To record just come out of the pass thru output directly to your DAW or live to a pa board. It’s already a line level input. I have 3 12” and 3 8” I use as live rig and pa. All you need I promise, I run a Helix stereo and sounds incredible!
Been saving up for one of these to go with an HX Stomp, thanks for the great review. I'm gonna use it with a bass so calling that out was much appreciated.
I have a Headrush 108 (2 actually) but use primarily for guitar, i do however also play bass occasionally. I run a Kemper powerhead, with a normal bass cab the Kemper does bass no worries. As far as Kempers concerned the bass profiles are pretty much (if not) all direct, so no ir’s. Makes the whole frfr kinda redundant. Maybe you better of looking at a bass cab and a cheap class d amp if the hx is unpowered like I assume it is. Probably a cheaper and more effective solution if bass is your sole use case.
Just got one to go along with my Ampero Mini...I wasn't blown away by it. Then I went looking for tweaks and realized there were some eq and adjustment tweaks that are worthwhile. I also need a tripod stand to get it off the ground!
All these FRFR are cool and quite useful but if you are in a market for a monitoring solution for your modeler I would go for a Boss Katana 50 or 100... The new MKII Katanas have a input for modelers... I own the first edition of the Katana 50 and all I have to do is plug my modeler into the front of the amp, setup my amp on the acoustic channel, dime the eq up to full and use a combination of the volume and master knobs to taste... The Katana has a 12" Guitar Speaker and that helps with the "in the room sound" but I think that the key for in the room sounds is the fact that the Katana has a Class A/B poweramp.. if you go 2nd hand you can find a 1st generation Katana 50 for $150 or less and for that price you get a kickass FRFR and an amazing little amp.... Sorry for the lengthy comment but I think that this should reach a lot of members of the community, thank you for the content!
I LOVE the boss katanas! I own the Artist mk1, and its a beaut. Granted their cleans would be exceptional when using external pedals as they are advertised as being a good pedal platform. However, its still not a frfr amp, and unless you switched off the cab IRs on your modeler or the amp, it can still color the sound. Amp modelers need the flat response to get the organic sound for the unit you're using. But it's still a good idea to consider! I'm considering buying a bundle of the headrush board and the frfr108. And if it pairs well with my katana, I'll spread the word! 🤘
Use a Two Notes CAB or CAB-M, stick a preamp in front of that and instant whatever tone your preamps choice gives. Works brilliantly for recording direct or gigging with a Headrush or three.
Got two of these and they are brilliant. Great os a portable PA, work a charm with a pedalboard inc amp sim, Great as a floor monitor and even play a mix very nicely! Gab a pair!
I'm just ordered one, i want to use it with Amplitube. I tried to connect my pc to the Katana.. but i didn't work well, its not like what i hear i my headphones at all. We'll see with this 108..
Thanks for the informative video! Please note, at about the one minute mark you say it retails for about $119. That is incorrect. If you meant to say $199. You can easily correct that with a RUclips annotation in post. Rock on!!!
2 years later and it goes for $279. I don't know if I like it for $279. For $119 like you said (that I guess was a mistake, meaning $199) it is amazing. For $199 (that was probably the cost at the time of the realese of this video) still looks like a good deal. Do you think it still is a good deal for $279?
Where is it made? It would help if it was discounted, especially if you need two for stereo. Powered stereo monitors might actually be a better setup for home practice using a modeler. I don’t turn my Katana Artist up very loud and there is nothing like having two of them in stereo. But as a monitor in a gig, it has its place.
Thanks for this video, it convinced me to try one today and I purchased it. I have tried many FRFRs including the Line6 Powercab and the JBL eon but this is by far the BEST FRFR available for Line 6 units. I will also try it on my Kemper soon, but I prefer real cabs for that. Some say the Headrush is heavy on the low end and I agree that it can be, but that's better then being shill and having too much treble imo. The low end adds more body and dynamics and can easily be EQed out if desired, its harder to do that with treble issues. It's an excellent speaker for modelers.
You can buy the Alto slip on covers intended for the TS308 for the FRFR-108 (TS312 covers should fit FRFR-112). The Altos are almost the same cabinet but intended for general PA applications and come with mic pre amps. Their exteriors are identical save for the branding and the input controls. Alto and Headrush are under same ownership, to my understanding.
@@Xplorer228 PA tend to have a default EQ contour "baked in sound" for vocals and DJ music, so not always a flat response. so setting up your tones thru a personal PA may not sound same when you plug into the stage PA. ultimately we're all at mercy of the sound engineer.
Here in my country, it's impossible to find the Headrush, but there's a lot of TS312 out there. Can you clarify what exactly the mic preamp does? Can't I just flat the equalization and be good?
What would be the purpose of putting a recording microphone on a cabinet that merely reproduces a modeled miked amp/cabinet? Just go direct anyway... ;-)
I do the same with two 108s live. I was going to go with the 112 but wanted that stereo effect. More then enough power and sounds amazing. They really are the best.
I really don’t see a situation where you’d want to mic an frfr108 (or any frfr)... you can just go thru the speaker to the mixer or daw direct. The speaker isn’t “supposed” to add any color/flavor so you’d just be getting added color from the mic which is silly. It’s not a worry for 99.9% of guitarists.
I know but I was referring to someone like myself who needs to mic up the speaker in order to do a demo of it for others to hear. Not easy to do. Cheers!
The 2000 watt sticker/advertising around peak watts is so gimmicky/desperate its almost insulting. Companies need to stop with that nonsense. Especially given a person looking for FRFR options will know to read the actual specs!
@@addictedtogear Yet you are telling people it is "handling 2000 watts of power" I'm sure it's a good little box for the money! Thing is you had the opportunity to inform people about market gimmicks that companies use but didn't. According to the Headrush manual, the RMS power of the unit is 650 watts for the low end and 350 watts to the highs.
