A few questions before I pull the trigger

  • Evening all


    Just want to say this forum is fantastic and extremely educating.


    I have been researching the Kemper for the last month and I feel it will provide me with want I need.


    To start off I am singer, songwriter, lead guitarist for a hard rock originals band. This is my first bout as a singer and my current setup is a Gibson Traditional, JVM410H, 4x12 and various effects. My reason for looking at the Kemper is probably shared with 99% of the members here......reducing weight and creating convenience.


    My other reason is continuity between recording in the studio and what is played live. I have tried nearly all the amp modeller in the Line6/Boss price range over the years and never found anything that sounded decent. Once I bought a tube amp I never looked back.


    Music wise I write mainly grunge/hard rock so Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, GnR.


    The problems I am trying to solve are

    • Overall kit size and weight.
    • Ability to monitor both my guitar and vocal
    • A selection of sounds for live use maybe even some stereo delays
    • Integrated effects so they are not in front of me, I only use delays and wah with a little reverb. May look at stereo effects further down the line.
    • All effect changes made via midi to avoid the tap dancing


    To solve the problems above I have decided on

    • Kemper rack version, powered just in case I need to drive a cab at times.
    • Yamaha DXR10 for monitoring both guitar and vocals
    • Kemper pedal board
    • 2 x mission pedals for wah and volume/time based control

    The other members of the band use marshal half stacks for bass and guitar.


    My questions are:


    Would the DXR10 be able to keep up with these or would 2 be a better option?


    Would the Dxr10 be a good choice for simultaneously monitoring vocals or would the DXR 12 be a better option?


    From what I have read on the forum the Kemper should easily deliver what I need tome wise so just looking for some assurances before I spend £3000 on gear I can't test first.


    Cheers guys and girls


    Mike

    Edited once, last by Audiopilot: Question were not really clear. ().

  • Hey Mike,


    I wouldn't use the DXR10 for vocals as well. IMHO, you want the sound to come from behind the mic, IOW, in front of you, as would be the case when using a wedge front-of-stage.


    Think about it - if the mic pointed towards the amplified vocal sound , it'd double up with what you're singing and therefore colour the tone at best, and cause feedback (extremely-likely IMHO) at worst.

  • Hey Mike,


    I wouldn't use the DXR10 for vocals as well. IMHO, you want the sound to come from behind the mic, IOW, in front of you, as would be the case when using a wedge front-of-stage.


    Think about it - if the mic pointed towards the amplified vocal sound , it'd double up with what you're singing and therefore colour the tone at best, and cause feedback (extremely-likely IMHO) at worst.

    I don't see an issue with using the DXR10 as a monitor with vocals. After all, you have to have the vocals coming out of something back at you :)


    Oh, and welcome to the forum Audiopilot :thumbup:


    edit: On further review, Nicky, I see your point however, if the DXR is behind instead of in front ...

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

  • If any Monitor speaker is behind the singer , the microphone signal will feedback. It needs to be in front of the singer (where the sensitivity of a cardioid mic is lowest) to prevent feedback.


    If you like the sound of your guitar coming from the front of you, having guitar and vocal in the Monitor will work well. I usually have my vocal monitor in front of me, and my DXR to the side, but I've played gigs with both in the Monitor in front of me, and it can work very well.

  • Hey guys


    Thanks for the answers.


    My plan was to have the DXR to the right or left of the mic as a wedge. This would then play my vocals and guitar back towards me and the band.


    I am so used to playing with my guitar cab behind me and the pa playing a wedge towards me I just want to ensure the band can hear me. Feedback should be fine if the cab is behind or to the side of the mic.


    Monkey, if I am hearing you right are you saying the issue would be only if the wedge was behind me facing towards the mic.


    Cheers


    Mike

  • Yeah mate.


    Honestly, I do feel that monitoring vox from the side is playing with fire. If your starting point is, say, 90º off-axis, you're not leaving much room to move the mic angle, which will happen, believe me.


    Much-safer to start at 180º - directly behind the mic where rejection is at its greatest.

  • DX10 is described here by many as very good in terms of price-performance ratio.
    DXR12 seems to me unnecessary (short distance) and causes only more weight when wearing it.

