Posts by dougc84

    like you I'm a worship artist so that means covering lots of ground tonally. 60 songs and 80 patches though, wow. I like the concept of having one or two amps supported by many different switchable effects that way I can adapt to different songs. For example I have a clean pushed distorted and lead but also 3 different ambient rigs. Standard swells to a washed out reverb for term picking. Anyway I may end up deciding to sell the remote and go Rjm at some point but I'm really trying to contain all within the profiler without much external gear.


    I primarily use about 5 different presets - a Vox AC-30 with practically zero gain, an AC-30 that breaks up slightly with breakup (standard clean), standard clean + boost, standard clean + vibrato, standard clean + flanger. In addition, I sometimes use a DC30 profile for some sounds, an acoustic preset (for either the piezos on my guitar or when playing acoustic gigs), and about a dozen "artist" presets that sound like Satriani, Vai, Eric Johnson, and a few others. The "artist" presets only have a single patch on the RJM, but the others (5 + Matchless + Acoustic), combined with up to 6 combinations of overdrive pedals + the dozen or so presets I use on the BigSky + the dozen or so presets I use on the Timeline... it adds up quickly. Light gain with no delay on one song, but light gain with a 1/4 note delay on the next, and ultra clean w/ a chorale reverb on the next... it adds up.


    I don't go for matching the songs we play exactly, or, jeez, I'd be using even more, and probably a second Kemper in the mix, since many worship guitarists have two amps. But I try to capture the feel - listening for the amount of ambience in the reverb, the type of delay being used, the amount of gain that's being pushed - and then how I personally feel on a song.


    At this point, I have very little to configure when we do a new song, since all the presets are set up and organized well, I can drop the songs in a new setlist on the RJM, and most of the patches I can reuse. Occasionally, I have to build a new preset, but since I know the base I'll be using is a limited set of options (primarily the Vox profiles), and I know what my overdrives sound like together, and I know what patches I have available on my Strymon stuff, I can create new patches without having to even test them out.


    Unfortunately, I want to tweak some of my overdrive settings and positions, so it might mean some rebuilding. But, all in all, I'm liking how it all works together. And having a desktop editor honestly makes it worth every penny.


    Plus, with 4.0 coming out sometime before the end of mankind, I might be able to consolidate some of my patches by using my expression pedal - i.e. maybe have the tremolo always available, and control the amount via a backwards sweep.

    Can I mute the Kemper output via footswitch?


    Technically, no, but there is a default rig called "MUTE" which is basically a zero-volume rig. You could use this. Volume pedal is certainly the best scenario though.


    Can I switch on a number of FX with the one footswitch, i.e...add Delay and boost at the same time?


    Use presets - performance mode, or copies of the same rig. Otherwise, you're going to need to tap dance.


    Thanks ...I will check out the manual.......who reads that ?....until you need it !


    For serious, the reference manual (not the original one that comes with the Kemper, but it's available free online) is a super easy read, and things like performance mode are explained in detail, as is with some of the more complex nuances of it. It's worth a read, and you don't even need to be in front of your Kemper to understand it.


    I could never use performance mode the way they suggest in the Kemper tutorials (a performance for each song) because we play around 33 songs a night, and we don't always stick to the same set list.


    Same here. I have base rigs set up on the first 2 or 3 performances. These + overdrive pedals (real ones, controlled with my MIDI controller + MIDI pedal switcher) + MIDI-controllable delay and reverb (Strymon stuff) gives me every single sound I would ever need.


    I tried the whole "one per song" thing on my first outing with the Kemper and it was a disaster. It took me hours to program how I wanted (mainly due to renaming things), and, at the end of the day, I just wasn't happy with it.


    Use performance mode however you want. It's just a different way to organize your rigs. It is confusing (OP) because it's the same stuff in two different places, but performance mode really is the way to go for most cases and most people.