Yeah when I first saw this online I thought the 2000 watts sounded outrageous. I'm not an electrician but I just think of 100 watt guitar amps as being potentially very loud. I'm not understanding this 2000 watts claim in reality. Sounds like 20x 100 watt amps lined up on a stadium stage like at a Who convert in 1973. If I get this thing and put it at max output and it doesn't break every window and destroy the house too, I want a refund!!
@@mountainstartemple6041 You know that wattage and SPL doesn't work quite like this. Also, guitar speakers in general are much more efficient, hence the reason why they're so much louder with less power. ALSO, tube amps outputs more power when cranked, so in reality, a cranked 100w tube amp will output quite more power then 100w. This not happens (or shouldn't happen) with Class D with limiters. ALSO, the correlation between SPL and wattage is very confusing. You actually need 10x the power for an audible difference of only 2 times the loudness (6dB), or something like that. 2000 watts (peak) is not outrageous for high dynamic range music though.
Hi,i recently bought this speaker and when i plugged it in,i hear this loud hissing sound and i havent even plugged my NUX MG400 and when i did the hissing got even louder even turning up the volume a bit. Does anybody has the same problem?or knows how to get rid of the hissing sound?Please advice. Thank you.
This review has made me finally buy this unit. I am still within the 30day money back window. I am using it with the Zoom G5n and have to say it sounds pretty good. It can get a bit bassy though, and with Zoom, budget as it is, the only way to quickly EQ out the bass heavy tone is to dial out the tone knob - which unfortunately impacts the whole sound ;-(. However, the sound is still very good and i love the inbuilt drum/looper options in Zoom. Yet, I have ordered Headrush Gigboard to see if the modeler has a big impact on the sound. I know this particular unit is more of a budget option, but I heard that the Laney Active 112 FRFR cab is much better, but there aren't too many reviews on the web. The price range of Laney is basically the same. Do you think it is better or is Headrush the way to go?
@@back4onemore strangely enough, the distorted amp models and effects sound really good on Zoom with 108! In general, I think Zoom, for what it is, is a really nice modeler - you can't really compare it to the big ones like Line6 or Boss GT, but it is surprisingly good when put side by side! the two main drawbacks are: the lack of FX loop and no IR's possibility for G5n. FRFR108 and G5n - You just connect them with a guitar cable - dead easy.
at marker 7:56 you mentioned not going straight from the efx unit unless if it has an amp modeling feature- (I'm confused) did you mean an analog chain? I ask because I thought "what you hear is what you get" from a digital multi efx is the advantage of the FRFR speaker
Great video - new subscriber. How does it compare to a 100w tube head in terms of volume? - really want the 8" due to $ and weight but want it loud enough. Also, does the XLR out change in volume when you change the unit's volume? General question - do two speakers (stereo on Matribox II Pro) mean twice the volume? Thank you so much.
Im a bit confused about why anyone would mic up a flat response speaker...? That - to me - makes no sense. The FRFR simply amplifies the character of the Amp and Cab sim (its flat across the board, remember?) So doesn't it make way more sense to just record the line signal of your headrush/helix/kemper/whatever? No bleed, no poking around to find the speaker.... What am i missing?
Correction: This speaker does not have a mic pre-amp. You cannot plug a microphone directly into the speaker, as It does not take a mic-level signal, only line-level. The Alto version of this speaker does have a mic pre-amp, though, so if you want to use it as a mini-PA for a coffee-house gig, or something, that's the one you want to get.
I can plug my SM-58 directly into channel 2 and sing along with my guitar/headrush pedalboard in channel 1. I wish I had a delay or some effect for the mic, but it's good enough for rehearsing at home. What do you mean you can't plug a mic directly into it? I have the FRFR-108 as in the video and it works as stated in the video.
@@familiardave6540 a little late here but I think they might have been trying a microphone that requires phantom power but there's no reason a dynamic mic shouldn't work plugged straight in.
Its not great with a pedal broad distortion unit but if you use it with lets say a BE-OD or Revv pedal into a Helix or Stomp that has Cabs or IRs, it sounds great.
When I play the different venues I always have to find that sweet spot between my amp and pedal board to stand.This way i can hear my guitar.When I do big shows I send a feed to the PA and use a wedge to hear my guitar in front of me. I have been looking for a unit that I could place in front to the left of my pedal board like a wedge and send the feed from my amp to it.From all of the reviews I think the Headrush FRFR 108 will be the solution for me,we shall see.Thanks
That is exactly my current setup. I rehearse with a band with just those two and It sounds great. Still noticing a big of a difference because my band mate uses a 100W Marshall with a 4x12 cabine, so the sound is not quite the same, but volume wise we have no issue. I think it is a bit bassy, but other than that at least in the bedroom this setup is great to play. What is your experience with it?
im in a metal band five piece to be exact will this cut the mustard ? going from a 100 watt marshall half stack to a kemper rack and considering this speaker ?
Great review. One flaw possibly I think is the output from the speaker to the PA. Is the level governed by the volumes knobs? So if you need a low volume on stage the level to the PA will also be low? I ask because on my Gallien Krueger 206MLE I can have any volume on the amp using the master volume and the output to the PA is controlled by the channel volume knob
Dude! I have the rackmount version of the GK 206 MLE in mint condition! Bought it new around 1991? Still love it, but I'm not 20 anymore so instead of carrying a rack and Marshall cab, I use the HR pedalboard and FRFR108.... so much more portable on my old bones. ;)
How quiet can this get? Is it suitable for home use too? I have a Helix HX Stomp. I thought about getting a Katana 50 Mk.II for the Power Amp input, and reducing the output to 25W or 0.5W for home use, but I don’t believe it’s true FRFR.
I fried mine by mistake. I turned off a power strip it was plugged in an on and it popped and would not turn on after that. The fuse was fine, but it no longer turns on. Sucks! Anyone have a fix?
