Power amp for Axe-Fx 3 / FM3 / FM9

Indeed, if you are looking for "the best option" you can't go wrong with the Fryette LXII or even with a Matrix GT1000FX (Class AB solid state).
If I had an Axe FX3, I would choose one of these but for the FM3 having to carry a rack is not ideal in terms of portability.
 
hipeboy said:
Indeed, if you are looking for "the best option" you can't go wrong with the Fryette LXII or even with a Matrix GT1000FX (Class AB solid state).
If I had an Axe FX3, I would choose one of these but for the FM3 having to carry a rack is not ideal in terms of portability.
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This, ideally on a pedal board I should have been more specific on that point. I'm looking more for the floor stuff rather than full rack at the moment, but it's good to know for the rack stuff! Appreciate the insight.
 
MrFusion182 said:
Lol - dude, like many people here I'm just trying to find my way and enjoy myself... I'm asking for help and genuinely trying to figure it out. If you wanna help, great, otherwise maybe park the snide comments?
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If you have a budget, mention it. Then no one has go around in circles trying to guess what it is you’re actually asking for: gear that fits in some price range you have in mind. You get what you give and all that…
 
iaresee said:
If you have a budget, mention it. Then no one has go around in circles trying to guess what it is you’re actually asking for: gear that fits in some price range you have in mind. You get what you give and all that...
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Lol, I didn’t give you any snide comments, so your bit about “getting what you give” makes no sense.

Everyone else has been super helpful — maybe take a look inward here. And if you’re just trying to flex, the gym’s probably a better place for it.

Oh, and if a post doesn’t include every last bit of minutiae you think it should, no one’s forcing you to reply — and sure as hell no one’s forcing you to be rude either.
 
MrFusion182 said:
Lol, I didn’t give you any snide comments, so your bit about “getting what you give” makes no sense.

Everyone else has been super helpful — maybe take a look inward here. And if you’re just trying to flex, the gym’s probably a better place for it.

Oh, and if a post doesn’t include every last bit of minutiae you think it should, no one’s forcing you to reply — and sure as hell no one’s forcing you to be rude either.
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Fair. Good luck with you gear search.
 
MrFusion182 said:
Hey!

I'm looking for a power amp to use with an axe FX 3... Ideally one where I don't have to turn the power amp simulation off in the amp block (as I may well be using an FM3 from now on and won't have the luxury of two amp blocks)

What is the best power amp to use that will allow me to play with power amp modelling on, and still get the "thud" from the cabinet like a tube amp? I've seen stuff about class d etc but I just wanna know what I should be using with a 4x12 or 2x12 cab
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I own and have owned a number of different power amps. I run my AxeIII into a Marshall 4x12. This power amp beats everything else that I've tried (in my opinion).
https://avantonepro.com/en/products/cla-100
 
hipeboy said:
You can keep power amp modelling ON when using a neutral power amp (tube or solid state) or an FRFR system.
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You can keep power amp modeling ON, or OFF. Some people like the sound of deliberate mismatches, similar to keeping Cab modeling on or off with a separate guitar cabinet.
 
MrFusion182 said:
Are class AB or class D amps better?
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The issue is not so much the class of the amp, it's the power reserve of the amp when it's running loud and is hit with a transient.

IIRC…
  • Class AB tend to be heavy and big because they're not as efficient so they have beefy power-supplies. The power-supply has big capacitors, that, when charged, are just waiting for a "chug" or a hard-hit clean chord.
  • Class D are much more efficient so they can usually get away without that beefy power-supply. The problem then becomes the amp has no reserve when it's being pushed hard so the dynamics are lost, so then they scale up the size of the amp. From what I remember, the class D amp needs to be rated about 4x the wattage output of a class AB to stay clean.
  • Tube amps, whether they're guitar heads or power-amps for PA, break up differently than solid-state, whether they're Class AB or D. Tubes will gradually slip into clipping and their harmonic order is more pleasant to hear. Solid state will usually clip instantly when overloaded, like a fuzz pedal, which is a nasty sound especially when it comes from a amp and cabinet that we expect to be crystal clear because it's supposed to be reproducing the sound of a modeler. Again, for solid-state we'll need that power reserve, whether it's in the power-supply or in its wattage rating.
  • I'm very suspicious of pedalboard-mounted class D amps because they don't have the reserves I want to recreate the sound cleanly. I've had my EV-PXM12 cabs keeping up with a FOH system that was peaking at 110dB. That is stupidly FREAKIN' loud and the EVs are rated for peaks of 129dB so they have some reserves. I don't think class D amps sized for pedal boards will do that simply because of the way power demands go up as the volume increases.
We have to be aware of the games the manufacturers play with ratings and how much we'll need, and a little dose of skepticism is probably good too for those times when you find yourself needing to go 1 more.

Just my $0.02.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
The issue is not so much the class of the amp, it's the power reserve of the amp when it's running loud and is hit with a transient.

