LFSys Monaco and Silverstone 12” FRFR Cabs - Excellent! A review

[funkle]

Hello all 

 

Let me preface this review by saying I really have no need of buying a different type of cabinet to these. They are really excellent cabs. I might mess with effects more or amp heads more, but no change needed for cabinets for me. 
 

You can see the specs of the cabs here -   
https://www.lfsys.co.uk
 

The Silverstone

 

You may recall Stevie, the maker of LFSys cabinets, sending out flat packs for a semi-DIY kit for a brilliant 12” cab a few years back. I documented my build here - https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/347017-stevie’s-12”-frfr-cab-build-thread-basschat-cab-v3 . 
 

This cabinet has served me well since 2019 for all sorts of gigs/bands/rehearsals and I have never felt the need of a second cab for volume. 
 

Stevie sent me an upgrade kit for the cab to upgrade the crossover and horn even further, and this turned the cabinet into his Silverstone model (albeit with my paint work and aesthetics).  Here’s what it looks like without the grille on. 
 

 

All I can say is, this upgrade took an excellent cabinet and made it even better. The highs are now somehow even sweeter, the mids speak more clearly towards the upper mids, and it remains as light and easily handled as ever. The bass end is unchanged, but I was always happy with this. What goes in sounds like what comes out, every bass and effect speaks clearly, with little colouration. I do run a HPF to maximise efficiency of the driver, but I’ve never run out of volume…
 

When paired with my old GK MB800 or my new to me Berg B Amp mk1, it’s very loud and I’ve always felt myself to be heard clearly standing above the cab or standing far from it. This is with keys, drummers, horns, guitar, what have you. It’s just plain great. My only ask would be for a small 10” version to see if I can get away with an even smaller woofer. Lol. 

 

The Monaco
 

All that said. The Monaco that Stevie kindly sent me to test out takes everything I like about the Silverstone

and kicks it one notch higher, though it weighs more. 

 

The highs and mids sound the same to me. However the low end is tighter and just sounds really well formed and not boomy without needing any EQ. Stevie tells me there is a response in the low end slightly more like a sealed cabinet, and I love it. If I didn’t already own a Sliverstone, I would definitely buy this cabinet as my ‘ultimate’ cabinet. What goes in is what comes out, same as the Silverstone, and it sounds brilliant. It did great at the rehearsal I took it too in a confined and very loud little space where I was literally standing right in front of it. 
 

It does weigh a few lbs more than the Silverstone I have - just over 30 lbs. I understand this is because the woofer is even better quality and better power handling than the one I have in the Silverstone. 
 

I have said to Stevie that I plan to buy the first of his 10” cabs that he makes with these horns/compression drivers. (As long as they sound like either of the 12” versions!! He has promised this already, lol.) I think they sound fantastic; for the 12” variants I really don’t think you can go wrong with either option. I would stretch to the Monaco if I didn’t already have the Sliverstone, I do like the  slightly tighter low end though it’s not a deal breaker. 
 

If you’re already running a 1x12 non FRFR setup this is a big upgrade. If you’re running a 2x12 of low quality, it might do with one cab what you need 2 to do presently.  If you’re running a high quality 2x12, you’re likely to get less volume but a better sound, as the horn and compression driver are expensive and the crossover is smooth. If you’re running a Barefaced Big Baby cab, this would be a smaller cab delivering slightly less max volume but in a very appealing form factor, and with a horn that I prefer to the Big Baby. 

We live in a great era to be a bass player. I eagerly await the 10” LFSys cab…

Pete
 

 

Edited March 1, 2023 by funkle

[tubbybloke68]

I’m really looking forward to seeing the 10 inch cabs too! Great stuff x

[spyder]

9 hours ago, tubbybloke68 said:

I’m really looking forward to seeing the 10 inch cabs too! Great stuff x

Me too.

[Lozz196]

As much as I love my Ashdown set-up I`m slowly realising that my back is going to be making the choice on the gear I have moving forwards, have to say I think a Monaco might be the ideal cab for me going by the description of the sound, especially the tighter low end.

[funkle]

The Monaco is a cab with a premium price, no doubt, but I really loved the low end.…I think a lot of people will like it.
 