HELP! i can't decide between the 8 inch or the 12. I read that 10 inch speakers are the best for modeling units and hat 12's are too bassy and flubby. Then i found these and the reviews are saying they are crazy loud and have plenty of bass. I want plenty of bass without he flub, especially when playing cleans on the low strings and when palm muting higher gain settings i want that bassy tight chug,, would you say this 8 inch has plenty of bass? Please anyone give your opinions on the best size frfr for a modeler (helix in my case) thanks in advance!
@@addictedtogear ive had all 3 headrush 12"alto 10" and i now only have the headrush 8"does the job.its loud its only for you to monitor signal go to the board so
@@addictedtogear Thank you very much for your quick response Tony. No more over-thinking on this. Excellent content you are putting in here. Keep up the good work!!! Greetings from México!!!
I'm not sure why you would want to mike an FRFR speaker... The reason you mike a speaker is to capture the colour that specific speaker gives to the sound. With an FRFR speaker you are aiming for no colouration on the speaker, therefore you are better off taking the balanced output from the back. Also if you will use an amp simulator pedal, you would need one that includes a speaker simulator.
Hi, I would not Mic an FRFR speaker. I was merely implying that an order for me too let the viewers hear the FRFR speaker in a real world environment it would have to be miked up and would probably not sound right.
Any overheating issues? Testing out two 108s from a friemd and this is the only flaw I've noticed. 45 minutes of playing and they're already moderately hot..
I've been buying 108 for some time and I'm not very satisfied. I make my presets with the pedalboard using headphones. When I listen to the same sounds through 108 they are completely different, with a huge amount of low frequencies changing the sound in an important way. So I take the bass out of the presets almost totally to compensate. This thing is wrong because with a real ampli you never put the bass to zero.
My question is what about backing tracks? I have a number of songs where I have backing tracks to them that I engineer to remove things like vocals or guitar parts to perform them live. I've been using my AER which seems to handle things alright but i worry, since it's an acoustic amp, I may be taxing it a bit much pumping in drums, bass and the like. Often I'm playing acoustic and I stream my backing tracks from my tablet using Bluetooth to a receiver which I plug into the AER. Sometimes when I play electric I do the 4 cord method from a Pod Go but I'm thinking it'd be better to always use the AER only for acoustic guitar but to get something like this to pump the backing tracks through and the Pod Go -> the HeadRush speaker along with the backing tracks for electric things. Do you think running the backing tracks though the HeadRush is better than thru the AER?
Great video. Can I use two of this to play in a small bar : electric guitar,vocal and backing tracks? With a Studiomaster mixer. To use them like small PA speakers? Somebody try this? Thanks 👍
I am planing to use this together with a super small pedalboard. AMT M2 and Nux Oceananic Reverb with tuner. Has anyone here tried something similar? The AMT M2 pedal has built in cab sim which I’m thinking should sound fine
I am using a positive grid spark and want to use it live. Would I be able to run a 1/8 headphone jack with a balanced 1/4 cable to this to amplify the sound without distorting the tone I want?
I have two of these. One.of them seems to have no HF driver any more. I've never played it that loud - especially not 2000 watts - but it seems to be fried. Speakers are rarely covered under warranty so any idea how to replace it and what to use? If it's that easy to blow, I'd prefer an upgrade.
excellent review how would i go about using stereo as i have just bought a mooer ge 300 that has 2 xlr outputs mono and stereo as i have little knowledge as i have always used just the fx loop which does not not sound like the demonstration videos of the effects processor any help would be very much appreciated
I may need to get one too. When I run my headrush gigboard through my dual amp setup it just dosen't sound right , it always sounds best with headphones. Will this basically duplicate the sound i am hearing in my headphones?
If you use a FRFR speaker you will need to tweak the sounds while listening to the speaker. Because it is a flat response speaker it will not be affected by coloration as your headphone probably are.
Dual amps sound mich better separated in stereo. If dual amps in mono arent really close tone wise...they phase cancel and actually thin out your sound. If you only have 1 only use mono amps. If you got two then run dual amps
I had 2 of the 108’s - they were great to use as a vocal and acoustic guitar pa for a folk trio, or for stereo home keyboard monitoring. They did NOT work as keyboard monitors for a live gig or rehearsal with a loud band, but that’s not really what they’re intended for - they’re $399 in Canada now, I’ll be replacing them with something better, any suggestions?
I am about to purchase the HR pedalboard and two of the frfr 108 cabs myself. I've been searching for a demo video of the two cabs with the HR but haven't found anything so far.
@@thiagoborsari7364 same here in the USA, I actually bought everything up front a day before the sale started. I sent an email to Sweetwater ( who also was running the HR sale ) and said what the hell? They credited me the price of a cab. Also, I broke protocol with Sweetwater and just ordered without consulting with a sales rep first, so they didn't have an opportunity to tell me to wait a day on my order. To be fair, the frfr 108's are amazing with the pedalboard in my opinion. I was shocked at the power output, volume and sound quality. I did some Sonic DNA rigs and IR's and it's amazing.
@@thiagoborsari7364 so yeah, are you on Facebook and in the Headrush groups? I'll see if I can link them and post them up on the comment thread if not. Now, you're going to love this set up as it's really amazing for the money. I had to get them up off the floor as it really drives a lot of bass like that. The other thing? Sonica DNA and the Nick Layton rig packs got me where I wanted to be as far as impulse response and some metal type rigs. I think maybe I spent 15 dollars on all of it. To me that is extremely reasonable for some professional grade rigs and IR packs.
@@mattf1229 Hi there. I am not on Facebooks group for headrush, will search for that. I bought the sonic DNA entire package yesterday even before getting the pedalboard. Saw some vídeos pn youtube and understood that it was a must. Keep up with your great job on youtube.
thanks for the review! I have question though, they specify that this speaker is specifically designed for guitar. Now, isn't a FRFR by definition supposed to be neutral? What do they mean by that.
