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Barefaced Bass - Ultra lightweight high power bass guitar speaker cabinets

Reformer 112 / 110W

Regular price £399.00 £599.00 Sale

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We believe this is the most significant guitar cab launched since the original Marshall 4x12”. A bold claim indeed!

But listening is believing - the revolutionary patented AVD enclosure lets you hear the true sound from the speaker, uncluttered by internal reflections or cancellations like traditional closed or open-backed cabs. And from the back of the cab the AVD does even more, filling the room with yet more natural tone.

We may have transformed the cabinet itself with our unique Barefaced AVD design but we refuse to discard the loudspeaker heritage that’s the basis of most great guitar sounds - electric guitars need that tonal shaping, character and vibe which comes from the inherent sonic colour of classic speaker designs. The Reformer 112 has an iconic Celestion Vintage 30 12" 60W loudspeaker as standard and more cosmetic choices. And if the Vintage 30 isn’t your ideal sound, you can have any Celestion guitar 12” as a customisation, including all the Alnico models.

We now also offer a custom 1x10" version of this cab, the Reformer 110W - for guitarists who want the tone of a 10" but in a larger enclosure than our Upsetter 110. Also, if you want a wider/larger 1x12" guitar cab, we now have the Usurper 112W and the Radical 112SW custom models to choose from, which are the same sizes as our 2x10" and 2x12" models respectively.

This 1x12” cab has as big a sound as 2x12" cabs loaded with similar speakers because the AVD uses both sides of the cone, front and back, to fill the room with tone. Despite the massive sound the weight is absolutely not massive - thanks to our unique design and construction methods this is the lightest gig-tough 12” guitar enclosure ever made!

Specifications

Stock - V30

Custom - Minimum Custom - Maximum
Dimensions
(H x W x D)
40cm x 45cm x 31cm
16" x 18" x 12"
Weight 10 kg / 22 lbs 7 kg / 15 lbs (Neo Creamback / Copperback)
Enclosure design AVD
RMS power handling 60W 25W (G12M Greenback) 250W (Neo 250 Copperback)
Nominal Impedance 8 ohm 4 ohm (Neo 250 Copperback only) 16 ohm
Stock speaker Celestion Vintage 30 20+ Celestion twelves as custom choices Or unloaded for a 12" you already own and love

Features

  • Innovative internal design - Barefaced AVD enclosure for superior audibility, efficiency and power handling
  • Low-cut filter toggle switch
  • Choose from the entire range of Celestion 12" speakers. The iconic Celestion Vintage 30 fitted as standard.*
  • Either a black or silver cloth grill with white piping.
  • British Raging Green or Black in Black tolex.
  • Single top strap handle
  • Rubber feet on base
  • Dual combi 1/4” + speakon sockets

*Additional customisation fee applies. See below.

Questions

Traditional guitar loudspeaker designs.

There are basically two sorts - closed-back and open-backed. Open-backed because they were combos and needed to keep the valves cool and accessible for servicing, closed-back and sealed because that’s how most speakers were made in the 1960s.

How does that affect using them?

The closed-back cabs have narrowing dispersion as frequency increases (a hi-fi speaker uses smaller speakers for higher frequencies to reduce this problem). The open-backed cabs fire sound out of the back as well as the front, so although the dispersion narrows from both front and back in much the same way as the closed-back cab, the sound coming out of the back helps fill the room with mids and highs - but that sound out of the back cancels out most of the lows (due to the inverted phase as the back of the speaker pulls when the front pushes and vice versa). In other words, open-back cabs are easier to hear around the room but the lows are thinner.

How is the Reformer 112 different?

From the front it behaves much like a closed or open-backed cab. But the mids and highs coming out of the AVD at the back are amplified and dispersed around the room whilst the lows are inverted to match the lows from the front, giving lots more bottom. Basically you get twice the output of a closed back cab with an identical speaker AND even better dispersion and audibility (and far far greater output) than an open-backed cab.

What is AVD?

You see it when you look at the back of the cab - it’s the Augmented Vent Diffractor. It’s a unique patented technology that we started developing back in 2013. At low frequencies it acts as a tuned vent or Helmholtz resonator, improving efficiency, power handling and output. At mid and high frequencies it acts to diffract, disperse and couple the sound with the room for improved audibility and output especially in rooms with poor acoustics.

