PaulyPanacea
Active member
New to this whole thing... So now I need a powered cab. Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery are greatly appreciated. And.... GO!!!
Just ordered a Fractal AX8...
- Thread starter PaulyPanacea
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Bishop5150
Well-known member
I have the Friedman and a couple of XiTone 1x12's I run in stereo. Both are great. Friedman is heavy and awkward to carry. It's got a lot of low end. Not exactly flat like a true FRFR but it sounds great. Definitely has a cab thump to it.
PaulyPanacea
Active member
My Diezel is staying put. Just need a smaller setup for big $ casino gigs.
Any other thoughts on cabs before I order the Friedman...
Any other thoughts on cabs before I order the Friedman...
rsm
Well-known member
Have a look at Atomic CLR: http://atomicamps.com/clr-reference-frfr-monitors/
If I was in the market for powered FRFR for guitar, I'd be looking at these.
If I was in the market for powered FRFR for guitar, I'd be looking at these.
Rayneman
Well-known member
I had a ASM 12 but as others have said, its pretty heavy and awkward. Not as heavy as a 4x12, but if one of the reasons to use a setup like the Fractal is to downsize, then it sort of defeats the purpose, IMO.
My reasoning behind using the AX8 is ease of carrying stuff and stage volume/consistency. I just play in a cover band, but we play enough that I was sick of dragging amps, cabs, pedalboards...then micing my amp and trying not to be too loud. We play some fairly big places and small places...none of which are REALLY compatible with a 100 watt tube amp and 4x12...we don't play concerts, just dance music for bar patrons or private events.
With the AX8, all I need is to monitor myself onstage and that's it. The board gets a feed of my signal and the FOH sound is handled that way. Hence, while the ASM was nice, looked cool and sounded good, it still was more than I needed. I've never tried one, but the CLR looks awesome, especially the "neo" version which is supposed to be very light (but $$$$$$). I then got a Line 6 L2t, which is more of the FRFR deal...its great and I still have it, but its still pretty heavy and it has more power than I really need. Finally, for $249 I got this 20 lb. FRFR powered speaker made by Alto, which also can sit on the stage like a wedge. Its got 500 watts, and is plenty loud to set next to me and I can hear myself perfectly. While I get a feed to vocal monitors as well, the little Alto is my own feed and I control it 100% and it doesn't affect the house sound at all.
I've used this setup for quite a few gigs so far, and its great. I have the AX8, a volume controller, wireless receiver and wah pedal mounted to my board. I roll in, take the top of my board, connect XLR to my Alto monitor (another XLR goes from the Alto to the snake or wherever) plug the board's AC power in, and I'm ready. Once I got my tones and levels dialed in (which really was the hard part) its always the same and VERY easy. All of this gear and my guitars fit easily onto my "rock n' roller" cart and load in/out is a breeze.
There is no real replacement for a hot tube amp scrambling your bowels onstage, but that isn't always feasible. I guess it all comes down to what you want the rig to do. I never touch the AX8 at home...oddly at home is getting to be the only place I can ever fool around with the roomful of big amps that I have. The whole AX8 rig sits in my garage waiting for the next gig.
My reasoning behind using the AX8 is ease of carrying stuff and stage volume/consistency. I just play in a cover band, but we play enough that I was sick of dragging amps, cabs, pedalboards...then micing my amp and trying not to be too loud. We play some fairly big places and small places...none of which are REALLY compatible with a 100 watt tube amp and 4x12...we don't play concerts, just dance music for bar patrons or private events.
With the AX8, all I need is to monitor myself onstage and that's it. The board gets a feed of my signal and the FOH sound is handled that way. Hence, while the ASM was nice, looked cool and sounded good, it still was more than I needed. I've never tried one, but the CLR looks awesome, especially the "neo" version which is supposed to be very light (but $$$$$$). I then got a Line 6 L2t, which is more of the FRFR deal...its great and I still have it, but its still pretty heavy and it has more power than I really need. Finally, for $249 I got this 20 lb. FRFR powered speaker made by Alto, which also can sit on the stage like a wedge. Its got 500 watts, and is plenty loud to set next to me and I can hear myself perfectly. While I get a feed to vocal monitors as well, the little Alto is my own feed and I control it 100% and it doesn't affect the house sound at all.
