Kemper Kab/Kone

  • That works of course, albeit it doesn’t allow to work on specific frequencies.

  • I'm really not getting this....


    Couple of points here:


    1) If anyone is trying to get an exact match between a real cab and Kone plus imprint, then you are chasing a never ending circle, mainly because there are more things in play. I do note that the OP is more focused on the output sound than comparison, but I would just focus on the best sound.


    2) Volume is definitely a factor


    3) Matching FOH and on stage monitor is also very difficult/impossible. every solution is a compromise. The sound through your guitar cab will sound very different FOH sound. Guitar cab is the hardest to match, then Kone and then FRFR. The kone is the "inbetween" of an FRFR and guitar cab. In any case, I always prioritise FOH first.

  • Everybody agrees that FOH sound is most important. But we all need a monitor to hear what we're playing. The monitor should be as close as possible to what the audience hears. I think everyone agrees on that as well. If you ride your guitar's volume knob a lot or have a bright single coil guitar that needs constant adjustments to the treble knob when you go from clean to overdrive, you must rely on a more or less consistent story between FOH and monitor. That's what I am talking about: not a 1:1 match, but two sound sources that tell the same narrative.


    Of course, FOH and monitor cannot sound exactly the same, but they can at least tell the same story. What I was saying, and I think what the OP was saying as well, is that the Kemper Kabinet sometimes (!!!) sounds like a completely different profile than what we hear through monitor speakers and studio headphones. In these cases, it fails as a monitor. For smaller rehearsals or gigs without PA, I'm not sure I'd use the Kemper + Kabinet over a normal amp. As soon as there's a PA, I think the Kemper can't be beat.


    In the old days, you had an amp on stage and made it sound as good as you could. Then you had to trust the sound guys to transport that sound to the audience. Even if you never knew if that worked out perfectly (you'd never hear it yourself), you at least heard an inspiring sound on stage that made you play better.

    If I now get an uninspiring sound on stage through the Kabinet and constantly have to remind myself "well, that's not what it really sounds like", I feel utterly confused. My volume and treble knob adjustments might be completely off, too. It's the opposite of plug and play.


    But don't forget, as I said in my previous post, this isn't the problem with all profiles and all imprints. Some profiles give me the exact same story through monitor speakers and Kabinet. But some others, in my opinion especially Greenbacks (never tried V30s...), sound off. My explanation has always been that the speakers used in the profile just sound different than the Greenbacks the imprints try to replicate. Still not sure why the FRFR mode sounds so different, too...

  • The monitor should be as close as possible to what the audience hears. I think everyone agrees on that as well.

    In that case you have no option but to use full range mode with the Rig Cab section active instead of Imprints. Imprints remove the mic so will always sound very different to what the audience hears.


    What I was saying, and I think what the OP was saying as well, is that the Kemper Kabinet sometimes (!!!) sounds like a completely different profile than what we hear through monitor speakers and studio headphones. In these cases, it fails as a monitor.

    That’s pretty much how micing a speaker works. In this case it doesn’t fail as a monitor any more than using a regular guitar cab would. If it sounds good on stage that is all you can hope for unless you are prepared to go Full Range.


    Still not sure why the FRFR mode sounds so different, too...

    Are you asking why Full Range sounds different to imprints? thats what mics do.


    Or why it sounds different to a FOH pa? A 112 cabinet will never sound like a full PA system.

  • No...but I will now!! I assume this doesn't affect the direct out to FOH? Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!

  • In that case you have no option but to use full range mode with the Rig Cab section active instead of Imprints.

    That’s what I do. I only turn on imprints if I have the feeling they get me closer to matching the FOH sound.

    Are you asking why Full Range sounds different to imprints?

    No.


    I am asking why some profiles simply sound bad through the Kabinet while others don’t. Several people in this forum have suggested it might me the Kabinet itself and the speakers sound better in a different Kabinet, I might put 2 Kones into a Zilla 2x12 cab one day.


    Since we’re talking audio here, these things are hard to describe. You’d need to hear it. As I said, there’s a Bassman profile I’m playing that sounds great through the cab. FRFR or imprints, doesn’t matter. Sounds very close to “the story” that goes into FOH.

    But when I play M Britts Greenback 50w Plexi or Stu G’s Marshall Bluesbreaker, they just sound strange through the Kabinet, as if they were completely different profiles than what FOH gets. I understand all the physics, but I also hear what I hear.

  • Having a lot of fun dialing in tones..How do you save an imprint to a performance slot? Not that I'm going to be switching between profiles in the middle of a song that use different spaekers, but I have performances I'd like to switch between songs where I'm switching from Green back to V30... My performances just seem to retain the last speaker imprint I used...it's not saving on the performance profile..?

  • Still trying to dial in the Kemper Kab/Kone...Running it with my Powerhead...finding the V30 and Greenback 25 imprints are VERY bright. I have all of the settings/buttons correct....But there is a harsh bright -ice-picky tone form some of the imprints. I've tried Graphic EQ block, can't seem to find the right freq to "dial out"...also tried low-high pass filter...shelfing anything above 8900 HZ...Seems to be somewhere between 4 -5500HZ? Any suggestions? This is for high -gain profiles.. For instance, I also have a 1x12 V30 cab, and when I A/B the Kone to the reg cab (V-30 Imprint..) it is not even close....And it seems that the Green back 25 imprint has no "warmth" to it, sounds a little less harsh and bright than the V-30...I know thie Kone Kab won't be exact, but it is a bit "edgy- harsh on many of the imprints.. ... Suggestions? Is there a Parametric EQ setting within the blocks that allows me to selct frequencies to boost or cut? I'm not finding it..Is it there and I don't see it? I feel liek I'm so close to dialing it in, btut there's this ice -picky freq that is "painful" at any signifcant volume.. Thansk!

    Hi!


    What's your setting of the parameter "Directivity" ?

  • And you have both "Kemper Kone" switch and "Monitor Cab Off" switch activated?

    I guess you have, because you can hear the differences between the imprints.

    Any suggested tweaks to help dial in the Kone - imprint with various profiles we may have saved (either commercial or self-created)? Just turned on imprints experimenting with some directivity and pure cabinet settings. Appreciate you hanging out in the forum supporting the cause. Cheers...

    Edited once, last by Mookytc ().

  • I think a mistake a lot of players make is forcing their previous favorite profiles to work with the Kone. I wiped my Kemper clean when my Kone arrived and started from scratch. Some of my favorites worked, others didn't. But, I didn't waste my time trying to force it. If a profile wasn't even close to what I wanted, I pressed the delete button and moved onto the next. Once I found a few that were close to what I was looking for, THEN I'd deep dive into the settings.


    Can't wait, ckemper, for new speaker imprints. I especially like the P10r and am hoping for more vintage offerings