Stevie has done a great job with these cabs. I’m glad we have UK talent we can buy from!

[Phil Starr]

On 01/03/2023 at 12:42, funkle said:

They are really excellent cabs. I might mess with effects more or amp heads more, but no change needed for cabinets for me. 

 

That's interesting as it reflects my own experience with the Silverstone, I've stopped worrying about the cab and moved on to worrying about my sound and my playing. The speaker is so honest that turning up the mids boosts the mids rather than just compensating for a lump or dip in the speaker's response. Hearing yourself clearly tightens up your playing, I'm wanting to work harder at damping my strings which I tended to let ring when it was all a bass mush behind me. I've also started to explore my Zoom a bit more as any changes are immediately clear in their effects so it is much more rewarding.

 

[funkle]

It’s like playing through a PA speaker or a good studio monitor. That can be quite unforgiving though, so I feel like you do need to be a better player and know how to EQ..

[stevie]

On 02/03/2023 at 11:46, Lozz196 said:

As much as I love my Ashdown set-up I`m slowly realising that my back is going to be making the choice on the gear I have moving forwards, have to say I think a Monaco might be the ideal cab for me going by the description of the sound, especially the tighter low end.

 

@Lozz196, there's a demo Monaco currently doing a tour of the country. If you'd like to be put on the list, just send me a pm and I'll arrange it.

[mcnach]

I'll take the opportunity to add my thoughts here about this LFSys Monaco cab, which I had a chance to try recenty (thank you @stevie and @funkle )

 

At the moment I am mostly using a Mesa D800+ with one/twoBarefaced Two10. Those are very coloured cabs by design, so not really useful to compare them in any way, except to say that one thing I loved about the Two10 cabs were the low end: it felt tight, fat, but always very manageable. I felt the same way about the Monaco. It can produce a lot of lows, but I found it very easy to tweak my amp to get exactly what I wanted. 

 

My first impressions, at home, were very good. I'm not a huge fan of the Tuffcab style finish in general, but it's an easy to maintain finish and when applied well it can look very good, as in this case. It's light and easy to carry. I really liked that kind of recessed handle, and being at the top given the shape/dimensions. 

 

At home it sounded very good very easily. I found my amp controls felt a bit more responsive towards the high mids and treble, no doubt because my usual cabs roll off treble at around 6-7 kHz. It was the low end and low mids that made me nod with a smile. Between the tight low end of the cab and my using the HPF and bass boost on the amp together it just sounded really nice. But in general I find it easy to make things sound nice at home, at lower volumes and in a room that absorbs a lot of the sound reflections.

 

Then I had a chance to take it with me to a rehearsal with an old Rage Against The Machine cover/tribute band, so not particularly quiet, clean and dirty sounds, various FX, fingerstyle, some slap... 

We were in a prety good sized rehearsal room, as I wanted to walk around a bit and hear differences with position etc. They have an Ashdown RB800 with a 410. I brought the Mesa D800+ paired with the Monaco for comparison.

 

This thing can get pretty loud!

I can't tell exactly how loud because I didn't feel comfortable pushing things to extremes when the cab doesn't belong to me, but I was appropriately loud for a rehearsal with this kind of band. The 410 has more apparent low end, call it 'heft' if you like, but you can turn up the bass knob a bit and the cab responds well. I don't expect a single 112 to 'compete' in that sense with a 410. I used to use a pair of Barefaced BB2 years ago, similar story there (although I did have trouble controlling the low end on those sometimes): one cab is a good portable solution but I'd want a pair for playing in a bar without PA support, for example.

Getting the right sounds was just as easy as it was at home. The volume was more than adequate for a rehearsal room. The thing that was outstanding, especially when being able to compare side by side against the 410, was the dispersion. At first I was standing close to it, a bit to the side and in front. I walked around and it was pretty uniform, with some variations as expected but I had to get nearly to the side of the speaker before the all important midrange dropped too much. This was with the cab on the floor as well. The 410, by comparison, is a nightmare: get the right balance at around 30 degrees, and you're sounding too middy in front and lacking lows. That's how 410s tend to be, some better some worse, I didnt think the Ashdown was particularly bad in that respect, very average. The Monaco would be a great stage monitor where others on stage can also get a very decent bass sound, and very good too in a rehearsal room.

