Dialing it in at home

MikeBrooklyn

MikeBrooklyn

Inspired
Hey all. What are people using these days to dial their FM3 in at gig volume for live use in stereo? I currently break out my FOH mains (RCF TT22a) and put them on short stands in my living room, but it’s a pain to always drag them out wenever i want to dial something new in.

Any other ideas?
 
If you have studio monitors rated at 200 watts or more, you can achieve gig levels in a small room.
 
I can get close with phones. And then I can play at 85-90db at home and get it closer. At those levels you’re past the Fletcher Munson curve. For true band volumes I need to drag my stuff to my buddies house where we jam. From there it’s usually just TMB adjusts that I keep on the performance page. I also have mic proximity on there which is like a master tone control in a way. I don’t bring my laptop with me for jams.
 
A good pair of studio monitors should do the trick. I have a pair of Focal Alpha 65's, dial in my presets @80-85 dB in a 300sq. ft. room and have no issues with them translating to a PA/line array system that runs @95-100 dB in a venue like a large auditorium (approx. 10,000 sq. ft).
 
JoKeR III said:
A good pair of studio monitors should do the trick. I have a pair of Focal Alpha 65's, dial in my presets @80-85 dB in a 300sq. ft. room and have no issues with them translating to a PA/line array system that runs @95-100 dB in a venue like a large auditorium (approx. 10,000 sq. ft).
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Nice. Sounds like a good solution. I’m gonna start researching studio monitors. Thank you. The Rcf TT’s sound stellar but I can’t drag them out every time I wanna jam in the fm3 m
 
Apologies to the OP I didn’t answer what you were asking about.

I use a Celestion F12 full range speaker and an amp. Sounds good and that’s what I take out of the house. @JoKeR III how would something like that compare to a pair of quality monitors? Would it be a significant improvement? I ask because I’m getting ready to get another speaker. Maybe monitors would be better.
 
skolacki said:
Apologies to the OP I didn’t answer what you were asking about.

I use a Celestion F12 full range speaker and an amp. Sounds good and that’s what I take out of the house. @JoKeR III how would something like that compare to a pair of quality monitors? Would it be a significant improvement? I ask because I’m getting ready to get another speaker. Maybe monitors would be better.
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As a disclaimer, I never really had much success getting the tones I wanted with a power amp and speaker setup or an FRFR.

As to whether they would be a better option depends upon your typical listening/playing position when using the FM3/FM9/Axe III. Most studio monitors are nearfield monitors, typically 3-6 feet away from your listening position. I sit in front of a computer when playing, recording or listening to music so nearfield monitors are ideal for my use case, I use them for all audio in my music room.

The Focal Alpha is their 'entry level' model but are a great quality monitor. A friend has a pair of Focal Twin 6 monitors which is the reason I looked into the brand but could not justify the cost. The Alpha 65's are incredible sounding with a depth and width to the audio that none of the monitors I tried had. I was pleasantly surprised at the similarity in sound between the Alpha 65 and the Twin 6. If the Evo Twin was available when looking, they would have likely been my choice.

When searching for monitors on my limited budget, I tried the JBL 305 and 308P (to 'sterile' and mid heavy), Yamaha HS7 and HS8 (Harsh highs, ear fatiguing), ADAM T7V (Didn't care for the ribbon tweeter). They were replacing a pair of Behringer B2030A's that were actually great monitors but I wanted an 'upgrade'. I would choose them over the JBL, Yamaha or Adam. If you're wanting an inexpensive set to try in order to see how well they work for you, I would highly recommend the Behringers. There are a few things they get right and those monitors are one of them.
 
JoKeR III said:
As a disclaimer, I never really had much success getting the tones I wanted with a power amp and speaker setup or an FRFR.

As to whether they would be a better option depends upon your typical listening/playing position when using the FM3/FM9/Axe III. Most studio monitors are nearfield monitors, typically 3-6 feet away from your listening position. I sit in front of a computer when playing, recording or listening to music so nearfield monitors are ideal for my use case, I use them for all audio in my music room.

The Focal Alpha is their 'entry level' model but are a great quality monitor. A friend has a pair of Focal Twin 6 monitors which is the reason I looked into the brand but could not justify the cost. The Alpha 65's are incredible sounding with a depth and width to the audio that none of the monitors I tried had. I was pleasantly surprised at the similarity in sound between the Alpha 65 and the Twin 6. If the Evo Twin was available when looking, they would have likely been my choice.

