Need to revise my FOH Rig ...

  • Hey all, new user to the forums here.


    Here's my situation. I play guitar and sing in a band specializing in corporate events (large private parties).


    We play about a show or 2 a month with a corporate band looking to get to 3 or 4, as our manager is also one of the larger DMC owners in Vegas this should prove easy.


    The first few gigs I brought my 100 Watt Splawn Quick Rod, 2x12 and full pedal board. Sounded glorious but drummer uses V-Drums and a 100 tube head is overkill. Also with the treks we have to make with gear it's a pain.


    I bought a Digitech RP1000 and small powered Alto wedge and it sounds decent but I am really jonesing for something a bit nicer. The tones I'm getting from the RP are certainly passable and I KNOW the attendees could give a rats fart about my sound.


    With that said I'm I am leaning towards getting a Kemper. That with a midi board seems like a great setup as well but much more costly. I like that I could profile my Quick Rod though and have "my sound" anywhere I went. Our client last night already asked if we'd fly to Orlando next year.


    I am also in a spot on which midi controller to go with. I like seeing the patch name as well as which effects are active. I was leaning towards the RJM Mastermind GT but someone in another post mentioned the Liquid Foot 12+ which looks similar at a much more reasonable price point. I had also heard good things about the Roctron Midi Raider.


    I would probably get the original white "toaster" as it looks awesome. Any pros/cons of toaster vs. rack?


    Thanks in advanced for your replies.

  • Hi JerEvil, welcome to the forum


    I play in a covers band which has no back line we all have IEM's and the kemper sounds awesome. I first had the green toaster, but brought a rack one about 6 months ago to gig with and the toaster one stays in my studio. Pro and cons I find are that the LED's on the toaster are quite valuable when gigging as it gives you a quick ref of how your tone stack is set, but the rack is more convenient for gigging. Which ever one you decide to purchase you won't be disappointed I can guarantee you that!!!


    The biggest Pro about the kemper is the SOUND!!!!!! It's unbelievable totally unbelievable it's the best piece of gear I have ever brought, so good I ended up with two :D

  • Thanks Raoul!


    Have you made any of your own amp profiles yet? Seems relatively straight forward.


    May I ask which controller you are using live? Are you using it in "Performance" mode?


    Not sure what would be the best set up for me. I like the idea of a good general tone with your standard effects to be switched off and on like pedals, BUT I also would like to capture some signature tones for things like Boston, Santana, Queen, etc.


  • Haven't made any profiles I've brought loads from Andy at The Amp Factory they are Stella!!!! Live I use the FCB1010 fitted with the Uno4Kemper chip in performance mode this is a great solution until Kemper release their floorboard. Go for it, pull the plug, the kemper is great you will ask yourself why you didn't buy one earlier lol :thumbup:

  • The KPA is the way to go for sure.


    I have the Liquid Foot+12+ controller and it works like a champ. Extreme flexibility for programming, names displayed, tuner, etc.


    Great combination.


    There are some good Splawn profiles available if you end up not profiling your own rigs.


    Sean

  • +1 to the toaster tone stack LEDs being easier to read on stage. Used to know exactly where I was settings wise with just a glance. Still happy I got the rack though.

  • Welcome!
    You'll certainly find happiness with the profiler.
    Other vendors of very good profiles are out there, just go to the respective sub- forum
    Actually it's not absolutely necessary to do your own profiles as there already are so many great ones out there.
    But it's fun as well.

  • Joptunes was a huge help to me when setting up my foot controller. I'm completely amazed by its flexibility. Its only limitation is my imagination. Good luck with everything. I think you will love the kpa.

  • Kemper is an amazing solution to both live and studio playing. I had a huge gig last week and I brought my custom Mesa 2x12 cab with me for stage monitoring and then ran the main out to FOH. Worked so well. I simply unlinked the main out and then was able to set my levels for both individually to balance. Needless to say, my drummer could not believe there were no tubes cooking in it. The Lasse Mesa Rack profile is absolutely killer and one of my main tones. I went a bit deeper into the profile through the amp button and changed the clarity a bit. It is absolutely spot on now. One of my friends has a very slightly modified version of the amp and this sounds virtually identical! The Berhringer footswitch with Uno4Kemper worked perfectly as well.


    Again, super pleased with this setup and can't wait to see what comes next!

  • Kemper is an amazing solution to both live and studio playing. I had a huge gig last week and I brought my custom Mesa 2x12 cab with me for stage monitoring and then ran the main out to FOH. Worked so well. I simply unlinked the main out and then was able to set my levels for both individually to balance. Needless to say, my drummer could not believe there were no tubes cooking in it. The Lasse Mesa Rack profile is absolutely killer and one of my main tones. I went a bit deeper into the profile through the amp button and changed the clarity a bit. It is absolutely spot on now. One of my friends has a very slightly modified version of the amp and this sounds virtually identical! The Berhringer footswitch with Uno4Kemper worked perfectly as well.


    Again, super pleased with this setup and can't wait to see what comes next!


    Awesome. Thanks for posting.


    I am very excited about snagging the KPA. I had gone back and forth on it and the Axe 2 for some time, but I know the Kemper is "for me" if that makes sense. I am not a tweaker that likes to nail down hundreds of parameters. I like the more "set it and forget it" feel myself.