New Monitor Day - since the Helix is
so good, I've decided to give FRFR a try. No more faffing around with amps/cabs/etc...
Three things struck me:
1 - It's
very light - 10kg, and noticeably lighter than my Matrix NL212 (which is already lighter than it has any right to be).
2 - It sounds pretty damn good at loud home volume, although quite different to my Tannoy Reveal 6 studio monitors. Had to tweak my live patch a tiny bit to get it perfect (and disable the global EQ I'd set for my Rocktron Velocity + NL212 combination).
3 - It's
tiny. Here you go - foot included for scale (size 9, if you want to get really precise about it):
I really hope this works out, because it reduces my rig weight by about 10kg and makes the whole lot transportable in one trip from the car with a hand free for opening doors
Mind you, the whole "1100W" thing is a bit of a con. I suspect it's not going to manage much more than 300 real watts, given that the rated consumption on the back is 450W. I don't think it'll to, though - its only job is making sure I can hear myself on stage. I've already tested the bit where it's a clear winner over the amp + cab setup: it sounds exactly the same within 45 degrees of the central axis, whereas a guitar cab sounds wildly different in every position (and, on the small stages we play on, that inevitably means I can't hear myself beyond a muffled "whump" when I hit a palm mute).
Another bonus is that I'll be able to adjust my volume on stage without affecting the feed to the desk...and, with the Helix, I can even have an entirely different EQ profile in my monitor.
I'm currently wondering how I'm going to use the second input and (basic) mixer on the unit, if at all. Current options are:
1 - Take a full-band feed from the desk. Not convinced about this, because of the chance of getting my own signal out-of-phase if the sound guy doesn't adhere to my requirements, and also because it's not a massively-high-powered unit and things could get muddy very quickly.
2 - Use the emulated line-out from the other guitarist's Blackstar HT-100, since I get most of my cues from him and the vocalist (whose monitor I can always hear anyway, because it's always offensively loud).
3 - Don't bother, just enjoy the fact that my own signal is finally audible after all these years.
Comments
Why didn't you buy two of them and have Stereo?
I appreciate the sentiment, mind
Can I wean myself off the power amp + two 2x12 cabs? Not sure yet but it'll be a lot lighter!!
If that problem goes away, then I see this as a win all-round.
Super quick to set up and even the sound engineer commented on how good it sounded.
IME, a single, good sounding FRFR in front of me as a monitor works great and both the Alto and Yamaha get the job done well.