New Ibanez GSR200 Bass works with Helix but Not Kemper

  • It's a mystery, all right.

    I used to have a GSR 200 a while back, had the active circuit, never any problems with it. What you might consider trying is to clean the inside of the guitar's output jack. If it's corroded, you can get a bad connection, it's happened to me on several guitars. (of course, in those cases, when you moved the cable, the signal would ouput intermittently.) Try with a cotton swab and some Isopropyl to carefully clean the jack. Usually that cleared up the problem for a short time, and would return, so I rolled up some sandpaper and scraped the inside of the jack, then no problems. In those cases, it was the ground, or barrel portion of the jack which was corroded.

    It's probly not your issue, but won't cost you anything except a few minutes to try it!

  • The instrument is brand new and connects just fine to a Helix, a Motu M4 and to the Kemper if I put a pedal (e.g. a Compressor before the Kemper input. This is not the instrument it is all Kemper.

  • If every other piece of gear you have works fine with the Kemper, you should seriously consider just returning the bass. Or at the very least, exchange it for another just to see if the problem persists. Factories turn out duds every day, especially of the lower-end gear.


    I'm empathetic to your issues. This truly is a headscratcher.

    But IMO, a $200 instrument isn't worth all of the hassle you are experiencing, just return it.

  • I have exactly the same problem. Ibanez GSR200 bass won't be picked up by the Kemper. I get signal when I first plug it in, but it fades away like a dying battery over 2 seconds or so. But battery is fine.

    Cable is fine, bass is brand new, and works in a variety of amps, cable is fine. Kemper works with all my other guitars with same cable.

    Weird thing is the Kemper tuner picks up signal, so i can tune the bass, just no output.

    Must be an impedance thing?

  • Perhaps there is DC voltage at the bass output which makes the kemper mute?

    This might be the reason! The bass might send DC, which it shouldn't do. We are not aware of any other guitar or bass, which does this. You might be able to fix it with a condenser in the cable.

  • ...

    But IMO, a $200 instrument isn't worth all of the hassle you are experiencing, just return it.

    This! I would never expect a low end instrument to work properly either. I'm sure it has Zero QC. The problem lies in those cheap active pickups and electronics.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • Update: issue solved. The SGR200 is not an active bass, it has a PHAT2 booster circuit in line but pickups are passive. With the PHAT2 connected there is 4.5v at the output. By bypassing the PHAT2 I can get signal to the Kemper. Obviously the voltage at the output is not an issue for amps or pedals. I bypassed it completely by connecting the relative wires in and out together, so it is completely removed. Just turning the booster knob down did not work.

    I also got my hands on another SGR200 and that too has 4.5v at the output. So with the previous poster's experience, it would suggest that this is common on this model of bass.

    To be fair to the SGR200, at its price point it's a playable bass, with good sounding pickups and it works just as intended in amps and pedals. Just has a preamp that lets it down. Sounds great now. Thanks for everyone's input.

  • Unless I'm missing something that 4.5v output signal is ridiculous. It's no wonder the Kemper "refused" to see it 'cause it's orders of magnitude hotter than conventional guitar and bass signals.


    IIRC most guitar signals, for example, range from around 50mv ->800mv (playing hard), less than 1 volt.

  • It sounds like I'm having this same issue with my acoustic. It doesn't happen all the time, however. In fact, I've been using my Kemper Stage for two years now and the issue has only happened twice. Both times in the middle of a show for no reason. Changing the 9v did not fix it. It magically fixed itself the next day the first time it happened. It happened again this past weekend and is still an issue today.


    I'm having the issue with a Bourgeois acoustic that has a LR Baggs Lyric pickup installed. It's a $4,000+ guitar and the pickup isn't exactly "cheap" so I'd have a hard time blaming the pickup... The only fix I've found so far is to keep the volume knob on the pickup down about halfway. Then I have level issues within the Kemper to deal with, but at least it "works".


    Any suggestions on how to work around this?

  • Your description seems to contradict itself. Is the issue accidental or is it depending on the output volume of your acoustic guitar? If it'S accidental I see no relation to this Ibanez bass, which delivers 4.5 volt at its output. Sounds more like a cable or contact issue.

  • Your description seems to contradict itself. Is the issue accidental or is it depending on the output volume of your acoustic guitar? If it'S accidental I see no relation to this Ibanez bass, which delivers 4.5 volt at its output. Sounds more like a cable or contact issue.

