Anyone switch from QSC to Matrix or Xitone etc...? Was it worth it?

[Rivertownrocker]

There are many options, and no single one is 'the best'…it's more of what sounds but good to you and the application/venue you're designing for your situation. I have tried quite a few configurations myself, including QSC, XiTone, RCF, CLR, Matrix, and 4CM to a Marshall amp+cab, to a small combo. Over time, I've narrowed it down to a few 'rules of thumb' and condensed my gear down to a few options. First, if you're playing through a PA, it does not matter how much 'rig' you have on-stage; your guitar sound will be exactly as played through the PA speaker, so best to create and tweak it through the closest speaker type….ie, if your band uses QSC tops, fine tune your patches through it. I've even gone to a rehearsal studio just so that I could play through a specific model. Second, what you hear on stage is not what the audience hears. Yes, it might give you inspiration or 'vibe', but if your sound sucks in FOH, no matter how good it feels on-stage, the audience won't hear it. Thus, once I configure and adjust my patches for FOH, my on-stage advice is keep-it-simple and avoid tons of equipment and weight…use the house monitors or in-ear monitors, or bring a small FRFR (XiTone, K10) or what I've been using lately, a Power Engine…it's small, reasonably priced, gives a decent vibe, and as added benefit, it works great in the rehearsal room. I'm now the first to load-and-go, and I don't have to 'break my back'.

Last night I did an Acoustic Trio, where I play various parts including all the leads. My first gig with the AX8. Ran direct to FOH and used the Power Engine for a touch of stage ambience. Hardly anything for me to carry and/or pack-up, and the sound was fantastic.[/QUOTE

 

[Rivertownrocker]

I was looking into the power engine 60 but switched out a speaker in the fender mustang 3 and am picking up another for stereo.
Been playing once a month now for about thirty years in bars that fit 100 to 200 and we usually just have vocals through PA. Was hoping to have my older band convinced too just use a PA but there just a bunch of old dogs.

Do you keep amp modleing on or of with the power engine also do you still have a cab block in the chain?
Thanks

 

[Old News]

I was looking into the power engine 60 but switched out a speaker in the fender mustang 3 and am picking up another for stereo.
Been playing once a month now for about thirty years in bars that fit 100 to 200 and we usually just have vocals through PA. Was hoping to have my older band convinced too just use a PA but there just a bunch of old dogs.

Do you keep amp modleing on or of with the power engine also do you still have a cab block in the chain?
Thanks

Pretty much describes our situation. 6 piece band (keys/drums/bass/guitar/2 singers up front) -- all over 50 except for one singer -- she is in her twenties. We only had vocals going through PA for years. The last couple of years we have been getting a lot more wedding/corp gigs so we decided to upgrade the PA. With the QSC TouchMix 16 board you create presets of the venues you play. So it is a much easier setup if everyone goes through the board. Punch a button and you have all your settings from the last time you played at that particular club.

 

[Old News]

HI Thanks for that...when I had a three piece we went out with my axe, touchmix and two k12's and a sub and electronic kit thats it and it did sound very good.
But I felt dialing in just took longer than needed that was around firmware 1.7 here I am now with quantum and its here we go again time I just want to play and stop the madness lol.

You are right about getting used to it I'm just a amp in room guy! i'm gonna now do the amp cab route for awhile. I wish there was away to just eq k12 to better sound like a guitar cab something a little more than high low filters.

IMO no matter how much money you spend or how much you EQ you are not going to get a monitor to act/feel/sound like your are standing in front of a 4x12 stack basting away.

Real amp and Cab will give you that. I got a pretty good result (for the type of music I play - R&B/Soul) with the Matrix GT1000 and 2 NL12 cabs. Now I am more concerned with the mix and how it sounds in the front of house -- it took a bit, but I have actually gotten use to hearing the mix through the monitors (I make my guitar a little hotter in my monitor) .

The trick for me creating patches on monitors (does not matter what brand) -- it that you have to create and tweak the patches at gig volume (loud). If you don't -- trust me --- they will sound like shit when you dial up the volume.

 

[musicman77]

I keep Power Amp modeling and Cab block both engaged when I run into the PE. My stage volume is usually quite low, running via Out 2, and I only use the Power Engine for some on-stage feel. The real sound of my guitar patches come through in FOH (where the true audience sound is) and it's where I've designed my tones to translate. In rehearsal however, I solely use the Power Engine, and I crank it up; I'm surprised at how good it sounds, and my tones really cut through. I rarely have to turn it up more than 40%, too….60 watts is more than enough for what we do (80', 90's, Alternative, and a Country project). The stock speaker in the model I got is a Celestion. I know guys who use two PE's for stereo, and it sounds killer. Again, I was going for good sound and low weight, and this configuration is great. Last night's gig took me one trip to load-in….guitar, AX8 (in a Mono Kontroller bag) and the PE.

 

[RoshRoslin]

Hi Rosh Thanks for video very informative.

What I don't under stand in your chain is did you just find the shiva clean worked for your cabs AND all the frfr PA's you come across at gigs?

I feel not having been able to dial a tone in with my QSC's what ever I send to FOH will be a crap shoot depending on what they have?

Do you have a quantum version of your shiva preset and a copy of the 57/121 mix ir I can try on my rig? Thanks

I try not to worry about every possible PA situation I'll ever run into. I live in LA, so most places out here have house PA systems that are either JBL based or QSC based. Tons of different permutations etc. again, think real world application: do you open up your guitar cabinet and swap out the speakers before every gig? Probably not. Maybe the amp size or wattage will change gig to gig because of volume limitations, but the AxeFx circumvents that whole thing.

Again, most pa speakers of a decent budget will sound similar, the rest is up to a good FOH engineer. You can go nuts trying to "predict" what your sound is going to be like before the gig. At soundcheck just adjust your patches or use the global EQ if you're hearing something that's different from when you're dialing in stuff at rehearsal or home.

As for the IR, I can't share it because it is from cab pack 10. I blended the 57b mic with the r121 mic in cab lab. Doing a 1:1 ratio.