Posts by AaronJ16

Proudly presenting board version number seventy thousand million! I think I'm finally done! Well, we'll see, but I have definitely reached a pinnacle setup. All the tone shaping I ever wanted, and the KPA has never sound better than it does now connected to FM3, bypassing KPA's onboard reverb and delay. Reverb makes all the difference to my ears (and may playing). My ONLY frustration over the years (5 years to be exact) with the Kemper is that the reverbs just don't sound right. Yesterday I turned a reverb block back on just to see if I was crazy, and I'm not. The delays are OK, but the reverb sounds actually degrade the very high quality, reference amp integrity, and feel the amp section produces, in my opinion. My advice - free up your Kemper by relieving it of its reverb responsibility and run something stand alone. It could be anything. Also, in my opinion, and after extensive tweaking and testing, the best results do not come from using the stereo effects return but from the main out. I can never match the levels precisely in the effects loop, and the overall feel changes negatively (kinda stiffens up like a harsh buffer or something). All of this my opinion, your mileage may vary of course, but I would encourage anyone to try out my approach and let us know what you find out!

I've never loved my Kemper more than I do now. Quad Cortex??? Please! You can't beat the Kemper! Its just to damn good, too addictive, too versatile, and my experience with it keeps getting better and making me happier and happier. And believe me, I've been down every rabbit trail know to guitarists, and even sold and repurchased multiple Kempers along the way. The Kemper always wins and by a large margin. ckemper is a pure genious. He built the greatest device in the history of guitar amplifiers, after the amplifier itself, of course. He runs his company with great integrity by building products that truly last, and he updates it for free too!

Here's how I set it up:

Signal Chain:

Guitar --> Origin Effects Cali76 --> Fromel Shape EQ --> Earthquaker Palisades --> Seafoam Lowtide --> Jetter Red2 --> ChaseBliss Brothers --> EP Booster --> Profiler Stage

EH Pog2 in a mono effects loop before the "stack"

Main Out Left/Right --> Axe FX FM3 (runs all my reverbs and delays) --> XLR Output --> Apollo Twin --> Yamaha HS8's

The Kemper switches presets on the FM3, and I also use the FM3 buttons to switch scenes. I run one or two expression pedals off the FM3 including volume (I like it post amp, pre effects).

Under the board: I made a three way IEC plug that feeds the KPA, the FM3, and Cioks power supply to feed my pedals so I only need one power cord to the board (its Rockboard with patch bay)

Probably not a mystery to many of you. Any settings suggestions on how to get this delay sound?

Quote from BB2019

I am a little over two weeks into the Kemper. I am blow away, it's my end all in amps. I have already came to that conclusion. Very simple to use in reality and the ease to edit any profile to YOUR tone fantastic. I like your setup. Very clean and streamlined. I don't have the pedalboard as of yet but I have setup the HX Effects via midi. I am currently waiting for my two expression pedals to come tomorrow from FedEx. one pedal for the HX Effects and the other for the Kemper. I haven't used either units wahs or whammy's as of yet. I want to be as streamlined as possible too.

Are you planning to run the HX Stomp 4CM? I had that setup once upon a time with the Axe FX8. It worked really well. Since then, Kemper has caught up or surpassed other brands on delay and reverb, so I'm finding a rich pallet of unique drives to be my only functional need these days.

I agree - it is slightly different. I find the mono loop is the best, but sometimes I have to normalize the volume level. I have solved it by running out the loop switcher in the front of the KPA AND into the loop. So a slight modification to what I posted above. Some presets run drives/comp/pog/etc into the front, and others through the loop. I tend to use whatever works best for the particular song.

No one else noticed??? Well, fixed in the beta firmware update today anyway!

Quote from Hotpico

Very nice. And how do you amplify your sound ? Wich amp and speakers ?

At home I run out via SPDIF into the Apollo Twin and out through Yamaha HS8 monitors. Live, right to FOH monitored with in ears. I don't use a power amp or cab.

Hello,

Has anyone had this issue? I haven't seen another thread on the topic. I'm curious if removing overdub is how they fixed the DSP issue referenced in the change log, or if something else is going on with my unit...

Thanks!

Hey All,

For those who may be interested, I've come up with what I think is a fairly innovative solution to the overall Kemper workflow and pedal board integration. I've had the Kemper now for almost 4 years (hard to believe!), and I've experimented with countless configurations from a traditional pedal board in 4CM with wet effects in the stereo loop, to no pedals (KPA only), and everything in between, up to and including running the Axe FX III in 4CM around the Kemper, and at one time, the Axe FX8. After all of this tinkering and buying and selling, and rebuying, and reselling, I've landed on what I believe is likely to be my final iteration.

My tenets most important findings after years of experimentation:

1. Zero sound degradation. The KPA sounds very pure and complete to my ears on its own. Often, pedals only serve to add to compression, or noise, or muddy up the sound when compared to a good set of profiles that cover the gain ranges and sweet spots of a boutique or vintage amplifier. Furthermore, cabling introduces signal loss, so my solution involves the absolute bare minimum required to integrate pedals with the KPA.

2. Don't replicate anything the KPA can already do as well, or better than external gear, for your playing style. This includes reverbs, delays, EQs, and modulation effects for me. I've owned much of the best modern gear (boss, Fractal, others), and I think the KPA every bit as good, or better. Yes, you can argue that XYZ chorus is better than what the KPA offers, and maybe you really "need" to have it, but be honest with yourself. Is it really better, and different enough to justify the expense and the added operational complexity?

3. Only use pedals that add something unique and improve or add flavor to base amp tones. I love boutique pedals, and I own about 30, but they don't all improve on my sound when I objectively AB test at a constant volume level. I only use a unique set of pedals that compliment my playing and that the KPA doesn't replicate.

