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Bourbon.  Straight, no chaser.

On 5/17/2019 at 3:48 PM, Verne-Bunsen said:

That does look like an interesting speaker. Generally the stereo image from a single cabinet is fairly uninspired, have you heard the Space Station for yourself?

I used to own one - the 1st gen.  I loved it but at that time I wasn't able to use it as much as I would have liked to so I sold it... BIG mistake!

As for stereo in one cabinet being uninspiring,  I think owners of the venerable Roland JC120 would disagree with you.

On 7/4/2018 at 3:26 PM, spikey said:

Then I must have a bad Variax amsdenj. Not necessarily intended as negative because my Variax sounds "ok", but next to my 93 strat, Jem 7v or my 98 LP standard it just leaves me lacking tone and feel wise by comparison. Now, if you don't own those nice guitars (and don't care to either) and also need more functionality then yer right, nothing beats that combo. 

I too had a Variax - the 1st gen and while I'm sure they've improved, because of the piezo pickups there are going to have to be some compromises in tone.  My Variax sounded like it was already plugged into an amp no matter what you plugged it into. There was so so much missing in the high end.  I'm sure they've had to lop off quite a lot of the highs that a piezo pickup actually captures to get rid of that pingy-ness that's inherent in all of them.  Not sure if they can ever do anything about that. It also didn't really interact with an amp's input impedance, likely because of the active electronics, and that gave it sort of a dead non-reactive feel. I had that thing for a few years and it was very very convenient indeed but on that instrument, everything sounded really close... but no cigar.  I had deluded myself into being content with what it was giving me until that one fateful day when I picked up a "regular" electric guitar (a Strat). That day made me realize just how much it - and I,  was missing. The acoustic sounds were pretty stellar though and that was really 80% of my reason for buying it.

I'll probably check out a Variax again in the future... but it will be with very skeptical ears.

On 4/7/2019 at 2:20 PM, Verne-Bunsen said:

 

 

 I'm working on putting together stereo monitoring in-the-room, weighing some options there, but for now playing in the headphones is plenty.

May I suggest an Aspen Pittman Stacestation V3

Unless a guitar is custom built for you, I simply cannot justify spending more than $1k for it.  Pretty guitars are fine but it only goes so far. 

Have you considered building your own?

I really don’t believe in spending too much money on a bolt-on body. The neck and electronics are where I prioritize. Although, it would be nice to be able to go to a place like Warmoth and tap on a few bodies to see how they ring. 

I like that the REVV logo changes colors when he changes channels... It's the little things. lol

I've never needed to.

My issue with running mono live is the phase cancellation that invariably happens to all the stereo effects.  They all thin out and sound a little weird.

As for running in stereo, I really don't think it's necessary to separate the speakers much.  You'll still get a bigger sound than in mono. The Roland JC-120 is proof of this - it's just too damned big and heavy. This, however might be the solution. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Spacestation3--aspen-pittman-designs-center-point-stereo-spacestation-v3-280w-3d-stereo-monitor

33 minutes ago, codamedia said:

 

Yes - in case I muddied the waters, I was agreeing with you :) 

I have upvoted your idea! 

Nah, man. You were clear.  Thanks for the upvote!

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense to just model the power sections.  I think you have the better idea.

I love it!

8 minutes ago, codamedia said:

I do like the idea of a "power amp block"... rather than separating every single amp. 

1. It could be as simple as choosing tube options (El84, 6V6, Single Ended, 6L6, EL34, KT66)...
2. or as complicated as choosing PI Options (Cathodyne, Long Tail, etc...), Tube Options (as mentioned earlier) and Output Transformer Options.
3. With option #2, if you knew much about the amp you like you could built your power amp to match. EG: Long Tail PI, EL34 Tubes, Partridge Transformer would give you a close replication of a Marshall. 

In combination with the pre-amp models this would be very useful. 

 

Sounds kinda like this idea I posted - https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Amp-Builder-Creator-App/841518-23508#idea-tab-details

21 hours ago, MarkJarvis said:

No i am just asking for those who say helix is great to post a clip so i can hear it...

 

Great to whom???

Personally, I don't create patches to please anybody but ME.  You don't like it or think it sucks? Well, you know what they say about opinions...

Kilrahi is absolutely right not to post anything for you to judge.

21 hours ago, MarkJarvis said:

Hi All

Not trying to start trouble...I have been a very long time Line 6 user (POD 500 and Helix owner) but just listening to the 'stock' Fractal AXFX 3 sounds (263 amps) this thing kills...I just dont think there is any real comparison..maybe Line 6 can update Helix..and maybe its just me but damm I dont get that feeling listeing to the stock patches of helix or third party or my custom presets..

 

What do you guys thinK?

DEMO of Fractal AXFX 3 presets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEPZIQ6Yqzk

I would never judge a modeler by its factory presets. Ever. And I can't understand why people would even do that.

