FM3 with Laney LFR-112

V

Vibecave

New Member
Hi guys,
I'm new to the Fractal family and I recently bought a brand new FM3 and a Laney LFR-112.
The factory presets of the FM3 and some custom ones I downloaded sound great on headphones but I get a terrible sound quality when I connect the FM3 to the Laney. Besides getting plenty of noise and feedback even at low volume, the presets sound muddy and with lower gain than they should. I know I should expect a small difference between headphones and the FRFR but it shouldn't be that substantial.

I saw on the forum that some of you use the Laney LFR-112 for live gigs and studio setup so I'm wondering if you experienced similar issues and if you had to tweak the settings on the FM3 or the Laney to get the sound you wanted. I'm looking for a plug and play setup for live gigs where all I have to worry about is the master volume on the Laney depending on the venue.

I followed the setup instructions on the FM3 manual but here are more details on my current setup:
-output1 of the FM3 connected to the Laney via XLR
-Output1 setting on FM3: I tried with both +4db and -10db. Of course the noise and feedback are more controllable in the -10db but the sound quality of the presets is still poor
-volume on the FM3 output1: 12 o'clock
-hi cuts on the Laney: 10 o'clock but I tried different levels too. Of course, if I go passed 12 o' clock, things get worse.

One thing to mention is that when the brand new Laney was delivered, the FedEx guy literally threw it on the ground from his truck. So, it's possible the unit got damaged

I'm planning to try my FM3 with my friend's headrush frfr 112 soon but I would really like to make the Laney work as it should as I bought it based on great reviews. I'm also planning to connect the FM3 to the Laney from output2 via humbuster cable to see if that makes a difference.


Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Hi! I am using the same gear, the FM3 with the Laney 112. I am using it in the rehersal room and at home. I have no problems with the sound, no noise and no feedback.
My FM3 is connected to the Laney via an XLR cable.
Did you try the emulation and the FRFR switch?
1765462598375.png
 
Vibecave said:
Hi guys,
I'm new to the Fractal family and I recently bought a brand new FM3 and a Laney LFR-112.
The factory presets of the FM3 and some custom ones I downloaded sound great on headphones but I get a terrible sound quality when I connect the FM3 to the Laney. Besides getting plenty of noise and feedback even at low volume, the presets sound muddy and with lower gain than they should. I know I should expect a small difference between headphones and the FRFR but it shouldn't be that substantial.

I saw on the forum that some of you use the Laney LFR-112 for live gigs and studio setup so I'm wondering if you experienced similar issues and if you had to tweak the settings on the FM3 or the Laney to get the sound you wanted. I'm looking for a plug and play setup for live gigs where all I have to worry about is the master volume on the Laney depending on the venue.

I followed the setup instructions on the FM3 manual but here are more details on my current setup:
-output1 of the FM3 connected to the Laney via XLR
-Output1 setting on FM3: I tried with both +4db and -10db. Of course the noise and feedback are more controllable in the -10db but the sound quality of the presets is still poor
-volume on the FM3 output1: 12 o'clock
-hi cuts on the Laney: 10 o'clock but I tried different levels too. Of course, if I go passed 12 o' clock, things get worse.

One thing to mention is that when the brand new Laney was delivered, the FedEx guy literally threw it on the ground from his truck. So, it's possible the unit got damaged

I'm planning to try my FM3 with my friend's headrush frfr 112 soon but I would really like to make the Laney work as it should as I bought it based on great reviews. I'm also planning to connect the FM3 to the Laney from output2 via humbuster cable to see if that makes a difference.


Thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
What headphones are you using? Are they flat response? Most are not.

I use the AutoEQ app to get my headphones as flat as possible. I put a 10 band GEQ right before the Out 1 block and set it to what I got from the app.

Just don’t forget to turn off your headphones EQ when using the Laney.

https://www.autoeq.app/
 
Lupo said:
Hi! I am using the same gear, the FM3 with the Laney 112. I am using it in the rehersal room and at home. I have no problems with the sound, no noise and no feedback.
My FM3 is connected to the Laney via an XLR cable.
Did you try the emulation and the FRFR switch?
View attachment 163518
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm using the FRFR setting. Did you have to tweak any of the FM3 settings? Do you switch output1 settings ( -10db or +4db) or anything else depending on the room/venue you are?
 
I have a GR Guitar powered speaker. I really struggled with it at first until I discovered the master output EQ. I have the GR speaker running from output 2 with humbuster cables. I did a pretty healthy boost on the upper mids and top end, with a slight boost on the low end. It's much closer to my headphones, but still not as satisfying to play. One thing I will say is that it sounds MUCH better when cranked up. Either it's the FM effect, or the speakers coming alive with more power, but at low/solo practice volume I've never really been happy with any PA/FR/Amp I've tried.

Try going through the master output EQ band by band until it sounds good. Make sure to try even EXTREME settings.

I believe mine is set to +3 @ 63, +3 @ 125, +7 @ 8k, +7 @ 16K. A big boost to the top end, but the GR stuff doesn't have a separate tweeter.