When searching for monitors on my limited budget, I tried the JBL 305 and 308P (to 'sterile' and mid heavy), Yamaha HS7 and HS8 (Harsh highs, ear fatiguing), ADAM T7V (Didn't care for the ribbon tweeter). They were replacing a pair of Behringer B2030A's that were actually great monitors but I wanted an 'upgrade'. I would choose them over the JBL, Yamaha or Adam. If you're wanting an inexpensive set to try in order to see how well they work for you, I would highly recommend the Behringers. There are a few things they get right and those monitors are one of them.
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Appreciate your thoughts on this. I’m setup in my living room either sitting on the couch with laptop on coffee table if editing or standing and playing. So I guess monitors wouldn’t be my best bet. Eventually I will be setup in our office but I need to do some project work to create room to play in there. I’m happy with my presets right now but need to go stereo. Looks like I’ll be ordering another F12 soon.
 
Rex said:
If you have studio monitors rated at 200 watts or more, you can achieve gig levels in a small room.
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MikeBrooklyn said:
Any recommendations?
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I use a pair of Event ASP8’s. They’re lively, accurate, and easy to learn. They translate well to a good FOH system. Plenty of bass extension (3 dB down at 35 Hz), so you don’t need a subwoofer — even if you’re playing bass. No frequencies are hyped. They also happen to sound very pleasant. I can listen to recorded music for hours without fatigue.

And plenty of power: 200 watts to the woofer and 80 watts to the tweeter. In my cheesy little bedroom studio, with both monitors firing on program material, I cat hit 111 dB SPL at 1 meter just before the limiters kick in.

Sadly, they’re no longer made. But I’m sure there are excellent substitutes available.
 
I do fine tuning through IEMs and through small PA speakers (Yorkville E10Ps). I have great studio monitors available but prefer to tweak through something that is closer to what the audience will be hearing - i.e., PA speakers. I HPF all my guitar presets, so not too concerned about sub frequencies - though that would be different if I were using it for bass or keys.
 
MikeBrooklyn said:
Ok so I’ve narrowed it down to

Adam A4v
Focal Alpha 50

Thoughts? Or is there no comparison go for the adams?
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I haven't heard the Adam A4V, only the T7V, so it may be moot, but I prefer the sound of the Focal Alpha 65 to the T7V. The Adams were not as noticeable of an improvement over the Behringer B2030a's as the Focals were. I also have not listened to the Alpha 50's so I don't know how much different the bottom end would be in comparison to the 65's which have full, clear sounding lows.
 
We are lucky in that our mains are used in our practice space so I can tweak when we rehearse. Regardless of what I use at home, when I bring it to rehearsal, it's always waaaaaaaaay to bright. At home, I've cranked things up to as loud as I perceive my gigging volume is but it seems to not make a difference. So, I've got my performance pages up and can usually make adjustments as needed when rehearsing or gigging.

Anyway, nothing at home seems to be a substitute.
 
Lance Holland said:
We are lucky in that our mains are used in our practice space so I can tweak when we rehearse. Regardless of what I use at home, when I bring it to rehearsal, it's always waaaaaaaaay to bright. At home, I've cranked things up to as loud as I perceive my gigging volume is but it seems to not make a difference. So, I've got my performance pages up and can usually make adjustments as needed when rehearsing or gigging.

Anyway, nothing at home seems to be a substitute.
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Either your home monitors are darker than your mains, or you're not quite at gig volume yet. Or you're using a different output at home, and it's got some EQ on it.
 
Rex said:
Either your home monitors are darker than your mains, or you're not quite at gig volume yet. Or you're using a different output at home, and it's got some EQ on it.
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True. Except for the EQ part - our band's mixer is set flat for me. I'm just saying that I haven't had much luck getting it right at home. It's just different gear...there's a band playing with me. It's also my "perceived" volume level...is it really the same?

There are so many factors.

And then we get to a gig and all that changes again due to the room, etc.
 
Ok I pulled the trigger.

I did more research and got the Iloud mtm

Holy crap these sound amazing. I dialed in a preset and I tried it out on my rcf tt22a and it translated great.

The thing that made me choose them was the built in room correction feature. It works great.
 
Lance Holland said:
We are lucky in that our mains are used in our practice space so I can tweak when we rehearse. Regardless of what I use at home, when I bring it to rehearsal, it's always waaaaaaaaay to bright. At home, I've cranked things up to as loud as I perceive my gigging volume is but it seems to not make a difference. So, I've got my performance pages up and can usually make adjustments as needed when rehearsing or gigging.

Anyway, nothing at home seems to be a substitute.
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I have had some luck when everything seems too bright by just rolling off some tone on guitar. Works in a pinch, anyway.
 
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