If possible I’d like some advice from those of you who have experience of playing your AX8 live.
Since getting my AX8 our band has been on hiatus, but that's set to change in the not too distant future so I need to get myself prepared and want to get it right.
To date I've played the AX8 through a Scarlet 6i6 and a pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones at home and at rehearsal through Shure SE425 IEMs from our digital mixer (Behringer XR18) as we've been playing in a residential basement where we need to keep noise to a minimum.
Now there straightaway I have a conflict as to my ears it sounds much better through the Bowers & Wilkins but they're not viable for gigging. The bigger issue if course is that my presets are not dialled in for a live situation. I don't have the option of doing that at home, however we'll start rehearsing in a studio at volume soon.
We have our own PA for gigs ( 2x Alto TS112 and 2x Alto Subs) and previously would mic cabs and send drums (electric kit) direct to the PA. Obviously now I have the AX8 I'll want to go direct to the mixer and PA rather than micing a cab.
As I see it my options are:
1) Get a FRFR monitor for dialling in tones & rehearsing. It would also mean I'm good to go for gigs if we stop using IEMs as it can be my stage monitor - and loud enough for venues where a PA isn't required. It seems that the majority of people feel FRFR is the way to get the most out of modellers. However am I right in thinking the audience wouldn't get the benefit as they're hearing the PA and that won’t necessarily sound the same as what I dial in on the FRFR?
2) Get an Alto TS212 and use that to dial in tones & for rehearsing. It can double as an on stage monitor when required and has the benefit of me knowing that what I'm dialling in is virtually identical to what the audience will hear. Downside is from what I understand it's not the "best" sound I could be getting, although I appreciate that's subjective.
3) Get a power amp like a Matrix GT1000FX and use that with my H&K 2x12 cab for rehearsing and monitoring. This makes use of the cab that's been gathering dust since I got the AX8, but the downside of this is if I want to still go direct to FOH then my stage sound is potentially significantly different.
Presumably those of you who gig regularly have your tones set up how you like them – probably with FRFR monitors, but then are at the mercy of the PA system and the engineer where you play? I could be overthinking this and wildly overestimating how different the sound will be when pumped through a PA rather than a FRFR speaker.
I know I need to get in a room and crank it up ASAP, but any steer before I do that would be great.
Since getting my AX8 our band has been on hiatus, but that's set to change in the not too distant future so I need to get myself prepared and want to get it right.
To date I've played the AX8 through a Scarlet 6i6 and a pair of Bowers & Wilkins headphones at home and at rehearsal through Shure SE425 IEMs from our digital mixer (Behringer XR18) as we've been playing in a residential basement where we need to keep noise to a minimum.
Now there straightaway I have a conflict as to my ears it sounds much better through the Bowers & Wilkins but they're not viable for gigging. The bigger issue if course is that my presets are not dialled in for a live situation. I don't have the option of doing that at home, however we'll start rehearsing in a studio at volume soon.
We have our own PA for gigs ( 2x Alto TS112 and 2x Alto Subs) and previously would mic cabs and send drums (electric kit) direct to the PA. Obviously now I have the AX8 I'll want to go direct to the mixer and PA rather than micing a cab.
As I see it my options are:
1) Get a FRFR monitor for dialling in tones & rehearsing. It would also mean I'm good to go for gigs if we stop using IEMs as it can be my stage monitor - and loud enough for venues where a PA isn't required. It seems that the majority of people feel FRFR is the way to get the most out of modellers. However am I right in thinking the audience wouldn't get the benefit as they're hearing the PA and that won’t necessarily sound the same as what I dial in on the FRFR?
2) Get an Alto TS212 and use that to dial in tones & for rehearsing. It can double as an on stage monitor when required and has the benefit of me knowing that what I'm dialling in is virtually identical to what the audience will hear. Downside is from what I understand it's not the "best" sound I could be getting, although I appreciate that's subjective.
3) Get a power amp like a Matrix GT1000FX and use that with my H&K 2x12 cab for rehearsing and monitoring. This makes use of the cab that's been gathering dust since I got the AX8, but the downside of this is if I want to still go direct to FOH then my stage sound is potentially significantly different.
Presumably those of you who gig regularly have your tones set up how you like them – probably with FRFR monitors, but then are at the mercy of the PA system and the engineer where you play? I could be overthinking this and wildly overestimating how different the sound will be when pumped through a PA rather than a FRFR speaker.
I know I need to get in a room and crank it up ASAP, but any steer before I do that would be great.