Advice on monitors/amp

V

vicsnake

Member
Hey guys, I've had the axe fx 2 xl+ for almost 2 years and I've been using it with headphones all the time. I like to record some covers and originals and I was recently made aware that having "live" sound was better for recording and to get better tones. I am basically a bedroom guitarist and I want to try the "real" sound of the axe fx.

I have a mesa boogie mark v and a road king 2x12 cabinet. I was wondering if you recommend getting a power amp (like the matrix gt800 or gt1000) or some monitors (like the jbl lsr305 or yamaha hs5).

I don't need ultra loud sound, I just want reasonable volume for playing and practicing.

Thanks guys.

PS - i know there's a huge difference in prices between the power amp and monitors. So I'm open to suggestions.
 
vicsnake said:
Hey guys, I've had the axe fx 2 xl+ for almost 2 years and I've been using it with headphones all the time. I like to record some covers and originals and I was recently made aware that having "live" sound was better for recording and to get better tones. I am basically a bedroom guitarist and I want to try the "real" sound of the axe fx.

I have a mesa boogie mark v and a road king 2x12 cabinet. I was wondering if you recommend getting a power amp (like the matrix gt800 or gt1000) or some monitors (like the jbl lsr305 or yamaha hs5).

I don't need ultra loud sound, I just want reasonable volume for playing and practicing.

Thanks guys.

PS - i know there's a huge difference in prices between the power amp and monitors. So I'm open to suggestions.
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If you are only needing to record, you probably would be better served by purchasing cab packs instead. I think recording will sound better direct with the large variety of IRs then with using a single cabinet and micing it.
 
I recorded an entire album (Supernal Endgame Touch the Sky Volume II on 10-T Records) using my Ultra direct to the board. Only the acoustic tracks were recorded using mics. I was very happy with the result and so were our fans.
 
Geezerjohn said:
I recorded an entire album (Supernal Endgame Touch the Sky Volume II on 10-T Records) using my Ultra direct to the board. Only the acoustic tracks were recorded using mics. I was very happy with the result and so were our fans.
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That's the thing, using an IR and going directly to the board essentially uses some experts' ability to configure and mix a whole set of mics around a specific cabinet to capture it's essence. Slapping an SM57 in front of whatever cabinet you happen to own and running that into the board doesn't seem like an improvement to me.

That being said, mixing and setting up presets with headphones is not recommended either. So a good set of FRFR monitors would probably be a good investment.
 
If you're going to be recording, a good set of nearfield monitors is an essential investment to knowing what your mix sounds like in space. The good thing about that, for your situation, is that the Axe FX also sounds great through a good set of nearfields! It's a win-win for you to go that way. Search on studio monitors here, there are lots of threads on which ones have worked well for others. I have a little set of Genelec 1029As that I use sometimes, and they are cool at reasonable volumes. I also have a set of Presonus Scepter S8s that produce great louder tones with much more low end, when that's needed. Just an example.

I'd say get the best studio monitors you can afford, set up your sounds with those, and you get to use them as recording monitors to boot. Once you have your presets, just record direct.
 
StickMan said:
That's the thing, using an IR and going directly to the board essentially uses some experts' ability to configure and mix a whole set of mics around a specific cabinet to capture it's essence. Slapping an SM57 in front of whatever cabinet you happen to own and running that into the board doesn't seem like an improvement to me.

That being said, mixing and setting up presets with headphones is not recommended either. So a good set of FRFR monitors would probably be a good investment.
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I didn't mean to record the cabinet while using the power amp. I meant to play that way for playing/practicing and when recording just for monitoring/feel.

Which cab packs would you recommend? I like heavy tones like metallica, megadeth, maiden and dream theater.

Thanks
 
vicsnake said:
I didn't mean to record the cabinet while using the power amp. I meant to play that way for playing/practicing and when recording just for monitoring/feel.

Which cab packs would you recommend? I like heavy tones like metallica, megadeth, maiden and dream theater.

Thanks
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That makes more sense. Obviously, you'll have to have enough volume to have the speakers actually interact with your guitar. For that, though, I'd think you could just use whatever FRFR monitors you're using for mixing for this purpose.
 
Ironically, I'd say at least 75% of the artist with whom I've been involved in the recording process to some degree have actually monitored via headphones while tracking guitars. Amps generally aren't even in the same room. Same goes for about 100% of vocals. Never once seen anyone lay down vocal takes monitoring themselves with anything except headphones.

So not sure how sound the logic is that you get "better" sound from monitoring with speakers instead of headphones.....
 
I personally prefer to play in the control room when tracking. It allows me to hear the guitar better in the context of the track.
 
unix-guy said:
I personally prefer to play in the control room when tracking. It allows me to hear the guitar better in the context of the track.
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but, but, but...... someone said on the internet you need to have the speakers in the same room for the "best" tone...


Your not suggesting that we can't believe everything we read on the internet are you ?
 
lqdsnddist said:
but, but, but...... someone said on the internet you need to have the speakers in the same room for the "best" tone...


Your not suggesting that we can't believe everything we read on the internet are you ?
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I read this quote from Abraham Lincoln:

Everything on the internet is true!
 
lqdsnddist said:
So not sure how sound the logic is that you get "better" sound from monitoring with speakers instead of headphones.....
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With the speaker in the same room as the guitar and at decent volume, you can get supportive sustain and singing feedback that you just won't get any other way. It'll also have an effect on the EQ of your tone, depending on which frequencies are reinforced by the feedback.

You can still record great tones using just headphones, but it won't be the same.
 
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