What is the Lo Cut filter for?

The increased low frequency output from the AVD may be too much for some guitarists’ tastes - so you can flick this switch and remove lows at the cab. Doing so not only changes the bass response but also increases the power handling of the cab, lowers the distortion due to motor excursion and reduces the load on your amp’s output stage. This can give you two different sweet-spots of optimum speaker overdrive or break-up and two different sweet-spots of power valve overdrive. If your sound is perfect in rehearsal but too dirty at a louder gig then engaging the Lo Cut filer will clean it up.

Customer feedback

16/07/25 - Reformer 112 - UK

I am the happy owner of a Reformer 112 cab.

I've been thinking of getting one of your Usurper 210 cabs and have a few questions:

1) I am used to open back cabs (I have a Fender Vibrolux which I really like), so what would be the configuration of AVD which would be most like that? I play mainly clean/mild overdrive with American style drivers.

2) I would like the option of using the cab in stereo - I think you can wire it for mono/stereo.

3) How much would this cost (unloaded, I already have speakers), and what is the lead time?

Many thanks,

John

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Hi John,

1. I think the best way to look at this is to figure out how you'd like this to be different tonally to your Reformer and/or how you'd like it to be like the Vibrolux. So what do you most like about those cabs (for this particular goal) and what would you most like to change about them tonally? What exact speakers do you have in each?

2. Yes, we can wire it for mono/stereo and we also have a new unannounced wide stereo version if you're wanting as broad a soundstage as possible!

3. Depends on the options but here's the unloaded cab info: https://barefacedaudio.com/pages/unloaded-guitar-cabs

And now I see you're saying you already have speakers in which case question 1 is irrelevant (unless the speakers you're planning to put in it won't be a good fit sonically!) What speakers do you want to use in it? 

Best regards,

Alex


21/06/25 - Reformer 112 - UK

I was lucky enough to try a Barefaced Reformer 112 recently and I loved it. I currently play in a three piece band using a Bad Cat Hot Cat head through two Mesa Boogie Cabs - a Compact 2x12 and Rectifier 2x12.

As you can imagine, I like a big and punchy sound (FYI - my guitar is a Music Man Luke 3)

The two Mesa cabs are hard work to carry around gigs but I don't think the Reformer would be big enough as a replacement. As a result, I'm interested in the 2x12 Upsizing with 2 V30s. Do you think this would work for me?

Ian

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Hi Ian

Yes, sounds like an Uprising or Upsizing is what you need!
[The Uprising is 19" wide and the Upsizing is 24" wide. The Bad Cat Hot head is 20.75", so we would recommend an Upsizing (especially if using lower tunings!) but as long as the feet on the amp head are spaced well enough they should still sit comfortably on the Uprising]

Best regards

Alex


04/05/25 - Reformer 112 - USA

Hey again!

So I did it, haha.  I cut some plywood into a mountable speaker-hole-blocker, complete with a felt gasket/seal.  And… I liked the passive radiator setup much more.  (At least at reasonable volume levels.  Maybe it gets more flubby at deafening levels but I don’t want to go deaf!) It kinda feels/sounds part-way between sealed and the AVD in that the mids and highs “open up” more, and the bass extends lower.  Maybe partly due to changes in the compliance (less “choked”)

Also I no longer think the AVD is any less “tight”.  It’s just different frequency emphasis.  If I dial down the presence and use the Mark IV graphic EQ to boost 80 and 240 a bit, the Reformer gets close to the “2x12 as 1x12 passive radiator” sound.  Different, but very nice!

So now I’m very curious in the tonal differences of the AVD models.  E.g how the cab volume/dimensions flavor the sound.  Even with the AVD I’m guessing the bigger cabs have more lows/low-mids? And different signature/flavor due to cab-internal effects (standing waves, comb filtering, reflections returning to the rear of the speaker cone)?  Although likely differently/less with the AVD than a sealed cab.

Ie Upsizing vs reformer with same speaker(s)  :)

Thanks as always,

Matt

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Hi Matt,

Basically the bigger cabs sound a bit bigger in the lows - making the cab bigger lowers the tuning of the Helmholtz resonance, which on its own would make the lows reach deeper but sound less fat, and making the cab bigger increases the Q of the Helmholtz resonance, which on its own would make the lows fatter and eventually boomier. But as the larger cab lowers the Fb and doing that decreases the Q, but the bigger box increases the Q, you basically get a similar sound and feel in the lows, just more low frequency extension.

