For those of you who use your Kemper for live gigs

  • Any chance you could post a video of you using the Kemper? Doesn't have to be during a gig. Even just home stuff would be fine. I'm very close to buying one of these, but almost ALL the videos I can find on YouTube are either demos for studio based work, or the profiling feature of the amp. What I want to see, is how good this thing sounds for musicians who want to use it as their live gigging rig. How does it sound when switching from preset to preset, does it have enough "balls" to sound good both on stage and in the mix, etc.


    Any videos or links to videos you could post would be really appreciated!

  • Any chance you could post a video of you using the Kemper? Doesn't have to be during a gig. Even just home stuff would be fine. I'm very close to buying one of these, but almost ALL the videos I can find on YouTube are either demos for studio based work, or the profiling feature of the amp. What I want to see, is how good this thing sounds for musicians who want to use it as their live gigging rig. How does it sound when switching from preset to preset, does it have enough "balls" to sound good both on stage and in the mix, etc.


    Any videos or links to videos you could post would be really appreciated!


    You could youtube some videos of Trivium live, as they tour the world using the KPA. Or Muse.

  • Onstage "balls" depends entirely on what you play it through. I use a Bose L1, with one subwoofer. (I sidewash it, so it does not compete with the guitar sound in the Mains.) It easily kicks as hard as my Marshall and 4x12 cabinet, with all the dynamic range, and could provide more low end than the Marshall, if I wanted it to.


    If I bought a Kemper, I'd buy at the very least one Yamaha DX12. I've seen a lot of people say they highly recommend the DX10, so I figure springing for the DX12 might give me a little more low end. I'd probably end up buying 2 of them to run in stereo. Or, instead of buying 2 of those, buying one of the Atomic monitors. But, assuming I do one of those two scenarios, that should be enough to cut through on stage, correct?

  • If you're not in a very exotic place you should simply order one and experience the profiler yourself.
    Youtube vids often don't do it justice anyway.


    If you're not in a very exotic place you should simply order one and experience the profiler yourself.
    Youtube vids often don't do it justice anyway.


    If you're not in a very exotic place you should simply order one and experience the profiler yourself.
    Youtube vids often don't do it justice anyway.


    I live in Portland Maine. So not a huge city, but we do have a Guitar Center. The problem is, aside from the fact that they cost $2,700 new, I'd also have to buy a high end monitor too (another $650-$1,000) along with some sort of footswitch (because apparently, Kemper is the only company stupid enough to not put out an acceptable footswitch with a unit like this). So if I ended up buying all of that and didn't like it, it's going to be a pain to return it all because Guitar Center doesn't carry the Kempers in stock. And I'm not sure if I can return the Kemper to GC if it's a special order. I wish I knew someone in the area that had one. Then I could just see for myself what they're like. But no dice on that.

  • maybe this is what you're looking for: home videos with a 100 euros video camera.


    video 1


    video 2


    the second video is in italian but you will find played parts.
    clearly this cam is the least available, as for quality, but you can have a taste of the kpa even with this kind of recording


    hope this helps

    "...why being satisfied with an amp, as great as it can be, while you can have them all?" michael mellner


    "Rock in Ecclesia" - new album on iTunes or Google music

  • Heres a video of my band playing a very small bar. I'm using the KPA but my other guitarist wasn't at the time. I'm the one that starts the song.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…=UUVH2xMabPUCcqXlnYN_TgFg


    Thanks. It was hard to distinguish the Kemper in that clip. I guess what I really need is just someone at home toying around with the Kemper without the band surrounding them so I can hear how it sounds going in and out of patches. Looks like your other guitarist is using the G-System, (which is what I have now). I'm pretty happy with the G-System, but I'm wondering if the Kemper would be better. It'd allow me to ditch my 100lb Mesa Roadster, which is one of the biggest reasons I'm considering it.

  • I don't have any YouTube gig clips I'm proud of, but here are a couple of passable rehearsal clips recorded using a Zoom H2 in the middle of the room:


    Pink Floyd - Time solo


    Pink Floyd - Shine On pt3


    Those sounded great! I guess the two issues that I'm most concerned about are:


    1. What kind of delay is there when switching between 1 saved preset to another.
    2. Footswitches. I like the look and layout of the Mastermind GT. But I think paying $1200 for a MIDI foot controller is crazy. I know the Behringer is an option, but I'm wondering how good it is in terms of not causing any delay when switching between presets. Ugh!!!!!!


