FRFR 2 years later

    So I've had my KPA for two years now. For over a year I've been gigging with it using an Atomic CLR and very happy with my live sounds. I play a mix of blues, R&B, surf and some light rock, so no metal or high gain stuff. I've been using tube amps for over 40 years.


    I remember the first year with the KPA, trying everything I could get my hands on to play it through and being VERY disappointed with the FRFR sound and pretty much ready to sell the KPA.


    To my ears, everything sounded boxy, lacking in feel and I was SO missing the amp-in-a-room sound...I couldn't tweak my way out of this feeling.


    Then I decided to go for the best and bought a CLR powered cab. From then on I was much happier. (I had to be...I'd just spent $1000 and there was nothing better!)


    Just recently I decided to re-visit some of the old powered monitor spkrs I had tried at the beginning so I plugged into a small JBL Eon 10.


    It sounded pretty damn good to me, nothing wrong that some minor eq wouldn't fix (this wasn't at gig volumes)...and it made me start to wonder.


    Our ears (and our heads) must get used to listening through FRFR and do we really need to spend all this $$$ on expensive monitors when in reality the audience is usually listening to mostly mediocre PA systems anyway.


    Don't misunderstand me, I love my CLR. It's top class for my personal monitoring in a gig and for using without a PA.... but if my ears had been "trained" for FRFR at the beginning, I might have settled for something much cheaper (and lighter) for on stage monitoring.


    I don't plan to sell my CLR anytime soon, although with the KPA and a case it's about as heavy as the Super Reverb I used to use. I gave up on the SR because it was just too much to carry to a gig....now I seem to be carrying about the same weight.


    The difference now though, is that I know what I'm going to get through the KPA/CLR combo, and I know I can get it anywhere, at any volume.

    TBH, I never thought of my CLR as a "need": I'm not a professional, so I buy musical-related stuff for pleasure only :)


    Also, I Use the CLR as monitors for my studio and for listening to music program, and even as a PA if needed!


    So a good investment for me :)


    This is a perfect description of the paradigm shift we do when we go from guitar cab to FRFR. it takes a while. ;)

    Quote from Gizmo

    Our ears (and our heads) must get used to listening through FRFR and do we really need to spend all this $$$ on expensive monitors when in reality the audience is usually listening to mostly mediocre PA systems anyway.


    I think we do get used to the sound, maybe you have with time tweaked your sounds and/or playing slightly to adapt to FRFR?


    I was relatively content with my sounds, then i tried A/B with a CLR, i could hear some flaws in my old monitor that i was unaware of before.. hmm i wonder what a meyer monitor sounds like..

    It kinda reminds me about when I bought my first stereo….in fact I didn't buy it, I made it out of two "record players" sometime in the late 60's.
    I really enjoyed listening to it for a while….then I bought a "proper" budget stereo. Blew me away.
    Then for years and years after I upgraded things slowly. Each time I was thrilled with the improvement.


    If I'd gone for "the best" I would never have had those fantastic moments of listening through something better. In fact I doubt my ears would have really been able to appreciate "the best" while listening to old scratchy vinyl.Now of course, through age and too many loud gigs, my ears don't hear as well as they used to.


    I do appreciate my CLR. But if it had been the first FRFR I'd bought, I may not have trained my ears to listen to FRFR guitar and I might have been just as dissatisfied with the experience.


    Just sayin'

    Quote

    Just recently I decided to re-visit some of the old powered monitor spkrs I had tried at the beginning so I plugged into a small JBL Eon 10.


    It sounded pretty damn good to me, nothing wrong that some minor eq wouldn't fix (this wasn't at gig volumes)...and it made me start to wonder.


    Our ears (and our heads) must get used to listening through FRFR and do we really need to spend all this $$$ on expensive monitors when in reality the audience is usually listening to mostly mediocre PA systems anyway.


    Regardless, of what the audience is listening to, it is most important for you to love what you are hearing! This boosts confidence, and exuberance, and that is what sells an audience! If it takes a $1000 monitor, to give you this feeling, then it is worth every penny. By the way, I use a pair of JBL EON 10s, and they sound really fine. But, to your point, I have been playing though FRFR monitors for about 20 yrs., so this adjustment to hearing is probably a valid one. They are usually pretty unforgiving, so tweaking your profiles on what you will use on stage, is very important.

    It goes both ways. Took me some time to adjust from FRFR to 1x12 and then 2x12 guitar cabinets AND back to FRFR.


    So either way, there is an adjustment for the ears. When my friend comes over to play, he sounds great through a Roland Micro Cube 100.


    As the listener, it seems to me that the more musical the player is, the less the speakers matter.
    As to the player, that is where the difference between a Mackie MR8 and a CLR matter. There are diminishing returns on quality sound, as in all things (microphones, guitars, etc) the higher you go up in price. So stick with what you can afford is always the best advice. Much better to invest in playing better.

    I think the more people pay through FRFRs, the more our ears will get used to it (as a player, not just a listener)


    When I play through an FRFR, I really appreciate the quality of sound I get from the KPA, it is reproducible and flexible, it can give me great tones at all volumes, so it's not about what I have, it's more about what I miss.


    When I play in my rehearsal room with the KPA, I love the tones and the low volume. I miss the so called "amp in a room" sound…..there's still something just glorious about it and when I do play a real amp I think I have to get used to the FRFR sound all over again, only it doesn't take that long now.


    When I play live with the KPA, I miss the "simplicity" of going straight into a tube amp….but i don't miss the "amp in a room" sound at all. I always take a tube amp backup…but that stays in the van and so far I've resisted the urge to bring it into the room ;)


    So for the last 12 months, 90% of my gigs have been done with the KPA. If I'd settled for something smaller and lighter at the beginning, I would probably have GAS'd for a CLR and would likely have one now anyway. Only difference is I'd have gone for the Neo version.


    Still, I'm going to try two EON 10s and play in stereo…whoohoo!

    It has taken me 2 or more years to realize that I don't need a cab behind me flapping my pants. Not an easy transition but I'm over it now. Just trying some different FRFR solutions over the next several months and will make a decision some time in the spring on what to get.