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

[usphotographer]

No, actually it's quite reasonable. No more expensive than retubing a 100 watt head and it only has to be done once.

It is very very reasonable, if you are on the list! Once the list is done it has been predicted by the greatest of music equipment fortune tellers that the value will surpass that of the Dumble Amps!

 

[Humberd]

What's the cost ? Of the board.

 

[usphotographer]

What's the cost ? Of the board.

You would need to contact WKSmith on that.

 

[CakeEater]

Max at Fender posted this over on discord. Tweed FR12's for Pearl Jam's Tour! Says they are considering making them available to the public. Here comes the TWEED!

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Surf / Seafoam green please....

 

[usphotographer]

Surf / Seafoam green please....
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Nice!

 

[deadpool_25]

Why do you need a new Preamp? did not Fender make a revised version to fix the Hiss ?

It's not just the hiss. There are other issues that may or may not matter for some people. And you don't need a new preamp. The V2 is objectively and audibly an upgrade though. The FR-12 goes from "excellent sounding with some design flaws" to "more excellent sounding with no design flaws."

Sure is a Nice high quality board, but isn't it an expensive component ?

No it's not very expensive.

 

[CakeEater]

Nice!

Yeah, I love these aesthetics. I'm so on board with FR-FR speakers looking like real amps or cabs. The FR-FR wedge monitors I have are very good, but they just don't have the same vibe or appeal visually. And I know that may be trivial to some, but for me playing guitar as a whole experience involves the sound, the feel, and the aesthetic.

I've actually spent a long time looking at getting a real cab, but it seems so impractical these days. Every IR I prefer is a Pre-Rola Greenback 412, and even a pair of those speakers will cost over €1000 now. Plus the size of the cab, its directionality, and its weight are all drawbacks. Then there's the means of powering it, be that a tube amp with a power-amp in, or a solid state class AB amp that's not quite designed for that purpose, and it's still heavy and cumbersome. In short, I'm all-in on modelling, I'm not yet all-in on FR-FR, but I'm all-in on FR-FR cab hybrids once they're done right.

 

[Stratzrus]

Yeah, I love these aesthetics. I'm so on board with FR-FR speakers looking like real amps or cabs. The FR-FR wedge monitors I have are very good, but they just don't have the same vibe or appeal visually. And I know that may be trivial to some, but for me playing guitar as a whole experience involves the sound, the feel, and the aesthetic.

I agree 100%.

I don't know if my FR-12 actually sounds better than my Atomic CLRs (haven't done an A/B comparison) but the experience feels more like playing through a tube amp combo and I like it.

I have some major dialing in to do before I'm getting optimal results but I'm really looking forward to having my FM9/FR-12 rig as my main setup for playing out.

Time will tell if that's the way I decide to go but the potential is there and so far I'm very happy with the results.

 

[molul]

Just finished reading the whole thread. The hissgate has prevented me from getting a FR12. As I'm not in a hurry, I think I'll wait to see what other solutions other brands come with. I'd be surprised if Line6 doesn't make a powercab without cab simulation soon enough.

 

[Stratzrus]

The hissgate has prevented me from getting a FR12. As I'm not in a hurry, I think I'll wait to see what other solutions other brands come with.

If you don't need something now that may make sense but I never hold off on buying gear that could work for me in the hope that something better may come along someday.

You can always buy a current FR-12 and return it if you don't like it, which by all reports now has the upgrade that fixes the hiss, or get an Archangel V2 Gold (my choice) which not only fixes the hiss but makes it a better choice all around for a very reasonable price.

I bought a FR-12 months ago and it had some hiss but it was far less than most "FRFR" monitors. I did the V2 mod anyway and now it's dead silent, lightweight and sounds terrific.

But you can always wait in the hope that someday something better will come along.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Just finished reading the whole thread. The hissgate has prevented me from getting a FR12. As I'm not in a hurry, I think I'll wait to see what other solutions other brands come with. I'd be surprised if Line6 doesn't make a powercab without cab simulation soon enough.

If you don't need something now that may make sense but I never hold off on buying gear that could work for me in the hope that something better may come along someday.

You can always buy a current FR-12 and return it if you don't like it, which by all reports now has the upgrade that fixes the hiss, or get an Archangel V2 Gold (my choice) which not only fixes the hiss but makes it a better choice all around for a very reasonable price.

