Looking to purchase a Kemper and looking for some guidance

    Greetings! This will be my first Kemper purchase and my first time dipping my feet Into the digital world.


    I’m very torn on which toaster to get. Powered or unpowered? Monitors or FRFR?


    A lot of folks on the gear page seem to recommend the powered head and running it through your existing cabinet and I get that but the down side of that to me seems like everything will sound like whatever speakers are in the cab? In my case the only speakers I have are Creamback M75’s or JBL D120’s. If that is the case then that kind of defeats the purpose in a way? Who would want to play a Tweed Profile through a Creamback or JBL?


    I’m a 90% stay at home player and just jam to backing tracks or songs via my iPhone or iPod.



    My current setup consists of a Metropoulus metroplex with matching 2x12 cabinet, vintage Marshall 1960 4x12 loaded with JBL’s, ‘65 twin and Boss Waza TAE. I only use a compressor and phaser for pedals and occasionally an old EP3.

    The Boss TAE is a phenomenal. It’s definitely the best attenuator I’ve used or owned and the added Ir stuff is icing on the cake especially the ability to use third party Ir speakers, cabs and mics.

    I live in the country so volume isn’t a problem for me when I’m home alone but becomes an issue in the evening or night when the fam is home.

    Here is what has me interested in a Kemper:

    My buddy bought over a Katana 100 MKI combo the other evening and it sounded really good on the .5 watt setting with some custom patches of amps that he purchased from Juca Nery. I was actually shocked of how good it sounded and it didn’t really have an overly processed sound. I would assume the profiles from Britt or Tone Junkie would sound even better via the Kemper?

    I’m 90% a Marshall 1959 or 1987 player but like many of us, I like trying different amps like tweeds, various Marshall’s, old Mesa’s, Hi-Watts etc and that gets expensive quick and I’d hate to see the money I’ve spent and in some cases lost buying, selling, trading and modding amps over the years. The Kemper seems like a good solution to this problem?


    Thoughts?

    go for it. In the long run you’ll find it sounds and feels unlike any other digital platform


    Sounds like you’re a candidate for a powered Kemper( unless you already have a power amp). The new Kemper Kabinet would solve your speaker selection problem .. there are many different speaker imprints and more coming.


    ‘Welcome to the family ?

    Welcome, have fun here in the forum and with your Kemper once it arrives. It's the right thing for you and will open up a universe of good representations of the Marshalls you mentioned and of even more great amps. It's pretty inspiring to try out good profiles of amps which I would actually never ever had a chance to physically play them. Quite a learning on sound differences as well.


    For your situation I agree with whippinpost91850 . You should go for powered one. I have unpowered rack and carry it around with me a lot from home to studio to rehearsal to stage and back. Always a bit different monitoring, mostly with FRFR and studio monitors. But I try to use cab and maybe the Kemper Kone in the near future as well.... just for fun :)

    I agree with the others.

    If money isn't an issue then definitely go for the powered version and also the Kabinet, (still waiting for mine to arrive).

    There are some phenomenal Marshall amp profiles by MBritt and Tone Junkies to name just a few, you WONT be disappointed.


    The Kemper is the best thing you can buy for your instrument in my opinion.


    Fingers > Guitar > Kemper, that's all you really need

    'You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead' - Stan Laurel

    Guys this just dawned on me but couldn’t I use my Boss TAE to Power a non powered toaster? The TAE and effects loop and a 100 watt solid state power amp so it’s just like a Fryette Powerstation minus the fact the boss is solid state and the Fryette is tubes

    i am with the others, a powered KPA would cover all bases and be the most simple and clean solution. However, your TAE idea may well be a viable alternative. The TAE doesn’t appear to have a dedicated Line In connection specifically for this purpose. It looks like the amplifier option is only intended for making at least a 10w amp louder. However, from the circuit diagram in the manual it certainly looks like you could just use the FX return socket as the input. I would test his first though to make sure it performs as you want. Stick a basic OD pedal into the return and see if it works as an amp. If it does then the TAE is a viable option.

    Personally, regardless of the TAE and power station, id still recommend the powered version as its less hassle, connections etc.


