on classic Boss pedals, giving lots of potential to explore experimental playing.
So far, I’m very pleased with the Katana plus IR loader combination. The cello sounds a lot better using the ‘clean’ amp models (set to minimum gain) rather than the ‘acoustic’ settings - ie it’s more authentic, vibrant, dynamic. I now need to decide what to do about a speaker cab.
So far, I have tried:
1. The Katana head has a 35W 5 inch driver built in, intended for home practice. Considering its size, it sounds amazingly good, even at the lower end of the cello’s range. It has a vibrancy which the AER lacked and it produces a lot of volume, though not really the depth/richness to make it suitable for playing with other people. Bowing vigorously can produce unpleasant woomphing distortion.
2. I have a small HK Audio Polar PA. I have put the Line Out from the Katana through it and the signal is surprisingly weak, it needs a lot of boosting. Even then, the tone remains soft edged and very bass heavy. I’m sure I could improve it with some EQ work but it’s not inspiring.
3. I have tried a friend’s 1x12 cab for guitar which has a small port on the back. It’s old, unbranded, but apparently has a Celestion driver in it, I don’t know which model. The sound from this is the best I have had from anything, with lots of depth, detail and sparkle. Interestingly, I need to cut both bass and treble on the amp. The Katana has three options for modelling Cab Resonance (Vintage, Modern and Deep) and Vintage sounds the best. The sound to the rear of the cab is fairly good (due to the port, I guess) but at the sides is very weak.
All this makes me think that a 1x12 cab is what I should buy. Whilst researching different makes I came across your website and I am impressed by your approach to speaker design. In particular, I love your aim of filling a room with high quality (but not necessarily high volume) sound in the same way as happens with an acoustic instrument. I also very much want to be able to hear myself play as clearly as possible when I am with other musicians - being able to do this feels crucial on an unfretted instrument. I would greatly appreciate advice as to which of your speaker designs would best suit my needs: I read initially about the Reformer 112 and thought it sounded ideal. However, I then learnt about the Reality 112FR and suspect this might make more sense given my use of Cello IR software and the Katana?
Many thanks for your help!
Andrew
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Hi Andrew,
If you don't think this is a crazy idea, as we have a one month trial period then you could order both a Reality and a Reformer, compare them head to head and then return whichever one isn't best for you.
Alex
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Hi Alex,
It has been very interesting comparing the two side by side. They both sound very good, much better than anything else I have used and I would happily live with either of them. The differences I noticed were:
1. More powerful bass on the Reality, with enormous dynamic headroom at the bottom end. Fantastic, but actually the bass is overwhelming most of the time and I had to cut it to a minimum on the amp which seemed a shame.
2. It’s hard to put into words, but the Reality sounds a bit too refined, particularly in the low midrange where I sense a kind of stuffiness. I had a subtle feeling of there being something in between the instrument and the sound generated from it - as if the sound is artificial and coming out of a loudspeaker... a ridiculous thing to say because obviously it is exactly that, particularly as I am playing through both a cello IR and a modelling amp!! I get the same feeling (but to a greater degree) when playing through a PA - however, playing through the Reformer feels vibrant, gritty and directly connected to the instrument.
3. As you would probably expect, the sound from the Reality was more consistent at the sides and the rear of the cab than the Reformer. That’s a great bonus and I really liked it. In fact, ironically, I think the best sound of all came from sitting directly behind the cab with the tweeter full on! Maybe you need to add a second tweeter on the front...
4. I have spent a while experimenting with the tone controls and can get the Reality feeling quite similar to the Reformer. That tempts me to choose the Reality and I imagine it’s possible that careful tweaking with a parametric EQ might completely solve the issues of excessive bass, stuffiness and feeling distanced. However, I don’t have the experience to do that quickly or to know if it’s really achievable. It would also feel a bit perverse to be needing to manipulate the EQ in sophisticated ways. So, I think I’m choosing the Reformer because it feels straightforward, honest, connected, vibrant.
