FRFR solution that can actuall compete with a 120 watt tube amp volume wise!

torchlord

Inspired
As anyone found a solution that can compete and be as loud as a 120 watt tube amp. Right now i have a verve 15ma and I have to crank the axe and the amp up and it only gets as loud as the tube amp when its master is on 3. The tube amp is going thru a 4x12 cab. I was playing against a 30 watt spider which isnt tube, and that was on like 3 and my verve was on max and with my axe set to 7 and it was as loud or if not louder then my gear. I cant seem to push the verve any louder with out it going into its protection limiting mode. Im starting to think i need a much more powerfull amp, and maybe a 4x12 cab.
 
I take it you have one of these bad boys? The low frequency section has almost twice the wattage which isn't a true indication of how loud it can be. I notice the decibels is much higher. Im thinking that probably jumping from 125.5 to 134 decibels should help alot.
 
yeah I have one. I lpay in an extreme metal band and have a loud drummer and a tap-o-holic bass player and the Mesa to compete with. No problem. In fact, they complain I am too loud. Dispersion is a wonderful thing. The specs never really tell you what you need to know your ears do.
 
So ill use some math here and hope that if my verve was equal to 3 on a 120 watt amp having another nine decibels on a powered speaker should give me to 12 on a tube amp of his power. lol Granted we are kicking him out of the band now due, so i wont have as much issue with that tube amp anymore, but id sure like to get the capability if i ever need to use it. Currently right now my in ear monitors are overpowering and i cant even hear my verve 15 ma anyways. lol
 
Check out a thread started by noob_pwn on RigTalk called new HD rig day. He runs a Mackie HD1531 and he reckons:

It is unbelievably loud, clear, punchy and linear. I never thought I'd ever go FRFR but it literally took less than a minute from me plugging in to deciding to buy this thing.
 
Hi, I also have the FBT 15ma (bottom end that rivaled my over sized Mesa standard cab)with an Ultra (as of tomorrow the Ultra II).Had to compete with a 120 watt Marshall and 50 watt mesa boogie in a Metal band. My sound ALWAYS cut through the mix. So much so singer always had to tell the 2 other guys to turn up. Have you checked your unity gain on the Ultra?:shock
 
Hi, I also have the FBT 15ma (bottom end that rivaled my over sized Mesa standard cab)with an Ultra (as of tomorrow the Ultra II).Had to compete with a 120 watt Marshall and 50 watt mesa boogie in a Metal band. My sound ALWAYS cut through the mix. So much so singer always had to tell the 2 other guys to turn up. Have you checked your unity gain on the Ultra?:shock

Must be you got a better version of the 15ma then i did. I have my set to just before the clip goes off the last time i checked. Im not running compressors or gates, i dont think cause i think that takes away from the realism and natural tube feel of my patch. Do you run your eq flat dead center on the verve, or do you turn up the treble some on the verve?

Yeah i saw that 1531 i considered it at one time but i never got the chance to check one out. Im going to have to wait a little while longer till the next upgrade. I decided to pay off my jamhub rack thing i made for playing out live. Then got pay off the custom agile guitar i got to the second installment for in December.
 
calculated maximum spl vs. measured maximum spl rating.

Just found a interesting article that explains that it might be impossible to figure out what system is the best by using the companies spl ratings since they most likely use calculated maximum spl ratings insted of measured maximum spl ratings, per this link.
http://www.mackie.com/products/hdseries/pdf/HD_REAL_SPL.pdf

Seems like i might need to get a spl meter of some kind, and actually test them i guess. Im kind of wondering what my fbt actually runs at now.
 
We have very similar set ups, I run my treble EQ on the 15ma verve, one notch up from center ( I also have the same wireless, with 2 transmitters ) By the way where are you located?
 
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2 transmitters + 1 receiver. I only use one at a time. I turn the other one on when I switch guitars makes it seamless on stage.
 
If I was competing with a LOUD 120W, I might consider going with 2X FR. My K12 has never struggled & has always had headroom cutting through with some 100W rigs. If I felt that I didn't have enough, I might bring the 12ma along as well and run both. One in front and one behind.

Make sure your mids are set well to cut through.

But if you have a 120 W tube amp and a FR FR competing at near peak volume, I can only assume you have some unhappy band mates...that is just stupid loud volume.
 
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what mesaboog said. I run a K12 and have no problem smoking a 100 watter. Not sure I have gone up against a 120W but I always have plenty of room to spare when someone thinks they can blow out my K12. Its fun watching them try.
 
verve equals not for me

Lets see here i had a practice and i had my 15ma cranked all the way up with both eq settings set to the middle which should be flat. My axe fx was set to just before clipping light goes off. The external gain knob was all the way up, and causing the verve to throttle the volume down. This happens slightly after i start playing, which to me indicates the verve was getting peaking in the bass region most likely. I have a tendency of having a smidgeon more bass in my sound, then probably most do. And my friends tube amp was on 3. I suppose he could be boosting his signal through his eq or the bb maximizer, he has in the effects loop, but i didnt check that. I guess i didnt considered them possibility's till now, anyways i'm pretty positive he could get louder still which he did from time to time. I was in practice another guitarist was there , and he was telling me to turn up my amp and i couldn't think of a way to get it any louder at the time. I basically told him i couldnt. That made me feel rather inadequate. I didn't think of boosting the verve's eq at the time and i don't normally opt for that cause it modifies my sound from my patch which i try to stay ounce i find something i like. So now i'm battling a little spider 30 watt amp thats hanging with my amp just fine so i guess im just like what the heck. I have more mids then i ever have in the past, although i haven't checked myself in a daw or any frequency testing programs recently. I talked to another fellow on here and he pretty much feels the same way i do about the verv15ma and is looking for a different option as well cause it doesn't hang to well with a tube half stack.
 
Has the other guitar player thought of turning down to match your volume or is this not an option because of the drummer?
 
As anyone found a solution that can compete and be as loud as a 120 watt tube amp. Right now i have a verve 15ma and I have to crank the axe and the amp up and it only gets as loud as the tube amp when its master is on 3. The tube amp is going thru a 4x12 cab. I was playing against a 30 watt spider which isnt tube, and that was on like 3 and my verve was on max and with my axe set to 7 and it was as loud or if not louder then my gear. I cant seem to push the verve any louder with out it going into its protection limiting mode. Im starting to think i need a much more powerfull amp, and maybe a 4x12 cab.

Try a couple of those bad boys and your troubles are over, forever :) We have two of these in a hall and they put everything we've ever had to shame. Lord are they loud! And perfect sounding. As long as you have the cashola, you can get as loud as you want...

http://www.meyersound.com/pdf/products/ultraseries/usm-xp_ds.pdf
 
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