    I went with the RJM MMGT 22, and here's why:


    1. I control 3 external MIDI devices. The Kemper can only control 2. I can do this all perfectly from the MMGT.
    2. Scribble Strips/Displays. I primarily play music for church/worship (and often times I'm covering for multiple musicians), but I also play post-rock/ambient and metal. Right now, on the MMGT, I have close to 60 songs set up, and 80 individual patches. Each song has a different set of tones - some only needing one patch, some needing nearly a dozen. This way, I can see exactly what I have available to me instead of having to remember which slot each song's lead patch is on (if there's one at all). I can also see, quickly, what key I'm in, and hop to non-set-listed songs and presets quickly.
    3. I can set up songs and set lists quickly. The Kemper's software doesn't work well for me for building up performances quickly and easily, particularly with the poor MIDI capability (and even how it breaks when you move around performances). With the MMGT, I set up a set list, tell it what songs I want, and done.
    4. I want to start incorporating some live looping to a higher complexity than what the Kemper can do. I will eventually be incorporating MainStage into my rig via MIDI as well, and I can set that up in any way that works for me.
    4. It looks like a friggen spaceship.


    I would say the MMGT isn't perfect. There are some buggy elements, but Ron is very quick to respond, and the MMGT is built like a tank. I love mine. It works very well with the Kemper, though I've had some configuration issues that seem to be isolated to only myself.


    That said, if the only device I used was the Kemper, I wouldn't have gone with the MMGT. It's an expensive controller, but for someone with a large number of songs, ever-changing set lists, last minute set changes, and multiple MIDI devices, it's the best out there.

    Interesting. How can that happen? Some interaction between the dxr10 and the Kemper?



    Power amps (like what is built into the DXR) have a signal-to-noise ratio. It's basically the ratio between its power (or signal) to its noise.


    So you crank the DXR and the noise floor raises on its own power amp.


    Turn up the Kemper and down the DXR, and bam - noise floor of your power amp lowers, and it has a hotter signal to play with.


    Norton is lying about this security risk or it hasn't been resolved. I just reviewed this site (I'm a web developer that has been writing code for about 20 years), and there is no malicious content within any of the pages listed. They are outdated risks.


    Also, Norton prides itself on giving false positives to this kind of stuff to scare you into paying obnoxious amounts of money to continue purchasing their product. This site is perfectly safe. @and44 is the owner and is incredibly reputable around here - he wouldn't muck up his site with spam now.


    However, that said, @and44, you probably do need to contact Norton, because this is obviously driving away business. But, before doing so, analyze your WordPress plugins and see if any of them need updating - that could cause problems. If you have a developer, make sure they handle this, because a bad upgrade can "white page" your entire site.

    Despite the angst coming from SgtPepper... I can't say I wholly disagree with his points.


    The Kemper is built from a small team. They're not backed by a big corporation like Yamaha (Line 6) or haven't been in the game nearly as long as Fractal.


    If you look at the history of Line 6, they came out with the AxSys 20 years ago. A few years later, the Ax2 212 came out. There was a Flextone and the original POD that came out within a few years of their debut. They were all more-or-less based on the same code sets. And what they built changed digital guitar amplification forever. However, if you look at those products, they are nowhere near as complex (or realistic sounding) as the Kemper, the AxeFX w/ Quantum, or the Helix.


    It took Fractal another 10 years before they came out, with tons of time for research and development. I don't know for sure how much time Cliff put into building out the original units, but what I do know is he had 10 years to figure out what worked. And, guess what? The Fractal is still issuing out firmware updates and new models to this day. The original Axe was pretty good for it's time, but no better than Line 6 units as far as tone is concerned.


    Kemper, despite some of its downsides (and yes, there are downsides) didn't come out as "the one tool to replace them all." CK wanted to build the best amp sounds in the world captured by one unit. And it has always been promoted as a platform that will grow, not a "here's your three trillion types of delays that 70 developers spent the greater part of a year working on, though you'll never use it." It's always been spending time to get the sounds done right the first time, in a unique and user friendly way. And CK came out of the gate with guns blazing - to the degree that it has made other companies have to step up their game as far as tonal quality is concerned.


    At this point, the Kemper provides great sounds, and great effects. However, it's not designed as an all-in-one crazy routing multi-effects machine. It's designed as a great amplifier. The effects are secondary. People have become spoiled with having every option in one box, so people like SgtPepper get incredibly upset over the lack of what might be considered "good and usable" out of a box that wasn't designed to do all of that. I do understand the frustration, because we've all come to expect everything in one box, myself included. I still use outboard effects with the Kemper, but it's because it's a great amp and a great platform, and the effects I need aren't available on the unit. To me, that's OK. To others, that might be unacceptable. And, if you value effects and an all-in-one more for your more complex rig, then perhaps the Kemper is not the tool for you. And that's OK too.


