Fender Tone Master FR-10 and FR-12 "FRFR" cabs

[Lysander]

There's a lot of great discussion about these new cabs buried in the Tone Master Pro thread, and i think these are interesting enough on their own to warrant a dedicated space.

Spec- and price-wise, these seem amazing, and i really dig the "don't mind me, i'm just an innocent Fender combo" look to them. So much that i've just sold my trusty ol' Powercab 112 and ordered a FR-12 to replace it; i expect to put the Fender though its paces this week.

 

[FuzzyAce]

That's awesome. Hope you really like it, err maybe hope you hate it so I don't have to buy one too.

 

[FuzzyAce]

The one thing that worries me, is I'll love it so much I'd have to have 2.

 

[Lysander]

That's awesome. Hope you really like it, err maybe hope you hate it so I don't have to buy one too.

I have really high hopes after reviews from @Foxmeister and the like

Honesty, i expect it to be nothing more than a (very high power) transparent-sounding "FRFR". What sold me on the FR-12 were the top-mounted tone controls, which will be great to quickly tweak for any given room, and the fact that there's a high-cut knob which effectively controls the tweeter output.

Oh, and again - i really really dig the looks.

 

[jellodog]

I posted some gut shots concerning the power amp manufacturer in the other thread here:

Fender Tone Master Pro

I'm watching Alice Cooper's The Nightmare TV Special with my girlfriend and reading up on monitors, "FRFR", etc. to pair with my Friedman IR-X and Two Notes Cab M. I'll probably end up with the Friedman ASC-10, as it seems to be close to what I want, though that price is a bit of the ol' sticker...

thegearforum.com

And a couple of photos of the driver here:

Fender Tone Master Pro

Say JD since you is already there take some Pics of the Woofer and Tweeter ID be curious

thegearforum.com

 

[Lysander]

And a couple of photos of the driver here:

Interesting - the main driver is rated for 150W at 8Ohms?

 

[jellodog]

Interesting - the main driver is rated for 150W at 8Ohms?

Looks to be.

My understanding is that with Class D amps you have to spec them considerably higher in terms of their power rating in order to avoid distortion in their output (keep their response linear and clean), so 1000w for a 150w driver seems reasonable in terms of the SPL that you'd reasonably want to output.

But I'm no Jay, so hopefully he will comment here.

 

[jellodog]

Link to JT's initial thought and review of the FR12 here:

Fender Tone Master Pro

I was just curious as to why @Foxmeister is so taken with the TMP at the moment (but would still choose the Helix if he had to make the choice). I'm not *that* enamoured by it... ;) I do think it is quite a joy to work with, but slap a touchscreen on a Helix and it would be there too! FWIW...

thegearforum.com

 

[FuzzyAce]

Link to JT's initial thought and review of the FR12 here:

Fender Tone Master Pro

I was just curious as to why @Foxmeister is so taken with the TMP at the moment (but would still choose the Helix if he had to make the choice). I'm not *that* enamoured by it... ;) I do think it is quite a joy to work with, but slap a touchscreen on a Helix and it would be there too! FWIW...

thegearforum.com

He may not like it in a week from now though?

Can we really trust him??

 

[jellodog]

He may not like it in a week from now though?

Can't we really trust him??

One thing about JT I've noticed is that he will immediately pronounce something "a turd" when it's definitely no good, so I find it encouraging that the FR-12 has already gotten past the JT Turd Filter™.

A high bar indeed.

 

[jellodog]

So I played the FM9 through the FR-12 again last night and this morning at "home volumes". Definitely sounds better on the tilt-back legs with no floor coupling. Also tried it sat flat on an Auralex pad, but I like the tilt-back more.

What I find confusing (in a nice way) about this cab is that it _does_ lean more towards sounding like a guitar cab than my studio monitors. It's playing weird tricks with my head, but as I've already hinted: I love that!

I know full well that it's the sound of a mic'd up cab and that it will _never_ sound exactly like an amp in the room because it physically cannot. It literally isn't possible.

And yet... It's closer to that Amp where I'm at feeling than I've experienced before. Super weird, but a welcome surprise.

 

[FuzzyAce]

One thing about JT I've noticed is that he will immediately pronounce something "a turd" when it's definitely no good, so I find it encouraging that the FR12 has already gotten past the JT Turd Filter™.

A high bar indeed.

Good point, I didn't adjust for the JT Turd Filter™ in my equation. Still shaky but we shall wait and see.

 

[FuzzyAce]

So I played the FM9 through the FR12 again last night and this morning at "home volumes".

What I find confusing (in a nice way) about this cab is that it _does_ lean more towards sounding like a guitar cab than my studio monitors. It's playing weird tricks with my head, but as I've already hinted: I love that!

I know full well that it's the sound of a mic'd up cab and that it will _never_ sound exactly like an amp in the room because it physically cannot. It literally isn't possible.

And yet... It's closer to that Amp where I'm at feeling than I've experienced before. Super weird, but a welcome surprise.

Well that's awesome and promising. THAT is the main thing that I worry about, how it's going to feel and will it replicate the cab IRs as close as possible. That's the whole point really. And love that it has the added eq. Have you tried acoustics yet? I see that JT did.

 

[jellodog]

THAT is the main thing that I worry about, how it's going to feel and will it replicate the cab IRs as close as possible.

It certainly sounds "good enough" to me. None of these sorts of products are ever truly flat and I really don't want to see a frequency response graph because it will probably trigger my mild OCD about such things. But again, the response is good enough that the Fractal Dyna-Cabs sound great through it and I didn't need to tweak them after moving from my monitors.

Usual Fletcher-Munson caveats and all that.

Have you tried acoustics yet? I see that JT did.

Nah. We only have have electrics here.

 

[JT]

Good point, I didn't adjust for the JT Turd Filter™ in my equation. Still shaky but we shall wait and see.

Always Be Adjusting TM

 

[JT]

I am never going to stop buying gear. Sorry not sorry. One of the best things about playing out in cover land is making money. And buying gear with said money

The conundrum I find myself in now is setting up a gigging board, modeling only; that I can use to test the FR12 here Halloween weekend. I don't want to gig the Stomp. So that means blowing up my current pedalboard and bringing the FM9 in.

Jry is still out what I am going to do

 

[JT]

Just futzed about with the FR12 some more. Great option and it will be sticking around. I am going to see if I can make it work for that Halloween gig one way or another.

On the subject of turds; I have really tried to develop a "no time for that" stance on new gear. The VII has stuck around, sometimes in spite of that rule; because when it is just right, oy vey

 

[holoholo]

The Turd Whisperertm

 

[crunch]

So I played the FM9 through the FR-12 again last night and this morning at "home volumes". Definitely sounds better on the tilt-back legs with no floor coupling. Also tried it sat flat on an Auralex pad, but I like the tilt-back more.

What I find confusing (in a nice way) about this cab is that it _does_ lean more towards sounding like a guitar cab than my studio monitors. It's playing weird tricks with my head, but as I've already hinted: I love that!

I know full well that it's the sound of a mic'd up cab and that it will _never_ sound exactly like an amp in the room because it physically cannot. It literally isn't possible.

And yet... It's closer to that Amp where I'm at feeling than I've experienced before. Super weird, but a welcome surprise.

Oh oh, this is the whole reason I was considering one. My wallet is giving me dirty looks.

I’m just trying to work out now if I can live without stereo (probably), and how it would go with playing music through it to jam to (I guess just fine?)

 

[paisleywookiee]

I really want to try one. I just HATE Fender grilles, but oh well.