Your Honest opinion on Kemper as a live rig

  • The KPA works live. It‘s ridiculius to say, that a guitar amp miced with a SM57 sounds „thin“. Guys, the ones who fill stadiums mic their amps as well ... do all their shows sound thin? Do your records sound thin, because the amps are miced as well. Every sound you are eager to get you only know from miced cabinets. I assume most of the guys in this forum have never been in a rehearsal room with the big players (I haven‘t been).

  • Even by adding delay and reverb you cannot have the bend at 20th fret? strange behaviour at soloing, i realise that, sometimes my solos are flowing with lots of dynamics, other times it seems capped, i do not know why, i switch the guitar, do a little tweak at eq and reverb and i can get the desirable dynamics again...


    i like the strong low end and punch to the power chords (sounds very good) but the solos are really sometimes thin


    i read in another thread here "searching trasient word" and there was a suggestion of adding "ducked eq" or wha before and after the stack to increase or decrease the "pick attack"


    i will simulate this today and try to adjust clarity, power sagging and pick


    i will let you know if i have success which i have more with noise gate at zero


    ps. nice ballads and awesome strat playing

    Edited once, last by szykman ().

  • Sure, it's a dimarzio tonezone, pretty hot, but I can't get the same sound with this guitar with the Kemper, it's much thinner with the same guitar/pickups. I understand what you say, I guess we can't have it all hahaha. And many thanks for your kind feedback.

    Haha, thanks mate, really appreciate it!

    Sorry mate, says "not available". Maybe something is wrong with my computer I dont know...I'm sure everyone can get great tones through frfr monitors, I can get great tones out of my Yahama monitors. The problem occurs only with real cabs at high levels. Wish Kemper fixes that, so as we can have everything inside this little magic box!

    Crikey these quotes are getting a bit carried away. I fixed the link, it was my fault not your computer. This is a high gain solo sound from a Michael Britt pack and I thought it was like the one in your demo, which was very good by the way. Solo sound is after one chorus.
    Take care


    M

    A brace of Suhrs, a Charvel, a toaster, an Apollo twin, a Mac, and a DXR10

  • i like the strong low end and punch to the power chords (sounds very good) but the solos are really sometimes thin

    Exactly that!

    It‘s ridiculius to say, that a guitar amp miced with a SM57 sounds „thin“.

    Nobody said that. The SM57 gets what you give it. OP asked for an "honest opinion" and that's what I'm trying to do here.


    @Morph indeed both tones have something common. Nice playing mate!


    To conclude this, my "honest opinion" is that Kemper is great for recording, great for live use if you send a direct signal to FOH and get stage monitoring through an FRFR or some kind of monitor, but for live use with a real cab it has a serious flaw, you can't reduce the unnatural attack it produces and it DOES NOT behave like a real amp, feelwise or soundwise. So, in my opinion (and many others' as I can see), if you want to use your cab onstage and get that real amp feel, get a real amp.


    For everything else, Kemper gets the job done just fine. I am the first that wished it could do everything perfect, but unfortunately it can't. Hope they fix it someday, if they do I'll carry a small 1x12 and the Kemper in every situation and I'll be the happiest man on earth!

  • In these situations, I believe this is where going FRFR is where you truly get the biggest benefit from the Kemper.


    What profiles are you using?


    Have you tried MBritt stuff?
    It will get you there for live playing.

  • In these situations, I believe this is where going FRFR is where you truly get the biggest benefit from the Kemper.


    What profiles are you using?


    Have you tried MBritt stuff?
    It will get you there for live playing.

    Everybody keeps sayin that about using an FRFR, and after the problem with real cabs, I tend to agree hahhaha.


    I used pretty much everything, GOT, Sinmix, Mbritt, TopJimi, Mattfig, Choptones, lots of very good free merged, DI and studio profiles from RE. Happens with all profiles al high volumes with real cabs, I am pretty sure it's not the profiles' fault.


    I dont like at all Mbritt stuff. He has some decent studio profiles for cleans, blues and country-ish styles, but I dont think he understands crunch / high gain sounds, tried his 5150 merged pack and it was very bad-sounding in my opinion. I am more a rock-hard rock player and other popular sellers have much better profiles for my taste.


    Thanks anyway :)

  • MBritt’s stuff is tailored for live, though. It really only comes in to its own at loud volume. Pretty much every other profiler has made and tweaked their profiles for the studio or at studio volume, which is why they get all ice-picky live. It’s a shame he doesn’t offer more merged profiles. One of these days I’ll finally get around to properly profiling my ‘78 Marshall (got the resources and the equipment, just missing the time), with the intention of making merged profiles for live use. If you’re still around by then, I’ll hit you up.

  • OK, maybe this was a misunderstanding. I agree ... just go direct and use IEM or FRFR. If you want to use a cab, get a tube head with some features (boost, reverb, multichannel, ...).

  • MBritt’s stuff is tailored for live, though. It really only comes in to its own at loud volume. Pretty much every other profiler has made and tweaked their profiles for the studio or at studio volume, which is why they get all ice-picky live. It’s a shame he doesn’t offer more merged profiles. One of these days I’ll finally get around to properly profiling my ‘78 Marshall (got the resources and the equipment, just missing the time), with the intention of making merged profiles for live use. If you’re still around by then, I’ll hit you up.

    I'd highly appreciate these merged profiles for live use.
    Randomly I sometimes take a small 1x12" cab with me to our gigs.

  • Hi


    The best results i had with my kemper were really through the return loop of my 30W tube amp, the cabinet is a 50W celestium eminense GB128


    i did some tests today right now with this profiles:


    Friedman Butterslax profiles


    especially CH-2


    i tested many profiles today and played direct through the tube amp


    also i gave it a chance to monitor cab off, but did not like that so i used monitor cab on most of the time, in fact i used the direct output of kemper to the return loop of the tube amp (it has 2 russian EL34)


    i think maybe you are to used to your smooth tunes and your tube amp has the tone that you need for using the single pickups of your strat


    i saw this ice-picking and thin tone using the strat single hs3 dimarzzio pickups today more with kemper but also a bit with the tube amp alone too...


    as i switched to a humbucking Seymour Duncan Slash signature pickup that happened a lot less and i had satisfatory solos with that configuration


    i used ZERO at noise gate and distortion sens


    no touch at definition too (the profiles in which definition has value 10 showed more symptons like the ones we found but nothing you could not deal by choosing other profiles)


    also i got excelent results with profiles that has definition like 10, so i am not certain about that (it is more about the profiling)


    i played this 30W sounded like 45W


    was so loud that i had to shutdown kemper and restart with 6DB of attenuation


    i got awesome results with this Seymour Duncans, but i could notice that using the strat's single HS3 dimarzio pickups by increasing the volume the ice-picking and thin tone happened


    happened also with my tube amp alone but in a lower level and nothing that in that case tweaking the amp eq could not fix


    kemper has also thousand of tweaks, if you are sure that this is not ok, why won't give a try to a system reset, i think will not damage your rigs and performances but you must backup then before restore and update kemper


    maybe some parameter was touched and you cannot find that, we cannot remember everything we touched...


    i do notice some lack of sustain on solos, but as i played a lot today, i think can be just a matter of getting used to it, or placing some boost or stomp that will help, i like a lot the tone of kemper stomps


    is pure cabinet ok? i also use it as zero


    good luck and let us know if you have any news...

    Edited once, last by szykman ().

  • I play in a classic rock cover band. So far I used the KPA during band rehearsals and two smaller gigs. I used to play a Marshall TSL 602, which is a pretty amp, so I wanted something lighter.
    The other guitarist plays a Marshall head through a Vox 2x12 cab with pedals. I played the Kemper through Yanaha 10 with some Britt or ReampZone profiles. And one Gig my sound was ok, but not great at the other gig it was awful. It was thin without any punch. It just sounded weak. My band mates even asked me after the gig whether I wanted to continue with the Kemper or better I should go back to my Marshall.
    The reason for this probably is that at small venues the audience hears directly the amp in the room sound and not the miked sound. The miked sound especially with a SM57 sounds thinner than amp in the room.

    Your Kemper's Pure Cab setting can get that amp in the room sound for you. It gets rid of mic coloration. It's in the Output section as well as the Cab section of each profile, set it to 10 globally and ditch the Mics. Also see if anyone has a profile of a 2x12 DSL 602 and Pure Cab that. Might just be what your missing is your trusty old cab responses. It will also filter out the mic for your main outs so now any audience will hear exactly what your hear: amp in the room.


    For thin sound I'd demo a DXR12 and see if that gets you any closer. Also try the EQ Stomp 1x12 into 4x12 cab.


    I used 12's with my Kemper for years but finally went to an RCF 15". I can always dial it out the extra bottom for certain venues if need be, but if I need more it's available now.


    Don't ditch the Kemper because of tone, the sound is in there you will just have to work a bit to get it right for you. Cheers!

  • @Booyah
    I will try to profile my TSL 602 als studio and di profiles and see how this works. No, I will hold on to the KPA. It is a great tool for recording. But for smaller gigs I probably have to find a different speaker for it or play through a small tube amp. At bigger gigs I will take the Marshall als back up and play the KPA through FOH. In case something goes wrong our soundguy can switch to the Marshall.


    Bbb

    It' s only Rock n Roll, but I like it :D:thumbup:<3

  • I use the powered Kemper into a 2x12 guitar cab with direct profiles. Anyone who says it doesn’t respond like a real amp is insane. It’s indistinguishable, especially in a live setting.


    I will admit that when I first got the Kemper, using it with studio profiles definitely didn’t sound great through a traditional cab.


    I still own several amps, but not one has hit the stage since I got the Kemper. It’s been a game changer.

  • I use the powered Kemper into a 2x12 guitar cab with direct profiles. Anyone who says it doesn’t respond like a real amp is insane. It’s indistinguishable, especially in a live setting.


    I will admit that when I first got the Kemper, using it with studio profiles definitely didn’t sound great through a traditional cab.


    I still own several amps, but not one has hit the stage since I got the Kemper. It’s been a game changer.

    So many people can't be insane. I guess it depends on the player and the tone he is chasing.

  • Hey Sunshine, which of your amplifiers have you done direct profiles?
    I hope you’re having a great weekend, Keith

    I have actually only DI profiled a custom head that I had made for me. It is based off the train wreck and I need to redo it. I used an SM7b and think I want to use the regular 57 instead. I have studio profiled my 70’s Bassman just as an experiment when I got the Kemper.


    I mainly use Top Jimi profiles:
    Slash AFD, Caswell modded, JCM800, Orange


    His profiles have been my go to for merged/direct


    My main sound right now is the new JCM800 in the free Lars pack, but there is something I find lacking in the mid range with his profile and I may be going back to one of the TJ.

  • I’ve done it all, merged, direct, my own direct profiles, Guido Bogner profiles, Berts Friedman profile pack, Which are great for live use without a cabinet, but nothing captures the real amplifier tone and feel, nothing…
    If you find top Jimi’s (Merged) profiles sound good through guitar cabinets, then we are on a completely different wavelength… I guess we all have different ears, tone is subjective…
    Sorry, They sound and feel nothing like a real tube guitar amplifier through a 4×12 cabinet…
    Hope you’re having a great weekend bro!