I agree with you, all Axe Fx amps don't sound the same through a real guitar cab. Each has a unique character.
Remarkably better? Nope.....
My CFR-12's help me tweak my front of house sound.
When you play live, do you run the Axe Fx [Using a cab block] to the front of house or just use your Port City as a back line and either mic it or not?
If yes, then having a FRFR on stage will give you a pretty good representation of what the house hears.
The CFR-12 is a good form factor since it's aimed up at you like the typical stage floor monitor.
Do you sing too?
Again the CRF-12 is the best bet.
I think the Q-12 sounds best elevated off the floor and with bass cut at 90-100 Hz.[Q-12 has more bass than the CFR-12]
Have you checked out any of Tony Schafer's vids?
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/thre...ive-with-firmware-7-02beta-and-slo100.125531/
He's getting some great sounds from his amplified Q-12.
Currently, I am running straight to front of house in a church setting, so both my Port City's and CFR-12's are collecting dust at the house....
For Praise and Worship I prefer the CFR-12, for a medium size Bar, where I have some stage space, I prefer the Port City's.
And you can run both....
I made some IR's of the Port City's so I can run my Port City/Greenback IR's to the front of house and have a couple Port City's sitting behind me moving my pant legs.
FRFR stands for Full Range Flat Response.
Full Range means they are capable of producing a larger frequency response range than the typical guitar speaker. [20-20 kHz ish..., more like a studio monitor}
Guitar speakers are typically 75-5000 and roll off pretty quickly after 7kHz:
http://celestion.com/product/16/g12m_greenback/
Flat Response means they are less "colored" than a typical guitar speaker. [Flatter, more like a studio monitor frequency response]
Just for fun, play a CD through your guitar cab and then play it through your studio monitors.... Sound different? Mine sure do.
Bottom line:
Running the Axe Fx direct to front of house [Using the Cab Block] will get you the most consistent sound, night to night, venue to venue.
You may have to make minor tweaks to the global EQ, from one venue to the next, but once your presets are tweaked, you shouldn't have to change anything.
Miking the cab is always a crap shoot from one place to another.
It really comes down to this:
Hearing
your sound on stage [via a FRFR or guitar cab], will make you more comfortable and allow you to play your best.
Since you already have a great sounding guitar cab, I recommend you get a FRFR to experiment with.
When you compare both setup at rehearsal volumes, you'll know what' best for your scenario.
It's all about preference.
Worst case scenario, if you don't like the FRFR, you sell it and move on.
