LFSys Monza

[bussonetthebass]

Having auditioned the LFSys Monaco, Silverstone and the new 10" Monza with @Phil Starr and @stevie back in May I quickly decided to put my money on the Monza. It arrived about two weeks ago (my delay, not LFSys) and since then has had two outings. The first which was a full band rehearsal where I was so troubled with a noisy pedalboard I hardly paid any attention to the Monza. But last weekend I did my first gig in about five years with the Monza paired-up to my Gallien Krueger Legacy 500 at a small 'psychedelic' festival in a medium-sized marquee. 

I have to say the Monza was bloomin' great! In fact I think the sound on stage was so good I'm fairly sure the PA mix guy didn't use the DI feed I provided. I could hear myself pretty well throughout our 55 minute set, and although I didn't move far away from my spot on stage, whether I was facing forward, backwards or side-on I could hear clearly what I was doing. This hasn't always been the case in the past!

At the end of our set two of the stage PA guys (separately) approached me both congratulating me and the Monza for the fabulous bass sound. One of these guys had been sitting off stage at 90 degrees to my left whilst we played, and he said how great and 'flat' it sounded, which I take as a big compliment. Then, whilst I was packing my bass and pedalboard (because there was a rush to get the next band on) he asked me if he could carry the Monza off stage. I agreed, he picked it up expecting it to weigh so much more and immediately vocalised a 'f**k' about being totally amazed at how light it was. In fact he could hardly believe it!

I think that's a bit of a win-win-win for LFSys, the Monza and me.. Hooray!! Here's a pic.. spot the baby Monza!

[Gypsyfolk]

Kosfest???

[Phil Starr]

kozfest

 

[Chienmortbb]

Now I am fuming, I have been really trying hard NOT to add a Monza to my Monaco but you have to wax lyrical. I might as well just just two debit cards for my account and give one to LFSys. 
 

I am going to have to sell a lot of cables to make up for it or is there a section in For Sale for kidneys?

[Tradfusion]

I bought an LFSys Monza about a month ago based on the positive reviews here on BC and I haven't been disappointed! Its a really nicely designed cab, only 11kg, looks great but more importantly sounds great too. really excellent full range performance from this 1x10, punchy and clean and with really nice sparkle from the horn with very little evidence of hiss etc. For a single 10 its a very loud cab and pairs up really well with my Quilter BB800 head. I have trialled it on several gigs as a replacement for my BF Supercompact and it has managed very well indeed for a 1x10 though the SC has more natural bottom end and a bit more general heft. I already own 2 Barefaced cabs, the Supercompact and a One10 and I love both cabs but sometimes missed the high end sparkle of a tweeter/horn. Naturally enough my next experiment was to pair the Monza with the BF cabs so on a dep gig with a fairly loud classic rock band I brought along my One10 and sat it on top of the Monza and suddenly the magic started to happen, that cab combination is nothing short of amazing, the warmer and naturally bassier One10 combined with the super clean and more hifi Monza seems to hit a sweet spot that to my ears gives me exactly the tones I am looking for from my basses. A mid punch and tight low end as well as a beautiful smooth top end sparkle. Perfect for what I do which is fingerstyle with a bit of slapping, mostly 70s and 80s covers etc... I have used this cab combination now on several gigs and have had many compliments on my tone so obviously something is right about it... I haven't gigged the Monza/Supercompact as a pairing yet but I have linked them at home and they sound fantastic together too so that will be my next experiment... 

 

All in all I highly recommend the Monza both as a standalone or combined with a BF One10 if you happen to have one and were thinking of adding a second or one of the newer One10t's... an LFSys Monza is definitely worth checking out and Steve the owner of the company is a great guy to deal with. Obviously there are thousands of cab and amp combinations that are possible, I just mention my own experience here based on an experiment that just worked extremely well and has without doubt made gigging more enjoyable as a result. 😊

[stevie]

Let's hope the "you must never mix cabs" brigade don't see this. 😊

[Phil Starr]

21 hours ago, stevie said:

Let's hope the "you must never mix cabs" brigade don't see this. 😊

 

Mixing cabs is a bit of auditory cookery really. You can put unusual ingredients into your cake and it might taste delicious and it might not be very nice. the only way to find out is to mix it up and taste it. In all probability your first attempt is less likely to be successful than following a recipe but there is also the possibility of a happy accident. in any case my taste is different from yours. I've never liked advice that is categorical and its the never part of mixing cabs that is the issue with that sort of advice. In this case you've cooked up a couple of ingredients you had in and the result is tasty. Why wouldn't you try it out?

Edited August 16, 2023 by Phil Starr

[bussonetthebass]

On 06/08/2023 at 21:55, Gypsyfolk said:

Kosfest???

Indeed.. The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet!

