Atomic jitters!

joegold said:
...The biggest attraction of the FBT Verve 12ma is that it has a coaxial driver so that the treble and bass frequencies all eminate from a single source, just like they do with a real guitar speaker...
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That may be part of it, but I think the biggest attraction, based on the number of people buying without having heard one, is the glowing reviews.

The Verve uses class G.
 
Thanks for the response Joe, clearly i did not look into it enough!! I am definitely a noob when it comes to power amps, speaker ratings and all that, even with my Ultra (not even a month old) I guess I should hope that the one wedge is enough for me! I have spent over $3,000 in the last month trying to get a optimal set-up, we have a lot of shows and touring this summer and hope to take the axe on the road and put my VHT as back up!
 
KyleUMF said:
Thanks for the response Joe, clearly i did not look into it enough!! I am definitely a noob when it comes to power amps, speaker ratings and all that, even with my Ultra (not even a month old) I guess I should hope that the one wedge is enough for me! I have spent over $3,000 in the last month trying to get a optimal set-up, we have a lot of shows and touring this summer and hope to take the axe on the road and put my VHT as back up!
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The V-300 is only 150 watts per side into a 4 ohm load.
The Atomic cabs are 8ohm cabs.
The specs in the V-300 manual state that it's only 75 watts per channel into 8 ohms.

If you're only using 1 Atomic passive cab then run the V-300 in bridged mono mode for 300 watts into 8ohms and you'll be fine....
Unless the Atomic's woofer is the reason they have a rep for farting out on the bottom end.
You'll probably be fine anyway.
 
Yeah I understood your explanation, I appreciate your help and explanation! everyone on these forums have been great, I have definitely learned more about the tech side of music over the last 2 months then my 15 years of playing haha. I just hope using one wedge is sufficient for my needs, I would hate to have to return it back to them.
 
KyleUMF said:
Yeah I understood your explanation, I appreciate your help and explanation! everyone on these forums have been great, I have definitely learned more about the tech side of music over the last 2 months then my 15 years of playing haha. I just hope using one wedge is sufficient for my needs, I would hate to have to return it back to them.
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Once you have your Atomic you might want to go out somewhere and rent a hi-quality passive monitor with a 12" woofer plus a tweeter designed for P.A. use and compare it to the Atomic.
See which one sounds better when running music CD's through it too.
In theory, the one that sounds the best for music should also sound best with the Axe.
Try one with a 10" woofer too.
 
Awesome, will do, I have a very good endorsement through our local music store that would be more then willing to let me borrow some of there monitors that they rent for a weekend, thats a good idea! thanks again for your input and info!
 
KyleUMF said:
Awesome, will do, I have a very good endorsement through our local music store that would be more then willing to let me borrow some of there monitors that they rent for a weekend, thats a good idea! thanks again for your input and info!
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Cool.
Then you might also want to try renting some hi-end power amps (in the 300 watt to 400 watt into 8ohms range) too and compare them to your V-300.
Stay away from Class D if you can or A/B some Class D amps with some Class A/B amps too.
Enjoy your 15 day trial period!
Don't hurt your self! :)
 
Why stay away from class D amps? the QSC K12 seems to be a common choice and those have class D. Like I Said i am very new to all this so i could very well be incorrect.
 
Well, Class D is the rage right now because it is very efficient (i.e. loud) in a light-weight package.
It's actually getting harder and harder to find powered speakers that aren't Class D these days. Everybody seems to have jumped on the Class D bandwagon.
But, as I said up-thread, they have a history of being somewhat less than musical in the top-end department.
They're fine for bass players and jazz guitar players though.
The newer Class D amps, eg. in the QSC K series, are probably a bit better in the top-end department than the older Class D designs (eg. Acoustic Image's original amps).
But my own experiences when renting K10's and K12's weren't so good as far as the top-end is concerned.
I was running an older and brighter version of the Axe's firmware back then though.
I plan on renting some K series speakers again to try out with version 10.3.
I love the idea of playing FRFR but have as of yet not been able to get it to give me the same buzz as playing through a real guitar cab.

Generally speaking, to the best of my knowledge, Class A/B has been the standard for hi-fidelity power amps for many years now.
So if you can find a way to power the Axe with a hi-quality Class A/B amp that fits your budget and form-factor needs you'll probably be able to achieve a more sophisticated sound from the Axe.
[Of course a well-designed Class D amp will sound better than a poorly designed Class A/B amp.]

I've ended up with a Bryston 2B-LP-Pro that I bought for $400 used. They're very expensive new though, prohibitively so.
I use it in bridged mono mode, for 200 watts @8ohms, driving an EVM-12L (guitar speaker - not FRFR) in an open back cab, and I couldn't happier with my sound.
The Bryston sounds markedly better than every other power amp I've tried with the Axe. (Pearce G2r power section - bridged or un-bridged, ART SLA1 - bridged or un-bridged, ART SLA 2, QSC PLX1104, Yorkville AP-Series, Mesa Simul-Satellite power section - Simul-Class tube amp - like 1/2 of a Mesa 2:90, etc.)
I've been told that power amps don't get any more transparent than the Bryston products.
Sometime soon I'd like to try the 2B through an FRFR passive cab, but I think I'd be under-powering most cabs of this ilk.
 
I've tried the QSC 12 and 10 and was very disappointed in the sound. When i run the Rocktron V300 in bridged mono thru 1 atomic wedge i am getting a pretty good sound. Still haven't found great lead tones from this rig. Still looking...I do own two of them(Atomic passive). It seems like it isn't worth the extra effort of carrying them both around if i have to split the power amp as I'm not getting that much in return for the extra work.

I did some reading about class G. It was mostly technical stuff that didn't translate into SOUND.

I'm concerned because on my last job, it started to smell like the power amp was frying. My Mesa Boogie 2:90 isn't making it with my Ultra, so I think I'll sell that and either get another power amp, maybe another V300, or a powered speaker like the Verve.

Thanx for the advice about class D and top end. All the acoustic image stuff has a similar vibe, for me, to the QSC-there's a weakness in the top end. Doesn't sound full like a guitar should, then boosts the low end uncomfortably.
 
What settings do you use on the V300 when it's bridged? I just got my passive wedge in last night. Had about a hour to mess around with it, I play mostly high gain music, and when I bridged the amp I would get a lot of feedback as you get close to the wedge
 
Cool-congrats! I keep the reactance off most of the time. Definition around 1. If you face the cab at close distances, i guess you're going to get feedback/squealing sometimes. "Step away from the speaker" when playing a high volumes and don't face the pickups towards the speaker.
 
I have the The atomic Active and it sounds great. I bought the AXe FX to replace a bunch of amps and an expensive never finished pedal board. The atomic does that perfect. Who cares if recorded music does not sound as clear though it I did not buy it for that. I had the K10 while it sounded nice it did lack a dimension for me. The Atomic is louder then My Deluxe reverb and Blues deville both of which I would gig and rehearse without ever going over 1/2 on the volume knob.

As I like to say

I play Songs Not Tones/
 
anyone ever power there axe with a mos-valve mv-962. if so how would the mv-962 sound with a passive atomic cab? i only ask because i have one and am going to be getting an ultra soon.
 
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