Kemper in a band situation

  • Hi guys,
    Although I had been looking into a power amp for my Kemper (I already have a good cab), I have been seriously considering going for a TS112a instead, since I heard so many good things about them. What I'm wondering here is how well it would do in a band situation. Is it going to be loud/cut through enough? It seems like a lot of people on this forum went the active speaker route. Can anyone share their experiences/thoughts on the matter?


    The band I'm thinking of is your typical drum, bass, two guitars, vocalist kind of setup.


    Much appreciated,

  • i like the fullrange comfort. but i learned, that you might need to shell out more cash for a fullrange solution that is flat enough to "simulate" a half-decent guitar cab that would have been cheaper anyways... cheap(ish) fr-cabs always gave themselves away for me. i sold my 4x12 rectifier box for like 500,-€ used and bought a >2.000,-€ fullrange cab - at least it's easier to be carried up the stairs... :S still, i should have kept the 4x12 for "special occasions" where serious noise is appreciated... i'm really curious what the new atomics are going to offer...

  • depends how loud your band is and your tuning


    with my metalband we play very very loud, due to a drummer that is an animal...so we have to get at least even with him so that we can hear ourselves (and its fun by the way feeling the oooomph of the guitars)


    I have one Yamaha dsr112 monitor and we play baritone guitars tuned down to A-standard


    and the yamaha is not loud enough for me, I need a second speaker to compete with drums, bass and a guitarist with a 100w tube amp over a 412 cab
    but with the second yamaha i could blow them out of the water :)

  • Last weekend we played a venue with in house PA and QSC monitors. I decided because I was lazy to just use the QSC's and leave my DXR10's in the car. Man was this a bad move. They were loud enough but did not sound no way as clear and flat as my DXR's. I've learnt from my mistake and will always be using my DXR's from now on, whatever there already maybe on stage I'm just not risking it again

  • I'll agree with Raoul, I've heard his set up and it sounds bloody awesome!


    I'm getting tired of waiting for the Kemper amp to come out, and I love my trusty Marshall 2 x 12 with
    vintage 30's in, but I'll give it another month then I'll purchase the Yamaha's.


    Ezergeezer.

  • Dear all!


    Well I had, as you can find here in this forum, my own story of finding my setup for playing with my band. It was a journey, but I am now 100% happy with my result now and my band members are happy too.
    To make it short I now play my KPA through a second hand Marshall 8008 power amp, which can be and is set to linear. That means that there is no character added to the sound of the power amp. I use my old Marshall 1960 Lead cab and I use the KPA monitor out with a very little monitor output EQ, just to have the same feel like at home. The cable is an y-cable to connect the KPA monitor out to both channels of the power amp. I hope the monitor out will become stereo soon.


    This works for me really great!!!

  • I may be able to to get my hands on a 8004 for cheap, what are your feelings on it? Do you think it will be loud enough for a band situation?


    EDIT: I have also found a Peavey classic 50/50 for a decent price, what would you recommend?

  • Well I never heard the 8004, but I think it might sound simular to my 8008. It can be switched to linear, so for that the same as the 8008. Our drummer is not the loudest so our rehearsals are not so loud. We do hard to heavy rock. The volumen of my 8008 is about 9 to 10 o'clock, so in total under 50%.


    If the Peavey is a tube amp then it colours the sound... I would say go for the Marshall, cause it sounds neutral....


    Was this helpfull??

    Edited once, last by Hudiluma ().

  • The Marshall 8004 is not a well regarded power amp. I've only used the 8008, which is a decent low cost amp. plenty of power and not too heavy. If your only choice is between the 8004 and the Peavey then I'd take the Peavey every time. Don't listen to the nonsense about tubes colouring the sound. You are very unlikely to drive a tube amp hard enough to induce power amp distortion so all the tube amp will do is add a touch of warmth. A bit if EQ will soon get your presets sounding good:-) .

  • Im running my kpa through a 300w rocktron velocity poweramp into a vht fatbottom 4x12 cab. No problems in a band situation. The reactance/presence knobs make the voicing a lot easier to fit into the band though.

  • I have the Alto TS112a and it works fine. I've tried a crate powerblock into a 4x12 and 1x12 (for stage monitor), a Tech 21 Power engine, and an EV SXA250. They all work well for a band situation. We have all mentioned instruments above and keyboards and I can push loader than needed to be heard. If you like to hear what everyone else will through the PA then use the Alto TS112a. If you like the guitar cabinet sound then use a poweramp with cabinet and turn off the cab for monitor out. Set your volume knob to control your monitor volume for either setup and you can adjust you levels on stage from the front of the Kemper.

    "More Guitar in the Monitors" :thumbup:

    Edited once, last by bshaw92 ().