1.10 Power Amp / Cab Sound

  • Hi Forum,


    Some of you have noticed that the Monitor Output sound has been improved. This has happened without notice, because we had plans to release this in a next Firmware separate from the new effects.


    The improvement addresses all of you who like to play the Profiler thru a power amp and guitar cabinet.
    As you might know there is two ways to do that: Have a direct profile (profiled from the amp's send or power soak, without a cabinet), or take a regular profile and click "MonitorCabOff" in the Master resp. Output section.


    In the future we will have a better support for direct profiles. But for the moment I want to emphasize on the latter functionality.


    Direct Profiles are perfect when you want to recreate your own amp and play it thru the cabinet that you are familiar with. But in my perception it does not qualify too much when you want to play a varitety of different amp profiles on a gig or in the rehearsal room, as the “matched cabinet” aspect is gone then.


    When you have a Marshall 4x12, you will not get an authentic sound when you play a Vox or Fender direct profile. In this case it might be impossible to achieve a perfect recreation even with the perfect direct profile or even the real amp, because the real cabinet does not match. You will probably have to equalize the sounds to make them convenient.


    The improved solution in the Profiler makes your cabinet match easier to the profiles that you like to play. (I meant “match”, not “much”). If you want to use a guitar cab e.g. for monitoring on stage, there is no need for direct profiles.


    When you run a regular profile in the KPA with "MonitorCabOff", the virtual cab is separated from the amp. There is an additional adaption taking part, creating an algorithmic improved direct profile so no heavy equalizing is necessary among different profiles.


    Of course you will have to adapt and compensate for the frequency response to the real power amp and cab that you use. This is done by the global Monitor EQ. Once this is done, every profile should sound elegant with your cabinet. I have improved the Monitor Eq, I am sure you find the perfect sound without the use of a larger Graphic or Parametric Eq, that is much more complex to handle (and not usefull for everybody)


    To anticipate a question here: I do not see a valid algorithm yet, that will automatically adapt the monitor eq to your cabinet. But it is easily done by hand and ear anyway, I think.


    Have Fun!


    PS: Please tell me the your optimum settings for the Monitor EQ. I want to evaluate tendencies in the perception of the frequency response.

  • thanks for clearing that up :)


    As for my settings, I am finding that I am keeping things fairly flat on the Monitor Out global EQ at the moment, I guess that this is a good thing :) I've A/B's against my studio monitors and everything sounds great. Obviously I've only spent a small amount of time tweaking but the improvements are certainly working for me.


    Many thanks


    Spence


  • CK, thanks for being responsive to the community. A big :thumb up:. I have converted to FRFR so I can't help with a review of the new cab splitting algorithm.


    However, regarding the monitor output EQ, I run it (from left to right) -2.6 -.7 -4.4 -2.9. I typically find for me favorite tones I need to drop the treble and presence a lot, otherwise I get the harshness/spikiness. For reference, I use the monitor out to either an Adam A8x or a Mackie Mixer to Senn 598 headphones. It took me a while to be comfortable with moving the settings a little more extreme from the 12oclock settings, but using my ears these settings get me great tones.


    Keep up the great movement forward on this amazing little box!

  • Like Xpenno I have found a big difference in the monitor/no cab output, in a very positive way. It is much better for using with a power amp and cab, and like him I am no longer using much monitor eq, sometimes maybe adding a little middle but certainly not much . Using this output to a power amp cab at the same time as sending the main outputs to the pa system yields stellar results.
    A big thank you for this update as it is a very big step forward IMHO, and I am really looking forward to see the improvements in direct profiles, as that is my favourite method of using the KPA.

  • Well this comes just right at the time when I am about to go FRFR with the Line 6 stage monitor and sell my Mesa 2:90.
    Now I will give that another try.


    Thank you for the detailed explanation, Christoph!
    ... and the continuing improvements :thumbup:

    90% of the game is half-mental.

  • This is fantastic i cant wait to try it out at rehearsal tonight. I really like the Kemper sound straight into the return of my combo as it is so any improvment in this area is very welcome 8o

  • huge improvement! sounds way more open and balanced now.


    i've found myself cutting the bass to around -2 and bossting mids to around +2-3 in the monitor EQ. no need for direct-out preamp profiles to get a balanced sound through the poweramp return of an amp now :thumbup:

  • My settings:


    at home:
    Bass +3 (yeah i know... but I prefer a bassy sound when there is no bass player around :D)
    Mids + 0.2
    Treble + 1.0
    Presence + 0.3


    at rehearsal/live:


    Bass -0.4
    Mids + 1.1
    Treble + 0.2
    Presence - 0.1


    The new monitor EQ is very very good. I always prefered the Axe2 for direct guitarcab sounds, but with this new feature the KPA just sounds better and more alive than before and than the Axe. I guess it's just a EQ thing?

    MJT Strats / PRS Guitars / Many DIY Guitars -- Kemper Profiler Rack / Kemper Remote / InEar

  • For power amp / cab use: I have manually shut off cabinet and use monitor out (with cab bypassed). Should i just leave cabs on and use cab bypassed monitor out? There should not be difference, right???


    I tuned my sound with firmware 1.09. I know have 1.10 and gig coming with very little adjusting time. What is the main difference with monitor out sound between these two versions. I'm scared that my sound have changed for worst.


    Neurotic, right...


  • However, regarding the monitor output EQ, I run it (from left to right) -2.6 -.7 -4.4 -2.9. I typically find for me favorite tones I need to drop the treble and presence a lot, otherwise I get the harshness/spikiness. For reference, I use the monitor out to either an Adam A8x or a Mackie Mixer to Senn 598 headphones.


    I just saw this.
    Are you saying that you are running the monitor out into studio monitors/headphones? ?(

  • Plus or less the same as my monitor out EQ. I noticed that with that extra mids shift the becomes more tube-like through all the SS poweramps I tried...

  • The following settings take into account that I'm trying to approach the huge feel of my 4X12 cabinet with just a 1X12. :evil: . Obviously the bass response is set higher than normal to give me that "in-room 4x12 vibe". I would most likely roll back the bass settings live.


    Kemper>Power amp in (Mojotone Tone Machine EL34 head)>Cabinet (EV12L)
    Bass +5.0
    Mids +1.7
    Treble -0.9
    Presence -.09


    Kemper>Tech 21 Power Engine 60 (with EV12L)
    Bass +5.0
    Mids +1.7
    Treble <0.0>
    Presence <0.0>
    Note: I can also run the Kemper FLAT and get practically the same response by using bass, mid and treble controls on the PE60 instead.


    Kemper>FX Return (Bogner Shiva)>Cabinet (EV12L)
    Bass +5.0
    Mids +1.7
    Treble -2.3
    Presence -3.5


    I gotta tell ya...the punch and dynamics are a HUGE improvement over the older version. For guys like me that can't quite bond with the FRFR setup and want an "amp-in'room" solution...the new version is the ticket. I could easily live with any of these options, but the Tech 21 is my favorite due to size & simplicity.