AXE-monitoring question

LLCoolJosh

LLCoolJosh

New Member
Hi New Friends,

I am an AXE newbie (working my way through the manual to avoid asking 'dumb' questions). I sold my dearest Soldano SLO-100 and bought the AXE FX II XL+. My friend and former band-mates, Nothing More, converted me to the AXE after I started hearing the tones this beast could produce (back in the analog days we used my SLO for equally beastly tones). But alas, I sold my SLO, my ONE AND ONLY AMP.

My question is this: what method do you suggest for monitoring the axe (both live and home/non-studio monitoring)?

I still have my guitar cab (for now) but no guitar amp/head... so I could go the rack-able power amp route. But I am curious to learn/try out a FRFR powered wedge. So here I am, humbly before my more AXE-fluent brethren, seeking your knowledge. Which method do you suggest? What are the pros-and-cons of each method?

Thanks for your input!
 
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I have a pair of pre-neo (lighter magnets) CLR's that I run stereo and I love them. They go from bedroom level to noise complaint seamlessly. You can run the single from them to FOH. There are other brands, too, but I'm not familiar with them.

With FRFR active wedges you don't have to forego a lot of the Axe-FX's functionality by bypassing the power amp modeling, the cab modeling and all the tonal flexibility that goes with it. Cabs make the tone, and if you run your cab you're pretty much locked into the tonality of that cabinet and the speakers that are in it.

You can even do both in a live situation. You can run those wedges in backline mode, send the FRFR signal to front of house and run your cab with a power amp.
 
Thanks for the input! I've been doing some homework on FRFR monitors. Seems like this may be the way to go for me. Have you ever heard or tried Matrix Amplification's FRFR monitors? If so, what are your thoughts on their monitors? I like that they're lightweight and not terribly expensive, but I want to make sure they'll meet my discerning ear's standards. Any input is much appreciated!
 
LLCoolJosh said:
Have you ever heard or tried Matrix Amplification's FRFR monitors?
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Matrix? Must be new, never heard of them.

j/k :D

I have not tried them, but the reviews are generally positive on this forum. Matrix has separate power amps and unpowered cabs, or you can get powered cabs like the FR10 and FR12. I think @hippietim did a back-to-back comparison with an FR12 and CLR. There are other reviews out there.

Xitones are also pretty popular here. They pretty much have a hundred percent positive reviews. I don't own one, but it's on my list.

I have first generation CLR Neos. Lots of love/hate for the CLRs on this forum, but from what I've seen, the hate is for the 1st gen, which had reliability issues. They sound killer, though. Any preset you make on a CLR will accurately reflect what you're feeding direct to FOH. I haven't heard reviews about the new gen, hopefully they addressed the reliability.
 
Has anyone built the Camper Plus DIY FRFR/GRF Speaker Kit from Ritter Amplification? Seems like a fun, money-saving weekend project. But it has to sound good. The reviews were solid. I'm very tempted to go this route (probably two 112 kits for full stereo). If you're familiar with this particular set-ups, do you have any advice concerning which power amp would be ideal? Thanks in advance
 
LLCoolJosh said:
Has anyone built the Camper Plus DIY FRFR/GRF Speaker Kit from Ritter Amplification? Seems like a fun, money-saving weekend project. But it has to sound good. The reviews were solid. I'm very tempted to go this route (probably two 112 kits for full stereo). If you're familiar with this particular set-ups, do you have any advice concerning which power amp would be ideal? Thanks in advance
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Never heard of this during my almost 4 years on the forum... They appear to be in Europe, are you?

Note that they have distinct driver and tweeter, whereas almost all the very popular FRFR are a coaxial design - the tweeter is mounted on the back of the driver and the sound moves "thru" the speaker cone of the driver.

I've been using the Xitone passive wedges for several years with a Matrix GT800FX. They work and sound great, very well built and excellent customer service. Also, @MicFarlow does a ton of custom solutions, so you can get them in all kinds of variations.
 
