Axe III on the way - Question (Speakers/Cab/PA)

E

EightmanVT

Inspired
And I’ve been trying to read here about what powered FRFR seems to be the preferred. I have 2 FRFR cabs - an RCF NX12SMA and a Friedman ASM12. I’ve been playing through a Kemper for the last 2 years or so - when not playing through one of my tube amps. I had the Axe II prior to that. I got rid of the Ace at the time becisde I just felt like I was spending too much time chasing rabbits down tweak holes and my limited time needs to be spent on chops. I’m not getting any younger and I’d like to get at least a little better. 😊

The RCF seemed fine at first but i started playing with a band - less so. unless it was up off the floor pointed at me - then I seemed to not like it at all. I managed to get the Friedman at half price and it seems to be the better fit for the Kemper. Sounds like an amp - but hardly FRFR. It colors the sound but doesn’t seem to be a negative. Gives more of that “amp” feel and everyone in the band seemed to think it was an upgrade (not that their opinion matters that much ;-) ). I will say that plugging to a PA things sound quite different. Haven’t had a chance to experiment much with that though - we’re still in rehearsal mode - not gigging yet.
I have not doubt that any part of the negatives I’ve Highlighted can be directly attributed to my ineptness in certain areas of tweaking. I know plenty of folks get sound s they’re completely satisfied with.

I’m wanting to try the Axe III for a variety of reasons. I have not been completely content with the tones I’ve been using. I feel like I’ve spent plenty of money on profiles. I feel like the gain structure has something in common across most of the profiles or that is just been issueI have not been completely content with the tones I’ve been using. I feel like I’ve spent plenty of money on profiles. I feel like the gain structure has something in common across most of the profiles or that is just been eq’d differently as opposed to being the real deal. I’ve not been content with middle ground tones - dirty tones or how it reacts to my volume knob. Who knows - could just be grass is greener syndrome and maybe I will find out the Kemper is just as good. Only one way to find out right? I was seconds from buying a JP2C - and then started asking myself - why not the Axe. Leon Todd’s post on my gear page question and his videos have been very influential as well.

anyway, I get the feeling from reading that the RCF which was all the rage Wayback when I bought the Axe II is not thought as highly of now. The CLR seems to be considered a dramatic improvement and I want to make sure o give the Axe the best run I can. Problem is - I guess you can’t actually buy one!! :oops: Seems interesting that this would be an issue and I wonder why that is - so what is in second place. That’s what this long winded thumb typed post is leading towards. I saw some really good commentary on the Dynacord asm12 but I have to order that from Europe. What’s in second place that I don’t need to ship across the Atlantic??
 
I have two CLRs and think they are awesome. That sucks that they are having issues getting new ones out...must be the parts shortage I guess? Anyways, yeah, like bradlake said, I think your next best bet is the Xitones.....have heard some good reviews on them.
 
For what it's worth, I'm still loving my pa style FRFR, JBL srx812p.
Point your rcf (which is a great model still) at your ears to hear what the audience will hear and get back to improving those chops :)
 
Callan said:
For what it's worth, I'm still loving my pa style FRFR, JBL srx812p.
Point your rcf (which is a great model still) at your ears to hear what the audience will hear and get back to improving those chops :)
Click to expand...

You know - I looked up the PA speaker you cited - and it got me thinking - why don't most people just do this? After all - isn't that basically what the FRFR is supposed to be? Or conversely - the best PA speakers - supposed to be FRFR? (Realizing that's an idealized concept only of course). What am I missing? Why do we bother with something like a CLR or a Friedman ASM...etc - as opposed to spending the same kind of $$ on a high end PA speaker. While I'm at it - if the 12" 2-way is good - that little voice inside my head that always incrementally leads me to spend more money says - hmmm... maybe the 15" 3-way would be better?

Why isn't this the "normal" way to go - or perhaps more people do and I'm just blissfully uninformed - a theme that I expect will be recurring once the Axe III lands on my front porch some time this week.
 
EightmanVT said:
You know - I looked up the PA speaker you cited - and it got me thinking - why don't most people just do this? After all - isn't that basically what the FRFR is supposed to be? Or conversely - the best PA speakers - supposed to be FRFR? (Realizing that's an idealized concept only of course). What am I missing? Why do we bother with something like a CLR or a Friedman ASM...etc - as opposed to spending the same kind of $$ on a high end PA speaker. While I'm at it - if the 12" 2-way is good - that little voice inside my head that always incrementally leads me to spend more money says - hmmm... maybe the 15" 3-way would be better?

