Power Amp Suggestions for Custom Kone cabinet

  • After 2 1/2 years of owning the Kemper rack I am, as are many others on the forum, eagerly awaiting the Kone. I've tried several solutions for monitoring the Kemper but all fall a little short of my expectations, still looking for a more traditional amp in the room experience, which may never actually come to fruition. But if by chance the Kone opens that door to in the room bliss, or even a little close to it, I was entertaining the idea of building my own cabinets.

    My Kemper still sits in the same spot from the day I took it out of it's shipping box on a table, no updates, just grabbed a few rigs off the exchange. I'm ready to start playing outside the house again after many, many years of nearly being a recluse. Not gigging, no plugging into a PA, just sitting in with others at very small places, everyone else uses small combo amps (really small), not much output volume needed.

    I've considered selling the Kemper and going with a small combo lately but I made the change from small combo to Kemper 2 1/2 years ago and I've not even tapped into the power of the Kemper yet, I still just plug and play without exploring it's potential. Breaking down and getting the foot controller would probably make everyday like Christmas for the foreseeable future for me lol! That's where I'm at in the never ending tone chase that so tortures the average, everyday for 35+ years player. So I believe I'll stick it out with Kemper and see what develops in the next few years.

    I read the forum often but don't post, you all are very good with helping others and if I have a question the answer generally lies in a post already. I've gotten to somewhat know a lot of you through your posts but I've remained a ghost here for the most part so please forgive the long introduction in this post before actually getting to the subject matter in the header, but I felt I should at least open up a little and not be a complete stranger to the forum before asking for advice.

    So to the subject, I was a custom cabinet builder for 20 years but I'm no longer active in that occupation. I have been toying for some time now with the idea of building a head for my Kemper and a 1-12 cabinet so I can leave the house to play, with the release of the Kone that will be something I will pursue. There are quite a few options for tolex covered racks and cabs available here in the states but I want to make mine from a wood species and finish it. One item that eludes me and I could use some advice on is the power section, I want to build a powered cab but don't know what to look at as far as something that can be integrated into the cab itself for power. If someone could point me in a direction of whats available here in the states I would really appreciate it. The only other option I see would be a rack mounted power amp built into the head with the Kemper and the cab passive, but I'd prefer a powered cab solution. If I were to add something to the head it would be a space in the bottom to store the foot controller.

  • CK has confirmed ICE Power is their choice more than once.


    I’m planning to use one from Parts Express as well. The Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170 uses an ICE Power unit.

    Ah, that makes sense.


    However, it doesn't matter, since we obviously do not use the 1000A, otherwise we would have communicated the 1000W power.
    We supply the 250A.


    CK

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • paults and Ruefus, thank you for the link and info on icepower, I really appreciate it. Now here's the sad truth, I purchased 4 or 5 compression drivers from parts express last year while working on pa systems, in fact I've bought from them for years but never once paid any attention to the audio amplifiers, always on a mission for something particular and didn't browse around. Unless the 200AS1 model becomes available here in the next few months it looks like the 200ASC would be a good choice to try. Thanks again for the information.

  • Here is comparison between Seymour Duncan 170 and Orange Baby Pedal.

    Orange sounds more amp like, but has linear bass, because of class A. SD has more rounded bass, but is more sterile because of class D.

    Listen around 10:35

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  • skoczy, I've looked at the Seymour Duncan 170 before but was not aware of the Orange Baby Pedal. Went to read up on both a little more and ran across this, the ISP Technologies Stealth 180.

    2 channels each rated 80 watts @ 4ohms class A/B power, comes with rack ears and weight is 1.2 lbs. Might not be enough power for some but I believe it would be more than adequate for me, plus the opportunity to add a second cab later for stereo which I would love to do just for my own entertainment at home!

    I like the Orange also but not sure on the ohm rating compatibility with the 4ohm Kone. Shows single channel with one out at 8ohms, one out at 16ohms or both outs at 16ohms.

    Thank you for the info, becoming more aware of the options available will help me make a better decision when the time comes. Kind of follows the standard rule of thumb when I worked in my own shop and for others, "Measure twice and cut once, don't waste materials". If I can apply that logic to this scenario that would be fantastic, "Gather all available product information, buy once, don't waste money". But I know from past experience the gear bug just won't let that come to pass?

  • The reason CK likes the class D amp is due in part to its lack of colorization. In tube amps, where you’ve got one a limited number of preamps to design for you can include the power amp signature in the design.


    What’s coming out of the Kemper is a complete sound. Power amp included. To me, coloring it further doesn’t make sense. There is more than enough tweaking available in the KPA.


    If/when I build an amp for myself, I’ll probably use the 50ASX2BTL. That’s the same unit Seymour Duncan uses for their Powerstage 170.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

    Edited once, last by Ruefus ().

  • Ruefus, I'd say 90% of the suggested units that are ready to go (whether Seymour Duncan, Orange, ISP and others not mentioned) would be astronomically better than what I'm currently using, I doubt I'd be disappointed by any of them with a passive cab.

    The power modules peak my interest due to my desire of building a powered cab, but my lack of knowledge of all the electrical components needed to get a working product may be a major pitfall. There's a lot of information out there but it seems geared more to a person with a substantial knowledge base with some degree of electrical engineering. I'll have to do a lot of research and reading to wrap my mind around it, if that's even a possibility. A basic step by step guide may exist for someone like myself but I've not seen one yet though I am early on in the search.

  • I'm new to the Kemper but I have a Stage as of last month and have played out 2 times using this for power...


    https://www.musiciansfriend.co…ture-250w-guitar-amp-head


    its 150wt @ 8ohms (I just plug into the effects return) into my 2x12 and it also is a 2 channel head as a backup. It fits in a large backpack along with my Kemper and all the cables and power I need for my gigs so it might be a plausible option as it is small and light weight.

  • I have a trusty old class AB Art SLA-2 stereo amp, 200 watts/per channel @ 8 ohms that I will be using. :)

    If you use FRFR the benefit of a merged profile is that the cabinet is totally separated in the profile.


    For my edification only... ;) Kemper/Axe-FX III/ Quad Cortex user