Posts by richaxes

  • First impressions with my KPA

    Hi guys!
    My KPA finally arrived today. This was the day I was totally waiting for ever since I saw the first video of the KPA on YouTube, and got into this whole weird looking, profiling spaceship console :) (I honestly think it looks amazing live, a lot better than on pictures! I also thought it would be smaller, but its just nice, the knobs and everything is laid out so well that it's a pleasure to tweak them!)
    I decided to get the KPA instead of a Mesa Road King II head, and have dropped my Peavey JSX head / cab and all my tube equipment, cabs, pedals, etc. I thought this was a really risky choice to make, ordering the KPA "blind" and just getting rid of everything else, but the sound clips and videos were kinda convincing and I'm not afraid of technical advantages and the future, nor I am a tube snob.
    My first to thing to do was updating the software to the newest one. After completed, as I don't have an real FRFR solution yet or any PA + Cab solution neither, I had to restort to plugging the KPA into my '80s Hi-Fi system with a JVC power amp and two Sanyo ~35w speaker cabs. More precisely, one speaker cab, because the PA has a jack connection only, so I have to use it monitor out mono (I had to initialize my KPA to make it work!), and only one of the cabs makes sound this way. No big deal, the guitar is still usually a mono instrument, and I'll be also getting my RCF NX-12SMA soon, hopefully :P.
    I have to mention, though, that my Axe-Fx Ultra (what I sold after a month last year) sounded totally bad with this configuration, was totally lifeless and muddy, had no tube feel at all. So, I was prepared for the worst, and my expectations were kind of low with this setup.
    I plugged in my trusty old Squier Affinity Telecaster (my fav guitar by far, and I've owned several Gibson and Fender guitars, Ibanez guitars, I even have an UV777 now) and randomed a preset I don't remember now, but I think it was a Marshall. And...
    BAAAAAAAAAM. It was there. All the tube feel, tone, and everything that I used to love about my tube setups was there with this crappy old Hi-Fi speaker cab and PA... and my jaw almost literally dropped. I browsed through the factory presets, stayed a lot on the Xtacy 5 one because I'm really into Satriani and Vai and instrumental rock stuff, I have to say, wow. I've never ever sounded this good in my life, being said that I've owned several high-end tube amps including a Diezel VH4 and a Mesa Stiletto Deuce.
    I was preparing for the KPA's arrival, though, and downloaded pretty much every profiled rig I could find here, also the fantastic Tills cabs. My next step was loading up a few user made profiles, the first being the Carvin Legacy ones. BAAAAAAAAAM, again. It was there, and I switched to my Ibanez UV777 for some Vai-ish madness. BAAAAAAAAM. All there. Switched cabs... HOLY S### it sounds just like I wanted it to. I mean... honestly, I thought the KPA would be worse, I almost hoped that I could knock it a little... I can't. I can't knock the KPA in the sense of tube feel and tone... it's all there.
    There are obviously weak points for the Kemper. One is the amp EQ. Of course you can't EQ a snapshot of an amp like you would EQ the amp itself, because the tone stack is not modeled. I understand this, and of course with the built-in equalizer stomps and everything it's easy to take care of. Same goes for the Pick parameter... it just doesn't work real, but how could you expect it to. Of course, small adjustments within a range will still sound ok - just like the Gain knob on the amps. I'd rather use one of the modeled (or profiled?) stomp box ODs instead of adding tons of gain with the Gain knob. So these points are totally understandable.
    The software didn't freeze or do anything stupid to me, and I really dug in deep with the settings. Guess I'm lucky, and I hope I'll never have any reliability problems, because it can really ruin the experience with a great unit (experienced this once with the piezo system on my Music Man JP6 - sold the guitar after it got repaired, somehow, I just didn't feel like keeping it).
    Phew, this got pretty long, and I have to finish now. To summarize it, I'm really blown away by the KPA, this was my BEST gear purchase EVER, it's absolutely worth the ~1500 euros it sells for, and I'd easily pay double price for it. The Axe-Fx or any other digital solution is nowhere near to what the KPA can do... I'm in love with it totally... so guys, I'm in! :thumbup:

  • Just got a mail...

    Dear customer,






    in our Customer Centre, you've opted for automatic


    tracking notification via email.






    Concerning your shipment xxxxxxx from 18.02.2012 we


    currently have the following tracking information:






    18.02.2012 13:26 The shipment has been processed in the


    parcel center (Feucht)


    20.02.2012 01:33 The international shipment has been


    processed in the export parcel center (Feucht)






    As soon as the shipping status changes or your parcel


    reaches a new stage, you will receive another email.






    If you do not wish to receive any further notifiaction


    emails, you can cancel this service at any time via the following link:


    https://www.thomann.de/gb/mythomann_tracking etc.





    If you are not logged in, this link won't work until


    you've logged in to our Customer Centre.


    Yours sincerely,






    Thomann Cyberteam






    http://www.thomann.de/






    Musikhaus Thomann e.K.






    Inhaber Hans Thomann






    Treppendorf 30, 96138 Burgebrach






    HRA Bamberg Nr. 8988


    :thumbup:

  • RCF NX 12-SMA with the KPA?

    Quote from Scott_Peterson

    Somewhat. You've heard your amps; you've heard recorded guitars and you've heard mic'd up guitars at shows. FRFR is akin to running a mic'd up amp through a PA. The better the speaker, the flatter the response with FRFR so you merely hear exactly what you put into it coming out of it without color or timbre changes. As with anything, there are a range of performance (roughly following along with the budget price point) in how well a given speaker/speaker system performs this task.




    Think of running FRFR as doing everything you do in your signal chain inside the KPA - including the cabinet - and then merely using the FRFR box to amplify it... not color it.


    So this means that if I'm planning on using the KPA live and I really want to utilize what it does the best - profiling different sounding amps and cabs - then my best way to go is an FRFR solution, because it will be the best choice for giving that kind of versatility back?

  • RCF NX 12-SMA with the KPA?


    As I've never ever tried a FRFR solution, I can only imagine.
    So, let's say, a guitar cab is something that is kinda nasal, narrow banded, with being punchy and very characteristic.
    In my imagination the FRFR would be something that is totally clean and clear, flat, not so punchy and characteristic but providing a very reliable and "3D" open sound. Am I more or less correct?

  • RCF NX 12-SMA with the KPA?

    Quote from Scott_Peterson

    It does not 'pronouce' the mids at all; it's exceptional in exactly how flat it is. It is flat across the entire spectrum; not razor flat aka "reference" flat; but it's remarkable in how well it communicates whatever you put into it.


    Ah, I understand, thanks! So, with knowing that a guitar speaker is very mid pronounced, how different is the RCF from, say, a PA + guitar cab in terms of tone and feel?

  • RCF NX 12-SMA with the KPA?

    Quote from Scott_Peterson

    The RCF NX 12-SMA is a entry price point professional level solution; it's been in service here both live gigging and rehearsal for me the past few months and I could not be happier with it. Very clear, very loud, excellent headroom and build quality is notable. There are good 'wedges', good 'speakers' and then there are professional level products. This is a good one. Highly recommended you check it out.


    Thank you very much! How does it pronunce the mids? Is it good for low and high mids, the most important frequency range for the guitar?

  • Axe-Fx II profiling - just got announced...

    If you honestly think that the solution is running away from many absolutely friendly and nice users posting on this board, then ok, fair deal, although I think you're always welcome here if we can just have conversations in the right manner and on the right topics.

  • RCF NX 12-SMA with the KPA?

    Quote from guitarnet70

    I've give it a run in my local shop and it sounds fantastic, definitely better then the QSC k-10. I'm also looking at 1 of them, though at home volume level I prefer my studio monitors, the RCF is REALLY loud.


    Sounds great! I live in a nice big house, so volume is not an issue! Still going to get some studio monitors for studio work, tho. What do you recommend?

  • RCF NX 12-SMA with the KPA?

    So, I'm not a very patient guy and I don't care how good the Atomic CLR will be, I think I'm just going to get myself an RCF NX 12-SMA for both regular home playing and live use. I think if I remember correctly, mDan is using the KPA with this system, but there may be others, too. What are your experiences with the RCF + KPA? Do they interact well? Can the KPA get a nice guitar-like sustain and feedback through the NX 12?
    Thanks!

  • Axe-Fx II profiling - just got announced...

    Sorry for still being off-topic, but I have a question for Scott.




    Dear Scott,




    You know, while a huge part of the EU and sometimes even the USA considers Hungarians some kind of colonial country without anything at all, we're not dumb. Actually, for a country, we have the most Nobel prizes. Also, we have some great wisdom sayings, and one of them just struck me while I was thinking about this whole debate.




    I don't know if there is an English / American version of this saying, but in Hungary, when someone really viciously fights for himself when being picked on or "getting personally attacked" as you say, we ask him "Does the turth hurt this much?". Meaning, of course, that only those fight back so hard and all-out, and have to prove themselves and really stand out for themselves who know that they are unjust and the so called "attack" they are defending against is true.
    Therefore... taking into consideration how viciously you fought back here... and I'm still trying to do so without making it personal... but honestly, what truth that you read here did hurt you so much?

  • Axe-Fx II profiling - just got announced...


    I can see that there at least a few people who immediately recognize truth and manners. Welcome on board, send2, and have fun :!: :thumbup: