Performance Setup

  • I have had my Kemper now for about 2 weeks. I have a series of gigs coming up culminating with a big outdoor gig for the Scorpions (motorcycle club). I intend to run my Kemper for all of these June gigs .... and sell my venerable VHT :(


    I have been working for the last 2 weeks on isolating rigs I like, setting them up for my guitar and taste, and laying them out in performances that work well for our set list songs.


    So my question is, how many performances do you guys use, and how do you set them up? How do you name them and keep them straight so that the right rigs are used on the right songs?


    Also, I have done most of my tweaking with my home PA (a pair of Klipsch KP301 3-way 15") and my HD280 headphones. It is my intent to do a good channel eq on our big rig so that what sounds good at home sounds good through the PA. Do you think this is possible?

  • You'll get different answer here for sure.
    Personally, although I only use 2 or three profiles, I make up a performance for every song we play.
    In these performances I configure my FX a bit different, fitting to the song, with a programmed tempo, etc.
    Sorting these song specific performances according to the set list is very easy in performance mode.

  • I'm with Ingolf - one performance per song.
    I try and keep the slots similar in role - so slot 1 is always a clean sound, slot 2 is crunch, slot 3 for high gain etc.


    As for setting up sounds, do yourself a favor and never mix on headphones what you intend to play back on speakers, or vice versa.
    At the very least, test all your sounds on speakers at decent volume.


    Good luck!

    "But dignity is difficult to maintain
    stamina requires constant upkeep
    repetition is boring
    and you pay for grace."

  • Wow! A performance per song!


    How do you handle getting around between performances? I mean, does your performances map to your set list order? If so, do you then change your performance setup when the setlist changes?


    We change our set list around almost every gig (put different songs in, take out a few, add a new one here and there, party sets vs bar sets, etc). That would be lots of book keeping ;)


    I also am keeping the same layout (clean, drive, crunch, lead, special stuff) on every performance.


    As for the headphones, I hear you. It is really easy to get your tone out into the weeds by mixing on headphones, then playing on the big rig.... but I can't (or don't want to) bring the big rig home between every gig and practice (we practice at my drummers house where he has a complete stage, lighting system, bar, and party place built in).


    I was planning on equalizing my rig on my PA tomorrow. I am hoping that I can get the tone I am getting out of the headphones through the PA by use of the channel PEQ (and possibly a dedicated GEQ on the insert if necessary).


    I haven't changed much with the stock rigs (or the ones I have downloaded). I changed my guitar tone through the tone knobs. I have adjusted the gains to get different levels of crunch/clean.


    I would like to have a somewhat pleasurable headphone experience when practicing, but of course, the most important tones are the ones through the PA.


    I have also thought about using the global EQ on the Kemper to help out with this as well. So my arsenal of tools is:


    • Global Eq on Kemper
    • Insert GEQ on Mixer
    • Channel 4 band fully PEQ on Mixer with HPF.


    I have also standardized my "x" effect as a pure boost so that I have 2 levels on every slot in every performance.

  • If we're talking particulars, i usually just name the performances after the songs we play - about 25 songs overall. I arrange them while setting up for a gig - if the songs are there, it shouldn't take more than a couple of seconds.


    Now, i don't play in a cover band but i would advise that if possible, try and keep your... Diversity to a minimum. Using five different amps in a song is more likely to sound like a disjointed mess than 'accurate'.
    Likewise for different performances - try and use the same amp for cleans, for example. This way you know if it worked once, it will work again - your PA setup, and the rest of your band's timbre don't change mid-show so if it worked before, it will probably work again and you won't find yourself lost in the mix, muddying up or sounding like guitar hero all of a sudden.


    So, if for my 25 songs - all have different volumes, effects and settings per slot - i use a total of, say, 10 amps -
    then all i have to do is take the big rig home, dial in ten tones and only tweak while playing with the band.


    The good news is that this is almost fool-proof. We rehearse once a week and once i got things set up to sound good - that setup has worked for anything from bars to open air venues.

    "But dignity is difficult to maintain
    stamina requires constant upkeep
    repetition is boring
    and you pay for grace."

  • Our set changes from night to night. My sounds don't get moved - I organized them in the pedalboard, and memorized which bank/patch location contains each rig. Until you have learned the locations, you can make a chart you can put onstage.


    I have my MIDI controller controller's bottom row set up to always access my main five rigs.


    The middle row of sounds changes with Bank UP/Down.


    The top row is for Tap Tempo/Tuner, and if I want to switch a effect on/off in a rig.

  • I also play in a cover band. This is how I had my VHT rig setup for the most part.


    I currently have identified about 6 or 7 rigs that I really like (love), and have them setup in only 5 performances.


    As suggested, I don't flip from one amp to another, except to go from a clean to a heavy patch within a song. I have a boost set globally at +4.5db on all patches that I can turn on if I need a loud part of the same patch.


    A good example would be "Enter Sandman". Clean patch (fender blk face) with an octave (only used for this song btw), and a heavy (OLA - HND KZY330 RHY). The lead player stays on heavy the entire time.


    Some of you guys look like you play much more seriously than we do! Great vids on your pages. Great tones as well.


    Thanks for all the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

  • Performance per song, but laptop does the switching, FCB1010 only there for tuning and emergencies :)

    Laptop! Interesting. Do you have a MIDI show program that controls not only your KPA, but also other MIDI devices in the band?


    I have considered this since my drummer uses Roland vDrums. It would be nice to switch both my KPA performance and his vDrum patch based on the song.