Best Active Speaker for Live Gigs

[umling]

Hi

 

I know that there are some answers in this forum but i would like to have returns from people who used the firehawk in live gigs situations.

 

The aim of this topic is for me to have an idea of the best speaker that works well with the firehawk. I start to be too old for my JVM an my 2X12 cabinet and I would like to find an other solution.

 

We have with my band, speakers and a PA, so the active speaker will work just for me like my JVM. And of course, if i can hear myself with a drummer, bassist and an other guitarist, it's better...

 

Of course, i've heard about the stagesource, but i think they're great but expensive. So if people are using other active speaker, even with POD HD, don't hesitate to give me some ideas  ;)  ;)

 

So thank you by advance

 

Marc (from France).

[mcbeddall]

Alto speakers are good for the money, I tried one and it was good but not as much oomph as the stagesource, but if you raise it up a bit on a pole it's loud enough , think it was a 600w version I tried.

I got a good deal on a used stagesource so settled with that

[Tcamponovo]

The Stagesource L3's are great. QSC makes amazing speakers as well. If you want to save a little money, check out the Mackie SRM speakers. You're always at the mercy of your PA when it comes to using an amp modeler into a board for live use, so keep that in mind when searching for the perfect tone!

[SoCal]

I have been using the FireHawk FX for over a year now.  Gigging almost weekly.  I go direct into Behringer X32 mixer, then have my individual monitor mix to the wedge in front of me.  Firehawk has been fantastic.  Getting lots of compliments on my tone.  Ease of use with the app is off the charts.  I can arrange my tones in order for the set list in minutes before the gig.  No more hunting for the right preset.

 

I plain got tired of hauling my heavy Vetta to gigs.  Now moving away from any on stage monitors to a complete in ear approach for the entire band.  Less gear to carry, faster setups, eliminates stage volume issues and feedback potential from the wedges.  

 

It is a ego process to move away from having your favorite Marshall stack on stage but we are getting callbacks from all the venues due to our ability to control the volume and mix.  We found that the #1 reason on not getting rehired was playing too loud.

[vmoncebaiz]

My favorite speakers for use with any number of guitar processors have been the Line 6 L3m and Mackie's HD1221.  On the more affordable side the newer alto 212 has been sounding really good when I demo gear in stores (thats the model number, not the number of speakers).

[RockDaddyNL]

I put two Fane Sovereign 12-250TC speakers in my closed back 2x12 cab. These speakers have an incredible full spectrum frequency range (45Hz - 18kHz) and are very efficient. Also covered the inside of the cab with acoustic foam. A DAP BA-150 console is used as a power amp, but any powered console or mixer will do.

 

It's basically a mini PA system running 250W RMS into a 500W/4Ohm cab. Extremely loud and leaves my Firehawk tone exactly as I dialed it in!

And a second use for the cab is at parties where I can play my Spotify playlists via the Firehawk.

[rviard993]

I just purchased the Firehawk and a Fishman Loudbox Artist (I also play a nylon string acoustic). It's a great combination and the amp is small and portable yes powerful enough. Since the amp is designed to be extremely clean sounding, I find that it's a great combination with the firehawk.

[RockDaddyNL]

I put two Fane Sovereign 12-250TC speakers in my closed back 2x12 cab. These speakers have an incredible full spectrum frequency range (45Hz - 18kHz) and are very efficient. Also covered the inside of the cab with acoustic foam. A DAP BA-150 console is used as a power amp, but any powered console or mixer will do.

 

It's basically a mini PA system running 250W RMS into a 500W/4Ohm cab. Extremely loud and leaves my Firehawk tone exactly as I dialed it in!

And a second use for the cab is at parties where I can play my Spotify playlists via the Firehawk.

 

Unfortunately the DAP BA-150 console broke down, but I replaced it with a Devine D-200 poweramp. Very transparent and loud amplification! Used it on stage and didn;'t have to dial the volume further than 30% to get a really loud amplified Firehawk FX.

 

I also played over a Fender Acoustic SFX amplifier, and must say that this also sounded very loud and excellent!

[ric1966]

Just bought a JBL EON 612. I wanted to monitor through something close to the 515XT mains that my band is using. The 612 is very crisp, which sounded great on my existing clean patches. However, it was a bit too fizzy on the medium to high gain patches I had dialed in on a Yorkville 12" monitor. I think the 612 has way more range and a flatter response, particularly in the mids and highs. Since Firehawk doesn't have a global EQ, I conjured up a 4-band parametric EQ to add to all my patches. Dialed it in on the JCM-800 and it sounds great on all the others. It's basically a 5 dB high cut at 8Khz, which got rid of all the fizziness. When I added it to my Twin Reverb sim, it didn't change the tone at all, which tells me there is not much content above 8Khz in that model to begin with. It still sounded as crisp as it did without the EQ. Very pleased with the sound I'm getting out of the 612 on a stand about three feet up. Playing my JCM-800 patch is just like listening to the guitar parts from '80s records without the rest of the band. Amazing fidelity! If I can get this quality of sound out front, I expect to get a lot of compliments on the tone. First gig with it will be this coming weekend.

[ric1966]

The nEw JBL EON 612 worked really well over the weekend. It was a strange setup for the band, holiday party in a residential garage with a tent pulled up to the open door. We didn't send anything but vocals through the mains and kept the overall mix pretty quiet. I had the 612 on a stand about four feet up and off to the side almost like a side-fill monitor. I played around with the angle and volume so the bass player and drummer could hear it and it also projected out to the audience. Very impressed with the versatility and the ability to get convincing cranked up tube amp tones at low volume. Most of the material we played called for moderate gain, Plexi and JCM-800 style amp models. Didn't even come close to using the full power of this speaker. Firehawk and this EON 612 make a great live combo!