Posts by V8guitar

    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...

    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.

    David Gilmour among many comes to mind. His Hiwatt + pedals give him the sauce.

    I think its what you are used to...back in the day Hi Gain amps were rare/didn't exist and so people used what they needed. He is now used to the that sound.


    I am the same with any new set up - takes me a long time to get used to a "new" sound, even if its ultimately better. I moved from Laney GH100L to an ENGL Powerball based upon it being better. For the first few months, I didn't like it. Once I got used to it, I never understood why I liked the Laney. Ultimately I didn't actually sound any different becuase we all know its in the hands, but its how I felt about my sound.


    We make subconscious micro adjustments based upon what we have - I think there is a lot of psychology around the sounds we like, such as pre-conceived ideas of how something will sound, our association to a brand (I hate Marshalls for example) etc.


    So, just saying Dave Gilmour has an amazing sound and uses pedals does not equal therefore pedals are amazing.


    His real sauce is in his hands..

    with 2x12 Kone you should be able to manage situations like that. I don't trus 1x12 Kone anymore ;)

    Btw. 2x12 sounds better IMO

    2x12 Kone only makes a difference if you use a separate power amp.


    The Kemper power amp halves the volume due to impedance.


    As a result, to me it sounds no different to 1x12 Kone and I've cranked mine to ear splitting volumes no issue. I suspect the others were faulty.

    Thank you Wheresthedug, unfortunately I'm in the East Midlands, my amp guru is a former Blackstar senior engineer but he doesn't take on amp repairs anymore. Glasgow is less risky than Germany though & could be an option.

    Im East Mids as well. I used a repairer on my Kemper port but not sure if he would cover anything more serious but you can always ask..


    It was a guy in Coalville called Pro audio service.

    Nice....but....get that front stripped like Mick Ronson/Billy Duffy as my avatar :). That one is an Epiphone but I now have a Gibbo..

    i opened a ticket a long time ago, they said that they didn't heard about this problem as in no one else mentioned it. And....like that was it. No resolve, no nothing. So now i have to remember before a gig to activate all the presets from the performance in order to eliminate the gap.

    Its unusual for support to just write off an issue like that, check your email ( spam folder) as they normally ask you to run a diagnostic...


    It is definitely not normal.

    I have used wireless with IEM's with no issues. I use LD systems IEM's and Sennhesier XS-D wireless.


    I suspect you are getting clashes and all you can do is try to separate the frequencies as best you can. In other words it can work but it can be a lottery!

    Sometimes not only a song, but a particular performance can impact you...this was one of my earliest guitar influences, I used to watch this over and over again on Betamax ( yes that's how old it is!).


    This is also the riff that was in a legal dispute with Nirvana -come as you are.


    I just loved the sound and the look of that ES-295.... RIP Geordie Walker! Even though I play nothing like this, it still encouraged me to pick up the guitar!


    (6) Killing Joke - Eighties - live - YouTube

    To answer your questions:

    • What are the major changes please that have occured with the Kemper? In the last 3 years the biggest changes from the top of my head are Liquid profiles, updates to the delays and reverbs, Kabinet/Kone, RM improvements but no doubt there are a host of others. There is little change to the profiling process or underlying tech...
    • Has the cocked wah bug been fixed? No idea what this is. I NEVER had this problem in 8 years of ownership. Was it ever a recognized bug or possibly an issue with your set up? Some people complain about a mid range honk but that isn;t intermittent and I think is fairly subtle as not everyone hears it.
    • It's been spoken about forever, but is there a Kemper2 on the horizon? - Who knows. There are no plans that have been shared and the speculation will always exist.
    • Form-factor......how is the Kemper Stage? When it first came out, there was no end of complaints about QC.... There were some initial concerns with some of the hardware but Kemper rectified them...in general its seems as reliable and stable as the rack or Toaster.

    An unpowered unit will not drive a passive guitar cab, so you have multiple options:

    1) Just use IEM's - but other band members need to hear you as well, so they also need them

    2) Use the in house monitors - this is the most common solution but assumes a venue has a foldback system. Virtually all do

    3) Buy a powered Kabinet

    4) Buy a separate power amp and use a cab - either FRFR or Guitar cab or Kabinet

    YMMV but i tested a powered Kemper in the shop and found that it ran warm. I don't like electronics that go warm if not hot. My unpowered Kemper runs nice and cool. There are lots of possibilities, do a search here, FRFR amps etc.

    Having run a powered Kemper for 8 years with no issues not quite sure what your point is....

    V8guitar : I thought of you when I saw this. Sure, it's not purple, but it's V8 and pretty cool.


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    Dude thanks for this! I love it!!!

    A gig bag would scare me to death but yes I suspect its not as bad as we might think - its because we are used to hard cases..our bass player transports his Dingwall in a gig bag - which is more expensive than any of my guitars, and no issue so....


    Back to the Kemper 2 - I'm a bit on the fence. I think its important to always push the boundaries - I didn't know I needed a Kabinet until they created it, but I'm also extremely happy with what I have.


    I would never have believed 10 years ago that I could have a super convenient all in one solution that was so flexible, portable and easy to set up. I played last night at a festival and 3 wires ( power, speaker and ethercon) and done. No sound check, but he took a line level and boom straight in - sound was fab...and I was playing my acoustic and switching to electric via the same outputs etc. Just so easy.

    Great Performance 8)

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    I REALLY like this - thank you for sharing it as never heard it before. Simon Phillips is the most unlikely looking rock drummer but he is brilliant...in fact they are all great. Love the vocals, bass is shit hot and Greg's solo is also really inspiring!

    Well, the Kemper arrived today, only had a short time to power it up and have a go but all seems well so far. Updated it and played through my valve amps cab with a celestion blue in it with some two rock profiles.. sounded amazing, really great. Thanks for the help everyone, just got to order a cab now, I think I'm just gonna go down the normal guitar cab route, tried FRFR in the past and wasn't a fan, not sure I want to bother with the Kone either but we'll see.

    Really pleased for you!


    I will just say again, guitar cabs add massive colouration. The KPA is there to emulate the whole signal chain and so you make a profile including the cab, artificially remove it and replace it with a real cab - the results are less predictable.


    I agree with you on FRFR in that it can be very clinical but not all FRFR's are equal.


    The Kone is meant to be a solution in between FRFR and a guitar cab, giving you the best of both worlds. For me it works brilliantly although not the same for others. If you can find a way to try before you buy then I would suggest its definitely worth a shot.