Posts by MLScola

    I'm with Kriswylde if we're talking about the Beta releases and hearing a sonic difference. At least I thought so. The previous beta to 5.7.1.14156 did something funny to the gain structure on all my rigs. It was subtle but the transition into distortion was NOT the same. I felt like everything had less gain and not in a good way.


    But the new 5.7.1.14156 fixed all that and now, with all the new verbs and verb presets ... it is "most excellent" once again

    Wow! A Standel amp man! I used one myself for guitar way, way, way back in the day. When it worked it was great but it wasn't that roadworthy. Now it might have been that particular amp was a lemon ... who knows? Anyway I'm looking forward to hearing more from you and your profiles! Welcome to Kemperland.

    Before I start I want to say I love my Kemper. Greatest single piece of guitar gear I've ever owned and the company's ongoing (free) features development is, in this day and age, simply amazing.


    The KPA is an expensive and complex piece of gear. And bugs are bound to emerge as the unit capabilities keep expanding. I think most users know this and we hope we aren't affected. But when it happens to YOU and you try to logically diagnose the issue(s) and reach out for help from the company, only to have your efforts ignored or brushed aside ... that's really hard to swallow. Although his rhetoric is slightly intense, ultimately I have sympathy for stratology on this.


    In a previous life I was a Pro Audio rep and dealt with lots of Customer Service problems. Sometimes, even with great processes in place, a situation escalates into a "blow up". Usually the culprit is a personality conflict between the customer and the particular person working the issue. That can be hard to turn around. But what's worse is when a company's position is "dismissive". That's something Kemper's management should be concerned with and look at carefully.


    Bottom line and the potential silver lining is: acknowledging and fixing issues is what makes the device even better for the whole community. And with a little compassion on both sides, maybe Kemper and stratology can actually help each other and the rest of us.


    Let's work together, gentlemen.

    I've been checking out Evertune for a while now. I totally believe in their technology and my first thought was like Ashtweth's ... install one for rhythm work. Really like the idea of completely rock solid tuning. I'll definitely buy one in the near future.

    Beautifully evocative song. Listening to it was like going into a dream state. Very warm and soothing. Moved me. Wonderful work, Muddy!

    Ain't nothin' wrong with movin' on .... I've seen guys sell their Kemper only to come back a year later saying they were crazy to get rid of it. But some guys just disappear forever presumably back to amp land. There's no right or wrong. Whatever works for you.


    As for me I've always kept my amps which I play through almost daily. Keeps me grounded in some kind of sonic reality. The Kemper is something else. I don't see myself ever selling it.


    Just keep playing. You have your own musical journey ahead of you. Wherever it takes you is the right place to be.


    Good Luck!

    Hey Tonester88,


    If you can find a way to actually hook up with Michael Britt, that would be amazing.


    Michael brings so much to the table as a current working live and recording musician, amp aficionado and tone Meister, not to mention Profiler Extraordinaire. 5 mins with him and his rig will tell you everything you need to know. Keep us posted if you do.


    Best of luck!

    Hey dallaskruse,


    I love clean and mid crunch guitars and here's some Good News for you!


    Motown, Oldies, Soul and R&B guitar tones mostly range from clean to medium gain. There are tons of free clean/medium gain profiles on a factory unit and on the Rig Exchange. And the Kemper does these kinds of tones beautifully.


    Tip 1: Clean profiles can sometimes be too dynamic in a track. Using a little bit of on board compression can smooth out a lot of these issues. In case you didn't know: you can compress your signal via stomp slots A thru D and you can also compress within the AMP Stack. Sometimes a little of both is better than a lot of one.


    You can also search your unit for some of these profiles if you sort by GAIN. Plus you can search the Rig Exchange by GAIN, too.


    Tip 2: Probably the most famous free profile in the Rig Exchange is: Morgan AC20 by rmpacheco. Wonderful starting point, dial it down for clean, up for more crunch. One of my personal free faves is a group of Fender amps by LERNOULD Thierry. Great character.


    Tip 3: Be sure you use the exact spelling if you search the Rig Exchange by Author.


    These should get you going. Best of luck!

    I really like this idea


    Did you try listening through the same IEM's when connected at home? Or straight out of the Kemper for that matter. If it sounds good not going through the Behringer, I'd suspect something is going on within the X32. An insert, EQ or sumthin' in the chain...

    Here's a few more thoughts:


    I found that changing the level of my listening volume can radically change my tone perception ... a lot. Tones that might seem dark at lower volumes become much brighter at higher volume. Tones that seem bass correct can become too bass heavy at high volume. One simple trick is to play and tweak your tones to a drum and bass track at high volume, preferably taken off your mix board at a rehearsal -OR- a pro track that's close to what your band does.


    Another recommendation is to get a SPL meter. There are tons of free or cheap sound apps for your smart phone. Take it to your gig and measure the sound levels you're actually playing in. Once you have that number, try to match that level in your home monitoring system.


    Finally: If you can make a good sounding solo guitar recording at home and play it thru your PA at rehearsal ... that might tell you if it's your monitoring environment or a problem with your Kemper.


    Best of luck

    Here's an update:


    Forum member klipping had a great idea about driving an amp in tandem with the KPA. I liked his idea so much I got a Radial Switchbone (great ABY btw) and hooked it up to my 65 Amps Lil Elvis and my lunchbox. What a treat and ... here's the kicker. I downloaded a few Lil Elvis Profiles off the Exchange just to see how they would match up and they're really, really, really close. So close I was impressed with how amp-like the KPA is. And that's the BIG take away. Switching back and forth the KPA responds very much like the amp, it really is one hellaciously cool piece of gear.


    Of course this was in my home studio at medium volume, using medium clean and crunch tones. I didn't test for hard overdrive or massive killer solo tones so take my opinion for what it is ... just another opinion.


    I had big fun linking the famous Morgan AC20 and the Lil Elvis, where the two sounds together yields something different. I found similar sounds work better than wildly different ones, no surprise there, I guess. But it sure was nice to hear this experiment. The KPA rules!

    No problemo klipping,
    I recommended an anolog splitter because, in my experience, sometimes the simplest path leads to the best solution. There's some nice pedals out there for not a lot of money. I like your idea of two sources (KPA & real amp) so much that I might try it myself. Best of luck on your tone quest!

    Hey Klipping (great handle)


    This may seem obvious but have you thought about a guitar splitter? Something simple with buffering and isolation? Seems to be tons of them out there at various price points. This way you could feed both your KPA and amp (or pedalboard/amp) a nice clean guitar level signal and have no interaction, interference, ground loops, fluctuating impedance, etc.


    Just a thought.


    Did I mention ZERO latency?

    Hey mattfertitta,


    Sorry to hear about your issues. If your Kemper mutes out and won't turn back on until you get back home ... it sounds like you're suffering from brownouts (undervoltage and sag). This condition is more common than most folks think and usually lasts much much longer than a surge or spike, sometimes minutes and ocassionally hours.


    Another problem is: brownouts can be followed by swells (overvoltage) and a typical surge protector will not help you with either of these conditions.


    If your location really has unreliable power, I suggest you look at some kind of stand-by UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply). If your situation is mission critical and you can't tolerate equipment failure due to bad power, you'll need to look at an "on-line" UPS.


    Best of luck.

    Hey Shane
    I love mid crunch guitar tones and the Kemper can give you an infinite variety of them. I have a few tips you may or may not find useful.


    First and foremost: hook yourself and your Kemper up to Rig Manager and the Rig Exchange. Thousands of sounds are there for you and all for FREE!!!! Find yourself a few profiles that are close to what you want.


    2) Add a little compression. Especially if you're going for the clean-ish side of crunch
    3) Really work with the Clean/Distortion Sense controls (Input section) and your guitar's pickups. See "About" below.
    4) Spend some time playing in the Stack/Amp block especially with Definition, Power sag, Clarity, etc.
    5) Record your results, tweak, re-record, re-tweak, lather, rinse, repeat ...


    Be aware there are several ways to add the same effect but get a different result. Example: compression. You can insert it in the front end A to D slots -OR- the amp section -OR both.


    #3 About Clean/Distortion Sense. This is a little controversial (here come the flames) and therefore it's strictly my personal opinion:


    It's my experience that playing with these values can control/optimize where the onset of distortion occurs with your picking. Touch sensitivity is a good thing if you're dialed into controlling the amount of distortion with your fingers. A lot of players love this interactive kind of feel.


    So here's where it gets hairy: Many, many, many people will tell you to leave your Sense controls at ZERO. I have a lot of different guitars so I use this exact same approach myself. But in the beginning, when I was using just my Strat, I found that playing with the Sense adjustments worked really well. Helped create a sweet spot between the KPA, the guitar and me. Just saying. If it feels good and sounds good ...then it is good. That's all that matters.


    Best of luck on your tone quest!

    Can you get some time at rehearsal and tweak your settings with the band? Maybe record a tune or two? If you can get it to sound good on the IEM's and it sounds thick on your recordings, problem solved, yes?


    When it comes a fatter tone you might try lowering your cut-off around 85 to 100Hz and do some careful EQ'ing in the 100 to 500 Hz area, maybe roll off a little 4K-5K. And, if possible, do this at the highest volume you can get away with. Perferably with the band. If not, a decent bass and drum loop will help immensely with your EQ choices.


    Do this with your darkest and brightest guitars


    It's true that a lot of profiles are made to be played at mid volumes. That's why I like M. Britt's stuff so much ... to me it's gig ready.


    Best of luck!

    One qualifier: "Cheap" and "reliable" rarely go together. This is not a cheap recommendation.


    But since I like insane ideas, here goes ....


    Paults gave you a great battery powered PA recommendation with the Mackie FreePlay. This system is bi-amped! So that covers audio playback.


    Now how do you power the KPA itself? Assuming it's the passive toaster (27 watts max consumption) and assuming you need US 110V 60Hz: There's a product that some contractors, hunters, fishers, campers use ... Xantrec's Portable Powerpack 1500. Around $500. Quiet, portable battery power on wheels. No moving parts, no gas, no fumes. It's kind of heavy, about 60 lbs., but hey! it's on wheels! Since a passive toaster doesn't draw much you could play all day on the street, 10 -15 hours. Just don't ever take your eyes off your rig ... or it'll be gone in a heartbeat!


    Here's a pdf link to the product brochure: http://productimageserver.com/…ture/brochure/15599BR.pdf