The proof is in how or if it's able to let you make it sound the way you want it to. Obviously you liked Fractal's factory presets and that's fine but I'd bet that plenty of people who don't because no factory preset will ever please everybody. Full Stop.

I posted this comment in Ideascale.  What do you guys think?

I read somewhere that Line 6 is hesitant about this idea because when you separate the preamp and power amp and stick a device between them, you change the character of the interaction between those two units - thus changing the sound of the modeled amps. This is true even when you use a buffer, I think and I think I can attest to this. I had a Fender Blues Deluxe some years back and I did notice a change in the way the amp sounded and felt when I put something in the loop.

That said, what if Line6 simply created several modeled power amp models with Fender, Marshall,Vox and Mesa etc. topologies or maybe one power amp module that's reconfigurable to those topologies? After all, do any of us really know how a Mesa (or whatever) Power section really sounds like on its own? I doubt it.

Meh.  Idon't care.  It's not like it's unusable in its current state.

On 1/15/2019 at 9:44 AM, DunedinDragon said:

 

I've never seen anyone using Alto speakers for a live band PA.  I see them a lot in Karaoke and DJ applications, but that's the regular Alto and not the FRFR.  Personally I'd want something with a bit more contouring ability if I were to use it as a powered PA speaker...at least in order to work appropriately with a sub woofer.

 Actually I was asking about the Headrush. Should’ve been more clear. Sorry. 

5 hours ago, rd2rk said:

Not that there'll EVER be an end to new threads asking "What is the best FRFR speaker for use with modelers?"...........................;-)

Well, to be clear, as the OP, I never asked that.  

I’m merely curious about the Headrush.  

Im leaning towards the QSC CP8 because I’m not interested in something purpose built for something. In this case, modelers as the Headrush seems to be. I want something more flexible.  I guess I was just hoping that someone who’d tried them both could give an opinion on how the two compared to each other simply because the Headrush is so cheap.  I was Also hoping that folks posting would’ve posted about the FRFR 108 and not the 112.  Admittedly, I should have been more clear about that. 

Thank you all for your responses. 

2 hours ago, codamedia said:

 

 

The headrush is not a "guitar speaker" just because it has a little more mids. It's still a full range box, much closer to the Alto in flavor than it is to any guitar speaker. Conversely, the ALTO is not necessarily a better representation of what a good PA does because it has less mids.... it could actually be the opposite because of that.

 

The big question here is "why" is the Alto "less accentuated in the mids"? Is it because the ALTO cuts them (with use of the contour) or is it because the Headrush BOOSTS the mids? IMO, you want the box the leaves the mids alone as much as possible... or is at least capable of setting up as such.

I agree.  It would also help to have a frequency response chart for these speakers so that we can get a better idea of how they actually reproduce input signals.

One concern I have is that it's supposedly "Flat Response" but they also say it's "Tuned for guitar"... huh?   Ya can't have both, folks.

On 1/15/2019 at 9:44 AM, DunedinDragon said:

 

I've never seen anyone using Alto speakers for a live band PA.  I see them a lot in Karaoke and DJ applications, but that's the regular Alto and not the FRFR.  Personally I'd want something with a bit more contouring ability if I were to use it as a powered PA speaker...at least in order to work appropriately with a sub woofer.

Connecting any powered speaker to a powered subwoofer, at least the ones that I've seen, shouldn't be a problem at all.  As far as I know, they all have a built-in crossover so that their XLR outputs would have the appropriate frequencies being sent to the main speakers. In this scenario, you do not need that subwoofer contouring button. I know that a lot of powered speakers meant for PA use have a 'Subwoofer' setting but that is there if you choose to route the output to the sub via submix output on the mixing board. It keeps the mains from putting out too much low end and muddying up the mix.  This has the advantage of giving you more control over the low end content and adjust it to better suit the room. However, most small 4-8 channel mixers do not have this feature.

I'm curious as to how well it would perform as a powered PA speaker as well as one for your modeler.

Has anyone had a chance to check one of these speakers out?  The price is sure tempting.

On 1/13/2019 at 6:25 AM, spikey said:

My 2 cents is that Helix can serve this purpose just fine I'm thinking, but I myself wouldn't moth-ball my Apollo Quad to use it. In hindsight, I'd rather that Line-6 used that "space" for more guitar processor stuff (like VU meters for example), but that's a moot point now, as it is what it is... Helix is an awesome guitar processor, which also has a very usable audio interface built into it.

Agreed.  I would also add that (and I posted this elsewhere before) I wish Line 6 would port the Helix to UAD as a UNISON plugin.  THAT would be killer!

Love my Apollo Quad!

I cannot recommend the UAD Apollo enough. No, its mic preamps are likely not leaps and bounds better than those on a $500 interface but its ability to let you track through plugins live is a godsend!