Best regards,

Alex


18/05/25 - Reformer 112 - USA

Hey there,

I have a Reformer and love it.  I don’t have an open-back to compare it to, but it certainly seems like an “open-back without the loss of lows”, so kudos!

Where it gets interesting is comparing it against my Mesa Recto 2x12. Which is somewhat apples vs oranges, but hear me out :)

I took one of the Mesa’s speakers (both original V30s from ~2000 and sound very similar to each other) and moved it into the Reformer.  The remaining original stayed in the Mesa alongside a rotating speaker du jour.

The Mesa 2x12 jacks were separated so I can plug into only the V30.  The other non-powered speaker  becomes a passive radiator, and the active V30 likely sees less resistance/damping (than it would have with both speakers active in the same closed 2x12).

Both cabs (Reformer and Mesa) are adjacent, on the floor, and angled.  Trying to keep conditions similar.

As expected, the Reformer sounds more open and balanced.  For clean tones, lead tones, and many other scenarios, I’d say the Reformer wins!

The Mesa has pronounced lows, and less mids.  But when playing high-gain (hard rock levels, think Tool or Alice In Chains), it sounds glorious.  Specifically when playing rhythm, and especially when palm muting, I’d say the Mesa wins!

So I’m trying to determine the differences and if I can get the Reformer to match/best the Mesa in this scenario.  

Tried using EQ to make the Reformer sound more like the Mesa.  Using the 5-band GEQ on my Mark IV head.. e.g boost some lows, cut some mids.  Sounding great no matter what, but different… feeling.

Listening closer, I realized a couple things: The Mesa is “tighter”, and there is some kind of dynamic eq/bloom thing going on that is especially noticeable with: high gain, hard pick attack, palm muted chord.

I suspect “tighter” is coming from the damping of being a sealed cab, i.e. the air-spring pressure resisting the speaker movement.

I’m guessing the “bloom” thing is related to that as well.  That damping is likely uneven across frequencies.  I vaguely recall a speaker “impedance curve”, but not sure if that’s supposed to be more electrical vs mechanical etc.

I know the AVD is a port of sorts, and allegedly the speaker should still “see” a closed cab above an octave of the port tuning (or something like that), but it seems like it’s “breathing free”.  Which in many ways is a good thing.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

I wonder if it would be possible to make an AVD/closed “convertible” cab.  Close the back/AVD for the full “closed-back” experience. Just need access to the jack :)

Can Barefaced make a (non-AVD) closed-back cab?  The customizations page mentions an Upsizing 212BB where the (divided) bottom is closed-back but with port(s)?  The same page also mentions the ability to plug port(s) for lower tunings.  I’m curious if ports, like the AVD, would result in the loss of “tightness” of a fully closed/sealed enclosure.

Matt

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Hi Matt,

Thanks for the feedback. The thing is, with you only using one of the speakers in the Mesa 212, you have a cab that doesn't behave at all like a closed-back 112, it's far more like an oversized ported cab. If you want to compare the two you'd need to block off half of the 212 internally, or find a way to absorb/block all the sonic output from the second 12" but have it connected so the first 12" is only using half the air space.

Best regards,

Alex


16/05/25 - Reformer 112 (Neo Copperback) - Germany

As far as I concern, your company is now the only one remaing, which deals with 3D-ish sound emission.
Dietmar Kammler, Hamburg based, closed his business as of 31st DEC 2024 after 15 years to retire.
His approach and patents to achive his sound expectations were too resource demanding to be transfered to a factory production. Hence his Kammler cabs - he once told me his annual output were 55 - are second hand goodies now. 

Anyhow: Your Reformer 112 with the Neo 250 Copperback was eye and ear opening to me not to lean on ordinary cab constructions anymore. 

At that time I had a 2×12 by BluGuitar (Thomas Blug, more than 2 decades sound designer at Hughes & Kettner before being entrepreneur with his own company), but the Reformer soundwise 'killed' the 2×12, and even my 4×12 cab (V30) wasn't better sounding. 

After I had sold the 2×12 I missed the format. At a local PRS meeting we did a comparison of Kammler (1×10 and 1×12) and my Barefaced cab. Is their any difference in the 3D-ish sound?

