Whats the best BUDGET FRFR??

Deltafit

Deltafit

Inspired
Hi guys. After forking out quite a bit of money for my AxeFx, its unfortunately left me a bit short for the funding of a FRFR :( Hence i need to know what the best budget speaker is to go for? I will be using it for my band to monitor myself (we play 50's/60's and Soul music but I also play high gain stuff in the house). I was thinking of the Behringer B212a which got fantastic reviews on Musicansfriend (albeit as a general PA speaker for vocals etc). Anyone using one of those? I know on a budget, none of them are gonna sound out of this world but...

Obviously the QSC's, 12ma's and Atomic FR's are out of the question at the min and I also don't want to go the poweramp/cab route...STRICTLY FRFR!!

All opinions will be looked at thanks.
 
Some have mentioned good results with the relatively new Traynor K1 Keyboard amp - very versatile - initial quality control problems appear to have been solved. Cheapest I found was $479 with free shipping and includes a free cable and headphones...that still may be a tad too pricey for you though...http://www.musiciansbuy.com/traynor-k1-kit.html
 
Honestly, FRFR gear is one of the things where you generally get what you pay for. It's one of the few gear types that I haven't found a diamond in the rough in.

My best advice is to keep your expectations in line with what's reasonable for your budget and go audition a bunch of stuff at GC. Anything you get in the FRFR lines at that price is going to have it's issues, so just get the one that sounds best for your money and whose issues you can deal with the best.

As far as budget stuff goes, I've used the Mackies, Fenders, and the Yamaha Club series. The Mackies have a slightly harsh top end that clips in a weird way. The Yamaha Club is a touch muddy. The Fenders top end can get really harsh when turned up. If I have to use something in this range, I can get by with the Yamaha or Mackie without much fuss, but neither is really ideal.

D
 
Or, i should have pointed out that I live in England, so going to GC is out of the question for me. My budget is about £250 ($450) MAX! I could sell my Jackson PC1 to fund an Atomic FR :lol:
 
This may sound crazy, but the little Behringer 10" sounds very good for the money.
I nicked a pair just to try a couple of weeks ago & was pleasantly surprised.
 
Be careful spending money on Behringer. Be sure to audition it first, and determine if you like it or not (also best to compare it with something else). I personally can't stand the sound of those Behringer powered monitors, but you may find that they fit your needs? The main point, though, is that spending a little less on something that you will soon want to replace (and therefore loose money when you ditch it) is going to cost you *more* in the long run than if you buy the right thing to begin with. Patience pays off.
 
Dpoirier said:
Be careful spending money on Behringer. Be sure to audition it first, and determine if you like it or not (also best to compare it with something else). I personally can't stand the sound of those Behringer powered monitors, but you may find that they fit your needs? The main point, though, is that spending a little less on something that you will soon want to replace (and therefore loose money when you ditch it) is going to cost you *more* in the long run than if you buy the right thing to begin with. Patience pays off.
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Yep, fully get the whole 'patience' thing. But we have a weekend full of gigs approaching and with my current financial situation its about all i can stretch to otherwise i'm gonna be speakerless for my first gigs with my Axefx :shock: And i really wanna hear how it sounds at gig volumes. BTW, our entire PA consists of Behringer speakers, had them for a few years now (4 tops/2 bins) and we've have some great compliments on our sound from those things. Granted they're not Mackies or JBL's but hey, for the price we paid for them they've done us proud i can tell ya!

So for now, its budget until i can conjure up some more paper with the queens head on it ;)
 
Go try a Wharfedale Titan Active. Just a bit out of your budget but I think they sound great for the money. I have a lot of experiance with PA and I have been very impressed with these, the added bonus is they only way 13kg! where are you in the UK? You're welcome to try mine.
 
POB said:
Go try a Wharfedale Titan Active. Just a bit out of your budget but I think they sound great for the money. I have a lot of experiance with PA and I have been very impressed with these, the added bonus is they only way 13kg! where are you in the UK? You're welcome to try mine.
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Thanks POB i'm in the North East...I'll defo check these out! Do they sound good with high gain too? Thats really important to me also..
 
