Question on Correct Setup for a new user

Quote from Angus1968

1. I have downloaded Rig Manager and need to connect the Kemper to my laptop (it is a windows based machine). But there are were no cables in the Kemper box other than the power cord. Does that seem right? I would have thought they would put in the cable?? Next question is how do I actually connect. The back of the Kemper has the USB spot with a flat connection (that would fit a normal memory stick) and a larger, squarer slot. Which USB slot should I use? My laptop only has the normal memory stick connections (not the squarer ones). And I take it that whatever cable I need I just go to a computer store?

I'll defer to others for the answers to the other questions.

1) You will need to buy a good USB cable; Kemper does not include one with the KPA that I recall. You can get them almost anywhere that sells electronics/copmuters, but I would recommend not getting the cheapest you find.
2) I connect the square end to the Kemper, and the flat end to my computer.

Hi and welcome!

What you need is a "USB A to USB B" cable. USB A is the flat type -- this side will connect to your laptop -- and USB B is the square type that plugs into your Kemper. The Kemper also has a USB A port, but this is used to plug in a memory stick. These cables are pretty ubiquitous as they're often used for printers and other office devices. In fact, I use an old printer cable myself and have never had any problems.

Quote from Angus1968

3. I will be almost exclusively using headphones. I have been reading up a lot about this and was about to get ready to buy a good set. But I have a pair of Beats and I plugged this into the Kemper headphones straight out of the box, and I have to say I am really happy with the sound. It is brilliant. Would a set of Audio Technica 50 or Beyerdynamics 770/880 or Sennheiser 650s really sound that much better? Is there potentially some kind of headphone snobbery that could cloud people's judgements here, as I know everyone loves to bash Beats. But hey, i already have them so if I can avoid spending another $400, it would be good.

It depends on what you want to do with the Kemper. If you're planning to play live at some point (or in any other situation where the Kemper will be amplified through other gear than your own), the rigs you selected and tweaked so that they sounded good through your Beats headphones may sound different than you expected. Beats headphones emphasize bass, so it's possible that you'll end up with profiles that sound thin on other gear.

Similarly, if you want to record and mix things and share the result with the world, you may want to invest in a set of more neutral headphones (or speakers). They give you the "true", uncolored sound reproduction you need to create a balanced mix that will sound the way you intend it to when other people listen to it.

But if you're mainly playing at home, none of the above matters at all: if it sounds good, it sounds good!

Welcome Angus,
You only really need the UR22 to record. So if you record frequently, you can use the UR22 as the mixer by bringing the Kemper outs into the UR22 inputs. But then every time you play you have to power up the UR22 (and maybe your computer depending on where you monitor). If you record infrequently, you can just bring any backing track source into the Kemper and use the Kemper as the mixer using the Alternative Input and Return on the back. You need a special cable for this, but there are directions in the manual, and pictures on this forum. Just google Kemper Alternative MP3. In this case you just plug the headphones into the Kemper and you're good to go. You can even practice without the computer if your just doing scales and such.

Quote from Angus1968

3. I will be almost exclusively using headphones. I have been reading up a lot about this and was about to get ready to buy a good set. But I have a pair of Beats and I plugged this into the Kemper headphones straight out of the box, and I have to say I am really happy with the sound. It is brilliant. Would a set of Audio Technica 50 or Beyerdynamics 770/880 or Sennheiser 650s really sound that much better? Is there potentially some kind of headphone snobbery that could cloud people's judgements here, as I know everyone loves to bash Beats. But hey, i already have them so if I can avoid spending another $400, it would be good.

I can't help you on the Kemper stuff as I've only had mine 3 days, but in regards to the headphones the ATH M50 are a small upgrade to Beats. I had some for years, they're great headphones but if you already have Beats they're just not much of an upgrade and have a similar sound profile. Now I'm using AKG K712 and have been really happy with the difference they made compared to the M50s. I'm also doing the same as you, selling off all the old equipment I spent more time trying to get a good, problem free tone from - I really wish I'd bought a KPA when they came out, it hurts when I look back at all the time spent tweaking and problem solving when I could have just switched on a KPA for instantly awesome tones.