One observer was the opinion, that the Reformer had a noticeable beam. That was not my observation. 

As a result I called Dietmar Kammler if he would build me a cab. And after discussion with him I decided for his Fusion design, combining a 10" and 12" speaker in a 2×12 format. The Neo 250 Copperback was set, the 10" was to be selected. For my ears the best company was the EVM-10M. Sensivity is 100dB to 99dB.

I got my custom made Fusion cab in the first half of 2023. Don't ask about the mass. Lightweight is not the nickname of the cab. Could be 15lbs.

Comparing the Reformer with the Fusion, the reformer has more low end, whilst the Fusion has a balanced clarity. 

My EQ setting is High 8, Mid 2.2, Bass 3.8.

The Reformer is perfect for hasty obligations, it offers a lot of power handling although it's very light. 

Thanks for this invention!

Martin


05/05/25 - Reformer - UK

I'm loving my Reformer 112 and gigging with it at least twice a month. Great that's it's so easy to carry around too!

John


28/03/25 - Reformer + One10 - Australia

Love your work as I have a Reformer and a One10 bass cab, love em to bits.

Dave


28/03/25 - Reformer 112 (G12M Greenback) - UK

Just go my cab.

Absolutely fantastic, easily stands up to my DV Mark 2x12 (gold version)….

Congratulations on such a remarkable product, also been educating myself with your videos. 

Thanks for sticking with me on the speaker swaps as well.

If you ever get anyone wanting to try or hear the cab and they’re near Harrogate, feel free to pass on my details.

Thanks once again to everyone at Barefaced.

Nick


25/03/25 - Reformer 112 (G12H-75 Creamback) - USA

Guys! I just got my cabinet. I couldn't be happier. The sound is so good... smooth... engulfing! Great work. Such a small footprint too and it is absolutely HUGE sounding. I'm so impressed and thrilled!

Aaron


27/02/25 - Reformer 112 (G12H-75 Creamback) - Austria

Hi Alex,

Guitar-wise I'm pretty much of a Les Paul player (Blues, Classic Rock, Funk, Fusion), as far as amps/cabinets are concerned I've got a Bluguitar Amp1 along with a Bluguitar FatCab

I’ve installed a Celestion G12-75H Creamback in the AVD cab, as I had this driver from a former project. So far, I’m pretty happy with the new cab.

Comparing it to the Bluguitar Fat Cab with their proprietary driver, which is based on a Celestion G12M Greenback capable to handle 60W, showed these results:

  • Fat cab with Deeflexx and AVD cab show the same amount of dispersion, i. e. even standing right beside the cab the sound almost doesn’t change at all

  • Both cabs sound fairly similar, Fat cab got a little bit more low end

  • AVD cab and Deeflexx do not go together well, in this case low end and low mids seem to be attenuated resulting in a somewhat unpleasant sound 

Fun fact: When I watched your YT videos comparing Celestion drivers, I didn’t like the Creamback very much, actually I gravitated towards the G12T-75. However, in combination with my amp, I’m pretty happy with the sound, seems like Creamback and Marshall like amps are a perfect match.

I’m also thinking about getting one of your bass cabs, I might address you for that matter again in a couple of weeks.

Best regards,

Georg

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Hi Georg,

That's very interesting, thanks!

With tonal stuff a lot of it is about matching guitar, amp, and speaker+cab to the player and their sonic goals. Sounds like you've found a good combination for your stuff but I wouldn't say Creamback + Marshall is perfect for everyone, in fact the Creamback M65 sounds v different to the H75. Specifics matter! ;-)

Best regards,

Alex


21/02/25 - Reformer 112 - USA

I'm very happy.  It looks great (I'm glad I chose the green), it sounds great, and it's easy to carry.  

When I first picked it up, it was so light, I checked to see if you'd forgotten to install the speaker.

Well done! And see the attached photo.

Joan


03/01/25 - Reformer 112 - France

I am considering changing the V30 speaker in my Reformer 112 for another speaker, possibly a celestion greenback (just to try a different sound, nothing wrong with the V30 as such). I saw in one of your videos (https://youtu.be/kanKPlOcQXg?si=C3esQJHNCi_6oTVP) the instructions on how to do this - thanks a lot - very useful!

