Posts by V8guitar

Quote from lbieber

I recognize that you think your tube output section makes your Kemper better. For your conclusion to be factual, you are implying that the your tube output section PERFECTLY corrects all of the errors inherent in the Kemper as is. Did you indentify all of the errors in the Kemper and design a tube output section that perfectly corrects the errors or did you just get lucky or is it just not an accurate statement? I know which is more likely. You state "ears mean everything" and "the guitar experience is about feel as much as sound". Those two statements don't logically make sense. I think you must mean that both matter. Or can you hear the feel?

Again, YMMV. And again, just making a note so others that read this thread understand that there is a rather large difference of opinion on this topic.

I think this is why there is a large difference of opinion and as per usual the answer is possibly somewhere in the middle...people talk in absolutes when there are so many variables such as:

1) No such thing as exactly the same sound, there is always some variation

2) I think psychology plays a much bigger part than people realize. Unconscious bias ( I want it to sound better so it does and vice vera), how we feel, etc. Our ears are imperfect devices attached to a brain that can alter perception and reality

3) Valves are not perfect. They are the sounds we have come to know and love but they have issues, artifacts as well etc. so for me "add a valve" is rarely a fix all..Its seen as the special sauce which has some truth but also a lot of folklore. This is why blind tests are always interesting...

Personally I agree that a valve amp is not needed. We have a device that mimics a valve amp to a high level of accuracy and then add a valve amp, which to me will certainly add something. As you say, very unlikely it perfectly fills the gaps and so more than likely adds " even" more. Whether that is positive is another debate.

Its the old adage, if it sounds good and inspirational to the player, that's great. Is it necessary? I think that is the point...

Quote from silvioherrmann

thanks for these thoughts. I'm sorry that I did not answer earlier!! right now I'm very busy with electronical problems with machines at my regular job. As soon as I'll find time I'm planning to prepare an electrotechnical/acoustical analysis about this topic. But that will take some time. I don’t want to speculate, so I’ll have to study some theory first to be able to explain it scientifically.

No problem and I'd like to hear the science behind this as I know very little technically, I can only give both my experience and the logic/basic science behind it.

I stand by what I said in that I challenge anyone to stand next to the Kabinet run by the Powerrack cranked up and say its not loud enough. Sometimes it might not "cut" through, but that is an eq issue which is commonly what people get confused by..

I tested this again last night......I have my tried and trusted profile for rhythm and it sounds pretty good in a band context, cuts through well. I recently also found a really thick, fat high gain sound I really like and I set it at an equal volume. Half way through as song I switched over to it and....I disappeared. Switched back...hello again. The difference was dramatic. I know I would have to crank it way higher to be able to hear it, but it would also muddy everything up.

EQ/sonic space is king. That's about as technical as I get

Quote from Kahuna59

That design works great on that guitar style. Well done. I think you have a chance.

Me too I really like it...personally I prefer HH set up, 2 red Humbuckers would have nailed it for me.

Quote from Moregainac20

Too bad! Other amps have more than one output to speakers at the same time. But I could run one out to another amp input but not speaker?

The Kemper has multiple outputs as well. It has line output as well as a speaker output. Its the only digital amp with a built in power amp so is actually more versatile that other digital solutions in that respect. Its also the only solution with a dedicated speaker solution.

The issue here is using a Kabinet alongside a guitar cab rather than the number of outputs. You could use a splitter cable from the Kemper but again the speakers need to be the same and you need to watch the impedance - not recommended...I only mention it to show its not the number of outputs that are the issue.

The monitors are voiced entirely differently. All monitor solutions function very differently and mixing more than one is problematic.

Whilst this might seem restrictive, your use case is very unusual and hence I would question why. You get no additional volume and mixes the sound sources, which might sound OK but its very unlikely. The Kemper can run these different options but the sound is very different - hence why FRFR sounds very different to Guitar cabs.

So your main options are:

1) Just use a guitar cab of your choice using the speaker output

2) Just use the Kabinet ( which is easily enough for me for monitoring) using the speaker output

3) Buy another Kabinet but get the powered version, which means you can also run stereo

4) Take a line output into an external amp and run any guitar speakers you want. If you use a stereo amp you can run stereo if you desire

With all of these you can still run an output to a PA for FOH when playing live.

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. If its because you have a guitar cab and you want to make use of it, sell it. If its to get better sound spread, I find the Kabinet is enough. If its to experiment, its unlikely to sound any good....so just depends...

Hope that helps.

Quote from Kemper Support #1

you cannot use a regular cab and the Kabinet simultaneously even if you connected one of them to the monitor output and an external poweramp since the Kabinet requires the Kone function to be activated and the regular cabinet will not sound great when it gets the signal that is optimized by the Kone function.

Or you could run without the imprints in FRFR mode, but I agree it will not sound good.

