Keep KOnes or should I move to a good cab?

    Hi Everyone,


    I have a bit of a dilemma. I play a KPA Powerhead through a modified Laney 2 x 12 cab where I swapped in 2x Kones. I play at home along to backing tracks BUT I also play in a band & we hire rehearsal spaces.


    Seems that no matter what I do, I just can't get the tones I love through the set up I have. They all sound good, but all at about an emotional 9/10 instead of 10/10. I'm playing amp sims like Marshall JVM410 & Mesa Mk II usually.


    Would you more enlightened people advise...


    1) Keep the Kones & invest time in them. I do find that the tones I like live are nowhere near the tones I like at home - not a surprise. But live I struggle to always cut vs a real Marshall JVM tube amp that other guitarist has. I have tried all kids of EQ tricks that get me close to where I want to be but just not quite there.


    or...


    2) Buy a good 2 x 12 can like an Engl & turn off cab sim.


    Guessing there'll be many replies along lines of "your choice" but wondered if there was any wisdom to be had.

    I'd say given the few profiles you're using you’ve already settled on a certain sound with a cab circling likely around Vintage 30, Greenback or Creamback speakers.

    Therefore you don’t get much benefit from the Kone/Kabinet which is all about versatility.

    Why not plug your Powercab into the other guitarist's cab and if you like your sound better you know what to do…

    Vintage 30 definitely but when I tried out the V30 emulation on the Kones it sounded absolutely nothing like a V30 to me. Mega muffled.


    Other guitarists JVM is a combo...unhelpfully!


    Will the KPA sound better through a real cab for a narrow range of profiles? Say I get an ENGL pro 2 x 12 with V30s in & play JVM/Mesa amp sims through that?


    Also what would a real cab do to backing tracks played through real cab? I'm assuming there'd be loss of quality?


    Thanks for the help!!

    Quote from 1Towneley

    Other guitarists JVM is a combo...unhelpfully!

    You should still be able to use the speakers from the JVM combo as they aren’t hard wired as far as I can see. Unplug the speaker Jack from the JVM and plug it into the Speaker out on the powered KPA. Remember to make sure the Marshall amp section is turned off at the time as it needs the speaker load to stop the amp frying.

    Quote from 1Towneley

    Teenie tiny venues & would be cab miked if any bigger.

    Bear in mind you can’t mic the Kones so if you really insist on micing a cab for bigger gigs (I wouldn’t dream of doing that as the Studio profile already includes the miced cab) then you need to go with a traditional cabinet.


    to answer your other question about playing backing tracks through a regular guitar cab; it will sound very dull and muffled as the speaker isn’t capable of producing the high frequencies.

    Cheers Alan,


    Sounds like a trade off as I expected then. I could always have both ;)


    Hadn't realised the Kones couldn't be miced. Venues we will be playing will be small local places (pubs essentially) so I think a beefy cab sounds like the way to go.

    TBH I bought the Kemper purely as...


    1) I had an ENGL Blackmore that I wasn't happy with and...

    2) I replaced that with a Peavey 6505 that I was happy with but it wasn't flexible enough.

    3) I wanted a top end amp (Diezel for instance) but wasn't willing to drop that sort of money on one amp.

    4) I play covers of songs from Metallica, Thin Lizzy, Maiden, Megadeth & wanted something just flexible enough for that + cleans (which the 6505 was shit at).

    5) I wanted something pluggable direct into PC.


    So sounds like a real cab is way to go. Haven't seen anything on the net that says it'll restrict options within the sort of music I play. Just a bit of a shame, the Kones get me to a point where the Mesa or Marshall tones are 90% there (meaning fairly convincing but not amp in the room air moving) but I'm being a fanny on wanting the remaining 100%. They always sound a bit artificial & thin and I just haven't been able to get it right. MAybe it is the cab that the Kones are in? (200 quid Laney IRT cab).


    Would be interested to see how the Kemper does with a high gain profile into a good V30 cab - I can imagine it might be amazing.