I noticed that it was mentioned as important to have tape added between the speaker chassis and the wood, around the rim of the speaker, to seal the volume and avoid rattle. Could you point me to which tape to use for this please, so I can purchase a roll of it? I hope I will find it online if I know the brand and/or type of tape.

Many thanks for making great speaker cabinets!

Thorsten

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Hi Thorsten,

We started fitting the felt tape in 2023 - I don't know of anywhere that sells it, we get it specially made, but we can sell you some. Glad you're loving the cab!

Best regards,

Alex


31/01/25 - Reformer 112 (Neo Creamback) - USA

Just received the cabinet. This thing is unbelievable! I am still floored at how light it is. And I love the tone of my guitar through it.

Nathan


26/09/24 - Reformer 112 - UK

Hi Alex.

Finally got round to trying the cab at a loud rehearsal last night. Loud being the word. It's sensational, I was set up before my bass player even arrived, he got distracted by a frozen puddle or something, I dunno, bass players... Anyway, he was setting up to my right and I played a couple of chords to which he said "fuck, oh yeah, is that the new cab?!"


He couldn't believe the sound from standing square level with the side of it about 10 feet away.


Anyway, I'm over the moon, you've created something that IMO really is a revolutionary piece of kit. I hope people keep discovering them and you are very successful.

Thanks again,


Ross


15/01/25 - Reformer 112 - UK

I bought a Reformer 112 four or five years ago and have been extremely happy with it since.

Steve


08/01/25 - Reformer 112 / Reality 112FR - USA

Hi Alex,

Got an interesting question for you: I got a Reformer 112 from you last year and it is spectacular. I use it with my Mesa Mark V and she sings... I was wondering if anyone has ever requested one of your powered FRFR cabinets but with the ability to turn off the amp in the powered cabinet and use it as a standard cabinet with a guitar amp head? Or.. if that is even possible :-) I ask because I have two rigs, my Mark V head and I also have a Quad Cortex. Would like one ( or two for sublime stereo ) to be able to use with both of my rigs. I suppose I could always get another reformer and then use one of the smaller powered amp pedals like the Seymour Duncan power stage to power them off my quad cortex board. And.. what is the current lead times for the reformer 112's as well as your FRFR powered cabs? 

Thanks

Kevin

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Hi Kevin,

We have done an "active/passive" Reality 112FR for someone but the issue is that you really need to put an IR filter between the power stage of a guitar amp and the cab because it's an FRFR cab, or if you're running the power stage pretty clean you could put an IR before it - just something to take off all those highs that a normal guitar driver filters out.

However I think a lot of guitarists are going the wrong way with speakers for modellers - FRFR is great if you need all the sounds in the world and/or are using in-ears all the time. But so many guitarists would be better served by turning off the speaker modelling and using a real guitar speaker. So in your specific case, get an active/passive Activier 2 Reformer 112. Then you can use that cab your tube head along with your other Reformer, or you can use the Activier 2 in that cab to drive the new active/passive Reformer and your current passive Reformer in stereo.

Hope that makes sense!

Here's the current lead times - https://barefacedaudio.com/pages/production-and-delivery-times

They need updating though and we've had quite a lot of orders recently, so they'll probably be longer in reality. Hope to get that figured out this week!

Glad you're enjoying your Reformer!

Best regards,

Alex


01/12/24 - Reformer 112 - UK

The Reformer is as I thought it would be. 

The sound dispersion is unbelievable, and the tonal sounds are amazing, and the mini toggle switch really does make a noticeable difference which I find very useful indeed. 

I will be using my local rehearsal rooms next Friday, I will let you know how it went. 

The Reformer is an amazing piece of kit without a doubt. 

Glyn


09/12/24 - Upsizing 212BB / Reformer 112 - USA

Hello! I saw your video on 212BB:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbpMmpSpfd8

I am very interested in purchasing one, and want to be sure I'm making the best selections to order:

Currently I have Upsizing 212/1215/215 and the Bass-Baritone Hybrid Upsizing in my cart. Is there anything else you recommend?

I want to use it for playing Baritone Guitar using a Tube Amp, and 4 string bass guitar using a Forte D Bass Amp (not at the same time, but separately) I currently own a Reformer 112 and I love it! So was planning on buying a bass cab from you, but seeing the video, I would love one that works for Bass & Baritone!!

So, please let me know what you advise.

