Posts by drew_fx

  • What are the worst things or the things you hate about the Kemper?

    Quote from lightbox

    If you're a die-hard tube amp user but you're not sure if you already have the perfect tube amp for your style of music and taste:
    How can you ever try hundreds of different tube amps at home to be sure you finally pick the right one? Buy a Kemper Profiler, get your hands on great amp profiles, try them as much as you like. This way you should be able to find the perfect tube amp for you ... then sell the Profiler and buy your choice of tube amp. I can imagine this to be the perfect way to tube amp happiness. :)


    I think this is a good and valid use of the Profiler as well ... with one exception:
    There are many tube amps that are so rare and/or expensive that you simply can't buy the originals. With the Profiler you're now able to "own" them and that's a huge advantage that I wouldn't want to miss. I don't play hundreds of different amp profiles all the time. Maybe just 10, but these 10 would cost me a lifetime and a fortune to buy the originals.


    Cheers,
    Martin

    Indeed! To me that is one of the best things about the profiler; for other people at least! I've honestly never really lusted after that many amps, haven't given a toss about dumbles or old vintage Fenders or any of that. Just after some core tones.

  • What are the worst things or the things you hate about the Kemper?

    Quote from pacocito

    I prefer my amp + Redwirez to the profile of my amp (The profile is uploaded to the Rig Exchange as "FUCHS ODS ...") but with the Kemper I've got some other amp profiles I need that cannot be covered by my amp. I'm using both.


    Aye that's cool man. I really do appreciate how awesome the Kemper is, and if I wanted a whole range of tones, I would definitely use it over the Axe FX II or any of the Pods. But I don't run a studio or anything, I'm just some bumlord in a band!! Consequently I only really need three maybe four core tones; hence my overkill statement.

  • What are the worst things or the things you hate about the Kemper?

    Quote from HappyKemper

    drew_fx/ drew_drummer, I read on another forum that you only used it for a very short time. Learning about a new box and setting correct levels etc often takes a while to get the hang of things.
    I get far better results with profiling than using IR's and it would be interesting to listen to your profiling results vs your amp in a comparison. You can share your profile on the private forum "free rigs and profiles" and also upload and post it on the rig exchange.


    Nah I've used one a couple of times, so I am fully familiar with the unit. It's very easy to use. I didn't have any issues with the "sound" of the unit, it's just massive overkill for my needs! I don't have the clips anymore I'm afraid, but I did upload my profiles:


    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.…013-07-17%2011-48-27.kipr
    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.…013-07-17%2011-56-58.kipr


    Feel free to have a play with those. Again, I'm really not knockin' the unit at all. It sounds great, is easy to use, and if I didn't have a phat tube amp here I would've kept it. But it became clear to me that it was just going to sit here next to my computer and rarely get used.

  • What are the worst things or the things you hate about the Kemper?

    So today I've been trying out the Kemper and I have decided it isn't for me.


    I have been playing with the Kemper
    this morning, and if I am honest it sounds really good. But compared to running the poweramp output from my Satch JVM into Redwirez... it isn't THAT big of a leap in quality. So I'm sending it back. It's overkill for my needs, as I don't record other bands, and I don't have problems using my JVM in the daytime. So this was really for night time... and I think I can find a cheaper and almost as good solution for that. I did do a profile of my amp + cab and it sounded good. But then I took an impulse of the cab and ran my amp through Recabinet with the impulse loaded. I actually preferred the amp+recabinet and thought it sounded closer.


    To be honest it only took me half the day to find out that it was an impulse buy, that I didn't need it, and that I could get just as good and more accurate tones with what I've got. So my experiment is over. I do think the Kemper is really good still though, I just cannot justify owning it. Thanks to everyone for the help, and I think this thread could be useful to other people considering it!


    If I didn't have my Satriani JVM, and if I wasn't playing in a band and doing performances often, then I'd get the Kemper over anything else. But as it turns out, most of my needs are covered, and the few that are left the Kemper is overkill for.

  • Awaiting My Kemper from Andertons

    Aye, I would've preferred the black one as well to be honest, but I like the white too so it's all good! I've heard those DXR10's are supposed to be good. May explore one of those once I decide if the Kemper is for me or not!

  • What are the worst things or the things you hate about the Kemper?

