Axe-Fx with Studio Monitors or FRFR speaker? Newbie here, need urgent HELP!

[Callan]

Which studio monitors do you use for your Axe-Fx?

I use Focal Alpha 80's, got a great deal on them and couldn't be happier.. Sorry I don't have any experience with the models you mention

Another question, which one do you think is better between a decent pair of studio monitors and a pair of Headrush-108? I mean soundwise better quality at home.

Quality wise, I think the monitors will win that one.
Not that cost is everything, but they seem quite cheap here in AU. I'd be thinking about a single quality frfr instead of 2 cheaper units personally.

Do and of the local stores have both, will let you try both, and return the pair you don't like as much?

 

[Paperjace]

Yamaha HS series, KRK Rokit8, JBL LSR308 and PreSonus. They don't sell any FRFR speakers.

Studio monitors are FRFR speakers. Studio monitors are built to have a flat, neutral EQ. This is because when you are mixing and EQ'ing your songs, the speakers you listen to your mix need to be as un-colored as possible so you can accurately mix your music. All of these brands of monitors are FRFR speakers, or are at least as close to FRFR as they can be.

If it helps at all, I have a friend that mixed his metal album on a pair of cheap Behringer studio monitors and it sounds excellent. Don't get too caught up on which set to buy. In the end, it comes down to you listening to your studio monitors a lot, knowing how they sound with professionally mixed albums, and knowing what you want your album to sound like based on what you hear with the monitors.

 

[SacredGroove]

My Axe fx 2 stays at home and I use my studio monitors. I have a set of Mackie hr624 mk1. I paid $900 new about 16 years ago, but I've seen sets for as low as $350 used nowadays.

 

[StickMan]

Great insight, thank you! Your reply gave me confident. I know at the end it all boils down to personal preferences. You make sense. But I must get over my confusion. Just out of curiosity, what do you use for AxeFx, studio monitors or FRFR speakers? I totally understand your advice, but still asking which studio monitors would you opt for among Yamaha HS8, KRK Rokit8 and JBL LSR308? Or do you thing Headrush FRFR-18 will be better than any of these monitors? Thanks again

In truth, I use both. I have a pair of Yorkville YSM8's which I was able to pick up for a very reasonable price (they had served some time as rental units). I'm in Toronto, and Yorkville (aka Traynor) equipment is pretty thick on the ground here as they are a local company. These things are brutes, they're huge and 100 watts each. Are they as good as the Yamaha HS8? Probably not, but the price was right and they sound fine to me.

Then I have a Matrix 800, and a XiTone cabinet. The idea is that it would be a backup if any place I was jamming didn't have a PA, or I wanted some on stage monitoring for the AFX. I only have one, as the idea is to have a small rig that's easy to move and set up - just a rack, the FCB1010 and the XiTone - and having two XiTone's to carry doesn't fit.

I run the studio monitors out of output 1 and the XiTone on output 2. In practice, in my basement I use all three, so I get to compare how they sound all the time. The XiTone is off to one side, and if I'm jamming with a backing track, I can fine tune the balance between the track and my guitar by fiddling the volume on output 2. I find the XiTone has a bit more high end than the YSM8's, and I tame that out with global eq on output 2, but I've still left it with a little more bite than the YSM8's. Other than that, I find them very comparable. I also have a pair of MoFi Blue headphones, and I'd say they sound more like the XiTones than the YSM8's. I find that I can dial in a patch on the AxeFX with either the YSM8's, the XiTone or the MoFi's and I don't feel the need tweak it when I'm using one of the others.

Given that a LOT of people on this forum really like the sound of the Matrix/XiTone combination and the YSM8's don't sound vastly different, I think it speaks a lot to how you don't have the "best" or the most expensive monitors to get great tone out of the AxeFX.