(I should mention I was planning on picking up a Big Baby 3, and stacking my Reformer 112 on top until I saw your 212BB video. 

At the end of the day would love to have an AVD cab that I can play guitar tube amps through (3rd Power Dragon 25, Marshall SVT20, Mesa Boogie Mark vii) and also have option for Baritone, and then a bass chain - bass effects into an 700-800 watt amp into a Barefaced cab. 
I don’t use modelers or have any plans to)

Thanks!

Matt

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Hi Matt,

Great, this sounds a perfect reason for the 212BB! Here's what to order:

https://barefacedaudio.com/products/custom-guitar-drivers-eminence-for-avd-cabs?variant=48772055859480

https://barefacedaudio.com/products/specialist-avd-guitar-cab-customisations?variant=48772049535256

https://barefacedaudio.com/products/specialist-avd-guitar-cab-customisations?variant=44170805281048 (this allows us to put a switchable low cut filter on the guitar driver but not on the bass driver - and allows you to run dual amps for wet/dry etc if you want).

What guitar driver do you fancy for the 12" at the top? What's in your Reformer?

Best regards,

Alex

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Perfect! So glad I asked before ordering. 

I have a vintage 30 ❤️

Do you recommend the same? 

Matt

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Hi Matt,

The V30 is certainly a safe choice. However, we're big fans of the Redback, Cream and Copperback as higher power options.

Versus the V30, the Redback is thicker and less midrangey, the Cream is smoother and the Copperback is more detailed. Have a look through our youtube, we've definitely compared them all at some point. I'd probably go for the Copperback because it's so loud and honest and clear and handles a ton of power and is hilariously light in weight.

Alex


25/11/24 - Reformer 112 - UK

I currently own the Reformer 1x12 and am just enquiring if it's possible to have another front panel made for my cab. I recently just purchased the Friedman Little Sister head and the covering on the front of it is called Silver Weave and I would like a replacement made to match the amp.

I have contacted Friedman amps and am waiting for a reply from them regarding purchasing some of this grill cloth, could you advise me if you stock this type of cloth? If not, and you do not stock the grill cloth and providing you could make the panel how much material would I need to purchase to cover the panel and what would the cost of this panel be?

I love the cab and it would be great if I could interchange the front panel depending on what amp I wanted to use. I'm currently using Victory Sheriff 25 and the cab has black and tan Mojotone grill cloth.

Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Keith

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Hi Keith,

Sorry, we don't make replacement grills for our cabs - they're the most labour intensive part of the process and we don't have the capacity to make any more than what's needed for new orders. I wouldn't recommend taking the grill on and off frequently, it's really not designed for that and I think you'll end up with parts getting worn/damaged. Hope the cab is sounding good!

Best regards,

Alex


12/11/24 - Reformer 112 - USA

I’ve been playing my new Reformer cab with the Celestion G12-65 Heritage a while now. I expected it to be good, but it far exceeds my expectations. It’s as loud as the 2x12 setup it replaced, but much easier to move around. Of course, smaller size and weight are great, but only if the cab sounds excellent, and that’s where the Reformer’s true strength lies. What I find striking is that the Reformer has great body and bottom end without losing an ounce of detail or clarity anywhere. In fact, I have never played through a cab with such clarity in every register and with such balance among the various registers. The cab has this mix of roundness, detail, and balance that is truly lovely. I’m finding my Barefaced cab a clean player’s dream. It inspires me to play more and more.

Well done and thanks!

Phil Sylvester, Pheo Guitars


09/11/24 - Reformer 112 - Canada

I bought a Reformer 112 a year or so before the pandemic after seeing Rob's video with you and thought, "you know what? This guy reviews gear and can't say words. I'm in." I was using a Marshall 1960Vintage cab for years, with a Sovtek MiG50H and the SECOND I plugged my head into your cab, I called my mate who's been wanting to buy my Marshall cab and sold it to him and never looked back. It pushes more air, more volume, and my drummer can finally hear me. There's no cone of sound, it doesn't flub out, and it's clear.

Justin


07/11/24 - Reformer 112W - Germany

Hi Alex, 

The Cab arrived. Looks very beautiful. 

One last question: (as my other Barefaced cabs) it says 8 Ohms. I can use a 16 Ohm Speaker as well?

