Into the void aka You moron, you traded away the Kemper

  • Remember saying last week that you were conscious of minimising the space your gear took up 'cause your room was already-cluttered, AJ?


    Just a gentle reminder, bro'. Happy Profilin', bud.


    Hehe, I'm also breaking my vow to abstain from gear purchases. On the flipside, I'm selling my Roland TD30 and switching to a small acoustic setup, so should make a few dollars on that.


    Been there, done that. See you when you return.


    It's like Mothership has its own gravitational feed, haha!


    Yep, good luck and I respect your enthusiasm on trying a new endeavor. Always enjoyed your point of view on things and will look for it again in the near future. Best wishes on your new journey into amp / mic land!!


    Thanks a lot! You'll probably see me hanging around on these forums reading some interesting thread or the other. I look forward to seeing you and the others incognito!


    I think I get it. Simplify your choices. Sometimes you feel you have to strip things back to find yourself again. And you will ... and maybe that leads you back to the Kemper and maybe it doesn't. For a musician the best advice is: play it like you feel it.


    Best of luck.


    That's freaking awesome, I would like to frame that. "Play it like you feel it"!



    Hey bro trade your SM58 with a SM57. Good luck and have fun !!


    Thanks a lot, @djemass! Your amazing free profiles were one of the reasons I was really interested in trading for a Mark V even though I've never played one (that's not a profile). Granted it's the dinky version, but it seems to deliver the goods.




    Oop, are the V30s the ones to look out for? I was trying to finalise a deal for a cabinet with a Eminence Texas Heat (because it was already installed, no personal preference). Won't pan out?


    I have the SM58, so I'll take off the hood when I'm micing up the amp. Heard it's identical to the SM57.


    Yup, I was looking at some Radial stuff that was available in the used market here. I was thinking of getting the X-Amp for reamping, which is active. Or should I instead go for the passive version that Radial has?


    I also need a DI, so I was looking at a Countryman Type 85 or another Radial, though I can't find any active ones that are used.


    I have a Seymour Duncan 805, I always preferred it to the tube screamer in the Kemper. Hopefully it will sound good in front of the amps as well.


    I'm just heading the other way. I've got my dream tube amp and effects, but I'm personally over all of the extra effort it takes and the random results (and excessive stage volume) when gigging. Nice problems to have! Enjoy the ride!


    I know the feeling. After so many years of wrestling with tones from my extremely basic equipment, the Kemper was a revelation!


    I've learnt a lot about mic amping and what goes into a good tone from these forums and just trying out the best stuff possible though. Sure, it'll be a bit of work, but I like the idea of wrestling with something for a change.


    It's not like I can never buy a Kemper again, haha. This is just something I need to do.


    Hey AJ,


    if you have found something better than the kpa, please let me know. If not, good luck.
    As Ingolf has written, i cant understand this step too. Hope we'll see you back here soon.


    Cheers
    Frank


    Hehe, you know what it's like Frank. Chasing tones for years and years. And now you think that the Kemper is the shit!


    But in a few years, it'll be the Kemper 2! And then the 3! Or maybe some other magic digital box!


    I think with all these technological changes, one thing will persist, and that's the actual amplifiers! I've had so much joy playing the reproductions, I just had to see what a real one was like!




    Thanks, Sin! That sounds like metal, as do all your mixes! I would be lucky to be able to mix so well!


    Part of my plan is to run the amps through IRs! The dude who's taking my Kemper is throwing in a Suhr Reactive Load. That should be good enough to send a great preamp signal to my DAW. I'll then fool around with running those tones through cab sims. May even pick up a Torpedo Cab down the line just to simplify stuff.

  • Good luck. Recording with an amp is tricky. You'll need some power load most probably and a good preamp. And mikes. And no traffic spoiling the recording. And.. I wont be a spoilsport; it's tricky and also a great experience. You'll be back even if you keep the amps. Got an Engl asleep all day. :D

    I really am looking forward to learning something new. Already got lots of little bits and pieces lined up for acquisition lol.




    100% agree, playing style and guitar setup are just as important as amp,mic,eq,etc.
    You're going to realize amp,cab and mic do not make up 100% of the tone. For me what matters most is guitar setup and playing style.


    Just look at Chappers and The Captain. Rob makes even shitty gear sound awesome. The Captain makes the most expensive gear sound like shit. Theres no easy way out.


    I've been spending tons of time working on my guitar setup. This has a huge impact on the tone. Tiny adjustments here and there. Recording every change and hearing the slight differences in tone. It adds up and I've done the same with adjusting my picking style.

    I hear you, Ant. In that sense, my guitars are setup really well. Planning to take a few lessons, see where I go.


    I thought you'd appreciate this track, it's just guitars so far.