    Quote from pacocito

    I hate that the stock profiles (with some exceptions) are not at the same level as the paid ones (well... The Amp Factory profiles. I don't like the rest of paid profiles). In my opinion, including some TAF profiles was a first step in the right direction but still you have to spend money in order to make the KPA sound at full potential.

    Yeah I had a similar experience back in 2012 when I tried one out. I was impressed, but not massively like in a OMG LIFECHANGE... kinda way.


    Anyway... I just ordered one. Gonna try it out for the 7 day cooling off period, and will probably profile my Satriani JVM too.

  • What are the worst things or the things you hate about the Kemper?

    Hey guys,


    What are the worst things/things you hate about the Kemper? This could be anything really... the time between patch changes, the ergonomics, the sound etc... etc...


    Really just looking to compile a list of peeves, dislikes, rants, and "things I didn't know about before I bought it" aspects.


    Not meant to be a bash thread, but just informational; to help people (namely, moi) decide whether to buy one or not.

  • FR: More than one delay at once

    So I thought I'd write this up because a Kemper is really interesting to me, especially now you can get them with a poweramp built in. But if I was to move to a Kemper setup, I would need access to the following effects (current equivalents in brackets):


    Volume Pedal (probably prefer to keep my existing one to be honest!)
    Wah (probably prefer to keep my existing one to be honest!)
    Slow Phaser (Phase 90 style)
    Fast Phaser (Small Stone style)
    Crunchy distortion (Fulltone OCD)
    Volume Swell (Boss Slow Gear or Line 6 DL-4 on its autoswell mode)
    Reverse Delay set to a quarter note
    Digital Delay with some highs rolled off set to a quarter note
    Big spacious hall reverb


    It looks like the Kemper cannot do the two delays at once, which is a pretty big deal to me. Anyone else need anything like this?? I know I could add a Line 6 M9 to the effects loop of the Kemper, but the idea is to have it all in one unit so I can just throw it in a bag and jump on a train/boat/plane with my guitar.

  • Looking for organic hard-rock guitar tone demos

    Most of the demos I have heard that are of the hard-rock or metal genres, tend towards more djenty or tubescreamer type tones. I'm looking for demos similar to bands like Tool, ISIS, Cult of Luna, High On Fire, Mastodon, amongst others like that.


    This is my band: http://www.bridgedisaster.co.uk


    I am very curious about the Kemper as both a touring aid, live on stage and not relying on the PA ... and recording at home at bedroom levels. I did try one out when I was on holiday in Japan this year, but the testing conditions weren't ideal, and now I'm back to thinking about the Kemper to have alongside my Marshall Satriani JVM.


    So... any demos out there I should hear???

  • Kemper in a band setting

    Oh yeah man, totally get what you're saying here. I think what I'll do is get the Matrix Amp first... once that arrives, get the Kemper on a 30-day money back guarantee type thing, and then when it arrives just blitz a few of the Amp Factory profiles, and maybe even profile my current tube amps... see how I get on from there. If it doesn't work for me, I can send it back and get a refund, then get the Axe.


    But I really do want this Kemper to be the one that wins it. It's just really easy to use, and that's of paramount concern to me, as I don't really want to be cocking about with menus and deep editing when I'm rehearsing or gigging, or just coming up with new sounds for future songs even.


    It's a pretty exciting time to be playing guitar right now!

  • The Kemper Foot Controller: Evolution

    Instead of a 5th preset switch along the bottom, how about this...


    You have a mode called "shot" or "bang" mode: this mode would allow you to cue up changes and then make them all happen simultaneously when you hit the "shot" switch.


    Workflow being...


    hit the "shot" switch to go into cue mode.
    Hit a preset switch to select an amp profile.
    Hit one or more upper switches to change the effect on/off states.
    Hit the "shot" switch again, and your state changes will be processed all at once.


    This is the kind of thing that would allow the live stage workflow to still be quite traditional, whilst benefiting from the technology of the unit. I'm not really the kind of player who would want a whole rig preset per sound in a song. But I often want to change multiple things at once on the downbeat of a bar in a song.

  • Kemper in a band setting

    Hey guys,


    So I tried out a KPA for a few hours in a store the other day - Ishibashi in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Now please, don't tear me a new a-hole, these are just a few rambly jet-lagged thoughts...


