Planning a rig...

M

Mazrim

Member
Hi guys. I recently sold my Ultra, which I never used live and only the occasional recording through an 11R to Reaper. Mainly I used it for noodling and messing around.

Now I'm planning an Axe II rig but I'm still fairly new to this world so... what I'm proposing is this.

For studio/live: Axe Fx II - Matrix GT1000FX - A couple of Marshall 1960 cabs, Behringer FCB1010. As I'm probably going to have to buy the Unit new I've had to cut costs elsewhere, hence the FCB. I hope it works well with the Axe. This will be the first time I've ever programmed a midi floor pedal despite 22 years of playing.
I'm also planning to record direct through USB into Reaper on a PC.

I play most things from hard rock and shred to high gain stuff but lots of prog too.

Is there anything I should know about before I go shopping? Any tips or advice?
Thank you in advance.
 
Lots of possibilities regarding rig components. There's a "show your rig" thread to give you an idea what other people are doing.
Personally I wouldn't choose the 4x12's anymore. As these are guitar cabs they color the sound too much. Provided you'd want the Axe to do the sound shaping. I'd read up on an FRFR solution. Plenty of info on that on the forums as well.

In the end it's about what you prefer and what you think sounds good though. Just my $0,02
 
I considered the FRFR route with QSC K12s and such but I hear a few people claiming the sound doesn't bite and move air like guitar cabs. It's too... smooth?
I guess this wouldn't be such an issue playing some kinds of music but with high gain it might.

Also, it's possibly quite expensive (especially if I want stereo). Whereas I can line up a Matrix and cabs for something like affordable.
 
if you want to go really crazy and dont mind carrying big ass heavy cabs around this is what i would do: build your own custom 4x12 box 4 different speakers, 2 stereo poweramps and use all the outs of the axe .. this way u can have 4 different speaker sounds at a time and mix them up nicely whatever sound u need ^^

or just buy a good floor monitor and give FRFR a try ^^

for me im just playing over inear ^^
 
If you go with an FCB1010, probably a good idea to get a UNO chip. Never used one but that seems to be what folks do, so they can access IAs etc.
 
Seriously consider FRFR, I also had the Ultra and used Guitar cabs with it. I tried FRFR with Ultra a few times but didnt really dig it back then. But now with the II and the improved AMP section I have "converted" to FRFR and totally satisfied.
 
O.K, I'll get the unit first and then try out some FRFR stuff.
But a lot of the clips Ive heard of the Axe II with Matrix GT1000FX and cabs sound amazing. Would I really get that kind of sound with say... 1 QSC K12?

What setup are you running? What kind of sound do you use?
 
Tons of people start using Matrix amps now and happy with them, so cant go wrong I guess. (havent used it myself).

I myself use SRX 712M for speakers, I think its the same used by the Fractal team. So lots of the new factory presets and other FRFR presets sounds stunning directly for me. not much tweaking needed.

But spend money on your ss amp and speakers, then if you want to go for cheaper midi control (like FCB1010) no worries, that doesnt effect your sound.

Rock on!
 
Mazrim said:
I considered the FRFR route with QSC K12s and such but I hear a few people claiming the sound doesn't bite and move air like guitar cabs. It's too... smooth?
I guess this wouldn't be such an issue playing some kinds of music but with high gain it might.

Also, it's possibly quite expensive (especially if I want stereo). Whereas I can line up a Matrix and cabs for something like affordable.
Click to expand...

The only thing that is important is that you pick a system that works for you and your application.

But since you ask, my vote goes to FRFR as well.
If you want to go with a QSC monitor, I´d personally go for the K10 - sound much better to my ears, is cheaper, lighter and plenty loud.
There are many other FRFR options out there though - RCF NX 10/12 SMA and Matrix (UK based) are popular here. Check the "amps and cab" subforum for more threads on this than anybody can digest.

The main reason IMHO that some people have preferred real guitar cabs over FRFR solutions in the past have been that the cab sim IR's were not up to par with a real speaker sound - so they were great for versatility but if you had one favorite cab that you used exclusively then you might have been better of with a real speaker cab and power amp, to get the thump.

That premise has changed dramatically recently IMHO, and with the new IR's coming out from OwnHammer, James Santiago and FAS you now get completely authentic guitar cab sound from an Axe II + FRFR.

With these IR's you can now use a multitude of great cabs, mix cabs, just use your one old time favorite cab - whatever - with the versatility provided from a FRFR system: less to carry, more versatile, you hear what the audience hear, personal monitor level control even when you don't have a monitor tech and your tones work well over a large volume sweep from bedroom to stages.

If you are worried about if an FRFR system will cut it in real life gigging scenarios check out posts by Scott Peterson, Merlin17, me and the many others who use FRFR live.
here's a link to a gig report I posted recently: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-f...%92s-absolutely-fantastic-%96-gig-report.html
Whats not to like :)
 
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The biggest argument against using a guitar cab is if you actually want to take advantage of all of the different amp models and you want them to sound like they are those actual amps. If you use a guitar cab, such as the Marshalls, you'll want to turn cab sims off. At that point you'll have a variety of amps available, but the sound will be the sound of a Vox through a Marshall cab, a Bassman through Marshall, a Mesa through Marshall, etc. Plenty of people do that in real life, and it's not an invalid choice. But if you want your Vox to sound like a Vox, your Bassman to sound like a Bassman, your Mesa to sound like a Mesa, etc, FRFR is the way you need to go.

