Axe through RCF NX 12-SMA

Ok, so I'm gonna be the one going against the grain here, but wanted to add my experience to the mix...

I had the chance to meet up with a fellow forum member a few months back, who owns the RCF 12 SMA, and I'm running a Matrix GT800FX with cabs. I have a Mesa 4x12 slant Recto cab (which I didn't take to the meet) and an Avatar open back oversized 2x12 cab with a V30 and a G12H30 in it (which I did take to the meet).

We did some fairly in-depth comparisons. We first fired up his RCF, and he was demoing it for me, and I was impressed. Played mostly Fender sims/cabs, and a few Marshall sims/cabs. Sounded really good to me. Then we fired up my rig. And, for me, my rig just felt and sounded better. To me. I of course was running the Axe-Fx II with power amp sims on, cab sims off. Even the Fender sims sounded better to me thru my Celestions than they did using the Jensen based cab sims thru the RCF. He preferred the RCF overall. Then, we attempted to match the tones I was getting thru my rig by tweaking settings on his rig (cab sims, room size, etc.) and using an A/B box. I must say that in the hour or so that tweaked, we were able to get fairly close to the tones I was getting my my Avatar cab, but there was just *something* missing to me; can't put my finger on it. We even tried the near field-far field cabs thing. Just wasn't doing it for me. I suppose with another few hours of severe tweaking we could have gotten even closer, but in my mind I was thinking "Why? I've already got what I like." :)

Again, I want to point out that he preferred his RCF. I preferred my Matrix/cab setup. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. :D

Also, I want to point out that I did think the RCF sounded better than the EV Live-X 112Ps that I used to use. I didn't do a direct comparison, but I know for sure I liked the RCF quite a bit better than I liked the EVs. Not that it's a fair comparison, as the RCF is quite a bit more expensive than the EV 112P. Just sayin'. :mrgreen
 
Scott Peterson said:
Sounds fine low. How low are they having issue at... are we talking whisper level or something?
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Well, it was a secondary information which popped up from a different thread. The guy actually said that he preferred to keep the RCF at rehearsal because it was too loud for home... But I'm going to test his gear personally in short ;)
Maybe he meant that power was just wasted in an apartment? :)

Scott Peterson said:
Sorry, but don't think I'm welcome over at that forum. lol.
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You have been there, nonetheless ;D
On a serious note, I don't think there is anything personal: it would all depend on what you'd say there. I believe many KPA forum's members have learned to esteem you (because they're members of other popular boards)... :)

Talking about which, it seems that the KPA/Axe-Fx war has consumed itself, hasn't it? Nowadays people seem more busy making music than fighting about whom has got it bigger... good times to be a guitar player!

Thanks to Merlin17 as well for chiming in ;)

Thank you guys, you've confirmed what seemed obvious to me :)
 
I don't understand the comparison.
Why would the 2 sound similar?
Does your Avatar 2x12 sound the same way, when it's mic-ed up and going through a PA?
Of course not.
Your friend has a live/studio ready [mic-ed] sound coming out of his RCF not a "cab in the room with no mic".


Thomas-Hawk said:
Ok, so I'm gonna be the one going against the grain here, but wanted to add my experience to the mix...

I had the chance to meet up with a fellow forum member a few months back, who owns the RCF 12 SMA, and I'm running a Matrix GT800FX with cabs. I have a Mesa 4x12 slant Recto cab (which I didn't take to the meet) and an Avatar open back oversized 2x12 cab with a V30 and a G12H30 in it (which I did take to the meet).

We did some fairly in-depth comparisons. We first fired up his RCF, and he was demoing it for me, and I was impressed. Played mostly Fender sims/cabs, and a few Marshall sims/cabs. Sounded really good to me. Then we fired up my rig. And, for me, my rig just felt and sounded better. To me. I of course was running the Axe-Fx II with power amp sims on, cab sims off. Even the Fender sims sounded better to me thru my Celestions than they did using the Jensen based cab sims thru the RCF. He preferred the RCF overall. Then, we attempted to match the tones I was getting thru my rig by tweaking settings on his rig (cab sims, room size, etc.) and using an A/B box. I must say that in the hour or so that tweaked, we were able to get fairly close to the tones I was getting my my Avatar cab, but there was just *something* missing to me; can't put my finger on it. We even tried the near field-far field cabs thing. Just wasn't doing it for me. I suppose with another few hours of severe tweaking we could have gotten even closer, but in my mind I was thinking "Why? I've already got what I like." :)

Again, I want to point out that he preferred his RCF. I preferred my Matrix/cab setup. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. :D

Also, I want to point out that I did think the RCF sounded better than the EV Live-X 112Ps that I used to use. I didn't do a direct comparison, but I know for sure I liked the RCF quite a bit better than I liked the EVs. Not that it's a fair comparison, as the RCF is quite a bit more expensive than the EV 112P. Just sayin'. :mrgreen
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levipeto said:
I don't understand the comparison.
Why would the 2 sound similar?
Does your Avatar 2x12 sound the same way, when it's mic-ed up and going through a PA?
Of course not.
Your friend has a live/studio ready [mic-ed] sound coming out of his RCF not a "cab in the room with no mic".
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I was offering a comparison/my experience because earlier in this thread a few folks were asking questions like: "is anyone setting it up behind them to play smaller places,
Un-Mic'ed like a traditional Cab and if so how does it sound ...?" and "question: do the Nx12's have the same "pushed air" feel as a cab when running at live volumes?"

So I was simply offering my comparison experience. That's all.
 
Thomas-Hawk said:
So I was simply offering my comparison experience. That's all.
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Agree, there is no one solution that's going to float everyone's boat. And that's a good thing! There is nothing like a raging 4x12 shaking your pants legs. I am trying for the recorded sound of a raging 4x12. Different, not better or worse.

I did get my RCF in yesterday and have found a lot to like about it (reviewed in another thread). Solid speaker, very nice looking, great OEM cover option too. I think I am getting closer...
 
Thomas-Hawk said:
I preferred my Matrix/cab setup. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.

Also, I want to point out that I did think the RCF sounded better than the EV Live-X 112Ps that I used to use. I didn't do a direct comparison, but I know for sure I liked the RCF quite a bit better than I liked the EVs. Not that it's a fair comparison, as the RCF is quite a bit more expensive than the EV 112P. Just sayin'. :mrgreen
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True, not a fair comparison, but it's still worth asking in the context of whether it's really twice as good as the ELX112P (as it's twice the price). Especially given your preference for your Matrix/cab setup, you might be particularly unbiased to give an opinion to someone who's fairly sold on the powered monitor route. If you were between the ELX112P for $600 and the RCF 12 for roughly twice that, would you see the value in spending the extra money?
 
bkrodgers said:
True, not a fair comparison, but it's still worth asking in the context of whether it's really twice as good as the ELX112P (as it's twice the price).
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That's a question that cannot easily be answered unbiased. Is a guitar half the price half as good? Is the AFX twice as good as a POD? I think you need to decide for yourself how much you are willing to spend to get that last piece of satisfaction, or go that extra mile. Me? If I wasn't willing I would've certainly not found my ways to neither the AFX nor RCFs and would've just settled for, "this sounds like 80% of my favourite tone".

Either way, from people's opinion, both are good values for their money. Then there's also the conveniance factor, both sizing/weight and how much tweaking is required to get the speaker sound good. I prefer better speaker just so I can more lazily dial in (or dl) good patches without to much eqing hazzle.
 
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bkrodgers said:
If you were between the ELX112P for $600 and the RCF 12 for roughly twice that, would you see the value in spending the extra money?
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Yes, I would. If I sound better, I play better. That principle alone would be worth the difference in cost. To me.
 