    I've used the same guitar with the Kemper Stage just about every weekend for 2 years with the volume at max on the pickup. The issue has only happened twice out of nowhere. The first time, it went away the next day and I couldn't get it to happen again. This second time, the issue persists but if I turn the volume down on the pickup, the signal from the Kemper is clean.


    It is not a cable or contact issue as the guitar sounds fine in every other amp, mixer, and audio interface I've tested it in this week (at all volume levels).

  • This thread is about a permanent issue of a particular bass model, which seems to deliver inappropriate high voltages by design. Loss of sound is like headaches - can have many different root causes. Or do you have reasons to believe, that the preamp of your acoustic guitar temporarily delivers high voltages as well? And why would that be intentional?

  • This thread is about a permanent issue of a particular bass model, which seems to deliver inappropriate high voltages by design. Loss of sound is like headaches - can have many different root causes. Or do you have reasons to believe, that the preamp of your acoustic guitar temporarily delivers high voltages as well? And why would that be intentional?

    I'm not sure what you're asking about whether it's intentional or not? Are you asking if my preamp is intentionally delivering too high of a voltage? I don't know? If it is, no other devices I plug it into seem to have a problem with it. Just the Kemper.


    The issues described in this thread are exactly what I'm seeing in my guitar. No signal to the Kemper when plugged directly into it. If I throw a Boss TU-3 pedal between them, it gets signal just fine. The guitar works perfectly fine in every other amp, processor, mixer, and interface I plug it into. So it's exactly the same problem. The only difference is that it only started occurring after 2 years with no issues. And mine is an LR Baggs Lyric acoustic pickup rather than an electric bass pickup. The Kemper doesn't like it unless there's a buffer between them. This time seems to be permanent as it's persisting after a few weeks now. I've tried several 9-volt batteries, all different brands.

  • Response from Kemper:


    Could be an impedance issue:

    Unfortunately, I do not know your guitar and the specs but I can provide you with the Profiler Input specs:


    Front INPUT: 1⁄4-inch TS unbalanced, dynamic range >108 dB, impedance 1 megohms

    ALTERNATIVE INPUT: 1⁄4-inch TRS balanced with ground lift, dynamic range =105 dB, impedance 825 kohms

    RETURN: XLR balanced, 1⁄4-inch TRS balanced with ground lift, dynamic range =105 dB, impedance 825 kohms

  • Our suspicion is, that this has nothing to do with AC power originated from the pickups following your playing, but that your Ibanez bass might be sending the 9 Volt DC battery power to its output as soon as its preamp gets activated even while you don't play. We don't know, if this is a hardware defect or by design, but it shouldn't be there as it would lead to noise when you plug that instrument into any input.


    The same applies to that LR Braggs Lyric microphone. Perhaps something is broken and it's sending the 9 Volt battery power not just to the microphone, but to the output.

  • It seems these instruments work great with other gear without noise?


    Does the Kemper have a specific protection routine that kicks in? In that case perhaps that could be reconsidered?

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
    Fender Telecaster 62 re-issue chambered mahogany | Kramer! (1988 or so...) | Gibson Les Paul R7 | Fender Stratocaster HBS-1 Classic Relic Custom Shop | LTD EC-1000 Evertune | 1988 Desert Yellow JEM

  • I guess you agree, that sending 9 Volt battery power into the input of an amp is a defect or flaw. It doesn't belong there. Please get those instruments fixed. A working condenser might fix the problem.


    We don't think, the fix is on our part. The PROFILER has been working with all kinds of instruments since nearly ten years. Such an issue did never come up.

  • I guess you agree, that sending 9 Volt battery power into the input of an amp is a defect or flaw. It doesn't belong there. Please get those instruments fixed. A working condenser might fix the problem.


    We don't think, the fix is on our part. The PROFILER has been working with all kinds of instruments since nearly ten years. Such an issue did never come up.

    You are probably right. Just odd that this happens twice within weeks after nearly ten years. Could be coincidence still though.

    Kemper PowerRack |Kemper Stage| Rivera 4x12 V30 cab | Yamaha DXR10 pair | UA Apollo Twin Duo | Adam A7X | Cubase DAW
    Fender Telecaster 62 re-issue chambered mahogany | Kramer! (1988 or so...) | Gibson Les Paul R7 | Fender Stratocaster HBS-1 Classic Relic Custom Shop | LTD EC-1000 Evertune | 1988 Desert Yellow JEM