Matrix Q12 passive now available :)

[Robboman]

I love this - why NOT give us customers complete choice and flexibility? We can buy only the module, the passive box or the active box with module pre-installed. If we change our minds down the road (guitarists never do that, do they? ) we can easily switch from passive to active and back again.

Matrix - you are doing it right. Kudos.

 

[MatrixAmp]

I love this - why NOT give us customers complete choice and flexibility? We can buy only the module, the passive box or the active box with module pre-installed. If we change our minds down the road (guitarists never do that, do they? ) we can easily switch from passive to active and back again.

Matrix - you are doing it right. Kudos.

Thank you.
You also have the option of running the Q12a active cab, in passive mode, without removing the GM50 if you wish. Just dont plug the amp module in and use it as a passive cab , if you wish to switch between passive and active.

Best regards
Matt

 

[razorfish]

Hey guys (and matt), just wanted to drop a line that my GTFX1000 2u and 2, Q12p arrived yesterday. Though i was expecting the worse with regards to the customs duties, i was happily surprised at the total but equally perplexed i was charged duties on my amp (i've been told only the speakers should be taxed). At any rate, i feel like i came out ahead - i was charged $27.83 for each piece for a total of $84 in duties. My UPS guy was even nice enough to give me 5 min to run to the bank to get a cashiers check and then come right back.

In a couple of days, i hope to have up a full review up that will attempt to be more than just subjective musings, which don't really translate into buying decisions.

I'll tease with this:

1) The attention given to the packing alone is enough to keep everything, even if in the end i didn't think the trio to be as life-changing as they tend to be touted
2) The GTFX1000 is something quite special. There is definitely some 'secret sauce' going on inside of it, and the interaction between it and the guitar is seriously vexing
3) The Q12p design and look are solidly simplistic - they're a stocky bunch

raze

 

[MatrixAmp]

Hey guys (and matt), just wanted to drop a line that my GTFX1000 2u and 2, Q12p arrived yesterday. Though i was expecting the worse with regards to the customs duties, i was happily surprised at the total but equally perplexed i was charged duties on my amp (i've been told only the speakers should be taxed). At any rate, i feel like i came out ahead - i was charged $27.83 for each piece for a total of $84 in duties. My UPS guy was even nice enough to give me 5 min to run to the bank to get a cashiers check and then come right back.

In a couple of days, i hope to have up a full review up that will attempt to be more than just subjective musings, which don't really translate into buying decisions.

I'll tease with this:

1) The attention given to the packing alone is enough to keep everything, even if in the end i didn't think the trio to be as life-changing as they tend to be touted
2) The GTFX1000 is something quite special. There is definitely some 'secret sauce' going on inside of it, and the interaction between it and the guitar is seriously vexing
3) The Q12p design and look are solidly simplistic - they're a stocky bunch

raze

Hi Raze,
I like the tease, and look forward to hearing more of your thoughts.
My best regards
Matt

 

[clarky]

just a lil' thought or two...
I've played through a Q12a and a Q12 powered by a GT1000FX..
I seriously couldn't hear or feel a difference... it's all Matrix right!!.. so you know it's going to be top drawer stuff..
I can certainly see applications for both combinations..
so there are certainly combinations that can meet pretty much all needs..


and..... I had the opportunity to try a Q12A with a CFR [powered by a GT1000FX]
they are vey complimentary together...
the Q12 delivers the punch and the CFR delivers the 'air' and width
quite a potent combination

I'd be very curious to recreate my Matrix dome of awesomeness with a pair of Q12's to the rear mounted on stands at about waist height and with a pair of CFR's in front..
a can imagine a rig like that being a very very serious delivery system..
the CFR's will throw your tone right up at you and the Q12's will throw your tone through you and off the front of the stage...
potent stuff

 

[Gibson335]

I'd be very curious to recreate my Matrix dome of awesomeness with a pair of Q12's to the rear mounted on stands at about waist height and with a pair of CFR's in front..
a can imagine a rig like that being a very very serious delivery system..
the CFR's will throw your tone right up at you and the Q12's will throw your tone through you and off the front of the stage...
potent stuff

Valentine's day my ass, THAT gave me a tingly feeling in my nether regions....

 

[razorfish]

just a lil' thought or two...
I've played through a Q12a and a Q12 powered by a GT1000FX..
I seriously couldn't hear or feel a difference... it's all Matrix right!!.. so you know it's going to be top drawer stuff.

This is actually good to hear. I really struggled wIth whether i should have gone with only a pair of Q12a. After doing the math, i would save only $100-15 or so and what ultimaty made me go separates is, as much as i like dumping my rig, i still wanted to feel like a guitar player with his rack (albeit small). Plus, i wanted options - do i want to bring only my axe and matrix to power someone elses's rig, my 2x12 cab or some other scenario?

Besides, with the amp on, it looks sweet! All those lights are the voodoo at work

Raze

 

[clarky]

Razor
here's lil' my opinion;
- having active cabs will give you a smaller rig, less stuff to load and lug about
-- this makes a poweramp less of a need
-- your rack is a U or two smaller and a little lighter
- having passive cabs and a poweramp is more stuff but you also get more configurational choice [when it comes to working in a variety of live scenarios]
-- are you playing somewhere where you'll need to use someone else's cabs [like I mostly do]
-- would you prefer CFR to Q12 [because they are a different - albeit slight - experience]

if you always take yourself and your rig to the job then active makes good sense...
and.. you can drive a passive [Q12 / CFR] from a Q21a.. so your dome of awesomeness is still a viable solution to head for..

if like me you play domestically [with your own rig] and have to get on planes and use the cabs provided, then a 'powered' solution offers this flexibility..

gien that the Q21a and Q12p / GTxxxx sound the same, you don't lose out
so.. assess your current [and as best you can, future] live playing needs and simply choose the kit combination to meet them..

either way, you will end up with the same tonal experience..
which is of course extremely cool

thought: the Q12 and CFR voices are in a general sense very very close
the Q12 has a bit more punch and thickness
the CFR has a bit more sweetness and air

so.... should Matrix come up with an active CFR variant, the choices you have are exactly the same as those above but with the addition of:
- do you want the Q12 punch?
or
- do you want the CFR sweetness?

also note: dispite the very small differences between the Q12 and the CFR, they are both extremely effective at delivering clean, dirty and hi-gain tones.. I guess you could say that the difference is more about the monitoring experience with respect to where the sound comes from... as in:
- CFR comes up at you from the floor because it's a wedge
- Q12 comes at your parallel to the ground cos it's a cab

so maybe the choice in this respect is a little less about tone and more about the direction from where the tone hits you...