Monitor help

I've been greatly impressed by the Focal Alpha 65's, crisp and clear with a great, full sound. Cranked them last night listening to Martin Miller's band cover of Purple Rain (Mark Lettieri's solo is really cool) and absolutely felt immersed in the music. I tried the Adam T7V but returned after a couple of days, something in the highs that always sounded distorted, even on the cleanest amp. The Focals have plenty of bottom end, haven't felt the need for a sub to get the low end resonance from the tones I've use.
 
The only reason not to buy something is money and space. There is no "good enough" measure that must be met first.

Buy from somewhere with a good return policy. If 5"s wont work then send them back for 7s. Theres many posts on the subject across many forums, and the same names pop up. Pick a model and give it a spin.

Its better to have something to use and use it than spend time reading about everything IMO.
I agree man, buy cheap buy twice. Unless it’s the FM3 haha. Money did come into my decision in the end. Adam and Eve, orders being placed now......and yes I research the sh&t outta stuff and would be far better off playing
 
I'll toss my two cents in. I have an AXE III, Helix, and my tube amps. I have used attenuators for a long time and still plan to use them in certain use cases. These are all tools. Horses for courses. I find that if you want the amp in the room sounds then the amp in the room (perhaps attenuated slightly) is the right tool. I can't often play at those levels, so I decided to go with a modeler (Helix first, the wisely shifted to Axe FX III) into monitors. But it was missing the amp in the room feel, as it should, because, well, no amp in room. So then I upgraded my monitors to Presonus 8XT/Sub combination and this helped a bit in that regard. Better low end, etc, not as brash as the JBL 305's I was using prior. I find the Axe FX III into this setup is the right approach for me, and I'm learning how to better tweak the Axe to my liking.

Recently I decided to buy a UAD Ox Box for my tube amps, and am running that into the same monitors I mentioned. That was an epiphany in tone. I flat out love the sounds I can get through this setup. Not amp in the room, but more so than I've been able to coax out of a modeler alone as I had been configuring them. Which tells me that I need to break out of my pre-conceived mindset on how to configure my Axe and experiment. If you love your tube amp and want to get quick and easy fantastic sounds through monitors, I highly recommend the Ox. The room micing and ambience that can be dialed in works so well for me and is just inspirational. It still isn't Amp in the room, but it feels like amp in the room to play because of the ambience and ability to place mics left/right in the soundstage. Impressive.

That said, I'm also loving Cygnus Beta 4. Love my Axe FX too.
I actually bought and sent back the Ox last year, then again I used it only as an attenuator which didn’t go well (for me) with my Mark series amp. I didn’t use it with monitors though. My thinking has always been that with modellers you get infinite possibilities, but with a Waza / Ox you still only play one tube amp through a set of monitors, so if it’s already non “amp in the room” then why bother with a box that costs the same as the FM3.......

I’m looking at things differently now though, maybe instead of a 1x12 Fillmore extension cab I should be looking at the Ox, all depends how much I love the monitor set up......
 
I've been greatly impressed by the Focal Alpha 65's, crisp and clear with a great, full sound. Cranked them last night listening to Martin Miller's band cover of Purple Rain (Mark Lettieri's solo is really cool) and absolutely felt immersed in the music. I tried the Adam T7V but returned after a couple of days, something in the highs that always sounded distorted, even on the cleanest amp. The Focals have plenty of bottom end, haven't felt the need for a sub to get the low end resonance from the tones I've use.
Cheers Joker, and hat dang those are way cheaper than what I’ve looked at so far. Great cover version by the way. Lettieri uses a Fillmore 50 and the Ox Box in that vid
 
I've been using Focal Twin 6's and the Focal Sub for a while and they work really well for what I'm trying to do. Not sure I agree about the sub comments here as I play a 6 string and love having the sub in the mix even though the twin 6's have a lot of thump to begin with. My sub gets lots of work on the Hi Gain palm mutes. Can definitely live without it but sounds better to me with the sub. YMMV
 
I actually bought and sent back the Ox last year, then again I used it only as an attenuator which didn’t go well
The magic with Ox is in the mics/cabs/room/effects built in and through monitors or phones. As an attenuator only, it’s functional but I prefer my Rockcrusher much more. I’ve tried my JVM410, TC100, JJ Jr., and Mark 5:25 through my Ox/monitor combination and all sound great.
 
The magic with Ox is in the mics/cabs/room/effects built in and through monitors or phones. As an attenuator only, it’s functional but I prefer my Rockcrusher much more. I’ve tried my JVM410, TC100, JJ Jr., and Mark 5:25 through my Ox/monitor combination and all sound great.
Cheers dude. I’ve got quite the gear list arriving once I get back home......2 sets of monitors, FM3, Ox (thanks to you), and a Fillmore 50 head, all to be messed with.
 
Right - like listening to any recorded music, or like what you hear at a live performance through the PA.
As it turns out, I have no problem with this. I was warned it would be different, so far it seems better. The chugs are punching me right in the face, bliss. I’m going to find it hard justifying this new Fillmore 50 head now......although it was an absolute steal.

I tried both Mesa heads through the Ox and headphones, really unimpressed. No thickness, loads of fizz. Then both amps through the Ox into my Recto 1x12, lovely. Figured I’d just get the matching Fillmore 1x12 and use the Ox as an attenuator for both heads, done. Next day, identical set up, but tone was rubbish, made no sense. There lies the issue with tube amps. Ox back in its box to be returned (again).
Can’t wait to build some presets tonight. No idea what I’m doing yet, but the hype is real 🤙🏽
 
As it turns out, I have no problem with this. I was warned it would be different, so far it seems better. The chugs are punching me right in the face, bliss. I’m going to find it hard justifying this new Fillmore 50 head now......although it was an absolute steal.

I tried both Mesa heads through the Ox and headphones, really unimpressed. No thickness, loads of fizz. Then both amps through the Ox into my Recto 1x12, lovely. Figured I’d just get the matching Fillmore 1x12 and use the Ox as an attenuator for both heads, done. Next day, identical set up, but tone was rubbish, made no sense. There lies the issue with tube amps. Ox back in its box to be returned (again).
Can’t wait to build some presets tonight. No idea what I’m doing yet, but the hype is real 🤙🏽
I am very happy to hear this; my Axe-FX is supposed to arrive Thursday. I've been using loadbox/IR, so I've already adjusted to the "studio" sound difference...but it's definitely a real thing to get used to.
 
Not overthinking things goes a long way i find. Some people get so caught up in details that they get in their own way. Not saying thats the case for anyone commennting, but worth keeping in mind.
 
Back
Top Bottom