Hey man! I just got one of this units and I was wondering if you could give me a hint on something.. This particular unit it's set to work with 110v, but here in my country we used 220v.. I know I could just get a voltage conversor, but I was wondering if theres some way to make this work with 220v without having to use a voltage conversor.. Any ideas? I would aprecciate it!
Hi Tony, Great vid. I bought myself the Headrush FRFR 108 and connected it to my Boss GTK. Have still a little question. If I use the XLR cable from my GTK to the FRFR108, the volume knob on the GTK don't work anymore. Sound is there, but no controll on my GTK to the volume. I have to change the volume on the FRFR. Is that normal? Using a 1/4 cable, I can controll the volume from my GTK as well the FRFR. Another question: If I connect the OUTPUT XLR of the FRFR to the FOH, the soundguy can control my volume to the FOH. Am I right that if I should change my volume on the FRFR itself, it had no effect to the volume to the FOH? The soundguy should be very happy.....
For what you are looking for as far as acoustic with a preamp I would just get a powered PA speaker this speaker shown here is a flat response speaker although it will probably work it is really meant for amp simulation
Well, I mean, 26k subscribers, 41k views - it might pay to try and get a frequency response graph. This could help. The lowest note on the guitar is 80 hz (standard E of course). Supposedly, The Headrush 108 is rated rated at 60 hz, but that's probably rated at 10 db. Still, it could explain why there is enough bass for normal guitar work. Also, if it really is not flat but falls off a bit at the high end, I don't see that as the worst problem in the world, considering a guitar is only emitting upper harmonics at that range.
I use pretty mid-heavy sounds anyway. the 12 inch just works better for live, recently went back to an amp and cab anyway, sold my modeler since I'm no longer in a band that requires a bunch of different sounds and realized the modeler/frfr route wasn't saving me any hassle and I was never happy with the frfr playing experience.
I've been looking for an amp that is loud enough and pedal-friendly and most of all, not that expensive. I was eyeing the ZT CLUB 1x12 200W but they are no longer in production not unless you are in the 2nd hand market. So I want to know if this hrhr108 is enough for a small bar gig or even a full band practice (genre is pop punk or alt-rock).
Absolutely it is! I don't know exactly how loud mine will get, but I know it is more than I will ever need for club gigs. I put mine on a speaker stand.
To record just come out of the pass thru output directly to your DAW or live to a pa board. It’s already a line level input. I have 3 12” and 3 8” I use as live rig and pa. All you need I promise, I run a Helix stereo and sounds incredible!
I also have the Headrush FRFR 108 and have now found the right bag, the BeamZ AC-120. Fits perfectly. Greetings from Germany
Been saving up for one of these to go with an HX Stomp, thanks for the great review. I'm gonna use it with a bass so calling that out was much appreciated.
I have a Headrush 108 (2 actually) but use primarily for guitar, i do however also play bass occasionally. I run a Kemper powerhead, with a normal bass cab the Kemper does bass no worries. As far as Kempers concerned the bass profiles are pretty much (if not) all direct, so no ir’s. Makes the whole frfr kinda redundant. Maybe you better of looking at a bass cab and a cheap class d amp if the hx is unpowered like I assume it is. Probably a cheaper and more effective solution if bass is your sole use case.
Just got one to go along with my Ampero Mini...I wasn't blown away by it. Then I went looking for tweaks and realized there were some eq and adjustment tweaks that are worthwhile. I also need a tripod stand to get it off the ground!
Great as an on stage personal monitor aiming back at you like a wedge to reduce SPL aiming toward the crowd.
What a great video! you explained every single details just perfectly. Thanks!
All these FRFR are cool and quite useful but if you are in a market for a monitoring solution for your modeler I would go for a Boss Katana 50 or 100... The new MKII Katanas have a input for modelers... I own the first edition of the Katana 50 and all I have to do is plug my modeler into the front of the amp, setup my amp on the acoustic channel, dime the eq up to full and use a combination of the volume and master knobs to taste... The Katana has a 12" Guitar Speaker and that helps with the "in the room sound" but I think that the key for in the room sounds is the fact that the Katana has a Class A/B poweramp.. if you go 2nd hand you can find a 1st generation Katana 50 for $150 or less and for that price you get a kickass FRFR and an amazing little amp.... Sorry for the lengthy comment but I think that this should reach a lot of members of the community, thank you for the content!
That is really cool. I will have to check that out!
Just run it in the effects loop. Power in.
I LOVE the boss katanas! I own the Artist mk1, and its a beaut. Granted their cleans would be exceptional when using external pedals as they are advertised as being a good pedal platform. However, its still not a frfr amp, and unless you switched off the cab IRs on your modeler or the amp, it can still color the sound.
Amp modelers need the flat response to get the organic sound for the unit you're using.
But it's still a good idea to consider! I'm considering buying a bundle of the headrush board and the frfr108. And if it pairs well with my katana, I'll spread the word! 🤘
I tried it in my katana 2 into the amp in and effects return. Not good
@@bradwilson6103 just go line in on the back. Flawless
Use a Two Notes CAB or CAB-M, stick a preamp in front of that and instant whatever tone your preamps choice gives.
Works brilliantly for recording direct or gigging with a Headrush or three.
Got two of these and they are brilliant. Great os a portable PA, work a charm with a pedalboard inc amp sim, Great as a floor monitor and even play a mix very nicely! Gab a pair!
That Marshall cabinet behind you has become a relic of the past. A house decoration these days.
That may be true, but it is still the best sounding cabinet that I have ever heard!
Well. More music and less back pain I guess, times changes.
Still, quite sad.
Picked up one of these recently. Works like a dream with Amplitube modeler.
I'm just ordered one, i want to use it with Amplitube.
I tried to connect my pc to the Katana.. but i didn't work well, its not like what i hear i my headphones at all.
We'll see with this 108..
Thanks for the informative video! Please note, at about the one minute mark you say it retails for about $119. That is incorrect. If you meant to say $199. You can easily correct that with a RUclips annotation in post. Rock on!!!
