Room-profiling to optimise monitoring on location

    While I appreciate the approach with the Kabinet and Kone these will still be unable to defeat bad/unusual acoustic properties on location. When placed in a corner on a cramped stage any amp/speaker-combination will sound way off from what the same gear sound like under ideal conditions. I believe this problem largely could be defeated by analysing the room through a microphone placed near the position of the guitar-players ears and from the analysis apply filters to an enhanced monitor-output-EQ (multiband) on the KPA. When used with monitors other than the Kabinet or Kone this solution would also compensate for the characteristics of the actual monitor/speaker(s) used. The key to this solution is to have analysis-software specifically tailored for the microphone used. There could be models for a set of specific 3rd-party microphones, but the most realistic solution may be to deliver the solution in the form of an optional measurement microphone and corresponding KPA software-update. Finally, it should be possible to adjust the enhanced monitor-output-eq to taste after the automatic room-compensation has been executed and applied.


    I know there is more to a rooms acoustic properties than what can be adjusted with EQ, but EQ goes a long way for the short-range between player and speaker on a stage or in a rehearsal-room. I invested in a high-end stereo monitoring-solution for my KPA some time ago. It works very well under decent conditions at home and at rehearsal, but due to "boxy" sound on many stages I have since complemented it with a stereo multiband EQ sitting between the KPA and monitor. The approach outlined above would both eliminate the need for additional equipment and significantly reduce the time spent adjusting the EQ. For gigs covering many different genres the manual process include playing, listening and adjusting (at gig volume) for at least 4 or 5 different rigs/profiles on the KPA. The adjustments made to a flat EQ for a clean tone may need further refinement for distorted sounds and vice versa, but I am always able to find a setting that works reasonably well for the entire gig.

    I am a big fan of DRC. But this is a task quite outside the scope of a guitar device, and I am pretty sure it will never happen (a lot of dev time needed, plus a much more complex UI as a consequence; heck, some find the KPA to be complex as it already is!).

    Furthermore, DRC with enough bands (512/1024) takes some CPU/DSP power, and this might meaningfully lower the KPA ability to run complex rigs.


    Also, the correction would even things out at the listening point (mic) only, while (usually) making things worse elsewhere, which is quite limited for people used to move a couple of steps away while playing.

    As an alternative, multiple measurements could be used to generate an average correction over a larger space; this would require a more complex acquisition routine and might produce a milder correction that would not be really satisfying where it matters.

    Still chasing a worthy one :/