Tech 21 Power Engine original with FM3

flarocks

flarocks

Member
Hey guys, first of all I must say that Cygnus absolutely rocks. On my KRK monitors it is without fail game changing. I had an old original Tech 21 power engine lying around with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 in it and thought I would try it. It sounded like complete shit, and more like a toy than pro audio. I have 2 Headrush 108 monitors and they sound ok and are fine live but are VERY bass heavy. I was pissed that the power engine sucked so I spent some time on the web and saw a Doug Doppler video on the Celestion F12-X200 and the fact he had put one in a power engine. Thought I would take a chance and put one in mine……..HOLY SHIT!!!! The FM3 sounds amazing thru the power engine, and I mean amp in the room total tone thump detail in every way. Brought the TECH21 to life. Sounds like an amazing combo amp. There is a little ‘collapse’ at real high volumes but will more than hang with an animal drummer. This may very well be my new live rig, covers all the bases. The new F12-X200 is what all of us have been waiting for and definitely lives up to the hype!
On another note, total and absolute respect to Cliff and the entire Fractal team for creating possibly the greatest piece of gear I have ever owned. You have set the bar and inspired us all and I for one am eternally grateful.
 
That's interesting. I had a Power Engine 60 and it wasn't horrible for certain sounds, but it wasn't versatile and I moved on. I certainly liked the form factor. If this speaker transforms it into a decent platform, that's awesome.
 
I used the original Power Engine 60 many years ago back with an Eleven rack. Not bad at all for home use, but it ran out of it gas at volume with a band where bass mushed out and the highs darkened in a way I couldn't eq out effectively with that rig.

However, I still have it and will keep an eye out for a used Celestion F12-X200 for use with my Boss GT-1 as a backup or "drummer's house" rig...
 
flarocks said:
Hey guys, first of all I must say that Cygnus absolutely rocks. On my KRK monitors it is without fail game changing. I had an old original Tech 21 power engine lying around with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 in it and thought I would try it. It sounded like complete shit, and more like a toy than pro audio. I have 2 Headrush 108 monitors and they sound ok and are fine live but are VERY bass heavy. I was pissed that the power engine sucked so I spent some time on the web and saw a Doug Doppler video on the Celestion F12-X200 and the fact he had put one in a power engine. Thought I would take a chance and put one in mine……..HOLY SHIT!!!! The FM3 sounds amazing thru the power engine, and I mean amp in the room total tone thump detail in every way. Brought the TECH21 to life. Sounds like an amazing combo amp. There is a little ‘collapse’ at real high volumes but will more than hang with an animal drummer. This may very well be my new live rig, covers all the bases. The new F12-X200 is what all of us have been waiting for and definitely lives up to the hype!
On another note, total and absolute respect to Cliff and the entire Fractal team for creating possibly the greatest piece of gear I have ever owned. You have set the bar and inspired us all and I for one am eternally grateful.
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Are you using cab sims on?
 
Jinch0 said:
Are you using cab sims on?
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More specifically... when you tested the old Lead80, did you disable the cab sim? I'd expect any 'guitar' speaker to sound like shit with cab sim input, enless you are low volume or simply get lucky with an IR that happens to produce nice sounding results into a non-flat speaker.

Cab sims should always be on with the full range F12-X200 of course.

There's one of these older Power Engine 1x12s for sale locally.. this thread has me going "hmmmmm"
 
Admin M@ said:
Absolutely. I replaced the speaker in my Power Engine too.
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Matt.. we know you have heard it ALL, and we all know you have great ears. How do you like it? Compared to, say, a neo CLR? Is it any more 'guitar cab like'? Is it enough power?

It certainly LOOKS more 'guitar cab like'... lol
 
I still have my PE too... thanks for the update on how the X200 sounds. I may have to rethink selling it, and keep it around.
 
It’s the old one, and no I did not leave the cab sims on with the CL80. It is an original power engine that had a 70/80 in it. The F12 just completely changed the amp. The FM3 sounds amazing with it, the only slight criticism I have is that at crazy high volumes it seems to lose the fidelity of the modeller a little bit. Having said that, if any of you have tried it and don’t agree that it sounds great I’d love to know.
 
Needs more power...I'm pushing two of these speakers with a cheap 530watt per channel stereo amp and it can get loud. Crystal clear without "collapse". So loud the guy across the street can hear it when I'm rocking out in the basement. Absolutely phenomenal speaker.
flarocks said:
"There is a little ‘collapse’ at real high volumes"
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flarocks said:
It’s the old one, and no I did not leave the cab sims on with the CL80. It is an original power engine that had a 70/80 in it. The F12 just completely changed the amp. The FM3 sounds amazing with it, the only slight criticism I have is that at crazy high volumes it seems to lose the fidelity of the modeller a little bit. Having said that, if any of you have tried it and don’t agree that it sounds great I’d love to know.
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I have the even older PE60 with the Tech 21 branded speaker, predating the Celestion Seventy/80 version. Allegedly the Tech 21 branded speaker is a flatter speaker than the seventy/80, no idea what it is though. Turning off cab sims with this speaker is not an option with this speaker as there is not much treble roll off. Cab sims were always on, but the tone was a bit darker than full range as a little bit of roll off was still present.
 
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