2 years later and it goes for $279. I don't know if I like it for $279. For $119 like you said (that I guess was a mistake, meaning $199) it is amazing. For $199 (that was probably the cost at the time of the realese of this video) still looks like a good deal. Do you think it still is a good deal for $279?
I wouldn't. You could almost get a 100 watt Boss Katana for that.
Where is it made? It would help if it was discounted, especially if you need two for stereo. Powered stereo monitors might actually be a better setup for home practice using a modeler. I don’t turn my Katana Artist up very loud and there is nothing like having two of them in stereo. But as a monitor in a gig, it has its place.
8:36 comment. It’s angled symmetrically so turn it over to avoid stress on your straight connector cords.
ive used the 8"many times gigging no problems at all its loud and has lots of bass
Have you hooked it up to a bass guitar?
Wow it has more than doubled in price in the mean rime. Cool video and speaker. Happy new year Tony!
Just bought one for my Line 6 Pod Go ! And loved it so much I order a second one for stereo setup !
Thanks for this video, it convinced me to try one today and I purchased it. I have tried many FRFRs including the Line6 Powercab and the JBL eon but this is by far the BEST FRFR available for Line 6 units. I will also try it on my Kemper soon, but I prefer real cabs for that. Some say the Headrush is heavy on the low end and I agree that it can be, but that's better then being shill and having too much treble imo. The low end adds more body and dynamics and can easily be EQed out if desired, its harder to do that with treble issues. It's an excellent speaker for modelers.
hey there, would you actually recommend the Head rush 108 over a powercab 112? I am kinda trying to decide between the two.
@@sh3zad690 Many will say Powercab, but as I said above, I prefer the Headrush. I now have two of them (108) and run them in stereo.
You can buy the Alto slip on covers intended for the TS308 for the FRFR-108 (TS312 covers should fit FRFR-112). The Altos are almost the same cabinet but intended for general PA applications and come with mic pre amps. Their exteriors are identical save for the branding and the input controls. Alto and Headrush are under same ownership, to my understanding.
Thanks for letting me know. Much appreciated.
Alesis Strike Amp 12 is also another from same InMusic maker who makes the alto and headrush. Same shell, I/O and controls.
I still don't understand why not just get a PA considering that's what you'd be playing through anyway at a larger venue.
@@Xplorer228
PA tend to have a default EQ contour "baked in sound" for vocals and DJ music, so not always a flat response. so setting up your tones thru a personal PA may not sound same when you plug into the stage PA. ultimately we're all at mercy of the sound engineer.
Here in my country, it's impossible to find the Headrush, but there's a lot of TS312 out there. Can you clarify what exactly the mic preamp does? Can't I just flat the equalization and be good?
Have this; use it with my kemper stage! Works incredible! I run it with my alto powered speaker for the stereo sound! Definitely happy with it!
I agree.For a cover band rig doing smaller clubs. banquets wedding etc. It is a perfect answer.
It definitely helps!
What would be the purpose of putting a recording microphone on a cabinet that merely reproduces a modeled miked amp/cabinet? Just go direct anyway... ;-)
Came here to ask the very same thing. He wasn’t thinking on that one.
i use the 12" versions and they are the best FRFR's i've ever used - they are only for stage volume - my AX8 gets piped directly into the PA -
I do the same with two 108s live. I was going to go with the 112 but wanted that stereo effect. More then enough power and sounds amazing. They really are the best.
This is such a complete and thorough review. Well done. I am goiing for it....will get 2 for stereo.....thanks again.
This with a Line6 HX Stomp XL is my perfect mini rig.
I really don’t see a situation where you’d want to mic an frfr108 (or any frfr)... you can just go thru the speaker to the mixer or daw direct. The speaker isn’t “supposed” to add any color/flavor so you’d just be getting added color from the mic which is silly. It’s not a worry for 99.9% of guitarists.
I know but I was referring to someone like myself who needs to mic up the speaker in order to do a demo of it for others to hear. Not easy to do. Cheers!
Thanks for the good review!
The 2000 watt sticker/advertising around peak watts is so gimmicky/desperate its almost insulting. Companies need to stop with that nonsense. Especially given a person looking for FRFR options will know to read the actual specs!
Yeah more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. But I think educated shoppers know the difference...
@@addictedtogear Yet you are telling people it is "handling 2000 watts of power" I'm sure it's a good little box for the money! Thing is you had the opportunity to inform people about market gimmicks that companies use but didn't. According to the Headrush manual, the RMS power of the unit is 650 watts for the low end and 350 watts to the highs.
Yeah when I first saw this online I thought the 2000 watts sounded outrageous. I'm not an electrician but I just think of 100 watt guitar amps as being potentially very loud. I'm not understanding this 2000 watts claim in reality. Sounds like 20x 100 watt amps lined up on a stadium stage like at a Who convert in 1973. If I get this thing and put it at max output and it doesn't break every window and destroy the house too, I want a refund!!
@@mountainstartemple6041 You know that wattage and SPL doesn't work quite like this. Also, guitar speakers in general are much more efficient, hence the reason why they're so much louder with less power.
ALSO, tube amps outputs more power when cranked, so in reality, a cranked 100w tube amp will output quite more power then 100w. This not happens (or shouldn't happen) with Class D with limiters.
ALSO, the correlation between SPL and wattage is very confusing. You actually need 10x the power for an audible difference of only 2 times the loudness (6dB), or something like that.
2000 watts (peak) is not outrageous for high dynamic range music though.
I wanna buy this thing but I'm so confused 🤮
Great review! You sold me.
Hope you enjoy it!
Hi,i recently bought this speaker and when i plugged it in,i hear this loud hissing sound and i havent even plugged my NUX MG400 and when i did the hissing got even louder even turning up the volume a bit. Does anybody has the same problem?or knows how to get rid of the hissing sound?Please advice. Thank you.