    I've certainly considered swapping out the Kemper for the AxeFX or the Helix. However, when I think about this, my decision is made:

    • All Line 6 products become "old" very quickly - will that happen to this as well? No more support after a few years because there's a "Helix 2?" The Kemper's been around for about 5 years now, and it's still perfectly capable on that 24-bit chip. Sounds just as good as the competition. Throwing more horsepower at something doesn't necessarily make it better.
    • The same thing applies for Fractal's stuff. By the time people figure out the nuances of the units, there's a new unit.
    • Both the Helix's and the AxeFX's firmware updates change the sound of your presets, amps, etc. The Kemper's sounds don't change. Personally, I don't want to reconfigure all of my sounds every time I update the firmware.

    So is the Kemper perfect? No. But I do understand the frustration. I do understand the bugs with the newer firmware versions, but, hey, if it has no benefit to you, don't upgrade the firmware, plain and simple. You don't have to be rocking out beta software (beta means it probably will have bugs!) or the most recent version to use the unit. If you're that impatient for firmware updates, head over to Fractal. They'll have new firmware upgrades for you to toy around and new bugs to find with nearly every other week. In the Kemper world, it's about every couple months - sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. But I guarantee that Fractal has 10x the development staff, and this stuff is not easy to program. Spend 5 minutes seeing what these guys are doing and you'll never want to get near a computer again.


    And while we won't be getting delays in 4.0 (for those that haven't seen, we aren't, it's coming as a later firmware upgrade), that's OK too. I'm personally more excited about delays (and eventually reverbs) than morphing, though I can certainly appreciate it. And if 4.0 comes out later than February, so what? It's just software, and I'd rather have it right and ready than buggy and in my live unit. It is developed by people, humans, who are prone to error, and I guarantee you the guys at Kemper are working hard to make sure the Kemper performs as perfectly as it can. But sometimes something gets missed - it happens. I'd rather wait and have a quality 4.0 than an incomplete and buggy 4.0.

    Above points are correct - volume when no wah enabled, wah when switch enabled.


    I have two Mission pedals - an EP1 and a VM1. Great pedals. Yes, they are heavy, and yes, they are expensive for what amounts to a jack and a potentiometer. But they are solid, look great, have a good feel, etc. I can't vouch for the Dunlop or the Ernie Ball, because I've never tried either, but I'm very happy with the Mission stuff - I don't even think about them when I step on them.

    I'm an OD guy for 80-90% of what I play. I actually still use three overdrive pedals in front of the Kemper, because I find the ODs in the Kemper severely lacking.


    I tend to play through amp sounds that just start breaking up when pushed hard. Overdrives (and multiple ones) give me the options of shaping my tone in multiple ways for multiple occasions. I have a low gain, a low-mid, and a screamer. I can get anything from a slightly broken up clean to a wall of near-fuzz distortion with all three engaged.


    On the Kemper, I basically have an EQ and a gate pre-amp (in addition to the built in gate, simply to clean up some excess noise when using single-coils). I do also have a Green Scream and a compressor set up but I never enable them. Post-amp I have a stereo loop (with a Strymon Timeline and Strymon Bigsky) and a compressor.

    I am waiting for 4.0. If it`s not nessecary to install it to get the 4.0 to work??
    I am just waiting for good dely and reverb!! so i can get rid of external gear and no need to use the loop


    Uh, yeah, you need 4.0 to have 4.0's features. Just like you can't access Windows 10 features in Windows XP.


    Also, 4.0 will not include delays or reverbs, just morphing. Delays are more than likely going to be 4.1, and reverbs are "later this year." You'll have to wait on them for a bit.

    so now I need to figure out how to lock my input per guitar.



    Your input section should remain locked. When you're in the input settings page, check to make sure the lock button is illuminated. This makes it a global setting. Changing guitars means going into input and changing that setting.