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    Now that my project recording has been interrupted, who knows when I'll pick up the thread again? But hey, in a "post-" world, we all know that we're not going to be rockstars and movie Gods.



    Best of luck nightlight see you soon :thumbup:

    Something went wrong with that quote. Thanks a tonne, wish you all the best too! And the rest of the guys as well.

  • and the Kemper will still be available once you've had your fill of blown tubes, haha!

    and biasing, and different tone based on humidity, temperature, attenuator tone suck, etc.


    But, I can understand the OP's thinking. Unlike myself, and I suspect others, who have had a bunch of different 'legacy' amps and know what we are not missing, OP hasn't had that. Until he finds that out, that he really wasn't missing anything with the Kemper, but pretty glowing tubes, headaches (particularly at home), inconsistency, for himself, he has to try. NOW, I would have counseled to keep the KPA and try a legacy amp or two, but, then that's how I roll. I held onto my last 6 or 7 legacy amps, when I first went to the KPA.

  • The Captain makes the most expensive gear sound like shit.

    Captain has better vibrato than the vast majority of guitarists here and elsewhere imho! Just saying :)

  • @nightlight I still remember when you tried to take the piss out of me for suggesting I might sell the KPA :P .


    I think you'll find some revelations, namely that your results will be superior to the KPA, but much more temperamental. It's also true that limitations breed creativity and the Kemper affords you so many options that you can get lost in "what else is out there" paralysis.


    Write and play music, and remember: it's just gear.

  • ...
    I think you'll find some revelations, namely that your results will be superior to the KPA, but much more temperamental. ...

    With an SM58 and not knowing what speakers to use, 1x12, 2x12, 4x12 , no knowledge of what Mic Pre will be in use while using a load box or power attenuator that sucks the life (high Frequency response) of tube amps that the half decent ones have eq to correct this, never mind mic placement , all of that with an unknown budget in a room that likely has no treatment for reflection or bass traps etc, with all of these limitations, you're suggesting that his results will be better.


    This s almost the same as saying "Close your eyes. Feel it. The light…it’s always been there. It will guide you"


    But then realizing what Han Solo said “That’s not how the Force works!” :D

  • AJ, what you heard was incorrect; a '58 is not like a '57:


    '58 for vocals if you insist on a hand-held, inexpensive dynamic mic.


    '57 for snare and guitar cabs 'cause it rolls off the "unnecessary" air (and harsh upper frequencies) nicely and adds it's own special mojo.


    Lastly, I fear you've made the same "mistake" by ditching the TD-30 for an acoustic kit; the same "warnings" I "issued"(!) earlier apply - now you're going to have to deal with room resonances, modes and "boxiness" in general, phase issues, harshness, muddiness... all things that the TD module effectively eliminates. It's a trade off between the authenticity of the aforementioned struggle for legit tones (the acoustic one) and how close the modeller can get to an ideal studio sound. IMHO, it's no contest in a home-recording situation, just as it is in the Kemper's case.


    My prediction: You say goodbye to a bunch of cash, but nevertheless are grateful when all's said and done that you at least confirmed that the modelling / Profiling path you were on was indeed the most-utilitarian for your needs. Don't forget to buy the neighbours some earplugs and sleeping pills, and you should be good to go... and return. :D

  • AJ, what you heard was incorrect; a '58 is not like a '57:

    without pop killer sounds very close. Dont know how this guy compare both mics becouse even left and right side of same speaker sounds diff :D Another noob probably ;( But in the mix sm57 and sm58 with pop killer again sounds very close. WTF thats why i dont trust comparison on YT until iv made my own.


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    Stay Metal!

  • without pop killer sounds very close. Dont know how this guy compare both mics becouse even left and right side of same speaker sounds diff :D Another noob probably ;( But in the mix sm57 and sm58 with pop killer again sounds very close. WTF thats why i dont trust comparison on YT until iv made my own.

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    Stay Metal!

    The difference between 57 and 58 is one number, so they must be very similar. They're both dynamic microphones too 8o

  • To be honest at this point and I meant that with all the respect: It's not about Kemper or any other modeler It's very likely that you like most folks here, most definitely will get better results with Amplitube, BIAS or any modeler, than using a real amp. for recording.


    I say that because I have no hesitation giving advice when I think that you would be only wasting time if the interest is recording. Think of from an operation prospective and that you will have no choice but to use headphones etc and by the time you learn and try to get more knowledge about home recording only to find out that, you need a serious budget and space to get anything that still might not be worthwhile..


    I suggest buying a small tube amp that has a line out and keeping your kemper. There are tons of small tube amps that have attenuators on board and you can experiment with that instead of just trading your Kemper. Don't do it. Again that my sincere advice based on personal experience.