Hi everyone!
I'm Alex, the boss at Barefaced Audio and this is my first post here! You probably haven't come across us before because we've been specialising in bass cabs for the past decade but we have literally just launched our first guitar cab.
It's something that's completely different to anything that's happened before but still similar to conventional guitar cabs the ways that matter - we know that you can't apply PA or hi-fi speaker technology to guitar cabs (like we did with our 12XN bass cabs) without losing the essence of the guitar tone. So what we've done is take the back wave of the speaker (which in a closed cab is normally contained in the box and dies away without helping the acoustic output in the room) and then:
1. In the low frequencies, where the back wave output would normally be identical magnitude but inverse phase to the front wave output and thus cause serious cancellation (as you hear in open-backed cabs with their thinner bass tone), we've inverted the back wave output so that it matches the phase of the front wave. This means the back and front wave combine constructively, rather than combining destructively (open-backed cab) or do not combine (closed back isolates back wave so it doesn't enter the room). This is basically what happens with the handful of ported guitar cabs out there (assuming they're well designed - I'm guessing some aren't so don't write off all ported cabs because of poor implementations!)
2. In the mid and high frequencies, where the back wave output would be contained by a closed cab, or released rearwards by an open-backed cab, we're diffracting them through a tall narrow slot, so they spread sideways around the room, and then adding further efficiency and improving dispersing by passing them through a wide angle wave guide. Compared to an open-backed cab these mid and high frequencies are much more effectively dispersed around the room and the frequency response and distortion (and thus tone) is much more similar to the tone you hear from the front of the cab (because you don't get the 'boxy' standing waves of a normal open-backed cab).
The end result is you have a 1x10" cab with output and efficiency closer to that of a 2x10", and with such radically improved dispersion that everyone on stage and in the venue can hear it far better than normal. We called this technology the Augmented Vent Diffractor or AVD, and it's currently going through the patent process, so we have the intellectual property protected for now (and hopefully for 20 years if it gets approved!)
Sorry, I've written too many words as usual! Here's some pictures:
I submitted the patent application back in September and since then the rest of the Barefaced team has been busily refining all the details ready for production. It's also super light because we're good at making cabs strong and light without compromising the tone (actually it helps but that's a whole 'nother essay!)
Lots more info here:
https://barefacedaudio.com/products/gxBut I'm keen to hear what everyone here thinks - I know new designs of guitar cabs are few and far between, so I'm expecting a lot of scepticism! If you want to try one we're running a one month free trial for UK customers as an introductory offer.
Any questions, comments, thoughts, opinions, fire away!
Alex
Comments
I think the cabs look great, and if I was in the market for a new cab I’d be knocking on your door.
Any plans to employ neo speakers?
I swapped to your bass cabs a couple of years ago and never looked back.
I must try these as well (and I really want to visit to try the FR800 with my Helix.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Saying that, Buzz from Melvins is now using two Super Twin 2x12XN neo bass cabs for his European guitar rig and it sounds EPIC. So there is potential for using the 12XN high accuracy ultra high output neo speakers for non-conventional guitar sounds.
I'll be honest though - I'm not keen on the green, not least because it's too reminiscent of Trace Elliot's rather unreliable 90s amps. You need a black option too. I think you need Marshall/Hiwatt-style basketweave grille cloth on the 'British' model - the black looks a bit cheap.
I would also probably offer a Celestion speaker in the 'British' cab. I like Eminence's bass speakers and their 'American' voiced ones, but I really don't think their 'British' ones are as good as the equivalent Celestions they're supposedly modelled on. But *not* a G10 Vintage .
I hope those are combination Speakon/1/4" sockets too. Guitarists will not be happy with Speakon-only... no matter that it's a better connector.
Just my opinions of course!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
if I were buying one I'd be asking about tolex options (black and orange will probably cover most!!) and speaker choice. Also a nice solid jack on the back.
Are you doing any comparison vids?
We can also do Celestion speakers as a customisation but the reason we're using these Eminence ones is that they're very good and to our ears closer to the classic Celestion sounds than the current Celestion offerings - so I'd generally recommend trying the stock version (one month FREE trial in the UK for now, one month trial across the whole of Europe for good), and returning it to have a custom version made if it doesn't nail your tone, otherwise you could be paying more for a less good cab.
Yes, they're combi 1/4" + speakon sockets! We were going to switch to 1/4" only because of guitar convention but thought we'd be brave as there's no downside with these (especially as a lot of 1/4" sockets aren't air tight and that matters with these AVD cabs).
Price?
Width? (Amp heads that won't look absurdly big?)
I'm not in the market just now though, I'm only playing bass at the moment and I need one of your bass cabs first .
It's not a bad thing to make some progress towards changing the convention for guitar cabs too - even if at this power level it's not strictly necessary... and even if there are very few guitar amps with them. DV Mark are the only ones I can think of right now.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The GX 1x10" is only 15" or 38cm wide, so not aesthetically suitable for big full width heads. However, the forthcoming GXII 1x12" is 18" or 45cm wide if you want something a bit bigger. Further down the line we have a 2x12" planned but there's a lot of complications to sort out with that!
Any possibilty that you will make an active version with a gigable sied power amp built in?
Are you going to be at Birmingham guitar show in Feb?
Very happy!
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd