Posts by ChrisB

    I'm more than pleased with the KD implementation. Now that I understand a little more about overdrive circuits - that most of them are variations on two or three basic themes - I'm loving the flexibility and elegance of this design. It seems wise to move away from use of the term "sweet spot" and simply use a term like "reference settings" when describing the presents. I, for one, like the idea that a Klon or BB reference setting will put me in the right neighborhood for a particular sound while giving me insight into how that pedal is designed. I'm not a huge fan of the "Slim Down" name for that parameter... I'm sure your team debated that one. Seems like "Focus" might be a better term since it is focusing the range stipulated by the Definition parameter.

    I loaded two Kones into a Marshall vertical 2x12 and tried 3 different power amps.


    First up was the Quilter Toneblock 202. It sounded great, but it didn't really seem like the *perfect * fit for that application.


    Second was the Orange Pedal Baby. I liked that a little better.. impressively built, plenty of headroom, and the bass and treble controls (i.e., depth and presence) were very useful. I did some basic analysis using pink noise, and it had a very flat response with the controls set to noon. I don't know if the class AB circuitry really does provide a more amp-like feel than class D as the marketing copy claims, but it felt very amp-like to me. It really felt like the perfect fit for the application.


    Finally, I tried the Fryette LXII, a single-rack-space all-tube power amp. 4 6L6's for two channels @ 50 watts or bridged mono @ 100 watts. That thing is a work of art and purpose-built to use with modelers/profilers. I pulled up a Bassman profile, played a few licks, and started re-boxing the PedalBaby within 30 seconds. I could not believe the difference in the sound and feel that I experienced. In fact, I've become even more impressed with the Kemper and Kone technology in the two months that I've had this since I'm hearing and feeling details that I missed before. Obviously, the price points, form factors and weights are much different; this is not a knock on the Orange. But I can't recommend the Fryette enough for delivering the "amp in the room" sound (the 2x12 Kone configuration in a Marshall cab doesn't hurt). It's in another league, my friends. I opened up the case to get a peek at the guts, and it's very impressive. Fryette (VHT), makes great stuff.

    I couldn't agree more! I'm certain there are more use cases but this is the only one for me.


    I do use a fair amount of boosts though to get the signal into the amp to where I want it for different guitars, but I prefer not to shape the signal too much.

    Agree. The pure booster might be my most used stomp - both before and after the amp. In fact, all my presets have the pure booster or "boost" eq in the X slot so that I always have a way of boosting my output for those times when I find that I've disappeared in the mix.

    I haven't used the legacy distortions much; not because I don't like them, but I'm of the same opinion as some others here: why use a stomp box when I have 300 virtual amps on stage with me? Instead of kicking on a tube screamer into my Marshall, I simply switch my slot to a cranked Soldano into the same cab. I constantly experiment, but usually come to the same conclusion - that the cranked amp beats the pedal/amp combo to my ears.


    The major exception is when I'm trying to cop the SRV or Mayer thing... a strat into a boost pedal into a cleanish amp is the only way to get that sound and feel. And man... the new Kemper overdrives have really added some new dimensions there. For me, the measure of success of any new feature is my wife yelling at me at 2am to shut the damn thing off and come to bed. Between these new drives and the auto swell, I've had a couple of those nights already. Danke, Christoph.

    I'm running my non-powered KPA into an Orange Pedal Baby 100, driving a Marshall SV212 cabinet loaded with two Kones. The Marshall cab is a vertical, angled 2x12. I love those Marshall vertical 2x12's for the aesthetics... a nice cozy fixture among the blinky lights of my rack behind me. I also purchased a MojoTone "Slammins" cabinet - a horizontal 2x12 angled up almost like a monitor. That cab works really well, although it has a larger stage footprint than the Marshall. I might grab another two kones for the Mojotone so that I don't have to swap speakers back and forth.


    I'm really digging the sounds. I wasn't one who was jonesing for the amp in the room sound (exclusively used IEMs for monitoring), but now that I have it, I realize that I've missed it. I'll continue to use IEMs live, but will probably bring kone-loaded cabinet to the larger gigs to move a little air where the added stage volume is okay. That physical response just makes me play better. And I'm really looking forward to seeing new Imprints. I vote for the Classic Lead 80 and the G12-65.


    I'm also REALLY liking the Orange Pedal Baby 100. It has a very flat response and an impressive tone even when plugging straight in with no preamp. The bass and treble controls are nice for tweaking the response of the cabinet.