Live this is great - recorded it is not !!!

    I have had my Kemper PowerRack for over a year now, it sounds amazing live, and I don't even have a great cab, just an old Marshall with dodgy speakers and wiring.
    Sadly I have NEVER had a satisfactory result recording my Kemper. I have tried everything, checked all outs, engaged cab sim, checked my audio interface, used SPidIF the lot!


    I must know if other folk have had similar experiences.... ??


    It's a very expensive bit of kit to only have half-use of really. I bought it for both live and recording applications but cannot beat a, 'real' amp such as a 5150 into Torpedo Live.
    More recently I got the UA OX and my recordings have improved immensely ( no, I am not a UA troll or endorsee ).


    Any feedback ( 'scuse the pun ) tips or advice welcome as currently my Kemper is on his way towards the eBay pile ;(



    Thank you ALL - PAUL :)

    I mainly use mine for recording as well. I don't use it via SPDIF (except for reamping) and still get awesome results.
    A lot of major recording studios own a Kemper, which would be pointless if great recordings could ne be achieved.

    I'm going to have to say this is more user error than the Kemper not sounding good recorded. I mean, just go on YouTube and listen to all the samples that people have recorded directly into their computers. They are unreal, and they are also what convinced many of the members on this forum to go out and take a chance and buy the Kemper.


    There are a bunch of different variables, just like with playing live. The right profile is key. And a profile that sounds amazing live, doesn't always necessarily sound great recorded.


    I personally haven't even tried recording with my Kemper in the nearly 2 years that I've owned it, so I can't really diagnose what you may be doing wrong. But the fact that there are TONS of people out there on YouTube who have some of the most realistic amp sounds I've heard, just proves that this thing CAN sound amazing in the studio as long as you know what you're doing.


    On the flip side, if it sounds amazing live, why would you get rid of it? You'd then be back to lugging around heavy amps and only having the sound of that ONE amp available each night. And most high end amps cost the same if not more than the Kemper does anyway. This is just my opinion, but even if the Kemper wasn't able to be used for recording, I'd keep it just for the flexibility, portability and sound that it gives me for live gigs on it's own.

    I use a MOTU 2410 professional audio interface, I have taken mono and stereo outs from the Kemper, tried different cables, different impedance settings.
    Everything else I record into the MOTU sounds fine, sharp, clear and high quality, the Kemper however, sounds plastic, not bad just fake ;-/

    I use my KPA 98 % for recording and had tremendous results so far.


    you may have a routing issue somewhere ( contact support then , do a full backup before, as they could ask you to reset the unit)


    or a guitar issue, one of my strat always sounded awful on the KPA , I had to get rid of it ( stratisis )


    I the meanwhile I suggest trying both SPDIF and standard outputs and use a reference profile to check your tone ( morgan AC20 for instance )

    Quote from Slyman

    I mainly use mine for recording as well. I don't use it via SPDIF (except for reamping) and still get awesome results.
    A lot of major recording studios own a Kemper, which would be pointless if great recordings could ne be achieved.


    Quote from OhG

    I'm going to have to say this is more user error than the Kemper not sounding good recorded. I mean, just go on YouTube and listen to all the samples that people have recorded directly into their computers. They are unreal, and they are also what convinced many of the members on this forum to go out and take a chance and buy the Kemper.
    There are a bunch of different variables, just like with playing live. The right profile is key. And a profile that sounds amazing live, doesn't always necessarily sound great recorded.


    I personally haven't even tried recording with my Kemper in the nearly 2 years that I've owned it, so I can't really diagnose what you may be doing wrong. But the fact that there are TONS of people out there on YouTube who have some of the most realistic amp sounds I've heard, just proves that this thing CAN sound amazing in the studio as long as you know what you're doing.


    On the flip side, if it sounds amazing live, why would you get rid of it? You'd then be back to lugging around heavy amps and only having the sound of that ONE amp available each night. And most high end amps cost the same if not more than the Kemper does anyway. This is just my opinion, but even if the Kemper wasn't able to be used for recording, I'd keep it just for the flexibility, portability and sound that it gives me for live gigs on it's own.

    Thanks for your input guys.... don't get me wrong, the Kemper isn't really bad, it just has no grunt, no gristle compared to a real amp either mic'd or even via Torpedo or OX... despite the Kemper Forum tagging me as a beginner, I am very experienced in recording and producing with releases on EMI and UK TV credits too... I wouldn't discount user error but I have worked with the Kemper for way over a year trying all kinds of settings, cables and so forth and the distorted tones from native and bought profiles are lacking, especially in the lower end. I would love to keep it, but I am a pro musician which translates as hand-to-mouth living, especially here in ultra-expensive London. I simply cannot afford to keep a £2,500 amp when it isn't being used to its full potential.



    Many Youtube examples are not within a mix, others in finished highly treated songs. I guess if the likes of Andy Sneap use Kempers then thats the benchmark, although my friends in Saxon said they used real amps on the album with Andy and he profiled them for live use !!!!

    I find that there are very few profiles that I use straight out of the box - perhaps a few of the Britt ones. I spend a bit of time working in the Amp section, especially looking at the Definition - whether I want the sound to be looser or tighter. I will certainly play with the Power Sagging and possibly the the Compression if I am using an overdriven sound. Clarity and Tube Bias can be useful as well.


    I have found that the Kemper has revolutionised my recording of guitars. To say that I would be bereft if anything happened to it is an understatement. I will say however that when I first started using it I had a bit of a learning curve before I was getting the kind of sounds I wanted. I tend to view profiles as a starting point.

    Maybe a bit too obvious... but have you checked that "Pure Cabinet" is globally (!) disabled? Otherwise there might be results in the way you described.


    Turn back Noise Gate (button on the front) and use stomps instead. Turn off Pure Cabinet globally. See if you like it better.


    Only guessing here... but sometimes we oversee the more obvious things :rolleyes:


    Could not think about anything else - hope you can figure it out!

    Something even more obvious...I trust you are trying different profiles ?


    The reason being is a guitar cab will make duff profiles sound good enough, but when used direct/recorded they sound poor.


    I discovered this when moving from a cab to FRFR and I had to ditch all my profiles and start again.


    When I did this, suddenly my recorded sound also sounded good ( for obvious reasons)...


    In other words, do not use a guitar cab to audition profiles, they colour way more than I thought!