Fender TM FR12 Cab

Quote from Kellerblues

The FR-12 is not any different then any other powered speaker. Your issue relates to any product on the market. Where are you located? I don't think it's even legal to rent a home with ungrounded sockets

It is legal for houses built in the 70s in belgium, only "wet rooms" are forced to have grounding in those cases and they need to have a residual current switch, which we have.

To my understand it's not an equally big deal for all devices though? I was told for example that tube amps are a serious safety hazard without a ground since shocks can be frequent, while other appliances like my Yamaha THR amplifier and gaming desktop are less big of a deal.

My main question was in which of the 2 groups cabinets like the FR12 belong.

I do agree however that it's rediculous that older houses get a free pass on less than ideal electrical safety but there's not much I can do about it unfortunately

The hiss is a real issue and is due to the low quality opamps used in the eq section of the board; those opamps can be replaced by better quality ones , not an easy job for anyone not familiar with desoldering and soldering, but not impossible.

I bet a good tech can do the job for 50/100€ , plus materials (50€)

If anyone is interested here is my source of info:

It seems that Fender is aware of that and is releasing new batches with the new components

Quote from Kellerblues

No...just no. It's absolutely overblown. Holding the mic on the cloth I measure 30-32dB. At 3m of distance it's a whisper. When, then it contributes to the Amp in the room feeling

I get your point; what I meant is that it’s a real issue for me. I admit I still haven’t tried FR12 , my thoughts are based on the YT demos exposing the “problem”.

I wonder if Fender eingeneered that on purpose (the amp in the room feeling) choosing noiser components (which , by chance, cost 10 time less) instead of the noiseless opamps mentioned in the link above.

Anyway, what do you thin of FR12 compared to the Power Kabinet?

I have finally tried the Fender FR12.

Hiss is there, quite annoying as I thought it would have been, but it reduces a lot with cut knob at noon, and it is irrelevant at volume above 4/5, which is a good thing.

Suprisingly good with the kemper kone features on, which in my opinion is far better than used as a FRFR as it would be intended.

I am definitely buying one.

Has anyone posted clips of the Kemper with the FR-12 yet?

Quote from jabromusic

Has anyone posted clips of the Kemper with the FR-12 yet?

Haven't seen any yet, but you really need to demo the cabinet and hear it in person.

I've tried many monitoring solutions over the past three years and found they didn't really sound the same at home as they did in the video clips, to many variables. I didn't mind the time spent, but the cost was more than I would have liked to have spent.

That being said, with sound being such a personal preference, here's my two cents. I bought the FR-12, and after a few days using the cabinet, it is the reason I decided to stick with the Kemper and not go back to a traditional amp. This was the last piece of the puzzle for me and I'm very happy with what I hear and I'm really enjoying just playing.

Right on. I actually have one on order but still wouldn't mind hearing some clips with the Kemper in the meantime. I currently have an Accugroove Latte that I like very much but am always open to try something new and different.

Quote from HowardBrown

Haven't seen any yet, but you really need to demo the cabinet and hear it in person.

I've tried many monitoring solutions over the past three years and found they didn't really sound the same at home as they did in the video clips, to many variables. I didn't mind the time spent, but the cost was more than I would have liked to have spent.

That being said, with sound being such a personal preference, here's my two cents. I bought the FR-12, and after a few days using the cabinet, it is the reason I decided to stick with the Kemper and not go back to a traditional amp. This was the last piece of the puzzle for me and I'm very happy with what I hear and I'm really enjoying just playing.

Do you use it with Imprints or FRFR ?

Juat want to mention in case anyone is confused - there is no such thing as a noiseless opamp.

Quote from Steve5478

Do you use it with Imprints or FRFR ?

FRFR, I haven't tried imprints with the FR-12, it does a very good job translating the sound of each profiles cabinet section, at least to my ears.

Following this. Interested to see if Fender has addressed the hiss on the production side. So much good information here and on the link provided, Thanks.

Quote from Kellerblues

Apparently yes. They have implemented a change of the OP amps

Is this something that they have publicly acknowledged and announced or have other people taken the newer models apart and discovered the upgrade of the OP amps?

Quote from Kellerblues

No public announcement, but apparently their customer service has already accepted product swaps and their sales reps have admitted it. Yes someone took one apart and it had the new OP amps. Mime is from the first series and the hiss is absolutely negligeable even at low volume, but apparently they are not all the same

Gotcha! Thanks for the info. I have one on order from Sweetwater but they are backordered and are most likely waiting for Fender to finish upgrading the new units.

Sweetwater has them in stock as of this morning 2/22/24. Pulled the trigger and hoping to receive it soon!

Quote from jabromusic

Right on. I actually have one on order but still wouldn't mind hearing some clips with the Kemper in the meantime. I currently have an Accugroove Latte that I like very much but am always open to try something new and different.

Before i got the kab i was running a pair of accugroove javas. Absolute killer frfr and SO lightweight. I loved those alot but really prefer the meat of the 'amp in the room' sound.