Hope this all makes sense. I’m interested to know how my experience compares with that of anyone else using your cabs with modelling amps and instruments other than electric guitars…
Kind regards,
21/03/24 - Three10T - Spain
I just unpacked my Three10 and sounds incredible, thank you so much for the effort to deliver it on time, I’m sure it will comb some heads on the following days.
Sergi
06/06/24 - One10T - USA
Hey there Alex and Tom and Isaac and the Barefaced team!
I ordered a One10T from you in 2022 and it is spectacular. I am finally ready to order a companion One10 (without the tweeter) to go with it. I have 2 questions:
1. I'm wondering about production time in general, since last time I ordered custom tolex and grill cloth, and this time I'm just going to order a straight up black tolex/silver grill cloth combo -- wondering if that will make it a little faster...?
2. Wondering if you all still use FedEx International Priority for orders from the US...? Last time I had to have you send it to a FedEx office location since our local delivery guy likes to leave packages out on the street. Happy to go through that process again, but just wondering if that's changed.
Thank you so much! I am so proud to be a Barefaced artist -- I can't do a single show without people asking me about my cab and where it comes from. (It's especially amusing if I let them pick it up.) Hope you all are good over there.
Looking forward to cab #2!
Wil
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Hi Wil,
Here's the current lead times: https://barefacedaudio.
We use DHL nowadays, they've been much better than FedEx!
Glad you're loving the cab so much and glad people are noticing!
Best regards,
Alex
11/07/24 - One10 - Denmark
Hi,
I’ve been using the cab for 2 concerts, and before the third one it has started to make a sort of loud electrical/digital distortion when I play? The noise is not constant, only when I play a note, and is as loud as the note I play, så it gets louder if I turn up the volume (vice versa).
I’ve been trying to connect different amps heads to different instruments, so the issue is in the cab.
Do you have any idea what it could be, and how we can fix it?
Nicolai
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Hi Nicolai,
Sorry to hear about this! Could you check through this page and report back?
https://barefacedaudio.com/
Best regards,
Alex
20/07/24 - Reformer 112 + Activier - Canada
Hi Alex & Team- I bought a Reformer 112 last year and am loving it!
At the time you didn't have the Activer amp for sale, but now I see it's available from the site. Is it possible to mount this to an existing Reformer or does it need to be part of the build?
If the latter, can I simply mount it with Dual Lock, etc. to fit.
Thanks,
Jason
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Hi Jason,
Unfortunately the Activier can't be retrofitted as you need a larger hole in the AVD and there's not a lot of tolerance on the cut so I wouldn't want to try to do it by hand on a cab that's already been built. Obviously you can use your current cab as an extension cab or stereo slave cab with an Activier Reformer. Glad you're loving your cab!
Best regards,
Alex
23/07/24 - Reality + Activier - Australia
I just received my 2 Reality cabs. One with the Activier fitted as well as the 2nd passive cab.
Do I assume input 1 on the Activier is already connected to the speaker inside the active cab?
I ask because I noticed there are speaker outs on the active cab labelled output 1 and 2 so I am confused what speaker output 1 is used for.
There is no diagram or document explaining the way to connect a stereo setup so I want to be sure I don't damage anything doing it incorrectly.
Also on the passive cab what is the 2nd speaker input used for? Do I assume the left input is the one connected to the speaker?
Lastly the passive cab has the tweeter adjustment but there is no similar knob on the active cab but there are the tweeter pad switches on the Activier.
Depending which pad setting I use (-3db, -6 or -9) how do I make sure the passive speaker tweeter knob is matching? Where do I set the knob for -3, -6 and -9 settings?
Oh and there was a document in the box saying something about a low cut switch which I can't find. I assume that switch isn't relevant for the Reality cabs?
Cheers,
Andrew
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Hi Andrew,
Apologies, I have yet to find the time to write a user guide for the Activier!
Output 1 on the Activier Reality is already connected to the internal speaker. Speaker output 1 can be used to add an extension cab on that channel (each power amp channel will run down to 2 ohms) or if someone has chosen the optional passive input then we don't connect output 1 internally and instead the speaker output on the Activier module is connected to a passive input plate (like on your other Reality) via an external speakon lead (a short jumper cable about 6"/15cm long).
