Bedroom / Practice Only

    Hello,


    I have read several other posts from others regarding this exact subject, but I can't seem to conclude anything from what I've read. Sorry to bring this up yet again...


    I am currently in the market for a new amp. More than anything I've wanted a Mesa Mark V, but have come to the conclusion that it will simply be far too loud in a bedroom setting, unfortunately. I'm a bit of a tone snob and have listened to hundreds of sound samples from various different amps and have concluded that the Kemper is by far the best I've heard.


    With that said, I will only use the Kemper as a bedroom / practice amp. I do not plan to gig, nor do I plan to record much with it (I would like to in the future). I play a very wide range of music, but am mostly into high-gain stuff. I realize there are cheaper solutions for this type of scenario, but, they sound nothing like a Kemper. . I really just plan to use the kemper as a standard bedroom amp..I mean, amplifiers!! hehe


    In all of your experience, is the Kemper good for headphone playing (fairly decent Shure headphones) and playing through an external speaker of sorts? I currently have a Yamaha Stagepas 300 PA, but am uncertain how it sounds with a Kemper. I'm also looking into Tech 21, Behringer, etc. Something cheap, but fairly good since I'll be dropping quite a bit on the Kemper alone.


    Looking forward to hearing if anyone uses a Kemper as your noodling / practice amp. Thanks!!


    J

    Yes, the Kemper will fulfill your requirement to a T. Download a free or commercial profile of your amp of choice and you'll be wailing away at bedroom volumes, but with all the nuances of the amplifier at the kinds of volumes required for high gain.


    And suppose you don't want to play with a Mark V some days? No problem, just load up a JCM2000 or a Bogner Shiva or whatever amplifier catches your fancy.


    Super piece of gear and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Believe me, your tone search will stop with the Kemper. It'll play well with headphones, but I like putting it through my monitor speakers for an absolutely surreal experience. Still loving this thing six months after I bought it. My end all "amplifier" purchase.

    +1


    furthermore, you'll be able to use a guitar cab with an external (or internal) power amp, or the return input of a combo (the passive Profiler will be enough for this), if you're ready to give up sound versatility for a cab sound's you love.


    As for headphones, the matter is a bit articulated and I'd encourage you to try how the Profiler sounds with the ones you want to use, or to be ready to switch to different ones in case you do not like the results.
    Basically, not all HPs sound good with low-level HPs outputs, and your head (I mean just physically) will make its part as well :D

    Thank you so much for your reply nightlight!! Ahhh, I'm getting sooo excited!! I just learned a local retailer has them in stock too!


    I just wanna make sure for the price that my tone search will stop, and from your reply and what I've read, I believe that to be true. Just want to make sure that it'll be that good in my limited bedroom / office environment.


    Thanks again!

    IMO, the Kemper is the best piece of bedroom guitarist gear that's even been invented.


    I've been a bedroom guitarist for 14 years, owned every modeller in that time, all the Pods, Vox Tonelab, HD500, etc, etc (except the Axe-FX).
    Kemper, main outs into sound card, through studio monitors, the best fun and tone I've had in all those years.


    There is NO difference between sitting in the best pro recording studio in the world recording a mic'd boutique tube amp, and sitting in your bedroom at home using a Kemper...that's the genius of the Kemper invention.


    I don't use headphones, I use a cheap pair of Behringer "Truth" Studio Monitors.
    IMO, even the smallest cheapest Studio Monitors sound better than headphones...you can play at extremely low volume through Studio Monitors and the Kemper still sounds and feels like a tube amp mic'd in a studio.
    Keep in mind, Studio Monitors can also get really LOUD...I can shake windows with my Behringer "Truths".

    Thanks everyone for your input!!! You are all confirming what I had assumed, I just wanted to be sure that it would fit the bill just for my bedroom, and It certainly will and then some!!


    I'll take a look into the Behringer Truth speakers, but I'll see first how they do through my Stagepas. I had the Stagepas from a somewhat failed experiment using them to amplify a Boss GT8 which was my main rig, however, the sound just wasn't good. I'd completely given up on digital / modelers until I found Kemper!


    Thanks again!

    Yea Ingolf, I think I will!! ;)



    I also had another idea too! My current rig is a blackstar HT-5r through a blackstar 112 cab. I'm wondering If I could run the Kemper through the effects return on that and basically use its poweramp to send the kemper through the cabinet! I've heard of people doing this.

    I've sold out bedrooms all across the world and I can attest to the fact that the Kemper is the best piece of gear to have if you play guitar. Unlike a tube amp that must be cranked to reveal the richest tones, you can drop the volume on the Kemper without giving anything up. Plus, no more tubes to buy and no more biasing (granted, not a problem with the Mesa Boogies). Add a good quality speaker and you're all set.

    I use my Profiler mostly at home using headphones. It absolutely kills (i'm mostly a high gain guy, but like some crystal clean tone as well). As others have stated the feel is just like a real amp. I have a history of modellers myself, none has delivered as the Profiler is able to.
    I use it for rehearsing in a Band, some gigging and recording too. It has fulfilled all my requirements and more.
    On a rehearsal our drummer wanted to try how using a plugin like GuitarRig would work for another project he's working with. The sound was good, but i missed the feel of my Kemper, had the feeling to have to dig in my guitar even harder then i normally do.
    I mostly use profiles i did myself, they come closest to what i want an (mic'd) amp to sound like. But there is so much good profiles on the Rig Exchange and profiles offered by commercial guys that everyone will find his / her tone with some patience for checking them out.


    Go check the Profiler at the local vendor, bring your headphones so you can compare to some others if they don't satisfy you. And have some decent monitors connected to compare how you like the sound from speakers.


    Hope to see you as a registered owner soon.

    I find that my powered monitors provide the best bedroom-studio sound. I doubt that any guitar amp will sound as good via the Monitor output. However, since you already have that gear, you should certainly give it a try.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

    I think you should first try the Kemper with your Stagepass in the bedroom, just use one speaker. Keep all tone controls flat on the stagepass, which is a full range flat response system.


    I suspect you will be delighted, but if not, nothing is lost and you can consider your other options.


    I live in an apartment and use a Bose L1 compact (without the speaker extensions for home practice). I find this better than my small near field monitors as the bass is much more extended.


    Regards
    Paul

    I tried headphones before however I really am very satisfied sometimes to a point of amazement when I ply through a powered speaker. Sometimes I have this silly green and saying to myself "WOW I'm playing all the amps in the world that I couldn't afford to buy." Those who used digital effects before would know what I mean.

    When using headphones, be sure to experiment with the Space parameter in the Output Block. From the Wiki: "This works well to eliminate the artificial-sounding dryness of a close-mic'ed profile when using headphones (particularly isolating headphones). Use it as a temporary global effect for such scenarios." :thumbup:

    Again, thanks everyone for the suggestions! I am totally stoked to try it out. LOL, unfortunately my local retailer sold the last unit just before I was able to leave work yesterday...doh! They should be having another unit arrive today so hopefully I'll be posting back some good news later with my testing results!

    All the "Demo" clips at my homepage were done with the kPA - without any external processing - just listen via your headphones.

    (All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with soundside.de)


    Great Profiles --> soundside.de

    The Kemper is the one solution (out of two) that will give you an almost perfect bedroom experience (as long as you talk about playing your guitar ;-))
    It is obvious that the Kemper is preferred in a Kemper forum - but lets say for honest reasons - the axe would satisfy you too.


    However I do not second the notion of extensive use of headsets. I have really struggled with that compared to my KH 120 nearfield monitors or my atomic wedge.


    Anyway you can't do anything wrong buying a Kemper and if you realize it ain't for you, the 2nd hand market will be very decent too (compared to other electronic devices).

    90% of the game is half-mental.