Confused Noob needs clarification

Project Mayhem

Project Mayhem

Experienced
Hello all,

I have been lurking here since late June when I went on the waiting list...now my name has come up and I need to start putting together my rig. It seem like the Matrix will be the best fit(for me), but (even after reading nearly every thread on these forums) I am still very confused on the cab/FRFR debate.

I have the opportunity to pick up a Bogner OS 2x12 at a very fair price...if I understand correctly (not likely), this will eliminate the benefits of the cab models and ir's but would produce more of Guitar amp "feel" Am I limiting the versatility of the Axe in exchange for feel by doing this? Is it possible through eq to get nice fender cleans as well as hi gain sounds...or will the cabinet be too much of a compromise? Like others, I also have Music Man piezo equipped guitar, would the cabinet severely limit the acoustic response?

Would switching the v30's out of the cabinet for evm 12l's be the best compromise in terms of sonic versatility and feel?

I know this has been an ongoing debate and there is no one perfect answer...but my window of opportunity on the bogner cabinet is short and I need to make a decision shorly, so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in adavnce
 
V30s ... some hate 'em, some love 'em.
But they are versatile. No problem getting clean Fender/Vox tones from them, classic rock or high-gain.
They WILL color the tone of course, more than EVMs. But V30s are easier on the ears than EVMs.
 
The Axe is plenty impressive without using cab sims, IMO. Of course running FRFR opens it up even more, but that can even be overwhelming sometimes. If you can, try both and go with whichever one you jive with more. You'll probably end up trying the other at some point down the road.
 
I have a piezo equipped musicman as well. I used to run poweramp to a few different mesa cab's, one of which was loaded with v30's. sounded great for a lot of things mainly crunch to heavy andd some cleans as well. but piezo will not translate well through them. I ended up going more FRFR for the purposes of my guitar and versatility of all the amps and cabs the Axe has to offer. unless you ran your mags (musicman) through your cab (using OUT 2) bypassing cab sims and ran the piezo to a pa monitor/Studtio monitor or roland ac 60/90 or somehting like that would be sweet. I considered that at one point. actually I'd still like to pick up a roland acoustic amp just for the piezo.
 
Thanks to all for the input. Greatly appreciated.

Yek, I am a little suprised at your response I thought you were in favor of the EVM''s as I recall from your TT cab thread...
 
Project Mayhem said:
Thanks to all for the input. Greatly appreciated.

Yek, I am a little suprised at your response I thought you were in favor of the EVM''s as I recall from your TT cab thread...
Click to expand...

But I am, I still am. Just wanted to give the full picture.
 
Guitar cab rather than FRFR does give a more "traditional" feel - but that gap is closing IMO (since the latest firmware im happy to jam with headphones rather than HAVING to run the amp/cab). you do give up the flexibility of the cab sims BUT its still like having 80 odd heads lying around but only one cab. if you plug those heads into the same cab - they still all sound different, just not AS different.

i get great cleans as well as crunch, classic and high gain tones with my cab. it is a V30 and G12H mix which gives a flatter overall freq response (the V30s handling the mids with the G12 taking the bass and top ends). i find V30s on their own to be weak (comparatively) for some kinds of tones.

i tried an EV loaded cab (1x12 v my 2x12) and the frequency response was very close. There was a little more sparkly from the extended freq range but appart from that there were very close. The downside to EVs is the weight - the upside the power handling (more important is your going for a SS amp). im getting some "clones" that are a little lighter to try. If they sound similar but handle the extra power ill keep them - but it needs to be close because i do like my G12h/V30 mix.
 
It also depends on what you play most. The V30's cover a lot of ground, and are one of the most commonly used guitar speakers in rock and roll. I look at it this way, if I were to pick a cab sim that I would most likely use the majority of the time, it would be the sim that most closely replicates my 4x12 V30 cabs. If you're a guy that plays everthing from jazz, to country, to metal, FRFR would obviously give you the added versatility.
 
Another thing to consider... with your great choice of power amp in the Matrix GT800FX (ok, ok... so I'm biased a bit... I really like my GT800FX!), you can use it with traditional guitar cabs like the Bogner 2x12, as well as passive FRFR cabs. If you've got a good deal on the Bogner, I'd go for it. Then at some point later on down the road, you can try out some FRFR cabs to see what works best for you. Some folks have and run both, depending upon the situation. The flexibility with the Axe-Fx II and the Matrix amp gives you lots of great options!
 
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