Anyone use a frfr cab with modeler for bass?

I use an EV ELX115P which is an FRFR 1000 watt 15” speaker with a Line6 HX Stomp board. It sounds pretty great but doesn’t really weigh less than a head and a 2x10 or 1x15 cab.

It does let me take advantage of running amp and cab modelling without any colouration however.

 

Depends on your tonal goals, some have found these cabs satisfactory and others not.

What you are looking at are just portable PA Top Boxes, if they fit your goals then it is good, but there is a reason that PA's also use Sub boxes.

 

I do know that other major brand PA/FOH cabinets work spot on excellent.

Most people who fail at modeling have failed because they tried to re-use their narrow range bass amp to reproduce a wider range amp sim.

 

Just note that most powered PA cabinets of this caliber use peak power ratings rather than RMS. This means that their low frequency power is overstated by a factor of 2

Also many include in the power the gross power of the tweeter amp, which may be rated the same as the woofer amp but it reality can only deliver a maximum of ~50 watts due to crossover and dynamics processing.

Buyer beware, learn about the details.

 

one 12" FRFR is for light duty, IME. you'll be able to define light duty for yourself if you use one and it craps out on you. but a well-built piece would be fine/cool, maybe even advantageous on some gigs. i've used them for 'bass-monitoring' applications and they were a treat. the grab-and-go aspect is nice. just don't "over-expect." good luck!

 

Personally I would not do this, unless your needs for a cab were very mild (ie small coffee shop style gigs, etc...). Even then, it makes more sense to just use a real bass cab and then not have to model the speaker cab. Air is what makes sound sound less good. The electronic elements of a sound (ie tube overdrive), seem fairly well understood at this point, but the mechanical aspects of a sound are still basically completely undiscovered and unexplored (from a modeling perspective). There's more to emulating a speaker cab than just rolling off the highs and applying a bit of an additional EQ filter beyond that. To my ear, as a sound guy, there are still textural and timbral differences that modeling is not fully capable of getting right.

 

Just reading your current setup this is what comes to mind. Just get giant headphones.

 

Except that it's not really 1000 watts either.

 

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Many rental companies have them

 

I used an EV ZLX 12 and Alto 12 inch powered sub a couple times for Chapman Stick. There was tonnes of clarity and low end and the power rating was fine, because I was using both. Obviously a lot to carry but if I want to bring on that brown note, I would def do it again!

 

Sure, I was only listing what it is sold as. Yes it is peak or burst power or whatever rating they use these days.

1000 watts RMS through a single speaker would be madness.

It is rated at 134dB Max SPL (measured at 1 meter) which is what sold me on it (also the fact I got it scratch and dent for 25% of the RRP).

 

I use the Headrush cabinet for practicing at home with my Kemper and it sounds great for both 4 or 5 string.

 

Get in touch with a local PA company and explain what you are looking for. It would be perfect if they do rental and sales. You should be able to take your AxFX to their shop and try out numerous different powered PA speakers.

 

I used to use my pedalboard with a Digitech Cabdriver at the end of the signal chain with a powered 1x15 cab with great results.

 

What are you running in the Concert?

 

I tried it, but in the end I sold both that I tried (Headrush FRFR12 and a Matrix FR12) and bought a powered GKMBP212. It’s 500 watts and weighs 37 pounds and it is specifically made for bass. I know that some have mentioned in other threads that the XLR interface is somehow only programmed to work with GK products (combos and Plex preamp) but I have used it with 3 different preamps and also just directly out of a small Shure IEM mixer and have not had any issues at all.

 

A 1000w amp module weighs next to nothing!

You want a Quilter 802 and a Fearful12/6, close enough to flat response for jazz.

 

I did a Kemper for a while, just through monitors, but after a while just went back to a class D, pedalboard, direct box and cabinet. My band and I felt that having the onstage thump of a bass cab was more conducive to an energetic performance.