Best regards,

Till

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Hi Till,

Yes, the low-cut filter is voiced for an 8 ohm cab, but you can use a 16 ohm speaker just fine. All that happens is the low-cut filter frequency shifts lower so it's a more subtle cut. The cab does look great - send us some pics with your head on it!

Alex


05/11/24 - Reformer 112 w/ Neo 250 Copperback - USA

I tried it with a variety of amps, large, small, high watt, low, clean, gain, high gain, simple circuit reactive, multi-channel bells and whistles... etc. This was partially because I'm selling off a lot of amps, so had them out to photograph and list.

Let me say this... I love the cabinet and speaker. I have found that I prefer full response Neo speakers because I can always dial in or use cab sim to get other legacy tones. And I directly compared this to two other cabs that I think are relevant. The first is an original Forte side ported 2x12 cab with Celestion Cream and V-Type. The second is a custom cab made for me replicating the Electro Voice TL806 front ported build plan that the Sica/Jensen people recommended to me for the Jensen N12D (also flat/full response).

Have to say, from the start, I was disappointed with the Forte, probably most because of the darkness of the speakers. It also ways a ton on it's own without speakers, so I chose not to replace with neo speakers, and am selling it. Aside from that and relevant to your product, I found that it seemed to work like a half a pie, where the front sound had mid/high, with gaps between front and the mid/lows coming out of the sides with little reflection from the back wall... as one would expect.

The EV front port is actually my go-to cab. I get rich full sound with good dispersion. I run it closed back, but can open a center panel for rear reflection. I have it in a corner which helps dispersion (I think... I'm very naive about gear, and don't know much more than what my ears tell me... didn't grow up in bands so little direct input to my brain from experts.)

So now, your Reformer. I guess I expected to clearly hear very specific differences, but didn't... which is why your cab is so great. It has even dispersion 360 (maybe even up, but I don't know that... just that I played it both seated and standing. I should say, I also played facing it, not back to the cab this weekend, Will have to turn around in the coming days when I get time.)

Here's the thing... it's just the beautiful clear articulate sound I love, that I can paint in many ways from pedals to attack to guitar knobs to equalizer to modeling. And the sound fills the room in a way that doesn't draw attention, but does give an immersive feeling. I haven't tested it in a group setting yet, but I would suspect that it helps bring the whole band together. My wife and I see a lot of live music in small venues, and we like to sit closer to the stage so we hear the music direct from the band's gear rather than the house. As you can imagine, the location of the seat can vary the mix we hear off the stage. That's okay for us because we are trying to distinguish the artists and instruments which makes it more interesting than a wall of sound. Having said that, I imagine your products would tend to help blend the stage sound and connect the other instruments within the dispersion your cabinet creates, but that is just speculation.

In a few words, I love it, and it will be near my EV/Jensen cabinet in my primary playing space, and go to for other amp heads I have. (The EV cab has a one off head from VTAmps built for me and detailed together with the cabinet, so those always stay together.

Some folks use the term "reference" to mean an archetypal specific tone, like a Strat, or a vintage Magnatone, etc. I think of it a bit differently. I feel that a clean clear articulate cabinet like yours is the "master reference" from which all others are defined by subtraction. Yours is the "everything" cab, though partly because of the speaker choice. I need to spend more time with it, but if I had to pick one, it would be the Reformer or the EV, and probably break the rules of the thought experiment and keep both. If you ever are bored, you might try to build the EV front port just to experience it. I attached a spec from the interweb... there are a few out there. Last note, I have mine on it's side with the port on the left, no reason, just fits the head better that way.

The Reformer is the best gear purchase I've made in years.

Happy to provide additional feedback, though I fear I've already shared too much :) and may be displaying huge swaths of technical ignorance.

Best of luck, though you shouldn't need it with your product excellence.

Oh, and I offer this to the best makers that have provided me super gear and instruments. If someone in the New York City area wants to try one of your cabs before buying, I'm happy to give them some time with it (as long as they're not a serial killer :) For example, I've done this for Frank Scheucher of Zerberus guitars, and even held some US based stock for him. Back then we had a tiny little gear shop as more of a hobby than business for a few years before Covid when we shut it down.) To be clear, we aren't representing anyone any more, but I'm surely happy to help you and other musicians find what works for them, and definitely more musicians should have one of your cabinets.

Also happy to clean this up into a single paragraph if you want to use it in your marketing anonymously or just my first name, or feel free to do your own edit. Humbly, I'm not sure it would help you, but you're free to take it and do as you wish.

Jim


05/11/24 - Reformer 112 - UK

Hi Barefaced,

Is the Reformer fitted with a Celestion Vintage 30 as standard? 

A friend of mine owns a Reformer cab and it absolutely blew me away. I must have one. 

Sincerely yours,
Glyn

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Hi Glyn,

That's great to hear! Yes, the V30 is our standard choice but we offer lots of other drivers as customisations. You can order one by going here:

https://barefacedaudio.com/collections/avd-guitar-cabs/products/reformer-112

Obviously ask if anything isn't clear!

Best regards,

Alex 


03/11/24 - Reformer (w/Copperback) - UK

I recently took delivery of a Reformer with a Copperback and had a couple of gigs with it this weekend. It really is quite incredible (but you knew that already 🙂)

Brad


23/10/24 - Reformer 112 - Austria

I love the speaker, the small size, the green tolex and the light weight. Totally satisfied.

It sounds very good and it actually fills the room better and has much better off-axis projection than my oversized 1x12 combo.

It’s also not as muddy as the Marshall 4x12 in the rehearsal space and feels just as loud.

When I tried it in my flat, it felt much too loud for practicing, especially when I’m not alone in the room.

If I was in a chugging metal band, I might prefer the bassy punch of the 4x12 in the room (maybe not in the Mix though).

Interestingly I find the barefaced somewhat boxy on some clean tones but I love any type of overdrive on it. 

Very clear and focused but not fizzy or shrill. 

Compared to my combo (which has a bassy Eminence Texas Heat in it and is wider and taller),

I find myself turning up the bass a little more on the barefaced cab.

However in band-rehearsal, the missing bass sounded very good, so I don’t mind it.

I did not play a gig with it yet but my guess is that it will be a good experience.

I love lightweight gear and for a small cab, the sound and sound-distribution is awesome.

Since I’m usually fine with my 1x12 or a fender 2x12 combo, I can’t see any reason why the barefaced should disappoint.

On the contrary. I will probably be able to move around more without the fear of not hearing myself properly.

It also seem sturdy, which is very important for a cab that is used for gigs.

David


20/10/24 - Reformer 112 - USA

Hi,

A while back I ordered a 1x12 guitar cab from you guys. It is incredible. My rig has changed a bunch since then (lifestyle changes and living arrangements are part of this). I'm currently running a Fractal Audio FM9 (floorboard version of the popular Axe FX III) and a pair of powered Laney LFR-112 FRFR cabs. Those things sound great too, but they are ungodly heavy (45 lbs 1x12 and a horn)--I feel like I could have a 2x12 from barefaced for each of those and still have a rig that weighs less. Since I'm back to using modeling devices, I'm interested in the Reality cabs, but there's no 2x12 version. I think there was mention somewhere that you'd do them on request. I'm curious about the weight and price. I'm located in the US so shipping might be an issue.

David

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Hi David,

Yes, we'll add 2x12" versions of the Reality to our product line as people order them. You can choose between 212V (Uprising size), 212H (Radical size), and 212XL (Upsizing size). The weights and prices will relate to those models like the weight and price of the Reality relates to the Reformer. Does that make sense? Glad you're so pleased with your 1x12 guitar cab!

Best regards,

Alex


10/09/24 - Reformer 112 - USA

Hi, I have a Reformer 112 with the AVD and love it. I’m thinking about getting another AVD cab with 10” speaker(s), and wonder what you recommend for me. I’ll be playing a low wattage Fender super style head (only 10W currently) so I’m not sure if a 1x10 or 2x10 would be best. I hope to have something that puts out a similar level to the 1x12 Reformer that I’ll try to play in parallel with a low watt British amp head.

The reformer has an Alnico Cream in it, and I mostly play blues and jazz. I like that speaker alot because it’s very neutral and high powered in case I want to play my modeler through a power amp. Anything in the 10” lineup you think is similar?

Is the 2x10 vertical cab about the same width as the 1x12 reformer?

Michael

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Hi Mike,

All the widths are on the main guitar cab page so it's easy to compare: https://barefacedaudio.com/collections/avd-guitar-cabs

The G10 Gold is definitely closest to the Cream! The G10 Vintage is probably the next closest but not as warm and pretty sounding.

Alex