Posts by burningyen

    Hi, a few of you know me from The Gear Page. I've mostly been lurking and reading for the past few weeks. Now that I have a KPA and am digging into it I figured I should introduce myself. I'm sort of a "Roger Gilmour" for the Pink Floyd tribute band Us Not Them (recent unreleased video here) and will be working up a bunch of Gilmour patches which I'll be happy to share when they're ready. Looking forward to participating in the community here and seeing where Christoph takes this platform! I also sell American-made guitars of my own design under the name B-Way Guitars.


    I was a boutique gear hound for almost a decade (Bruno, Dr. Z, Skreddy, D*A*M, Hartman, Voodoo Lab, Retro-Sonic, Barber, etc.) before I demoed a DigiTech RP355 in a local store. I was impressed with how easy the RP355 was to dial in, how useful it was for low volume and headphone practice, how compact it was and how much closer I could get to my ideal tones than with the thousands of dollars of gear I had at the time. So I quickly ditched my entire rig and became a happy DigiTech RP355 user for a few years. The sounds weren't perfect, there was some digital hash on distorted tones, but it was still a great unit that handled my recording and gigging needs well.


    I'd of course heard lots of great demos of the higher-end modelers, but until the KPA came out I resisted the temptation to upgrade either because of the limited tones available (11R), the intimidating deep dive parameters and user interface (AxeFX), or the bulky form factor. But then I heard David Torn's incredible KPA improvisations, and The Amp Factory came out with its Hiwatt DR103 profiles, and a used KPA came up for sale for a price I couldn't refuse, and here we are!


    My control needs are for sure at the bottom end of the spectrum, so I'm grateful for the 2 SWITCH/PEDAL jacks in the back. I plan to use a 2-button footswitch made by This1smyne to do patch up/down navigation and a Yamaha FC7 expression pedal for volume/wah, placing the KPA up on a stand (which one TBD) so that I can see the patch names and tuner. The rest of my rig will consist of a Roland GR-20 guitar synth and a TC Electronic VoiceLive Play for my vocal FX.

    37.5cm x 16.5cm x 21.4cm (length x depth x height)


    14 3/4" x 6.5" x 8.5"

    My KPA measures 6.8" from the tip of the bottom knobs to the back edge of the green hood. I just finished researching a bunch of hard case options. Here are the ones that made my shortlist and that other KPA owners might want to look into:


    CNB mic case, $56.50 shipped (within the US)
    [Blocked Image: http://www.rondomusic.net/photos/cases/mc40006tn1.jpg]
    The mic holder is removable, and Rondo told me that the center divider is soft, so cutting it out to make room for the KPA should be simple enough. You'd have to remove the carrying strap and strap buttons from the KPA to get it to fit and provide your own padding, though. Also, it's nominally 7" deep (the KPA is 6.8" front-to-back).


    Platt 1426 ABS product display case, $81.93 shipped
    [Blocked Image: http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/ztoa5.9jdea/v/vspfiles/photos/1426-2.jpg]
    Nominally 7" deep, has removable foam cubes so you can customize the interior fit. IMHO the nicest looking option I found.


    Gator GU-1813-06-DF, $95.12 shipped
    [Blocked Image: http://www.gatorcases.com/userfiles/images/ProductImages/thumbs/GU-DF-Front-Temp.jpg_350.jpg]


    Interesting in that it has a rubberized exterior and closes with a zipper. Also has the foam cubes for a customized fit. Nominally 6.9" deep.


    Platt 707 blow-molded case, $78.55 shipped


    [Blocked Image: http://store.acradiosupplyinc.com/images/products/detail/707o.jpg]
    This is the one I ultimately decided to get. Again, foam cubed interior. I chose it over the Platt ABS case because I have more faith in PE as a shell material, and it's 7.125" deep inside. I'll post a review when it arrives.

    This has to do with the SWITCH/PEDAL jacks in the back of the KPA, not the MIDI jacks. When using a dual footswitch like the Boss FS-6 or a triple footswitch like the DigiTech FS3X, the KPA should let the user assign a separate control function to a dual footswitch press on the Boss or hitting the Mode switch on the DigiTech (which acts like a dual press on the Boss).