New to Kemper and using a regular guitar cab

    I got the Kemper Stage last week and having some trouble getting a good sound running it through my Orange 4x12. I’ve turned off the cab sim. After browsing this forum, it seems when using it this way I should only use direct profiles? I got one off the rig exchange and it seemed like it was better. I haven’t had a chance to really crank it since trying the direct profile out. When turning it up to a band volume, should I turn up the master volume, monitor volume, or output volume? It seems like when I turn up my power amp’s volume, I have to turn it up high. With it being a solid state power amp, shouldn’t I try to keep the volume low? Seems like it thins out when I crank it. Thanks.

    The Stage doesn’t have a power amp in it so you’ll need one. You didn’t mention you had it plugged into a power amp and then into your cab. If you have that part covered then I’m not sure. If you don’t that’s your first step. I have a powered toaster and really wanted a Stage but I play live in bars so I needed to keep the powered head instead to run through my cabs without the added expense. If you’re in church or always front of the house then the Stage is for you! I wish they currently had a powered version, maybe in the future.

    Welcome, RB. :)

    Quote from rickenbeatle

    I’ve turned off the cab sim. After browsing this forum, it seems when using it this way I should only use direct profiles?

    Direct or Merged, but only if near-100% authenticity matters to you. Disabling the Cab component of a Studio ("regular") Profile will force the Kemper to estimate the contribution of the cab in the original signal chain that was Profiled, and that's where a little "authenticity" may be lost.


    That said, if it sounds good, as it still does in most cases, it is good, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. You'll be able to choose from all the available Rigs this way too.

    Welcome. Can only echo what Monkey_Man said. Studio Profiles will work as well. Some more some less and if you look out for those which are profiled with a similar cab than yours (in terms of speaker type, size etc.) then the result when you turn Kemper's Cab block off will be quite close.


    Overall: Don't worry too much, trust your ears. And don't give up too early if the first results do not fully satisfy you. There are many variables to tweak and you will get there over time.

    Hey !

    As said Zappledan, you will be missing the great stuff about the kemper using a regular guitar.


    Do like me, I bought my FRFR today!

    Have in mind than with a regular cab, you may have great sound on stage but it can sound crap on front, that was my experience !


    So you have to dialing your tones twice...

    1 with your guitar cab

    1 with a PA system

    Unfortunately, I can’t afford to buy an frfr right now since I am paying on the Kemper. I have no problem getting clean sounds I like, but distortion is proving to be more difficult for me to get a good beefy and present sound. I have seen videos online of people achieving great distorted tones running it through a regular cab, so I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I’ve tried adjusting several parameters like clarity, direct mix, definition, etc. There are just so many variables that it is hard the find the right combo of settings.


    As far as having to eq for FOH as well, I would assume no FOH setup is the same, so it would seem like you would always have to adjust something. Can you have settings stored for both your monitor and FOH?

    Quote from rickenbeatle

    Unfortunately, I can’t afford to buy an frfr right now since I am paying on the Kemper. I have no problem getting clean sounds I like, but distortion is proving to be more difficult for me to get a good beefy and present sound. I have seen videos online of people achieving great distorted tones running it through a regular cab, so I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I’ve tried adjusting several parameters like clarity, direct mix, definition, etc. There are just so many variables that it is hard the find the right combo of settings.


    As far as having to eq for FOH as well, I would assume no FOH setup is the same, so it would seem like you would always have to adjust something. Can you have settings stored for both your monitor and FOH?

    Sort of, if you're monitor always is the same then you can EQ the monitor out to compensate and get it matched tonally to the main out. Then any adjustments you would make for the FOH would translate better to the monitor out. If the FOH and your monitor are way off then you may have to adjust the EQ of the monitor in the opposite direction you EQ the FOH. Hope that makes sense.

    I am finally starting to get some sounds I like. I really haven't had much luck with direct profiles. Not sure what the deal is there, but they lack bass, at least to my ears anyway. With most of the profiles I like, I've had to tweak various settings (mainly clarity and direct mix.) I am definitely feeling a lot better about my purchase now. I will get an FRFR eventually. I am actually thinking about getting the Gemini 2 with passive FRFR speakers since I already invested money into a power amp. Anybody know if there will be much of a difference between the powered and unpowered speakers?