Muffled sound through Guitar Cab 1x12

  • Hi to all!



    I got a powered Kemper 4 days ago mostly for practicing, small gigs and recording. I practice at very low volumes.
    For playing at home I use a BC112 Vox 1x12 cab (V30 speaker) and turned cab sim off for the monitor output. (monitor output is linked to master volume, main outputs are not linked)


    I get good sounds, but all of them are a bit muffled and lack a bit of the high frequencies. Yesterday I messed around with the input and output settings, especially with the output eq for the monitoring outputs. (and made it worse)
    The distorted sounds are OK, a bit muffled, but the clean sounds (Vox AC30, Fender Twin Reverb, AC15) are muffled and sound kind of dead compared to the same sounds used by other people online.
    I have not tried the main outputs or headphones yet, but I think I use wrong settings for my setup. The guitar I am using is a MusicMan Majesty 6 string model.


    Has anyone the same cab and can give me a hint where to search. I think it has something to do with my input/output settings. Since I already messed with the settings, is it better to do a factory reset and start over?



    Appreciate any help...

  • Yes, I tried direct profiles and merged profiles (don´t know the difference if there is any)


    It does not make a big difference... Is there any difference in sound if I un-link the monitor output from master volume and set the volume in the output section?
    Is it possible to reset the input/output settings only?

  • Direct profiles have no cab so they sound awful thru main outs or phones and need a real guitar cab. They are like a preamp! Merged profiles are, so to speak, a combination of direct and miked cab, whereas studio profiles are more like a blend from the start so when you take off the cab they may sound very differently from a direct profile (sort of preamp). You said you have a powered Kemper, so there must be a speaker cab connection and you must use a speaker cable between your guitar cab and the amp output of the Kemper. Obviously be careful with the volume, since the power amp of the Kemper can be as loud as a tube amp. I cant say much about that, since I've got an upowered Kemper. The monitor output (line) is meant to be used with an active cab (and a line cable) or a power amp plus passive cab and a speaker cable.

    Never too old for rock'n'roll

  • Thanks for the clarification regarding the profiles...
    I tried both merged and direct profiles. The powered monitor output is connected to the cab (passive 1x12). I will try another cable today evening.


    Probably the input setting is the problem. My guitar has a very high output, so I set the input sense to -3.5db. I will set the output eq (monitor output) to 0 for all settings and try again.


    I will also try to download merged profiles, do you have any recommendations for a good clean sound (AC30, AC15 Fender) for my guitar?

  • I have done that. Monitor Cab is off!
    I was searching the internet for my problem and found a thread where the solution was simply turning up the volume... I will try that, but since it is not possible to play very loud at home it would not be a valid solution.

  • 1x12 at low volume wont work for you as you expect.


    I tried the same with 2x12 celestion v30 at low vol at home. No chance ti get a crisp sound. If you have the chance try monitors with cab sim on and the world is ok at low volume.


    I can recommend rookit rp6 g3 active monitors. Not too expensive and cool sound.


    I swear you wont regret it.

  • I'm using Vox Night Train cabs (similar to yours) one with a Greenback 25W and the other with an EVM12L (not at the same time) I find that I have to roll off a little of the treble and presence for a good sound so your 'woolliness' is probably down to:


    The speaker (not the cab) - can you try a different speaker (even hook into one in the back of a combo)?


    The cable: as @CJGOMEZ has mentioned, are you using a speaker cable or a guitar cable? The latter will work (just) but will sound like crap!
    I once had a professional (ha!) sound crew remote my speaker cab with around 30ft (10 ish metre) of microphone cable and wonder why it sounded awful!
    For a speaker cable you can use 6 amp twin core mains flex which works fine


    If your guitar is too powerful (the input led will flash red so, for the purposes of testing, just back the volume off a little (around 6) and listen for a tone shift
    (I have a large range of different instruments that all work well with the KPA without faffing with any settings)


    KPA power amp has plenty of power so tread lightly when testing. Don't use the boost in the house!


    just a few thoughts ...


    AT-V

  • I will try today with higher volume just to sort it out.
    I will also try a good headphone and compare the sound. My budget ist not allowing me to buy another active monitors now, maybe later.


    But I will try to plug in to my DAW and listen back on my active Studio Monitors. (samson)

  • After a lot of testing and trying out your suggestions I finally have almost the sound I was looking for.
    Here is what I did:

    • First I changed the cable between the Kemper and my 1x12 which made it better (I will buy a really good cable since I saw what difference it makes)
    • Second I changed the Input sense. My guitar seems to have a very very high output so I had to turn it down to -6.0db which made a huge difference
    • Third I changed the pure cabinet setting to "off". It seems that pure cabinet is also used for monitor out, not only for headphone out as I expected
    • The volume I am using is also a factor (the louder the better), but I found a sweet spot for practicing without having the police in the house every day ;)

    Thanks everybody for your suggestions, I am really impressed how close to a real amp I can get with the Kemper.
    The only tweaking left is searching for a real good profile (merged) and tweak it to my liking. I love Bogner XTC Ecstasy and Mesa Boogie sounds for distortion and Boogie, VOX and Fender sounds for clean.


    Any suggestion is welcome, I would also spend money for good profiles, if I can try them first.


    Thanks again and rock on...

  • Great to hear you have got to a stage where you are happy with the overall sound. As for recommendations- tone is so subjective and styles are so different that I basically believe any recommendations are pointless. The best thing to do is run through the full list of factory content which includes rigs from several commercial profile providers. But also don’t rule out the free profiles on rig exchange.

  • I'd also suggest using the Monitor output EQ if everything always sounds a little flat. Maybe the cab is just a little dark and that EQ is there for that exact purpose.

  • On the subject of cables (see pic):


    Both cables are home made with decent jacks (Neutrik)


    The lower one is hi-fallutin' oxygen-free copper bought from a fancy audiophile store (expensive) (and a bugger to fit in the jack plug!)


    The top one is a twin core (round) 6 amp flex from a DIY store (not expensive)


    They both sound good - end of!


    ie It doesn't have to be expensive!