I've used this setup for quite a few gigs so far, and its great. I have the AX8, a volume controller, wireless receiver and wah pedal mounted to my board. I roll in, take the top of my board, connect XLR to my Alto monitor (another XLR goes from the Alto to the snake or wherever) plug the board's AC power in, and I'm ready. Once I got my tones and levels dialed in (which really was the hard part) its always the same and VERY easy. All of this gear and my guitars fit easily onto my "rock n' roller" cart and load in/out is a breeze.
There is no real replacement for a hot tube amp scrambling your bowels onstage, but that isn't always feasible. I guess it all comes down to what you want the rig to do. I never touch the AX8 at home...oddly at home is getting to be the only place I can ever fool around with the roomful of big amps that I have. The whole AX8 rig sits in my garage waiting for the next gig.
Chris O
Well-known member
Put the AX8 on a board and use an ISP Stealth power amp (super light - not much heavier than a pedal). Then use the 112 or 212 cab of your choice. Arguably near the same weight of a powered speaker when all is said and done.
That said, I used my Axe 2 with a couple Alto TS112a's and then with the CLR. I didn't think the CLR was $250 vs $1000 better sounding. But everyone has a gazillion opinion when it comes to this.
That said, I used my Axe 2 with a couple Alto TS112a's and then with the CLR. I didn't think the CLR was $250 vs $1000 better sounding. But everyone has a gazillion opinion when it comes to this.
squank
Active member
I've used several powered cabs, and the Atomic CLR is the best in class. Get the neo version for a light, versatile, very convenient system. The Friedman is nice, but it's not a flat response, which you'll want playing live. The Friedman is cool for playing at home, because of the big low end, but the CLR is tits for live gigs.
Chris6870
Well-known member
Chris O":28u93ant said:
What amp do you use? Is it rack mounted? Im thinking of getting the AX8 and would like to use a guitar cab I already have,either a 1x12 or 2x12. If I use an amp then I need to carry a rack,which is another piece to haul. Just not sure I want to dive all the way in with a powered cab. Also there is the option of running it through the fx return of my amp head and using my current cab. Ive seen some guys using the EHX 44 magnum for power. So many scenarios
shred-o-holic
Active member
Chris O":13ut7yf4 said:
Another consideration that I use with my Kemper is the Quilter Tone Block 201 (4 lbs) and any cab. My other guitarist uses an ISP Stealth with his Kemper and it also sounds good. I like the Quilter (designed by Pat Quilter AKA QSC amps) better as it handles 4 ohms was opposed to the Stealth (8,16 ohms) and it seems a tad warmer (analog) with more overall headroom (not by that much though) both are good options. I use about 75 watts of the Quilter in a band mix BTW as the power is scalable all the way to 200 watts.....which I never have needed in a loud Metal setup.
andross182
New member
Chris O":3ed6oz1h said:
Wouldn't the 180w RMS power cook a traditional guitar cab, or am I missing something? My mini recto cab is rated for 60w and my 2x12 is rated for 120w I believe. An ax8 plus that ISP seems exactly what I'm looking for to noodle around with once I pickup a p24.
shred-o-holic
Active member
Not unless you plan on running the ISP on full blast......Extra SS headroom is a good thing..even then the Stealth is rated 180 watts @ 8 ohms bridged. Stereo it's rated at less I believe. My other guitarist fried his when he used a single cab @ 4 ohms. Had to be sent back to ISP and was repaired....so bridged has to be 8 or 16 ohms....which again you don't have to use all the wattage to push a cab..
