Bass cabinets don’t get much smaller or lighter than this, but there is no compromise in construction, sound or volume.
Pros
+
Quality.
+
Lightweight.
+
Super-compact dimensions.
Cons
-
It’s a little pricey.
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Barefaced have built up an enviable reputation for their bass cabs over the last 13 years, particularly among a new generation of younger, tech-savvy players.
This success has largely been driven by the many positive reviews, and comments from the owners and players themselves, via online forums and social media platforms.
Here, we're looking at the company's latest design: the ultra-compact One10T.
Build Quality
At first glance, the One10T cab looks as if it could have been made at any time within the past 60 years. The black tolex covering, chrome hardware and black cloth grille with its white piping have a classic aesthetic; silver cloth and black steel grilles are also available.
The new logo badge, which looks almost comically outsized on such a small cab, has the Barefaced name in a similar font to that of the old Fender Bassman amp heads, reinforcing the vintage vibe. However, under its vinyl skin, the Barefaced cab is anything but old-fashioned.
(Image credit: Barefaced Audio)
The tuned ‘hybrid resonator’ enclosure is made from relatively thin 1/3” (9mm) dual-density ply which, in itself, isn’t the strongest of materials, but here the cabinet is built around an internal structure of interlocking panels. This not only makes the whole thing super-rigid, but also incredibly light. It’s designed to dampen the mid-bass frequencies and fatten the deep lows with two controlled resonances working in unison.
Turning the cab on its side gives you a subtly different tonal delivery, with an even smoother, extended low end noticeable at higher volumes
This complex internal design also optimizes the efficiency of the custom-designed 10CR Eminence speaker, while increasing the bandwidth. The 250-watt 10” driver is designed specifically for the cab by engineer Alex Claber and the guys at Eminence speakers.
Baffle-mounted above the speaker is a high quality, low distortion tweeter: this and the driver are fed from a crossover designed specifically for the purpose in-house at Barefaced.
(Image credit: Barefaced Audio)
Sounds and Playability
With the One10T hooked up to an 800-watt Class D amp and a passive Mike Lull five-string plugged in, the sound is immediate and focused, and the wide, flat bandwidth gives an accurate recreation of the bass. It sounds huge – and comparing what you’re hearing with the tiny black box that you’re looking at just doesn’t compute!
Turning the cab on its side gives you a subtly different tonal delivery, with an even smoother, extended low end noticeable at higher volumes. Pushing the little rig too hard would have upset the neighbors, so the next stop was into the trunk of the car for that night’s gig – an open-air festival stage with a jazz big band for which I was using both electric and double bass.
The tiny Barefaced One10T performed perfectly. No – that’s not fair. It exceeded every expectation, confounding what should have been possible on a gig where I was just a few feet away from the drummer – and his wedge monitor.
Even when listening a little off-axis, the perfectly rendered sound was a real revelation: I’ve rarely heard my double bass sound so good through an amp and speaker. It’s freakishly loud, with no discernible distortion.
If you’re using your backline purely for onstage sound or personal monitoring, or if most of your gigs are in small, intimate venues at relatively low volumes, it’s hard to imagine a scenario that one or possibly two Barefaced One10Ts wouldn’t completely dominate. It really is that good.
Conclusion
The ‘standard’ 110 cab – in other words, without the high-frequency unit – doesn’t have the accuracy of some of the Barefaced range, but this gives it a unique tonal character that always made it the best choice for acoustic instruments or double bass.
It reminds me of those classic little BBC LS3/5A hifi monitors – tiny speakers that were designed to make a specific sound, the human voice in the case of radio, as realistic as possible. The standard One10’s suitability for acoustic and double bass still holds true, but for me the tonal accuracy of the cab means that with a good quality pickup and perhaps a tiny bit of EQ, the One10T is even better.
With the increasing popularity of bassists using in-ear monitors on larger stages, small, lightweight bass speakers for backline are making more and more sense. If you want the smallest, lightest, and best-sounding bass cabs available today, you really should check out these and the rest of the Barefaced range.
Specs
PRICE: $730 (fitted cover and silver grille cloth available at extra cost)
SPEAKER: 1x10” 250w custom Eminence
CROSSOVER: Custom Barefaced
CONNECTIONS: 2 x 1/4” + SpeakON combi jacks (parallel)
