Cab for HX Stomp - Amp in the room feel

[megder]

Hi,
I want to get a cab for my HX Stomp, but I'm overwhelmed by the available options, and specially the different and sometime controversial opinions about every option.

 

What I already tested, and to my hearing didn't like :
- PA speakers, I find that the sound is too diffused and not concentred 
- Studio monitors, I found sterile and not warm at all

I have a small generic cab with a Jensen P8R Alnico Vintage. It was just okay , but very far from what I hear with my headphones.

 

Honestly I though I'ill get a Powercab 112+ and it will be endgame, but there is not enough reviews or comparison with an F12-X200 or a fender tone master FR12.
There are even some that returned/sold their powercab and got the laney or the fender, I feel like the Powercab lineup is nearly abandoned by line6 as there was no firmware update from 2019.

 

Because of this, I'm little bit skeptical about the Powercab.

 

Here are my options :
- Powercab 112+
- Laney LFR 112
- Fender Master tone FR12/FR10
- Harley Benton G112Plus Thiele (closed) + Celestion F12-x200 + poweramp
- Harley Benton G112Plus (open) + Celestion F12-x200 + poweramp

 

I mainly play Crunch/Rock/Metal.

 

I wanted to ask Line6 community which is more Helix product focused.

Thanks in advance

[Schmalle]

Here is an interesting article for you:

https://blog.line6.com/2023/09/15/eric-klein-at-least-half-of-your-modelers-sound-is-determined-by-your-playback-system/

 

Personally I use the HX Stomp in the return of a combo amp for rehearsals. Amp models with cab sim off. Results vary from ok to great depending on the amp model.

At home it's studio monitors or headphones - results are usually great.

[themetallikid]

I have been using Chad Boston's IR that he offers.  To me, it is the most AITR feeling IR that I have used.  It does not have a mic baked into it, that I know of, which makes dialing in the high end a little bit easier for my ears.   I have my Helix running through the Fender FR12.  Sounds great for a 1x12 or a 4x12.  

[rd2rk]

I can only comment on three powered cabs, PC112+, PC212+ and Catalyst 100.

I started with a Helix Floor and later added an HXStomp.

 

I quickly sold the PC112+ and moved up to the PC212+.

The reason was that I THOUGHT that the PC112+ was too dark. I wish I'd kept it because I later realized that I simply didn't know how to use it.

I wish that I'd kept the PC112+ because now that I know how the system works, it would have been fine, and if I only had the HXS it would have been perfect for my needs.

 

The PC212+ is actually overkill with the HXS. I found that the advantages of total volume, which I don't need (the PC112+ is plenty loud), and the "novelty" of the stereo possibilities, which I don't really care all that much about, are offset by the added size and weight. Stereo is nice for "ambient" sounds though.

 

IOW, if you have a full fat Helix and want the above-mentioned advantages of maximum volume, integration and features, and don't mind the weight, the PC212+ is great.

Otherwise, or if you only have the HXS, the PC112+ is quite sufficient.

 

Also, if you think of the Speaker Emulations as Speaker 1, Speaker 2 etc. and don't get all hung up on "Do the GB25, V30 etc. REALLY sound like "THE REAL DEAL", then the PC series are great for the AITR feel. Just pick the speaker that sounds best for the sound that you're going for.

 

The Catalyst 100 not only sounds great for AITR, but it's also MUCH cheaper, lighter, and has the advantages of being a backup if the HXS fails.

The internal amps, delay and reverb allow me to use more pre-amp FX without running into DSP issues with the single processor HXS.

With the addition of the 6 new amps in the latest X version (12 total and the old HW is updatable by FW), I have all of the amps that I need.

It's PLENTY loud (get the 2x12 version if you need more) and actually sounds GREAT for low volume (<75db) practice in my apartment.

This is due to the built-in Fletcher-Munson compensatory EQ on the .5watt setting. Even at <>60db it sounds full.

For LIVE use, going to FOH from the XLR, the "generic" sounding 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12 speaker options, with the MANY mic emulations, give me all the flexibility I need.

I went down the rabbit-hole of IRs. I have many THOUSANDS, from every major and minor player, and I no longer use them except for my RARE forays into recording, and even then, rarely. The ability (with the new FW) to disable the internal speaker emulations allows the ability to use an IR loader if I wanted to.

 

My PC212+ is now on Craigslist.

 

IOW, if I was starting over and only had the HXS, the Catalyst is the way I'd go.

 

All of the L6 options have MIDI, which is GREAT. It's NOT Rocket Science, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about using MIDI.

 

As to the other candidates you mentioned, the only way to tell which would be best for YOU would be to try them.

Good Luck finding a store that has all of them, and keep in mind that what they sound like in a store vs ITRW is about as accurate an evaluation method as YouTube.

 

 

[codamedia]

If I were buying an FRFR today... I'd lean to the Fender line. They sound great and have those familiar controls of an amp for quick room/stage compensation without diving into menus. 

 

That said... my AITR tones are baked into my presets. As long as I have a quality monitor arrangement... that tone is there. Studio Monitors.... check! FOH/PA... check! Quality stage monitor... check! IEM's.... check! Any decent FRFR .... check! 

[somebodyelse]

Hmm?

Helix>Powercab 112+ or 212+ with some of the settings on the PC tweaked, using the speaker "modelling", works for me... with this caveat.

I can make it sound exactly like my analogue rig, but it will never, no matter what/whose cab you use, feel exactly like the analogue rig, simply because the analogue parts of the digital rig are connected differently and don't interact with each other the same way.

Ultimately, the signal chain will always be different and the cab I'm hearing through is not the same as the cab the 'real amp' would have had.