 

Another thing I did was play with modellers a little bit. I had recently bought a Zoom B6, as I often play with different people and need different effects and I don't want to be reassembling my main pedalboard every time. It worked well. I don't know how close various models are to the originals, but I got good sounds. However I don't like speaker emulations for bass unless I'm having some seriously overdriven sounds, in fact, even when recording I really like the sounds I get pretty much direct to desk with some compression and perhaps EQ/LPF/HPF. Where I find modellers a lot more useful is for guitar, and there's this new project I'm taking part in where I play a bit of guitar too.

So, how will the Monaco work with guitar modelling? 

 

My needs for guitar are not very sophisticated, generally. I had a few valve amps over the years, including beasts like a Laney VC50, or sweet little nothings like a Fender VibroChamp from the 70s... and I'm not going back. Having a single solution for bass and guitar looks very attractive to me, especially if this project takes off.

I started with my old trusty Behringer V-Amp2 that I bought in 2001. Those days I was heavily into guitar and finally these units started to appear that allowed you to get a decent overdriven guitar sound on tape at home. I checked the POD, the J-Station, some VOX thingy, I even had a Boss GX-700, but the Behringer just did what I wanted more easily.

Things have moved since.

The V-Amp sounded ok, but just ok. But that's just how the V-Amp sounds  So I went and fished out my little NUX Amplug thingy, which has some really good on-the-verge-of-breakup type of sounds with a Telecaster. That was already so much better. 

I've ended up buying a Valeton GP-200 for guitar. It's a 'budget-conscious' unit, but it still sounds a lot better than the V-Amp  and I found it to be the most logically designed (or at least with the interface designer that thought most like me!) and the sounds were more than good enough, especially the amp/speaker models.

 

The Valeton GP-200 into the aux input of the D800+ (so used just as a power amp), and through the Monaco cab sounded pretty good. I don't think I would say it compares favourably to a very nice guitar amp, but the emulations sound good enough as they are through the Monaco. A little time tweaking things further would definitely get me much closer. I had a friend coming over one evening for a bit with his Fender Blues Jr. I like the cleans on that amp in particular. My 'interpretation' on the Valeton was good, but felt lacking something when compared to the real thing, but a little tweaking the EQ got me much better results. I think with these units you get used to their ultra processed presets and you end up creating patches that lack the raw punch I'm wanting. But it's there, you just need to play with the controls. And the Monaco sounded very good. This was just done quickly, we probably spent about an hour in total checking a lot of things out. My friend also uses a Line6 Helix, from which he gets amazing sounds directly into studio monitors. He also said he spent a lot of time until he got the sounds he wanted, and that initially it also felt a bit lacking. I'm not saying this to imply my lowly GP-200 is as good as a Helix, just saying that tweaking is probably necessary to get the best out of these units, with your own specific equipment, and that if the GP-200 gives me sounds I'd happily use live with the Monaco, a better modeller/user combination probably will be even happier

 

I really liked the Monaco. It's very light, nice shape/size factor, well positioned recessed handle... it's got a very bassist-friendly tone, in that the 'default' low end is very present but tight... but it's definitely closer to the response of a good studio monitor than a typical coloured bass cab, which is a nice thing if you'd like to use it with other sources, like keys or guitar. 

 

Much like Pete, I find that I would be very happy with a pair of these as 'my cabs'. However, I'm also very happy with what I'm currently using so I don't plan to change, but if I did I would definitely consider one or two of these. I loved how it worked with guitar, but a 600W capable speaker is probably overkill for my needs... however, hearing about a possible 10" speaker in the future of LFSys, I'll definitely be watching with interest. If it sounds anything like the Monaco, in a smaller more portable package, it could be the perfect cab for those who want something they can play anything through.

 

@stevie Thank you for letting me try this cab  and apologies for taking so long before I put my thoughts in writing. 

@funkle Great to meet you in person and all the chat 

 

 

[NHM]

I've just had the Monaco cab on the last leg of its UK tour.

