Video review of powered kabinet

  • Hi guys,


    I threw together a video of my new powered kabinet.


    I hope it's useful.


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  • @5 minutes : Directivity control?


    Maybe you should try profiling your amp with your settings, then you might get closer. I know that Andy from the Amp Factory profiles through outboard EQs and compressors for colour, taking it further away from the amp in the room.

  • If you would like to have the same sound you'd have to install a Kemper Kone in a housing with the exact same measures as the Amp.

    The Kabinet can't copy other guitar cabinets. The Kone copies other Speakers. But of course they sound different if installed in a different cabinet. I guess the amp is open back. But the Kabinet is closed back.

    Can't change the phisics... The housing makes a very important part of the sound.

    never thought that I would like the Kemper that much...! 8|

  • The signal chain is different so they will not sound the same because you are comparing a profile from a supplier ( unsure what settings he had) with your amp, with a mic now artificially removed, so I think your expectation is slightly off here.


    As you know, the powered Kabinet (which is effectively the same as an un-powered one run by a powered head) is there to give a more amp in the room sound...to bridge this difference is the purpose of the Kabinet...but might point here is "bridge"...


    If its any consolation, I preferred the sound from the Kabinet over your amp ( albeit too much reverb) :).

  • As Guy mentioned, the Toneking is an open back cabinet which is sitting flat on the floor (more bass response). Also the Toneking cabinet is larger which will affect the comparison too. Then there is the actual profile itself.


    I would really love to hear the comparison of your own profile of your own amp and a profile of the same amp and settings through the Kabinet. This would remove one set of variables but the only way to get a true comparison would be to mount a Kone in an Imperial cabinet.

  • Guess I was not 100% correct in what I said, I found a very good description from CK in one of the Kone threads:


    Quote CK:


    As you know, the Kone will support two directions.


    I have optimized the linear route in our Kabinet, which is a fully closed cabinet [no ports). I have used some of the best studio monitors and other speakers as a reference.

    I am confident you will achieve excellent results in other closed cabinets as well, since the air volume of regular cabinets does not differ too much. This is also true for 2x12 and 4x12 cabinets, as you would divide the effective volume by 2 or 4. If a problem arises still, even software updates would be an option.


    But when you run the linear sound in an open back enclosure, you will loose the low and, and thus not being that linear. But that is not a bad thing, as you would anticipate this loss, when you play an open back.


    My approach for the imprints was different. There it was not about a linear device, but a speaker that should produce the same sound as a reference speaker, no matter what cabinet it is.

    So I had the original guitar speakers mounted in our Kabinet and compared it to a Kone in another Kabinet side by side. By this approach the imprints are independent of the cabinet, as the influence of the cabinet is equally applied on both reference and Kone, and thus falls out of the equation.


    We did some quick tests with an open cabinet a while ago and we liked it!

    Because the Kone‘s dispersion pattern is wider (less beam), the sound radiated backwards looses a bit of relevance, but this is not a negative aspect at all.


    Unquote


    Guess it will never sound exactly the same, but it sounds great :):thumbup:

    never thought that I would like the Kemper that much...! 8|

  • I think what CK is saying there is that he placed say a Vintage 30 in a Kemper Kabinet and compared that to a V30 imprint also in a Keeper Cabinet. It would follow that the Kone imprint would sound the same if the imprints work properly. Whereas he is saying a closed and open back cabinet will sound different even with the same speaker.

  • I'm still trying to figure out why some people don't think the Kabinet sounds like an amp-in-room when it clearly does in this video.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

  • I'm still trying to figure out why some people don't think the Kabinet sounds like an amp-in-room when it clearly does in this video.

    I think for some people the phrase 'amp in the room' is synonymous with 'amp sound I like best' and not really an objective comparison of a sample amp in the room vs some other solution. You could put the amp they approve of and let them hear it through numerous cab/speaker combinations and they would dislike many of the real amps-in-the-room in that scenario too.

  • Hi all,


    Some good points made by all of you.


    The basic problem that I had when making this video is that it is basically impossible. Just consider that I have to record the audio on the video and then that audio has to be uploaded and processed by youtube.


    I did consider just doing a spoken review (which this mostly is), but I know that people would criticise it because they want to 'hear' the kabinet, but because the kabinet is exactly not a cab that should be recorded (that would be so much better being recorded direct) then the recording is only of some use. I think that the manual says that you should not mic the kabinet.


    My feeling in the room was that the kabinet sounded very good even though it did not sound like the original. I think I regret emphasising the comparison with the real amp. The intention was more to compare the 'amp in the room' feel rather than the specific tone. Regarding the amp in the room feel, I think that I would stick to my view that the kabinet felt less 'organic' or 'responsive', however I have only had a few hours playing with it and this may change as I (we) learn how to tweak it.


    By the way - yes I did have too much reverb on the kabinet profile. It's one of the new spring reverb presets and to my ears it sounds really good. I did actually turn it down a bit from the preset, but I should have gone down further. In fact, I should have done the comparison with no reverb, but I can't bear to play without reverb!

  • Totally get your point and my comments were less about your challenge but just checking your expectations. I think your vid was really good and sound quality was good as well. Some people don't like the Kabinet and that's totally fair enough but its really hard to do a comparison because of all the factors involved.


    What I've found most interesting is that we never thought about any of this with our Valve amps...plugged in, mic'ed up and assumed the same sound out front.


    Anyway, I hope I've not put you off making future videos :)

  • Comparing a closed back cabinet in an angle to an open back cabinet sitting on the floor gives a whole different experience. :)

    Yes indeed. I did think about that! But I mentioned earlier on in the thread that a really scientific comparision/evaluation is quite a tricky task and I probably just skipped over a few of the problems and challenges in a rush.


    In any case, I'm just enjoying the fact that the famous ckemper watched my video.


    Did you hit the like and subscribe button?