johnnyvlee Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I have a Powercab Plus. Anyone done comparisons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 The "best" sounding FRFR (a meaningless marketing term) for anything is so subjective as to be a pointless discussion. See TGP for dozens of such. I have a PC212+, HR FRFR112 and Rokit 6 studio monitors. They all sound good for different things and at different levels. The "best" sounding FRFR speaker is the one that YOU like best for YOUR application in YOUR listening environment. Which means that YOU would have to try them ALL to know which is "best". I know, not the answer you wanted. I mostly play my Helix through my Catalyst100 without IRs. If I played more "metal" I'd get a closed back cab and separate amp. For as often as I play that style, running the XLR Out from the Cat with emulation OFF into the PC212+ with speaker emulation (not FRFR) sounds good enough. YMMV. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 FRFRs are all terrible IMO. It will sound like a wedge monitor. It will not chug or move air. Want a guitar cabinet feel? Get a guitar cabinet and power it by a power amp. The post below goes over what works for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 What @rd2rk said... Things that factor into it are music styles, band makeup, types of guitars, types of performance venues, etc. all have a bearing on what will work best in any given situation. For example, I'm at the far end of that spectrum because I have no amp or cabinet on stage. I go direct into the mixing board and use floor monitors coming from the mixer. But my application is probably not anything like yours. Mine is more like a pit musician in a stage production. Works perfect for me, but probably not what you're looking for. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 I have one of those cheap stereo Bluetooth speakers that has an aux input. 2 years ago I had to play 3 shows in Florida right after taking a few days for vacation. I'm the kind of a guitarist, who needs to always be on top of their game, which includes running the whole set pretty much daily. Well, that speaker worked great for my needs. I was able to run all 2-hours worth of songs in the hotel room without disturbing anybody, and it sounded surprisingly great. So go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanderdecker Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Most people swear by the new Fender Fr 10 and 12s. I haven't A/B them myself but there is a lot on youtube about them. Thus far I generally send the signal straight to PAs aka FOH, but with all the ogling over these new Fender FRs I might take the plunge! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyvlee Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 On 2/18/2025 at 6:41 PM, Vanderdecker said: Most people swear by the new Fender Fr 10 and 12s. I haven't A/B them myself but there is a lot on youtube about them. Thus far I generally send the signal straight to PAs aka FOH, but with all the ogling over these new Fender FRs I might take the plunge! I just need to go plug in and hear for myself. But I live in a city of 250,000. Will have to find larger city to find a retailer that has one in stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandiboy Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 On 2/18/2025 at 6:41 PM, Vanderdecker said: Most people swear by the new Fender Fr 10 and 12s. I haven't A/B them myself but there is a lot on youtube about them. Thus far I generally send the signal straight to PAs aka FOH, but with all the ogling over these new Fender FRs I might take the plunge! the fr12 is boomy - powercab 112 + sounds far better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltwhite Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 Here's the thing about "FRFR"; they should all sound the same!!! If they aren't responding flatly, and are either boosting or cutting frequencies, that's going to be the difference you're hearing in the room. "Full Response" is some marketing bs if I've ever seen or heard it. Pretty much every PA speaker that isn't a subwoofer is attempting to be "FRFR". If a "FRFR" speaker is being 'designed' for guitar, that makes no sense. The frequency response should literally be a flat line at 0dB boost or cut across the frequency response (which will obviously then fall off at the low bass and high treble eventually). What I'm saying is, they should all be and sound the same, so there's absolutely no reason to buy a "FRFR" speaker for guitar instead of just finding a really nice wedge or powered PA speaker you like the sound of. It's all the same in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 On 4/1/2025 at 9:47 AM, ltwhite said: Here's the thing about "FRFR"; they should all sound the same!!! I should be taller. Reality sucks! As I pointed out, FRFR is a meaningless marketing term. On 4/1/2025 at 9:47 AM, ltwhite said: Pretty much every PA speaker that isn't a subwoofer is attempting to be "FRFR". If FRFR was a real thing and what you say were true, there would only be a need for one brand of PA speaker. Reality is that mfrs are designing for BEST SOUNDING, not MOST FRFR. On 4/1/2025 at 9:47 AM, ltwhite said: What I'm saying is, they should all be and sound the same, so there's absolutely no reason to buy a "FRFR" speaker for guitar instead of just finding a really nice wedge or powered PA speaker you like the sound of. It's all the same in the end. If you believe that, go for it! The trick is finding "THE ONE". That's true for FRFR/PA cabs as well as actual guitar cabs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted April 1 Share Posted April 1 On 3/27/2025 at 6:18 AM, mandiboy said: the fr12 is boomy - powercab 112 + sounds far better My PC212+ is for sale on CL Denver. Great price. I can even ship it in the original packaging! Meanwhile, I'm using my HR FRFR112 (universally agreed to be "boomy") with the DI from my Catalyst to fill out the sound. Sounds better than the PC212+. Go figure. I got the PC212+ originally to replace a PC112+ that I thought was too dark sounding. We all have different ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beggars Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 The Fender Tone Master FR-12 FRFR is really good. I use it with my Helix and Quad Cortex. It's also quite cheap for what you get. It's one of the more affordable and better sounding FRFR speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtnman82 Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 Newbie to the game, my take so far (coming from decades with tube amps)... I envision two different setups with the Helix. First, primary for me, is Helix going to FOH and in monitors. For an FRFR speaker at home I went with the same as we use for our mains (QSC K12.2). Reason being I wanted to dial in Helix hearing what was going to be coming out of our PA as close as possible (without the subs, but...). Second setup I haven't decided on yet, which would be for guitar not going thru FOH. I know I could get by with the Helix + K12.2. But a power amp + guitar cab has old school appeal and I see many comments about how well this works. To me, this is along the same line as a Powercab or Tonemaster FRFR and I already have a couple nice cabs. The plus side to this is old school having your amp thumping behind you playing live. But also appealing, in the more modern sense, when not going thru FOH is going with a pair of smaller mains (8" or 10") and running stereo. Have heard a couple guys doing this and it sounds really really good. I haven't started working on stereo setup yet, only so many hours in the day and feel like I'm only 85% there in tweaking my basic amp/effects settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryPeter514 Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 Like other have said, this is totally dependent on what you and your band want to hear on stage. For me, I send Helix XLRs to FOH, and my wedge. 1/4" output (with no cab IR) goes to the power amp input of a Vetta 2x12 combo and to the effects return of a Peavey Delta Blues. This is a perfect, responsive stage sound for me and my band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandiboy Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 On 4/1/2025 at 3:43 PM, rd2rk said: My PC212+ is for sale on CL Denver. Great price. I can even ship it in the original packaging! Meanwhile, I'm using my HR FRFR112 (universally agreed to be "boomy") with the DI from my Catalyst to fill out the sound. Sounds better than the PC212+. Go figure. I got the PC212+ originally to replace a PC112+ that I thought was too dark sounding. We all have different ears. i love the pc112+ so much i bought another- the headrush 108 i had was pretty bad and the fender fr12 was awful too 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rd2rk Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 On 5/1/2025 at 8:51 AM, mandiboy said: i love the pc112+ so much i bought another- the headrush 108 i had was pretty bad and the fender fr12 was awful too I'm actually thinking about getting another PC112+, or even a plain PC112, to "stack" under my Catalyst. It could be that when I had the PC112+ I just didn't know how to use it. One reason that the PC212+ is for sale is that it's just too heavy (I'm old!) so it never leaves the house. It could be that the "fullness" that the FRFR112 adds to the Cat's sound would be even better with the PC112+. Plus... STACK! Would look SO much better than the FRFR112, which works really well on its own as a bass amp. IDK though, money, and I haven't seen a used PC112+ on sale here in the Denver area in ages. OTOH, there's currently three PC212+ for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandiboy Posted May 1 Share Posted May 1 On 5/1/2025 at 12:40 PM, rd2rk said: I'm actually thinking about getting another PC112+, or even a plain PC112, to "stack" under my Catalyst. It could be that when I had the PC112+ I just didn't know how to use it. One reason that the PC212+ is for sale is that it's just too heavy (I'm old!) so it never leaves the house. It could be that the "fullness" that the FRFR112 adds to the Cat's sound would be even better with the PC112+. Plus... STACK! Would look SO much better than the FRFR112, which works really well on its own as a bass amp. IDK though, money, and I haven't seen a used PC112+ on sale here in the Denver area in ages. OTOH, there's currently three PC212+ for sale. i dont see many pc212 in NJ either but the 112+ in great condition are $3-400- there was one for $300 recently but since i have two i resisted- they are great with helix lt and with kemper they sound awesome as well -- the built in amp models are okay but adding IR's that can be controlled via helizx adds more options Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsdenj Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 I have a Powercab 112+ and a Powercab 212. I rarely use them in Flat/FRFR mode other than for occasional acoustic guitar tones, and I never use the modeled guitar speakers. Rather I use them in Flat/RAW mode with no Cab or IR block, so it's essentially a powered guitar speaker. I have found the Eminence speaker in those units sounds pretty good as a guitar speaker, and is somewhat colored and limited for a FRFR. But in terms of flexibility, ease of use, reliability and great tone, I think Powerecab 112+ is a great option and I hope Line6 doesn't give up on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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