Powercab 112 - yay or nay?

I hated mine. I wanted to love it but just couldn't. Used Spidervalve combo with V30's put's it to shame. Matter of fact it's put's every "FRFR" speaker I have ever tried to shame including high priced ones. Tube powered and designed by Bogner? No brainer.
 
Lysander said:
Just found out an acquaintance is selling a Powercab 112 for a very decent price, reportedly in great condition.

I've been long toying with the idea of getting a dedicated "FRFR" for my modelers. Are there any good reasons why i should not pick this one up? I keep hearing conflicted horror stories about the Powercab line.
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Hey you may love it. If that's disposable income you are using go for it.
 
Stone said:
I think most of the negative reviews are not really on th "FRFR" portion most from what ive read is the speaker emulation portion
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My exact experience. It sounded ok if cranked it in "FRFR" mode but the speaker emulations were/are terrible.
 
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FWIW, i don't think i'll ever care for built-in speaker simulations. I'm just looking for an overall decent "FRFR" powered cab.
 
Lysander said:
FWIW, i don't think i'll ever care for built-in speaker simulations. I'm just looking for an overall decent "FRFR" powered cab.
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This ^^ would be same for me don't need all the fancy stuff in the + version
Amp, Speaker flat Mode "FRFR" ( i much prefer using cabs in the Helix) Wood cabinet and love the tiltable aspect and the Closed Back with Port in the front
But thats a hefty price for me :(
but will keep an eye out for some used options, which up here in Quebec Canada is very rare as well
 
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One thing ive noticed and Steve explains this well is the Initial setup of the PC for it to come alive and sound good you need to send it a lot of input signal Orange /amber led on always and even some red Clipping at times is Ok check out what he mentions I also recall Jason stating the exact same thing

 
Pipe dreaming but if I were to get a powercab I'd most likely end up tailor-making an IR especially for it, so I would want to spring for the Plus..

but only if I could find one at non-plus used prices, so that's why I don't bite.
 
If i want something akin to a PC and look at the options not much out there and a lot of it is Expensive
just tallied this in USD so in CDN funds and Quebec taxes will be a hell of a lot of coin for me


1 x 12 Cabinet x 2 EVH or PRS Mark Tremonti$ 950.00
Power amp orange pedal Baby 100 Watt Class A/B x 2$ 880.00
Total before tax$ 1,830.00
Power Cab x 2$ 1,598.00
Freidman ASM 12 x 2$ 2,000.00
Laney LFR 112 x2$ 1,400.00
Tech 21 x2$ 1,200.00
 
Hey Line6 give me this ---> remove all Modelling, add a tweeter and a XLR Input put a tilt stand, close the back add a port in the front, keep bass treble and presence (room shaping) and keep ~ same price as 100watt Catalyst, would be a serious contender in the "FRFR" market below $400 range

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Stone said:
cause the open Back? or the speaker ?
it would be nice if there was at least an XLR input
also no tweeter as well for "FRFR" no?
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Lysander said:
Care to elaborate why? Which modeler are you pairing it with?
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Everyone is different in how they like to do things.

I had a pair of the Powercab + that I was using with the Helix Floor.

I was an early, enthusiastic adopter and posted pretty extensive thoughts on using them over on TGP. And I got really good results with them, used them on gigs, etc. Part of the process of using this gear is refining what is actually useful to me in reality vs. just something I thought would be important. And that takes me time and experience - I always am fine with changing my mind after working with gear.

Here's a bullet point synopsis of where I've ended up after lots of trial/error/etc.

Thing's I don't like/want:
  • don't like using a single monitor solution on stage so having guitar/vocals/band mix all in the same monitor isn't ideal.
  • don't like the sound of guitar thru the a full-range system if I have another choice
  • don't really value having a bunch of significantly different sounding speaker types
  • don't want to rely on the monitor mix (especially when it's controlled by the PA tech) to hear my guitar
Things I do:
  • ease of use, setup and breakdown
  • a great stage sound, fully under my control that allows me to enjoy playing and blends with the rest of the band (acoustic drum kit, other stage amps)
  • something that sounds just like a real guitar amp, not like a mic'd/recorded/produced guitar track
  • some form of reliable backup solution

I've tried all the major modelers, many different "FRFR"/PA speakers including very high quality ones.

