Thinking about selling the Kemper

  • Hi,


    i've bought the KPA 3 years ago and i'm still trying to find my sound. I'm frustrated and tired of buying profiles that never sound like the clips (also because most of the times are double tracked or in a mix..) and lately i've been thinking about selling and replacing with another solution like a valve preamp or head plus torpedo or helix/fractal. I basically need three sounds and, while on the cleans and crunch/pushed crunch i got acceptable but not unbelievable results, on the high gain i've never been able to find something that i like. I am a bedroom player and i only play through headphones so this may have some influence; also my guitars and pickups may have some influence (i play with an sg and a les paul special with low output pickups so maybe i would need something like a JB for high gain). Said that, i tried everything to make it sound like i want it to, i have messed around with every parameter but with no success. I'm coming to the conclusion that the KPA is fantastic for those who profile their sounds..for the others who don't is really really really difficult to find their sound. In the next few day i am going to buy another guitar and i will see if it makes some difference but i don't have high hopes..What do you suggest me?any advice is suggested. Thanks

  • When was the last time you played it really, really loud?


    I only ask because there have been times where I wasn't getting the feels through headphones or monitors but when I play it loud , like really really loud through a real cabinet or a bumpin PA all the feels come back lol

  • I'm coming to the conclusion that the KPA is fantastic for those who profile their sounds..for the others who don't is really really really difficult to find their sound.

    I think this is a pretty big generalization :) doesn't apply to me, or to many others.


    That said, if the Kemper is not for you, it's not for you. Sounds like you have given it more than its fair chance after 3 years.


    I'm wondering what you used to play through? Could it be that you just don't gel with the sound of a mic'ed up cabinet while playing? have you, by any chance, tried it through a real guitar cab?

  • About the "not sounding as in a clip because double or quad tracking" ... it will be the same for all solutions. If you like this huge "in you face" sound that you listen in the kind of clips you mentionned (double or quad tracking), you never get this result with any solution (real amp included) with a mono track.... It will always sound as ... a mono track ...

  • I think this is a pretty big generalization :) doesn't apply to me, or to many others.
    That said, if the Kemper is not for you, it's not for you. Sounds like you have given it more than its fair chance after 3 years.


    I'm wondering what you used to play through? Could it be that you just don't gel with the sound of a mic'ed up cabinet while playing? have you, by any chance, tried it through a real guitar cab?

    Or anything BUT headphones

  • Hi,


    i've bought the KPA 3 years ago and i'm still trying to find my sound. I'm frustrated and tired of buying profiles that never sound like the clips (also because most of the times are double tracked or in a mix..) and lately i've been thinking about selling and replacing with another solution like a valve preamp or head plus torpedo or helix/fractal. I basically need three sounds and, while on the cleans and crunch/pushed crunch i got acceptable but not unbelievable results, on the high gain i've never been able to find something that i like. I am a bedroom player and i only play through headphones so this may have some influence; also my guitars and pickups may have some influence (i play with an sg and a les paul special with low output pickups so maybe i would need something like a JB for high gain). Said that, i tried everything to make it sound like i want it to, i have messed around with every parameter but with no success. I'm coming to the conclusion that the KPA is fantastic for those who profile their sounds..for the others who don't is really really really difficult to find their sound. In the next few day i am going to buy another guitar and i will see if it makes some difference but i don't have high hopes..What do you suggest me?any advice is suggested. Thanks

    I did just what you are saying. Bought another guitar,pickups and bridge because of being disappointed with the Kemper. My opinion, only buy a guitar because you want too, you still might not be happy with the Kemper. For me, I am a gear junkie and have no problem buying new toys.

  • I did just what you are saying. Bought another guitar,pickups and bridge because of being disappointed with the Kemper. My opinion, only buy a guitar because you want too, you still might not be happy with the Kemper. For me, I am a gear junkie and have no problem buying new toys.

    i want to buy it (les paul traditional) because i like it and not because of the kemper. Are you happy now with the kemper after you changed the guitar?

  • What was your previous headphone rig?


    Also, one time I looked up on YouTube "unmixed guitar tracks" or raw guitar tracks, it made me feel a lot better.The mix will always change things.


    My 4 go-to knobs are Definition , clarity , Character ( which with headphones is almost always all the way up, and when I got ear tired of that sound ,pure cab, every now and then to switch it up.

  • i want to buy it (les paul traditional) because i like it and not because of the kemper. Are you happy now with the kemper after you changed the guitar?

    It gave me hope as its closer but I'm still not 100% happy. Not sure why the Kemper is so much work for me. Others seem to turn 3 knobs and are getting what they want. My only speculation is its other factors besides my Kemper that I need to work on.

  • "High gain" sounds can be different for people. Give an example of a sound you like, maybe someone can suggest a profile or settings.


    I might also suggest you try using a distortion pedal before your Kemper , to maybe give you that added gain you want.


    You can also turn up the "distortion sense" to add more gain to guitars that you think should break up sooner.

  • For example

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  • I also bought the Beyerdynamic 880 Pro and thought it was how things were supposed to sound. Then I bough a Fostex headset about 3x the price, can't remember the name, Im not at home as I write this. The first time I listened to David Foster and Friends I right out cried because I heard music in a way and sounds I had never heard before. The Beyerdynamics may be correct, but they are utterly boring and the bass extension was just not there at all.


    Also, when using headphones, I use quite a bit of the space effect which makes the sound *much* better.

  • Something tells me if you're confined to using headphones all the time, you'll probably be disappointed by just about any solution you invest in.


    Just the other day I was recording with my band while waiting for my Mission Gemini to arrive, so I went direct with the Kemper. The audio interface and monitors my singer uses aren't great and I was a bit underwhelmed by everything through said monitors and the headphones. When I got my speaker, plugged in, and turned up the volume on the same profile that underwhelmed me... HOLY SHIT. Body, life, and all the air you would want to push. It was bliss.


    Point being, if you are solely at home playing on headphones, just download Positive Grid's Bias software ($150). You'll be underwhelmed by anything else.


    For high gain tones, I really like the Lasse Lammert pack that comes standard on the Kemper and the new Choptones free rig pack has some fantastic high gain amp models.