Farewell Kemper, and we thank you...

  • Whats gonna happen at your joint when i bring them down? Shall i bring ear muffs? :P

    I always wondered why it sounded huge brother Fanx Nicky :)


    No one is gonna believe me until i can record stereo cabs...

    maybe ill buy the zoom camera Frank has , bah i gotta get it off my chest!


    Ash

    Have a beer and don't sneer. -CJ. Two non powered Kempers -Two mission stereo FRFR Cabs - Ditto X4 -TC electronic Mimiq.

  • Whats gonna happen at your joint when i bring them down? Shall i bring ear muffs? :P

    Better bring 6 sets for the neighbours; it's a quiet little court I live in. At least the friggin' dogs won't be heard for a change; they'll probably all run a mile.


    I don't think the camera will do the setup justice, man. You could try it for beer and skittles... probably more for the beer, but I can't help but feel that what you're experiencing's gonna be tricky to capture in a typical-stereo scenario.

  • Small venues is definitely where I feel the struggle as well - but I only find it to affect the front row of listeners who are sometimes standing past the FOH speakers threshold - other than that I'm confident it sounds killer out there!

  • Wow playing "small venues" with a Marshall and MesaBoogie both using 4x12's ?


    Couldn't come close to using a setup like that in a "small club" anywhere around where I live.....but country music is king in my territory.


    Small combo amps are getting more and more popular for club gigs these days.....easy to load, keeps stage volume down and sound great with a simple SM57 through the PA.

  • Profiles of the TriAxis (preamp only) might have worked into your amp. I’ve found that after output gain matching and setting power sag around 1.8, the Kemper sounds the same. Still have the TriAxis though.


    But playing and how it fits where you play is more important than what it’s played through any day!

  • As I don't hear the music you do , and the sound of those guitarist you refer too, it's hard to compare your sound and their sound. You know what I mean ... If you are in Steely Dan band I'd take your thread very seriously and would worry, but if it's a band playing heavy metal in a little club with 3 power chord on each song for me its totally irrelevant. As I dont know on each level of music you are I prefer to take it lightly...

  • I think in 90% of all cases, the KPA will do the job very well. But if you are in the 10% ballpark, nothing beats a full tube amp + 4x12 cab. Good luck!!


    PS. I don't own a KPA anymore but I'm still active on this great forum.......

  • I think in 90% of all cases, the KPA will do the job very well. But if you are in the 10% ballpark, nothing beats a full tube amp + 4x12 cab. Good luck!!

    Well.... A guy can have full tube amp +4x12 cab and make bad music coz he plays badly or the singer or musicien in the band are bad etc Bad musicienship. And another time you'll see an incredibly good show , with a wonderful guitar player playing a Kemper and it will sound 1000 times better than the previous one. I disagree on saying that every Kemper user are below the ''real thing'' and that amp is superior... it depends on the music you make... Especially today as everyone playing 3 chords makes recording and release it on you tube , talent or not...

  • I think in 90% of all cases, the KPA will do the job very well. But if you are in the 10% ballpark, nothing beats a full tube amp + 4x12 cab.

    I enjoy a couple of additional benefits of the KPA, which others may not need.


    I've owned some decent tube amps but embarrassingly, I've never been great at dialing in that killer tone. Someone else walks up to my amp, turns some knobs, it magically sounds awesome, and I just stare at them like a caveman looking at a Bic lighter in fear and wonder.


    In a similar fashion, unless you're doing a small enough gig where you're not going through FOH (or don't do studio work), microphones are involved. Fortunately I have fewer deficiencies in this area as small moves have major consequences, but it's another part of what the audience hears.


    So, part of what I paid for was a great hardware concept (profiling versus modeling) with a very solid build quality. However, equally important to me was the ability to find profiles others created that already have the tone dialed in and the mics properly placed so I can just find the sound I want and play guitar.


    but I couldn’t for the world get a true three- dimensional tone, with depth, balls and precision when using the Kemper through a power amp into my cab ( a Marshall 1960b) or via FRFR (tried alto’s, DXR 10’s).

    I started with the powered toaster going to my 1960a. It sounded great. But somewhat different. Ultimately I enjoyed what was coming out of the studio reference monitors so much I got an FRFR to reproduce that level of detail. Again, sounds great. But somewhat different than a real tube amp (with someone other than me twisting the knobs).


    I'm adjusting to the differences and I haven't been dissatisfied with my sound since the Kemper landed on my doorstep. Quite the contrary, regardless of what it says about my limited tone skills, my guitar has never sounded better.


    However, there's also a caveat to all this. I've never done the rich and famous, play the big stages thing. Best I've ever done is large rock rooms in Long Island, but I just play cover band stuff. And the problem with cover gigs that recording artists don't have to fight is that you're expected to sound "just like the record" when you're playing a night of wildly different guitarists with different styles through different gear. No matter what I've used, it's always been the art of compromise. Or, to use a technical term, "close enough for rock and roll."


    For years my solution was a Voodu Valve pre -> power amp -> cab. It has a tube plus digital fx, so I could dial in credible tones, then hit a midi pc and be on a completely different planet. It did a pretty good job, but all sounds were still a compromise versus using the exact same amps and pedals that the recording artist used.


    So, I come to the party already willing to compromise a bit in some areas in the name of practicality, because I'm subject to the rules of cover bands. In that regard, the Kemper is the closest thing to a no compromise solution I've ever heard. 100% accurate? Not usually, but still a really, really good sound.


    That said, if I was doing an originals gig, tribute band, or any situation where I could take one amp, dial in the sound and roll with it all night, the subtle extras that a real amp offer might win the day so I can certainly dig it. I mean, you know, if I ever actually learned how to dial in a decent tone.

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

  • I'm starting to think I'm some kind of wacko because I literally hate 4x12 cabs :D

    It's okay. There are plenty of treatment centers, many of which are covered by your insurance policy.


    Ask your doctor if Cabinet Attitude Adjustmenttm is right for you.

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

  • Thank you for all replies. Maybe I gave up to soon on the KPA but 3 chords or not, they sound immense into the Access and EL34 through my 1960.... So for me, in my live situation, this works beyond what I tried to attain with my Little Green Box of Wonders....


    I didn't mean to sway anyone this or that way, it's just that in my situation, it was a very logic conclusion to revert to what suits me naturaly inspite of all the love I have for the Kemper and it's excellent community...


    Monkey_Man : Alas, since I sold the KPA, the serial has been passed along as well so I no longer have access (no pun intended) to the private forum, so I will not be able to maintain the ToastME thread ?... Atlantic : feel free to create a new thread and ask the mods to merge the threads, or maybe they can give you editing rights?


    Kindest of Regards and please keep supporting Damian Greda!


    Tijl

  • LOL I said exactly this 2 hours ago in the TME thread!


    I was in fact repeating my conclusions to Atlantic whilst you posted; we both "submitted" "a moment ago". Great minds...


    As I said to you a while back, please don't be a stranger, Tijl. The Public forum's always here for you, as are we!

  • I'm starting to think I'm some kind of wacko because I literally hate 4x12 cabs :D

    They are heavy, take up "strutting" space, directional, not quite big enough to balance a rack KPA on top of, force me to have an estate car etc....but they look freckin cool..


    I am seriously looking for a 4x12 to empty, slim down/chop up, some kind of way to fold in half, so I can put my FRFR cab inside so I get the look without the weight etc!!