It winds up just as much gear to haul and doesn't really give me any pragmatic benefit to choose an "FRFR" speaker vs. just having an actual amp on stage.

The Catalayst 100 sounds excellent stand-alone, the line out to the PA sounds great and it's dead simple to use. And when I tested using a Stomp XL into the power amp input (disabling IRs/cabs on the Stomp) it really sounded like I was playing thru an actual guitar amp vs. a mic'd tone.
 
Stone said:
Is this the only way it works ?? and then that would defeat the whole 3.2 Cab update no ?
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Yes. Catalyst uses a traditional guitar speaker which IR-based cabinets simulate so you turn off the Sims to run through a real one.
 
Anyone know what speaker is employed in the Powercab
line6 states
  • 12" custom hybrid coaxial driver
    so is the tweeter where the dust cap is in the 12 inch speaker?
    wonder if anyone knows who makes this speaker and who may have a picture of it

    thanks all
 
From the Powercab Manual:

The Powercab family of products are active speaker cabinets with internal power amplifiers designed to faithfully reproduce a modeled guitar signal chain. Each speaker is comprised of a 12" low frequency driver, with a 1" high frequency compression driver mounted in a coaxial configuration. This speaker system has been carefully engineered with a very distinct concept in mind; to be very loud and consistent like a PA, but also provide the faster, mid-focused transient response and natural breakup of a guitar speaker. To achieve this goal, we've specified a custom driver, with components built by Eminence and Celestion to our exact specifications.

IIRC, the LF Driver is Eminence, the HF Driver is Celestion, but I could be wrong as I can't find the source of that. It might also be that the 112 is Celestion and the 212 is Eminence. Again, no source. Top secret eyes only CIA National security need to know stuff. :cautious:

Yes, the HF Driver is under the dustcap.
 
rd2rk said:
IIRC, the LF Driver is Eminence, the HF Driver is Celestion, but I could be wrong as I can't find the source of that.
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I think you're right as far as the 112 goes. I was looking them up because of this thread and read that somewhere

Edit: here's where I read it
mixdownmag.com.au

Reviewed: Line 6 Powercab 112 and Powercab 112 Plus - Mixdown Magazine

Going the more traditional look, the Powercab has a cool combo/small cab look to it as opposed to the PA speaker look that many modelers use. Grabbing it out of the box, I was surprised at how light it was—great for those sick of lugging big rigs. Housing a 12” speaker designed in collaboration...
mixdownmag.com.au mixdownmag.com.au

Housing a 12” speaker designed in collaboration with Eminence and a 1” high compression driver made by Celestion,
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rd2rk said:
From the Powercab Manual:

The Powercab family of products are active speaker cabinets with internal power amplifiers designed to faithfully reproduce a modeled guitar signal chain. Each speaker is comprised of a 12" low frequency driver, with a 1" high frequency compression driver mounted in a coaxial configuration. This speaker system has been carefully engineered with a very distinct concept in mind; to be very loud and consistent like a PA, but also provide the faster, mid-focused transient response and natural breakup of a guitar speaker. To achieve this goal, we've specified a custom driver, with components built by Eminence and Celestion to our exact specifications.

IIRC, the LF Driver is Eminence, the HF Driver is Celestion, but I could be wrong as I can't find the source of that. It might also be that the 112 is Celestion and the 212 is Eminence. Again, no source. Top secret eyes only CIA National security need to know stuff. :cautious:

Yes, the HF Driver is under the dustcap.
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Yep, that's my recollection as well. The smart move that L6 did was to allow each driver to be powered independently with software control. The "speaker" models used only the LF driver. The LF Flat was a "neutral" sounding mode with no tweeter....that sounded much more normal when using speaker modeling. The LF Raw was the 12" driver without any EQ so it was it's own sound and not particularly neutral.

What I discovered was that using ANY cabinet/speaker/IR emulation doesn't sound as good to my ears so I went back to using an actual guitar speaker and powered it with a neutral amp with my modelers. Over time I just decided it was not worth the hassle and moved back to my old tube amp.

The Catalyst is a nice alternative with the functionality I want from modeling and the sound/feel of an actual guitar amp.
 
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