Thomas-Hawk said:
Yes, I would. If I sound better, I play better. That principle alone would be worth the difference in cost. To me.
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I have a ev112p. It sounds very good for the money and can be used as a floor monitor, pole mounted, or horizontally on its side like a guitar cab. With haggling, you can buy one for less than $500 shipped. Downside is that the exterior coating is cheap and can get scratched or dented easily.

I liked the idea of a smaller and possibly better sounding speaker so I bought an RCF NX-10SMA for a floor monitor. It sounds much clearer and in-your-face. The stay-on padded cover is very cool too (wished it had a pouch for the AC cable). I haven't tried it as a backline but it is much better sounding as a monitor and is smaller and lighter too. Worth the 2x for me.
 
rickboot said:
I have a ev112p. It sounds very good for the money and can be used as a floor monitor, pole mounted, or horizontally on its side like a guitar cab. With haggling, you can buy one for less than $500 shipped. Downside is that the exterior coating is cheap and can get scratched or dented easily.

I liked the idea of a smaller and possibly better sounding speaker so I bought an RCF NX-10SMA for a floor monitor. It sounds much clearer and in-your-face. The stay-on padded cover is very cool too (wished it had a pouch for the AC cable). I haven't tried it as a backline but it is much better sounding as a monitor and is smaller and lighter too. Worth the 2x for me.
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That is fantastic info, thank you! I've been debating between the 10 and the 12. Do you have any regrets going with the 10 instead of the 12? I'm not sure what your style is -- if you play heavy or detuned stuff (drop C or even B), do you feel it lacks bass or anything else that the 12 might have offered (or that the ELX112P offers with its 12)?

I'm getting closer and closer to boxing up the EV and taking it back to GC and ordering the RCF 10 or 12. The EV is very good, but I actually had to dial down the bass a bit. It was a bit boomy. And the reduced directional issues of a coax is appealing. But I think I'm also starting to figure that I've spent so much on the Axe at this point...I should have the best speaker I can get to reproduce what it does. In fact, at church, it's what I use to project out (I can't run direct, though there are choir mics above me that pick it up), so it's not even just a monitor for me. If the 10 will work well for the heavier detuned stuff I like to play (not at church, of course :)), I'd rather save the weight and size. But if I might regret not having that extra bass response, the 12 really isn't that much bigger or heavier.
 
bkrodgers said:
That is fantastic info, thank you! I've been debating between the 10 and the 12. Do you have any regrets going with the 10 instead of the 12? I'm not sure what your style is -- if you play heavy or detuned stuff (drop C or even B), do you feel it lacks bass or anything else that the 12 might have offered (or that the ELX112P offers with its 12)?
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Just to add, I noticed when comparing specs that the EV is rated to go down to 60 Hz @ -3dB. That's the same rating as the 10" RCF. The 12" RCF adds going down to 50 Hz @ -3dB. So in terms of frequency response, the RCF 10 actually matches the EV 112P on the low end. So I just played some deeply downtuned stuff (Chevelle's "The Clincher" in B flat) through the EV right now. I couldn't do it at high volume, as I'm in an apartment and it's getting late. But at the low volumes I could do I really didn't notice any problems with the B flat note. So maybe the RCF 10 won't really be a problem on the low end. I'm not sure how valid that test is at low volume.

Of course, the RCF 12 would give me an extra 10 dB of low response, more power, more headroom, and more volume. However, I'm not sure how much any of those things are actually needed or even noticeable. Maybe the larger speaker still gives the sound something extra beyond what's measured in the specs though. Part of me wants the absolute best I can get (within this range). But the 17.7"W x 16.4"D x 12.7"H and 31.96 lbs specs on the 10 are incredible. The 12 only adds 4 inches of width and 4 pounds to that, but that 10 looks like it'll be incredibly easy to haul around.
 
Back to the amps?

Javilynch said:
Comeback to my tube power amp and cabs .... but, i love this monitors too, I use them now for my roland gr55, synths and acoustic tones.
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Dude, I remember hearing/seeing you get SICK (as in KILLER GOOD!) Axe-FX II sounds through your RCF-NX12's?!?
 
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