Deltafit said:
POB said:
Go try a Wharfedale Titan Active. Just a bit out of your budget but I think they sound great for the money. I have a lot of experiance with PA and I have been very impressed with these, the added bonus is they only way 13kg! where are you in the UK? You're welcome to try mine.
Click to expand...

Thanks POB i'm in the North East...I'll defo check these out! Do they sound good with high gain too? Thats really important to me also..
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They're pretty neutral sounding, I mostly play classic rock stuff and use some heavy driven tones and they work well. The speakers have a basic two band eq built if which useful. Top end is smooth with good dispersion, I get guitar feedback/sustain easily for solos. They also have a bass extension switch which adds to good low end grunt.

I'm in Nottingham, PM me if you want to try em, although they should be easy to come by in shops. Take your Axe-Fx down, plug-in and blow the sales assistant's mind :shock:
 
Why budget for new? there is loads of used stuff out there and shops/ sellers will snatch your hand off for cash at the moment. A mate bought a whole P.a. for £450 week or so back,sold on the mixer,stands and other bits and ended up getting a pair of Powered Ev speakers for
£150, wooden cased ones as well :D
 
angello120 said:
Why budget for new? there is loads of used stuff out there and shops/ sellers will snatch your hand off for cash at the moment. A mate bought a whole P.a. for £450 week or so back,sold on the mixer,stands and other bits and ended up getting a pair of Powered Ev speakers for
£150, wooden cased ones as well :D
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Indeed, lets exploit the credit crunch :D
 
onebaldbloke said:
This may sound crazy, but the little Behringer 10" sounds very good for the money.
I nicked a pair just to try a couple of weeks ago & was pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

I would find a retailer who will refund your money if you don't like what you bought and try the Behringers. No, they're not going to sound as good on full range program material as something costing 4 times the price, but you may be pleasantly surprised at what they sound like with a guitar amp modeler that doesn't ask the system to reproduce much below 100 HZ or much above 10 kHZ.

The guy has $450 to spend, MAX, and gigs coming up. Why suggest something he can't afford or has to wait for? That's not what he said he wants. Behringer products in general are a great deal for the money although much of what they make is not manufactured to high enough quality standards to be considered "pro" by most professionals. Most of their products are intended for the mid-level consumer market, not the professional market. They may cost 1/3 the price but deliver 2/3 the performance of a better brand. Had it not been for Behringer I would have gone without certain essential items for long periods of time while saving money to purchase higher priced brands.

I think your own ability to tweak your sounds will have more of an impact on the quality of your tones than the brand of PA you use. If you go with a cheaper system like Behringer that may not be flat as others, or may lack the ability to produce clean very low bass, as long as you develop your sounds using the same system that you perform with and you don't drive it harder than it's designed for you should have no problems with sound quality.

There are those that will tell you don't waste your money - Behringer is junk. My experience has been that I get more for my dollar with Behringer products, but since the price is often SO low, I'm not shelling out enough dollars to expect a lot in return. In spite of that, I usually do get more than I expect. There's also a lot of disparity in the quality of their products. Some of them are well designed and built, some are poorly designed and poorly built. I think that's why you'll get a lot of polar opposite opinions - it depends on which of their products you happen to own. I have no experience with their active PA speakers which is why I'd buy 'em somewhere that would take 'em back. They might sound lousy, but I seriously doubt it. I certainly wouldn't conclude that just because Behringer makes them that they suck. They probably sound just fine and will allow you to play your gigs and enjoy your AXE-FX instead of waiting and saving money for something that might not sound any better. I say "probably" because without hearing them, I simply don't know for certain, nor does anyone else.

Stephen Cole
 
Hi Stephen, thanks for that reply. Like i said my band are currently playing with a full Behringer PA system 4 tops and 2 bins. They sound great to me and haven't let us down once...yet! ;)

I think i'll be going for the Behringer and bite the bullet and will certainly see if the shop will do me a return if i dont get on with it. Like i said, with the band i'm in currently i mostly play clean sounds with just a couple of overdrive patches where the sound is just breaking up so i'm not asking it to do sonic miracles. Should i venture into more heavy stuff i guess i'll cross that bridge when i come to it. I will post my results and let you guys know how i get on with it!
 
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