Pre KPA Days ....When I think back to the Crazy Days .....

Oh lord, my rig changed every five minutes back then.

My typical rig consisted of a head and 2x12 along with enough pedals to occupy half the stage. I spent most of the night tap dancing. But over the years I tired of that nonsense. My final pre-KPA rig consisted of a Vox AC30HW, a few pedals, and my fingers.

My pre KPA rig was a line 6 vetta 2 combo which i had for around 12 years. It sounded OK but not great. I used it because it was convenient and i didn't need lots of pedals etc. I'm glad the KPA arrived its now easier, sounds better and lighter than the Vetta. All hail the KPA

I'm so glad for my KPA , My old rig for yrs was Egnater IE4 preamp, Pv50/50 EL84 poweramp. 4/12 Cab true stereo 212s for guitar and a 3 way pa setuo for guitar Synth, FCB1010, a switch to mute guitar just to use synth, and a half dozen pedals. Big heavy and lots of cables and time to hook it all up

Digitech GSP2101 and every POD and Bass POD from v1.0 to HD500.

'Nuff said.

Line 6 Hell... (stole this term from a forum brother, can't remember who though)

Rocktron Chameleon for over 20 years. Still love it. Before that, the ADA MP1 with an SPX50D. Very good too.

What was lacking was the feel of a tube amp, even more than the tone. The push that comes from standing in front of a tube amp was impossible to replicate. I never went for the Rocktron updates, the Line 6 stuff (even though I own a POD, rarely used it live, only for emergencies). Never had the chance to try the Fractal stuff. Seriously, just very happy with the Chameleon.

So, recently I got a relatively important gig where I had to recreate an album recorded in the '70s and I knew in my gut I would never be able to get those tones with my old rig. Can't overstate how satisfying it was to play

Those first few chords at sound check. The KPA pushed air just like my old Marshall and gave me a nice back rub. Best feeling in the world.

Funny thing now is, I am now working on Cliffs of Dover and tried to get that classic Johnson tone but even mimicking his amp and pedals, couldn't get it just right. I ended up pulling a Chameleon profile and used that as a foundation and nailed it!

Nothing more inspiring to learn an impossible guitar solo than having the exact album tone.

So funny how much farther you can go with the profile on e it's in the Kemper, I can go so much deeper with my old sounds.

Quote from Paul LaPlaca

Rocktron Chameleon for over 20 years. Still love it. Before that, the ADA MP1 with an SPX50D. Very good too.

What was lacking was the feel of a tube amp, even more than the tone. The push that comes from standing in front of a tube amp was impossible to replicate. I never went for the Rocktron updates, the Line 6 stuff (even though I own a POD, rarely used it live, only for emergencies). Never had the chance to try the Fractal stuff. Seriously, just very happy with the Chameleon.

So, recently I got a relatively important gig where I had to recreate an album recorded in the '70s and I knew in my gut I would never be able to get those tones with my old rig. Can't overstate how satisfying it was to play

Damn I remember them I had a Chameleon about 20 years ago they were excellent in the day, I loved mine.

The 80s.....

Seymour Duncan Convertible amp with BOSS pedal assortment in the gray, plastic BOSS case.
Then, I went over to a Marshall JTM-45 and used the cabinet of a Yamaha G100-212 combo for speakers.
Late 80s, switched to a rack with ADA MP-1, QSC SS power amp, and Quadraverb.

2008+.....
When I started playing again, I used a POD 2 into the effects return of the Duncan amp.
Then a Rivera Fandango with various boutique pedals OR Digitech RP1000
Then the Eleven Rack

....arriving at the Kemper which is where I will stay.

Quote from Robman

The POD's were great and groundbreaking when they came out....'Line 6 Hell' was a great place to be and they are probably a very important evolutionary step to get to where we are today in my opinion. Its probably a bit like comparing a mini from the 70's to a Cooper today

I've used a POD 2.3 for living room practice through a mixer/PA with my band and they all commented on how good it sounded. The Marshall, Boogie, and Soldano models were great. I still have it and it's my gig backup.

Quote from schneidas

Line 6 Hell... (stole this term from a forum brother, can't remember who though)

It was I who used it first, I believe. Here's the last time:

The gear your Kemper replaced - Page 2

At least one other forum member did so at a later date.

It ended up being Hell for me far many reasons, but the first few years were fine. I liked the POD 1 and xt for their simplicity, and the xt's LA2A-styled compressor was great, especially in the Bass POD version.

Quote from Monkey_Man

It was I who used it first, I believe. Here's the last time:

The gear your Kemper replaced - Page 2

At least one other forum member did so at a later date.

It ended up being Hell for me far many reasons, but the first few years were fine. I liked the POD 1 and xt for their simplicity, and the xt's LA2A-styled compressor was great, especially in the Bass POD version.

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Ah yes, it was you wise Monkey!

Yes, I liked Line 6 back in the day... still use my old XT occasionally when I get nostalgic (only to toss it out 2 minutes later and think to myself "man, how did I play with this thing for years?")...
Got a PodHD later - and went through hell with it for a few months just before discovering the Profiler...

If I remember well,

1992 :Marshall 8040 valvestate+Several Zoom pedalboards
1995 : Marshall JCM900+pedalboards (ART, ...)
1997 : Line6 Axsys212
1998 : POD 1.0...
2002 : PODXT, then PODXT Pedalboards
2005 : PODPro+2:50 Boogie poweramp
2007 : Boogie MarkIIC+
2008 or 2009 : Nova System, and various pedals...
2010 : 11R+Torpedo Cab+MIDI Pedalboard
2012 : KPA...
2014 : Yamaha THR5 (very nice portable amp)

Everything was sold except for KPA, the THR5 and the IIC+.

Thinking about selling my IIC+... but good news, if I sell it, it will be to an active member of the KPA forum

Yes, I remember SOS used to write good things about it. That one and the Vox unit received a lot of love.

Quote from schneidas

Ah yes, it was you wise Monkey!

Yes, I liked Line 6 back in the day... still use my old XT occasionally when I get nostalgic (only to toss it out 2 minutes later and think to myself "man, how did I play with this thing for years?")...
Got a PodHD later - and went through hell with it for a few months just before discovering the Profiler...

Wise Money? I like that, mate.

You got off lightly with your HD unit, mate. Only a few months? Man, I got a semi-permanent back and neck ache from 3 years of editing that thing, then when I finally managed to edit every amp to sound non-scratchy, I gave in to the Kemper. In retrospect I wish I'd thrown in the towel much sooner, but you know how it is - you invest 20 years in a company that tells you that this new thing is their most-accurate device yet, so you feel you owe it to yourself and to them to do your utmost to enable it to shine... so to speak.

Anyway, we should all rejoice now that we've found our panacea.

My old rig was a Marshall JCM2000 TSL 122 combo. Very heavy amp! I also had a bunch of stomp boxes, an old Boss ME-6 then a GT3 then a GT10 and finally the Kemper when I decided that lugging the Marshall was overkill for all but the biggest venues. Considering I mostly played in pubs clubs and at weddings, no real need for 100 watts of pure ear splitting Marshall grunt!
Cheers
Pre-Amp