Headrush FRFR-112 Powered Monitor
105
november 2018 Guitarist
reviewLine 6 Powercab 112 Plus & HeadRusH FrFr-112 Line 6 Powercab 112 Plus & HeadRusH FrFr-112
Line 6 and the FRFR-112 from relative
newcomers HeadRush.
Now teamed with industry-giant Yamaha,
at first glance Line 6’s Powercab Plus looks
like a conventional boutique guitar combo,
with a smart grille cloth and distinctive
cabinetry featuring a one-piece plywood
back and sides. There are also generously
curved rear corners and recessed kick-
back feet. A small top-facing control panel
features two knobs, two buttons and a slim
LCD display. The rear panel gives the game
away that the Powercab Plus is anything
but conventional, with a comprehensive
range of connectors including main and aux
inputs on combi jack/XLR sockets, digital
AES/L6 Link in/outs, a balanced XLR main
output with a ground lift and low cut, MIDI
in and out/thru and a USB connector.
Behind the grille cloth, there’s a unique
dual-concentric 12-inch loudspeaker and
HF driver in a front-ported enclosure,
driven by a power amp producing up to
250 watts peak. According to Line 6, this
will deliver 125dB SPL at 1m, which is more
than loud enough for the average gig. The
Powercab Plus’s digital features include
speaker modelling, using newly developed
Line 6 technology to reproduce the
characteristics of six popular loudspeakers,
including Celestion’s Vintage 30, Alnico
Blue, Greenback and Creamback alongside
Jensen’s P12Q and Eminence’s ‘Swamp
Thang’. There’s also a HF defeat, which
turns off the compression driver for a more
traditional guitar speaker response, and a
Flat setting that takes out the modelling and
IR responses, turning the Powercab Plus
into a full range PA-style monitor.
HeadRush’s FRFR looks more like
a conventional modern PA speaker,
with separate 12-inch and horn-loaded
compression drivers in a practically
indestructible polypropylene wedge casing
that can sit on the floor or be pole-mounted.
On the rear panel there’s a pair of inputs
on combi XLR/jack sockets with separate
volume controls, and a single XLR output
for connection to a PA or another FRFR,
with ground lift and EQ contour switches.
Basic fare maybe, but everything you
need to amplify your cabinet and speaker
models is here. Most importantly, inside
the enclosure there’s a chunky power
amp capable of producing a whopping
2,000 watts at peak or around 1,000 watts
continuous. Whichever rating you choose,
that’s ample power for any venue, with
headroom to carry over every nuance of
Line 6’s Powercab
Plus scores well on
the tone front, with
an authentic ‘real
amp’ sound
1. The ring around the
Edit knob can be
programmed to light up
in different colours, so
you can see at a glance
which preset is in use
2. USB connects the
Powercab to a PC for
editing with the software
app. You can also record
and play back sound
through it
3. The Powercab Plus
has AES/EBU/Line 6
Link digital inputs and
outputs, which mean
the sound can stay
in the digital domain
right up until it hits
the loudspeaker, for
maximum clarity and
zero latency
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GIT439.rev_l6_hr_cabs.indd 105 03/10/2018 16:27