No more real cabs for me

FractalAudio

FractalAudio

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Fractal Audio Systems
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Bought a stereo 2x12 cab for test purposes. Tonight I hooked up my 50W Plexi to one side and the III through a Matrix GT800 to the other side. Sound identical. Way too loud. WAY too loud. My ears are ringing after five minutes.

The punch is great though. Definitely don't get that punch in the gut thing with monitors. Probably just due to the shear volume though.
 
i haven't gigged with a real amp/cab in a long time. my friends use real amps. they got a new FX device and we tried it, but it's making noise in 4cm.

so i took my AX8 and FX8 to their rehearsal space to test it with humbuster just to make sure things are working well there. they both work well :D

but wow. i forgot just how loud and noisy and heavy amps and cabs really are. it's a 100 watt blackstar head. i barely turned up the channel and master volumes and it's really freaking loud through their 2x12 cab. and the speakers aren't doing what they need to at that low volume - thank goodness i was just testing things and not going for tone. but even without any outboard gear, it's just so noisy when not playing. i'm around their amps and band all the time, but i haven't really sat down with an amp like that in a while. it's incredible.

i mean, amps and cabs are great... i used to gig with a vh4 stereo head, or a mesa roadster, 2x12 diezel cab or lonestar cab, a JBL Eon 15 G2 for my acoustic, so much loud heavy gear. now i take the AX8. amazing.
 
yek said:
I still love playing with real cabs. It's the simplicity and instant gratification.
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same here, when the venue relies a lot on stage volume, (means its relatively small sized place) or if there are other players with guitar or
bass amps...i feel like in most situations FRFR looses...thouhg its been really long long time i didnt try it on stage with a decent FRFR monitor. Maybe i can dial it in better now and maybe also the modeling got to a point where you can compete with a traditional cab.

On the other hand,I still think nothing beats a well EQed, a nice stereo room reverb added (just for own mix, not for PA) INEAR. Though i get seldom to play fully in ear/silent stage setup which is also crucial for this setup. Other amps, monitors on stage i dont think INEARs make that much sense. (still good for protecting your ears!)
 
FractalAudio said:
The punch is great though. Definitely don't get that punch in the gut thing with monitors. Probably just due to the shear volume though.
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Yep. It’s the volume. I recently picked up some new RCF mains and a small RCF monitor and did some testing with my AX8 rig at way more volume than we’d use live. It was like playing through 4x12 cabs. I wish I had the mains here to try with the III - I bet the controlled feedback and touch response would be frightening because it’s killer through a single CLR at just over speaking volume.
 
Semih Yanyali said:
same here, when the venue relies a lot on stage volume, (means its relatively small sized place) or if there are other players with guitar or
bass amps...i feel like in most situations FRFR looses...thouhg its been really long long time i didnt try it on stage with a decent FRFR monitor. Maybe i can dial it in better now and maybe also the modeling got to a point where you can compete with a traditional cab.

On the other hand,I still think nothing beats a well EQed, a nice stereo room reverb added (just for own mix, not for PA) INEAR. Though i get seldom to play fully in ear/silent stage setup which is also crucial for this setup. Other amps, monitors on stage i dont think INEARs make that much sense. (still good for protecting your ears!)
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I agree. I have gone FRFR for two years now. It works fine but is it a pair of 4x12’s? Hell no and it never will be.
 
I have a patch that has the 'in your face' punch of the Plexi. Every once in awhile I crank that up to give the mice that might be thinking about an incursion into my house pause.

But the Plexi is my boo.
 
FractalAudio said:
Sounds fantastic but, wow, so loud. I'm actually really impressed with this cab. I forgot what I ordered. It's an Avatar 2x12. I think it's got Celestion G12H's in it. The III through the Matrix sounds fat and punchy. Giving me ideas...
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FractalAudio said:
Sounds fantastic but, wow, so loud. I'm actually really impressed with this cab. I forgot what I ordered. It's an Avatar 2x12. I think it's got Celestion G12H's in it. The III through the Matrix sounds fat and punchy. Giving me ideas...
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Avatar 2x12 cabinets are WAY under-rated. I have 2 of them. :)
 
Shaw said:
Avatar 2x12 cabinets are WAY under-rated. I have 2 of them. :)
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My nephew built me a copy of an Avatar 2X12. It's a great little cab. I wish I hadn't asked him to make it out of 3/4" plywood, though. It seemed like a good idea at the time. :)
 
Shaw said:
Avatar 2x12 cabinets are WAY under-rated. I have 2 of them. :)
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I have an Avatar 1x12 that is a monster .. My main 2x12 cab though is a Carvin Legacy w/ V30's . Not too heavy, use 2 of them for a simulated 4x12 and sounds awesome . Reasonably priced too ...
 
FractalAudio said:
Sounds fantastic but, wow, so loud. I'm actually really impressed with this cab. I forgot what I ordered. It's an Avatar 2x12. I think it's got Celestion G12H's in it. The III through the Matrix sounds fat and punchy. Giving me ideas...
Click to expand...

What if Fractal partnered or designed their own power amp/speaker systems?
It would be nice to have a preset with desired cab ir, and if it’s talking to the amp/speaker system, it transfers the ir/or secret info and bypasses its cab or some of the secret info automatically and then lets the power amp/speaker system take it from there. That WOULD simplify the process for the musician. ...I dunno... :)
 
Never going back to cabs. Don’t get me wrong, I love them and they sound fantastic but I don’t miss the beaminess of them. I just bought two Friedman ASC-12’s from Sweetwater and they we’re delivered today. Going to use them for our bigger shows like House of Blues and keep using my XiTone’s for the smaller shows. And they sound fantastic with the III from the quick play through I did with them today.
0EC40E34-1DCA-4502-9B0D-4BE6DA2B4183.jpeg
 
I've loved my setup of a Matrix GT1500 into Atomic passive CLR's. Used with both my Axe-FX II and AX8.

Not hooked my III up to them yet, this weekend for sure I will.
 
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