My Matrix Gear Arrived This Morning!

fox5150

Inspired
I've been looking forward to today all Easter weekend and even more so after band practice Monday night. As a quick précis, I took my Axe-FX and Mackie SRM450 to practice and, as expected, the SRM450 wasn't great; far too buzzy on the high end and far too boomy on the low end. I wasn't really thrown by this, as it was expected, but I really wanted to try the Axe-FX out at volume.

As I've mentioned on a couple of threads, I've been liaising with Matt at Matrix Amplification, who has very patiently taken the time to discuss my requirements, answer all my questions and generally be a thoroughly nice chap chatting about music stuff. We've talked via email and phone and Matt has always been very polite and incredibly helpful. He's also been very quick to reply, at all times of the day and night and at the weekend. Before the products landed on my door step this morning, I was already very impressed with Matrix as their customer service has been nothing short of exemplary. As we all know, companies live and die by the quality of their service and Matrix's is first rate.

To go along with this theme, Matt phoned me this morning to follow-up on the order I'd placed last week and to make sure I was okay with everything. Whilst we were busy chatting, I saw a UPS truck appear across the driveway and Matt very kindly left me to play!

and Hey Presto! 3 boxes magically appeared:

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If you want to see unboxing pictures (and let's face it, who wouldn't!!) here's the link to the album Axe-FX Photos by fox5150_photos | Photobucket

First thing that struck me is how light everything is. When Matrix refer to these as lightweight, they really do mean it. Seeing something in the abstract in a technical specification is all well and good, but it doesn't give an indication of handling. Obviously, for the GT1000FX, it's pretty irrelevant as there won't be much handling there but, for the cabs, it makes a big difference. At just shy of 13kg, they are about the lightest cab I've used and, more than just the weight, they are really compact. To give an idea, here's a shot with the Axe-FX resting on top of the pair:

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They also seem and feel very solidly made. Whatever the coating is on the outside seems very hardwearing, which is important for the gigging musician. Plus the OCD in me doesn't like marks on my shiny toys ;)

I'm coming out of the XLR's on the back of the Axe-FX for now and into the Matrix. I prefer this as it means the leads are nicely locked in place. However, for the majority of our gigs those XLR's will be used to send the signal to FoH, so I'll get some short jack to XLR leads made up. I've then got two cables running out of the Matrix into each of the CFR12s; 2.5mm Klotz speaker cable with Neutrik Speakon connectors. I can already tell that setup and breakdown is going to be an absolute dream with these...

So now the important bit, how do they sound? My first impression is that it is very well balanced, certainly compared with the SRM450. With hindsight, I believe that the low end on the SRM450 was just flubby and struggled to reproduce those frequencies well, whereas this is much more refined. I dialled up the presets I was using at practice and found them very musical, without any of the harshness that I experienced on Monday. After watching Scott’s “How to tame the beast” vid for the umpteenth time, I took note of his -10dB level for clean patches and Axe-FX output straight up, and fixed those in place, so all I was adjusting was the output on the GT1000FX.

This thing can get loud, and I mean LOUD! Crazy thing is, it just gets louder, no distortion; once you get up to performance levels, no real change in sound either, just LOUD! I had concerns that the CFR12s, either one on its own or a pair, would struggle to function as a backline where they’d have to carry the room. After plugging everything in, those concerns have evaporated.

I’m finding that there’s something going on in the upper registers that I’ve got to deal with. This is certainly not characteristic of the CFR12 as it was there with the SRM450 too. To date, I’ve just been playing with stock presets. I really need to knuckle down and get “my sounds” together. I also took the opportunity to play with the cab block and changing round the IRs and the differences really came through. Cliff really isn’t kidding about how this is the most important thing if you’re going FRFR. I was pleasantly surprised that the Celestion Gold IR, or at least that’s what I assume it is, is very similar to the one in my Lonestar Special. This was really encouraging as not only does it confirm that that’s the bit of the setup I need to focus on, but that the CFR is reproducing whatever characteristics are in the IR to the extent that a layman such as I, can recognise those qualities.

For the gigging musician and one, like most of us, that lugs his own gear around, I firmly believe that the Matrix solution is perfect. These are my considerations:

  • We already have to rack the Axe-FX, finding 1U for the GT1000FX isn’t really a big deal
  • It doesn’t add much weight to your rack
  • It gives complete flexibility for all backline considerations. My preference would be to run FRFR into the CFR12s, but I don’t always get control over what I plug into. This way I can go direct to FoH, into a FRFR system and/or into a guitar cab if I need to
  • The CFR12s are relatively light and extremely compact. Makes load in and out easy peasy. I have yet to try it, but I’m convinced that I can get my rack bag with the Axe-FX and the GT1000FX in it, a case with the MFC-101 and the two CFR12’s in the boot of my Ford Focus
  • The CFR12s can act as a monitor and also provides enough power to run as a backline as well, with a very small foot print and no need for amp stands

I guess after my wall of text, this isn’t so much of a review as some insight into my thought processes. Either way, there may be some useful information buried amongst my musings.

As soon as the MFC is back in stock at G66, expect a follow up with how they work in a live environment.
 
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Great review - informative and I appreciate guys that take the time to offer the context behind their gear choices. Kudos on a well done write up.
 
When I switched to FRFR, one of the things that jumped out at me as well was how things remained clear as I cranked up. Very different from what I was used to.
 
Congrats!

I found the Matrix amp/Q12 the perfect pair for gigs. I use it as my sole source of amplification at shows.

Great sounding and very convenient. I love being able to control amp from my rack (like a real am).

I am using a roadrunner 4 space soft rack (matrix/furman/Axe) and it has worked great for me.

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Great review and congrats... I agree on the IR comments. That's become very obvious to me with my Atomic CLRs.
 
Thanks for the all the kind words guys. I do like the setup I've got, but I do really need to try it with the band to get a feel for how it sits "in the mix".

Scott - I've found your videos and the information you've freely shared to be a great incentive to dive into the Axe-FX and FRFR. I've just stumbled on one of your posts from last year that had some incredibly useful information on tone shaping for live sound. I fully intend to dissect some of your patches and work out how I can use these "tricks" to help me get ready to take this out gigging.

All the information is a little overwhelming, but there's so many helpful people on this forum, that I'm convinced I can make the Axe-FX work for me.
 
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