Posts by OneEng1

My back decided that the Kemper was better than any tube amp and cab I have ever owned

Bare Knuckles "Rebel Yell" pickups for my PRS

Yep. Either trust the sound man, or get one you can trust

While I find that many FOH engineers will set the eq on my guitar channels, all of them are pretty happy to work with the Kemper. The tone out front is always very nice.

I have been working with IEM's for over 20 years now, and wouldn't really ever want to go back. I believe that it is best to let the FOH engineer set the over-all tone and level. My performances then set the relative level and tone between rigs.

This has been a good recipe for me anyway. I guess I am with the OP. Let the FOH engineer do their job and you will be rewarded with a good band mix.

Performance mode is the nectar of the the Gods my man

While performance mode is generally most useful for live performances (thus the name), I would use it if all I did was noodle at home.

Performance mode is a method of putting your rigs into an organized set of banks. When in performance mode, the bank name is the name of the performance on the screen (you name them yourself). Each rig placed into a performance becomes a new rig. Any changes you make to that slot in the performance will only effect that performance slot (not anywhere else you use that rig).

An example of my usage is as follows:

For a given song (or type of song), I put clean rigs on the left and heavy rigs on the right. Every performance I have is setup this way so I can be assured that the far left rig will be a clean one and the far right rig will be a heavy one.

I also use performances to put the same rig into many slots, and then tweak the rig in each slot and A/B them to each other to see which one sounds best for a given usage. After I have the "golden" slot, I copy it and paste it into a real performance.

Performances are also useful for doing multiple sounds within a single song. For a song like "Kryptonite", you might have a nice clean on one slot, a crunch on the second slot, then a lead tone on the 3rd slot. You could name the performance "Kryptonite" and know exactly what you had in that set of rigs.

I wouldn't say it is water "proof"; however, I have had drinks spilled on it with no effect (other than pissing me off and making it smell bad). The LCD screen is covered with a Plexiglas cover which is tightly fitted to the metal so there doesn't seem like any leakage could get around it there. Each button has a slight key hole on the edge of it so that there is a small path for leakage past the nut that secures it to the metal base, but any liquid that is simply washing down the front will be deflected by the nut... so it is pretty safe IMO.

The KPA remote is WAY more robust than the kemper itself though. Mechanically, the remote is built like a tank and can take touring abuse without any problems.

It is also much smaller on stage (which really appeals to me).

Ahhh. After hearing the clips, I think I see part of the disparity anyway.

In both clips, the tone of the guitar was drowned by the tone of the efx (to my ears). Certainly the verb on the first clip is something I believe that is currently beyond the Kemper. At least in my many tweaking, I have not been able to get such a nice transparent verb from the Kemper (although I have found that the current verb engine is more than adequate for my needs since I use very little efx in general .... more of a spice vs a sauce approach).

You may be more at home with a AxeIIFx which sports an efx engine that is considered industry leading (not to say that the KPA has "bad" efx, it just doesn't have the complexity and depth of the AxeIIFx IMO).

I will say that as far as the dynamics and amp tone I heard in the clips you posted, I have no problem at all getting that from my rig .... and actually I feel I have a few tones that are superior to both clips ... but my taste leans to a much dryer guitar sound so take it with a grain of salt.

I know you are going to try another cab for use with your KPA, but I would still strongly suggest you try a FRFR powered speaker. Surely you can bum one from a friend. Nashville is awash with them

Good luck to you and I hope you find your tone in the KPA. If not, then I hope you find it in another solution.

First, just to get where I am coming from, I would say that I would mic the guitar and run the bass DI in a venue of any size. Having low stage volume and a good mix is critical in every venue to getting the band to sound its best.

I have (of course) played with just amps on stage and nothing miced.... but honestly, it isn't pretty (to me). As a minimum, kick and toms need re-enforcement for a decent mix (unless playing blues). Using a minimal approach with some re-enforcement I have had some really good nights though. Most places I play sound much better with re-enforced sound all around.

As for comparing the sound of a Line 6 to a Kemper ..... I must agree with those who are casting doubt on the people praising the Line 6 .... ewww.

I have been up and down the streets of Nashville and seen the various setups there. Lately, I have seen a few Kempers too There are more small, intimate setups for sure. Perhaps for these "stuffed in a corner" setups, an un-micked 1x12 tube amp would be the best solution. For any of the stages where a band was actually meant to play, a Kemper DI into the board with a FRFR monitor would seem an ideal setup (to me).

As with all things.... everyone has different taste. It is just difficult for me to contemplate someone preferring the Line 6 over Kemper. It's kinda like preferring bologna to a fillet

People that are used to their sound on-stage from a tube amp and cab often have problems with the KPA IME.

I believe that the KPA can produce better live sound than any tube amp I have ever owned (and I have owned quite a few). Out front the sound is just incredible IMO.

On stage, the monitoring rig you use is vital to what you hear. I haven't had any success using a guitar cab, but there are a few here that appear to get what they need out of one. I still think the FRFR route is best.

It seems to me that micing a guitar cab driven by a KPA is counter to the entire concept of the product. YMMV.

My setup time and carry weight has dropped so dramatically, I can never imagine lugging another 4x12 cab around again. For me, this was even more important than guitar tone. I just got better tone as a bonus

I would guess that most people play an unpowered Kemper through a FRFR speaker as a monitor.... which is how I play as well.

I have (still) an old VHT 2x12 cab which sounded great with my old VHT UL. It sounds like total and complete crap through my VHT with or without the cabinet on/off on the Kemper. I was using an old QSC amp I keep around from my passive PA to drive the speaker (which I find to be a nice amp). Nothing sounds right through it.

Before you bail out on the Kemper, see if you can borrow a decent powered speaker from someone (The DXR10 gets great reviews here) and see how you like the sound.

For me, getting the Kemper was all about lightening up my rig. As a result, going all IEM's and going direct into the mixer was a big time and weight saver. For lead work, I would highly recommend a monitor speaker on stage pointed at your guitar so you get some string action going.

If your band has a digital mixer (and it sounds like it does if you are using the ME1's), your IEM mix is completely controlled through the mixer and the ME1. On the ME1 you can eq the overall mix (3 band only).

At the mixer, the sends for each channel should have an independent eq. Have the person doing the mixer work set you up on the send for your guitar and tweak the send eq to your desire.

I think you will find this makes a world of difference.

Quote from nightlight

Unless you are willing to use the same reverb and morph as paults suggests, you can't do what you're asking. It's not possible to replace an effect type once it is selected for a slot.

True; however, you can use performance mode, copy the same rig into several slots, and then replace and tweak the verb on each rig. I do this often .... and not just for reverb.

Quote from V8guitar

For gigging I'd go rack because safer to transport and you can easily add components...I have my wireless, power conditioner and patch panel all in one unit.

I also used to use the FCB1010 with Unochip and it was good but remote ( if you can afford it) is the way to go.

Why? seemless integration, better use of functions ( tuner easier to read, morphing easier etc) and 1 lead!!! No power or multiple midi leads...

Amen brother!

Absolutely.

I used the FCB 1010 with the Uno4Kemper chip for about 1.5 years.

It was serviceable; however, the setup was a PITA on stage. 2 MIDI cords .... which you have the chance to get swapped in the wrong direction, and a power drop that you need near your feet. It is also quite large.

I agree.... save up the money and get the remote. It is well worth the cost of admission. After all, you are playing on a ~$2000 state-of-the-art profiling amp. If you do live performances, the remote is a God-send.

Depending on your taste, the DXR12 might be better for you. The low end chug chug will be lost on the 10. Both are a good bet though.

I use the rack version.

The biggest advantage is that I can .... well .... put it into a rack. In my rack, I have a patch panel. On the patch panel, I have converted the foot controller ethernet to an Ethercon connector (like the other end of the cable for the kemper remote has ... basically an XLR covering with an ethernet connector inside) which makes the rig very fast to setup, and very durable to move around.

My usage is for weekly gigging. I move the gear every week, so setup and tear down time, and the ability to keep the rig safe and protected in transit is very important to me.

Quote from Stringtheorist

As I mentioned in the OP... I create a new preset (rig) for each song. If I want to edit an amp in a rig using Performance mode, I have to do it for every preset (song) that contains it since every rig is a unique copy. Multiply that by 20+ songs in a set and it gets crazy. (Fractal solved this in the Axe-FX II with a Global Amps feature, so that you could save a master amp globally which when edited would update across all presets which contained it.)
The only solution is to program fewer presets, meaning one preset has to do the work of many songs in a set. This is fine, but then there are issues with naming the presets so that I know what each one does in the heat of a performance, and having enough stomps available for the songs that require them, etc.

Interesting use case.

Several people on this forum have requested that Kemper create a performance manager capability (perhaps in rig manager). I wonder if such a feature would allow you to do what you need as well.

The past reason for this request has been so that when the set list changes, it is easy to manage the performances on the KPA. It may also work for your use case (if it ever comes to pass).

In the mean time, a decent MIDI pedal is likely your best bet. Personally, I would always trend toward ones which were able to get the rig names out to the floor board.

Another vote for the FRFR. The DXR12 should be a nice rig for you.

As an aside, I played my KPA through an Alto TS212 this last weekend. I have to say, while it required a bit of eq to get it sounding right, it did a fair job in a quiet practice of sounding pretty good.

I am used to using my DSR112 (a much more expensive speaker) which sounds very nice indeed, but I was really surprised at how nice a $200 speaker could be made to sound.

Hey Mike,

FWIW, I have never considered MBritt profiles to be something to use with Metal.... of course, I don't play anything north of "Enter Sandman" in my band, and it is by far the heaviest song in our arsenal

Quote from michalsieczko

I had a chance to do quick DI profile of VHT Pitbull Classic at my reharsal space.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuFpiCmWJ2aygpJSg4gCePNVMokQOA

Let me know if you like it. Is was lead chanell but gain below extreme it can go. Mind to use a cab of choice as this is DI profile only.

I gave up my beloved VHT Pitbull Classic for my Kemper.

Love your profile.

Here is what I did to it:

Cab: SinMix_KSE_5150
Purecab = 3.0

EQ
BASE = -1.1
Middle = +1.4
Trebel = +2
Presence = 0

Amp
Calirity 1.4
Direct Mix 0.9

Reverb
Back to default, then Large Room 22.8% mix

PRS SE Custom 24 bridge pickup with a little off the HF on knob. Full volume on the other.

I play through a FRFR Yamaha DSR112 when I am plucking around and through a FOH with in-ears at gigs.

It sounds fantastic..... just like I remember it

Thanks!