Best 1x12 cab to hook up with powerhead ?

  • Hello everyone !


    So the title says it all. I'd like to have your opinion on what would be the best 1x12 or smaller guitar cabinet to hook up with the kemper powerhead.
    I'm very much into clean and low-gain tones like John Mayer, Tom Misch but enjoy sometimes more gains tones like Gilmour or SRV.
    I'm leaning towards Fenders and Two-Rocks given I enjoy their amps, but have no idea of how well they would work with the kemper being the head. My budget is roughly 500 bucks.


    Looking forward to see your answers !


    Thanks in advance


    Kind regards,


    Jean

  • Hows it going Jean,



    I'm not sure you'll be able to pull off finding a 1x12 guitar cabinet that'll handle the Kempers speaker output ratings safely for under $500 sadly.



    The Kemper outputs 600W RMS at 8 ohms and 300W RMS at 16 ohms. Most 1x12 guitar cabs are in the 50W-100W range with a select few going above that, but no where near 300W or 600W.



    Now of course you can get any 8 or 16 ohm cabinet you want and just "not turn the volume up all the way" as lots of folks tend to do on here, but I wouldn't risk wasting my hard earned $500 to just blow a cab first use vs getting something that you know will work AND not blow up on you.



    Even if you went the FRFR route you MIGHT get lucky and find a 2nd hand Line 6 Powercab for around $550 used but that's active and completely negates your Powerheads use.



    If you're dead set on safely using a kemper with a 1x12 cab the safest way would be to bypass your speaker output, get a separate power amp that's closely rated to the exact 1x12 cab you want and go that route. Folks who typically use the speaker out with their Powerheads/racks are going into at least 2x12 cabs if not typically 4x12 cabs.

  • I use a 1x12 two rock and it’s great. Just be careful to start at a low volume. There’ll be obvious signs of the speaker crapping out before it blows as long as you aren’t completely silly with it.

  • The Kemper outputs 600W RMS at 8 ohms and 300W RMS at 16 ohms. Most 1x12 guitar cabs are in the 50W-100W range with a select few going above that, but no where near 300W or 600W.

    the Electrovoice EVM12L is a 200w 12inch monster. Unfortunately they aren’t the cheapest speakers out here though. I’m not sure if they still make it but they even did a 300w Zakk Wylde version of the EVM12L.

  • A little out of your price range brand new, but you can look for a used Port City OS 1x12. They sound a lot bigger than their footprint and I would say a G12-65 would work well for your needs. I scoffed at them until I actually tried one, ran right out and got a 2x12 and sold my 4x12 soon after. If you're worried about the Kemper's power output, get a 16ohm.

  • Hello everyone !




    I'm leaning towards Fenders and Two-Rocks given I enjoy their amps, but have no idea of how well they would work with the kemper being the head. My budget is roughly 500 bucks.

    It is very hard when you set a low budget in advance. Maybe you should consider wait and put more money on the side til you got $1500 or $2000 as a budget , after that you'll get a great sound and be very happy. Otherwise you'll be unhappy with the result and make your great investment (Kemper) sounds weaker Whats the point? Better wait a few months and get it right Good luck

  • =O Holy crap! Does that speaker come stock in any cab or do you have to install it yourself?

    The EVM12L is one of my favorite speakers, can't think of any company that is using them currently. I had them in my M/B 4x12 halfback and currently have one in my Dumble clone. They're basically PA speakers, very flat compared to most guitar speakers. They're best suited with high-end amps that get most of their tone within the amp itself and not relying on a speaker to further color it. They're also really good in ported speaker cabinets ito better accentuate the low end. Some Kemper profiles would be great through them, others not so much...probably not one I would recommend for the Kemper.

  • =O Holy crap! Does that speaker come stock in any cab or do you have to install it yourself?

    I have Two Mesa Boogie cabs with the 200w EVM12L as stock. I could be wrong but think the 300 only came in the Zakk Wylde signature 4x12 cabs so a full stack hac 2400w capacity. I oresume that was more about image than necessity ?(

  • I'd also recommend a 1x12" Mesa Boogie Thiele Road Ready Box.
    The installed Speaker is also the EVM12L.
    I could compare this Cab with a 2x12" Celestion G12H30 Heritage Mojocab, a Scumback M75 1x12" Kustom-Cab, and a Creamback 65Watts (don't remember the exact Name) Two Rock Cab.


    The Thiele-concept delivers a fat and tight bass Response in combination with a smooth mid- and treble-response. My Profiles sound very suitable without any necessary tweaks through it.

  • Hello everyone !


    So the title says it all. I'd like to have your opinion on what would be the best 1x12 or smaller guitar cabinet to hook up with the kemper powerhead.
    I'm very much into clean and low-gain tones like John Mayer, Tom Misch but enjoy sometimes more gains tones like Gilmour or SRV.
    I'm leaning towards Fenders and Two-Rocks given I enjoy their amps, but have no idea of how well they would work with the kemper being the head. My budget is roughly 500 bucks.

    +1.


    Although there are no 600W guitar speakers, I do believe that the KPA powered head is not useless.
    In fact there are many KPA powered users + guitar cabinet in this forum, with the obvious pros/cons that it takes coloring the sound. Some use it as a backline along an FRFR system, and they are happy with it.


    Seasoned KPA users, recommend high wattage speakers "since you don’t want your clean profiles breaking up because of the speaker. It’s all personal taste after that". Online you can find evidence of KP users using Celestion 12-65, Creambacks, WSGs, etc. some others feel the breaking and prefer EVM12L (~$290), Eminence Tonker 150 (~$90). You can find 1x12 guitar cabinets new starting at $350 loaded and $250 unloaded (vboutiqueusa) + the speaker replacement of your choice.


    So, it looks like you may want a setup like this. (KPA powered shown)


    https://www.instagram.com/p/7BbwaWOEZn/


    Edited once, last by Syntek ().

  • The Profiler needs this power as a peak headroom to faithfully play speakers at a reasonable loudness. If you play at volumes that a tube amp would produce, you will not exceed the wattage a tube amp would put out.While thousands of powered Profilers are out there, we don't even have a handfull of reports about blown speakers.

    Here's some insights I found from an old form post regarding blowing speakers and the PowerHead/Racks wattage output. Seems like keeping the volume down regardless of your setup is deemed as safe because the power output is for maximum headroom for anything that could be thrown at it.


    While this goes against most rules for matching PA/HiFi speaker & amp setups, I'll take his word for it :thumbup:

  • It doesn't actually go against the rules for matching PA/HiFi etc. They would also generally want the power amp to have equal or greater capacity than the speakers to avoid driving the amp into clipping; ie to ensure the amp has headroom. Because the amp is rated at 600w doesn't mean you need to drive it to its limits. Also, remember that a tube power amp rated at 100w will put out the equivalent of a significantly more powerful solid state amp. It isn't because "tube watts are louder than transistor watts" (as some people suggest) but merely because you measure the output to the point of distortion. Tube amps gently distort very early so the figures are taken way before the amp has reached its full power output. On the other hand solid state amps generally produce very little distorion until near their limits at which point they clip severely. Not only is this sort of clipping generally unpleasant but it is also more damaging to speakers. I must admit to not being an expert on this so this is purely a layman's description of a technical issue. I am sure there are others in the group who are much better able to explain the physics of it than me.

  • Self build but..


    http://digitalguitargear.com/camper-plus


    ..and its FRFR. I run one of these in a very loud band, no issues.

    some references of this passive FRFR, if someone is interested:


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