NERD-New Eleven Rack Day

[Kojack19]

After going back and forth on a variety of options, I finally took the plunge and bought an Eleven Rack yesterday. Despite a few not so pleasant items that were a part of the transaction-opened the box and it is clearly a unit that has been used, and buying the wrong cables so I had to wait an extra day to hook things up, all is well.
First off the presets are pretty bad, but within about 2 hours-and without using the manual-I had created 4 very good settings on my own. I bought the Eleven Rack to play at home. My bassman is too loud to play when my kids are asleep and the reality is after bed time represents about 75% of my playing time nowadays. I got two great marshall settings, a great blackface sound and a great vox set up too. I am not a heavy effects user, just want some good solid amps with maybe some verb and maybe a pedal in front. The Eleven Rack has totally exceeded by expectations.

I was very worried about feel and sound through powered monitors but at louder than TV volume down to whisper volumes, I just don't know how you could come up with a better sounding solution.

I have not even started with the software yet, just plugged in and got started. I can't wait to explore all that this unit has to offer.

My only question is I have about two weeks to return the power monitors I got-the M Audio BX5As. Before time runs out, I am curious if there is a big difference with Adam A7s (they did not have them in stock) or if I should get the bigger M Audios. I am only sitting about 4 ft from the speakers and these are working fine, but would love to hear your thoughts.

[JackButler]

I just started a similar thread, sKOjack, what are you hearing through the styudio monitors opposed to say an average 12" guitar speak? All that umph?

[axelicker]

Just wanted to say I too just got an 11 rack and am really pleased. My only issue is I want to now buy a delay unit for the fx loop because of the lack of delay options (it's the one effect I really use a lot).
I'm using a pair of KRK Rockit 6's which work great sitting 6' away. With other modelers I've used extensively (Axe FX, GSP1101, Vamp Pro) when I want to play loud or with others I use a Hafler G150 power amp and a pair of JDesign 1x12 closed-back cabs with great results.

[Cornholio]

Welcome to the club. Isn't the interface great? I probably use it more with the computer off.

The only thing I don't like about smaller monitors on guitar modelers is the low end frequencies. I use Event 20/20 passive monitors (yeah, pretty old school), and those have 8" speakers. Nice low end response, but on the flip side- they don't sound as tight.

Your Maudios are good for the money, but I would upgrade if you have the funds. You want what is best sounding to your ears.

[tripp2k]

Originally Posted by Kojack19

My only question is I have about two weeks to return the power monitors I got-the M Audio BX5As. Before time runs out, I am curious if there is a big difference with Adam A7s (they did not have them in stock) or if I should get the bigger M Audios. I am only sitting about 4 ft from the speakers and these are working fine, but would love to hear your thoughts.

If you can add funds, I would recommend you go a different route based on my experience with BX5As and some of the Interweb experiences that were similar to mine. There is a large resistor in this thing that likes to blow. Mine blew after 12 months. You can find replacements, but it is a b*tch to desolder without doing more damage. After failing at this, I picked up KRK Rokit 5s which suit what I do at a price point I like. You might move up in size with KRKs or jump over to their higher end versions. I know a few people in the modeling thread have used Adams and you could probably pick their brain. BX5As have left a sour taste for me and I can only recommend against them.

EDIT: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...d.php?t=800908

[jimification]

Congrats on your purchase! I've only had the Eleven for one week now but I love it to bits...it's so easy to dial in good sounds and I find the reverb to be exceptional. It does need a stereo / digital delay I think. There is an Avid page where you can vote on features here: http://protools.ideascale.com/a/idea...ussionID=11273 Another good place for Eleven rack discussion and sharing patches, if you don't know it is here: http://www.elevenrackpresets.com/for...Board=1&page=1

As far as monitors go, I actually bought some M Audio CX5's and returned them...nice speakers but they didn't work on the low end with the Eleven (low end not deep enough and the lower mids seemed rather "boxy"). I'm using the Eleven as my guitar amp / cab so I wanted something that would give a reasonable impression of a guitar cab (ie: have a bit of low end oomph). I've ended up with the KRK RP6's which seemed like a good compromise between a decent size driver and something that can still sit on a desk. I listened to some RP5's in the shop as well and they seemed pretty good too if you want a smaller size or slightly lower cost. I have to say, the bass is *excellent* on the RP6's - they range is very low and you really get some 4x12 ish "woof!" from them - in fact, too much, if anything, when they're up loud though I'm in a really small room (temporarily) and think the low E is a resonant frequency or something in there!

