Is Kemper Power Head and Kabinet the ideal setup for a Kemper lover?

    OK, so I have read ad nauseum all the posts and threads on power amps and FRFR speakers, people's opinions are as plenty as there are people.


    I've spent many years building my modest collection of amps and guitars and pedals. I'll probably never sell any of my amps if I get a Kemper. I have a 73 Fender Princeton Reverb, a 90's JCM900 and an Orange Dual Terror, plus a few choice pedals that give me all the variety I want.


    There's always a 'but'. I love tech. I work for Microsoft. I buy tech because it's beautiful to me. I am blown away by what Christoph Kemper has created. In my mind he is a Bill Gates or a Steve Jobs, but a lot nicer of a guy. ?


    All this to ask the question that has been asked a million times, a different way:


    If I were to decide to purchase a Kemper, not to try and prove it can sound exactly like this or that amp, which it seems has already been done beyond doubt, but to enjoy the experience of having a Kemper and the knowledge that, for a few bucks and for the rest of my life, I can buy profiles for any amp I want....


    Would the purest and most unadulterated experience be to purchase a Power Head and Kabinet together?


    Is there anyone out there that has played them together and can tell me truly whether they are the ideal Kemper setup? What they like? If there is anything they don't?


    My primary use is to play with my buddies in our occasional small gigs and to enjoy at home


    Thanks a million in advance!

    Christian

    Well... I don't have a powered Kemper, but I have an unpowered toaster, a power amp, and a Kabinet.

    I like the Kabinet enough to have a clone being made locally so that I can run stereo.

    I play in a cover band and we do smallish gigs 100 people or so.

    I have owned and gigged DXR10, XiTone MBritt powered cab, Bose L1 MII.

    Famous last words, but I think I'll be done after getting the second Kabinet. The Kone and imprints are that good.

    If you don't want/need stereo, my answer is yes. Do it.

    I run a powered rack and a Kabinet. Due to Covid, I've not been able to really use it in anger but my initial views are its another level of dynamics.


    Prior to that I ran FRFR and prior a guitar cab....


    So to answer your question....powered or unpowered - sound wise very little difference as for the pure Kemper experience you want minimal "colouration". For ease, for me, powered all day long.


    Kabinet - I really like it. Will it sound like a 4 x12 on full chat...no. Does it giev a full defined and accurate sound, I think so. To me its better than just FRFR. Its not expensive so not much of a risk for you so I say go for it!


    The good news is you will still have options. If you don't like the Kabinet/FRFR sound, you can try a guiatr cab. The bad news is, it all takes a bit of dialing in...

    IMHO the Kabinet fills the small gap that has existed for most guitarists (incl. myself) since playing through FR cabs is a different (and IMO always worse) playing experience, and guitar cabs are the real thing.

    In this regard, yes, a powered Kemper plus a Kabinet is an ideal combination.

    Or if you prefer a different form factor a Kemper Stage plus external poweramp are on par.

    Or several (2 or 4) Kemper Kones in a bigger cab.

    Ive played in many bands over the years, some loud, some not so and have always used tube amps and stomp boxes.

    Things changed for me when almost 11 years ago our daughter was born and was diagnosed with autism, this meant playing in bands took a back seat as I felt I should be at home more. This also meant that I didn't really keep up to date with the new products that were becoming available.


    Fast forward a decade things are a whole lot easier at home and so I have more time to play the guitar. I'm back to purchasing amps, and selling them, purchasing amp modellers, and selling them also.

    Since I bought the Kemper I have not looked back. I originally played it through a Headrush FR 108 and although it sounded good, I found the clean profiles sounded flat. Then I purchased the Kone (I couldn't get a Kabinet as they were sold out in Europe). What can I say........for me the combination is not just good, its fantastic.

    I have the unpowered toaster and couple it with a Camplifier SHP, thus making it virtually a powered version.


    Forgive my long post but in essence yes, you cannot go wrong with a powered Kemper and a Kabinet (or Kone).

    You won't be disappointed, if you are, it's because you haven't played around with it enough.

    It blows most modellers away and its so convenient at band levels, small or large gigs and also for practice at home.


    If you're into you tech, you've got hours of fun playing around with it. I find the internal effects are pretty good, the overdrives aren't brilliant but you can always find a dirtier profile.

    I have a lot of fun searching the rig exchange or buying some commercial profiles and playing around with them.


    I hope this helps.