Make sure to build the patches at gigging/rehersal level.
 
Boy_Narf said:
I have a GR Guitar powered speaker. I really struggled with it at first until I discovered the master output EQ. I have the GR speaker running from output 2 with humbuster cables. I did a pretty healthy boost on the upper mids and top end, with a slight boost on the low end. It's much closer to my headphones, but still not as satisfying to play. One thing I will say is that it sounds MUCH better when cranked up. Either it's the FM effect, or the speakers coming alive with more power, but at low/solo practice volume I've never really been happy with any PA/FR/Amp I've tried.

Try going through the master output EQ band by band until it sounds good. Make sure to try even EXTREME settings.

I believe mine is set to +3 @ 63, +3 @ 125, +7 @ 8k, +7 @ 16K. A big boost to the top end, but the GR stuff doesn't have a separate tweeter.

Make sure to build the patches at gigging/rehersal level.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Do you set the output2 at -10 or +4db? Also, do you keep the output2 volume level on the FM3 within 12 O'Clock?
 
Vibecave said:
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm using the FRFR setting. Did you have to tweak any of the FM3 settings? Do you switch output1 settings ( -10db or +4db) or anything else depending on the room/venue you are?
Click to expand...
No, I did not change anything. I connect the FM3 with the Laney and thats it. I also use the the FM3 with my Electro Voice PXM -12MP, and I don´t have to change anything at the FM3. Of course, the sound of the EV is a little bit different, but there is no noise or feedback.
 
I’m using the laney without any extra eq, too. I’m running +4db but that settings shouldn’t alter the tone.
Remember that the Laney is mono. How is your fm3 set up?
Have you tried to listen to normal music through the laney? How does that sound?
You may want to connect the headphone out to the aux in, just to exclude a bad cable or connector.
 
Vibecave said:
Thanks. Do you set the output2 at -10 or +4db? Also, do you keep the output2 volume level on the FM3 within 12 O'Clock?
Click to expand...
I can't remember, I will have to check when I get home but I think +4?

I found having the GR louder and the FM3 quieter sounded way worse than vise versa. The GR has a pretty ugly limiter that kicks in when it's set higher. I now leave the GR at 50% level, and use the output 2 knob to control the volume.

Defiantly try both ways and see which sounds best to you.

Another thing to mess with is the IR/Dynacab block. Are you running stereo IR's? If so, make sure to experiment with the output type, I think I preferred the L into R vs the SUM. This is why I went for a stereo GR cab, although there is next to no spread, I really like having the IR's running independently on each side makes for a clearer sound IME.

IR/DC is also huge for FRFR. I would start from scratch with the FRFR plugged in and run through each one to see what pairs best with the Laney.

All of this said, my headphones, very old ATH-M50Gen1, sound significantly better. If you are chasing the headphone sound I don't think it's possible. It took me a long time to adjust my expectations. It will never sound as good as headphones, and it will never sound as good as a tube amp. Is it more convenient to haul the FM3 and FRFR to a gig? Maybe, maybe not...

I think if I was playing live I would grab a cheap tube combo to take to shows as I'm not much of an effects user. For my uses the FM3 shines for silent practice and recording. Planning to use the FM3 to do all the guitar layering on our next album.
 
Welcome to the Fractal Forums,

My rig is the same FM3 ---->Laney LFR112

Output summed to mono, Standard jack output 2 to XLR in on Laney leaving output 1 free.

Laney at half power 12 o'clock and use output 2 control on top of fm3 to whatever is needed.

It sounds very very good, honestly.
there is no noise at all dead silent plus only great musical feedback, not as you describe!

must be something wrong.. like a bad cable or it's a faulty/damaged speaker.

Sorry, not much help but just confirmation that it should be far from the disappointment that your experiencing, and should sound way better than headphones, I have some Sony MDR 7506 (which I'd recommend anyone because of the detailed midrange and they're relatively cheap) but the Laney is much better and far more like a great cab and power amp.

Hope you get it sorted.

Rich
 
Always check cables first. I recently setup for a gig and the cable between my wireless receiver and FM3 was going bad. It sounded terrible and noisy.
 
Vibecave said:
The factory presets of the FM3 and some custom ones I downloaded sound great on headphones but I get a terrible sound quality when I connect the FM3 to the Laney. Besides getting plenty of noise and feedback even at low volume, the presets sound muddy and with lower gain than they should. I know I should expect a small difference between headphones and the FRFR but it shouldn't be that substantial.
Click to expand...
It may help us help you if you provided some kind of recording of anything. A direct-in recording if it sounds like what you expect to hear in your headphones, a room recording with your phone of the Laney if you listen to it and it reproduces what you're experiencing in some way, etc.
 
Laney LFR112 user here too.
Had it anyway for my QC, but when my FM3 arrived I plugged it in, zero tweaking and it sounded awesome.
 
I have a Laney 2x12 and here’s my suggestion. Find a preset you dig and then adjust the global eg to get rid of the offending frequencies. This should help give a working baseline for all of the presets when playing through your Laney.
 
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