There is only one speaker output so you eitehr need another amp or drive both cabs from the 1 output, or use an active cab.

There is an "out" from the Kabinet to drive another Kabinet...but...

1) Driving what is closer to an FRFR speaker and a regular guitar speaker is likely to sound pants, especially if using imprints. . Its designed to run other Kabinets.

2) You need to watch the impendence

3) You won't get any additional volume as the impedance will impact the relative volume

For those reasons, its not a great idea IMO

Quote from thegman

New Truss Rod Cover day...before and after

Did you buy it or make it yourself? Looks great..

Quote from Styxie123

Thank you for answer.

Other profiles sound good. This one doesn't sound good even on my studio monitors, at least for me. Others might like that.

2) well I wanna hear my sound as well and want it to sound good. I need to have a great feeling on stage and enjoy sound that I play.

If its just one profile, ditch it.

However, a guitar cab is always going to sound significantly different to a profile going through a PA.

My experience..

I used to use a 4 x12 and mike the cab....all my sounds were OK off my backline and through the PA, but never great. TBH I was a little underwelmed.

I then decided to stop miking the cab and take an output to the PA and it sounded awful...why? Because my guitar cab was so dominant that it "smoothed" all the sounds out. That taught me a few things:

1) A Guitar cab has a HUGE impact on the end sound, hence why FRFR is more accurate ( but not necessarily better).

2) Some profiles just don't sound good. Don't bother trying to make a bad profile sound good

3) Focus on FOH sound first. That is the most important. Yes you want a good on stage sound to be inspired but it doesn't matter they are not the same and on stage sound isn;t quite as good

Quote from Wheresthedug

If it is only some profiles which are sounding bad on stage but sound great out front and you are using imprints with a Kemper Kabinet then there might still be a solution for you.

Have you tried using a different speaker imprint just for those rigs? Some amps sound best with specific speakers and the rig you are sending to FOH was probably profiled with a complementary speaker. A Fender Deluxe will probably sound very different onstage with a Vintage 30 imprint to a FOH rig that was profiled with a with a Jenson or JBL. In extreme cases you can even change to full range and use the cabinet that is being sent to FOH.

He is using a guitar cab I think...but I agree the answer is a Kabinet

The simple answer is no.

The profiler can only use one profile at a time.

Couple of points on this:

1) I would question why it sounds so different - your guitar cab is probably the issue, so try others or go FRFR

2) Your PA sound is the priority, so does it matter that it doesn't sound as good?

Quote from Julius

it was endemic if you read posts from 2022 or before it's a pity you couldn't realise I predicted the Kemper player on 2022, that was my point. Anyway happy that the software works so perfect in your profiler, in mine too, I can't say I had terrible situations but sometimes shit happens and I will not denied because I paid for it and it's good to acknowledge this for the best of a product with updates.

By the way my shitty cable is the one that came with the profiler and I disconnected or moved it 3 times since I bought the profiler

About the stage if you read good I'm referring about paying 1500 euros to put it on the floor of an Irish pub... to picture a bit my meaning.. "big dangerous expensive full pedalboard size device if you play little venues"

If I start playing live again, the player will be the start point of my pedalboard for sure!

Regards!!

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Its fair to say that permanently connecting a computer has caused issues. As a standalone unit however, freezing remote is not common. Any connectivity issues to the remote is rarely an issue with a shitty cable but the weak ports, especially on the profiler side as the alloy is relatively weak.

There have been issues over the years, slowness not really consistently one of them. I have been on this forum for about 8 years so I think I have a pretty good grasp of the tone of concerns and main issues.

Well done for guessing there would be a smaller unit, as did so many other people, however its not really done for the reasons you suggest ( as a more disposable unit for live) so only half right. I've never really understood this argument because:

1) The remote is even cheaper

2) Many other competitor units don't seem concerned - Quad, Helix etc,

3) Most none digital pedal boards are expensive anyway - pop a couple of Strymon's on and boom...

I suspect the Player fills a gap in the market for a lower entry point for customers to the sound of Kemper, a more compact offering as a fly rig for either live and/or rehearsals.

You mention a Kemper 2 so I suppose you will take credit for that when it inevitably comes out....

If my response comes across as snarky, its because your post comes across as smug and derogatory which tends to illicit a similar response. I'm really not clear what point you are trying to make...

Quote from DutchGuitarDude1

For a good spread sound i use deeflexx. Especially in stereo its so good

This reiterates that guitar speakers sound radius is so narrow that deflectors to split the sound are needed. Not needed IMO for Kone/Kabinet.

I avoid stereo as well because a "wider sound" can also disappear, especially in a dual guitar band although as per usual depends.

All this talk got me back to listening to this.....yes this is the slide solo I had to play...argh....still shiver...

