"Budget" FRFR?

J

juliancs

Inspired
I know this is a no-no for decent sound, but it looks like the Atomic FRFR is just too expensive to me. I'm barely making it to the end of the month and can't find a job, so I'm struggling. Selling my guitars and my Axe-FX is not an option :) . I need a way to amplify my Axe-FX, as I may be gigging with it soon. Is there a decent FR speaker at a decent price? I'm deciding to go with this over a tube amp...do FR's have any sort of "amp" feel?

Many thanks in advance....
 
I was wondering the same as I am current playing through some old keyboard amps and thinking of upgrading to a better FRFR.

What about these (dare I say the name) Behringers:

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=600484
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=600483

or, this from peavey

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=601140

Are these worth looking at as a lower cost FRFR solution in terms of:
1. Sound Quality
2. Durability

Members thoughts / experiences appreciated.
 
The Traynor K1 keyboard amps aren't too bad.
I've played a couple of theatre gigs with the Axe and one K1.

Not great...but quite playable.
 
"Decent" is always such an subjective term, my mates home studio has some decent monitors according to him, I think they sound crap. You really have got to audition some kit and I honestly think you can get some good stuff without it costing an arm and a leg. Make a CD of the music you know and like the sound of and use this as a reference point. I've had the same CD compilation for the last 10 years and I know it inside out. I use to set up PA, Hi-Fi studio monitors, you name it. One piece of advice, always audition at gig volumes, if you like what you hear chances are they will work well with the Axe-Fx.

Durability is a mixed bag, even high end gear can fall foul of a bad batch of components. I suggest spending as much as you can as cheap gear usually means corners have been cut.

Personally, I've never heard a keyboard amp I've liked or would consider FRFR. I gave up on those years ago but perhaps things have changed.
 
Typically where cheaper gear may have troubles is around the crossover points and the smoothness of the high frequency driver. We are used to one speaker handling all the guitars frequency range, and those speakers have a depressed high end. In a full range speaker much more of the signal is handled by the HF driver, and cheaper ones have a tendency to sound "brittle" or "metallic" to many people. So it really depends on how much that bugs you, and how the sounds you are looking come across. Unfortunately there is no good way to tell except by trying stuff out.
 
My only advice is to get something that either will hold it's value for resale or could be useful in some other capacity (stage monitor, etc.). You can probably get a Mackie SRM pretty cheap these days - they won't sound great but they'll be adequate and will be useful later.
 
Do you really need FR? If you are short on money you might get better results with an average guitar cab than with a budget frfr-system.
 
I use a crappy MaxWatt B100-15 solidstate bass-amplifier from Hiwatt, i brought for 30bucks (new, on a "blown out day" from a local distributor). It's pretty cool with the axe! :lol:
 
I have Behringer B215XL on speaker stands with a 2,000w amp. Not a band, but my home "entertainment" with guitar and multi-track backing tracks. Sounds fine and plenty of power handling for the 15x20 foot space. Currently running an Eleven Rack but will be adding an Axe-Fx II as soon as it arrives ... will run both and then decide.
 
There are some pretty decent options out there you know.....but everything comes down to the budget you're working with. What's the budget you're working with?
 
Craigslist. You can find all sorts of great PA stuff. Older, overlooked stuff, sometimes new stuff that someone just needs gone quick. I recently picked up some old Optimus 15" 3-ways (old Radioshack stuff) for $260.... which I now think was a horrible deal, but hey, that's way less than any other 15" 3-way pair you're going to find, and they sound great! I was considering Atomics but you're right, they are kind of ridiculously expensive for what they are. The next speakers I want to compare are the Carvin LS series. I'd give these a look. Mixed reviews and you'd need a pretty powerful amp to get the best sound out of them, but they are made in the USA and factory direct (dirt cheap).
 
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sprint said:
I was wondering the same as I am current playing through some old keyboard amps and thinking of upgrading to a better FRFR.

What about these (dare I say the name) Behringers:

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=600484
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=600483

or, this from peavey

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=601140

Are these worth looking at as a lower cost FRFR solution in terms of:
1. Sound Quality
2. Durability

Members thoughts / experiences appreciated.
Click to expand...

Some may disagree, so take this with a major sprinkling of "in my opinion", but... in my experience, Behringer gear sounds like crap, and so does Peavey.

As someone else suggested, take a look at the Alto for a budget FRFR - there's an entire thread about them: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/amps-cabs/43825-budget-coaxial-active-cabs-new-contestant.html
 
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To my personal experience the difficulties with Behringer may reside in lifecycle problems. We already had difficulties with two mixers close to brand new so as for me I do not consider them as an option anymore. The Traynor K4 has a lot of punch, but seems out of your budget and IMHO finally does color the sound a bit too much at band level, no idea for K2. At home I use a pair of passive "the Box" satellites used through a Yamaha console, it's quite good but is missing just a bit of "alive" feeling, but it's OK for rehearsal. Maybe check the dbTechnologies' M10-2 Opera plus or M12-4 if you can find these at your local shop.
 
I've been using the behringer b212d's for a couple months now (until I find the perfect FRFR) I paid 200.00 each at GC with a price match I found online, suprisingly they sound pretty good I run the low end at about 9oclock and high end about 2 oclock otherwise they are a bit boomy I have played quite a few gigs and practices with them with no problems, I've owned bought and sold lots of behringer stuff and I guess I have been lucky I have never had a problem with any of them still have a few.

for the price they are very decent powered speakers, yes behringer makes some crap most in the past some still sucks but these dont. BEHRINGER: B212D

Even when I go some higher end FR's I will keep these as they are clean and loud and have very good low end, Ive never turned them past halfway.
 
I'd suggest that you may get more gigging "bang for the buck" with a "decent" pa/cab rig opposed to FRFR. Shop local stores for used gear, check Craig's list for a 2 x 12 and a power amp. I've bought a couple in the past, an older Carvin DC150 and recently a Carver PA350, paid $100 each. I usually find better cab deals locally than on Ebay, especially considering shipping.

This would get you up and running without a lot of programming hassles, and retain resale value.
 
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