Add to that the ability to send a direct feed out of the Axe (with cab sims) and be hearing the same sound on stage with FRFR. With a guitar cab, you either have to just mic the cab or run a cab sim for your direct feed (but not the cab feed, which you can do), and you'll have a different sound on stage than you do through the house. I know you said you didn't play much live before, I'm not sure what your plans are.

Playing the Axe through a cab is fine if it gets you what you want. But it does sacrifice versatility and the Axe's ability to give you accurate sounds of so many different classic rigs. But just mimicking a classic rig isn't the only way to do things. Of course, even if you like the sound of different amps run through the same Marshall cab, you can still do that with FRFR...just using the Marshall cab sim on all your presets. So the versatility of FRFR beats the guitar cab by leaps and bounds, but you have to decide what you like best.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm going the FRFR route as there's really no need to not make use of the versatility.
So I'll hopefully be getting my II this week, and I plan to take it to a shop and try the QSC K10 and K12 and see which is best for me.
 
Mazrim said:
Thanks for the advice. I'm going the FRFR route as there's really no need to not make use of the versatility.
So I'll hopefully be getting my II this week, and I plan to take it to a shop and try the QSC K10 and K12 and see which is best for me.
Click to expand...

If you've got the cash, take a step up and go with the RCF NX-12-SMA. Email mike@audiopyle.com for a price. It's not as much more than the K10/K12 as you may think if you've looked at places like full compass.
 
consider ev live x 112p I have 2 very cheap I think on par with most, def. seems overall better then qsc to many. Maybe not quite the rcf. I will say there is no thump with frfr, its just not a guitar cab, but the sound is so much better and more versatile.
 
Mazrim said:
Thanks for the advice. I'm going the FRFR route as there's really no need to not make use of the versatility.
So I'll hopefully be getting my II this week, and I plan to take it to a shop and try the QSC K10 and K12 and see which is best for me.
Click to expand...
You should try and make it to the Axe Meet in Bicester on the 17th .... there'll be good advice, various setups and it's in a pub!

I'd say all you'll need to bring is your ears (put on shades when you get in the car - if they fall off you've forgotten your ears) :razz
 
I´ve just got the RCF NX10 SMA's, and they are outstanding !
The price-quality ratio is really off the charts IMHO.

I often play stages fitted with the best monitor wedges on the marked, and while the RCF NX10's can't be said to hang with those, the RCF's really impress the hell out of me.
With the OwnHammer Beta IR's and the RCF's I get totally authentic guitar cab sounds, thump, spank and all.

I do make a living out of playing, but even if I didn't I could still easily justify going for one or two of these - I'm a great believer in "getting it done right the first time" if at all possible, so if you have the coin needed, I highly recommend that you consider the RCF NX10 SMA's instead of the QSC offerings.

I checked the prices on Thomann.de/gb for the QCS K series and the RCF NX10's (see below) - there's a difference, sure, but the sonic difference is far greater than the difference in cost IMHO.

QSC K12 877€ (701 £)
QSC K10 777€ (621 £)
RCF NX10 SMA 1090€ (872 £)
 
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I may try and get down to Bicester. Its only an hour drive for me really.

O.K, stage one complete. I now have an Axe Fx II (mk2) FW 8.01. I played it most of the night last night through headphones and whilst coming from an Ultra a lot of it seems very familar and similar, where it matters it is actually a massive improvement. Some of the high gain stuff and generaly organic sound is astonishing. I just swapped the Brit 800 for a 5150 in the Spandez preset and with minor EQ tweaking had a sound I would be proud of (and I'm fairly fussy). Fantastic.

O.K, so back to the rest. Basically I have about £1200 max for a floor pedal and FRFR speaker(s). The more I spend on one the less I have for the other, naturally.
I had thought of getting a FCB1010 leaving me the most money to spend on a speaker or two.

A couple of questions.

Re: RCF - Is the NX10 alone going to be enough to play live/studio with as I notice its power rating is considerably less than a K10/12 etc.
And being that its primarily a wedge, can I use it as a back line to project sound to an audience/rest of the band in the studio without problems (also is it pole mountable?). Will it cut through and live with a another guitar, bass and drums in a fairly loud prog metal environment?

Re: FCB1010 - I will probably have about 10 patches at most that I will use for the majority of the time. Is this all I need? Will it handle that?
I dont need any fancy functionality as far as I know. I just want to be able to switch sounds instantly and use an expression pedal. I dont really want to spend much in that case. Why would I need more I suppose is another question.

Thanks again for your help guys.
 
I use 2 QSC K12's and I play primarily high gain, tech prog death stuff in drop A and drop B... Sounds great to me, and just like my oversized Mesa cab, if not better..
 
Yes, I think I'm steering back towards them (God damn this all head spinning). The price is right anyway... sort of.
Maybe I'll go with something "better" in the future but I think the K series will be good enough for now.
Most people I'll play to will be pissed up anyway. Including me ;)

So I reckon, because I have no access to RCF stuff at all, I'll try out some K10s and K12s and maybe the Yamaha DXR12s and ELX112s and be damned.
Then pick up an FCB1010. Fuck it.
 
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