Whitesnake - Love Hunter(Live) (youtube.com)

Quote from Wheresthedug

While I’ve never seen the attraction of watching or playing in a Tribute band, I have nothing but respect for the players who can do it and do it well. Playing someone else’s music to a standard that even die hard fans can accept is a skill and takes a lot of guts.

When I was starting out out I had the typical arrogance of youth (at least I had youth as an excuse back then I don’t even have that nowadays) and thought that playing anything by anyone else was worthless and was beneath me. All I wanted to do was “develop my own style and suffer for my art man….” What a load of bollocks that turned out to be. The truth is my ear wasn’t great, I didn’t want to put in the effort learning other people’s music and I was too scared I would make a hash of it and embarrass myself. If I had spent the time and effort learning from the greats in the way that all my heroes did I would undoubtedly be at least 10 times the player I am now. Being original is great but it’s overrated. The truth is that musicians playing their own music is a relatively new and uncommon idea. I have lost count of the number of times when I’ve heard a great song that is considered a classic only to discover that it was actually a cover.

Sorry for the garbled rant but basically I’m all for anyone playing anything that makes then happy. If they can make others happy while doing so - even better 🤘

I could not agree more and I've experienced that derision from other musicians so thank you for your insights.

I personally believe playing any music has merit. It was relatively recently I tried my first tribute band ( Whitesnake - the earlier years with Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden). As I did the Micky Moody bits, I had to learn slide...worse, play a slide unaccompanied solo! Argh. definitely tough, definitely learnt something.

Anyway back on topic...

Quote from Kahuna59

Yeah, Tribute bands do not appeal to me. But you know, there are exceptions. I consider many of the classic bands that have lost and replaced personnel over the years as evolving into some sort of tribute to the original. Maybe only one member remains but they still play the same catalog.

But I do enjoy a good cover band. Every musician does covers. Being good at it takes skill. I'd love to be imitated.

As someone who has played predominantly in covers bands and now tribute bands (The Cult and Bowie), I do get the criticism leveled at tributes etc.

Just to give my logic of why I play in covers bands/Tributes:

1) What do you play for? I started playing at 18 and by 23 I had a family. I quickly realized my dream of being a rock star or a career in music had to be traded off for supporting a family. Hence why it became a hobby than a career.

2) I love playing live. I love even more playing to audiences. Playing to empty venues is really hard. Music is purely a hobby for me so therefore I would gravitate towards cover bands for the quickest answer. Cover bands are more likely to to get an audience because most people want to join in and sing along. We have all experienced going to see our favourite band and they utter the dreaded words " we'd like to play some songs from our up coming album"...the first couple are ok but after 2 the audience is lost...and that's with a highly partisan audience

3) Tributes - They are one step further away from original music. I do it because I love the music. I have been a mad Cult fan for many years and want to play the music. I take pride in trying to capture the sound and nuances of the original. The people who come are more engaged because they are fans of the music. They are bigger critics as they expect as much authenticity as possible. That in itself is fun for me and pushes me. Its also a great excuse to buy new gear! Also often they are ticket events and expectations are higher. I also get to play festivals which are brilliant fun.

I have total respect for those that make original music, without it there would be no music, but also there is skill involved in covers or tributes.

Keeping music alive is the goal of cover bands as well as original bands. I would also argue that Cover/tribute bands, because they tend to have a more consistent ability to get people through the door, they help keep venues alive.

Of course well established original bands have good followings and can get a similar buzz, but its definitely harder and requires more tenacity - for that I totally respect them.

Quote from silvioherrmann

I strongly disagree. That might be your experience, some people made others. You wrote:
"So, anyone that does not get enough volume out of the kabinet for monitoring has either got a setting wrong or is deaf IMO."

I think that is pretty offensive!! I'm neither deaf nor do I get the settings wrong (I'm electronic engineer with knowledge about electronics and acoustics).

And I'm not the only one who made this experience as you can read from more than one user!

Only because it works for you does not mean that it works for others. And if poeple don't agree with ones experiences, there is no need to get offensive.

I recommend to everybody, try it out yourself. Compare 1x12" Kone with 2x12" Kone and you'll find out what works better for you. I did that several times and in diferent situations and I came to my conclusion. So I would, if a drummer is involved, use 2x Kabinet or a 2x12" loaded with Kones (if you don't connect the Kemper to additional monitors on stage or PA for rehearsal)

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Not sure why you see that is offensive but sorry you took it that way. It was a light hearted comment which I can only imagine is likely to offend deaf people, but anyway...

There is some facts in my statement, not totally subjective.

The volume from a 600watt Class D Amp going into a 200watt cab running at 4 ohms with the right eq is very loud.

Many people on this forum have complained at not enough volume and then realized their power boost is not turned up.