I bought a FR-12 months ago and it had some hiss but it was far less than most ""FRFR"" monitors. I did the V2 mod anyway and now it's dead silent, lightweight and sounds terrific.

But you can always wait in the hope that someday something better will come along.

Yeah hissgate is a thing but not a dealbreaker. And 1000% what I would go with over some evolution of a Powercab and it's various 'what mode do I use?' gate, 'external control' gate and 'these speaker emulations sound nothing like these same speaker types I've had in any traditional cab' gate. And all the other kinds of things we seemed to get in the weeds about back discussing it at the other place. FR12 is very good as is. And great with the V2 upgrade.

 

[molul]

If you don't need something now that may make sense but I never hold off on buying gear that could work for me in the hope that something better may come along someday.

You can always buy a current FR-12 and return it if you don't like it, which by all reports now has the upgrade that fixes the hiss, or get an Archangel V2 Gold (my choice) which not only fixes the hiss but makes it a better choice all around for a very reasonable price.

I bought a FR-12 months ago and it had some hiss but it was far less than most ""FRFR"" monitors. I did the V2 mod anyway and now it's dead silent, lightweight and sounds terrific.

But you can always wait in the hope that someday something better will come along.

I get that, but given we know Line6 is releasing something "tangentially related to Helix" "later this year", I'm fine with waiting until the end of the year and see if it's an FR, and how it sounds compared to Fender's.

On the other hand, I've read that not all new FR12 have the fix, and also, spending extra $100 to fix something that should be fixed already (btw, I'm from Spain, so customs cost will be added) is not on my radar.

Eventually, I might get the fr12, but I'm giving it 6 months to see what the market brings. Maybe even a FR12 MKII.

 

[Cactusprick]

Perhaps I am lucky to find a good one (checked for hiss at the store), but my FR-10 is very quiet. You can tame the hiss (which seemed at normal vs any "FRFR" i have owned) quite dramatically with a CUT knob. It kind of kills the presence of the amp models in general but i prefer it than them being ice picky anyway.
And yes I play mostly at home.

 

[molul]

I usually like the presence high, so I'm guessing there's no way out on the hiss thing for me

 

[FuzzyAce]

Just finished reading the whole thread.

 

[Cactusprick]

I usually like the presence high, so I'm guessing there's no way out on the hiss thing for me

honestly the hiss (at least on mine) is no way at a level that would annoy any average player, unless you play like in the middle of the night alone in a tiny room. But why would you play through a 10" cab then.

 

[molul]

Hahahaha. I just wanted to know as much as possible about this thing.

 

[Stratzrus]

I've read that not all new FR12 have the fix, and also, spending extra $100 to fix something that should be fixed already...

I bought my FR-12 months ago and I don't think it had "the fix". It had some hiss but it was pretty low. Noticeable in a quiet room when not playing but inaudible when playing, let alone when playing with others.

I considered getting the Archangel V2 Gold to be an option, not a necessity. I ended up getting it not just for the hiss reduction but for all of the other benefits it offers including the improved tone controls, phase correction, headroom, and overall clarity. I didn't consider this a fix as much as an upgrade, in the same way that you might do a pickup swap even on a new $3K+ Les Paul Reissue.

If a quality pickup swap is reasonable, even one that costs around $150 or more, then spending a comparable amount to upgrade the preamp on the FR-12 seems equally reasonable. People get amps modded all the time, particularly Marshalls, and if you can get that done for $150 it's a steal. With the V2 preamp a FR-12 is around $700. To me, that's a very reasonable amount to pay for a quality amp that's easy to carry and capable of concert volume.

With all of that said, I can see how, if you're committed to staying in the Helix camp and have no pressing immediate need for a modeling amp, it may make sense to wait to see if Helix comes out with something particularly designed to be compatible with and to enhance what you already have.

Good luck no matter what you decide.

 

[KingsXJJ]

I considered getting the Archangel V@ Gold to be an option, not a necessity. I ended up getting it not just for the hiss reduction but for all of the other benefits it offers including the improved tone controls, phase correction, headroom, and overall clarity. I didn't consider this a fix as much as an upgrade..,

Typo? I can’t find a product with “Archangel V@ Gold.”

 

[JiveTurkey]

Typo? I can’t find a product with “Archangel V@ Gold.”

It's an aftermarket preamp.