Kemper through power amp + guitar cab - does this work well?

I use that technique for my monitor output and it works very well. I believe that there are a number of forum members running that way with good results. Use the monitor output with the cab sim turned off for it.

Hey Mewcenary,

no doubt the KPA can sound killer with a guitar cab! The advantage of a linear system is that you get all the versatility that the cab profiles can give you.

Through a guitar cab they do not sound as different as they should\would, but when you find sounds you like they're yours

I've used mine both ways. Neither is inherently "better", but one may suit your needs better than the other, or they may both be fine.

If your 1-12 cab has a speaker with a very specific sound, some amps will sound better than others, but most likely, you could edit the rigs to all sound good through your cab.

Hi Mewcenary, what sounds best is all about personal preference and some prefer playing the Kemper through a traditional amp and guitar cab and some prefer the monitor frfr because it offers all the tone options.
The first will give the "amp in the room" sound but the speaker in a guitar cab will always colour the sound a lot, unlike an frfr speaker. I like having both options and the frfr is great when a lot of tone variety is needed.

Here are two videos with the kemper profiling amp setup with power amp and guitar cabs with mics.
The kemper cabs are bypassed here.

kemper running into the peavey power amp then to a pair of cabs with a mic on each cab.
[YOUTUBE]

Fryette Modeling Workshop Volume III: Kemper Profiling Amplifier.
[YOUTUBE]

I personally love it a lot more run thru tube poweramp + 4x12 V30 cab with cabsims off. That sounds like regular stage rig although may color the sound. By the way - is there any way to turn off cabsims globally? I don't know why they put only one monitor out instead of pair - I have 2 inputs in my poweramp.

Just press Cab once (light off), then press and hold Lock and while holding it press Cab again. Now you have Cab globally off and you can use the main outs instead of the monitor out.

Thanks didn't know it's that simple...

KPA cab off > Mesa 20/20 or VHT 2:50:2 > stereo cabinet with Texas Heat and WGS Retro 30 (better that Vintage 30).....
(did have Matrix GT800FX wth this combination, didnt like it at all, sterile sounding, send it immediately away..)

I play mine through a marshall 9100 and two marshall 2x12's for onstage sound (via monitor out cab sims off) and to the PA via the main outs (with the volume link disabled).

I love the sounds I'm getting. People may argue that I'm not getting a true picture on stage of the profile as the Marshalls will be adding some colour to the sound, but I don't care... I'm getting a great sound and that is all that matters.

and the sound guys are happy too.

Been trying all types tried it through the effects loop on my evh 5150 3 100 watter through evh cabinets sounds good tried it through my citronic 80 powered monitors in stereo sounds very hi fi like and best of all through one side of my peavey classic valve rack power amp into a blackstar 4 x 12 with v30s perfect as it has loads of bottom end and the poweramp can be pushed a little

I use a Matrix GT1000 with a 2x12. Been reading on forums how the Kemper didn't work very well this way. Boy, are they wrong! Just tried it for the first time some days ago...took me five minutes of playing to put my Axe Fx up for sale.

Obviously, you'd likely need to apply some eq to the output you're using, but that's about it.

IMNSHO etc etc

Yes, using a Poweramp does sound good, without questions, however you should consider your needs, and how you will be using your Kemper. If you plan on playing live and running direct but using your tube Poweramp and 4x12 as a monitor on stage for live use, DO NOT dial in your patches on this system: what the crowd will here will be absolutely nothing close to what you are hearing on stage, and you will likely be unhappy with your FOH sound. This Is comig from someone who uses all 3 setups: studio monitors (Adam a7x series), tube Poweramp/cab setup ( fryette 2902 and fryette 4x12), and FRFR ( mackie hd1531). If you have a good set of accurate studio monitors, this seems to work the best for dialing in your profiles for live use in my experience. On that note, as much as I love using a tube Poweramp live for monitoring, I never do it anymore, and rely solely on my FRFR monitor live, If even that: more often than not I rely on the house and I've never been happier.

I just got a Crate Power block, to use with my two cabs, though I plan on continuing to use my QSC k10 most of the time. But used at $140, the Power block is a good backup as a guitar amp and a light portable way to power either of my cabs with the Kemper, as it has a return jack for using just the power amp. Since I initially tweaked my profiles to sound good direct, I found that turning off the cab and using a real guitar cab had mixed results. Obviously, if the profile had an open-back 2x12 cab, and my cab is a closed-back 4x12 with different speakers, the two are not going to match very well, just like changing the cab in the profile on the Kemper changes the sound drastically.

You need to tweak your profiles to sound good through the real cabinet. The results are killer as you have hundreds of awesome profiles to tweak and use with your real cabinet. If this is the approach you use to get your sound, you'll have better results just miking your amp than using the main outs to the FOH, as the cab-on direct sound through the main outs will be different than what you are hearing through your guitar cab.

If you haven't tweaked for the Powerblock yet:

The RCA inputs on the back Powerblock are designed to give you flatter response than the effects return jack.

I usually play through a Bose L1, but did a one-time gig using a Powerblock and the matching 1-12" open back Celestion cabinet.

Using the the RCA inputs of the Powerblock, I was able to adjust the Kemper Monitor Out EQ instead of updating any of the Rigs I use with my Bose L1.

Note: I wasn't using the profiled cabs into the Powerblock cab - I switched to the other option for the Monitor out in the Output section.

Quote from paults

Note: I wasn't using the profiled cabs into the Powerblock cab - I switched to the other option for the Monitor out in the Output section.

You mean you ran cabdriver which seems very logical to me with this setup, right?

Yes - I turned Cabdriver ON. It worked very well for me

(Thanks! - the name was escaping me at that point)

Quote from paults

Yes - I turned Cabdriver ON. It worked very well for me

(Thanks! - the name was escaping me at that point)

Hmm, isn't it turning Cab Sim OFF? Or am I missing something that I should know?

Yes, Cabdriver is engaged when you switch cab off on Monitor out.

So when Monitor Out = Cabs Off, the cabdriver function is working.

But, if you switch the Cab off with an individual rig ( the cab button on the front panel) the cab
Is turned off, without cabdriver being activated.