As a sound engineer you will understand that 2 x12 kones run by the same power amp will instantly drop the volume. I don't know the science behind this but my simple understanding is in series the resistance doubles to 8 ohms, which means the power amp can only provide less power ( 300 watts I think). You can't run is parallel as the ohmage would drop below 4 ohms. This isn't subjective although appreciate its not all linear ( power vs volume etc).

I found running 2 speakers produced no more spread if stacked ( like a 2x12). That wasn't just me, no one in my band or when I gigged this config noticed. In fact 1x12 had a minor improvement. This is subjective and I suspect your difference might have been the cab itself - I used 2 Kabinets so it was consistant. Therefore would essentially be an eq rather than volume point.

Whilst I agree people should try it, its expensive to just buy speakers to try out ( retrun policies are not the same everywhere). My point is, logically "just" adding another speaker, particularly in the same cabinet will not increase volume which is what I experienced.

Happy to be corrected..

Quote from FFiorentini

I’m trying to use my power rack with a 4x12 cab…are there any settings tricks i have to know to achieve the best experience? (Pure cabinet, kone function, definition, clarity…etc)…big thank you

Cheers from Italy

No because for me, I just found all profiles just took on the character of the cab and despite much tweaking ( which ruined the FOH sound) I got a fairly bland sound even with top quality speakers.

4x12's also do not have the spread and project people think they do. Stand slightly to one side and the sound drops and alters significantly.

In my choices for monitoring, its the last one I would use - assuming its only for on stage monitoring. If you are trying to play off the backline, that is even more problematic.

If you are really keen to use one ( and I've no idea why people do these days) then I would suggest merged profiles.

But that's just me....

Quote from ScottM

yeah versatility was one of the things that drew me to the Kemper. at one point I had 11 100 watt Marshall heads that I could never turn above 2 so, that was stupid on my part. I also figured this would be a good recording tool but now im thinking about just grabbing a couple of those UAX IR pedals, but I already have this and am sure its the better option if I can just tame it

I honestly believe its a complex as you want to make it.

I treat mine just like a regular multi channel amp with a few effects built in.

I would split it into 2 stages -finding the base sounds you like, and then storing/accessing them.

People often try to mix these steps up and get confused.

For finding your sound, which is the hardest bit) I would:

1) Use Rig exchange to look for the type of amps you like - sounds like Marshalls, and some of the Mbritt stuff included is a good place to start

2) Think about how you listen to them - via a cab or headphones etc, volume and in a mix

3) create a shortlist and then compare

4) Tweak the sound ( but I tend to limit this - if I'm not feeling it, move on rather than swap cabs or the multitude of changes you can make)

5) Add effects to taste

6) Use RM to make the changes as its quicker and easier to visualize

Storing and access ( the easy bit)

1) Use performance mode to store a group of sounds. I have clean, crunch, solo and a couple of variations, but doing Marshall sounds and fender sounds is also fine...or do both...there are 125 performances to use up if you want . This depends on what you use it for, live or just easy access when playing around at home

2) Keep the majority of your sounds in RM. I have about 10 profiles on my KPA as I don't need any more on there. So use RM for moving stuff around

Home that helps a bit...

Quote from aamefford

Thanks all. I’ve read several folks say they use their kabinets in FR mode rather than the speaker imprints. This kind of makes sense, it *should* be the best route to reproduce the rig as profiled. The imprints seem like they might be kinda like using a guitar cab fitted with a particular speaker, but with more variety of speakers. I guess I’m trying to figure out if the speaker imprints are useful, or do they boil down to an interesting gimmick?

I use the imprints as I prefer that to FR mode, but as per usual people have different views.

Its certainly not a gimmick as it has a definite effect on the sound - its obviously to reduce the FRFR issue of it not sounding realistic whilst still retaining the flex of the different profiles ( guitar cabs mask the amp sounds IMO).

However, as mentioned above, this is only for monitoring. I am finding that more venues are getting used to digital solutions and I'm using less and less backline and relying on foldback PA monitoring. I tend to take my Kabinet and end up turning it down or off

To try and kill this.....

First - I use a Kabinet with the Powerrack....during one rehearsal I decided to turn it up to painful levels - way louder than any loud drummer i've gigged with...and that showed on the power meter around 25 to 30 watts.

This is all different to spread and cut which play a huge part. I have found that the Kabinet has way, way more spread than a 4x12 even. With regards to cut, that depends on speaker placement and eq - if you sound clashes, it will get drowned out by the other instrument so finding your own sonic space is essential.

Comparing to PA speakers is pointless because they are dealing with different speakers. For example, 100w valve amp is plenty for a guitar but relatively low power for Bass guitar. PA speaker are FRFR but they have to contend with so many frequencies, whereas guitars are relatively narrow.

Finally,. this is all for monitoring only. Anyone trying to play purely off the backline, regardless of amp set up etc., will get problems.

So, anyone that does not get enough volume out of the kabinet for monitoring has either got a setting wrong or is deaf IMO.