  • I live in Portland Maine. So not a huge city, but we do have a Guitar Center. The problem is, aside from the fact that they cost $2,700 new, I'd also have to buy a high end monitor too (another $650-$1,000) along with some sort of footswitch (because apparently, Kemper is the only company stupid enough to not put out an acceptable footswitch with a unit like this). So if I ended up buying all of that and didn't like it, it's going to be a pain to return it all because Guitar Center doesn't carry the Kempers in stock. And I'm not sure if I can return the Kemper to GC if it's a special order. I wish I knew someone in the area that had one. Then I could just see for myself what they're like. But no dice on that.


    They aren't 2,700 new, that is the option with the power amp. You just said you'll probably go with an Atomic or DXR10/12, those have onboard amps, so you don't need the KPA with the built-in power amp. It's super easy to order one from the litany of online providers: GC, MF, Music123, AmericanMusicalSupply, Zzounds, etc. They all have 30 day return periods. So yeah, you can just see for yourself what they're like.


    Oh and AxeFx didn't offer a foot controller when it was initially released, so I guess they are stupid too. :rolleyes:

  • I live in Portland Maine. So not a huge city, but we do have a Guitar Center. The problem is, aside from the fact that they cost $2,700 new, I'd also have to buy a high end monitor too (another $650-$1,000) along with some sort of footswitch (because apparently, Kemper is the only company stupid enough to not put out an acceptable footswitch with a unit like this). So if I ended up buying all of that and didn't like it, it's going to be a pain to return it all because Guitar Center doesn't carry the Kempers in stock. And I'm not sure if I can return the Kemper to GC if it's a special order. I wish I knew someone in the area that had one. Then I could just see for myself what they're like. But no dice on that.


    I don't have any YouTube gig clips I'm proud of, but here are a couple of passable rehearsal clips recorded using a Zoom H2 in the middle of the room:


    Pink Floyd - Time solo


    Pink Floyd - Shine On pt3

    I would be proud of this. The sustain on that strat is ---wow.

  • ... apparently, Kemper is the only company stupid enough to not put out an acceptable footswitch with a unit like this ...


    C'mon, even Fractal went a couple of years before they announced the MFC for the Axe products.


    ... I know the Behringer is an option, but I'm wondering how good it is in terms of not causing any delay when switching between presets. Ugh!!!!!!


    AFAIK, the FCB1010 does not induce any measurable additional preset switching latency. The switching latency is in the KPA itself.

  • I used the KPA and 1010 for gigs now plenty of times...no issues and no latency issues either.


    If you start comparing Fracatal with KPA you are not being objective enough.


    The fractal is 2100, add the controller at 800 bucks and then the usual matrix power amp 600-1000 bucks pus your speaker you are spending way more on a device that is hard wired to be just what it is....


    The KPA is 2100 for no powered or 2700 for powered version, the Behringer 1010 is 150 bucks and add the UnO4Kemoe chip another 35 bucks..plus your speaker...so it's about the same or a bit cheaper....for a product that is more true to the amp sound and has way more possibilities built in.


    It's simple, go and try the amp, be aware of what you are actually looking for and then decide :)


    Good Luck

  • OhG,


    You already have a MIDI controller for the Kemper. The G-System can be used as a MIDI controller for the Kemper, and you can still use any song-specific G-Sys effects you have already programmed, along with the Kemper's effects. Coincidentally, that's what I do.


    I know, but in order to be able to afford this new setup (the Kemper, and new monitor), I'd need to sell my G-System and Mesa Roadster. Plus, I'm not 100% satisfied with the G-System. It's quite a noisy rig unless you spend a ton of money buying balanced cables, ebtechs and an ISP G-String (all of which I have, and have a quiet rig now). And I feel like having to run so many cables and using the 4 cable method, just deteriorates the sound a little by the time it finally reaches my amp. From what I've read, the effects in the G-System are better than the effects in the Kemper. But I honestly don't use a TON. Reverb, delay, some modulation and pitch/whammy is all I need. And from what I can see, the pitch/whammy of the Kemper totally blows the G-System's pitch/whammy effects out of the water.


    I know I could get the un-powered version of the Kemper, but I've read numerous posts on this forum saying that getting the powered version is the better move in case I want to ever use it with a standard guitar cab, I'd at least have that option available.


  • I know I could get the un-powered version of the Kemper, but I've read numerous posts on this forum saying that getting the powered version is the better move in case I want to ever use it with a standard guitar cab, I'd at least have that option available.


    You can get the unpowered version and still would be able to retrofit it later with one amp of the Camplifier line.