After 16 years... (NGD)

[Deadpool_25]

Can you speak about your experiences with the Axe-Fx II and FRFR's? I'm interested.

I can’t speak to his, but I can speak to mine.

With my II XL+ I tried a pair of Matrix FRFR speakers. FR12s iirc. I was powering them with a Matrix GT1000FX. I didn’t like them much. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I’m very much an amp in the room guy. Even turned up loud they didn’t work well for me. I guess it sounded like someone playing through a PA (which makes perfect sense now).

I quickly returned the FR12s and picked up a pair of Mesa 2x12s, again using the Matrix amp for power. That was muuuuuch better. I really liked that setup.

Eventually I sold it all off including the AxeFX. I got the FM3 when it was first released and later moved to the FM9. I ran those through a few different things including trying a Headrush 108. The 108 was both boomy and fizzy. I didn’t bother with doing much in terms of low/high cuts and quickly returned that too.

I’ve pretty much settled on using a tube power amp (EVH FX loops) and real cabs for the Fractals now. Well…when I’m not just using the HS7s which also sound reallly good to me. Not the same as the cabs but maybe my mind has different expectations.

 

[laxu]

I used an Axe-Fx 2 for years through an Atomic FR 1x12 combo. It's a neutral 50W tube amp -> 1x12 full range speaker + tweeter. Sounded great to me and in hindsight should have kept it.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Can you speak about your experiences with the Axe-Fx II and FRFR's? I'm interested.

It was hard to hear myself on stage with just the FRFR when there were no monitors, and even then it didn't sound like what I was used to hearing. People in the audience thought it sounded really good.

I can’t speak to his, but I can speak to mine.

With my II XL+ I tried a pair of Matrix FRFR speakers. FR12s iirc. I was powering them with a Matrix GT1000FX. I didn’t like them much. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I’m very much an amp in the room guy. Even turned up loud they didn’t work well for me. I guess it sounded like someone playing through a PA (which makes perfect sense now).

I quickly returned the FR12s and picked up a pair of Mesa 2x12s, again using the Matrix amp for power. That was muuuuuch better. I really liked that setup.

Eventually I sold it all off including the AxeFX. I got the FM3 when it was first released and later moved to the FM9. I ran those through a few different things including trying a Headrush 108. The 108 was both boomy and fizzy. I didn’t bother with doing much in terms of low/high cuts and quickly returned that too.

I’ve pretty much settled on using a tube power amp (EVH FX loops) and real cabs for the Fractals now. Well…when I’m not just using the HS7s which also sound reallly good to me. Not the same as the cabs but maybe my mind has different expectations.

I'm going to echo you here. FRFRs make a fractal sound like a studio recording of guitar tone. Not what you're used to in the room with an amp. At the time, I was trying to avoid being loud on stage, and trying to avoid lugging around massive amounts of gear. The setup just didn't suit what I was looking for at the time. If I could go in ear... I might not even have an amp on my side of the stage. I HATE ear fatigue.

 

[RevDrucifer]

I skipped right over FRFR stuff for cabs. I’ve got a pair of HS-5’s in my studio and since I spent the majority of the last 15 years hearing most of my tones through studio monitors (with a cab mic’d in another room) there wasn’t a big change, outside of being able to actually get the tones I was going for with minimal gear previous to going Fractal.

I use a Duncan PS170 and a TC Electronics BAM200 to power a couple of 2x12’s for my FM9 rig and it’s worth it enough to drag them to band practice/gigs because more is more.

The only benefit I see to FRFR stuff is the ability to use IR’s that match the amp you’re using, but there’s so many tweaking options available in the Fractal shit that there hasn’t been a tone I haven’t been able to achieve using actual guitar cabs and 2 different speakers. I can do the Fender, sparkly clean stuff to a scooped 5150 to a mid-rangy JCM800 with the same cab, just making some EQ adjustments in the amp block.

Hell, I haven’t even played with the Speaker Impedance Curves and my cabs yet, I’m going to have to fuck around with that tonight.

Congrats and enjoy!!

 

[SCJR]

Oh I figured periphery used them or something. Just odd when so many way more famous people, cough cough fucking metallica, use them and it gets lumped in with djent lol

I love djent until someone sings. Then I'm out.

No Tesseract?!?

 

[budda]

Im so glad i never cared about amp in the room . Got my 3, hooked it up, built my old live signal chain and went “yup thats it - but with 3U and not at 128dB”.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

Im so glad i never cared about amp in the room . Got my 3, hooked it up, built my old live signal chain and went “yup thats it - but with 3U and not at 128dB”.

For me that's really just the EQ settings, and then interplay between strings and speaker. Both through the signal chain and through the air. I felt like the FRFR setup was missing something through the air.