Are you tired of FRFR?

AlbertA said:
You can actually emulate this by using a couple of loudspeakers arranged in a dipole (facing opposite ways).
Click to expand...
I've seen that mentioned before but never had the chance to try it. I wouldn't mind though.
In all honesty, I'm way satisfied with playing the Axe II (through CLRs in my case) so I'm not yearning to find more solutions per se. Although I would like a better Leslie sim in the Axe.. cough cough.

To the OP- I'd like to hear back on this thread after you get a chance to demo the CLR's this weekend. I've found that playing them on speaker stands (not on the floor) works best to me, along with setting the switch in the back accordingly. After that, the room does it's damage (how ever little or a lot that may be) and then picking the right IR and fine tuning things makes or breaks it for me. Pete Thorns presets/IR he just released for us have been interesting to me- very balanced right off the bat, without my having to do much adjusting. I think that's largely the IR, which further cements the argument that the IR is key with using this type of rig.
 
I use both a Matrix CFR and a Marshall quad, I get the best of both worlds. I could not live with the FRFR alone as I can't seem to live without the quad openness and moving air. I set up all of my tones with both speakers continually switching back and forth to make sure everything sits right both volume and eq wise. I feel I'm also getting a fatter sound where I stand as both speakers cover a different eq space, as well as running stereo. If I had to choose 1 monitor speaker it would be the quad, but I would still send my signal to FOH direct.
 
Am I tired of FRFR? Not as much as people posting threads in the wrong place! Shouldn't this be in "Amps and Cabs" so that Standard and Ultra user are encouraged to weigh in? :D
 
I have EV Live X I bought and used them about a week the went right back to a Mesa 4x12 and they sit in the corner now basically band new and I need to sell them.
 
I would not say that I'm tired of frfr. I really don't know what the acronym stands for. Man, I have been a happy camper standing infront of a 4x10 Bandmaster and just been blown away by the tactile "feel" of the voice-coils and thin paper reacting to my picking the strings.
I don't have my old tube-amps anymore - and my soldering-iron is only warmed-up when I'm making cables for my Axe-rig.

Twenty years ago the first bass-loudspeakers introduced a piezo-tweeter to accentuate the higher harmonics. I think all bass-players endorsed that.

The very intriguing NOW is, that 6-string guitarists are on the verge of duplicating the roar, the subtle harmonics, that aural "feel" of either a Marshall stack or a single 12" midrange speaker in a open-back cab.

Going digital gives you every opportunity to "playing in the digital realm". But - from my POV - the Axe is reality - but the term frfr really needs to mature.

(I must quote that the 11. got me much, much closer to that "tactile" feel hitting the strings)
 
Last edited:
Uncle Feng said:
I don't know about you guys, but after months of playing FRFR I am just not feeling the mojo anymore. There is just something missing. I have been agonizing over this for about 2 weeks, been having dreams about it and I think I need an intervention.

Then I read about some folks using the Fryette 2/50/2 and a traditional git-cab and getting great full, deep and sweet and chime-like tones. So I say to myself, is FRFR really just too transparent? Is it not providing that emotional link to get the mojo flowing? Is it like playing a CD vs vinyl through a fine audio system. Is the FRFR lacking some "presence" that the traditional system can provide.

So am I just becoming insanely OCD?
What do you think?

All my best,
Jake
Click to expand...

The quality of the FRFR and understanding of IR's is a must. Check out Scott Peterson's tutorial on IR's before you give up on it. It was a game changer for me.
 
Yes almost immediately. Played through Matrix gt1500 and gt800, never got it too sound like a real breathing amp with killer dynamics... e.g. Bogner XTC, Soldano slo100, Marshall amps 2203 and older.

Bought a Fryette 2902 and ran it through 2 4x12 cabs, cranked it the f#@#$ up (also tweaked all patches) and with the wipe of an eyebrow and sigh of relief it finally sounds close enough to use in a live situations. Limited to variety of tones because no cab sims, but still there is plenty of good to be getting.

It equates to this... FRFR for low volume dinner theater gigs.
Tube power amp and cabs = rock out venues, play at normal volumes.
 
bleedthefreak said:
Yes almost immediately. Played through Matrix gt1500 and gt800, never got it too sound like a real breathing amp with killer dynamics... e.g. Bogner XTC, Soldano slo100, Marshall amps 2203 and older.

