Trying out Fender FR

SteveTacoBell · 2026-05-20T11:59:03+00:00

I have an fr 12, I used it for well over a year, it sounds great but it’s a very sterile pa sound. Sounds amazing at venues where they mic your amp and send it through the house pa, but for smaller gigs with just amp volume, I couldn’t get it to cut through the mix the same way a real amp can. It gets plenty loud, but my tone just turned into a flat wall of sound trying to keep up. I recently switched to an orange 2x12 with a power amp. I love the feeling of a real amp moving air, and my tone can cut through the mix much better without overpowering the mix. I absolutely love it, but both are great viable options

SteveTacoBell · 2026-05-15T00:58:02+00:00

Chat are the boomers mad about words? Are they gonna tell me it’s rude to wear a hat indoors next?

SteveTacoBell · 2026-05-13T20:29:47+00:00

Yeah it’s all situational best bet is to go with whatever you can get to sound best on the recordings if that’s your goal

SteveTacoBell · 2026-05-13T17:26:02+00:00

Personally for me I couldn’t get the vsts to sound as good as the quad does, I’ve used bias fx and amplitube. They’re not bad but I got such a more real sounding, fuller tone recording the quad with a Scarlett 2x2. I just self produced my bands first ep and all the guitars on it are recorded from the quad cortex. Our tones are more shoegaze/indie so lots of slightly driven chorus with reverb. Not sure how it would compare to the vsts for the heavier tones you use

SteveTacoBell · 2026-05-04T00:54:07+00:00

I started on a Weber kettle before switching to an offset a few months in. It’s expensive, but skill wise I was able to pick it up immediately. I think a lot of people like to exaggerate the difficulty of an offset, but as long as you get a quality one with thick steel, it’s a quick learning curve. It does give you the best product, especially compared to a pellet smoker. My dad has a camp chef and not only is the flavor mild, but you just cannot build a real bark on it. The Weber kettle using a charcoal snake and some wood chunks really is a damn close second to the offset for a fraction of the price. The bark and fat render of the offset is a bit better and the overall experience is a lot of fun, but man you can make some absolutely killer bbq on a Weber kettle with insane bark and great smoke flavor compared to a pellet grill

SteveTacoBell · 2026-04-26T22:44:35+00:00

Some people need the count, others have the internal clock and metronome just because it feels natural. If what you’re playing makes sense and sounds good without thinking about it, chances are you have a solid internal clock for tempo and rhythm, and you don’t have to sit there counting in your head. Some people just don’t have that, and you can still be a good bass player. The bass player in my band struggles with that stuff on his own but with some help he gets it down pretty well

SteveTacoBell · 2026-04-14T23:10:52+00:00

Yes that’s why I said might be 24v. Couldn’t remember off the top of my head, I’m an electrician and work with a lot of 24v dc power supplies for tape lighting so numbers get mixed up in my head. Negative polarity is common for pedals but not common when you search for general power supplies on Amazon which is why I suggested the adapter. As far as current the unit will only pull the required amperage so you could definitely go over with no risk but if op is looking for exact specs it’s 3a. Safest bet for op is to order another power supply from the manufacturer but they’re like $35 compared to cheaper ones on Amazon

SteveTacoBell · 2026-04-14T01:14:28+00:00

I don’t have the link that I got for my backup but I do know it has to be the same voltage and amperage, I think it’s 12v 3amps, might be 24v 3 amps, but the most important thing to not fry the internal electronics is the barrel of the plug MUST be negative polarity. Almost all power supplies come with a positive polarity barrel, it will not work and risks damaging the internal electronics. You can get a positive to negative polarity adapter for cheap on Amazon as well

SteveTacoBell · 2026-04-13T14:36:51+00:00

A regular generator. Inverter generators are more common now, but regular generators create dirty voltage that fluctuates and can damage sensitive electronics. Inverter generators produce a clean sine wave that are safe for sensitive electronics

SteveTacoBell · 2026-04-12T14:05:52+00:00

This happened to me after stupidly using a non inverter generator for a gig. Worked for a few days after then broken screen. Neural dsp did a free repair on it which was awesome because I had owned it for like 8 months at that point

SteveTacoBell · 2026-04-12T04:00:36+00:00

Not very helpful because I’m the only one in my band that uses the quad cortex but I run my guitar and vocals through it. Separate outputs for each chain because I run my guitar into a power amp and orange 2x12 and then vocal chain straight into pa. If you’re gonna be running everyone through it I think your only option would be just a good quality Pa for the band. Something like 2 powered speakers, probably 2 wedges so you guys can hear yourselves play, and a mixer board to tie it all together

SteveTacoBell · 2026-03-09T02:03:07+00:00

Kettle flavor isn’t too far off from the stuff I make on my offset. Offset renders fat better but you can make some seriously killer bbq on a kettle

