fEarful FRFR GREAT for the low end stuff

  • I just finished building a Greenboy fEarful "12/6/1 cube" cabinet for my Kemper and thought I'd share my results. My goal was to have a FRFR cabinet that was suitable for guitar, but could also handle enough low end for bass at a real gig. I think this cabinet meets these goals pretty well. If you aren't familiar with fEarful, they are designed to handle super low-end very cleanly and are favored a lot by bassists who use low B and even low F# tunings. Don't let the single 12" fool you. It's rated for 533W (conservatively compared to commercial offerings). If you play bass or low-tuned guitars, it's definitely worth checking out. It's brown-note ready. :)

    http://greenboy.us/fEARful/

    I built mine as a 3-way with the "True Xover" crossover designed for flatter frequency response than the older 3-way system geared towards bass only. I suspect though that even the 2-way with the simpler crossover might even work well for guitars since it rolls off at around 5KHz IIRC. I just decided to go full range for more versatility. My build cost around $650. They can also be purchased from authorized builders for around 2x that. A <5KHz 2-way would also be significantly cheaper. The "cube" size fits the rack head, but there is also a taller narrower version that would look great under a toaster.

  • It is unexpectedly amazing for guitar. I was hoping for "pretty good", but I was pleasantly surprised.

    I don't have much experience with other FRFR options, so I can't offer a direct comparison. But I do have a room full of vintage amps and cabinets, and I will be selling them off shortly. This rig sounds and feels like the real deal to me.

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

  • I haven't heard one negative thing about these yet. I've been scouring the kemper and axe forums looking for someone to give me a reason not to build one. Looks like I have a new project incoming! Thanks for the help. Now just to find a power amp..

  • Here's an update on my experience with the fEarless cabinet: Fantastic for bass and great for clean guitar. After living with it a while longer, I'd say it's good for distorted guitar, but there might be better solutions out there. When the volume of distorted guitar is cranked, it tends to get a little harsh with the three way configuration I used. At lower volumes, it still sounds great on all sources.

    I guess the honeymoon is over. ;)

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

  • Here's an update on my experience with the fEarless cabinet: Fantastic for bass and great for clean guitar. After living with it a while longer, I'd say it's good for distorted guitar, but there might be better solutions out there. When the volume of distorted guitar is cranked, it tends to get a little harsh with the three way configuration I used. At lower volumes, it still sounds great on all sources.

    I guess the honeymoon is over. ;)

    klappy:

    I am thinking of using a fearful 12/6 or 15/6 myself. Regarding your comment about the sound when you turn up, does either disabling or turning down the tweeter compensate for the issue? I know the fearful have the option of a rotary dial to tame the tweeter.