Bought a Fryette 2902 and ran it through 2 4x12 cabs, cranked it the f#@#$ up (also tweaked all patches) and with the wipe of an eyebrow and sigh of relief it finally sounds close enough to use in a live situations. Limited to variety of tones because no cab sims, but still there is plenty of good to be getting.

It equates to this... FRFR for low volume dinner theater gigs.
Tube power amp and cabs = rock out venues, play at normal volumes.
Click to expand...

you didn't mention what FRFR cabinets you tried/used (and how many) before you switched to the Fryette & two 4x12 cabs....
 
Hi Jim,

Custom made, Loaded with eminence speakers each time. Two sets ones with the beta 12's and 8's and a horn, then went to 15's and just a horn, A friend had some Atomics from a few years back, no go either.

I like cabs vs pa speakers. IT costs too much money to throw around at pa speakers and FRFR (flavors of the week) stuff hoping to find what comes close to the sound I need. I have cabs. I know they work so might as well use them since I have other amps I still use in my rig.
 
I find using both together gives me the best sound. FBT Verve 12M gives me the smooth tamed sound and a vertical 2x12 with V30s gives me the raw in your face sound. The two work so well I cannot tell where the sound is coming from.
 
hussamd said:
I find using both together gives me the best sound. FBT Verve 12M gives me the smooth tamed sound and a vertical 2x12 with V30s gives me the raw in your face sound. The two work so well I cannot tell where the sound is coming from.
Click to expand...

Are using Cab sims with V30's?
 
I split the signal at the end with FX block before the cab. Output 1L goes to the FBT and Output 2L goes to the 2x12. I use a ART-SLA2 and I use each channel to amp an output.
 
How I do FRFR, Dolby 5.1, and Live AMP simultaneously or individually

I have to go back and re-read the thread as I think there are a few gold nuggets in there for me.

I have to admit I was confused as to what I wanted in terms of speakers for strictly playback. I kept on reading FRFR is great for ensuring your recording mix is balanced. I kept thinking, well that great, accept I want to optimize the guitar playback for my ears when I'm just noodling around practicing or learning new songs. So I thought, I'll try various playback options and see what I like.

After messing around for a day or two, I came up with 3 distinct playback options. I can now simultaneously or individual output playback from my AXE FX II to all 3 options. To hear them all "live" at the same time, I mix the volumes to my liking and place the speakers in places appropriate for my hears while playing guitar "live." To hear each individually, I switch them in and out manually one at a time. This has allowed me to obtain playback sounds with all possible combinations of those three.

1.) The 5.1 Dolby - is coming out of a Realtek HD Audio Controller in my motherboard -- we get some really cool spatial effects on some of the presets here through 5 speakers and SW. It converts to simulated 5.1 even though signal isn't actually 5.1, which still makes for a wide sound.
2.) The M-audio FRFR - is coming out of an M-audio Delta 1010LT balanced in/outs -- this gets a decent FRFR for a small studio situation and is used for the recording playback
3.) The "Amp on Stage" 4x12 Recto Cab - is actually being fed from the AXE FX II through a Lexicon MPX G2 preamp,which powers a Mesa 50/50 + 4x12 Mesa recto Cab. The Lexicon is in "bypass" mode on the UNITY GAIN preset - I simply use the main outs of it to power Mesa 50/50. Doing this allows me to play all original presets w/global parameters unchanged. This seems to negate the need to mess with the preset as stated in the manual(reference page 22 section "3.4.7 Direct to FOH plus Real Amps on stage"). I do plan to try that option, but the manual is talking about how one does that with an amp head but I'm trying to do it with a rack preamp/amp situation....its different enough that I have to much with cabling and the preset options described in the afremention manual section. I'll report back if I figure it out and it actually sounds better....I can't image it does though because it actually sounds a little better than my Triaxis and JMP-1 when going directly into me Mesa 50/50 + recto CAB.

All that said, the jury is still out for me as to which one of the 3 options, individually , sounds better as they all sound very similar/great, but each has its own distinct voicing naturally. However, mixed together properly live they actually sound quite amazing in my studio room. That's what I use for playback at the moment -- not for trying to determine best mix for recording -- the M-audio's are the best thing I own for that!

Any suggestions on the 3rd option for the live sound are welcome as I still have some more R&D there.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom