Questions from soon to be owner

  • Hello everyone, I am about to purchase a Powerhead and speaker, and I have a few rookie questions. I have spent a lot of time searching the forum and I haven't found a good answer to my questions. I want to get the best amp/frfr combo for my needs. The loudest I need is just enough to cover a drummer without a PA. I am into all types of music, but primarily hard rock. Please help save me some precious time and money.


    1. Has anyone used the same profile with the same brand active vs passive frfr and found a big difference?
    2. I assume the term "amp in the room" means the vibrations felt by volume and bass, especially with a tube amp. I am currently using a Line6 Spider 75 watt. When I turn it up, I can still feel the volume, although less than a tube amp, but is it even less of a feel with the KPA?
    3. I have come across more than a few people stating that a non-powered KPA with a tube power amp makes a big difference. How significant? Enough to increase the amp in room feel? Enough to consider buying this combination instead of a powered unit? Seems like if it not that major, why bother increasing the amount of gizmos and outlets needed.
    4. As for the stereo effect, are we mainly talking about the delays that open up your sound, or is there more to it?
  • Hi and welcome...


    I can partially answer your questions I think..


    1) The problem is there are few ( I believe) very similar active and passive speakers. I tried the Yamaha DXr vs the passive version ( sorry can;t remember the name) and the difference was noticeable BUT I think that was more down to differences with the speakers i.e. I don't think they were like for like. I think you are best to choose which KPA you go for - I prefer the power head or rack because you can run either and a regular cab without an external amp. The amps are SS so should be fairly transparent.


    2) Kind of...it really means the difference between a regular amp ( amp in the room) and the sounds we usually hear which are via a mike, through a PA or mixing desk to MP3...the point is that what we hear via our amp in the room is rarley what the end user hears because it goes through these other "bits"


    3) Thats a difficult one. It depends on the valve amp and what you do to it. Persoanlly because the Kemper emulates valavle characteristics, its un-necssary but many people say it improves the sound via a guitar cab. The point here is that the guitar cab has a really big effect on the sound ( more than you might think!)


    4) stereo will give a wider spread but its most noticeable with stereo effects. For me its overkill ( although I've admitted im going to give it a go).


    Reading between you lines, I think you are trying to understand the best speaker approach for your KPA. My advice would be:


    1. Aim for a cheap FRFR solution like a PA cab to get you started. I tried a few at a local PA shop and used the Yamaha DXR 10 as my reference point as that is a good starting point. This will give you a better representation of the sound. I started with a regular guitar cab and it sounded pretty good but FRFR was much better, plus I go direct into a PA and its so easy/consistent etc! FRFR speakers can be so expensive and difficult to try locally.
    2. Keep the option of using a guitar cab but if it sounds good FRFR it will sound pretty good through a guitar cab, but not necessarily the other way round. I binned all my profiles when I switched because the cab masked not so good profiles.
    3. Don't worry about adding a valve amp unless you find you need it.
    4. Get running in mono first and then worry about stereo later.
    1. I assume the term "amp in the room" means the vibrations felt by volume and bass, especially with a tube amp. I am currently using a Line6 Spider 75 watt. When I turn it up, I can still feel the volume, although less than a tube amp, but is it even less of a feel with the KPA?

    I just plugged in to my new powered head today so I wouldn't presume to speak to most of your questions. That said, I have a couple of observations that you might find useful.


    I'm in a situation where everyone is on IEMs. Previously, I had a Voodu Valve and Line 6 HD and found that having the guitars in my ears alone (no guitar speakers) was problematic for a couple of reasons. First, there's no speaker for the guitar pickup to interact with and second, I can't feel the "thump" (I'm a rock guy). I put a single 12 cabinet under the stage and brought up the volume just enough to address those issues and let the "real" sound go to the PA. That took care of my "feel" issues.


    How much of the volume you feel is less about modeled versus tube and more about moving air / decibels and equalization. For example, my modest little EVH III LBX (15 watt) has a resonance knob on the back to get more of that low end thump, which is often what I want to feel. Playing with your EQ on the low end might yield similar satisfactory effects.


    The other thing I noticed after a couple of hours playing is that I need to let go of my geek attachments to specs and technicalities. The audience doesn't care if I'm going through an early 70s Marshall with an off axis 57 pointed at Greenbacks. They just care if it sounds good. I respect that "authenticity" is an important issue for some folks, but even the most casual browsing of factory profiles reveals a ton of incredibly good sounds. The high gain ones sound like tubes melting on top of my speaker cabinets, and plugged into my Marshall 4x12 they feel every bit as real as any tube amp I've ever played (be sure to disable cabinet simulation on the monitor out).


    For what it's worth, I'd highly recommend not worrying about "what's on the label" / "model versus tube" and just plugging in. I've been screwing around with modeling stuff for ages and I've never heard anything like this in my life.

    Kemper remote -> Powered toaster -> Yamaha DXR-10