FRFR Vs 4X12 Cab Vs Kabinet

    Hello everyone,

    I just purchased a Kemper Profiler and I am loving the sounds. The question though is I have a 4x12 Marshall code50 cabinet. Some of the heavier sounds come out very sludgy. I am wondering if I would be better off with a FRFR or maybe the Kabinet. Ive been looking aorund and the Friedman looks like a good quality build. Anyway, what do you all prefer?

    So far I've had:

    Small old Fender PA

    Yamaha DXR10

    XiTone MBritt 1x12 powered

    Bose L1 MII

    Avatar 2x12 with V30s

    Kemper Kabinet and a Kabinet Klone I had made locally


    They are all good. The DXR10 is amazing for power and coverage. The XiTone is a step up for amp in the room. The Bose is awesome for coverage and the ability to simultaneously do vocals.

    The Kabinet is awesome. Got the amp in the room back and it projects very well. The kicker is you get to try different speaker imprints per rig or globally. It is the most versatile and my current favourite.

    I first started with a Mission Engineering Gemini II. It was a very good FRFR but I just could not get the sound I was looking for. It just wasn’t full enough I think


    I then tried a couple different 4 x 12 cabinets and I did like the full sound I was getting then but of course every profile was colored by that particular cab.


    So I then decided to get two Kemper Kabinets and a stereo amplifier from Ritter Amplification and it’s perfect. The imprints are amazing. Its now such a joy to play and sounds so good in FRFR or imprint mode. I’ve been selling off almost all of my tube amps one by one. Only keeping the ones I’ve had for the last 25 or 30 years that have sentimental value but they will get played very little.

    The issue when using a single cabinet is that you are "tied" to that specific sound. If you are running into a 4x12 with V30's on it, a Fender profile won't sound "optimal" since this is not the cab and speaker for the job. You also need to deactivate cab simulation in the output monitor as well or run direct profiles.


    I've never tried the Kemper Kabinet nor the Kone so can't speak for those, other people in the forum can provide more colour....

    From my experience, if you are going for a FRFR make sure to invest some $ on it, I've gigged with my Yamaha DSR12 several ocasions with a loud hard rock band and it can definitely stand by the other guitarist's 2x12.

    Other option (also a preferred from the forum) is the DXR10's from Yamaha as well. Lighter, smaller, but mighty (they do not go to 11 :().

    Nice profile, but does it go to 11?

    Like 1

    I have used:

    4x12 cab

    FRFR wedge

    FRFR 1 x12

    Kabinet...


    Which is best? Hmm...it so difficult because they all have advantages but for me the Kabinet is definitely up there. But this is the kicker....why does it matter?


    Now initially that sounds like a very stupid question, but I've come to be less concerned about my "amp in the room" sound..."it doesn't have the thump of a real valve amp", or "depth" or "spread" etc...


    Why? Because its not what the audience hear live and it's the FOH sound I want right. In the past when you miked a cab, you wanted the best possible monitor sound so that through the PA is sounded as good as it possibly could. With the KPA, i'm not miking my cabs so that consideration is gone.


    Yes of course I want to hear great sound so I'm inspired enough to play as good as I can but its become less important.


    With that as a background, I've now ditched my 4x12...never use it as it sounds muffled to me and not worth the "real estate" of lugging it around. I will use one at a festival if its supplied but for pure convenience. FRFR is much better for me - I tested a regular unpowered wedge against a DXR10 and it was almost as good for 1/2 the price.


    I ended up using the Camper 1x12 self build FRFR that I picked up for £120 and that's been my main cab for 12 months.


    I picked up a Kabinet just before lockdown and it seems to be a step on from FRFR, so its the Kabinet for me.


    I therefore have a 4x12 and 2 FRFR cabs for sale if you are interested :)

    I am loving my Line 6 Powercab 212 Plus. Can use its speaker sims if I want "amp in the room" sound, or in FRFR mode if I want a FOH sound. It's true stereo, loud, tilts back for great onstage monitoring, lightweight, and has an output to FOH so, I just run my main XLR outs to the Powercab and the outs from the Powercab to the FOH. Sounds great!