    The only downsides of the built in amp are upfront cost and mono output, but the upside is convenience. The Kabinet will also rid any decision on cab or FRFR, but you can still easily use the powered version on a regular guitar cab if needed.

    Your JBL cabinet is probably very clean and would likely work well as an FRFR cab with a powered Kemper. That and the alternate setup of the Creamback cabinet gives you some great choices.

    If you plan on using the TAE as an attenuator/load box on the Kemper you need to research if it is made to work with solid state amps. Many Attenuator/load boxes are for tube amps only so you should confirm (some do both).

    With your current amp and the TAE, adding a Kemper would give you enormous flexibility for recording direct. Kemper does bass well too.

    Welcome. I agree with the forum. If you don’t want to run two guitar cabs in stereo, the powered Kemper is the right option, it will give you the chance to use your cabinet or the Kemper Kabinet. Since you are 90% jamming at home a good pair of studio monitors will give you the stereo imaging, pretty well.


    If money is not a problem, I would go for the stereo setup with the unpowered Kemper and a tube clean amplifier like Synergy 5050 and a pair of Kabinets.

    Quote from bmanzer

    Your JBL cabinet is probably very clean and would likely work well as an FRFR cab with a powered Kemper. That and the alternate setup of the Creamback cabinet gives you some great choices.

    If you plan on using the TAE as an attenuator/load box on the Kemper you need to research if it is made to work with solid state amps. Many Attenuator/load boxes are for tube amps only so you should confirm (some do both).

    With your current amp and the TAE, adding a Kemper would give you enormous flexibility for recording direct. Kemper does bass well too.


    Here is where it gets fuzzy.


    Here is from the boss website:

    Q: Can I connect an amp that's not a tube amp (such as a solid-state amp)?

    A:Not possible.

    Connecting an amplifier whose power amp doesn't use vacuum tubes, such as a solid-state or class-D amp, might result in malfunction of the guitar amp or WAZA Tube Amp Expander.


    Here is the reply I got from Boss Support:

    Hi Chris,


    You absolutely can! Put it through the FX return to bypass the reactive load and just use the clean power amp.


    Many guys on the TAE Facebook group say they simply set a rig on the TAE with no cab sim or effects and run the Kemper through that rig into their analog cabinets and they say it sounds awesome.


    Leon Todd and many on the gear page are using them with results to Power their AXE FX III.

    Fast forward to the 4:20 mark

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    Looks like you have your answer!

    I have a non-powered Kemper rack and there have been a few times I would have liked to have the powered version but really, not that many. It's strictly used through the AI and monitors. I am glad I got the remote and Mission pedal.


    I don’t think there is any conflict between those two answers. I believe they are referring to two different things. I am fairly sure the question above is referring to connnecting the output of a Class D amp to the reactive load input of the TAE which isn’t something you would want to do anyway as there is no need. class D amps don’t lose their character as you turn them down so need for an attenuator.


    on the other hand you are asking about (and the support answer refers to) using the TAE in place of a Class D amplifier. You wouldn’t be connecting the Speaker output of a Kemper to the Amp input of the TAE but rather a line output from the Kemper (no Class D amp involved) to the FX return (line level input not loadbox) which is what both are designed for.

    There is no conflict in those two answers.

    Too late this reply, sorry, i should check in here more often. I have an unpowered Kemper Toaster. I use it mainly for recording in my home studio. Straight into the USB interface to the old Mac Pro. Works great, no direct sound, you hear what you record through the studio monitors. The sound depends on the profiles though, IMHO you have to pay for the good ones. I have all the Bert Meulendijks profiles.


    Recently i bought a B-stock Boss Katana mk1 head, just for fun. I had to get used to the sound but after a while i started liking it. It's surprisingly dynamic even on channel 3, Lead. Tons of effects possible. You have to use the PC and the free editor though. Only 8 presets. The FX configuration is not ideal IMHO. The 0.5 watt setting is ideal for noodling at home. If you do just that i would have said Boss Katana. I use it on a Marshall 2X12 cab with Celestion G12T75's. The Katana is a cheap power amp for the Kemper as well. Monitor output to effect return.