Options to lighten our gear

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Options to lighten our gear

Postby dave robinson » Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:49 pm

As many people who know me will know, I have made great strides to lighten my equipment over the past couple of years, shelving the Pinnacle & Vox AC30 amps and opting for firstly the Boss Katana then the Fender Tone Masters' that are by comparison to the Voxes a joy to carry.
Well I've took it a step further this past week or so and because of my renewed interest in the Zoom G3Xn and similar FX units I tried a Full Range, Flat Response cabinet with just the pedal, that had been programmed with the Vox, Fender and Boogie amp sounds that I like to use.
Thanks largely to Adrian Fountain who plays in our band, I tried the Headrush FRFR 108, 2000w active speaker with my Zoom G5n and was absolutely amazed at what came out of it. At a cost of £195 it easily equals the sound I'm getting from any of my other amplifiers, including the new Fender Tone Master at almost £1000. Because it only employs one high power eight inch speaker and a tweeter, it is a quarter of the size of the Fender amp and weighs 19lb. I must admit, when Adrian showed it to me last week I laughed and almost ridiculed the idea - until I heard it. I went home and immediately Googled it, read about it and ordered one.
I gigged it on Bank holiday Monday, leaving the Twin Reverb in the car and it sounded awesome.
I would say to any of you who use a Vox Tonelab, Zoom G3 - G5 or any of the ones that have the amp simulation, this is the way to go. The FX gives you your sound, the Headrush faithfully delivers it at any level you wish up to concert hall volume should you so wish. It's equally great in the quietest bedroom and takes hardly any space in your room.
Don't ask me how an eight inch speaker and a tweeter deliver a louder, clearer, equal and better sound than our beloved Vox AC30, but it does - and with style.
I suspect the 2000w Class D amplifier has a lot to do with the purity of the tone, but I can't get over how it delivers everything from the cleanest acoustic tone from my Martin 000-17 to my Les Paul when I'm playing Gary Moore licks with all the other sounds in between. On Sunday I was sat with our bass player practicing with him with our mikes, bass and guitars all going through the one cabinet, clear as a bell. Check it out, The Headrush FRFR 108. They also do a twelve inch speaker version. Recommended ! :)
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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby anniv 63 » Wed Sep 01, 2021 6:07 pm

Yes I for one am with you on this Dave. Humping a valve amp for me now is no joke after being diagnosed
with Kidney Stone problems that have left me with chronic fatigue this summer(and probably autumn/ winter too)
Really all I want is to plug in and go without feeling f......d after a couple of numbers!!!!

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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby dave robinson » Wed Sep 01, 2021 8:18 pm

As most people here who know me will know, I'm delighted to be the proud owner of TVS3 , Meazzi Echomatic and Atlantis echo units, as well as the much more budget consciously priced Zoom G5n and Vox Tonelab SE. I still have my Pinnacle 30 as well as the Vox AC30 but I just don't have the energy to cart them around any longer.
It made sense to look at what the Zoom G5n and Vox Tonelab could offer with this new way of doing things and I'm over the moon that people can't hear any difference in my sound using the new kit. It's actually been around since 2018 but I somehow missed it. Adrian Fountain is a member of New Amen Corner and they have used 'in ear' monitoring and played their instruments direct into the PA for a few years now, but Ade likes some noise on stage and opted to try this and it works. He uses the TC Helicon Voicelive 3 Extreme which gives him all his guitar sounds as well as all his vocal effects on one device for the entire show. I'm looking into programming the Shadows echoes into mine when it comes on Monday. :)
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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby petercreasey » Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:54 pm

Totally agree Dave, I've been using one for a while now, I was introduced to them before lockdown at the York club, they changed their Fender amps and 12 inch PA speakers to 2 Headrush units using them at each side of the playing area using a mixing desk for all guitars and backing tracks. I use mine as a monitor and then plugged into the Headrushes via the desk, it gives a great even sound "out front' and stops the "beaming" that has been an annoyance for me with guitar amps.Players, including the drummer can hear what's going on. If there is no pa I can use the Headrush behind me on its own for both guitar and backing tracks via an iPad, all my gear fits into a 10inch speaker bag and can be lifted in one hand ( although I did buy a little folding trolly from Argos to make life easier still) Happy Days ;) ;) :D

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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby dave robinson » Wed Sep 01, 2021 10:01 pm

That's great news Pete and reinforces what I have only just discovered.
Is it the eight inch or twelve inch they use at the club ?
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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby roger bayliss » Thu Sep 02, 2021 8:59 am

Full range , flat response speakers are ideal for use with modellers with amp and cab sims. Yes weight is a problem as we age. I bought a Vox AC15HW1 recently and it is brilliant , especially since I fitted a celestion blue and changed valves. I have since purchased a trolley to move it with after developing wrist pain due to arthritis.

I recall sending my Line6 HX Stomp into return jack of my old Katana 100 combo and recording Wonderful Land. The result was very good. The Katana and a lot of modelling amps use class D power amps like the FRFR speakers.

I am keen to hear demo's of this setup.
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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby petercreasey » Thu Sep 02, 2021 10:04 am

dave robinson wrote:That's great news Pete and reinforces what I have only just discovered.
Is it the eight inch or twelve inch they use at the club ?

It's the 8 inch Dave, and works well, guitars, backing tracks and mic go through it, they do use a separate bass amp although , according to Headrush there should be no problem using it for Bass. I suppose the thought of using an 8 inch for bass doesn't sit well but this new technology means we have to change our old ways of thinking. the Headrush is after all a full range unit

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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby SJB » Thu Sep 02, 2021 12:57 pm

8 Inch speaker - not much of an area delivering sound.

The Vox AC15 has one speaker - delivering 15 Watts.
The AC30 has two speakers - each delivering 15 Watts.
So the loudness off each speaker is the same. The Ac30 will not be twice as loud - (trying to think of the engineering reason - long time ago - so possibly AC30 is 15% louder)
But the AC30 is moving twice as much air - so fills any area more efficiently than one. So actually may not need to be turned up as much as an AC15 in the same situation.

So one is wondering if 8 inches is going to fill space (large hall etc) well enough. What about outside.

The other thing is it's up front advertisement is 2000Watts. But looking into the spec the average power is 1000W. Not an issue for guitars - but looking back a few centuries - at the Sinclair IC10 (10 Watt chip) it was only 3 Watts RMS. So what will happen if someone plugs in a synth?

I used the line out of my MV50AC (G3X effects) into the PA last meeting. (No additional amp simulation in the G3X). I had been informed that this had been tried and was not very good. So after I delivered my numbers I asked these people to comment on the sound.
They said it was excellent. ;)
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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby Iain Purdon » Thu Sep 02, 2021 3:38 pm

I always thought bass speakers had to shift a lot of air for the bottom end to hit people in the chest — hence the preference for 15”. Is that incorrect?
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Re: Options to lighten our gear

Postby dave robinson » Thu Sep 02, 2021 5:02 pm

Not certain that a 15" is necessary these days for bass, I have a Fender Rumble 100 V3 with a Neo 12" speaker fitted and it sounds colossal. Alan Jones used his on our Sheffield City Hall gig a few years ago and it did not need miking up as it filled the place. Things have certainly moved on regarding amplification. The fact is, if it sounds good, it is good. :)
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