Invest in a good FRFR or two. It makes all the difference in the world. Running in stereo is pretty awesome if you can swing it. I have the Friedman ASM-12, 2 CLR's and 2 XiTone's. All 3 are awesome. I keep the Friedman at rehearsal as it is kind of bulky, heavy and awkward to carry. I keep my CLR's at home to create my presets on and practice with. The CLR's are perfect for creating your presets. I gig with my XiTone's. They are lightweight have a great cab like quality to them and are built like tanks. I set them up like back line. One behind me and the other by my bass players rig. If it's a smaller stage I point them up like a wedge and if it's a bigger stage I set them on their side and point them out like a 1x12 cab. You really can't go wrong with any of the ones mentioned. They are all top quality and sound great.
 
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bishop5150 said:
Invest in a good FRFR or two. It makes all the difference in the world. Running in stereo is pretty awesome if you can swing it. I have the Friedman ASM-12, 2 Atomic CLR's and 2 XiTone's. All 3 are awesome. I keep the Friedman at rehearsal as it is kind of bulky, heavy and awkward to carry. I keep my CLR's at home to create my presets on and practice with. The CLR's are perfect for creating your presets. I gig with my XiTone's. They are lightweight have a great cab like quality to them and are built like tanks. I set them up like back line. One behind me and the other by my bass players rig. If it's a smaller stage I point them up like a wedge and if it's a bigger stage I set them on their side and point them out like a 1x12 cab. You really can't go wrong with any of the ones mentioned. They are all top quality and sound great.
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If you had to choose a single pair, which one would you keep? (criteria: sound quality for live use)
 
unix-guy said:
Never heard of this during my almost 4 years on the forum... They appear to be in Europe, are you?

Note that they have distinct driver and tweeter, whereas almost all the very popular FRFR are a coaxial design - the tweeter is mounted on the back of the driver and the sound moves "thru" the speaker cone of the driver.

I've been using the Xitone passive wedges for several years with a Matrix GT800FX. They work and sound great, very well built and excellent customer service. Also, @MicFarlow does a ton of custom solutions, so you can get them in all kinds of variations.
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I think they're a relatively new offering. Yes, they're in Europe. No, I am not. But that doesn't appear to be an issue for the company.
They seem to cater more to the Kemper Profiling Amp (hence, KPA-solutions.com). I found a lot more discussion on the company at the Kemper forum and didn't really find any on AXE Forum. That's why I had to ask...

If I decide to go this route, I'll be sure to let everyone know my experience. My most pressing concern is reliability.... which could be attributed to amateur(ish) assembly. In the meantime, I appreciate any advice/input cause I'm new to the AXE and want to get it "right" the first time... if ya know what I mean.
 
bishop5150 said:
XiTone. My buddy did a shootout at his studio with all the top names. All his friends brought their speakers in. Mission, Matrix, Friedman, Atomic CLR and XiTone. The XiTone won. It had the great clear sound along with the cab ooomph.
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Do you know the Power Handling and Impedance of the XiTone (passive) speakers. I'm specifically interested in the 212 passive cab/wedge models. It's not posted on their sight. Thanks for all of the info!
 
LLCoolJosh said:
Do you know the Power Handling and Impedance of the XiTone (passive) speakers. I'm specifically interested in the 212 passive cab/wedge models. It's not posted on their sight. Thanks for all of the info!
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I'm sorry but I do not. I use to have 2 passive's that I used with a Matrix GT1000 before I got the active ones and they sounded just as good. I was using them with my XL. But when I bought the AX8 and started gigging it I didn't want to drag the Matrix around with the AX8 so I bought the active ones and sold the passive ones.
 
LLCoolJosh said:
Do you know the Power Handling and Impedance of the XiTone (passive) speakers. I'm specifically interested in the 212 passive cab/wedge models. It's not posted on their sight. Thanks for all of the info!
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I'm sure Mic will reply but you can email them.

Are you planning to go stereo with the 2x12? One common concern those new to FRFR make is assuming they need more speakers like with a traditional cab... You don't. I'd recommend 2 1x12 instead if you want stereo. More portable, more flexible, better stereo spread.
 
unix-guy said:
I'm sure Mic will reply but you can email them.

Are you planning to go stereo with the 2x12? One common concern those new to FRFR make is assuming they need more speakers like with a traditional cab... You don't. I'd recommend 2 1x12 instead if you want stereo. More portable, more flexible, better stereo spread.
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Completely agree. Live, I set mine up like back line. One 1x12 behind me and the other 1x12 next to my bass players rig on the other side of the drums.
 
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