[Chienmortbb]

On 15/08/2023 at 21:39, Phil Starr said:

 

Mixing cabs is a bit of auditory cookery really. You can put unusual ingredients into your cake and it might taste delicious and it might not be very nice. the only way to find out is to mix it up and taste it. In all probability your first attempt is less likely to be successful than following a recipe but there is also the possibility of a happy accident. in any case my taste is different from yours. I've never liked advice that is categorical and its the never part of mixing cabs that is the issue with that sort of advice. In this case you've cooked up a couple of ingredients you had in and the result is tasty. Why wouldn't you try it out?

At the end of the day, if you have the cabs already, why not. The advice to avoid mixing sizes is a rule of thumb  and not cast in stone. I would not buy say a 15 to go with a 2x10 although at one time the received wisdom was that this was a good combination. However if you own a 2x10 and a 1x15 try it, what have you got to lose?

 

[Obrienp]

A little late and really first impressions but my NCD day was Tuesday when my Monza, plus cover arrived. Circumstances have conspired against me being able to put it through its paces but based on a few hours of use, I am very pleased with it.

 

First impressions: it’s a very good looking cab IMO. The grey finish makes it a bit different without being as in your face as an Orange cab. I like the steel grill and being able to see the woofer, compression driver and port. The handle is excellently placed and comfortable in the hand. It is recessed enough to allow the bottom of most heads to clear it: e.g. my MB LMIII but not my Warwick Gnome iPro (280 watt). The cover is exactly what I expect from an aftermarket cover manufacturer: tough cloth with proper padding, nicely fitted, with exactly the right positioning of the cut-out for the handle and a discreet LFSys logo. Size wise, it’s taller and broader than some other 10s, e.g. a BF One10 but similar in depth (if I recall my One10s correctly). It’s almost as wide as my Two10 but not as tall or deep.

 

OK; so how does it sound? Well everything others have said. You hear everything you put into it, which can be quite a shock, if like me you are used to cabs with a coloured tone. I tried it with my Warwick Gnome iPro first and thought that my basses had developed grounding issues. I also realised that the compressor in my Flyrig is quite noisy. Now the Gnome is quite an aggressive little amp and is sort of the antidote to the vintage tone of my BF Two10. I also had it EQd flat for this session. This created a rather nasty brittle top end and accentuated the high pitch buzzing. I just had time to try my LMIII next and that sounded much better. Much less high pitched hum and a quick tweak of the VLE showed that there is lots of potential to change tone characteristics.

 

The next session was a few days later with the benefit of a quick email exchange with Stevie and some thought. I went back to the Gnome but this time used my Boss wireless system instead of a lead. This made a really big difference to what I had thought were grounding issues. Perhaps the lead I had used previously was the culprit.  I also tweaked the bass up and mid and high down. This was a quite workable solution. Having sorted the noise I could start to appreciate what the cabinet has to offer. There is plenty of bottom end available and it’s distinct, not flabby. The mids and highs are very present. I then swapped to the LMIII and started to notice how every teak to the EQ settings is noticeable. You really do get out what you put in, including any fret rattle from poor technique.

 

Last off, I decided to annoy the cabinet police and put the Monza on top of my Two10 (switched to 12 ohms). This should give a 4ohms load (according to the BF tech advice). It wasn’t very successful. The Monza gets 2/3 of the power in this set up and the Two10 couldn’t be heard. I would need an amp capable of 2ohms to make this work. That way the Two10 would get 2/3 (switched to 4 ohms) and the Monza 1/3. I think that would be very interesting: loud and full range with a big bottom end. I can’t afford an EBS Reidmar (even less a Bergantino) for the foreseeable future, so I suspect I’m not going to get the chance to test that one!

 

Still on the messing around with different cab configurations, I tried the Monza as an auxiliary cab to my Peavey MiniMax  150 combo (12” speaker). Wow! I really didn’t expect this to work, especially as the Monza has to be alongside, as they won’t stack but it sounded really good. Very full and warm, with the Monza adding in the high mids and top end that is weak on the Peavey. 
 

I need to spend more time with the Monza but I am learning that getting the sound I want will require a little experimentation. I have the feeling that, whatever you need, it can give it. Provided you put the right source and EQ in, the Monza will deliver, whatever your tone and style. What you don’t get is a pre-determined tone. Next step is to try it at gigging volume. Early signs show it is loud and capable of taking a lot of bass without getting flustered.

Edited February 18 by Obrienp

[tubbybloke68]

I’ve not long taken delivery of 2x monzas from Steve.Decided a modular set up was best for me so I can utilise the full 4ohm of my tecamp puma 900 with the two when (if) needed. I’ve only used one at a rehearsal so far but first impressions are very very positive. The clarity is amazing ( I always prefer a clean sound anyway) and I found the bottom end nice and tight but certainly enough to not sound’thin’ at all. Gonna wait until they have some gigs under their belt before a proper review but very pleased so far. And the two together is very pleasant indeed but only had the chance to play them together at home and what with everything rattling it’s hard to get a proper’ idea if you know what I mean. I’ve put rubber feet on mine as I wasn’t happy that the way they stacked was stable enough.I’ve had six different BF cabs over the years that have served me brilliantly, but I think these bring something else to the table….x 

[Phil Starr]

22 hours ago, Obrienp said:

ow the Gnome is quite an aggressive little amp and is sort of the antidote to the vintage tone of my BF Two10. I also had it EQd flat for this session. This created a rather nasty brittle top end and accentuated the high pitch buzzing.

I'm not surprised you got this from the Gnome. I have one which I use with my LFSys Monaco which has a similar sound to the Monza. We actually measured the frequency response of the Gnome at the SW Bass Bash a couple of years agao and with the controls set to 12.00 they are a long way from flat. There's a pronounced mid scoop at 400 Hz, and the treble response is like the side of a hill agressively rising to way abve the upper frequencise of a bass, That will be boosting all the high frequency noise in your system and giving you the 'brittle' sound. Back the treble to around 9.00 o'clock and the treble resonse will be almost flat. Advance the mid control to 2.00 if you want to lose the scoop and 11.00 will flatten a little bass hump that exists.

 

I'm assuming that the treble boost baked into the Gnome is to give a sort of bright hi-fi sound out of speakers that don't have a horn. The Monza is just reproducing that honestly.

 

In fact re-eq everything and report back please. I haven't had the chance to try the Monza ( the only LFS that I haven't tried) and it does intrigue me.

[Obrienp]

6 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

.In fact re-eq everything and report back please. I haven't had the chance to try the Monza ( the only LFS that I haven't tried) and it does intrigue me.

Shall do. May be in a day or two though. 
 

Interesting that the Boss WL-20 cut a lot of the noise. Obviously not transparent.

[Obrienp]

Further update: so I tried the EQ settings suggested by @Phil Starr and (subjectively) I did seem to be getting a more neutral sound out of the Gnome/Monza. Having tried the bass rolled off a bit, I then put it back because I like quite a lot of low end. I will keep the treble control rolled off in future as suggested.

 

The Gnome + Monza combination is still exposing that the Flyrig V2 is quite noisy. Using the compressor and amp modelling is really generating a lot of high frequency buzz. I guess it is like turning up a traditional valve amp, which to be fair to the Flyrig , is what it is modelling. No excuse for a noisy compressor though. Suffice it to say that I had not noticed this when using the BF Two10, especially when using the Markbass LMIII. The Monza literally gives you what you put into it. I guess an analogy is the old computing maxim: “garbage in, garbage out”.

 

I am finding the LMIII with the Monza much more balanced than the Gnome at flat EQ but to contradict that last statement, the LMIII has an overall warmer tone out of the box. It also doesn’t seem to be as loud as the Gnome at the same Gain and Master settings. This seems a bit weird as the Gnome must be giving around 160 watts at 8 ohms and LMIII almost 300! I think the Gnome is more aggressive early: a case of showroom appeal?

More reports after using in a band situation and hopefully a gig.

[stevie]

There are an awful lot of complaints on internet forums about noisy Flyrig V2s.

[stevie]

On the other hand, there are plenty of reviews saying it's fantastic. There was a video on YouTube about setting levels to minimise the noise but I can't find it any more. It could be that some units are noisier than others.

[Obrienp]

25 minutes ago, stevie said:

There are an awful lot of complaints on internet forums about noisy Flyrig V2s.

Yeah; trust me. I thought it would be an upgrade compared to my Valeton Dapper, which I have now sold. TBH it is in many ways. I haven’t yet tried the DI out into a PA. Fingers crossed it is quieter than the amp out (clutching at straws here).

 

Returning to the subject of the Monza; I spent another hour or so with the it today but at very low volume (about 1 click on the master volume of the Gnome iPro). I was really impressed at how well it projected at such a low volume, with great clarity and note separation. This will be great for one of the bands I play in, because we use a very low stage volume and DI everything. This makes it pretty difficult to hear yourself, especially when you are right on top of the cabinet and have nowhere to put a wedge monitor (many pubs).

[Obrienp]

A little update; I got to use the Monza at a rehearsal for the blues band I play in. For rehearsal it was the Monza/Warwick Gnome iPro/Flyrig 2 combination with my Boss wireless.
 

To say I was pleased with the Monza’s performance is an understatement. Although this is the loudest band I play in, we tend to avoid ear-ringing volume at rehearsal. Still loud enough for a small pub. Anyway, I had the Gnome with Gain around 11 o’clock and Master between 9 and 10 o’clock, with the EQ settings following @Phil Starr’s recommendations. I could hear myself so clearly that I thought I must be too loud but I took a wander around the room and the balance was perfect, with the bass cutting through clearly. What really impressed me was the amount of low end coming through. I play a Maruszczyk Elwood 32” with this band and the Monza was really letting it shine.

