gopjoj Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 I'm warming to this Helix LT. I downloaded some custom patches and they sound way better than whatever it was I was doing :) So, I'm running it through a Laney CX 1x12 powered wedge monitor. This has the following specs: Equipped with: 12" + Horn Jack & XLR input 3 Band EQ Frequency response: 65Hz - 18KHz I'm told that's it best to use FRFR. I'm wondering if the frequency response of the Laney counts as FRFR? I also have a Matamp 2x12 guitar cabinet with vintage greenback celestions in it. I understand this would colour the sound, but am wondering if I should get an amplifier for it and run the Helix through it to see how it sounds. This is mainly because I prefer the look of the Matamp cab, however I will place tone first. If I was going to go this route, what sort of amplifier should I pair with it? Open to suggestions. What are you running for your home practice setups? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrahi Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 2 hours ago, gopjoj said: I'm told that's it best to use FRFR. I'm wondering if the frequency response of the Laney counts as FRFR? I also have a Matamp 2x12 guitar cabinet with vintage greenback celestions in it. I understand this would colour the sound, but am wondering if I should get an amplifier for it and run the Helix through it to see how it sounds. This is mainly because I prefer the look of the Matamp cab, however I will place tone first. If I was going to go this route, what sort of amplifier should I pair with it? Open to suggestions. What are you running for your home practice setups? You ask a few questions here. To your first question, no, the Laney is nothing like an FRFR speaker. In terms of frequency response, that one doesn't have a very wide one actually - but even if it did, an FRFR is more than just a broad frequency response. They have tweeters and ummm, honestly it gets complicated and it's a bit over my head, other than I know enough to tell you that a standard guitar cab is not FRFR. To your second question . . . should you try to use your vintage greenback celestion? It depends on how much you'd love the sound of it. It's not the way I would go because it locks you into one type of cab (the real cab you're using). I prefer FRFR, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't sound amazing. It might be your favorite thing ever, and since you already own it, yeah, there's a good argument for trying it . . except for the fact that you don't have an amplifier, and that isn't exactly cheap so . . . I mean again, it's not what I would do. What do I do? I own a Firehawk 1500 which is rated as a flat response. It is honestly a pretty sweet setup with some unique tricks up its sleeve. Particularly if you want a cheaper wet/dry/wet kind of setup it's pretty close to it without all the fuss and muss of one. I wouldn't recommend YOU get a 1500 though. That's a pretty pricey (and damned heavy) move just to get an FRFR. I'd steer you to the Powercab, and if that's too pricey, the Headrush FRFR models. There are other great choices too though. Honestly, more and more of them are popping up every year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopjoj Posted June 8, 2019 Author Share Posted June 8, 2019 Cool, thanks Kilrahi Yes, I was wondering how much this foldback is colouring the sound. If I understand you correctly, it's behaving just like if I put it through a regular guitar amp? It's not even close to a FRFR. I looked it up and apparently FRFR = 0hz - 20000hz, so I guess 65Hz - 18KHz is way out! Sounds like the Matamp cab isn't really a go, either. I'll check out the various FRFR options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teo-torriate Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 4 hours ago, gopjoj said: Open to suggestions. What are you running for your home practice setups? I use a pair of Yamaha DBR 10 (FRFR-monitors). I'd never thought that this combination would have such a powerful and massive sound! :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glideman Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Mission Gemini 2! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Sweetwater has JBL EON610’s on sale for $249 through the end of the month. I’ve played with a guy who uses one and it sounds pretty dang good as a highly portable FRFR with his Helix. Works great for rehearsals and stage. Hell, you could buy two for $500 and have a stereo rig... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopjoj Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 Interesting, ric1966 The JBL has a Freq. Response of (±3 dB)60 Hz - 20 kHz. That is not too far from my Laney CX Hmmm.......I'm still a bit confused as to what qualifies as FRFR? Different metric? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 1 hour ago, gopjoj said: Interesting, ric1966 The JBL has a Freq. Response of (±3 dB)60 Hz - 20 kHz. That is not too far from my Laney CX Hmmm.......I'm still a bit confused as to what qualifies as FRFR? Different metric? Frequency response is maybe the smallest part of the picture. The term "FRFR" is a somewhat invented term and typically refers to speakers that have cover the full range of frequencies that human hearing can detect AND have a generally flat and contoured response across the entire range of those frequencies. It's that second part that's the really distinguishing factor. This is accomplished by having speakers that can cover that range, and an amplification system that's advanced enough to intelligently allocate the frequencies so that there's a smooth and even level of the frequencies allocated to the two (high and low frequency) speakers. To do this the speaker is generally going to be a powered speaker design most commonly using a bi-amp design and digital signal processing (DSP) chips to manage the frequency response between the speakers. Because of this design the speakers won't typically have any tone controls because that's already pre-determined in the design. On the higher end units they provide contour settings which allow you to adjust the frequency response to different types of applications such as floor monitor, pole mounted, live music, recorded music, speech, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glideman Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 JBL EON615's sound great, too. When I don't use the Gemini 2, I just jack my level up in the sidefill monitors, which are a pair of EON615's on poles. You can buy a pair of B-stock EON615's from ProAudiostar for just over $540 shipped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ric1966 Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 That’s the beauty of FRFR... once you get your tones dialed in on a decent monitor, they will sound pretty good though any other decent FRFR speaker, including most modern stage monitors and FOH. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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