 

For most of the gigs my band does, our instruments do not go into the PA - so a great onstage sound quality is essential. We're a blues-rock four piece, and my regular gigging rig is a Fender Bassman 500 into a Fender Neo 1x15. The only pedal I use is an always-on HPF. I didn't gig the Monaco while I had it on trial but did run it at gig volume for a three hour rehearsal.

 

While I'm very happy with my Fender rig as it sounds and looks great, when the opportunity came to try something different / state-of-the-art I was very interested to explore possible differences. And differ it did, the Bassman through the Monaco was different to the Neo - cleaner, smoother and more even through the frequencies, and very articulate/sensitive, with the amp on the 'vintage' channel and eq set flat. Tweeking the eq from flat as the rehearsal progressed, I ended up with only a very slight bass boost, mid and treble staying flat. Hearing my sound through a neutral speaker made me think the Bassman is a really great amp, it pushes out such a lovely, warm & laid back sound. It was an interesting experiment to pair it with a very high quality 'neutral / reference' speaker, so the 'sound' only is created by the bass, my technique & the amp. One less item in the chain to contribute to confusing differences! In fact, it made me think what role a cab plays in creating a manufacturers' 'signature sound'?

 

If I was in the market to downsize my gear I would definitely consider getting a Monaco. But I like the physical appearance of Fender gear (does any manufacturer's kit look better?), I think it is important how the stage looks and Fender gear has real presence. I'd say the Monaco sounds close to perfect, meaning to me that it pumps out pure, even and uncoloured sound, and should be a perfect platform to shape your sound to your spec with the amp and pedals if the natural character of the intended cab is not doing it. Also, it is a one-hand lift and I don't think you'd need a second cab for the average pub gig as it seemed to handle volume OK, so two more plusses there.

 

I think it has been a great idea from the company to let a cab do the rounds on trial and I hope they get good publicity and sales as a result.

[Pirellithecat]

Stephen from LFSys arranged for me to try out one of his LfSys Monaco speakers, so here’s a rather belated review.

 

The Monaco at home and directly compared to my Mesa Subway Ultralite 12 using an Ashdown ABM 600 Evo IV and a Genzler Magellan 800. 

Basses were passive P Bass with TI Flats AND A Sandberg California VM4 with D’addario NYXL’s. 

 

Tried out in a 4m x 4m room with solid walls, an acoustically treated wooden floor with a large central carpet square.

The speakers were positioned side by side in free space (Mesa “Portrait orientation” to better match Monaco).

 

I found the following;

1)         Mesa noticeably quieter than Monaco

2)         Monaco more bass presence and punch than Mesa

3)         Mesa more mid-range presence than Monaco

4)         Monaco had better note definition in the low ranges -particularly up to 5th fret on E and A strings (using flat EQ settings on both speakers)

5)         Slight upper mid-range emphasis with the Mesa but not with the Monaco

6)         The Monaco seems to have slightly less forward mid-range than the Mesa.

7)         Via The Monaco the Sandberg’s mid frequency “honk” is tamed a little, making it sound a little more P-Bass-like - but much clearer

😎         The Mesa is brighter and more mid-range focussed - the Sandberg mid-range “Honk” is back when using the Mesa.

9)         The Monaco has a fuller bass response than the Mesa

10)       Putting the Monaco on the small tilt stand makes only minor differences to the sound – a little clearer perhaps but nothing significant.

11)       The Mesa benefits from being on the small tilt stand which tightens up the bass and makes everything easier to hear.  

12)       The Sandberg has roundwound strings so there some string noise BUT this is present to the same extent with both speakers.

 

I like the size, and the light weight  - very handy and manoeuvrable.  The Monaco seems well built and the top handle does NOT get in the way of the Genzler nor the Ashdown (which overlaps the speaker but the feet locate on the top of the Monaco so no problem). 

 

Nice Speaker and at home, if I had to choose between them for a “complete” home speaker the Monaco would win.

 

Part 2 - The Monaco at a 3hour rehearsal.  

We are a loud 4 piece, and a single Monaco was used to replace a 2xVanderkley EXT112 stack. In this context the Monaco was insufficiently loud and I didn’t feel sufficiently bold to crank it to excessive levels on the amp which was being presented with an 8 Ohm load rather than the 4Ohm Vanderkley stack.  

