The Captain meets Christoph Kemper

  • Exactly this.

    I think ckemper is fully aware of the fact that emulating "the speaker/"the cab" is still a challenge, and will always be.

    I keep making the same experience like the Captain mentioned: When using headphones, it just doesn't sound and feel right. However, things completely change as soon as I move some air. With my Neumann nearfields, even at low volume, it is just pure fun to play. But what I like about the KPA is, that if you neither like the headphone sound, nor enjoy the signal via fullrange speakers, you can disable that cab sim altogether and use your favorite guitar cab.

    Stage user

  • You can "learn to love it"..I honestly believe this.Not the headphone/IEM-thing which was/is still pita for me..but FR is something everyone can get used to.If you "let it happen".I really believe it is a choice.


    Having said this I realized that this really is still an issue after nearly 70years of "popular guitar oriented music".When I joined this blog I just could not believe that there are still so many players out there who would come here to complain that their Kemper with FR does "not sound right" and is "not moving air" or all this.Hard to realize what a bunch of really conservative we guitar players are ..still..

  • Hard to realize what a bunch of really conservative we guitar players are ..still..

    That isn't a bad thing after all, since it hopefully will always be keeping some tube amps around so we can feed our profilers. ;)


    (before somebody kills me for that remark: I love the three handwired tube amps I own and I always will have some around. ;) )

    Stage user

  • Mr. Kemper blew me away when I bought my Virus B years ago.Blew me away again when I bought my KPA in 2012.
    A true genius.


    Loved the fact that he was in a Status Quo revival band. I tried to start one of these up in Ottawa but no one really knew who they were. In fact only ONE person ever recognised a Quo song when my current band played a couple.


    Great interview, thanks for posting.

  • Quo got me into music when I was still in nappies. They were a fantastic band back in the seventies. Very unfairly picked on by, I'm.not sure how to label them.to be honest, musical snobs? Their rendition of 'roadhouse blues' blew the original out of the water.

  • Quo got me into music when I was still in nappies. They were a fantastic band back in the seventies. Very unfairly picked on by, I'm.not sure how to label them.to be honest, musical snobs? Their rendition of 'roadhouse blues' blew the original out of the water.

    I assume it's because Quo here in Germany were very much reduced to their most catchy tunes and thus have mostly been played by solo entertainers and bands focusing on party music. And those bands could have been found on weddings and typical German fairs, where the focus was probably not on savoring sophisticated music. But this is only an assumption based on how my dad (rock musician) reacted to them, whenever Quo appeared on TV on some oldie show, lip-syncing to a playback.

    Stage user

  • Exactly this.

    I think ckemper is fully aware of the fact that emulating "the speaker/"the cab" is still a challenge, and will always be.

    I think he well articulated the issues for some people..

    which is: that for a lot of us on the bigger stages we are USED to only hearing amps through our in-ears anyway... before Kemper and such a lot of bands were hiding the cabs, mic'ed, off stage or in iso boxes anyway...

    so for US, getting used to hearing what FOH hears through a mic was a done deal anyway.

  • interesting discussion about monitor vs. amp-in-the room - especially for me as I'm mainly a keyboarder; only a guitarist when the song requires it (or our guitarist finds the rhythm part too complicated...). For most of my stage experience, guitar sound came from my monitors (in-ear or full-range), so setting up and playing on modelers / profilers etc feels absolutely natural to me. In fact, a real amp-in-a-room usually feels uncomfortable to me, since my ears really aren't mounted at knee level...

  • Exactly this.

    I think ckemper is fully aware of the fact that emulating "the speaker/"the cab" is still a challenge, and will always be.

    For those of us working regularly in studios, it is a lot easier to adjust. Even then, using in-ears and a Kemper will take a while to get used to.

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • that was really cool to hear where this is all coming from. I really love Christophs attitude towards product and company development. I like my toasters sound through the monitors, through my cab and through my headphones, 3 different feels and sound but all good. Then again i'm not looking for anything specific other than inspiration and fun when playing so wether it's 'amp in the room', 'sound like on all the records i love' or introspective headphone trip .. as long as it's all good it's more than enough for me.


    really don't get the continuous bitching about the release dates of the editor or the Kab, it'll come when it'll come ... good things come to those who wait .. sure i sort of 'can't wait' as well cause i suspect it'll be awesome but after a year with the toaster i still haven't read the manual and am still dancin around on the tip of the iceberg with a huge smile on my face.


    ckemper : just keep on doing that thing you do like you're doin it ... fuck growth 8)




    -------------------------------------------------------

    free you mind and your ass will follow …

  • That isn't a bad thing after all, since it hopefully will always be keeping some tube amps around so we can feed our profilers. ;)


    (before somebody kills me for that remark: I love the three handwired tube amps I own and I always will have some around. ;) )

    No.. There is nothing bad about being old school..as long as we can enjoy new experiences.


    I was just wondering that (knowing that most guitar players have already been to a recording studio at least "once in their life") the transition to monitors is still that difficult.

    I can understand the difficulties with headphones and even more with IEM..but the chapter "studio & stage monitors" should have been closed many years ago.;)

  • No.. There is nothing bad about being old school..as long as we can enjoy new experiences.


    I was just wondering that (knowing that most guitar players have already been to a recording studio at least "once in their life") the transition to monitors is still that difficult.

    I can understand the difficulties with headphones and even more with IEM..but the chapter "studio & stage monitors" should have been closed many years ago.;)

    I totally agree its something to get used to... I still struggle a bit with IEM's...I just miss the thump of the band...until I get home and my ears are ringing and I think why did I have to do that.


    It took me a bit of time to "like" FRFR but now I prefer it.

  • A good article on the matter - whether you agree or not?


    https://www.theguardian.com/mu…most-underrated-rock-band

    Quo are one of the bands that changed rock and opened it up and made it accessible. They get ridiculed for their 12 bar blues approach, but actually their music can be more complex than that. Defo get a bad rap.


    Given my last name is Parfitt ( no relation though), my fav guitar is a tele and I'm from the UK, I have to agree....

  • Keep watching the video. At some point of the interview he acknowledged that a guitar speaker experience is still a challenge for digital amps, specially for players not used to mic’ed amps sounds. In fact, he said that IEMs have the same issue with analog amps for some players that miss their guitar cabs. Hence, his approach to mitigate that is the Power Amp option and his new Kones speakers, to be released some day.

    I heard that bit. There's a lot about what the player is hearing and how, but I'm still missing CK acknowledging the value of the interaction between speaker and instrument. As if everyone would have all their needs covered if their IEMs could sound just like an amp.

  • If Kemper teamed up with Celestion to deliver an actual Speaker, I am sure he saw all the value needed to invest efforts in that product, instead of going the IEM route.


    By the way, some IEM users enjoy feedback experiences without speakers, though. They use a Digitech freqout pedal. ;)

  • I totally agree its something to get used to... I still struggle a bit with IEM's...I just miss the thump of the band...until I get home and my ears are ringing and I think why did I have to do that.


    It took me a bit of time to "like" FRFR but now I prefer it.

    One of the good things for me with IEM is getting the volume down and preserving my hearing. Again, you have to adjust, but it is well worth it.


    For feedback, I get a little guitar volume through the wedge.

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7