Axe Fx Live Rig

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BACTEDGREATLYD

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I am not really such a fan of my tone using the axe fx thru a mesa 4x12 with an art sla 2. I am highly considering getting a PA system to run the axe fx thru but I am not sure which one to get. After selling the art sla 2 and the mesa I should have around 700$ or so to spend on a Pa system. What is the best Pa system for the axe fx in this price range. Also a side note, when I saw Animals As Leaders they used a pa system with their axe fxs. does anyone know what they use? ideally I dont want to spend so much but I want to get something that will give me the perfect tone and can go loud and full sounding for band practice and live gigs. Any tips? Thanks!!
 
If you search FRFR you should get a lot of hits about this subject. There are many options and they've been much discussed around here. RCF, QSC, JBL, Mackie, Atomic and others are among the possibilities, but do the FRFR search and you'll have reading material for hours.
 
I want to get something that will give me the perfect tone and can go loud and full sounding for band practice and live gigs
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"perfect tone" for $700? You can get loud and you can get good, but loud AND good will cost ya more than that.
 
tone is subjective and there is no perfect tone. The more you spend the closer you will get. having said that I use 2 rcf 310a's and they totally satisfy my tone desires. Are they the best? not even close. Do they do the trick for under 500 buck a piece? you bet. If you can plug into the house PA for gigs then you only need one rcf310a to hear yourself. they are quite loud. and only weigh about 27 lbs. the struggle for more and better stuff has to stop somewhere. keep in mind clapton will still sound like clapton even if he is playing through a 100 dollar amp.

Remember the magic is in your fingers.
 
Ok so I looked up a handful of good choices. Mackie HD1531 or Mackie HD1521 . Says the difference is 3 way 1800w and the Mackie HD1521 is 2 way and only 1600w. what does 3 way mean. Is this a significant difference ? another choice is the EV ELX112P 1000W. Which would be the best choice?
 
3 way is just as it sounds.......3 speakers, one to handle highs, one for mids, and one for lows.
2 way is also just as it sounds 2 speakers, one for highs and one for lows.

it is more complicated that this but u get the idea.

btw just because it has 3 speakers does not mean it is better. many people here prefer a coaxial speaker like the verve 12ma witch is basically a 2 way system.

anything you get in the 500 dollar range is gonna sound pretty good with an axefx.

if i where you i would go to a music store and try some out first just to make sure u dig a frfr setup, it is not for everyone.
 
Our drummer has a pair of lower-end Mackies. I can get the exact model numbers. They're on elevated stands so they're over our heads. When I go to practice I just plug directly into the board. The sound is lovely. You can really hear the stereo effects pronounced even more than my twin Atomic cabs at home.

One thing I do notice is that I have trouble hearing myself unless I'm dead-on in front of the monitors. It's a small practice room so I don't sweat it. It saves me having to haul my heavy powered Atomics to practice.
 
BACTEDGREATLYD said:
Ok so I looked up a handful of good choices. Mackie HD1531 or Mackie HD1521 . Says the difference is 3 way 1800w and the Mackie HD1521 is 2 way and only 1600w. what does 3 way mean. Is this a significant difference ? another choice is the EV ELX112P 1000W. Which would be the best choice?
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The EV will be your best bang for the buck and based on the posts here should sound really good. You could also use the SLA and get a passive PA cab and run it with that... just a thought.
 
Although I no longer have mine due to getting an larger than expected tax bill from Uncle Sam, I was pretty pleased with the EV ELX112P. The Alto TS112A doesn't sound as good to me but sounded pretty good and you can get a pair of them for about the same money. Strangely, I found it easier to get a tolerable sound with the Alto but then the result translated better to the EV. I don't understand that.

Musicians Fiend had a 13% off coupon yesterday if you can take advantage of it.
 
If we already mentioned amps and speakers, what do you think of ULTRA with Boogie 2:90 with 2 Thiele design 1x12" Boogie cabs loaded with EVM12L (Electro voice) ?
 
Roadrunner said:
If we already mentioned amps and speakers, what do you think of ULTRA with Boogie 2:90 with 2 Thiele design 1x12" Boogie cabs loaded with EVM12L (Electro voice) ?
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I dont know about the boogie 2:90 becouse i dont have one.

What i do have is a home brewThiele cab and a tubeworks mosvalve power amp. it does sound really good, however I do prefer my set of rcf 310a's.

Thiele cabs are super easy to make btw
 
Roadrunner said:
If we already mentioned amps and speakers, what do you think of ULTRA with Boogie 2:90 with 2 Thiele design 1x12" Boogie cabs loaded with EVM12L (Electro voice) ?
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the guys from between the buried and me are pretty much using that setup except ones using a recto 4x12 and the other is using a port city 4x12. and im pretty sure they are also going into the di also.
 
I too had been searching for the perfect setup for the axe, I got a used ultra and just so to try it out bought me a couple of behringer B212d's for 200 each BEHRINGER: B212D just cause they were cheap and had great reviews, thought they sucked at first but after they broke in WOW!, then I thought I would give a 2x12 cab and power amp a try and just not the versatility and as good of a sound as the behringers. On with my quest for a great FRFR solution, the behringers really were sounding very good BUT didn't look right on stage and had different results straight up or angled laying sideways but still a great sound especially because of the 2 band eq on the back and way loud. I thought I would just buy an empty 4x12 cab and stick them inside just for looks, found my empty cab but wouldn't fit without removing the handles on the sides, hmmmmmm, then along comes a thread from the namm show about the Jet City Cab http://forum.fractalaudio.com/amps-cabs/46472-jet-city-700-dp-fr-cab.html Hmmmmmm again I can make my own for cheaper and knowing that I was going to buy some higher end FRFR speakers anyways so I said what the hell? gutted my behringers and did this http://forum.fractalaudio.com/amps-...y-own-full-range-flat-response-cab-maybe.html got mt new EV ELX 112p's a couple days later, the result? my home made FRFR (almost) 4x12 looking stereo cab sounds better than any real amp I have ever owned, sounds better than the EV Elx 112p's and even at 550 watts a side seem louder than the EV's which are 1000 watts each (I still dont get it) it moves air and sounds just like a 4x12 cab but allows me to fully use the axe as intended and cost me roughly 600.00 complete, I'm still going to experiment with some damping materials I have not tested it with a frequency analyzer and I know it is not totaly "Flat" but with a slight EQ tweak on the back of the cab the sound is exceptional and a very wide dispersion unlike the original enclosures that they came in. So far it is the best sound I have acheived ever from a real amp or the axe so far.
 
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