My Request Regarding Increase Rig Volume

    Hello, I would like to humbly ask for consideration of allowing pre-stack drives to increase rig volume, to mirror the traditional use of drives/boost effects in front of amps for volume boosts.


    My current workaround is to assign an effect button on the remote to both a pre-stack overdrive and a post-stack pure booster, as I don’t want to occupy the morph for this function. This also has the effect of having to essentially “give up” my first post-stack effect slot to a pure booster for every rig.


    I am less than a week in with the kemper, but I’m already enjoying it a lot. With 10+ years of development, I recognize that there are likely many other considerations taken with regards to rig volumes and consistency, and implementing something like this would not be a simple task. read more


    So I really appreciate any consideration given to this request!:)

    Edited once, last by sidhum ().

    I mean, this only happens at pre-compression volumes for real amps, right? Wouldn’t the Kemper act in the same way? I play mostly gainy stuff but I do have a performance or two with an OD before a Fender and turning it off, I do get a drop in volume.

    Quote from Frikeer

    I mean, this only happens at pre-compression volumes for real amps, right? Wouldn’t the Kemper act in the same way? I play mostly gainy stuff but I do have a performance or two with an OD before a Fender and turning it off, I do get a drop in volume.

    exactly. Many people seem to have forgotten or just don’t realise that a boostor OD in front ov a valve amp with enough gain be compressed won’t increase volume so the Kemper is really no different. However, many people would like it if amps and pedals did work this way as can be seem from the many requests for this functionality.


    I believe this is a great example of how digital devices like the Kemper have the ability to far outperform traditional analog amps. Because the signal is in the digital realm programmers can do all sorts of things that analog engineers couldn’t hope to achieve (or at least would have real technical difficulty achieving).

    All we would need is a simple Volume Increase control on all OD/Distortion/Boost/Fuzz fx. This would be a transparent volume increase applied after the Stack section but controlled from within the pre Stack FX. Basically you would just have another way of controlling Rig Volume but without the need to change rigs, use an extra post stack FX slot or tie up Morph.


    It could even be accompanied be a toggle button like many other features so that users that don’t want the added “complexity” could just untick the box and bypass the feature. This shouldn’t be necessary as a setting of 0 would automatically bypass but sometimes people like to have the visual reassurance 🤷🏻‍♂️


    So, to summerise, just because real amps with a gainy pre amp don’t increase n volume when you hit the frontend with a boost or OD doesn’t mean the Kemper needs to mimic this limitation. I’m in 🤘🤘🤘

    That’s actually a great argument. I’m in now as well!

    This should have been implemented from day 1 IMO. By the way, the argument that a boostor/OD in front of a valve amp with enough gain/compression won’t increase volume is a very limited argument. Is is simply not true for the majority of valve amp configurations. The idea that pedals are just for gain is not true. Nashville, for one, is loaded with guys that use pedals on a clean platform to up the volume. The same invalid argument was made here about volume knobs on guitars. That argument is false in most cases as well and for the same reason.


    Just because a limited case exists, doesn't mean it is always true. In this case, it is just the opposite.

    Quote from lbieber

    By the way, the argument that a boostor/OD in front of a valve amp with enough gain/compression won’t increase volume is a very limited argument. Is is simply not true for the majority of valve amp configurations…………


    ……………The same invalid argument was made here about volume knobs on guitars. That argument is false in most cases as well and for the same reason.

    I totally agree that pedals in front of a clean(ish) amp do boost volume. In fact I don’t believe anybody has said otherwise. However, in front of a valve amp with mid to high gain it is absolutely true that pedals don’t increase volume because the sound is already too compressed. That is just a fact of life.


    Quote from lbieber

    Nashville, for one, is loaded with guys that use pedals on a clean platform to up the volume.

    Just because a limited case exists, doesn't mean it is always true. In this case, it is just the opposite.

    Exactly, I think we are all agreed on this point. The key point is that these players use a clean platform. The Kemper also behaves like this already. The request that many people keep raising relates to increasing volume on an already dirty amp. Valve amps just don’t do this but there is no reason why the Kemper couldn’t go above and beyond the limitations of traditional valve amps.



    EDIT :


    I take some of that back actually. As I very rarely actually run pedals in front at all it has been a long time since I tested this myself. Even with a very clean rig the volume boost from a pedal in front is very subtle. I managed to get about 2.5db showing on the meters when I ran the Pure Boost on +5 but the change in tone and overdrive did make it sound and feel like more. As I always run Clean Sense around -6db I tried again with Clean Sense as 0db and the meter levels were the same with and without the Pure Boost.


    As I said in Post #3 though, I do think adding a volume level (similar to Rig Volume) to the pedal parameters would be a great feature.