I've been using the Fly Rig 5 on a regular basis for a few weeks now and thought I'd do just a little review.
The basic takeaway message: This thing is GREAT! Great tone and "feel". I do not miss hauling an amp to rehearsal every week.
Primary uses: I use the Fly Rig as my main amp for rehearsals, and I've used it at one open mic. I also use it nearly every day plugged into my computer to practice and record.
My bass player has a small PA where we practice and I just plug the FR5 directly into one of the channels on the mixer and am good to go. Levels are quick and easy to set. The Sansamp section of the FR5 has built in speaker simulation, so it sounds and feels like you are playing through an actual amp...a nice tube amp.
The other day we rehearsed on stage at a venue and I didn't have a 1/4" to male XLR to plug into the snake, so I used a direct box and that worked fine, too. We had stage monitors, which you would more than likely need for a regular gig with just the FR5. Otherwise, you might have trouble hearing yourself, obviously.
For the open mic I used the FR5 into a tiny little solid state power amp http://musicpcb.com/product/tiny-giant-amp-components-kit-only/ I built, which was driving a 1x12 speaker cab that I use in my shop. The little power amp was PLENTY loud enough for the open mic, and is tonally transparent, which lets the great tone of the FR5 to shine through.
I have used this unit with a OCD and phaser pedal in front of it. The OCD is redundant, as the Plexi part of the FR5 is a great dirt box. The phaser works and sounds as it should.
For home practice using the computer, I plug the FR5 into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. Setting the levels is a little tricky, as the FR5 easily overdrives the 2i2, so you have to balance everything out just right, and change the settings depending on what you are practicing along with. This is not an issue when making recordings. The manual says you can plug the FR5 right into your sound card, you just have to have the proper cable, I guess. I'm not an expert on this. For me, the FR5 works & sounds better than digital units I've used in the past for home recording/practice. It's just easier for me to grasp as it has knobs laid out like an amp and pedals, rather than menus and whatnot.
The unit is VERY quiet as well.
Tone: I play mostly with a clean tone, and occasionally with a little grit. The FR5 works very well for this. The built in boost is great for bumping the volume on clean toned solo. The plexi pedal adds a nice grind. I haven't ran everything full up, so I can't say for sure how the unit will do for high gain stuff, but for classic rock/blues, the plexi pedal is great. As mentioned above, the "HOT" boost is just a really nice clean boost.
The reverb is good, and was a big selling point for me. The delay is really nice, too. I LOVE tap tempo. Never had that on other delays, so this feature is new to me and I love it. Both reverb and delay are digital, but are run in parallel to the analog guitar signal. Take this however you want, but I like the idea of my guitar signal staying "non-digitized" all the way to the end.
In my search for lightweight tube amp alternatives, I have tried a bunch of solid state (and some digital) stuff over the years, and I'd say without a doubt that this is the most tube-like device I've tried so far. It's got a lot of the feel of a tube amp, as well as the tone.
Soundclips: I've posted these before, but they're all I got at the moment:
The basic takeaway message: This thing is GREAT! Great tone and "feel". I do not miss hauling an amp to rehearsal every week.
Primary uses: I use the Fly Rig as my main amp for rehearsals, and I've used it at one open mic. I also use it nearly every day plugged into my computer to practice and record.
My bass player has a small PA where we practice and I just plug the FR5 directly into one of the channels on the mixer and am good to go. Levels are quick and easy to set. The Sansamp section of the FR5 has built in speaker simulation, so it sounds and feels like you are playing through an actual amp...a nice tube amp.
The other day we rehearsed on stage at a venue and I didn't have a 1/4" to male XLR to plug into the snake, so I used a direct box and that worked fine, too. We had stage monitors, which you would more than likely need for a regular gig with just the FR5. Otherwise, you might have trouble hearing yourself, obviously.
For the open mic I used the FR5 into a tiny little solid state power amp http://musicpcb.com/product/tiny-giant-amp-components-kit-only/ I built, which was driving a 1x12 speaker cab that I use in my shop. The little power amp was PLENTY loud enough for the open mic, and is tonally transparent, which lets the great tone of the FR5 to shine through.
I have used this unit with a OCD and phaser pedal in front of it. The OCD is redundant, as the Plexi part of the FR5 is a great dirt box. The phaser works and sounds as it should.
For home practice using the computer, I plug the FR5 into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface. Setting the levels is a little tricky, as the FR5 easily overdrives the 2i2, so you have to balance everything out just right, and change the settings depending on what you are practicing along with. This is not an issue when making recordings. The manual says you can plug the FR5 right into your sound card, you just have to have the proper cable, I guess. I'm not an expert on this. For me, the FR5 works & sounds better than digital units I've used in the past for home recording/practice. It's just easier for me to grasp as it has knobs laid out like an amp and pedals, rather than menus and whatnot.
The unit is VERY quiet as well.
Tone: I play mostly with a clean tone, and occasionally with a little grit. The FR5 works very well for this. The built in boost is great for bumping the volume on clean toned solo. The plexi pedal adds a nice grind. I haven't ran everything full up, so I can't say for sure how the unit will do for high gain stuff, but for classic rock/blues, the plexi pedal is great. As mentioned above, the "HOT" boost is just a really nice clean boost.
The reverb is good, and was a big selling point for me. The delay is really nice, too. I LOVE tap tempo. Never had that on other delays, so this feature is new to me and I love it. Both reverb and delay are digital, but are run in parallel to the analog guitar signal. Take this however you want, but I like the idea of my guitar signal staying "non-digitized" all the way to the end.
In my search for lightweight tube amp alternatives, I have tried a bunch of solid state (and some digital) stuff over the years, and I'd say without a doubt that this is the most tube-like device I've tried so far. It's got a lot of the feel of a tube amp, as well as the tone.
Soundclips: I've posted these before, but they're all I got at the moment:
