Kemper Kabinets and why Kemper advise that micing the Kemper Kab is not recommended.

  • Hi all,


    Having purchased two Kabinets, I set it up in stereo according to the video. This is the video I used for setup:

    Kemper Tone Tips - Volume 3 - Kemper Kabinet -
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    At 01' 25" on the timeline, the presenter makes it well known that to mic up the cabs is not recommended . He goes on to say that the Kabinet is only for the guitarist to hear his Kab'ed sound through the stage monitors or in studio to get that 'Amp in the Room' sound. Whats the point if your public can't hear it?


    So I spent a fortunate on two Kabinets only to discover that technically, its purely for 'self gratification'. Or in the studio, you hear this awesome sound but you can't record it.


    Please tell me I'm wrong. Why on earth would anyone want to buy some gear just for his personal enjoyment and not be able to translate this awesome sound into a recording. Had I seen this video before buying, I seriously doubt that I would have bought them.


    Please enlighten me Mr Kemper.


    Look forward to replies.


    :cursing:

  • If you’re using a Kemper, and have a PA….why on Earth would you mic the cabinet?


    Why mic a Kabinet to record when you can go direct and choose thousands of cabinets?


    The whole point of of the Kabinet is to get away from the mic’d cab sound.


    Use the main outs.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

    Edited once, last by Ruefus ().

  • The Kabinet can’t be close miced because it has two separate speaker cones in it so there would be phase issues and other anomalies when a mic is placed in front of it.


    The Kemper is designed to capture the full sound of a signal path including the speaker AND mic, pre amp EQ etc. There is no need to mic the speaker AGAIN as it is already captured in the Rig.


    This full studio quality sound is sent to the FOH PA or recording interface with absolute consistency via the Main Outputs.


    It can be monitored on stage via a full range speaker/monitor or in the studio via studio monitors or headphones.


    However, some people complained that they missed the feel of a traditional guitar speaker for their personal monitoring (aka Amp In The Room sound). They felt that the full range (FRFR) sound which included the contribution of a mic in the profile itself was too produced and didn’t feel the way a real amp did on stage.


    The Kemper has always allowed users to have the amp in the room experience by using a regular guitar cabinet. The downside is that every profile may end up sounding very similar because the speaker plays such a large role in the overall sound.


    As a result the Kone/Kabinet was designed specifically to fulfil the on stage monitoring needs of these Amp In The Room users without the limitations of only having access to a single speaker model. It does a great job of this.


    The audience still receive the full Kemper experience through the FOH PA using the Main Outputs so there is no problem with not being able to share your glorious tones with the audience. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Simply give the sound engineer either one or two XLR cables to send to the desk and the job is done. The tone will be the same every night too. In contrast, Trying mic a cabinet on stage is fraught with danger as you are relying on the engineer having your preferred mic, placing it in the best spot on the speaker hoping it doesn’t get moved during the gig (how many gigs have you done where the singer or the support band tripped over the mic stand and you mic was pointing at nothing for most of the night?), EQ the sound to your preferences etc, deal with spill from other instruments as high volume. The Kemper direct to FOH removes all of these problems and gives a consistent experience while making the engineer’s life easier. The audience gets a better sound, the engineer gets any easier life and (with the Kabinet) you still get the traditional on stage experience you are used to; what’s not to like ?

  • I do that all the time. :)

    I am reliably informed that there are whole businesses dedicated entirely to supply of such gear.;)


    More seriously, I would think that you could mic the Kabinet from a distance with a LD condenser mic or a Ribbon mic without problems. It is close micing that would be problematic but close micing is often necessary to get separation when in close proximity to other instruments (drums, bass, other guitar amps etc).

  • Exceptional explanation.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • You are joking, surely?


    1) I'm sure you did your research into Kabinets before buying - its no one else's fault if you didn't.

    2) Why would you mic a cab when you have a KPA. The whole point is to go direct

    3) Its been created because people complained they did not get the "amp int he room sound" from FRFR and guitar cabs colour the sound too much. So its to solve that problem. Kemper have been very clear on why its not "ideal" to mike it.

  • Yes, yes, all of you are right but....


    The tone I hear when i run the Kemper through a PA, or through a FRFR or studio monitors is quite different than the tone coming from the Kones, let's say more "amp in the room" or "less miced", right?

    So I can understand that someone wants to record that sound, in fact I myself would like, just as I can understand that someone is surprised not being able to record/amplify their investment in Kemper Kabinets.


    Well, I have tried. I have put the mic in various positions and distances and the results were not good at all. Much better recording direct by SPDIF or analog. Seeing that, I haven't even tried to mic the Kone to PA.

  • So I can understand that someone wants to record that sound

    But you cannot record that sound without adding a mic to the equation (and subtracting the room FROM the equation). And that is what a profile is.


    You know what would happen if you could mic the Kones? Best case scenario is that it sounds exactly like the profile you are already feeding into the Kones. It's pointless.


    The only thing that I also see as a problem is when you find a great imprint for a profile that you love. I've been there. It is annoying that the imprint doesn't go back into the profile. I wish there was an option to select that adds a cab to your profile that is identical to the imprints Kemper uses.

  • Yes, yes, all of you are right but....


    The tone I hear when i run the Kemper through a PA, or through a FRFR or studio monitors is quite different than the tone coming from the Kones, let's say more "amp in the room" or "less miced", right?

    So I can understand that someone wants to record that sound, in fact I myself would like, just as I can understand that someone is surprised not being able to record/amplify their investment in Kemper Kabinets.

    Nevermind the difficulties associated with placing a microphone in front of a Kone. Assume those aren't a factor.

    Recording the Kone defeats the entire reason the speaker exists. Removing the mic from the equation so the player hears the amp into a speaker and not amp, speaker, mic, recording interface etc.

    You *can't* record a Kone to hear what it sounds like 'in the room'. The tone should be different from FOH. What the player hears *is* different. This is true of the KPA as well as traditional amps mic'd onstage.

    “Without music, life would be a mistake.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

  • This is the whole concept and misinterpretation.


    Read the Kemper website where is talks about the sounds you hear on record and at a gig via a PA is NOT the sound from the amp. so, you want amp in the room from your monitor and studio sound ( whole profile) from your FRFR/PA. The kone provides the Amp in the room.


    Note the KPa can also do this...use a direct profile into a cab and mic it. Done.


    You are reverse engineering the problem. This is not an issue but actually a solution to a physics problem.