However, despite the lack of that familiar bass “hit” associated with the inability to hear what I’m actually playing, the opposite seems to be the case with the Monaco.  Less trouser flap but more information about which notes are being played.  Very odd, but good!   

 

After an hour, I added one of my Vanderley EXT 112's (set up beneath the Monaco). This combination sounded great.  Very full and certainly "better" than 2 VDK EXT 112’s.   Very punchy and very easy to hear without being "in yer face" - a kind of magical property and somehow the opposite of what I usually find i.e. I'm plenty loud enough in the mix, but I can't hear what I'm playing!  There was very good sound dispersion around the rehearsal space - I could hear what I was doing throughout the room which is not the case when using the Vanderkleys alone – where off axis and relatively close to the speaker there is a noticeable decline in volume.  I haven't compared the Mesa's directly in this regard, but I have noticed a similar property in the past, so I'd be confident that the same would hold true. 

 

For context

I had a Barefaced Big Baby 2 a few years back and, from memory, I’d say the Monaco is a more coherent speaker with a “better” low frequency response.   Certainly, in terms of hearing more of what’s being played, the Monaco seems noticeably better.    

As per the Monaco, a single BB2 was not loud enough, so I used it in the same way as the Monaco, - a single VDK with BB2 on top.   This combination was OK, but not better than 2 VDKs.  So going for 2 BB2’s to replace the 2 Vanderkleys would probably not have been a worthwhile (or inexpensive) move.  

I prefer the overall sound of the Monaco to the BB2 as the former produces a surprisingly punchy bass for its size without being “boomy”.  It is a more articulate and coherent speaker - you can really hear what you're doing.

 

I suspect that the design really does pay dividends in terms of hearing what is being played, and, in moderately loud bands (particularly with PA support in bigger venues) I’d say that a single Monaco would be more likely to be used successfully than a single BB2, VDK EXT 112 or a Mesa Subway Lite 1x12.  In a louder setting, I think two Monaco’s might be needed.

Overall, the Monaco is a great moderately sized speaker.  It’s very even across the frequencies, it’s punchy and it really is easy to hear what you’re playing, whether standing right in front of it or at some distance.  It has a fuller sound than the Mesa 12inch and I strongly prefer it to a BB2.  It’s light, easy to shift and well designed and built. 

 

So, big “thank you” to Stephen and LFSys and I hope business (and its growing range) gets the success it deserves and I’m sorry I took so long to produce this review!!

[tubbybloke68]

Any news on the 10” cabs yet please? 

[Phil Starr]

I think it's okay for me to say there are rumblings about an imminent release. @steviewill doubtless be along but I'm expecting to hear the first one within a couple of weeks. Not sure if that is a late prototype or the first production model but I'm really looking forward to hearing it

[stevie]

Thanks for the interest, @tubbybloke68. @Phil Starr's right - I'm fitting out the first couple of production models as we speak. The design is a more compact version of the Monaco, using the same CD horn/neo compression driver combo and the 10" equivalent of the bass driver. Genuine 600W AES (max. 1200W) thermal power handling. Like the Monaco, the low end has been tailored to go deep while preventing boom even at high SPLs. Full two-way crossover at 2kHz with HF protection. Weighs just under 11kg and kicks like a mule.

 

I'll announce availability on here as soon as I have sorted the photography. Any questions, please ask.

[BassAdder60]

Anyone tried a Tonehammer 700 amp on top of the Monaco cab ? 
 

Does the handle get in the way at all ? 

[Downunderwonder]

Of all the reasons to choose or not choose a cab, whether the amp fits on top is way below the colour. Fit some feet cups or taller feet on your amp if there's a problem.

[Phil Starr]

19 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Anyone tried a Tonehammer 700 amp on top of the Monaco cab ? 
 

Does the handle get in the way at all ? 

The only amp I’ve tried where that is a problem is the Warwick Gnome which really is tiny. I’m away from home so I can’t measure but I’m sure @stevie will be along

[stevie]

After a brief visit back home to be checked out, the Monaco demo cab is out and about again. It's currently on its way to Manchester. So if any players in the north west fancy a blast, please get in touch and I'll arrange it.