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Post by thehightenor on Jun 16, 2024 10:21:43 GMT -6
Has anyone used the Freyyette Powerstation?
It seems like a tube power section version of a Boss TAE in that it let's you attenuate your tube amp output and send onto a cab at very low level and similar tone and still use
your favourite pedal board pedals, mics and pre's.
And unlike the Boss TAE you're not sending it through an A/D/A.
Seems like a good solution and much better than an Iron Man II attenuator or Suhr RL as it's a different concept to attenuation more akin to the TAE.
Nice FX loop too.
That said, reading forums - the TAE get's way more love, I suppose because it also has built in IR's that let you achieve silent amp direct recording.
I'm looking for a solution for recording at low volumes or even silent.
It might be simply getting a Fractal AXE III or FM3 is the most effective solution, but it would be nice to keep using my tube amps
unless it's too big a compromise attenuating them and I may as well just go the modeller route.
There are so many solutions available these days - it's mind boggling!
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Post by the other mark williams on Jun 16, 2024 18:11:03 GMT -6
Never used the Fryette personally, but have heard lots of good reviews.
Honestly, though: knowing your proclivities, there's simply no way around it - you're going to have to try several of these methods for yourself, and you're going to ultimately lose some $ in the process. And none of them are likely to be quite as good as miking a real amp on the edge of blowing up. But hey, you're losing your son's bedroom because he's moving back home, which I'm sure will be super cool, right? Life is a game of compromises, regardless of what we wish life were.
You're going to need to get an AxeFX (of some variety), the Fryette, the Suhr RL, etc. in your space, with your chain before you can make a decision. And again, NONE of them are going to sound as good as a real mic on a real amp. That's life, man.
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Post by vintagelove on Jun 16, 2024 23:51:05 GMT -6
The Power Station is the Sh@t. I have the 100 and a buddy has the original.
You can do a LOT with them if you read through the manual. Silent recording, loud amps quiet (as close to the full volume sound as you'll get), small amps loud. Fx loop for amps without them, "solo boost" etc...
Honestly, if you have an old fender, and an old Marshall, one of these is a "must buy" unless you live alone in the middle of the woods. Especially if you do some recording.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 17, 2024 0:08:56 GMT -6
Never used the Fryette personally, but have heard lots of good reviews. Honestly, though: knowing your proclivities, there's simply no way around it - you're going to have to try several of these methods for yourself, and you're going to ultimately lose some $ in the process. And none of them are likely to be quite as good as miking a real amp on the edge of blowing up. But hey, you're losing your son's bedroom because he's moving back home, which I'm sure will be super cool, right? Life is a game of compromises, regardless of what we wish life were. You're going to need to get an AxeFX (of some variety), the Fryette, the Suhr RL, etc. in your space, with your chain before you can make a decision. And again, NONE of them are going to sound as good as a real mic on a real amp. That's life, man. You’re right, I’m going to have to throw a few dollars at this and try some of these solutions out. And yes, it’s brilliant having my son back from university, it’s very cool. |
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 17, 2024 0:17:58 GMT -6
The Power Station is the Sh@t. I have the 100 and a buddy has the original. You can do a LOT with them if you read through the manual. Silent recording, loud amps quiet (as close to the full volume sound as you'll get), small amps loud. Fx loop for amps without them, "solo boost" etc... Honestly, if you have an old fender, and an old Marshall, one of these is a "must buy" unless you live alone in the middle of the woods. Especially if you do some recording. Thank you for that little review. Is the direct out on the back a high quality tap direct off the reactive load? So I’d use that to DAW and add an IR plugin for the cab modelling? |
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Post by vintagelove on Jun 17, 2024 0:45:55 GMT -6
The Power Station is the Sh@t. I have the 100 and a buddy has the original. You can do a LOT with them if you read through the manual. Silent recording, loud amps quiet (as close to the full volume sound as you'll get), small amps loud. Fx loop for amps without them, "solo boost" etc... Honestly, if you have an old fender, and an old Marshall, one of these is a "must buy" unless you live alone in the middle of the woods. Especially if you do some recording. Thank you for that little review. Is the direct out on the back a high quality tap direct off the reactive load? So I’d use that to DAW and add an IR plugin for the cab modelling? Hi, I don't want to give you the wrong info, so please read the manual to be sure. But I do know for silent recording, you don't even need to turn the unit on. So, yes... Btw, Fractal? The axe fx people have an excellent free ir loader. I don't use digital amps a lot, but when I do I use that and it's good. I'm sure it would make for an excellent pair with the fryette direct out. |
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Post by frans on Jun 17, 2024 1:41:59 GMT -6
I have heard the Powerstation. It is "the shit". Does the job and sounds good.
In Munich we got a guitar store that is a bit different. You knock, they look through the window in the door and if they like your face, they open. There are no price tags on the stuff. There is no cheap gear anyway. The owner is one of the repair/mod gurus here. For touring professionals with a guitar amp problem, he is one of the people to call. He does endorse the Powerstation because it is good enough for his standards. I have compared a few amps via the Powerstation and found no fault with it. Need something like it? Buy it.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 17, 2024 2:00:33 GMT -6
Thank you for that little review. Is the direct out on the back a high quality tap direct off the reactive load? So I’d use that to DAW and add an IR plugin for the cab modelling? Hi, I don't want to give you the wrong info, so please read the manual to be sure. But I do know for silent recording, you don't even need to turn the unit on. So, yes... Btw, Fractal? The axe fx people have an excellent free ir loader. I don't use digital amps a lot, but when I do I use that and it's good. I'm sure it would make for an excellent pair with the fryette direct out. Right, so the power is just for the tube amp part of the unit. The Reactive load of course requires no power as I imagine it's passive. Nice - thank you. Thanks for the heads up on the free Axe FX IR loader - great! |
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Post by ninworks on Jun 17, 2024 2:57:28 GMT -6
I am very happy with my UA Ox Box. Silent recording is possible with IR responses and effects built into it. It has an adjustable volume if you want to use a speaker. The biggest drawback is that the built-in effects only work with the direct line output. Not when using the speaker output. There is no effects loop but almost everyone puts their pedals before the amp anyway. I paid $700 for mine used which was a very good deal at the time. AFAIK you are limited to using their IR's and cannot load your own. That hasn't bothered me any. Theirs are quite good. They have a 150 watt RMS power limit so that covers just about every amp you would ever want to use.
I have used it with both my Twin Reverb and Vox AC15H1TV and gotten great results. For older tech it still does a nice job and the used prices are coming down. The Twin, dimed, sounds wonderful and it doesn't peel paint off the walls.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 17, 2024 4:24:21 GMT -6
Everyone seems to have a solution that suits them - which is great.
There are so many options out there - it really does make my heard spin and I'm sure they're all great in their own way.
I need to make a decision - I'm toying with selling my Tone King Imperial MK2 Head and Cab (which is a truly great sounding amp) and buying
an Axe FX III Turbo and just go the whole hog into modelling.
It's going to be at least 5 years until I have even the possibility of going back to recording real amps with mics.
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Post by FM77 on Jun 17, 2024 4:49:23 GMT -6
I am very happy with my UA Ox Box. Silent recording is possible with IR responses and effects built into it. It has an adjustable volume if you want to use a speaker. The biggest drawback is that the built-in effects only work with the direct line output. Not when using the speaker output. There is no effects loop but almost everyone puts their pedals before the amp anyway. I paid $700 for mine used which was a very good deal at the time. AFAIK you are limited to using their IR's and cannot load your own. That hasn't bothered me any. Theirs are quite good. They have a 150 watt RMS power limit so that covers just about every amp you would ever want to use. I have used it with both my Twin Reverb and Vox AC15H1TV and gotten great results. For older tech it still does a nice job and the used prices are coming down. The Twin, dimed, sounds wonderful and it doesn't peel paint off the walls. To extend the info - UA OX BOX also requires an internet connection to make any changes to the 6 only presets. It connects to your computer via USB, but requires WIFI to communicate. And it will only connect at 2.4G. If you have no internet, you can use the 6 presets but cannot make any changes,
If your system is 5G like alot of modern humans, it is a big hiccup.
I did a series of sessions using the OX in the left channel and the mic'd cab connected to the OX in the right channel. Tones are there, but the latency required shifting the OX track to line up.
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Post by ninworks on Jun 17, 2024 5:54:33 GMT -6
I have not used an Axe FX so I don't know if this applies to it or not. I have used modelers since their inception back in the late 2000's and had quite a few different ones. Every single one I have ever used feels different, as far as touch sensitivity and reaction, than a real amp does. It's not bad, just different. It took me a long time to get used to it. Once I started using modelers exclusively it totally screwed up my playing when I went back to using real amps. The only thing I can think to equate it to is the difference between playing a real piano action or an electronic keyboard or organ. The feel factor didn't translate well for me when I went back to real amps. That's one thing attenuators don't do. At least the ones I have used. They "feel" more like a real amp does while playing. The amp gives you something back that the modelers I have used doesn't.
I still use modelers occasionally but much prefer the real thing. Even through an attenuator.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 17, 2024 6:08:12 GMT -6
I have not used an Axe FX so I don't know if this applies to it or not. I have used modelers since their inception back in the late 2000's and had quite a few different ones. Every single one I have ever used feels different, as far as touch sensitivity and reaction, than a real amp does. It's not bad, just different. It took me a long time to get used to it. Once I started using modelers exclusively it totally screwed up my playing when I went back to using real amps. The only thing I can think to equate it to is the difference between playing a real piano action or an electronic keyboard or organ. The feel factor didn't translate well for me when I went back to real amps. That's one thing attenuators don't do. At least the ones I have used. They "feel" more like a real amp does while playing. The amp gives you something back that the modelers I have used doesn't. I still use modelers occasionally but much prefer the real thing. Even through an attenuator. Right thanks for that. I get that feeling from plugin amp sims but I've always put that down to latency. Perhaps that's where something like an attenuator/reactive load box with my amps will win out on for me - as touch hand feel are very important to me. I've contacted a few guitar playing mates to gather together a few different solutions so I can demo them at my place. I'm only going to be able to make a choice by using them and getting some hands on experience. |
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Post by the other mark williams on Jun 17, 2024 9:17:58 GMT -6
I have not used an Axe FX so I don't know if this applies to it or not. I have used modelers since their inception back in the late 2000's and had quite a few different ones. Every single one I have ever used feels different, as far as touch sensitivity and reaction, than a real amp does. It's not bad, just different. It took me a long time to get used to it. Once I started using modelers exclusively it totally screwed up my playing when I went back to using real amps. The only thing I can think to equate it to is the difference between playing a real piano action or an electronic keyboard or organ. The feel factor didn't translate well for me when I went back to real amps. That's one thing attenuators don't do. At least the ones I have used. They "feel" more like a real amp does while playing. The amp gives you something back that the modelers I have used doesn't. I still use modelers occasionally but much prefer the real thing. Even through an attenuator. Right thanks for that. I get that feeling from plugin amp sims but I've always put that down to latency. Perhaps that's where something like an attenuator/reactive load box with my amps will win out on for me - as touch hand feel are very important to me. I've contacted a few guitar playing mates to gather together a few different solutions so I can demo them at my place. I'm only going to be able to make a choice by using them and getting some hands on experience. I wish there were another way, but I think you're right on: you just have to try them for yourself. I'm usually able to adapt as a player to whichever route I go, but nothing is ever as satisfying as the real deal. I will say that Tbone81 's suggestion about turning down the sag and speaker compression on the AxeFX is intriguing. It's making me think about that route, too... |
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Post by indiehouse on Jun 17, 2024 16:08:47 GMT -6
I have both a Fryette Powerstation and a Suhr RL IR. I have compared them both the best I can, taking the direct signal from each and applying the same cab IR in the DAW. They sound different, as expected. Hard to say which is more accurate, and do I even care? If it sounds good, then it’s good. I think I remember preferring the Suhr direct signal, but I don’t remember if I tried shaping the load on the Fryette in my comparison. You can add more low and high end via switches.
The Suhr is more convenient with the built in IR’s.
The PS has an effects loop and more tone shaping options.
It’s also a reamping device, which means you can make loud amps quiet and quiet amps loud.
The PS has an always on cooling fan and is more expensive.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 17, 2024 23:36:20 GMT -6
I have both a Fryette Powerstation and a Suhr RL IR. I have compared them both the best I can, taking the direct signal from each and applying the same cab IR in the DAW. They sound different, as expected. Hard to say which is more accurate, and do I even care? If it sounds good, then it’s good. I think I remember preferring the Suhr direct signal, but I don’t remember if I tried shaping the load on the Fryette in my comparison. You can add more low and high end via switches. The Suhr is more convenient with the built in IR’s. The PS has an effects loop and more tone shaping options. It’s also a reamping device, which means you can make loud amps quiet and quiet amps loud. The PS has an always on cooling fan and is more expensive. Thank you, that’s very useful feedback. |
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nas
Full Member
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Post by nas on Jun 20, 2024 4:53:26 GMT -6
The Fryette is a great all round utility box and very versatile. Its power section doesn't have a lot of character tonally, but you still get that nice tube touch response feeling when playing. You may also find that you can get by with the PS-2 model and save a few.
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Post by thehightenor on Jun 20, 2024 5:25:50 GMT -6
The Fryette is a great all round utility box and very versatile. Its power section doesn't have a lot of character tonally, but you still get that nice tube touch response feeling when playing. You may also find that you can get by with the PS-2 model and save a few. Thanks for that - I’ll check the PS-2 out. |
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Post by jdfoca on Jun 20, 2024 16:44:25 GMT -6
Also check out the Aracom Dag!
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