IIRC…
  • Class AB tend to be heavy and big because they're not as efficient so they have beefy power-supplies. The power-supply has big capacitors, that, when charged, are just waiting for a "chug" or a hard-hit clean chord.
  • Class D are much more efficient so they can usually get away without that beefy power-supply. The problem then becomes the amp has no reserve when it's being pushed hard so the dynamics are lost, so then they scale up the size of the amp. From what I remember, the class D amp needs to be rated about 4x the wattage output of a class AB to stay clean.
  • Tube amps, whether they're guitar heads or power-amps for PA, break up differently than solid-state, whether they're Class AB or D. Tubes will gradually slip into clipping and their harmonic order is more pleasant to hear. Solid state will usually clip instantly when overloaded, like a fuzz pedal, which is a nasty sound especially when it comes from a amp and cabinet that we expect to be crystal clear because it's supposed to be reproducing the sound of a modeler. Again, for solid-state we'll need that power reserve, whether it's in the power-supply or in its wattage rating.
  • I'm very suspicious of pedalboard-mounted class D amps because they don't have the reserves I want to recreate the sound cleanly. I've had my EV-PXM12 cabs keeping up with a FOH system that was peaking at 110dB. That is stupidly FREAKIN' loud and the EVs are rated for peaks of 129dB so they have some reserves. I don't think class D amps sized for pedal boards will do that simply because of the way power demands go up as the volume increases.
We have to be aware of the games the manufacturers play with ratings and how much we'll need, and a little dose of skepticism is probably good too for those times when you find yourself needing to go 1 more.

Just my $0.02.
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In my experience, the class D amps sound fine if you want to play at TV watching volumes. The high end starts to get weird when you crank up.
 
mtb said:
What do you need to connect those to a regular guitar cabinet adapter-wise?
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You need either an adapter from banana-plugs to probably a 1/4" TS, or bare-wires or spade lugs to a 1/4" TS. Between those, the last is probably capable of being the most secure.

The amp doesn't look like it's designed for road use. I'd rather see 1/4" TS outs on it, or maybe Speakon connectors. They're fast and easy to connect and will resist being accidentally pulled out, especially the Speakon connectors.
 
mtb said:
What do you need to connect those to a regular guitar cabinet adapter-wise?
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I made a set of banana plugs to 1/4 speaker cables.

CLA-100-Back.jpeg
 
Greg Ferguson said:
You need either an adapter from banana-plugs to probably a 1/4" TS, or bare-wires or spade lugs to a 1/4" TS. Between those, the last is probably capable of being the most secure.

The amp doesn't look like it's designed for road use. I'd rather see 1/4" TS outs on it, or maybe Speakon connectors. They're fast and easy to connect and will resist being accidentally pulled out, especially the Speakon connectors.
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Yeah, it's not a road amp but I'm sure it would survive in the right case. Sounds great though. I prefer it to my tube power amps and my MOSvalve.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
The issue is not so much the class of the amp, it's the power reserve of the amp when it's running loud and is hit with a transient.

IIRC…
  • Class AB tend to be heavy and big because they're not as efficient so they have beefy power-supplies. The power-supply has big capacitors, that, when charged, are just waiting for a "chug" or a hard-hit clean chord.
  • Class D are much more efficient so they can usually get away without that beefy power-supply. The problem then becomes the amp has no reserve when it's being pushed hard so the dynamics are lost, so then they scale up the size of the amp. From what I remember, the class D amp needs to be rated about 4x the wattage output of a class AB to stay clean.
  • Tube amps, whether they're guitar heads or power-amps for PA, break up differently than solid-state, whether they're Class AB or D. Tubes will gradually slip into clipping and their harmonic order is more pleasant to hear. Solid state will usually clip instantly when overloaded, like a fuzz pedal, which is a nasty sound especially when it comes from a amp and cabinet that we expect to be crystal clear because it's supposed to be reproducing the sound of a modeler. Again, for solid-state we'll need that power reserve, whether it's in the power-supply or in its wattage rating.
  • I'm very suspicious of pedalboard-mounted class D amps because they don't have the reserves I want to recreate the sound cleanly. I've had my EV-PXM12 cabs keeping up with a FOH system that was peaking at 110dB. That is stupidly FREAKIN' loud and the EVs are rated for peaks of 129dB so they have some reserves. I don't think class D amps sized for pedal boards will do that simply because of the way power demands go up as the volume increases.
We have to be aware of the games the manufacturers play with ratings and how much we'll need, and a little dose of skepticism is probably good too for those times when you find yourself needing to go 1 more.

Just my $0.02.
Click to expand...
The quality of the power supplies is an important part of the final result. The energy storage Greg talks about in his post. It is imperative that the power amplifier, whether it is Class AB or D or equivalent, be well designed and manufactured with quality components. In this regard, not all manufacturers are equal. I think the rule of 4 times more power for Class D is a good option for choosing an amplifier. The goal is to never reach the saturation zone of the amplifier because that is not the desired goal.
My rule of thumb is as follows: If the volume of my amplifier is above 50/60%, it is not powerful enough.

More generally, amplifying our digital simulators is very similar to what we are trying to achieve in Hi-Fi: neutral, very dynamic amplifiers with a very wide bandwidth and never saturation.
To get away from the amplifier issue. Concerning 2-way wideband audio systems (like in Hi-Fi) I am not sure that our FRFR speaker manufacturers all correctly master the question of the ideal positioning of the tweeter in relation to the woofer and the phase effects that can result from it, unlike the manufacturers of sound reinforcement speakers......there is an interesting discussion on this subject on the Celestion F12-X200
on The Gear Page

Personally, I find these subjects fascinating.
 
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I really like the Crown xls 1502. It simply amplify what comes from my FM3, nothing more, nothing less
Find it very sturdy and it has more than enough power.
 
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