The two inputs on the passive Reality are both in parallel, so you can daisy-chain a second cab by using one as an output.
Regarding the rotary L-pad vs the switchable one, as both cabs will be in different places in the room they shouldn't be set the same but should be adjusted so they sound roughly the same (they'll rarely sound identical because of the differing room acoustics). I'd probably start with the pad at -3 or -6 and the rotary knob turned down about half to a quarter.
Yes, that thing about the low cut switch is for the non-FRFR - definitely need an FRFR + Activier user guide! Please email any questions you have, however silly they may seem. Off the top of my head, the only thing you shouldn't do is connect output 1 to output 2 or the outputs to any inputs. Normal stereo active + passive slave cab configuration is one side of signal chain to input 1, other side of signal chain to input 2, output 2 to passive Reality and that should be it - two 1/4" leads to the Activier module and one speakon lead from the Activier to the passive Reality.
Let us know how they sound!
Best regards,
Alex
19/07/24 - Three10 - USA
Yo Alex bought a Three10 and love it. My current head can go to 2.67 what cab(s) would you pair with it?
Joshuwa
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Hi Joshuwa,
If you're looking to pair the Three10 with another cab you could add a One10W (that's the custom version with a 10CRA) or a Two10 (8 ohm).
Best regards,
Alex
17/06/24 - Reformer 112 w/Cream - UK
I have the 1x12 Reformer with an Alnico Cream and absolutely love it.
I was wondering if any of the Celestion options would come close to the tone of a JBL D130?
Michael
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Hi Michael,
Glad you're loving it, that's a great speaker in a great cab!
The D130 is a pretty special speaker, I'm not sure there's anything really like it. I haven't heard one in person but looking at graphs I've found it looks like it has similarities to our 12XN. What sort of thing are you wanting it for?
Best regards,
Alex
17/06/24 - Big Twin 3 - UK
Hello there!
I purchased a Big Twin 3 last year & it is absolutely amazing!!
I was wondering how much a cover for it would be? Thank you very much.
John
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Hi John,
Thanks for your email. Glad you're loving the cab!
BT3 covers are £132 + £15 shipping for a total of £147.
Kind regards,
Isaac
20/06/24 - Big Twin 3 - NZ
Hi Alex
I own a BT3 that’s about 4 years old and I purchased it second hand in New Zealand.
I also own a newer BT3 I got off you late last year (awesome cabs the best I reckon)
Anyway its annoying me now but the older BT3 sometimes randomly as I am using it at high Volume during practice it gives a terrible buzz distorted noise for about 10 second and then sounds normal. I did email you almost a year ago but cannot find that email.
I have tested the drivers with an Ohm meter and they both read around 5.9 Ohms and the driver cones move without any noise and the centre speaker cone cap is secure. I am sure the drivers are fine. All connections seem fine.
I don’t know if the horn speaker is the issue ?? or the circuit board ?? where the speaker lead plugs into.
I have tried a new bass lead, speaker lead, separate bass and no change. I am assuming its the board ??, can you advice me first and let me know what you think ?? and price a board with shipping for me please. Sometimes it will just be normal sounding for about 3 practice events and just yesterday it played up so its random.
Thanks
Kershaw
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Hi Kershaw,
Sorry to hear about this fault! The best way to test the problem is to swap the modules between the cabs, so either swap the crossover/backplate module between the cabs or swap the HF driver and then swap the woofers too. If the fault moves with the component that's moved, then you know that's what's faulty (or it's that connection causing an issue). I presume the older cab is a BT2, not BT3? The only difference in the components is the crossover was redesigned to give more max treble on the BT3 but they can be swapped back and forth just fine.
There's a how-to playlist on our youtube to explain how to take grills off, speakers out, etc. Definitely watch that first and note how t-nuts behave, otherwise they can cause big problems. Email us for help if/before you get stuck!
Best regards,
Alex
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