Flamma: FS06 PREAMP: Internal Cab Sims vs 3rd party IRs

www.flammainno...
The Flamma FS06 Preamp features 7 x classic preamp types, all with clean and gain channels, and 7 x corresponding cab sims. You can dial up your favourite settings for each preamp and recall them in seven preset slots. At the time of writing the FS06 was selling on Amazon for US$69.99. You could spend more than that on a single round of cocktails at a crappy bar and not be nearly as satisfied. So I think it's good value. If you want to, you can defeat the internal cab sims and run the preamp only into some type of IR loader or other cab sim. That's what this video is all about. I'm comparing the FS06 cab sims with some IR's from Fractal Audio and OwnHammer, both very highly regarded, to see just how good or otherwise the FS06 native cab sims are. And I reckon they shape up pretty well. Tell me what you think.
Signal path: Charvel San Dimas HT to Input of Axe-FX III. Axe-FX III unity output 3 to input of FS06; FS06 output to input 3 of Axe-FX III. Cab blocks (for IRs) to Mixer (to defeat cab 1 or 2 when the other is active), gate (those high gain preamps can be noisy), studio reverb, Stereo output to Logic Pro X. Monitored through Blue Sky Media Desk 2.1 desktop monitors.
FS06 Digital Preamp
USD69.99 on Amazon USA & Flamma.shop & Aliexpress
Amazon: amzn.to/38EwASU
Flamma shop: www.flamma.shop
Aliexpress: www.aliexpress...
Website: www.flammainno...
FB & INS: @flammainnovation

[@purplewound]

It's also worth to mention that Flamma Preamp takes pedals pretty well. Especially the Fender emulation sounds stellar with my RAT type pedal.

[@juanmanuelferreyra5128]

The clean + Rat or the dirty + rat?

[@purplewound]

@@juanmanuelferreyra5128 Clean + Rat

[@jnh73]

I'm sure there are "better" tones using third-party IRs. I'm also sure I'd rather just plug in and play. I love mine. Flamma's preamp might have the best bang-for-the-buck ratio out there in terms of preamps. $70 USD for 14 really solid tones? No brainer.

[@madyhouse3067]

Hi Jack Narcotta, Can you tell me if I can plug this pedal in a line in (Return) or even in an in- put of an ampli? All videos I found here , the pedal is being used only with interface audio, so I have this doubt.

[@jnh73]

You can plug this into the Effects Loop Return (or Power Amp In) of any guitar amp equipped with such. Depending on the speaker the amp is connected to, you may get the best results by turning off the FS06's cabinet simulation. I would not recommend plugging the FS06 into the input of a guitar amp. Since the FS06 models the preamp AND power amp of the selected amp, the two amps (FS06 and your guitar amp) coming together may clash in a very unpleasant way (very thin, shrill tone). The user guide even says this is not the best idea (from page 8, "FS06 is designed as the digital preamp pedal, recommend not to use with the input of amplifier directly to avoid unexpected tone issue"), and there is a picture with a big red X over this set up.

[@madyhouse3067]

@@jnh73 Thanks for the answer Jack!

[@bentaylor2390]

Please tell me someone else noticed the EVH cabsim sounded better than the Axe Fx? I think Bergs did.

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Everytime I hear it - I am Impressed. Nice info here - Brett.

[@JimijaymesProductions]

With Ownhammers IRs this thing sound great, which means the preamps aren't bad! Would be cool if you could load your own IRs but in a recording setup this thing seems great.

[@ptrisonic]

if you have a tube amp with FX loop try using the FX return to plug the Flamma into (rather than the front end) then run the tube amp to PA/Sound Reinforcement Pete..

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

Thank you for doing this Burgs. I’ve had this for a week and haven’t had a chance to play it direct yet. So I’ve been using it through and amp and it isn’t the best use of this pedal like that, in my opinion. So I’m looking forward to finally playing it straight to PA this weekend.

[@ricklachaine5406]

Great video. Never heard of this company before. Will order one of these as they sound great for such a low price. To record with, no brainer. Combine with OwnHamner IR's via the DAW and nobody could tell the difference between this pedal and units costing WAY much more. I appreciate your videos as they've allowed me to discover some great tools/brands that were unknown to me. Thank you. Keep up the great work.

[@BrianClem]

Thanks for doing the work in this comparison.

[@donewithmodernlife]

Tbh I liked the Flamma ir in every case better than the AxeFx. Crazy. Gonna have to buy one of these janks & give it a try.

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

It’s a great solution. So far I really love the Fender model and the Plexi model.

[@donewithmodernlife]

Well I just bought one, mainly due to Brett’s outstanding demos & the crazy inexpensive price. Got it off Amazon for $74 USD total. Should be here Saturday!

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

@@donewithmodernlife I’m playing mine direct to PA on Friday night. I will report back with the results.

[@donewithmodernlife]

@@MrSpeed-lt8gr if it sounds as good live as it does in these demos your tone will be ripping. Let us know how it turns out.

[@NickfromHighTide]

@@MrSpeed-lt8gr - hey Eric can we get that report? How’s it sound live?

[@atech9020]

So what you do is get a Strymon Iridium and this thing, turn off the Iridiums preamps and use it as an IR loader, and then Bob's your uncle. With a multi-switch you can have multiple IR's on tap with the iridium.

[@TedSchoenling]

or you get FLamma's FS07 IR loader and you can load IR's into it via USB......

[@cgonzt5636]

Both sounds good, I’m biased with Axe Fractal.. but not saying other is bad. I guess if you mix this L, other in R, it’ll sound awesome.

[@kevinjohnbetts]

Nice. I thought the onboard IRs sounded slightly thinner than the Axe-FX ones which is probably down to the length of the sample. 'Slightly thinner' doesn't equate to bad though. A bit of EQ fiddling and they'd sound great in the mix of a song. That's the thing with all these inexpensive units - if you have your favourite amp or pre-amp that you run through an IR box or even mic up then you'd probably use that for your main guitar part. But with these little boxes you can add so much texture to a recording without having to mess around with changing set-ups, mics, amp EQ etc etc

[@jnh73]

Agree 1,000%. Sometimes less is more. In this case, it's waaaaay more.

[@cgonzt5636]

How about live, I plan to use it live? Will this do? We dont have amp/cab on stage, small setup direct box to mixer.

[@kevinjohnbetts]

@@cgonzt5636 Should work fine. The only issue I have with using these things live is the quality of the sound engineer and the monitors. But that's not down to the unit itself which will do the job you want very well.

[@mattgilbert7347]

I got their FS-07 stereo IR pedal. It's great, I'd like to try it with this FS-06 Preamp

[@mattvdh]

nice demo man! Interesting comparison. The flamma is actually pretty good. Do you still mess around with it, or has it become a coaster?

[@BrettKingman]

No messing around with this one, Matt. No time and I run Fractal Audio gear in here so rarely do I revisit ANY pedal after its demo is done. But it's still good, as are most of the others. Cheers and thanks for watching.

[@cgonzt5636]

Nice demo! I’m interested but is this enough to be at end of my pedal chain, ala real amp? Or do I need to purchase another IR loader pedal? Got limited budget so have to think 😆

[@dnamusicchallenge5995]

May i buy your skills and wisdom instead? 😜🤣 Well i guess i wont afford it..awesome playing/demo sir.

[@madyhouse3067]

Hi Brett Congrets for the nice and Helpful Review. Can you tell me if I can plug this pedal in a line in (Return) or even in an in- put of a ampli? All videos I found here , the pedal is being used only with interface audio, so I have this doubt.

[@ptrisonic]

Not Brett but you should be able to. FX Returns are post preamp so you are effectively replacing the amps own pre. Not sure whether using IR's would be effective because I assume that you are planning on using the main amps speaker (if a Combo) i.e. you'll be going through a guitar speaker as opposed to say, a full range studio monitor. Make sense? Best, Pete.

[@madyhouse3067]

@@ptrisonic Hi ptrisoic Thanks for the answer, I´m not sure If I could undestand exctly what you mean. I´m seeing a lot of reviwes in the internet about Flamma 6, but always the preamp is pluged using an interface audio, diretly in a PC ou Notebook. My biggest fear, it´s that the pedal maybe doesn´t works fine when pluged on the in put of an amplifier , but on a Line -in or return input it could works fine I guess...

[@Neil-Aspinall]

I actually thought this thing was remarkable Brett. Horses for courses but I thought the pedal was superior to some of the Axe Attack cab sims? Do you know if this pedal is being sold through a European distributor?

[@BrettKingman]

The only outlets that I know of are those listed in the description box, Neil. But yes, it's a pretty safe bet for the price asked, I think.

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

As a total aside; I love the phrase horses for courses. We don’t use that here in the US. Maybe I need to start using it 😊. This is a fantastic pedal. I’m using it tonight for a gig for the first time. It sounds pretty good through an amp. But I’m guessing it will sound much better straight to board with the cab sim on.

[@robinmatjanoski5318]

Will it work with headphones?

[@warren4838]

should plug-in to return/loop or front amp?

[@lolobuggah2670]

Could this be used into the effects return of an amp?

[@ptalley316]

Could you use this as a pedal into the front of a tube amp?

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

I think you could with proper equalization. But I personally don’t think it’s the best use of this pedal. I’ve been playing the pedal straight to my amp because I haven’t had a chance to go direct to PA with it yet. And it sounds okay that way. But I think you’d be better suited with an overdrive or distortion that is made to go through an amplifier.

[@donewithmodernlife]

I’m planning to use it into a Two Notes Cab M+. It’s got power amp sims as well as the whole ir/WOS thing. We’ll see how it works, but the results Brett got here with the preset ir’s sold me on the pedal.

[@eduardopalacios671]

@@donewithmodernlife Have you tried it yet with the cab m? Sounds I get with my hotone xtomp amps simulations into the cab m are very disappointing. Hope to hear what’s your experience with the Flamma. Thxs

[@donewithmodernlife]

@@eduardopalacios671 I have & am very pleased. Using the Blues Deluxe dirty channel & the Twin speaker cab in the Cab M I got one of the best pushed clean/mild od tones I’ve ever captured in a recording. The stock ir’s are excellent though, there’s almost no need to use the Cab M unless I want something different.

[@christianbouchard7136]

It’s a preamp, it’s designed to get connected in the return line at the back of any tube amp and it sounds awesome for owning one. You can try it in front if you don’t have a effect loop but not ideal as you get a preamp running into a preamp.