Spend my money before the wife does, need advice.

brianoc

brianoc

Member
I've owned an Ultra for over a year and couldn't be happier. I play in a band and we get out for gigs about 6-8 times a year. We play for fun, we all have families, and are busier than hell running around between soccer games, bday parties, and what not. We play mostly bars (small, med, and large). We have about 30-40 friends who come see us when they can. Good times.

My current rig consists of taking an XLR feed from my ultra into a small Yamaha PA (EMX212S 12-channel, 2x200W mixer into 2 Yamaha BR12 12" 2-way speakers). I would say 50 to 75% of the time there is some sort of FOH PA system that I also provide a feed to. Everyone seems to like the tones I'm getting and I'm much happier and more versatile now with the Axe-fx, as opposed to the Hot Rod Deluxe and pedals I used to play through. I'm dialing in some good sounds, playing with IR's, trying most patches I can get my hands on.

Here's my dilemma. I don't know what I don't know. Meaning, the PA rig works, I like it but am I missing something by not having a typical FRFR setup?

The warden has given me approval to spend a thousand on an FRFR solution because I work my ass off and she says I deserve it. So I've tried to read probably every thread on the Atomics, the Verve 12ma, QSC's, the Jay Mitchell FRFR thread that is like 35+ pages now, etc.

The Atomics look pretty cool and I figure since it's coming from Fractal it's probably the perfect match for the magic black box. However, the idea of going back to something with a tube in it makes me leery (I thought I was done with tubes the day the ultra arrived at my door in diapers). In addition, I can't seem to decide on a Cab or a wedge. I would do active either way as I don't have a power amp. Then I watch Dweezil and I'm like "umm he probably knows more than me" (clearly).

I like the idea of the Verve or the QSC, seems convenient, compact, could be used for other things like driving tunes on the deck in the summer or the annual block party.
Any of these solutions seem like they would work during practice, which we probably have about 3-4 times the amount of practices than gigs.

Anyway, I really don't know what to do. It's like budgets at work right, spend it or lose it. Any advice is welcome. Thanks everyone.

Wow, sorry, much longer than expected to explain this.
 
Last edited:
1K puts you in that ball park... Atomic Reactor, QSC K series, Verve 12mA, Yamaha, Mackie. Maybe a few more deciding parameters might help you narrow the choice. Foot print, weight, tubes vrs SS which you have already made a concern, I/O options.
 
A few people initially went with the Atomic didn't feel it held up in a band situation (one def doesn't for me anyway) then ended up with the Verve, others liked the Atomics and stuck with them, cab and power amp is probably closes feel to a real rig (matrix amp seems promising) but then you lose the use of cab sims.

There are so many pro's and cons to every choice..as cliché as it sounds, it's what will make you the happiest, weighing up your own needs and making a decision!
 
If you want to use those ir's and cab sims then you have to stay FRFR and the choices at the top of your budget range are all pretty good and pretty close in quality if we're talking about a single monitor.
I picked the EV SxA 250 over the QSC K12 because it has some kind of quality to it that sounds a bit more 'guitar cab' like to me, maybe it's just that it is made from wood instead of plastic or because the 15" speaker plays a role, I don't know. But anyway, I bought it used for just over $500 so if you get a chance to try one of those it may save you a little. The price for a new one is right there with the QSC K12.
 
Thanks everyone for the help. I've narrowed it down between the QSC 12A, Verve 12ma, and the EV SxA 250 (so basically eliminated the Atomic from the running). Has anyone had the chance of comparing these one to one? I have to admit I'm leaning towards the EV SxA 250 because I found it online for $670. I'm hoping I can stretch my budget a bit and buy two and sneak it past the warden.
 
Last edited:
brianoc said:
Thanks everyone for the help. I've narrowed it down between the QSC 12A, Verve 12ma, and the EV SxA 250 (so basically eliminated the Atomic from the running). Has anyone had the chance of comparing these one to one? I have to admit I'm leaning towards the EV SxA 250 because I found it online for $670. I'm hoping I can stretch my budget a bit and buy two and sneak it past the warden.
Click to expand...

I remember someone that was using those you might do a search...
 
mark_melling said:
A few people initially went with the Atomic didn't feel it held up in a band situation (one def doesn't for me anyway) then ended up with the Verve, others liked the Atomics and stuck with them
Click to expand...
I have a single Atomic powered cab.. works fine for me on stage. Don't know what kind of stage volumes you are playing at, but they must be friggin' deafening, 'cus my Atomic is plenty loud. I only run it a half-volume and its plenty loud for monitoring on stage.
TO be clear, I DO NOT use it as a backline, and I do NOT mic it. We have a 6400w tri-amp PA that gets my my AxeFx OUT1 XLR's direct, so the Atomic is for stage monitoring only. But for this, its PLENTY LOUD, and it IS FRFR !!
 
Don't forget to look at the new Electro-Voice Live X ELX112P. It's had a lot of good things said about it, especially when compared to the QSC K12. And it's cheaper... average price is $600 each, which is about $200 cheaper than the K12. They can be had for even less if you shop around. I ordered two of them, and they should be here on Thursday. I'll be glad to post my comments and opinions, but they'll come with no comparison to others, as I've never had FRFRs before (well, except my KRK Rokit G2 8s).
 
I use a qsc rmx850 amp. And 2 jbl jrx115 and it sound great to me (better than my engl live) and it was affordable and loud. I play mostly metal

send from Droid
 
IMO, I would go FRFR - a QSC or FBT OR one that sonically matches (if that's possible) the places you gig at. I've seen some smaller venues with older QSC's on stands.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom