Atomic CLR vs Matrix Q12a

Kirkboss

Inspired
Hi all,
i'm very undecided between atomic CLR wedge and matrix Q12a, has anyone tried both and can report their impressions?

Tnx in advace ;)
 
Hi mate,

Can't comment on the Matrix Q12A, but from what I've seen here on F.Forum, there's a fair few folk that like the Q12A, but it seems as though there's more popularity towards the CLR. Having owned the CLR and not being able to gel with it, I'd throw a third option in the works and recommend the Friedman ASM.. that thing is awesome. Personally, I've found the CLR to be too 'spikey' in sound, which I found hard to dial out. You can't really remove it's spikey core tone, which, even though it's supposed to emulate a mic'd up cab, I don't really think it translates that well, and to me, it therefore sounds NQR and too artificial.

The Friedman sounds less 'harsh' on the ears more like a guitar cab.. So I guess it depends on what you really want your FRFR speaker to sound like. If you want it to, I guess, sound a bit more real, I'd personally recommend the Friedman..
 
Hi Georgy, tnx for you comment

I think that in F.Forum CLR wins because most of them is American but in Europe, price a part, able to buy a Atomic cab is an apocalyptic history :mrgreen, no dealers only direct sell from them

Matrix Q12a is sell from G66 in Europe and I would be quieter in terms of assistance but no one speaks of these cabs :ambivalence:

I hope that someone who owns them can give an opinion or compare them with the CLR

;)
 
They are both excellent . The CLR has more bottom end , and is dead silent . Q12 has a cooling fan , so in studio or at home is kind of noisy , very noticeable .
 
They are both excellent . The CLR has more bottom end , and is dead silent . Q12 has a cooling fan , so in studio or at home is kind of noisy , very noticeable .

The fan has changed to 80 mm instead of 60 mm so the Q12A is now also very close to dead silent.
 
Love my Q12's paired with GT1000fx. Sounds great as monitors or a backline and also comes very close to replicating the sound out our PA. I've also used them in a practice room with very loud drums and they sound incredible.
 
i just felt the CLR was more flat, clearer. The Matrix stuff is great, I just feel the CLR the is truest representation of what's coming out of the AXE.
 
I bought and tried both of them but ended up with a pair of q12a, I agree that the CLR have a more flat responce, but to me the q12a's sounded much better at rehersal or live. In studio I use Genelec's.
 
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+1 on what Ole said, the Q12 now has a larger, quieter fan, with a very low running speed at idle, you can't really hear it.
 
Each to their own man.

You might like milk, or white chocolate, I like dark chocolate.. what's the diff? You like what you like and I like what I like... everybody wins!

PS, nice avatar pic :encouragement:
 
Although it's a gross generalisation, I find most IRs have not enough mids and too much highs; not surprising given their close mic'ing technique. So for those finding more highs than they want thru FRFR speakers, here are some ways to balance the tone:

Amp GEQ section: lower 4KHz a bit, 8KHZ a bit more
Cab block, adjust high frequency
Put in a filter block, use LPF, try the different slopes
Use a PEQ block, band 5
Insert a flanger block, set the delay to around 4 or 5mS, no depth or feedback, adjust mix up to 50%
... and I could go on :)

Of course all of these need to be placed after the amp, because changing tone prior to overdrive (including the amp's bass/mid/treb) adjusts the overdrive character, not the final tone balance.
 
i owned q12 and tried out CLR, they are both good but with a matrix amp (gt1000fx or similar) and passive q12 you have more freedom. you can use a passive atomic, or matrix frfr speaker (or any brand) and if you miss the traditional guitar cab, u can hook up any guitar cab u want...stereo or mono

note: and agree, clr sounded more flat but q12 sit better-easier in mix with less tweaks on stage or rehearsal
 
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My buddy has the CLR and it's amazing. I remember it being dead quiet. Our band uses in ear monitoring, but I borrow the CLR if I have a one off gig with wedges. Haven't tried the Q12a's though.
 
Just wanted to contribute to this by saying that the CLR really just delivers what you put in. Thus it is like an audio microscope it will really reveal the quality in a signal as well as reveal imperfections in the signal. Thus the better your patch and IR the more it will shine. Spiky... in Spiky out. Warm bell like and chimey in....warm bell like and chimy out in spades and with SPL to blow you and your listeners away.

Since I've been using Quantum firmware in the Axe II plus CLR it has really convinced me of this principle. The sound is so authentic and better than the real thing (i.e. real amp) in most cases. The Vox AC30 TB with UR IR is so wonderful to play and listen to it really brings a lot of joy and improves your playing. No the CLR is not spikey it simply needs goodness in and it will deliver. I'm getting the most incredibly clear bell like chime with no harshness from the CLR. If there is harshness in the patch it will allow you to dial it out accurately!

I've made the comparison of the CLR to my high end ATC 100A studio monitors before in terms of quality of sound and revelatory quality for reverb trials, Eq Adjustments, and accuracy in translating to big PA systems. They really are that good. I have not played a Q12a but Matrix have not published the EQ curve for these speakers so it is difficult to say how flat they are. The impression I get is that the are not as flat as the published CLR figures and so accuracy of sound will differ through PA etc. However I am sure they can sound good even if not as accurate and easy to dial patches in on. I guess you need to try and see but I am amazed at the CLR. The main thing is they improve as the sound of the modellers improves proving their accuracy. You can really hear and feel the improvement in the firmware as the CLR is so revealing..Awesome
 
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