  • Sharry


    Thank you for pitching in.


    I am unsure who did the awesome comparison between the DXR10 and DXR12 on the forum but it was extremely informative. My only additional requirement is how the speaker would perform if also used for vocals.


    The kemper itself is not in question for me, I want one regardless of whether I use it live as it has great value for the studio, plus I can leave my 4x12 and JVM in storage, but for studio I wouldn't need the powered version, the foot pedal (unless you can't attach the mission pedals direct which I have not checked) or the DXR10.


    I don't mind buying two monitors, one for vocals and one for guitar or a stereo spread but if a single 10 will do all I need, monitor for me plus let the band hear me, then I may as well save the money.


    My head is spinning with options. None powered rack with DXR10, powered rack with DXR10 for vocals and a 2x12 cab for guitar (cab sim off) and send main to FOH (cab sim on) or powered rack and then just try various monitoring options.


    Every other requirement the Kemper will excel at (reamping, tube style pick sensitivity, effects, good quality wah sounds, headphone practice) but this monitoring, especially vocals, is new territory for me.


    I think I may just have to place the order and see how I get on. There is a site that has a 30 day return policy so it's a no brained for me.


    Thank you


    Mike

  • I think it would be a good idea to try at first only one monitor. In the bigband, I play also, we use DX10 even as PA for small venues. (mainly for the vocals.)


    A guitar cabinet will initially give you the feeling of hearing for the guitar you are used to, but will limit your sound possibilities for later and is not suitable for vocals at all.



    As the most important investment I would recommend the remote of Kemper. There are also cheaper MIDI pedal boards, but the remote is best adapted to the Kemper.


    I hope 30 days will be enough for you to explore the possibilities of Kemper and the possible weight saving potential. :)


    BTW: To hear Stereo you need two Monitors. I don't use stereo monitoring, but the main signal goes from Kemper (Main) in stereo to the FOH)

  • Sharry


    I think I will opt for the Dxr10 as if the kemper does not work it would still be good to have some monitoring for vocals.


    I would never put vocals through a guitar cab, I meant have a guitar cab for guitar and DXR for vocals. I agree though that this would limit my possibilities as cabs play such an important part of an amps sound, especially if its a matching cab.


    If I'm buying a midi board I'd make sure it's the Kemper one anyway. With all the options and distractions the Kemper could possibly bring the last thing I want is midi board issue. Same with the mission pedals, won't save much buying something else and they are tried and tested.


    30 days..... Christ I doubt it lol, my starting point is testing profiles of my JVM, if they sound as good then I'll sell both my JVM amps and the kemper has been paid for plus I'll get a lot of other benefits.


    Stereo is just a thought at the moment. If I use stereo to FOH but the monitoring does not put me off being mono then I'll happily only monitor in mono.


    Thank you to all that have answered, made my mind up..... Kemper, pedal board, 2 x mission pedals And Dxr10 will be on order today


    Cheers


    Mike

  • Well guys


    Trigger well pulled......


    Now I am impatiently waiting for it all to arrive.


    Ordered the powered Kemper, DXR10, footpedal with 2 mission pedals.


    This thing had best bloody rock lol


    Can I ask one more question. Is it possible to download profiles without registering the device just in case I want to return it? If so I'll need to create a new thread as it would be great to have a JVM profile to compare.


    Thank you all for your help,


    Mike

  • Hello from me too! I hope you'll be happy with your purchase.


    I'm not quite sure about rig packs and the rig exchange (and I can't try because I have mine registered -- but you could right now!), but there are so many other sources for profiles... First of all, the Kemper comes with some great ones, many share theirs over Dropbox and if you think you need to buy some from commercial vendors (many of whom offer free samples) that would obviously be no problem as well. And, maybe most importantly for you, you can make your own profiles of your JVM to your taste.


    So if you want to thoroughly test the Kemper (as you should) before deciding to keep it, I don't think it should be a problem laying off the registering a month.

  • I would register the Kemper so that you can use the Rig Exchange. There is a huge advantage for auditioning the various available rigs. You can still return it regardless ...

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer