secondruleis
Member
As I write this it sounds like I am stating the obvious but I thought I would post about my experience with different power amps and the AxeFx to save someone the trouble.
For the record, I have played high-end, boutique tube amps for most of my life and still own (but don't often use) many great amps and cabinets. A few years back I took the plunge into the Fractal world but couldn't make things sound the way I expected them to. After a few false starts I jumped back in and settled on a FRFR setup first with Atomic CLRs and later with Friedman ASMs. Although this sounded good, I slowly migrated to a power amp and guitar cabinet. That's where the trouble began.
I usually by the best gear I can afford bit this time I chose to purchase a Behringer iNuke for power because it was high wattage and a quarter of the price of a Matrix amp. I also assumed that solid state power is pretty consistent and thought I would be frugal and "smart" this time. Despite everyone's love for Matrix amps I assumed it was just "hype". Everything sounded ok to me at first with the iNuke. But after playing some shows, I really noticed a lack of low end definition and everything just sounded kind of crappy. I tried to tweak it to no avail.
So, I went ahead and order a Matrix GT1600FX fully expecting the difference between it and the iNuke to be minimal if even noticeable. I was as wrong as can be. The difference is staggering. Night and day. The matrix sounds better in every way. The low end is there, the presence and definition is there and this setup pushes air like the real deal. My setup sounds like a raging, amazing tube amp.
I'm stating the obvious here but thought I would share my experience. Just go and buy a Matrix amp. Don't mess around folks. It can happen to you.
For the record, I have played high-end, boutique tube amps for most of my life and still own (but don't often use) many great amps and cabinets. A few years back I took the plunge into the Fractal world but couldn't make things sound the way I expected them to. After a few false starts I jumped back in and settled on a FRFR setup first with Atomic CLRs and later with Friedman ASMs. Although this sounded good, I slowly migrated to a power amp and guitar cabinet. That's where the trouble began.
I usually by the best gear I can afford bit this time I chose to purchase a Behringer iNuke for power because it was high wattage and a quarter of the price of a Matrix amp. I also assumed that solid state power is pretty consistent and thought I would be frugal and "smart" this time. Despite everyone's love for Matrix amps I assumed it was just "hype". Everything sounded ok to me at first with the iNuke. But after playing some shows, I really noticed a lack of low end definition and everything just sounded kind of crappy. I tried to tweak it to no avail.
So, I went ahead and order a Matrix GT1600FX fully expecting the difference between it and the iNuke to be minimal if even noticeable. I was as wrong as can be. The difference is staggering. Night and day. The matrix sounds better in every way. The low end is there, the presence and definition is there and this setup pushes air like the real deal. My setup sounds like a raging, amazing tube amp.
I'm stating the obvious here but thought I would share my experience. Just go and buy a Matrix amp. Don't mess around folks. It can happen to you.