 

Unfortunately, both the bands I play in are currently suffering a gig drought. We haven’t got anything booked until June 😭, so it is going to be a long time until I can hear what the Monza is like at a gig. On current form though, I think it is going to be brilliant. The only thing is my rig looks comically small alongside the guitarists’ 2 x 12 combos. That will be their hernia though 😀!

[GILLY]

I took delivery of my Monza a couple of weeks ago.  It came straight out with me for a band rehearsal and then I did not get a chance to play through it properly again until earlier this evening.  Here are my thoughts/opinions:

 

The band comprises drums, guitar, bass, keys and two vocalists; we rehearse in a large meeting room that has pretty good acoustics due to a suspended ceiling.  I would say we play at 4/5ths of a gig level.  The Monza was quite astonishing.  The cab it replaces is a Markbass 2x10 which I love for its warmth and character, the Monza is everything others have said - clean, clear, detailed but definitely not coloured.  Stevie advised me to 'give it some wellie' so I did just that and could not believe how much air the thing was moving and how well I could hear myself as I moved around the room.  This echoes what others have found with their Monzas. 

 

I had another play at home tonight at reasonable volume and I have to say that this cab is very classy.  Although 'clean' sounding, it is by no means sterile nor does it ever get stressed as you push it.  You can certainly tell that the components are of a very high standard.  I would go as far as to say that they are good value for money!

 

 

 

 

[tubbybloke68]

Yes, very classy little cabs for sure, amazing for a 1x10. Really enjoying mine and glad you are too! 😊x 

[Chienmortbb]

I have had my Monza now for a few months. I deliberately held back from commenting until now.

 

I don't want to go over too much history but I have had all of @stevie's recent designs back to the DIY cab, the BC112. I had a Silverstone when it was made and had my Silverstone converted to a Monaco some time later. All are/were excellent cabinets  but like many on here I am getting older and am looking at ways to reduce the weight of my gear. So I have ended up (so far) with the Monza.

 

As I have left reviews  of the other cabinets soon after I acquired them, I have waited to have a few varied gigs and rehearsals to give my three pennyworth. The disappointing thing is that I have little to add to what others have said. One of the halls we rehearse in has horrid resonances for bass and this was definitely a real problem for the Silverstone but the Monza took far less drastic EQ settings to get a good sound.

 

The gigs have varied from pure rectangular rooms with no real damping to purpose designed clubs with lots of carpets, curtains and soft furnishings. Each so sonically different but with each, a small adjustment to the bass control on the amp got me to where I like to be. It is light and easy to carry with the same top handle as the other LFSys cabs. It is lightweight, although not the lightest on the market but certainly an easy carry for this 72 year old.The custom (Hot Covers?) LFSys cover protects really well.

 

I use a Zoom B2-Four both as a tuner and for some tone shaping on some songs, what stands out on all @stevie cabs is that I can really hear the differences between the patches. The differences are not great but I can hear the changes almost as clearly on stage as I can at home practice.

 

Like all the LFSys  cabs, the real difference is the dispersion. Despite being well over 6ft tall, I can hear myself clearly even when directly in front of the cab. Although the dispersion is biased towards the player's head, the horizontal dispersion still really helps getting the real sound out to the whole audience. I have never got the cab anywhere near to its rated power, my amp(s) both poke out about 700 watts into 4 ohms but fewer than  400 watts into the Monza's rated 8 ohms.  Rough calculations say that  is approaching 120dB with the amp(s) full out. I know one BCer has two of these and that would make a monster rig. Its not as small or as light as a Barefaced 10 but it is a totally different beast. Could you carry it around on the Tube/buses? probably not. However there are no compromises made with this cab and if you want a simple one cab solution, I can recommend the Monza.

 

So there must be some cons, if I am being picky, its a long way down to adjust the amp when you are a long steak of wee. Also when you first use it or any of @stevie 's cabs. you may need to turn up. Certainly when I first got mine, the reports were that the  band could all hear me well but I was too low in the mix. I was not used to hearing myself so well and had turned my volume down.

 

On the plus side, below is a real picture of me about to set off for a gig. The Monza is on the right and the other two speaker are my Wharfedale Titan 12"PA speakers. The car is a Ford Puma and the tailgate did shut with my amp box and leads box tucked in the front of the cabinets. Please excuse the random bass stand and the small case and long blue bag are the two parts of my mic stand.

 

Edited April 11 by Chienmortbb

[Obrienp]

Great review @Chienmortbb.
 

The Monza, plus neutral amp, makes a great platform for pedals/effects. I guess the clue is in the FRFR label but it took me a while to really notice just how transparent it is.