NAMM 2019: Kemper Kabinet and Kemper Kone

  • @G-String, could you possibly answer a few questions about the Kemper Kone technology, please? I realize that none of this preview is cast in stone, and I promise to be patient. So if you decline to answer, I will understand and wait for the beta release.


    1. I notice that there is an imprint of a ten inch speaker in the video. That implies that there might be 8 inch or 15 inch speaker imprints in the future. I am not asking about specific speakers. But I wonder if there might be imprints released in the future that will be made specifically for bass guitar purposes. After all, the KPA does profile Bass amps.


    2. Might there be a way that users could create there own imprints in the future? That would be amazing!


    3. Might it be possible to make more than one Kemper Kone block available, sent separately to the right and left outputs? I am going to build a 2 x 12 cab with the Kemper/Celestion speaker once it becomes available as a part. With two Kone blocks, I could combine two different imprints in the cab.


    If two Kone blocks were possible, all kinds of stereo configurations would be possible.


    4. Even if the two Kone blocks will never be an option, I am thinking that I could use the 2 x 12 in stereo with an imprint connected to the left cab input from the Monitor out on the KPA, and connect a KPA main out with a different speaker created in a Merged profile to the right input on the 2 x 12 cab. Can you confirm that this will work, please.


    5. Will it be possible to morph between two imprints? I am thinking of instantly switching between a V30 and a G12T, not gradually changing from one to the other. Of course a gradual morph between imprints might be fantastic. But I've already asked for the moon.

  • 1. I notice that there is an imprint of a ten inch speaker in the video. That implies that there might be 8 inch or 15 inch speaker imprints in the future. I am not asking about specific speakers. But I wonder if there might be imprints released in the future that will be made specifically for bass guitar purposes. After all, the KPA does profile Bass amps.

    That would be welcome!

  • 5. Will it be possible to morph between two imprints? I am thinking of instantly switching between a V30 and a G12T, not gradually changing from one to the other. Of course a gradual morph between imprints might be fantastic. But I've already asked for the moon.

    Since morphing applies only to variable settings, I'm quite certain that switching between imprints would not be possible.

    Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. - Wayne Dyer

  • 5. Will it be possible to morph between two imprints? I am thinking of instantly switching between a V30 and a G12T, not gradually changing from one to the other. Of course a gradual morph between imprints might be fantastic. But I've already asked for the moon.

    Why not just make/save two different Profiles/ rigs one with a V30 and one with a G12T and hit a switch on the remote to change from one to the other?


    Why any gigging guitarist would want/need to change from one speaker to another in the middle of a song is beyond me.

  • Why not just make/save two different Profiles/ rigs one with a V30 and one with a G12T and hit a switch on the remote to change from one to the other?


    Why any gigging guitarist would want/need to change from one speaker to another in the middle of a song is beyond me.

    Great idea on the two profiles. I hadn't thought of that.


    I sometimes like to switch cabs when going from lead to rhythm on some songs. Just my preference though.


    Mixing imprints to one cone could be nice, but maybe it is not realistic or possible to implement.

    (I mean blending..for example, 25% v30, 75% greenback)

    I agree it is unlikely.

  • I have a few question, I hope someone from Kemper will be able to reply.


    In the premier Guitar video, Christoph said the Kone function worked in conjunction to "this speaker" (pointing at the Kemper Kabinet). Does it mean it won't work with any other Full Range cab? Or did he mean "with this kind of speaker" (FR as opposed to guitar cab speaker)?


    Are there going to be more speaker imprints added down the line (Love the JBL D120F in my 69 twin, would love to see them imprinted, or whatever the term is).


    Will the speaker imprints be unique to individual rig, or are they global?


    How will stereo work? Say I already have a stereo Full range cab (Mission Gemini 2), will stereo work with this type of cab?


    Thanks for all the Namm announcements, so many great things to come.

  • In the premier Guitar video, Christoph said the Kone function worked in conjunction to "this speaker" (pointing at the Kemper Kabinet). Does it mean it won't work with any other Full Range cab? Or did he mean "with this kind of speaker" (FR as opposed to guitar cab speaker)?


    Will the speaker imprints be unique to individual rig, or are they global?


    How will stereo work? Say I already have a stereo Full range cab (Mission Gemini 2), will stereo work with this type of cab?

    I don't work for Kemper, but I'm sure that the speaker imprints have been optimised for the particular speaker in the Kemper Kabinet, as well as the FRFR mode when no imprint is loaded (CK stated that the Kabinet speaker itself is not entirely flat, but the Kemper's DSP flattened it completely for the FRFR mode). Obviously, you'll still be able to use the Kemper Cone function with whatever speaker, monitor or cabinet you are using (as the Kab itself is passive, with a speaker cable being the only connection between the KPA and Kab), though the results may not be 100% the way Kemper intended.


    I believe that the imprints, at least initially, will be limited to the Output section, and therefore won't be on a per Rig basis (Monitor Cab Off is also only selectable via the menu). However, something in one of the interviews with CK led me to believe that switching between them will be possible at some point. Here's hoping.


    Kemper already implemented stereo monitor out in one of the latest release firmwares, so stereo shouldn't be a problem.

  • The issue with stereo is that the built-in power amp in the Kemper is mono. Once they support active speakers (or external power amp + speaker) it should work.


    Also, the more I think about it the less I understand why it has to be just the built-in speaker imprints.


    Today, you can plug the Kemper into an amp (like a guitar) and profile it. On a powered Kemper why couldn't you just plug in a speaker (cab) and profile that? That should make a very good speaker imprint - as compared to the know baseline of the Kone.


    That way you could borrow your friends precious old cab from the late 1800s, profile that and sound just like that with the Kemper cab. ;)

  • Once they support active speakers (or external power amp + speaker) it should work.

    It is already supported from the off. The powered Monitor Out is just a mirror of the unpowered Monitor Out. You can utilise the Direct out (I believe) as one of the stereo pair for a stereo (unpowered) Monitor Out. This means you can either use a powered stereo cab (as Ik_Bill has), or run to a stereo power amp and to stereo speakers from there.

  • I suspect that the influence of the mic placement would yield results that would be too far removed from the sound of the cab itself to completely compensate by the DSP

  • I suspect that the influence of the mic placement would yield results that would be too far removed from the sound of the cab itself to completely compensate by the DSP

    Not to mention the frequency response of the mic. To be authentic, it would have to be as flat as possible and use a polar pattern that didn't suffer from the proximity effect. Unfortunately, such mics are also more easily coloured by the room dimensions, reflections and phase cancelling. again resulting in less-than-authentic outcomes.

  • The mic placement, the freq response of the microphones, the room acoustics, etc ... these issues already exist and somehow got resolved when doing normal profiling.


    As a matter of fact, if you profile with the Kemper DI and also just mic the speaker, you can already figure out the cabinet's effect on the sound. So I still don't quite get why (using the power amp of the Kemper) and just mic-ing the cabinet (like we do every time we profile) this would not work.


    I am not saying I could do a good cab profile with a $20 Radio Shack special microphone but the pro profile makers should definitely be able to.

  • The mic placement, the freq response of the microphones, the room acoustics, etc ... these issues already exist and somehow got resolved when doing normal profiling.


    As a matter of fact, if you profile with the Kemper DI and also just mic the speaker, you can already figure out the cabinet's effect on the sound. So I still don't quite get why (using the power amp of the Kemper) and just mic-ing the cabinet (like we do every time we profile) this would not work.


    I am not saying I could do a good cab profile with a $20 Radio Shack special microphone but the pro profile makers should definitely be able to.

    The result would be the sound of a mic'ed up speaker - not a speaker by itself.

  • The result would be the sound of a mic'ed up speaker - not a speaker by itself.

    Most certainly.


    I am just not sure how much of a difference this would make in real sound since we are already doing this with the Kemper and with speakers (FRFR) or headphone things sound pretty awesome.


    Hopefully we'll hear from the actual dudes who make the cab and they will shed some light on these questions :)

  • Most certainly.


    I am just not sure how much of a difference this would make in real sound since we are already doing this with the Kemper and with speakers (FRFR) or headphone things sound pretty awesome.


    Hopefully we'll hear from the actual dudes who make the cab and they will shed some light on these questions :)

    The whole point of the Kemper Kabinet to get the “amp in the room” sound, which has traditionally been missing from modellers and their mic’ed sound.