Hey Guys! New KPA User in Texas! But.....

  • Wow, I am thoroughly impressed by the amount of support in here! I just received my Kemper Rack (unpowered) yesterday! Unfortunately, aside from doing a ton of video and manual research, and after I plugged it in, my initial impressions were meh. The unit is used so I updated the firmware, installed rig manager and am still working my way around. I obviously must have some settings not configured correctly, because it just sounds plasticky (is that a word?). I'm using the main 1/4" outs to a Mesa Boogie 295 into (2) 1x12 Mesa Rectocabs. Yes, the cab sims are off. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


    Metalgod

  • Plug it straight into the desk or powered speakers to get a real impression. Your Mesa gear is colouring the sound (as you most likely well know). The Profiler sounds exactly like a mic'ed amp. Try profiling your Mesa gear for yourself and you'll see. Also, as its used, you might want to do a factory reset.

  • Hey guys, thanks so much. I was going to try a factory reset, but I thought upgrading the firmware would have done that for me already? Guess not. I have seen several conflicting methods of performing a factory reset so any help is appreciated. Would I also have to reload the latest firmware afterwards again? Please forgive if already in another thread.


    Oh and by the way, yes it sounds like shit through headphones, actually worse than my rig itself, that's why I think I am missing something.


    I really do want to like this piece of gear as the videos below are some of the main reasons I bought it, as it will be used extensively in a "live" scenario.


    The first video is from FastRedPonyCar which we know all of his vids sound good. The second video actually shows this guy profiling the "preamp" of an Engl and then using the profile through the tube poweramp and then mic'd up. Sounds great. Maybe I should be looking for "preamp" profiles instead?


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    Metalgod

  • Hi guys, actually yes! One thing for sure I am finding with my setup is that it definitely sounds better with VOLUME to make those V30's spank :) I'm letting the Mesa power amp do its work and things are loosening up a bit, just fiddling with presets. Some rigs are engh, while others are just MASSIVE, so I know the devil is in the details!


    I know I have a long way to go, so I'm a little skurd of doing a factory reset just yet (may not need to). I am seeing a lot of rigs in there that may not be from the factory and I don't want to lose them - so I'll be reading about backing up before I do anything. It's a little difficult to tell which rigs are factory and which have been bought and loaded by the previous owner.


    Does the User "And44" ring a bell? All of these rig names start with "=A". The unit says I have a total of 584 rigs. Its that the right amount from the factory?


    Metalgod

  • Welcome to the community! Keep experimenting and you will find the tones you are looking for. The profile you use will make a big difference, so keep looking for ones that offer the realism you seek.

    Husband, Father, Pajama Enthusiast

  • Thanks mDan! That's what I'm talking about, I will have a look. The more I think about it and with the different types of profiles, the signal routing options has way more possibilities than I had originally thought of for different applications. FoH with Monitors, FRFR Only, In ear + FRFR, Stereo Power Amp Mic'd with traditional and FRFR Passive, etc; the list goes on and on :)

  • Welcome! I use a boogie real cab too and its a big difference to a frfr with cab sim on or powered studio monitors because its a real cab. Use the monitor eq in the output section to fit your boogie cabs. This works.
    Di profiles will also help.


    cheers
    Frank