Drive pedals with Kemper?

  • Can someone shed some light as far as overdrive pedals such as the Precision drive or the Nano attack working in conjunction with a Kemper? Is it necessary for pedals like these to push a Kemper amp sound? Doesn’t the green scream work as well? Thanks

  • The Kemper does take pedals well I believe...


    But I don;t undersatnd why you need them. So much gain and control in the KPA so I do not believe you need them.


    Dial in a Mesa or ENGL profile and you've got gain coming out of your ears...hence I don't use the green scream either. You can also get profiles including a tube screamer...I was never a fan of the original tube screamer so I'm perhaps not the best person to respond :)

  • If you find the right profile there's no need for an overdrive pedal too. I used to run a MESA Dual Recto or Diezel Einstein with various BOSS or MXR ODs in front, but with the Kemper the sounds are all there without needing any extras. I literally run guitar into Kemper into cab and that's it - and I can easily get awesome rhythm/solo sounds for rock, metal and thrash.

  • ...never understood why you buy a £2000 amp and put a £100 pedal in front...BUT that's just me, plenty of people who would disagree.

    When I've had amps, I generally liked the sound of pedals in front of them. Boss BD2 and Analogman P.O.T were used a lot.


    I'm tempted to get some pedals back with the Kemper, just because the drives on the Kemper are (IMO) a weak point! I know it is flexible enough to get around it, but the sound of a BD2 into an AC30 is just great, and I can't get there with a Kemper.


    However I believe the drives will be improved at some point soon, so I'm holding off for now

  • ...never understood why you buy a £2000 amp and put a £100 pedal in front...BUT that's just me, plenty of people who would disagree.

    I’m with you on this one. I’ve tried drive pedals but always end up just going back to the amp.


    It’s funny though that even tube snobs, who wouldn’t be seen dead with digital amps or even pedals as they obscure the true tube tone, still often rave about Marshalls. I saw an interview recently with the guy from Blackstar who also worked on the design of many famous Marshalls ad he talk about those amps all have diode clipping not valve clipping. He said it is basically a distortion pedal inside the amp :)

  • ...never understood why you buy a £2000 amp and put a £100 pedal in front...BUT that's just me, plenty of people who would disagree.

    people do the same thing with tube amps too.


    It’s just another flavor that the amp cannot provide, even if it’s a two or three channel amp.


    I am satisfied enough with the stomps on the Kemper, although I do look forward to them being improved.

    There is also something to be said for being able to twist a knob and not have to save the profile if you want to switch away and come back later. I often reset the knobs on my OD’s on a song by song basis when using my tube amp.

  • ...never understood why you buy a £2000 amp and put a £100 pedal in front...BUT that's just me, plenty of people who would disagree.

    Yes I disagree. And not. Well it depends. If you're after a tight sound you need any kind of ts. But with the kemper and ts is already baked in the profile you won't need one.

    Think for yourself, or others will think for you wihout thinking of you

    Henry David Thoreau

  • I I saw an interview recently with the guy from Blackstar who also worked on the design of many famous Marshalls ad he talk about those amps all have diode clipping not valve clipping. He said it is basically a distortion pedal inside the amp :)

    I just sold a JCM 900 and from what I read (and heard), that was exactly the case. I enjoyed the amp, and I don't really have religious preferences over that sort of thing. But then, I also can't dial in a tone to save my soul, so what do I know?


    While I'm at the very beginning of the KPA journey, it's my hope to not have to worry with external pedals, mainly out of simplicity and convenience. As @V8guitar mentioned, I'm currently pretty happy with the gain I'm hearing. Also, from reading notes in the professional packs I've bought, sometimes folks will put a drive or other pedal in front of the amp in order to profile that particular type of sound. In fact, as I've mentioned elsewhere, it's an aspect of profiles I really enjoy, tapping a button to get a well thought out, complete tone.


    That said, it really is a golden age for stomp box lovers. There are tons of guys out there, both big companies and regular guys, making some great stuff. If you have high headroom profiles that take pedals well, the combination of stack profiles, Kemper effects and your favorite pedals sounds like the best of all worlds.

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

  • If you have high headroom profiles that take pedals well, the combination of stack profiles, Kemper effects and your favorite pedals sounds like the best of all worlds.

    As long as you have somebody else to carry it all for you ;)


    My pedal board hasn't been plugged in since I got the Kemper and my arms and back are thanking me for it when I need to go to a rehearsal or gig :)

  • ...never understood why you buy a £2000 amp and put a £100 pedal in front...BUT that's just me, plenty of people who would disagree.

    I do get what you're saying, but to me, you could have said the same thing about valve amps and pedals, a TS is a staple for a reason. Seems to me the same as saying that you don't understand how someone would buy a $2k guitar, string it with a $10 set of strings, use a $.50 pick, and send the whole thing through a $25 cable. That's just what things cost.


    I don't own any pedals, so I'm with you in practice, it's just a very strange argument to me. I mean, what about a £125, £250, or a £500 pedal?

    The Kemper does take pedals well I believe...


    But I don;t undersatnd why you need them. So much gain and control in the KPA so I do not believe you need them.


    Dial in a Mesa or ENGL profile and you've got gain coming out of your ears...hence I don't use the green scream either. You can also get profiles including a tube screamer...I was never a fan of the original tube screamer so I'm perhaps not the best person to respond :)

    Haha, that might have something to do with it.


    It's not more gain (in the case of the tubescreamer), it's more the tightness and attack that the TS gets you.


    Yeah, there are profiles with a TS, but in that case, your signal chain has already been put through that cheap pedal... and you just can't turn it on or off. No better, to me.


    I really hope the OD update makes the Green Scream actually works/sounds like a Tubescreamer, that would be amazing.

    Disclaimer: When I post demo clips for profiles, there will be some minimal post-processing, unless stated otherwise. I normally double-track hard L/R, and add to the main buss a small amount of EQ and a limiter/comp set pretty light as well. Sometimes I get test profiles in advance of release, though 90% of my clips will be from packs I have purchased.

    Edited once, last by Locrain ().

  • Can;t work out how to split the quote's :)


    Anyway, yes I didn't make a great argument and it is the same for valve amps totally...my ENGL was £2000. I buy an expensive amp for the base sound, if it doesn't have enough gain or tightness, I buy a different amp - hence why I had an ENGL instead of a Marshall. I've always found the sound of a TS cheap and fizzy BUT yes not a good example as they an industry standard. M


    Most profile packs with TS also offer without, so yes you can;t turn it off but often you can just use another profile without it.


    If the OD update includes improved TS type sounds then maybe I'll be converted!

  • All great input guys! I have two of the same profiles..one untouched as is and the other I tweaked such as eq, clarity, drive and so forth. Different animal now. So I see the point of working with the Kemper to get a sound you like. On the other side I see the market flooding with pedals that make sure it states “ works well with modelers”. I guess it comes down to individual preference.


    To echo my forum buds here..I’m down for an OD update..hint hint.

  • I prefer to have some OD pedals. They are light in weight and help to shape tones that I can't get with the amp by itself. For example paired with a clean amp. There's a reason touring pros like Pete Thorn who have there choice of gear have stomps on pedalboard.

    For the moment I prefer the tones from real stomps over the Kemper model OD's.

  • I wouldn't want to be without both. Love amp gain for some things, love pedals pushing a clean amp on the edge.


    I use the various drive stomps in the Kemper now and think they're excellent when dialed in.