FRFR sounds terrible to my ears compared to poweramp/cab. What am I doing wrong?

Yeah ..... you have to craft the tone using the cab and somewhere pretty close to the gig volume you'll be using it at. Even the cab's planned mounting position (IE on the floor or on a stand, a beer crate etc) can make a difference.

Matrix don't seem to publish any freq range graphs for their cabs - but Atomic do for the CLR in it's manual and you'll see that the optimal 'flat' response is tuned for somewhere around 95dB SPL - this I assume is the benchmark level for cab manufacturers and likely to be a good bit louder than quiet use at home levels. But science aside, you just turn up until the windows rattle and use your ears to dial in tone.

Make 2 sets of presets if you feel like it - one for loud and live and the other for quiet at home. Most of the tweaks between the 2 sets should only be in the standard tonestack controls - input gain probably higher for the quiet versions and a fiddle with the BMTP settings to suit the Fletcher-Munson effect.

I don't even bother trying to dial for live in the house anymore - wife shouts, kids shout, dog wets itself, cats disappear for 2 days. I take myself off to another place and do it loud there - then back home in the man cave I just practice using headphones and differently tuned presets.

I don't go overboard on the amount of amp/cabs used for live presets - 3 does me - Friedman BE, Bognor Red and a Fender twin are the current selection to cover all eventualities. Couple of cab types shared between them all at most - and working on narrowing it down to just one - just makes it all less complicated and easier to adjust levels or fix something deeper in quickly if caught out at the gig.
 
andyp13 said:
I get a fantastic sound from my Q12 FRFR in the house at quiet volumes, warm and full. unfortunately I found the change in sound when you crank up the volume is much more radical than a real cab, it goes from warm and full to harsh, brittle and very digital sounding.
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this absolutely a Fletcher Munson/volume issue.
 
like others have said, you have to tweak at as close to gig volumes as possible. at low volumes we exaggerate low and high freq's because they aren't as audible, as we crank the volume, what is pleasing to our ears at lower volumes becomes harsh.
 
andyp13 said:
Could you give me any tips on what to do then (or is selling my best option)
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Adjust your settings at gig volume because perceptions of the frequencies change as volume change.

Mind you, these gig volume patches may sound terrible at low volume. But then again, some say that some Mesa Boogie amps or vintage Marshall stacks doesn't shine at it's best until cranked.
 
may have to do some unusual eq stuff to compensate for the Q12....if memory serves the high end could get harsh on that speaker anyway, which would exacerbate your issues at volume.
 
aziz said:
"Digital sounding" when describing a bright sound is one of my pet peeves.
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yep i'm with you... so by that definition Van Halen one is digital sounding. drives me nuts too. want digital sounding, go get an 80's crate or gorilla. Wouldn't even say digital sounding, i'll go with crap sounding.
 
I have been advised to take the treble from the cab block from 20k down to around 6k - I will try that, what about the bass? should I adjust that also and to what?
 
andyp13 said:
I have been advised to take the treble from the cab block from 20k down to around 6k - I will try that, what about the bass? should I adjust that also and to what?
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I always cut highs in cab block. in amp block sometimes I raise the low cut to get rid of too much bass in amps. just use your ears. I do 6-8k in cab block, don't really mess with lows there, usually just adjust depth, bass in block or the low cut.
 
Chris@AxeFxTutorials said:
that sucks, cuz i've been listening to my favorite guitarists through full range speakers on albums and at live shows for my whole life :(
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+1 - Goes both ways - I'm not a gigging musician and have always been a home player using modellers and FRFR/Studio monitors for the most part. Given my background, what my ears know is the "mic'd cab tone". I keep reading about how great the amp in a room tone is but I've never been able to appreciate it. In fact, I tried to chase that tone for most of last year getting myself a quality all tube amp head, 2 1x12 speaker cabs, and a bunch of analog pedals. I really struggle to enjoy playing through that rig, and though I still have it, I waay prefer to fire up the Axefx and play through studio monitors or through my Matrix Amp / Atomic cabs (though sometimes I take a notion to send the Axe amp models through the tube amp return with Axe Power amp modelling off). I think it really must be an ear training thing. Some say what you hear is not so important as what your audience hears but I tend to disagree in that I believe the tone you hear affects how well you play which also affects what your audience hears (either live or from recording). Perhaps you can try the hybrid approach so that you enjoy what you hear to play your best.
 
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My cab block cuts are 80 and 7k. I could see cutting more lows of you are chugging using an amp with a tone of bottom end. What I do doesn't need that big of a cut.
 
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