    I tried the KPA out through some smallish Yamaha monitors the store had, and the effects loop of a Peavey Classic. I have to say, I wasn't blown away to smithereens or anything.. I could definitely hear promise there, but I really need to hear one through a proper monitoring setup. Compared to the Axe FX II demo I had a friend of mine give me... the Axe had a much bigger impact on me from the initial outset.


    I did love the delay and reverb on the Kemper though - sounded really nice, and in stereo was even nicer! I'm now curious about getting a stereo FRFR rig, so I can utilise the spaciness of the post-amp effects... I didn't really get into the other effects. Was too focused on browsing rigs.


    So yeah... what I loved about it was it was so simple to use - I've read the manuals cover to cover a few times, so had a pretty good idea of how it worked before I went in. It was easier than I expected to get to grips with, although I'm sure I didn't cover everything in two hours!


    Some of the factory models sounded decent. I quite liked a bunch of the Marshall and Soldano profiles - I forget the creator I'm afraid.
    From what I'm hearing from other users though, I should really be thinking about investing in some packs from Amp Factory, if I do go Kemper.


    What I don't really like about it is the form factor - it looks cool. But I struggle to see how a guitar cab 4x12 setup will work and be quick to setup... I suppose I could fix a Matrix Ampliciation GT1000 to the top of the cab, and have it permanently wired. KPA in a carry bag... take it out and rest it on top like a regular amp head. Doesn't seem as smooth as just putting a 4U rack on top of the cab though.


    And FRFR.. I'm dubious currently. I would love to be able to take advantage of the different cab sounds the KPA can give... but currently I've not really heard it in the ideal setup/environment. Actually I am based in London, UK. If anyone has a setup they'd be able to
    let me come and play through here in London, I'd love the opportunity to
    do so!


    I'm basically torn at this point. What I want:


    -Different amp tones in a box
    -Monitored live on stage
    -Some post-amp effects
    -My pedalboard
    -Possibly a feed to the PA


    Because my needs are pretty damn basic... The KPA and the Axe FX cover them both. So it's literally down to the way it sounds, and at the moment I've played the Axe FX through a heavily thoughtout and high quality rig, and the Kemper through a really crappy amp and pair of speakers in a shop.... its just not fair to make a decision at this point.


    If anyone is even remotely curious, this is my band: http://bridgedisaster.co.uk/

  • Kemper in a band setting

    Ah, that's kind of a shame about the effects limitations, but it can be worked around with the effects loop slot I suppose.


    How does the actual mechanics of switching the rigs, without changing the effects, work? IE: Just switch the stack from one profile to another... you link them to program changes/control changes, or.... ??

  • Kemper in a band setting

    So considering going Kemper, and I'm really curious to hear how people are using the Kemper within a band performance setting, not a studio setting. In the real amps world, I've used a Marshall DSL100, a Laney VH100R, an Orange Rockerverb MK1 100-watt, a Fryette Sig X, and a Rectoverb - those are the main ones anyway!


    I guess the first thing I'd need to consider is; FRFR or guitar cab. I tend to prefer a guitar cab, as I like the low-end grunt it gives you. So I'll probably be wanting to disable the microphone and cab section, go into a power amp, and then into a guitar cab. I heard however that the cab bypass for the Kemper isn't a 100% bypass - which is worrying for my application. Is it going to be an issue?


    Next thing would be getting the core sounds right. I tend to use four levels of gain... a rich and full clean tone, with as little distortion as possible. Then a more Marshally clean 'on the edge' break-up tone. Then a crunchy mid-gain kind of tone. Then a high-gain metal rhythm tone. I like the idea of using a profile of my Orange for my clean tones, and edge-breakup tones, and then profiles of my Laney for the crunch and high-gain. I'd want to be able to switch seamlessly between these core sounds - keeping the effects locked to whatever they are set to previously - is that possible?


    Speaking of effects, I need a fair range. I need to be able to have a phaser, two delays, and a reverb, BEFORE the amp... and a delay and reverb AFTER the amp. Is this possible? Furthermore, is it possible to switch presets within an effects block via a midi CC, without affecting anything else?


    Sorry if these are n00b questions. But I haven't really seen many people explaining this stuff in a practical sense, and I find the manual a little too theoretical.