Barefaced get in on the FRFR wagon...127db !!!

fretmeister

http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/FR800.htm




I've been swapping messages with Mr Barefaced and I can go to the factory and take my Helix with me to try it on guitar and bass. Although designed for PA & Bass duty he is convinced it will be a cracker on guitar too.

I do like their bass cabs and I own 2, so this is very exciting for me.

Just need to find a day off now.

I foresee a future hiding credit card bills from the wife.

Strat_a_tat_tat

I'd be interested in how they sound as a PA.

guitarfishbay

Pretty cool. It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts vs their regular cabs when it comes to bass.

They do an accompanying sub too

RandallFlagg

Why do FRFR cabs have to be so ugly? can't someone make one that doesn't either look like a boring square PA cabinet or a stage monitor?

Strat_a_tat_tat

@fretmeister. Could one use a single FR800 as a bass guitar combo amp... or would it need a preamp?

guitarfishbay

RandallFlagg said:

Why do FRFR cabs have to be so ugly? can't someone make one that doesn't either look like a boring square PA cabinet or a stage monitor?

They're all basically the same thing at the end of the day.  Also the internal dimensions matter more than on a typical guitar cabinet (which to my understanding were more designed to look good historically than sound good), so there are design limitations there hence the general kind of shape.

fretmeister

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@fretmeister. Could one use a single FR800 as a bass guitar combo amp... or would it need a preamp?

Would need a preamp and most likely some kind of cab sim.

But a small pedal board with a Darkglass VMTD or B7K with the Omnicabsim pedal would do it.

Might get away with just a good active bass and a cab sim though.

I believe (but haven't checked) that the FR800 doesn't have a volume control on it. It's full throttle all the time so you control volume from whatever you are feeding it.

Strat_a_tat_tat

@fretmeister. Thanks for the info.

I can see a couple of possibilities for this at chez Strat_a-tat-tat... 1. As a lightweight bass combo for Mrs Strat (instead of her Mesa B Walkabout).... 2. A pair for use as FOH PA speakers (and I'd just DI the bass into the PA, with no bass combo amp at all).

I see they claim you don't necessarily need a sub for PA use (and it still sounds like other systems that have a sub)... then again, they also make a powered sub - so one wonders what sort of sound/capability is offered by just 2 x FR800s without a sub.

ICBM

Shame they're still doing one of my pet peeves - using crap corner protectors that are almost worse than nothing...

Corners like this without a 'lip' or 'knuckle' that wraps around the inside of the box are shit. If you catch the inner edge on something - quite easy if you're carrying the cabinet past something like a door frame - they bend, fold back and chew up the cabinet... if they don't rip off completely.

Fender got it right with the very first ones they used way back in the early 60s. Peavey get it right. I've even got a cheap Laney here with it right. It's annoying and frustrating that other companies are still getting it wrong, especially on otherwise high-quality gear like this.

I've also just noticed they've fitted the side handles upside down on the sub.

I know, these things are fairly trivial in some ways. But if you're spending the best part of a grand - or quite a lot more, for these powered cabs - on a speaker cabinet, there's really no excuse for not having them done right.

TimmyO

Weight's not bad either.

It was all looking good until the price. Interested to hear how it fares on guitar though 

fretmeister

Yeah, they don't really do cheap.

I still wince when I think about spending £300 on a 1x10. Best bass cabs I've ever had though.

Sporky

fretmeister said:

I've been swapping messages with Mr Barefaced and I can go to the factory and take my Helix with me to try it on guitar and bass.

And you can take your bestest chum/client so that you can try it with that bass you want to try?

fretmeister

I'll see what I can do. 

I had had assumed that any "plus 1" option would not be wanted by my wife!

Sporky

Sprocket will probabaly be my +1.

Rocker

IMHO, he should have named his company BearFaced...

Bridgehouse

I've got a Barefaced Compact (15")

It is, without hyperbole, immense.