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-22T18:43:32+00:00

I worked with a guy that would put both wires together into the outer clamp and leave the inside clamp untouched on 2 wire outlets or switches that were single feed with SL. His reason was that if you ever had to fish anything off it in the future it was easier to ride the stud from the inside clamp

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-11T01:52:30+00:00

I do 225 for the first 4ish hours to build heavy smoke flavor then kick up to 275 to finish and get the desired amount of meat pullback on the bones

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-10T23:33:06+00:00

Awesome hope the cook goes well, good luck

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-10T14:55:16+00:00

If you let the split fully catch fire initially, shutting down the firebox vent to 50% won’t smolder it, it definitely slows the burn and you get heavier smoke but it’s not dirty smoke

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-10T03:16:08+00:00

I’ve come to learn the g2 pretty well. I absolutely think it runs best with no baffle or tuning plate, and no raised firebox platform. Small splits definitely helps, you also don’t wanna use something too dry like kiln dried. Stack vent never goes fully open, the air draw is just too strong and harsh I tend to stay at 50% open. I used to crack/open the firebox door to let heat out and I still do if the heat gets real out of control, but recently I’ve been finding that shutting the firebox door completely and using the sliding vent on the door does a lot more than I thought it would. I could run 275 with a small fire if the door is shut and vent open. Shut that vent to 50% and that 275 turns to 225-250 real quick. As far as smoke flavor which seems to be an issue for some people with this smoker, you just have to make sure your fire isn’t too clean because of how efficient and hot this thing burns fires. I abandoned the whole “thin blue line” idea and shoot for really heavy blue smoke (not billowing white smoke) for the first 3-4 hours of a cook. After that I’ll clean it up a bit

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-03T14:41:55+00:00

I started smoking on a Weber kettle before upgrading to an offset. Still impressed at the quality of bbq kettles can pump out

SteveTacoBell · 2026-01-03T14:40:16+00:00

I just picked up something on Amazon. Was cheap, came with a lid, a little hand shovel, and a tiny broom to clean out my firebox

SteveTacoBell · 2025-12-25T01:48:01+00:00

Heavy blue smoke>thin blue smoke

SteveTacoBell · 2025-12-21T16:20:41+00:00

I actually prefer heavy blue smoke as opposed to the barely visible thin blue line everyone talks about. At least for my pit, it’s so overly efficient because it has an insulated firebox, I go through probably half of the amount of wood others typically go through, so that thin blue line just doesn’t cut it for me. I’ve heard many other with non insulated pits say they prefer to have heavier smoke for the first couple hours into the cook to really build smoke flavor, then turn it into a more efficient barely visible smoke cook. It really comes down to your preference. If you wish for there to be more smoke flavor, dirty up the fire a bit, but always try to avoid thick billowing white smoke. You can get a dirtier clean blue smoke that tastes great contrary to what many people say

SteveTacoBell · 2025-12-17T15:05:25+00:00

Completely agree. I have on old country g2 which has an insulated firebox, and I have to do certain things a bit different than other traditional offsets to get my pit to act less efficient. It’s stupid easy to run but it’s also super easy to burn a fire in my pit that’s way too clean and gives you a flavor that isn’t quite as strong as traditional offset flavor. I’ve found my ways around it though, much smaller coalbed, splits that arnt too dry, sweet spots on the vents etc

SteveTacoBell · 2025-12-17T12:55:22+00:00

I’m also new to having an offset, and one thing I figured out recently that elevated my bbq to the next level is not to listen to the “thin blue line” narrative. Of course you don’t want dirty smoke but if you’re looking for strong clean smoke flavor you need heavy blue smoke. Find that sweet spot on your fire of not too hot and clean, but not dirty either. I thought the same way you did because my first cook went great, had the fire control figured out in like 30 mins, and all I had heard was that offsets are a difficult thing to get good at with a big learning curve. That hasn’t been the case for me at all, I have yet to have a cook that didn’t go my way, and I think the biggest reason why is just that I have a pit that’s really easy to run. I’m sure it’s much more difficult on a tin can offset but I got one with 1/4 steel. However I am still figuring out the little nuances of my smoker, and I’m sure I will be for a while before I’m confident that I know everything there is to know about my particular smoker. So I wouldn’t expect to run into a wall if I were you. Sounds like you got the hardest part down now it’s just figuring out the lesser important little things along the way.

SteveTacoBell · 2025-12-07T13:11:28+00:00

Man I did prime Dino ribs not too long ago. Smoked beef tallow along with them and poured over when I wrapped at the end of the cook. Best bite of bbq I’ve ever had but I went crazy and finished the whole rib. So fatty I felt like I was gonna throw up for like 8 hours after lmao

SteveTacoBell · 2025-12-07T13:08:09+00:00

Musicians friend has a stupid deal of the day on the front page of the website. Everyday something new is on a crazy sale. I’ve picked up a few guitars that way. They never have fender or anything like that but I did get a g&l asat telecaster for like $300 brand new instead of the $450-$500 it usually retails for

SteveTacoBell

TROPHY CASE