So i've read that amp modelers/mfx units need FRFR (full range) equipment to get consistent tone, to be identical to the ones you hear through their headphone out.


What sort of speakers should I get (preferably not too expensive) to get the tone/sound right ?

Currently i am either using the earphones or plugging the mfx unit through the aux in of microcube, or through the guitar jack input with very little gain and channel set to jc clean.

I don't think the microcube's speakers would cut it as a FRFR gear.

Edifier ? Altec Lansing?

Creative gigaworks T20 speakers ?

This post has been edited by bman: Apr 27 2008, 12:26 AM

AKG K701 semi open headphones

Get them from ebay, around RM1k...
If you get them locally, it's around RM3k...

Errrrkk!!! Too pricey!

I don't want a headset, not even at 1k price.

I probably could get away spending way less buying a creative T40.

Spending RM1k on headphones will get you the top of the line ones...
Spending the same amount on monitors will only get you some low/mid range ones...
Depending on what you're looking for, that's how the pricing goes...

Just a suggestion...

well you're right, but what i'm looking for is a setup that's great when I run a backing track and jam together with the song, and hopefully it sounds good when I record through the camcorder.

But if I want maximum quality I would probably just record direct into the PC from the mfx and sync it with the camcorder's video instead, and pray the sync works.

I could already jam with a backing track, but as of now, both the mfx and the backing track goes through the microcube.

The microcube is nothing more than a glorified speaker system and I find it's a kind of waste of it's potential.

I was thinking of backing track/mp3 from pc -> FRFR sound rig.

Then mfx direct into the pc or preferably the FRFR unit so I can enjoy jamming, or just with the microcube alone without the mfx.

Basically I am doing this for fun and experimenting, not for any sort of professional use, just for learning and having fun/self gratification.

Keyboard amps or PA to a certain extent.

Anything lesser is pretty not FRFR, and even then, there isn't a speaker unit that is capable of true ruler-flat FRFR in the world.

1 thing about quality...good stuff doesn't come cheap, especially when it comes to music-related stuff..the creative whatnot will sound eons behind the AKG K701.

i thought u mentioned u dont care about tone?

pc speakers u mentioned are nowhere close to FRFR. of course since amps like atomic are out of your range, try roland keyboard amps (or any other keyboard amps). PA systems are close to FRFR but most cheap PA systems sound horrible anyways.

KRK monitors? around 2k if im not mistaken. or maybe those ESI ones (although i personally dont really fancy them)

Ears are starting to get very sensitive, i don't know why, now I could even hear how the strings vibrate and I am getting picky, especially when I slide, I don't quite like how the string vibrates. It's even more obvious on the high output emg-designed pickups. Sounds like my strings are farting when I do that.

Things I never hear before are starting to get my attention.

I hope this is not a trend or else I might end up having to buy better gears.

Anyway, I wanna save my ear drums, so using the earphones/headphones all the time, not good, can go deaf.

This post has been edited by bman: Apr 27 2008, 01:57 PM

The semi opened AKGs are designed specially for saving your ear drums... Read up more on them...

If you're interested, I can send you the ebay store... Great service...
RM1k is actually darn cheap if compared to the prices here...

Dream Theater is selling at around RM3k...

What's Dream Theater you ask?


This post has been edited by Rossie: Apr 27 2008, 02:07 PM

*walks into dream theater*

i wanna buy 1 jordan rudess. its so hard to find a keyboardist like that nowadays. got stock?



anyways, bman, i'll say it before gapnap does.
its best to work on your techniques first before buying gear to cover things up.

Which is precisely why I want to buy better gears so it could amplify my mistakes clearly so I can work on my techniques.

After all, you can't work on a technique if you can't hear your mistakes because your gears hide them (your mistakes get blurred by cheap gears?). Better gear/monitors lets you listen clearly because it could handle all the frequency ranges.

When I play in the microcube, I sound fine, but when I suddenly play on a big marshall amp, I sound like fart.

Better amps/speakers let you hear yourself better so you could work on correcting mistakes you couldn't hear before.


Let's face it, amps like microcube makes you a lousy player once you switch over to real big amps, because many these modeling amps are hardwired with noise reduction inside.

The larger amps I tested can have their NR turned off so you'll rely less on that, and more on your muting techniques.

And the ones with better speakers can let you hear your mistakes even more clearly.

Dude... This is not the case...
You can always turn on or off the noise gate in multi-effects...
The difference in playing with a small/big amp is the settings, since you spend more time with your micro, you should have gotten a comfortable sound out of it... Whereas if you're playing a halfstack, you'll need time to tweak the settings to your liking and get a comfortable sound...

If big tube amps are anyway that can amplify your 'mistakes', is they are more responsive to your dynamics... I think this is what you wanted to say?

i dont really get it too.

maybe its because with a microcube (or any smaller amps) you tend to push the gain alot more as compared when u have a tube halfstack thats blasting and u back off the gain(yet still feels heavy). not only dynamics are clearer, but gain is less thus muddyness decrease so theres nothing to cover up sloppy playing.

Actually I wasn't really talking about just amp upgrades alone, more leaning towards the speakers themselves. But you're right about the dynamics of the tube amps, they are very responsive to the dynamics, slight touch of string also show up so clearly, damn frustrating. With the mfx, yes i have to turn off the noise gate, but with the microcube, i don't think there's an option for that. What I am saying is from what I read online, the speakers that came with the amps, are only tailored to specific ranges of tones, compared to the full range speakers, where you might be able to hear your mistakes better because of their frequency range. That's my understanding from what I read about full range speakers, it preserves your mfx's tone. If going through the microcube's aux in and speakers, might lose some mfx tone so you might not be able to hear some mistakes if i am not wrong, because the speaker isn't a full range type, and the microcube has not efx loop.

Come to think of it, I don't think I should use the zoom g1 with the microcube, not so suitable.




I have to push the gain else cannot get the distortion/sound i want, I think my gain is at 3'o clock, about 75 percent to maximum gain.

There's something about the microcube that makes me not feel good about it. Cannot explain lah, but it doesn't have that effect on me before. I think after hearing too much of the 'sharp' trebly and clear samples from the zoom g1, I've grown to dislike the 'blurred' tone of the microcube even with it's tone set to max.


Btw, they say to play clean to make sure you don't cover your mistakes, but I feel sometimes distortion like rectifier can help you not make mistakes too, if you aim to better your string muting techniques.

Clean for correcting sloppy fretting/picking,
Distortion/gain for correcting muting technique.

how about line 6 flextone? its designed to work with amp modellers as its build based on the pod2.0 if im not mistaken. just hook into the loop return if you want to use your own amp modelling. power amp and speakers should be good enough

i must suck so bad then. . . i play without an amp most of the time. . . especially when my amp was MIA for like a year or so. . . rofl. . .

about better amp making you a better player. . . i practice without amp and play to make sure i hear the note and slide clearly. . .

Earphones are good enough, but mine is tooooo short.

I wanna record while I play also... but no point if it sounds good from earphone only.

i dont use earphones?