4. Make maximal use of the KPA's power. MORPHING! You can often achieve cooler, wilder, crazier effects using what the KPA has on board, and morphing with an expression pedal than you could ever get to with XYZ pedals. The KPA can act as a control center for your pedal board telling it what to turn on and off via midi per slot in performance mode. This is a tremendously powerful and simplifying feature. Details on my set up below.

5. Get your amp tones dialed in, first. Spend more time tweaking the definition, clarity, and EQ controls and make sure the amp sounds right to your ears before you supplement it with pedals. Don't try to use a pedal to make a profile sound like a gained up amp when a gained up amp profile sounds better on its own anyway! Spend more of your hard earned money on profile packs from the likes of Tone Junkie, Michael Britt, Selah Sounds, or Dr. Z than you spend on external gear. Do you have 50 pedals you could sell to buy another sweet guitar? DO IT!

5. Keep it simple, focus on playing. When I'm on stage, I don't want to have to think much about turning effects on and off. I make those decisions at home, and only make minor adjustments on the fly. I let the KPA do all the hard work, and I'd rather spend my time actually playing guitar, than playing with pedals...

My gear and why I use it:

1. KPA + Remote, two expression pedals (almost always volume and morphing)

2. SoundSculpture Switchblade 8F. This is the hub of my pedal board. Not enough people know about the incredible work these guys do (http://www.soundsculpture.com). It a) sounds pristine b) allows for any routing configuration you can imagine, internally (e.g., series, parallel, or both) and externally and c) stores presets that are midi PC controllable via the KPA.

3. Line 6 G50 Wireless. I hate cables, and I think this unit sounds absolutely as good or better than any high end cable I've ever owned.

4. Eventide Power Max and supplemental Rockboard power supply. The Eventide is configurable in any voltage necessary, and powers the Rockboard to pick up a couple of extra pedals.

5. My pedals:

1. EHX Pog 2: The KPA has come along way, but I still think the Pog sounds better. I love having 8 presets. I can get that Scott Holiday octave grind, or a really churchy sound if I want it.
2. Lazy J Cruiser Deuce: It sounds incredible, and is full frequency. https://www.vintageguitar.com/19339/lazy-j-cruiser-deuce/
3. Seafoam Low Tide: Also sounds amazing, and quite different from anything I've heard before. https://seafoampedals.com/coll…oducts/low-tide-overdrive.
4. Vemuram Shanks 4K: Just a killer fuzz/distortion. http://www.vemuram.com/shanks-4k.html
5. Analogman Bad Bob (mini): There's something unique about this booster. It seems to take out the very lowest frequencies and push the mids just slightly. http://www.analogman.com/badbob.htm
6. Xotic EP Booster: Fat, warm, and stacks really well with the Bad Bob. http://xotic.us/effects/ep-booster
7. Origin Effects Cali76 Compressor: Mostly for slide playing. About to be replaced by the Origin Sliderig. https://origineffects.com/product/cali76-compact-deluxe/

My set up:

My pedal board is actually a pedal case! I use the Gator Cases molded shallow because they're super rugged and stackable. Pedals, loop switcher, power, and wireless are all in a 3U case that sits on top of the KPA, which is in a 4U with a Furman M-8X2 power conditioner. I only need to plug in the Eventide power supply and the wireless when setting up. I then plug in a midi cable out of the KPA into the Switchblade, and I'm done. The whole thing takes me 3 minutes to set up or tear down, and I can easy fit the foot controller and expression pedals in the 4U case.

I run the Switchblade (which all of the pedals are looped into) though a mono effects loop in the Stomps section. I find that the mono loop sounds best for this set up. The wireless unit goes to the front KPA input so that I can easily switch the loop on or off from the floor controller. The KPA send midi PC to the Switchblade as mentioned and tells it which preset to pull up per slot in performance mode. I have about 50 pre programed pedal configurations which I made using the Switchblades software editor (example would be the Bad Bob and the EP Booster in parallel - sounds killer). I just choose the one that fits the song/part best, program the KPA to switch that preset on, and I'm done.

Pics below. Happy to answer any questions if you're interested in a similar design.

Greetings,

This is my first post, but I've been around, reading, and observing. I've owned the Kemper now for a year and half, and I have to say, from my experience having owned countless amps, pedals, and every modeler under the sun, the Kemper is the only piece of gear that I fall more and more in love with, every time I play. I just recently bought the remote, and I'm so glad I did. Its simplified my rig greatly, and enhanced my actual playing experience as well. This is part of my Kemper maturity process I suppose. Please, say hi, and tell me how you've changed your utilization of this astoundingly wonderful piece of kit (not British, but I picked the term up from watching the Andertons videos and I like it - it fits) as you've grown with it.

The most rewarding discoveries, for lack of a better word, that have been significant in my maturing process include:

• Utilizing morphing effectively and extensively
• Using only a few overdrives (the absolute best ones I currently own, and I own about 30 boutique pedals) through the mono loop, with the pedals affixed to the top of the Kemper to minimize cable length and maximally preserve tone
  
  
  • Using the mix control on the mono loop with my pedals (mono is superior to distortion to my ears, and significantly so). Experiment here if you haven't. The Kemper does something special when you let dry signal past a pedal in front of an amp on the edge of breakup (mix: post).
• Using a graphic EQ to enhance/alter tone and sometimes boost volume after the stack section
• The clarity and quality of the compressor stomp
• Less is more when it comes to the delays
• Finding my favorite rigs, and sticking with them, and when I find a rig I REALLY love, I save it in a special folder.
• The remote is best if you want to keep it simple, stay focused on actually playing instead of tweaking, and be highly organized in process

Thanks for reading! I hope you'll comment on your experience.

Aaron