Kemper Kone speaker not suitable for close mic'ing

  • I bought two Kemper Power Kabinets and the Kabinet is absolutely amazing, I love it. To my ears the Kabinet is so close to the point of sounding like "amp in the room" that it might as well be.


    My question is, has anyone had success mic'ing the Kabinet? Christoph Kemper says, "Due to its special cone design, the Kemper Kone speaker not suitable for close mic'ing. Use it for personal monitoring only."


    The reason I ask is because I bought the Kemper Power Kabinets with the intention of gigging the Kabinet at outdoor events where sound companies virtually always prefer to mic your cabinet. My experience with sound companies dealing with direct outs is not good. Also, I've gigged the Kemper for years and I know from personal experience that different powered PA speakers behave differently to the Main Outs EQ. In other words, I don't trust a sound company taking my Kemper direct.


    The basic question is whether or not someone has successfully mic'ed the Kone, and if so what was the method?


    Thanks!

  • Due to the design, you will not get good results close-micing. It’s not a question.


    The Kone is for monitoring.


    Frankly, any sound company that insists on micing a Kemper (or modeler) designed to go direct is moronic.

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

  • as Ruefus said, it is not suitable for close micing. The reason is that there are actually two speakers mounted together. A close mic with almost certainly have phase issues between the two cones.


    Frankly any FOH engineer who isn’t comfortable using a direct signal has no right calling themselves an engineer. They deal with direct signals all the time for bass and keys etc so the guitar should be no different. In terms of consistency of sound you are more likely to get a good consistent sound from the direct signal than trusting a stage hand with a mic. Is suspect the reason some PA systems have reacted badly to the direct signal is because the engineer has simply applied their default EQ settings for 57 to the channel rather than setting it flat. However, the profile itself already has any major EQ decisions baked in so only minimal tweaks to fit the room and band mix should be needed. Applying their mic settings will obviously screw up the tone.

  • Having gigged my KPA for about 7years and my Kabinet for the last 9 months, including many outdoor festivals, I have only ever once come across a sound engineer who insisted on mic-ing my Cab and that was 6-7 years ago. I have no idea where you get the idea that "sound companies" prefer to mic. Almost all engineers have come across Axe Fx/Helix/Kemper...


    Every other sound engineer has been so much happier to go direct.


    Why would you not trust him and yet your happy for him to take a mike output ( which has more variables involved)?

  • Having gigged my KPA for about 7years and my Kabinet for the last 9 months, including many outdoor festivals, I have only ever once come across a sound engineer who insisted on mic-ing my Cab and that was 6-7 years ago. I have no idea where you get the idea that "sound companies" prefer to mic. Almost all engineers have come across Axe Fx/Helix/Kemper...


    Every other sound engineer has been so much happier to go direct.


    Why would you not trust him and yet your happy for him to take a mike output ( which has more variables involved)?

    l have had a situation where a venue’s in house engineer insisted on using a mic. I eventually gave up arguing but won’t work with him again.

  • I played a series of outdoor events last summer with my rack + Kone. FOH feed was direct from main out and all the engineers complimented me on the sound. No way would I permit anyone to mic the cabinet. After all, who exactly is working for who?

  • I played a series of outdoor events last summer with my rack + Kone. FOH feed was direct from main out and all the engineers complimented me on the sound. No way would I permit anyone to mic the cabinet. After all, who exactly is working for who?

    What sound guy would insist on miking a cab that is not designed for miking over a quality direct feed?


    We all know this is daft although some of those people out there still, but the good news is they should be few and far between.

  • What sound guy would insist on miking a cab that is not designed for miking over a quality direct feed?


    We all know this is daft although some of those people out there still, but the good news is they should be few and far between.

    Before I bought the Kemper, I frequently used a Mustang III amp in a Blues band.


    One night, the owner of the club insisted I mic the amp. “….last time I was here, I ran direct and it was great….”


    Some jackhole the week before ran a Fender Twin on the boil the entire night. Even after being told to turn down. In a room small enough for a Deluxe Reverb would need to keep a lid on it.


    “It’s my sound, man!!” was the excuse. The owner said “My money……my club…..my rules. The rest of the band is welcome. But you - I never want to see your face again.”


    After being given that blow-by-blow, I said “Yeah, dude……a mic’s fine.” ?


    We came back a month later and I ran direct with the same gear.?

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

  • One night, the owner of the club insisted I mic the amp. “….last time I was here, I ran direct and it was great….”


    Some jackhole the week before ran a Fender Twin on the boil the entire night. Even after being told to turn down. In a room small enough for a Deluxe Reverb would need to keep a lid on it.

    But how is mic'ing an amp quiter than running direct?
    I mean, that's one of it's main advantages...

  • But how is mic'ing an amp quiter than running direct?
    I mean, that's one of it's main advantages...

    You’re right. It would have been better to run direct. I knew it at the time.


    The owner was still *so* pissed at the other guy (from a week ago!), I didn’t fight him on it. Nothing was phrased to us as a question during setup that night. ?



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

  • That's a great thought. How does imprint mode affect the two cones?


    The Whizzer cone appears to be the "amp in the room" factor.

    The whizzer cone is simply a device to extend the frequency range of the driver - more treble extension than the typical single cone 12" guitar speaker. The "amp in the room" sound is the combination of using a 12 celestion driver in a guitar cab like enclosure and the specific equalisation curve that is being applied by the Kemper DSP. This Eq curve has been fine tuned to emulate the particular driver ( eg Creamback 65M) used for the imprint IN THAT CAB. That last bit is critical.

  • Someone asked this before before and my response was, "You want to mic the mic'd sound of a Kabinet? That's like miking a mic of a mic'd sound."

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.