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Noisyjon

Powered Cabs for Kemper/Helix/AxeFX units

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So, I've been thinking about going the route of one of the above mentioned units but would like some advice, from experience, about a good powered speaker cab to go with them.

Basically what can do good reproductions and handle enough volume to play alongside an acoustic drum kit being whacked fairly hard?

I really like the look and spec's of the Friedman ASC-12... 

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I gigged with the Friedman asm12 and various modellers - ax8, amplifire etc.     Sounded great but it was an awkward box to move around.    

I’ve used lots of active PA cabs in the past and all have been fairly decent - I would suggest you don’t scrimp on wattage - frfr can need a lot more headroom than traditional amps imo so I’d look at 500w+ cabs.     

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10 minutes ago, John_P said:

I gigged with the Friedman asm12 and various modellers - ax8, amplifire etc.     Sounded great but it was an awkward box to move around.    

I’ve used lots of active PA cabs in the past and all have been fairly decent - I would suggest you don’t scrimp on wattage - frfr can need a lot more headroom than traditional amps imo so I’d look at 500w+ cabs.     

Thanks for the info John.

Just seen the weight of the Friedman and, er, yeah, not a lightweight solution 😱

Also just watched the Anderton's FRFR shootout video and the Atomic CLR came out favourably for them.

Now if only Barefaced made a FRFR guitar cab!

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2 hours ago, charic said:

The RCF 735/745 are reviewing well at the moment!

They are - but for guitarists, they are kinda overkill because guitars don't need to the low end response and headroom of those cabs. The 712A and 732A is a good match for guitars - you can probably argue that you don't even need the 3" horn too.

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15 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

They are - but for guitarists, they are kinda overkill because guitars don't need to the low end response and headroom of those cabs. The 712A and 732A is a good match for guitars - you can probably argue that you don't even need the 3" horn too.

But more is... more :D

Mind you I'm also considering all of this from a multiuse perspective (I play keys too! 🤣)

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Here's a question for you...

Do you have a guitar amp? What sort of rig are you using?

I'm assuming that the intention of the FRFR setup is to take to band rehearsals & gigs etc. so that you can monitor your guitar sound. If you're at home, just plug in some headphones, or buy a phono to jack lead and plug it into your Hi Fi.

Instead of buying a dedicated FRFR rig, why not simply plug the output from your amp modeler into the Effects Return on your amp?

By doing this, you're bypassing the amp's pre-amp, and going straight into the power amp. Your modeler is your pre-amp and volume controller, your sound is coming from guitar speakers. Theoretically, the power amp shouldn't colour the sound, as that's done in the pre-amp.

Currently using this method with my HD500X into a bass amp (for bass).

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1 hour ago, Skybone said:

Here's a question for you...

Do you have a guitar amp? What sort of rig are you using?

I'm assuming that the intention of the FRFR setup is to take to band rehearsals & gigs etc. so that you can monitor your guitar sound. If you're at home, just plug in some headphones, or buy a phono to jack lead and plug it into your Hi Fi.

Instead of buying a dedicated FRFR rig, why not simply plug the output from your amp modeler into the Effects Return on your amp?

By doing this, you're bypassing the amp's pre-amp, and going straight into the power amp. Your modeler is your pre-amp and volume controller, your sound is coming from guitar speakers. Theoretically, the power amp shouldn't colour the sound, as that's done in the pre-amp.

Currently using this method with my HD500X into a bass amp (for bass).

Nothing colours the tone more than the speakers that are outputting the sound. The theory behind a FRFR setup is that there is a very clean (typically) transistor amp that remains clean and doesn't distort or sag. The modeller is outputting the capture sound of a guitar rig, complete with the coloured output of the speakers of the guitar cab. If you are then putting coloured speakers on the end of your modelled chain, you aren't hearing the model as it's intended.

What you are saying is true - you can do this... but it won't be as authentic as a true FRFR setup.

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I know, however, to get a truly representational FRFR setup, you need to spend a lot of money, as opposed to a "reasonably priced" FRFR powered PA monitor.

Most guitarists will have at least 1 amp kicking about, so why not use what you have and save some money?

Just putting the idea out there. :) 

Edited by Skybone
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4 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Nothing colours the tone more than the speakers that are outputting the sound. The theory behind a FRFR setup is that there is a very clean (typically) transistor amp that remains clean and doesn't distort or sag. The modeller is outputting the capture sound of a guitar rig, complete with the coloured output of the speakers of the guitar cab. If you are then putting coloured speakers on the end of your modelled chain, you aren't hearing the model as it's intended.

What you are saying is true - you can do this... but it won't be as authentic as a true FRFR setup.

I have heard awful sounds with modellers plugged into guitar amps/setups so not interested in that scenario.

That said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that method it's just not my cup of tea.

This is where the high quality 2 way powered speaker has it sussed in terms of replicating all the various colourations of sound.

20 hours ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

They make an frfr cab you could use for guitar, with the added benefit you could put the rest of the band through it too.

But man, just looked and £1,250 is a lot of dosh 😁 

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On 21/08/2018 at 19:51, Noisyjon said:

I have heard awful sounds with modellers plugged into guitar amps/setups so not interested in that scenario.

That said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that method it's just not my cup of tea.

This is where the high quality 2 way powered speaker has it sussed in terms of replicating all the various colourations of sound.

But man, just looked and £1,250 is a lot of dosh 😁 

That's what I was getting at. Most things sounds awful through guitar cabs... apart from guitar amps.

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