Why isn't this the "normal" way to go - or perhaps more people do and I'm just blissfully uninformed - a theme that I expect will be recurring once the Axe III lands on my front porch some time this week.
Click to expand...
It’s generally because frfr means full range flat response, and the CLR for instance, is regarded as one of the flattest(non- colored).
 
randyvanmartini said:
It’s generally because frfr means full range flat response, and the CLR for instance, is regarded as one of the flattest(non- colored).
Click to expand...
Yes - I did have that much down. :blush: What I was getting at is - isn't one of the key defining characteristics of a PA speaker or even your home stereo speakers for that matter - just how F the F's are? Obviously there are other things - but Speakers can be very expensive - and outside of power handling - is freq response one of the major things you spend $$ on? As price goes up - you expect freq response to get flatter over a wider range? Yes? So - with that in mind - I would wonder if there are some higher end PA speakers such as the JBLs Callan mentioned (or that family of JBLs) -= that would be just as good as a CLR for example. Without pulling the freq response patterns on all the speakers that have typicallybeen mentioned as candidates - and I doubt too many people do - I'm curious as to why PA speakers don't get the same kind of mention as primary options. Or maybe they have been - and Ijust don't see it because I haven't been browsing forums as much over the past few years
 
You never know....those JBLs could very well be the next big thing! But yeah, I see what you're saying, and until more people try them out, and\or a/b them with some CLRs or Xitones, who knows?
 
EightmanVT said:
You know - I looked up the PA speaker you cited - and it got me thinking - why don't most people just do this? After all - isn't that basically what the FRFR is supposed to be? Or conversely - the best PA speakers - supposed to be FRFR? (Realizing that's an idealized concept only of course). What am I missing? Why do we bother with something like a CLR or a Friedman ASM...etc - as opposed to spending the same kind of $$ on a high end PA speaker. While I'm at it - if the 12" 2-way is good - that little voice inside my head that always incrementally leads me to spend more money says - hmmm... maybe the 15" 3-way would be better?

Why isn't this the "normal" way to go - or perhaps more people do and I'm just blissfully uninformed - a theme that I expect will be recurring once the Axe III lands on my front porch some time this week.
Click to expand...
It's all about context. Some people want an amp feeling at home, others for stage use (guitar only), or vocals+guitar in a wedge, and no doubt more.
All different shades of good for different purposes.

I've been driving for a quieter stage for my band, so I love the monitor facing back at me - helps to keep the stage wash under control which is great at the smaller venues.

Oh and here's an interesting quote re srx (previously model to mine)
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...ered-speaker-with-axe-fx-2.98386/post-1180389
 
randyvanmartini said:
You never know....those JBLs could very well be the next big thing! But yeah, I see what you're saying, and until more people try them out, and\or a/b them with some CLRs or Xitones, who knows?
Click to expand...
They already are, just not so much in the guitarist world. They continue to be well received/recommend in the pro audio world.
I have 3 of the 12" and 4 18" subs, they are awesome.

@EightmanVT - the 3 way has a narrow pattern and is also quite large. Maybe if you play bass the low end adds something you could use, but I don't think it's a great option for just one guitar live.
 
Callan said:
They already are, just not so much in the guitarist world. They continue to be well received/recommend in the pro audio world.
I have 3 of the 12" and 4 18" subs, they are awesome.
Click to expand...
It’s great to hear there’s another viable option out there. How do they compare with the CLRs with regard to guitar?
 
I will say that I wasn’t thrilled during my 10 min audition last night with how it sounded through the Friedman. Looking forward to real experimenting time this weekend.
 
All compact coaxial monitors have some special compact coaxial monitor flavor to them. When you didn't like the the nx12-sma I guess you won't get any further with the CLRs. I owned both and sold both on.
The guys that praise the sma are also the same guys that praise the CLR, so it's their flavor, that's ok, but if you didn't like one version of that kind, you don't get off the rabbit hole with another.
 
666was999 said:
All compact coaxial monitors have some special compact coaxial monitor flavor to them. When you didn't like the the nx12-sma I guess you won't get any further with the CLRs. I owned both and sold both on.
The guys that praise the sma are also the same guys that praise the CLR, so it's their flavor, that's ok, but if you didn't like one version of that kind, you don't get off the rabbit hole with another.
Click to expand...

haven’t tried the RCF yet. I will this weekend and at gig volumes. I will give the Friedman another run. Right now everything feels muffled - and that includes through my Adam A7x monitors. although I did play with the amp EQ last night and that seemed to help. Still looking for that bite and feel I have with the Kemper - but Ive just only had a little time. Will put some real time into it Friday and see where I get. I do like the stock effects already.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom