Firehawk, thinking of buying, help/advice pls

[UKMark]

Hi

Recently posted a question in the 500 section about the use of a 500 for my needs. Basically I want it for quiet at home practice. I Play Blues and Jazz so not really interested in the high gain stuff that so many of the reviews and demos seem to focus on. I am looking for that warm, creamy blues tone, ala BB King, Albert King etc. And the Jazz tones, clean warm and dark, like Kenny Burrell etc. Will the Firehawk deliver this?

 

Next, I have been reading lots of complaints about delays and unwanted noises when switching patches. As I would also like to take the unit out to gigs once I get my patches set up, this would be an issue (I think so anyway). Has this been resolved by firmware updates or is it still there?

 

Does the Firehawk support setlist like the 500 does?

 

What is the best way to use live? Into my normal rig (Egnator Renegade) via an Amp out or just into the PA and use a small nearby monitor?

 

Thanks for the help.

Mark

 

[ric1966]

Can't speak so much to the Jazz tonal capability, but I am extremely pleased with Firehawk's ability to reproduce cranked up valve tones. By that I mean replicating the power stage distortion you get from a low to medium gain front end (pre-amp) into a tube power section with the master volume turned up. Think Hendrix, Page, Angus Young, Thorogood, SRV, early EVH, etc. This is a very difficult task for a modeling amp, and the HD models in Firehawk live up to the challenge via the deep editing parameters such as master, sag, bias and bias excursion. When I play clean, I use a custom Fender Twin based patch (Blackface) that is very touch sensitive and has that tube warmth that so many of us go for. The coolest thing for me is that I can get tube amp sounds at any volume. No need to crank up! The firmware update took care of stray sounds and latency when switching. There is still a slight delay, but not enough to bother me in a live setting. Not sure about set lists, but there are 32 banks of four patches, so you could use a bank for each song in a 32 song set list if you wanted to. I find that three banks is usually enough for a gig, since I use the same basic patches for many songs. I do use the smart harmonizer and more or less reverb/delay for some passages, and I build that into my banks. I connect mine to a powered monitor wedge via XLR mono out and send the mixing board an XLR signal from the monitor's link output (pass thru). Works great and gives me direct control over guitar level at my ears without affecting the main mix.

[pieking1]

Hi to answer your question as a simply as possible i play blues (badly) so sometimes quite clean /very mild crunch and i have no problems with patch changing times or noises :) all very very good :) and the tones for me once you get out of the presets are simply Awesome 

 

hope that helps 

[jdebiase]

Hi. I tried using the FHFX (before the intro of the FH1500) through the Power Amp In of a standard Fender amp and was greatly disappointed! Sounded like a Xerox of a Xerox! If as mentioned above you are going through the FOH you will still need a powered biamped monitor to hear yourself and the myriad of HD tones availabile. You will still be completely dependent on the quality of the house PA for what the audience hears. Take into account the stage volume of your monitor mixed with the PA to further confuse your band mates!! If you're deducated to a few warm and slightly overdriven sounds for blues and jazz, why not just go with a Fender Blues Jr, HRD or Princeton Reverb and a pedal or two like the Fulltone OCD? All you need IMHO!!

Jim