Little help please on deciding amp cab for Axe-Fx 3. Hoping for response by Cliff

Keith White

Experienced
I need a little help making a decision.. I currently have 2 friedman asm12 cabs but they just are not giving me the stage volume I need.

I have narrowed things down to the fryette two fifty two or two ninety two and the evh 4x12 stealth cabinet. I understand this isnt frfr anymore but I am looking for that raw power on stage

Cliff if you see this what direction would you go for a stage setup where volume is a requirement.
Is there a different power amp or cabinet you would use.
 
You could always get some passive frfr monitors and a matrix power amp. I think xitone will custom make you 2x12 passives. 2 of those with a high wattage matrix should be blisteringly loud on stage.
 
You must be a really, really, loud band.
Well. Not really super loud but those speakers definitely have a volume cap. I've seen other posts of people saying they just don't have the kick. They sound great but just don't have the high. Also the other thing I didn't mention is I will be renting my backline out to a local music hall when the larger shows come through. Bands like la guns uriah heep starship etc. So yes volume is of importance this is why I mentioned the 4x12 guitar cabinet
 
Why not a powerstage 700 and the cab?
I'm very hesitant spending so little on a power amp. I want the best out there. Spending 2400ish on the axe fx 3 plus fc12 I dont want my sound limited by trying to save money on a power amp and cab
 
I'm very hesitant spending so little on a power amp. I want the best out there. Spending 2400ish on the axe fx 3 plus buying fc12 I dont want my sound limited by trying to save money on a power amp and cab. From what I've read the fryette power amp is the top rated. I just was hoping cliff would give his opinions.
 
I'm very hesitant spending so little on a power amp. I want the best out there. Spending 2400ish on the axe fx 3 plus fc12 I dont want my sound limited by trying to save money on a power amp and cab

You're getting something built for the express purpose of making digital units sound their best with the SD. Also the Fryette's you listed go for the same used (ish) as the 700 does new (at least here in Canada).

Having hauled a bi-amp setup for the last year and a half, I'm also recommending the SD based on weight. A large reason to switch to Fractal is to save weight and space - using a tube power amp (and probably racking the whole thing) kind of defeats that purpose. That being said I have no idea how you plan to use this setup, so it may not matter to you.

I'm also coming from a very loud post-hardcore band. I imagine part of your volume issue stems from two small speakers as opposed to the 412 (which you're getting).
 
I need a little help making a decision.. I currently have 2 friedman asm12 cabs but they just are not giving me the stage volume I need.

I have narrowed things down to the fryette two fifty two or two ninety two and the evh 4x12 stealth cabinet. I understand this isnt frfr anymore but I am looking for that raw power on stage

Cliff if you see this what direction would you go for a stage setup where volume is a requirement.
Is there a different power amp or cabinet you would use.

Have you looked at the Matrix amps? They have a lot of power, and used\endorsed by a lot of big names:

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Number of channels- 2
Watts per channel rms @ 4 ohms- 500
Watts per channel rms @ 8 ohms- 325
Watts per channel rms @ 16 ohms- 150
Bridged mode rms @ 8 ohms- 1000
Bridged mode rms @ 16 ohms- 650
Input sensitivity 0.775V
Frequency Response (+/-3db ref 1kHz) 8hz-24kHz
Weight 9lbs


https://usa.matrixamplification.com/rack-amplifers/gt-1000-fx-2u.html
 
The Fryette 2/50/2 is an awesome power amp. I gigged with one for years with an Axe-Fx Ultra. Turned off power amp modeling and just used the Axe-Fx as a preamp. My previous rig was a Triaxis into a Mesa 2-90 but I always felt the power amp sounded "cold". So I swapped the 2-90 for the 2/50/2 and it was a noticeable improvement. Then I swapped the Triaxis, GeForce, dbx, etc., etc., for the Axe-Fx (and shrunk my rack from 12 spaces to four).
 
The Fryette 2/50/2 is an awesome power amp. I gigged with one for years with an Axe-Fx Ultra. Turned off power amp modeling and just used the Axe-Fx as a preamp. My previous rig was a Triaxis into a Mesa 2-90 but I always felt the power amp sounded "cold". So I swapped the 2-90 for the 2/50/2 and it was a noticeable improvement. Then I swapped the Triaxis, GeForce, dbx, etc., etc., for the Axe-Fx (and shrunk my rack from 12 spaces to four).
Thank you. Decision made
 
Consider the Fryette Power Station or LX. More neutral than the Fryette 2/50/2
 
ENGL 840/50 - check the reviews. I couldn’t imagine ever needed anything louder. It was amazing.
 
I am personally down to either buying the Synergy 50/50 or a 2 channel crown amp like a dci 2/600 or something of the sort.

Since the power amp section of the afx3 cannot be disabled (will this be possible in a future update?) I may bot be able to use the synergy 5050 because of both its poweramp sound and the power amp sim in the axe fx.
Because I really want to take advantage of that synergy power amp sound designed by fryette), I am assuming I am going to be limited to the Crown. The dci 2/600 or something like that.
Not buying matrix because not sure if I can trust something that lightweight to have that full deep low end. Something about weiht and bottom end seem to go hand in hand from my experience.
 
I am personally down to either buying the Synergy 50/50 or a 2 channel crown amp like a dci 2/600 or something of the sort.

Since the power amp section of the afx3 cannot be disabled (will this be possible in a future update?) I may bot be able to use the synergy 5050 because of both its poweramp sound and the power amp sim in the axe fx.
Because I really want to take advantage of that synergy power amp sound designed by fryette), I am assuming I am going to be limited to the Crown. The dci 2/600 or something like that.
Not buying matrix because not sure if I can trust something that lightweight to have that full deep low end. Something about weiht and bottom end seem to go hand in hand from my experience.
You can disable power Amp simulation either globally via a global setting or per amp block by setting Supply Sag to 0.

The Matrix amps put out what you put in - weight has no bearing on it.

Disabling the power Amp simulation is going to limit how well some amp models sound because they get much of their "flavor" from the power section.
 
The Matrix amps put out what you put in - weight has no bearing on it.

Actually ive heard many people say they lack fullness in deep sub low end. And actually yes, the amount of iron in a transformer does have a lot to do with it. Thats why bass amps tend to have bulky high output transformers.
 
After regrettably selling my 2/50/2 and purchasing a Powerstation 2 I now realise that if the 2/50/2 was 300 tonnes lighter I would buy one back for double the asking price without hesitation.

In my opinion, the 2/50/2 is the best amplifier for my purposes. Sure, not all of the presets and amps sounded great through it, but in my experience not all of them will on any particular platform, despite what equipment you use and regardless of cost.

My best advice is this: Buy a power amp you think you might like to try. Run the amp sims and hell even the cab sims if you want and see how it reacts?

If you like what you hear, keep it.

If all of your presets sound like shit no matter what you do..... You have tried the wrong amp, same as in real life!

With this level of technology, you can make just about anything sound great with an Axe Fx, providing you spend enough time with it to know how it works.

You will never find a Poweramp or Speaker for that matter, that is absolutely perfect for every single application, but guess what....? You have 265 amplifiers to try and I bet 10 at least will sound amazing no matter what you use!

Best of luck.
 
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