Powered or not?

    Hi everyone,


    I am seriously close to purchasing a Kemper Rack but I'm having trouble deciding whether to purchase the powered version or save some money and go with the unpowered one.
    I'm leaning toward purchasing the powered rack but I'm curious if anyone can give me any reason to NOT go powered. I'm thinking that if I buy the powered one I may have more
    options when traveling (I fly to gigs fairly regularly) and I will be able to have more choice in the speakers I eventually use.


    The problem is, until I have the Kemper for a while and have some experience with it, I can't be sure that I'll be using it in a live situation. It may end up in my home studio, in which case I don't think I'll need the powered option.


    I'm sure this has been discussed to death in the past....just looking for some insight on whether or not you think I'll want to use it live after I get it.


    Thanks!

    The trial period os decently long, you might try by yourself :)


    Reasons to not go powered:


    You want to go stereo;
    You want to freely chose/swap/change poweramps;
    You're aware that, in a linear system, a matched pairing of amp/cab may sound better than a ramdom pairing;
    You own/have access to amps/cabs/active cabs/monitors/personal PAs and want to save some money;
    When on stage, you'll almost always go direct.


    This is what comes to my mind ATM, maybe there's more.


    Happy choice :thumbup:

    Thanks for the responses guys.


    After browsing some other similar threads (should have done that before creating this one!) I am leaning toward the powered version. I believe this will give me access to the most options - guitar cab, active FRFR, Passive FRFR. This is all new to me so please tell me if I'm missing something.


    Questions:


    -Assuming I eventually decide to use my KPA live, if I went straight to FOH can I still make use of the options I listed above? I'm assuming it's possible (but maybe not?), but is it desirable?
    -How can I be sure that the signal going to FOH matches what I'm hearing on stage?


    -Slightly off topic...I have watched a lot of videos and listened to many samples online, but most of them are very pristine quality using much more distortion than I would use (I don't play metal). I am curious how well I'd be able to get very classic, psychedelic late 60's early 70's guitar sounds...without the modern pristine "sheen". I like those sounds as well, but the project I'm most interested in using the KPA with is really trying to dial in vintage sounds - warts and all. I want it to be dark and much less "shiny" than modern guitar sounds. Less hi-fi. Hendrix, early Gilmour, Cream etc. I know the KPA is capable of doing very high quality stuff, but can it go really vintage?


    Really starting to get excited about this...I've been wanting a KPA for years and it's finally coming within reach.


    Thanks again!

    Yes, you can send a (stereo) line-level signal to the desk and a mono (line- or power-level) signal to a personal amp/cab for stage sound/monitoring. The two can be tweaked differently or not. If you don't, the signals sent will be the same (if you use a guitar cab for monitoring you might want to exclude the cab profile). But, whether they will sound the same is a different story! This would be achieved only if you used the same cab the PA uses, since different cabs would most possibly sound different (specially a guitar cab Vs. PA).


    If the two signals sounding the same is your priority, the least error (sound difference) will be made if you use for making your sounds and monitoring on-stage a very linear, active cab.
    All in between from this to a ghitar cab will present some kind of difference, which could be negligible for your needs/tastes or not.


    It is certainly worth mentioning that the same "error" occurs when you mic a guitar cab on stage: the mic vertainly imparts its sonic personality, you never know how the sound guy is going to treat your signal, how the PA sounds and how the room renders the PA output. So the whole issue might be trivial for you.
    The rule is, the more linear your monitoring, the less statistic difference there will be between what you hear on stage and what your audience hears. But they would be the same only if the same hardware is used.


    About how the Profiler "sounds": it doesn't. It all depends on the profile you use, on the rig you create/use, on your instrument and your technique.
    On the Net I've heard tens of different non-metal sound samples, so I'd say it's a matter of searching more :)
    Some good clips are available on the wiKPA as well.


    :)

    I would totally go with the powered unit. You never know when you may want to use it in a live situation. The bonus here is that you can plug it into a cab and go without having to take anything else. Here is an example. The other night I had a gig where they said there was only limited space. I simply just brought my Kemper and my FcB1010 with me. I found that they didn't have any stage monitoring system there as they had told us initially that they would. At the side was an amp I was familiar with (mesa stiletto ace combo) so I simply took the speaker out lead from the Mesa amp and plugged it into the back of the Kemper speaker out. It is a closed back cab with a v30 and it sounded perfect! Again, options are great to have!

    I know I'm in a way repeating what Gianfranco already said, but


    Quote from Calaban

    -How can I be sure that the signal going to FOH matches what I'm hearing on stage?


    You actually never can be. The more neutral your monitor sound is the better the overall approximation to FOH.


    Quote from Calaban

    -Slightly off topic...I have watched a lot of videos and listened to many samples online, but most of them are very pristine quality using much more distortion than I would use (I don't play metal). I am curious how well I'd be able to get very classic, psychedelic late 60's early 70's guitar sounds...without the modern pristine "sheen". I like those sounds as well, but the project I'm most interested in using the KPA with is really trying to dial in vintage sounds - warts and all. I want it to be dark and much less "shiny" than modern guitar sounds. Less hi-fi. Hendrix, early Gilmour, Cream etc. I know the KPA is capable of doing very high quality stuff, but can it go really vintage?


    The profiler doesn't impose a signature sound, it's all about the profiles you use, and there are LOTS that will fulfill your demands.

    Or...... You can go direct and use In Ears for monitoring. Personally, since my band switched to in ear monitoring the following has occurred:


    1) Much lower stage volume
    2) No more ear ringing after a gig
    3) Band has become tighter, vocals have become much better
    4) Our drummer is less annoying
    5)We,as a band, are having much more fun.


    Now, if you feel you need the ever elusive "Amp in the room sound", get a set of in ears that allow ambient sound to enter and angle a wedge towards you. Keep the wedge at a manageable volume and all will be happy.