Can this Headrush speaker be played at a low volume? Like a bedroom setup?
Yes
Could I use this with my Spark 40 and my Boss Katana 100 watt head..? Or any small practice amp?
This review has made me finally buy this unit. I am still within the 30day money back window. I am using it with the Zoom G5n and have to say it sounds pretty good. It can get a bit bassy though, and with Zoom, budget as it is, the only way to quickly EQ out the bass heavy tone is to dial out the tone knob - which unfortunately impacts the whole sound ;-(. However, the sound is still very good and i love the inbuilt drum/looper options in Zoom. Yet, I have ordered Headrush Gigboard to see if the modeler has a big impact on the sound. I know this particular unit is more of a budget option, but I heard that the Laney Active 112 FRFR cab is much better, but there aren't too many reviews on the web. The price range of Laney is basically the same. Do you think it is better or is Headrush the way to go?
I use the FRFR to monitor the sound so that I can balance the sound appropriately.
I have the g5n and was thinking about getting the headrush frfr 108 is the distortion sound good and how is the best way to connect them?
@@back4onemore strangely enough, the distorted amp models and effects sound really good on Zoom with 108! In general, I think Zoom, for what it is, is a really nice modeler - you can't really compare it to the big ones like Line6 or Boss GT, but it is surprisingly good when put side by side! the two main drawbacks are: the lack of FX loop and no IR's possibility for G5n. FRFR108 and G5n - You just connect them with a guitar cable - dead easy.
Before dialing out the low end tone, try slipping the 108 onto a speaker stand. You could be picking up some resonance from the floor?
1 min into the review he said that it retails for $119, but he meant to say $219. AT 11:45 he correctly stated price at $220.
Great review! Thank you!!
at marker 7:56 you mentioned not going straight from the efx unit unless if it has an amp modeling feature- (I'm confused) did you mean an analog chain?
I ask because I thought "what you hear is what you get" from a digital multi efx is the advantage of the FRFR speaker
I was referring to going into the FRFR speaker from a standard pedal board not a multi-fx
Great video - new subscriber. How does it compare to a 100w tube head in terms of volume? - really want the 8" due to $ and weight but want it loud enough. Also, does the XLR out change in volume when you change the unit's volume? General question - do two speakers (stereo on Matribox II Pro) mean twice the volume? Thank you so much.
For bag, you can use universal 8 inch speaker bag from QSC or Yamaha.
Im a bit confused about why anyone would mic up a flat response speaker...? That - to me - makes no sense. The FRFR simply amplifies the character of the Amp and Cab sim (its flat across the board, remember?) So doesn't it make way more sense to just record the line signal of your headrush/helix/kemper/whatever? No bleed, no poking around to find the speaker.... What am i missing?
Correction: This speaker does not have a mic pre-amp. You cannot plug a microphone directly into the speaker, as It does not take a mic-level signal, only line-level. The Alto version of this speaker does have a mic pre-amp, though, so if you want to use it as a mini-PA for a coffee-house gig, or something, that's the one you want to get.
I can plug my SM-58 directly into channel 2 and sing along with my guitar/headrush pedalboard in channel 1. I wish I had a delay or some effect for the mic, but it's good enough for rehearsing at home. What do you mean you can't plug a mic directly into it? I have the FRFR-108 as in the video and it works as stated in the video.
@@familiardave6540 a little late here but I think they might have been trying a microphone that requires phantom power but there's no reason a dynamic mic shouldn't work plugged straight in.
I came here to learn how to cut the mustard! Where is the mustard!?
Great review. What if you run a backing track through your multi effects board? Will a song sound OK or will it be "flat". Thanks.
It will sound a little flat but not too noticeable
Would you recommend having two of these for guitar or just one is sufficient for home use ? Thx
Its not great with a pedal broad distortion unit but if you use it with lets say a BE-OD or Revv pedal into a Helix or Stomp that has Cabs or IRs, it sounds great.
When I play the different venues I always have to find that sweet spot between my amp and pedal board to stand.This way i can hear my guitar.When I do big shows I send a feed to the PA and use a wedge to hear my guitar in front of me. I have been looking for a unit that I could place in front to the left of my pedal board like a wedge and send the feed from my amp to it.From all of the reviews I think the Headrush FRFR 108 will be the solution for me,we shall see.Thanks
Great review. I just ordered 2 of these from Amazon and looking forward to hooking them up to my PodGo
Enjoy! Thanks for watching my friend!
That is exactly my current setup. I rehearse with a band with just those two and It sounds great. Still noticing a big of a difference because my band mate uses a 100W Marshall with a 4x12 cabine, so the sound is not quite the same, but volume wise we have no issue.
I think it is a bit bassy, but other than that at least in the bedroom this setup is great to play. What is your experience with it?
Great video, thanks
On the 2 inputs🤔 can l run both outs on my HXstomp and achieve a stereo effect?
Can you hook a headrush up into a PA
Good clear review !
$219.99 at Guitar Center. Believe you said $119.
im in a metal band five piece to be exact will this cut the mustard ? going from a 100 watt marshall half stack to a kemper rack and considering this speaker ?
The unit is pretty loud, however I don't know if it would be able to outrank 100 W Half Marshall stack.
can you use it as normal speaker for music? like at a party etc
I use it with a pod go it rocks super loud for the money its worth it
Great review. One flaw possibly I think is the output from the speaker to the PA. Is the level governed by the volumes knobs? So if you need a low volume on stage the level to the PA will also be low?
I ask because on my Gallien Krueger 206MLE I can have any volume on the amp using the master volume and the output to the PA is controlled by the channel volume knob
Dude! I have the rackmount version of the GK 206 MLE in mint condition! Bought it new around 1991? Still love it, but I'm not 20 anymore so instead of carrying a rack and Marshall cab, I use the HR pedalboard and FRFR108.... so much more portable on my old bones. ;)
+1 for the carrying bag idea, but I would love one for one 108 + one HR gigboard (and some cables).
