I've been on the fence about amplification ever since my first day with my AFX. Haha! I originally started with using my studio monitors (stereo), but then moved to an FRFR (Xitone 1x12) cab in attempt to utilize the AFX's cab simulation to the fullest. I'm still experimenting/struggling with that setup. Maybe it's just my ears or whatnot, but something just sounds too sterile somehow with the FRFR route and I haven't been 100% successful with it yet. I would like to take advantage of the full UltraRes offerings for cab IR's and have a more even platform between live and studio, but with the FRFR not quite doing it for me yet, I'm afraid that I may just have to resort to micing real cabs again. So... now I'm running my presets (minus the cab block) into my Carvin Legacy 2x12 cab and it's sounding the best of all my options currently. Since the newest FW versions have arrived, I can pretty much run an amp block with no extra EQ blocks and have a really decent-sounding tone without having to tweak too much. That's a good thing! :encouragement:
I would be interested in trying the Matrix NL12/212, but have read that some players are struggling with that cab and having to deal with EQing and such in attempt to find a tone that suits them. So, that leaves me questioning if maybe the traditional guitar cab is the way to go for me. I see that MANY players are going that route, much more-so now than in the past when people were still experimenting with FRFR more.
I'm following these posts closely, along with my post regarding running stereo 2x12 cabs in order to hopefully find the right path for me with my AFX in a cross platform situation (live & studio) with the least amount of issues. I hope to settle on something real soon, as this is a hurdle that I've been struggling with for quite some time.