Is there a consensus about best "in the room" sound with Kabinet: (a) studio profile w/ monitor cab ON (b) studio profile w/ monitor cab OFF (c) direct profile w/ monitor cab OFF?

  • Noob'ish poster here. Got my Kemper about 6 months ago (but only really had 2 good months with it) and just got a Kabinet a couple weeks ago.


    Is there any consensus on what would be the best option for "amp in the room" sound?


    (A) Studio profile (so, profiled with amp and cabinet) and with monitor cabinet ON (which as I understand it, would be kind of like an FRFR right? Like, we are using the studio profiled sound for the cabinet.)


    (B) Studio profile but turning monitor cabinet OFF (which, as I understand it, would be Kemper subtracting it's interpretation of what the profile's impact of the cabinet is, and then using the Kabinet + Kone's to replace that part of the sound).


    (C) Direct profile with monitor cabinet OFF (which as I understand it is a profile with only the amp, not cabinet, and then the Kabinet + Kone filling in that part of the sound).


    First of all, is my interpretation of those different options correct?


    Second, anyone have strong opinions on which is the best, if your goal is "amp in the room?"

  • Your interpretation is excellent.


    Personally, I have always had excellent results using studio profiles with monitor cab off, and that's why it's my preference.

    Gotcha thanks! Cool, glad I got that right.


    Sounds good RE: your preference. I'm glad this is the case because, as I'm sure you know, there are many awesome 3rd party profiles that are only Studio and that don't have a Direct or Merged profile also available. So I'm glad that Studio + monitor cab off is considered a good option. (I wasn't sure if there was a school of thought that would say "better to not have to add the algorithmic subtraction step" before getting the Kabinet + Kone incorporated.)

  • “Is there a consensus..............?” ??????


    We are talking about tone here so consensus is a dream. Everybody has there own ideas and everyone is an “expert”. All I know is, if it sounds good TO you, it is good FOR you.


    As Ingolf said, your understanding is good.


    I use Studio profiles almost exclusively. I tend not go for an Amp In The Room experience but when I do use the Kabinet I use it with Monitor Cab Off and an Imprint (usually an EVM12L as that is what is used for nearly 30 years with my Mesas). This means that FOH get the full Studio profile experience and my Kabinet still sounds familiar to me.


    The alternative of using a Direct Profile with a cab added may give you a more “authentic” monitoring experience but the FOH won’t be getting an “authentic” tone.


    In theory a Merged profile should be the best of both worlds but many people report that they don’t always sound the same as the Direct and Studio profiles they were made from.


    in reality, I would forget about the concept of”authenticity” and focus on whether the sound is good to your ears. I would prioritise the FoH sound over monitor sound if a compromise needs to be made anywhere as you are playing for an audience so what they hear is the most important thing.

  • I’ve had the Kemper for years now. I’ve always been happy with the sound through monitor speakers. I now have a Kone and I’m enjoying using studio profiles whereby I am swapping out the cabinet for a Kone imprint. I like the results.


    What I would like, going forward, would be batch editing within Rig Manager so as I can swap out the Kone on a whole bunch at once. If I buy a rig pack, I like to play with the Kone and see what it sounds like with the speaker that the profiler actually used as a Kone imprint. It’d be nice to be able to swap these all for the original speaker when a profile maker sells me 25 profiles of the same amp :). I know you’re potentially missing a better sound there (to you as an individual) with other Kone imprints but my OCD wants ideally to start with authentic. There are other good reasons why batch editing in rig manager would be very welcome and this is just one example :)

  • Not so much "amp in room" sound, but the best "virtual live stage sound" is when I have my studio monitors in front and I place the Kab behind me and at a slightly higher volume. Sounds and feels just like on stage!

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.