How quiet can this get? Is it suitable for home use too? I have a Helix HX Stomp. I thought about getting a Katana 50 Mk.II for the Power Amp input, and reducing the output to 25W or 0.5W for home use, but I don’t believe it’s true FRFR.
At home and for gigging. Broad sound control.
I fried mine by mistake. I turned off a power strip it was plugged in an on and it popped and would not turn on after that. The fuse was fine, but it no longer turns on. Sucks! Anyone have a fix?
HELP! i can't decide between the 8 inch or the 12. I read that 10 inch speakers are the best for modeling units and hat 12's are too bassy and flubby. Then i found these and the reviews are saying they are crazy loud and have plenty of bass. I want plenty of bass without he flub, especially when playing cleans on the low strings and when palm muting higher gain settings i want that bassy tight chug,, would you say this 8 inch has plenty of bass? Please anyone give your opinions on the best size frfr for a modeler (helix in my case) thanks in advance!
Yes, I think you won't need more than the 8 inch speakers.
@@addictedtogear ive had all 3 headrush 12"alto 10" and i now only have the headrush 8"does the job.its loud its only for you to monitor signal go to the board so
Would you guys consider that one of the 8" is plenty enough for small rehearsals (to keep up with the drums specifically)?
Germán Avila S. Yes it is
@@addictedtogear Thank you very much for your quick response Tony. No more over-thinking on this. Excellent content you are putting in here. Keep up the good work!!! Greetings from México!!!
I'm not sure why you would want to mike an FRFR speaker... The reason you mike a speaker is to capture the colour that specific speaker gives to the sound. With an FRFR speaker you are aiming for no colouration on the speaker, therefore you are better off taking the balanced output from the back. Also if you will use an amp simulator pedal, you would need one that includes a speaker simulator.
Hi, I would not Mic an FRFR speaker. I was merely implying that an order for me too let the viewers hear the FRFR speaker in a real world environment it would have to be miked up and would probably not sound right.
Any overheating issues? Testing out two 108s from a friemd and this is the only flaw I've noticed. 45 minutes of playing and they're already moderately hot..
Hello, do you think it could be used with a fly rig unit by sansamp?
Yes the headrush would work
I've been buying 108 for some time and I'm not very satisfied. I make my presets with the pedalboard using headphones. When I listen to the same sounds through 108 they are completely different, with a huge amount of low frequencies changing the sound in an important way.
So I take the bass out of the presets almost totally to compensate. This thing is wrong because with a real ampli you never put the bass to zero.
My question is what about backing tracks? I have a number of songs where I have backing tracks to them that I engineer to remove things like vocals or guitar parts to perform them live. I've been using my AER which seems to handle things alright but i worry, since it's an acoustic amp, I may be taxing it a bit much pumping in drums, bass and the like. Often I'm playing acoustic and I stream my backing tracks from my tablet using Bluetooth to a receiver which I plug into the AER. Sometimes when I play electric I do the 4 cord method from a Pod Go but I'm thinking it'd be better to always use the AER only for acoustic guitar but to get something like this to pump the backing tracks through and the Pod Go -> the HeadRush speaker along with the backing tracks for electric things. Do you think running the backing tracks though the HeadRush is better than thru the AER?
I don't know about whether it's better or worse, but I don't think he will hurt they headrush if you do that.
Great video. Can I use two of this to play in a small bar : electric guitar,vocal and backing tracks? With a Studiomaster mixer. To use them like small PA speakers? Somebody try this? Thanks 👍
Yes you can.
Very good review. I'm really thinking about getting a FRFR speaker. Thank you,
Glad it was helpful!
I am planing to use this together with a super small pedalboard. AMT M2 and Nux Oceananic Reverb with tuner. Has anyone here tried something similar? The AMT M2 pedal has built in cab sim which I’m thinking should sound fine
Thank you !
What are the 2 impeded bolt nuts on the end for?
I am using a positive grid spark and want to use it live. Would I be able to run a 1/8 headphone jack with a balanced 1/4 cable to this to amplify the sound without distorting the tone I want?
Not sure. I haven't ever tried this.
Thank You so much for this Excellent Demo.
Do you think one needs two of them for a stereo image? Thanks
If you want a true stereo image, yes
Good review! You think it will be good for a Strymon Iridium? Thank you!
Yes, definitely
@@addictedtogear Great!!! review, thanks. I'm looking at the Iridium and the Boss IR200
I have two of these. One.of them seems to have no HF driver any more. I've never played it that loud - especially not 2000 watts - but it seems to be fried.
Speakers are rarely covered under warranty so any idea how to replace it and what to use? If it's that easy to blow, I'd prefer an upgrade.
can you connect a small lunchbox amp to this unit without it blowing up?
If the lunchbox amp has a line out then yes. Thr30ii for example.
I have tried the 108 is very dark sounding.
excellent review how would i go about using stereo as i have just bought a mooer ge 300 that has 2 xlr outputs mono and stereo as i have little knowledge as i have always used just the fx loop which does not not sound like the demonstration videos of the effects processor any help would be very much appreciated
Mr Levinston will the 108 be enough in a band setting?
perfect for a Simplifier?
I may need to get one too. When I run my headrush gigboard through my dual amp setup it just dosen't sound right , it always sounds best with headphones. Will this basically duplicate the sound i am hearing in my headphones?
Are you running cabinet sins and mic in your disposal chain ? Turn those off and try the 4 cable meth
If you use a FRFR speaker you will need to tweak the sounds while listening to the speaker. Because it is a flat response speaker it will not be affected by coloration as your headphone probably are.