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

    Like 1

    Thank you, thank you for the honest answers!!! Crookster, I get you. We have 3 kids and, though I can't put myself in your place, the kids have certainly affected my selfish hobbies over the years. :) They teach us humility and to be a little less selfish.


    You guys mentioned the one thing I was wondering about: STEREO. I was wondering, since naturally, unless you get 2 Kabinets, you are going to be running mono. My questions:


    1. Folks seem to be saying: well, if you want the full effect, and you have the room, and the money, buy 2 Kabinets. Otherwise, mono is good enough? I certainly don't have the room to buy 2 Kabinets. My wife will finally kill me if I do.
    2. One thing I could do is grab one of my single speaker cabs and outfit it with a Kone. Obviously this may have its nuances since the cabs will be different, but it may work well? I assume the Kone will work well as a speaker for any other amp as long as the impedance of the amp matches, since it's a Celestion speaker with some special sauce?

    Yes, you could buy an unpowered Kemper, and put that money saved into a stereo power amp. Then populate your 1x12 with a Kone and you should be good to go. No, they won't be an exact match, but it'll be pretty close I suspect.

    Buy a PowerHead and a Kone. Have a 100% birch ply cab built with a 3-piece removable back. Close up the cab for your high-gain pleasure, open up the back for clean and edge of breakup bliss. More than enough for home, rehearsal and stage


    I have three kids as well. When it's quiet time, I play through a pair of studio monitors. This should satisfy the stereo itch for playing with all those fancy effects that are fun to goof around with but have zero practicality in a band situation. For those of us that grew up with the, often said, "amp in the room" sound, I think stereo takes away too much of that feel. Part of the" amp in the room" sound are the residual overtones bouncing off the walls. If you have an open back cab, much of that sound comes from the rear. Ever notice how you can move your Fender Princeton around the room to make it sound different? Now imagine throwing in another cab, you're blasted with one tone from all sides and not getting any of the residual effects. To me, adding an extra cab for stereo makes everything feel stale like a bad 80s movie guitar track. But, that's just me

    Quote from Christianmolnar

    Thank you, thank you for the honest answers!!! Crookster, I get you. We have 3 kids and, though I can't put myself in your place, the kids have certainly affected my selfish hobbies over the years. :) They teach us humility and to be a little less selfish.


    You guys mentioned the one thing I was wondering about: STEREO. I was wondering, since naturally, unless you get 2 Kabinets, you are going to be running mono. My questions:


    1. Folks seem to be saying: well, if you want the full effect, and you have the room, and the money, buy 2 Kabinets. Otherwise, mono is good enough? I certainly don't have the room to buy 2 Kabinets. My wife will finally kill me if I do.
    2. One thing I could do is grab one of my single speaker cabs and outfit it with a Kone. Obviously this may have its nuances since the cabs will be different, but it may work well? I assume the Kone will work well as a speaker for any other amp as long as the impedance of the amp matches, since it's a Celestion speaker with some special sauce?

    Just to make sure you know:


    The powered KPA is a mono powered output. Therefore to go stereo its not just about 2 Kabinets/speakers, you would have to go separate power amp.


    Personally, and this is just me, stereo is unnecessary. I actively choose not to go stereo because of the additional hassle and "wider" sound is not necessarily better, especially in a band context.


    One other point, Kabinets are actially quite small. Check the dimensions as I was shocked at how small and light it was...


    The Kone is an FRFR speaker not just a regular speaker. Not sure myself how it would behave with a regular amp, but it would sound odd. I was VERY shocked at how much colouration a guitar speaker added.

    Thank you! I am learning a lot. First thing I'm going to do is try it with what I have at home. I may find that one of my cabs works great. I'm still a bit overwhelmed with all of the aspects, not actually having received the Kemper. It will become a lot clearer as I start trying things. As someone mentioned, finding an old but awesome pine cab or building one and putting a Kone in it may be the easiest and best sounding way to go.

    You should still get a really good sound from your cabs. I used cabs live for about 3 years. I prefer FRFR purely because its closer to what comes out of the PA.


    When I was running cabs, I was still miking up and the sound was pretty good. I tried to take a direct output to the PA but it sounded awful and I didn't know why. It turned out that the profiles I was using weren't great BUT the guitar cab "covered" it.


    So when I went FRFR I had to find a new set of profiles and almost start again...but that was OK because the end result was also great plus the convenience of not having to mike up and get a great consistent sound.


    The KPA gives you lots of options, but its difficult to go wrong, its about the set up that is right for you :)