I'd definitely recommend the KRK's though!

[nsriley]

Congrats!!!! I've had my 11R for almost 2 month or so now and haven't looked back. I've owned a ton of L6 gear and the Axe-fx back when it's firmware was at 7.0. I'm still very very happy with my choice. I sold a lot of analog gear to get it and some accessories. I run mine through a pair of Adam A7's I've had for a while. Sounds awesome through those, since I only play at home. I also bought a Ground Control unit to act as my 'pedal board' and a couple of expression pedals for volume and wah. I love the simplicity. And it's cake to dial in a great tone and pedal chain to go with it. The feel is very much there, i get as much satisfaction out of playing through it as i did with many great amps I've owned over the years. I am inspired everytime I use it. Best of luck with yours!

[Kojack19]

Thanks for all of the comments everyone...I am looking forward to firing up the Eleven Rack tonight. Looks like maybe a monitor upgrade might make sense given the reliability concerns-the Adams seem great-what is the difference between the two versions of the 7? There is a huge price difference.

I have to say the M Audios sound good but would hate for them to blow up on me.

At somepoint I will have to start working with the software but it aint going to be tonight

[Cornholio]

Originally Posted by Kojack19

Thanks for all of the comments everyone...I am looking forward to firing up the Eleven Rack tonight. Looks like maybe a monitor upgrade might make sense given the reliability concerns-the Adams seem great-what is the difference between the two versions of the 7? There is a huge price difference.

I have to say the M Audios sound good but would hate for them to blow up on me.

At somepoint I will have to start working with the software but it aint going to be tonight

just get it installed and running before the free tech support period runs out (I think it's 30 days)

[traviswalk]

Originally Posted by Kojack19

Thanks for all of the comments everyone...I am looking forward to firing up the Eleven Rack tonight. Looks like maybe a monitor upgrade might make sense given the reliability concerns-the Adams seem great-what is the difference between the two versions of the 7? There is a huge price difference.

I have to say the M Audios sound good but would hate for them to blow up on me.

At somepoint I will have to start working with the software but it aint going to be tonight

Well done, I knew you would dig it!!

[Kojack19]

Originally Posted by traviswalk

Well done, I knew you would dig it!!

It's all your fault! Thanks for the advice as always...Now I just need to figure out how to get my bassman to NJ so that you can work on it-for some reason I think it is going to be a little while before I turn it on.

[Julia343]

I've been wondering about the Adams monitors too. See I've got that curtain tweeter on my stereo (old Heil Air Motion Transformers) and the high end is clear and not hyped. The dome tweeters on my studio monitors seem a bit hyped.

[traviswalk]

Originally Posted by Kojack19

It's all your fault! Thanks for the advice as always...Now I just need to figure out how to get my bassman to NJ so that you can work on it-for some reason I think it is going to be a little while before I turn it on.

I know it's my fault, I'm one of the worst enablers around!

[mr rhys]

The presets do sound crap when you first play through the 11r, after finding out what songs and artists/bands they were modeled after they do come very close to the tunes they are emulating, seriously, I would recommend anyone give them a try.

[Axe-Man]

Originally Posted by mr rhys

The presets do sound crap when you first play through the 11r, after finding out what songs and artists/bands they were modeled after they do come very close to the tunes they are emulating, seriously, I would recommend anyone give them a try.

When I got my 11R I only liked a couple of stock presets (fat cat was great) but I quickly moved on to my own and those from elevenrackpresets. I retested them recently and found a few really cool tones. Subway god with some amp adjustments, screamer and a different cab/mic arrangement sounds fantastic and with some major tweaking I found the most amazing high gain SLO sound.

I even used the stock recto patch (with some quick though noticable adjustments for EQ etc) when I compared the 11R with a Dual Recto recently and it sounded convincing. Though it also demonstrated that I don't actually like Recto's as the Mesa Mk II patch made the Recto sound like a vintage high gainer and that was curtains for my now ex recto.