Recording in Reaper - new user confused!

  • Hi Everyone,


    Brand new user here - just bought a Powerhead & love it.


    I was using a Marshall Code amp into reaper via simple USB & had assumed (wrongly...) that I could do the same here. I'm loathed to spend a fortune on a converter so a couple of basic questions:


    • Can I buy a basic audio converter & run the Kemper into this? Something like Focusrite 2i2 etc. What output would I use? The cab one or is there a recommended one?
    • What would the quality be like? Part of reason I bought the Kemper was to get authentic amp tones in Reaper (the Marshall Code is pretty basic) so I want to get a solution that's simple enough & gets close to this.

    Apologies for the simple questions & cheers for any help!!

  • In ordeer to record the signals coming from the Profiler into your computer you need an audio interface. The Focusrite will allow you to do this on the most basic level. More sophisticated interfaces will offer you more inputs that make it possible to record more than just a stereo signal at the same time like an addditional DI track for later reamping purposes. Another thing you should be aware of is the fact that every interface has a different sound quality determined by the AD/DA converters that are being used in the interface. Another important thing is the quality of the headphone amp that is being used in the interface.

    You can use the main outputs or the monitor and direct output of the Profiler for recording as well as the SPDIF output if your interface supports this. Under no circumstances should you use the speaker output to connect the Profiler to the interface as this will potentially destroy both components. The speaker output is exclusively for passive cabinets.

  • Thanks for the fast reply - so if I did buy a focusrite I could get reasonable versions of the kemper profiles into Reaper?

    Route would be main output -> focusrite -> USA on laptop?


    Also, what I enjoyed doing on the Code amp was playing along to youtube with headphones in. Can I also do this via the focusrite? In this case I assume I'd use the route into PC described above & just plus headphones into PC?


    Thanks again.

  • The Focusrite will allow you to do this but you should be aware that the headphone amp in the Focusrite is not comparable to the one in the Profiler. I would suggest to look at interfaces in the 500€ range to get a decent sound quality.

  • so no way to plug Kemper direct into PC without significant spend?

    Any basic interface will allow you to record. If it got SPDIF, the quality shoudn't suffer like it is the case with bad and noisy preamps.


    What the kemper support was trying to say you, is that the headphone-out of the cheap focusrite isn't sounding as good as the kempers headphone out. So if you route your signal through the interface and want to monitor that (while recording?), you will record the good tones, but won't hear them in the same awesome way, as when you stick your headphone directly into the kemper. To solve this problem you need to spend additiona money on the interface or a headphone preamp that you connect to the interface.


    But you can play along backing tracks ect just fine by giving the kemper an aux signal from your laptop!! So you just need a Y-cable with matching connections to the kemer/interface and you're good to go.

  • SPDIF will only guarantee that the sound arrives at your DAW without any coloration from additional DA/AD conversions. The quality of the interface will still have an influence on the sound coming out of your headphone or speakers. For simply playing along to playbacks from your computer you need a cable that connects the probably existing headphone output of your computer to the aux inputs of the Profiler which are TS type inputs. You can then balance the levels between the playback coming into the Aux inputs with the level of your guitarplaying and listen to the sum of it from the headphones output of the Profiler.

  • Thanks - which input on the kemper would that go into?


    Just tried it using same cable I use to the Code amp & no sound when plugged into either return input or alternative input...