Stratzrus
Roadie
- Messages
- 799
I've had this thing for a couple of months and have just been too busy to try it out but today I finally unboxed it and tried it with my FM9.
It does hiss, but not badly. Initially I had it turned 90 degrees away from me and couldn't hear the hiss. Pointed right at me I could hear it but it was far less noticeable than the 60 cycle hum I've heard from many tube amps. It's far from a deal breaker. I won't be doing the mod.
I plugged the FM9 in with the FR-12's tone controls all set at 12 o'clock and cut at 9 o'clock. My clean Jazz preset sounded great. I could absolutely gig with this. That was a welcome relief because even though it won't be my #1 choice for gigging it will be a great grab and go option if on a given evening I don't feel like hauling around my 55 lb. Rivera Suprema Jazz Recording combo.
On the not so great side, my gain presets all sounded worse than they did when I set them up on my Presonus Eris 4.5s. Much of the problem is the delays. I'm really not accomplished at dialing them in. I'm used to blackface Fenders or other amps that just have a Reverb knob not multiple parameters that have to be set properly to sound good. I need to spend the time and do the work to learn how to build proper Reverb and Delay blocks.
I also need to finally start using Axe-Edit, import Leon Todd's reverbs and delays., and find the right IRs for my presets. That would make all the difference in the world.
While that's most of the problem I also clearly need to adjust my EQ settings. The mids are very different than the Presonus monitors. Ultimately I'll need to build a whole new set of presets for the FR-12 but I only have 5 presets and they're fairly simple so it won't be a gargantuan task.
But most importantly, as I said in the beginning, the Jazz tone is great! That's what's most important to me for practicing and gigging. The gain tones I use for jamming will happen in time.
All things considered at this point I'm glad I got it. I'd be surprised if even after I get the FM9 dialed in that I'll prefer it over my tube amps but my initial impression is that it's more than good enough.
It does hiss, but not badly. Initially I had it turned 90 degrees away from me and couldn't hear the hiss. Pointed right at me I could hear it but it was far less noticeable than the 60 cycle hum I've heard from many tube amps. It's far from a deal breaker. I won't be doing the mod.
I plugged the FM9 in with the FR-12's tone controls all set at 12 o'clock and cut at 9 o'clock. My clean Jazz preset sounded great. I could absolutely gig with this. That was a welcome relief because even though it won't be my #1 choice for gigging it will be a great grab and go option if on a given evening I don't feel like hauling around my 55 lb. Rivera Suprema Jazz Recording combo.
On the not so great side, my gain presets all sounded worse than they did when I set them up on my Presonus Eris 4.5s. Much of the problem is the delays. I'm really not accomplished at dialing them in. I'm used to blackface Fenders or other amps that just have a Reverb knob not multiple parameters that have to be set properly to sound good. I need to spend the time and do the work to learn how to build proper Reverb and Delay blocks.
I also need to finally start using Axe-Edit, import Leon Todd's reverbs and delays., and find the right IRs for my presets. That would make all the difference in the world.
While that's most of the problem I also clearly need to adjust my EQ settings. The mids are very different than the Presonus monitors. Ultimately I'll need to build a whole new set of presets for the FR-12 but I only have 5 presets and they're fairly simple so it won't be a gargantuan task.
But most importantly, as I said in the beginning, the Jazz tone is great! That's what's most important to me for practicing and gigging. The gain tones I use for jamming will happen in time.
All things considered at this point I'm glad I got it. I'd be surprised if even after I get the FM9 dialed in that I'll prefer it over my tube amps but my initial impression is that it's more than good enough.