With a FRFR speaker you don't need to bother with the 4 cable method. That is the beauty of it! Cheers
Dual amps sound mich better separated in stereo. If dual amps in mono arent really close tone wise...they phase cancel and actually thin out your sound. If you only have 1 only use mono amps. If you got two then run dual amps
I had 2 of the 108’s - they were great to use as a vocal and acoustic guitar pa for a folk trio, or for stereo home keyboard monitoring. They did NOT work as keyboard monitors for a live gig or rehearsal with a loud band, but that’s not really what they’re intended for - they’re $399 in Canada now, I’ll be replacing them with something better, any suggestions?
friedman FRFR cab.
Good review Tony, thank you.
I'm tempted to get one ( or 2) to run in stereo with my V-Amp 3.
Go for it! It would sound killer in stereo!
Thats what I do with two 108s, sounds amazing.
Great video, thnx for it. Have you tried it with live band on stage or rehearsing situation?
Yes I have works great
Can we use it for listen a song mp3?
Yes if you use a cable
alto makes carry bag for the alto ts 308 (same box).
ytrezazerty1 please send me the link
For home using? Or not
Yes you can use this for home use.
I am about to purchase the HR pedalboard and two of the frfr 108 cabs myself. I've been searching for a demo video of the two cabs with the HR but haven't found anything so far.
If you live in Europe they bundle the pedalboard with 1 frfr108 right now. You buy the pedalboard and get a frfr108 for free from thomann.
@@thiagoborsari7364 same here in the USA, I actually bought everything up front a day before the sale started. I sent an email to Sweetwater ( who also was running the HR sale ) and said what the hell? They credited me the price of a cab. Also, I broke protocol with Sweetwater and just ordered without consulting with a sales rep first, so they didn't have an opportunity to tell me to wait a day on my order. To be fair, the frfr 108's are amazing with the pedalboard in my opinion. I was shocked at the power output, volume and sound quality. I did some Sonic DNA rigs and IR's and it's amazing.
@@mattf1229 Mine arrives tomorrow, can't wait to hear them together. I am glad you also got yours for free in the end.
@@thiagoborsari7364 so yeah, are you on Facebook and in the Headrush groups? I'll see if I can link them and post them up on the comment thread if not.
Now, you're going to love this set up as it's really amazing for the money. I had to get them up off the floor as it really drives a lot of bass like that. The other thing? Sonica DNA and the Nick Layton rig packs got me where I wanted to be as far as impulse response and some metal type rigs. I think maybe I spent 15 dollars on all of it. To me that is extremely reasonable for some professional grade rigs and IR packs.
@@mattf1229 Hi there. I am not on Facebooks group for headrush, will search for that. I bought the sonic DNA entire package yesterday even before getting the pedalboard. Saw some vídeos pn youtube and understood that it was a must. Keep up with your great job on youtube.
thanks for the review! I have question though, they specify that this speaker is specifically designed for guitar. Now, isn't a FRFR by definition supposed to be neutral? What do they mean by that.
Yes normally it should allow for a flat response.
Hi Tony. Can you use it in an aptm or in bedroom too? Does it give decent but quite sound?
Yes it does not issues with that.
BTW, excellent review.
Glad you liked it!
Works best as a monitor.
Hey man! I just got one of this units and I was wondering if you could give me a hint on something.. This particular unit it's set to work with 110v, but here in my country we used 220v.. I know I could just get a voltage conversor, but I was wondering if theres some way to make this work with 220v without having to use a voltage conversor.. Any ideas? I would aprecciate it!
I don't really know. Best to check with an electrician.
One con i do not like at all is it is almost 3 times its price original price only 2 years later.
That sucks!
is this just a guitar only monitor or can you use it as a vocal monitor ?
You can use it for both.
Do you think running a bass through a helix would sound good with this?
I never tried that.
Hi Tony, Great vid. I bought myself the Headrush FRFR 108 and connected it to my Boss GTK. Have still a little question. If I use the XLR cable from my GTK to the FRFR108, the volume knob on the GTK don't work anymore. Sound is there, but no controll on my GTK to the volume. I have to change the volume on the FRFR. Is that normal? Using a 1/4 cable, I can controll the volume from my GTK as well the FRFR.
Another question: If I connect the OUTPUT XLR of the FRFR to the FOH, the soundguy can control my volume to the FOH. Am I right that if I should change my volume on the FRFR itself, it had no effect to the volume to the FOH? The soundguy should be very happy.....
Hmmm? I think you should be able to control the sound on the GTK. maybe you have some setting on that is stopping you from doing that?
Is this unit good for acoustic guitar plugged in through a preamp pedal?
For what you are looking for as far as acoustic with a preamp I would just get a powered PA speaker this speaker shown here is a flat response speaker although it will probably work it is really meant for amp simulation
@@philipleblanc62 thank you! Any gear in particular?
FYI: a carry bag exists (gator?)
Well, I mean, 26k subscribers, 41k views - it might pay to try and get a frequency response graph. This could help. The lowest note on the guitar is 80 hz (standard E of course). Supposedly, The Headrush 108 is rated rated at 60 hz, but that's probably rated at 10 db. Still, it could explain why there is enough bass for normal guitar work. Also, if it really is not flat but falls off a bit at the high end, I don't see that as the worst problem in the world, considering a guitar is only emitting upper harmonics at that range.
I’ve had one for a few years, for home/ practice it’s great but at gigs it gets lost every time (in my experience)
And if you use an equalizer to increase the mids?
I use pretty mid-heavy sounds anyway. the 12 inch just works better for live, recently went back to an amp and cab anyway, sold my modeler since I'm no longer in a band that requires a bunch of different sounds and realized the modeler/frfr route wasn't saving me any hassle and I was never happy with the frfr playing experience.
I've been looking for an amp that is loud enough and pedal-friendly and most of all, not that expensive. I was eyeing the ZT CLUB 1x12 200W but they are no longer in production not unless you are in the 2nd hand market. So I want to know if this hrhr108 is enough for a small bar gig or even a full band practice (genre is pop punk or alt-rock).
Absolutely it is! I don't know exactly how loud mine will get, but I know it is more than I will ever need for club gigs. I put mine on a speaker stand.