    If you want to create separate rigs for each guitar, keep it unlocked, make copies of each rig, and then adjust the input (and probably the name!) of each rig, and save.


    I've never understood the fascination with stereo.
    1) almost all sound guys will only give you one mic or one XLR, rendering your carefully created stereo effects largely inaccurate as you switch to using the Left main output. Those that will humor you probably are only doing a mono house mix anyway.
    2) when recording, it is better to record two separate tracks and pan L and R, with the option of different tones on each, than one stereo track. Especially since it's generally preferable to record dry and add delays and reverbs later, in which stereo effects can be added to mono tracks just as easily as stereo ones.


    I get why you don't understand, and it is because you are misinformed or confused about how the Kemper operates in stereo mode.


    Regarding using the "Left main" output, you would (and should) set your mains to mono in the output section. This sums both the left and right channels into a single mono channel. All stereo effects become mono effects though mono outs. If you only have one input, you shouldn't run stereo at all - disable it and run mono.


    That said, the reason sound guys will "only give you one mic or one XLR" is because most guitarists don't have stereo rigs or rigs capable of even running in stereo. It's just like it's common to have two channels for a keyboard, expecting they are in stereo, even if it's flat piano samples being played all night. For live use, it is pretty useless though, unless you can get everyone in the room to stand in the sweet spot. Otherwise, everyone's going to hear something differently. Stereo's great in live performance for, say, panorama (panning effect), but not as much for delay and reverb, as it will just get lost.


    When it comes to recording, the beauty of the Kemper is you can configure it to send out an unprocessed (raw/DI) signal, a mono signal sans stereo FX (Mod/X/Delay/Reverb), and a stereo signal, all at the same time. This gives you the option to reamp at any time as well. And because the "stereo signal" is stereo doesn't mean you need to record it as a single stereo file - it can be tracked (and should be tracked) as individual tracks, because they are individual tracks. Remember, stereo is nothing more than two individual channels, and they don't need (or have) to be combined. If you only have one input, again, change your output settings to mono, and carry on.

    For starters, @paults is dead on - if you're only playing at home, and you're happy with your monitors, there's no real reason to go for a cab of any sort.


    That said, if you do plan on jamming with friends, playing the occasional gig, whatever, it certainly won't hurt to have a cab at your disposal. The Friedman's are supposedly killer, but be aware that they are HEAVY. I think it's 60 lbs, which is heavier than my Mesa 2x12.


    If you don't have an urgent need but still want a dedicated FRFR cab, you should check out Matrix's new FR10/FR12 powered FRFR cabs. They're still on pre-order, but you could probably still get on the list (check their Facebook page). They are a little cheaper than the Friedman, but much more portable (the FR10 is basically a 12x12x12 cube with 300w of power and weighs only 21 lbs. or so). Matrix's stuff is really great at high gain scenarios as well. The Friedman, however, will look much nicer and probably be much sturdier on your backline if you decide to play out. I'm getting the FR10 for side-stage personal monitoring (when I don't have IEMs) and practices, otherwise I wouldn't own a cab at all.


    If I didn't have to lug my gear around all the time, I'd certainly opt for the Friedman though.


    Last point: FRFR is not FRFR. Your monitors are not flat. To get a perfectly flat sound out of a speaker is nearly impossible, and it takes a lot of money, time, and research and development to get closer to being flat. That's why studio monitors can cost thousands of dollars. I have a set of KRK Rokit 5's (version 1's) that I know aren't flat. They're probably on the same plane as your M8's, maybe a hair better, but I can't find specs on the version 1's to really say. Every set of monitors has their own sound, and every set will sound different. FRFR is the same - some will be boomier, some will be more "live," etc. And regardless what FRFR cab you go with, they will sound different than your monitors. If you don't plan on playing out or with friends, I'd suggest upgrading those M8's to something a little nicer and high-end - you'll get a truer representation of your tone that isn't colored, and, as an added benefit, music playback will sound better too.


    Wow. I completely disagree with nearly everything you said.


    1. More options with one amplifier - nope. I use multiple overdrives with the Kemper and not because of a lack of options. Other tube amps I have used have had footswitches, and I used them in tandem with overdrives. The overdrive pedal tonality is my sound. I prefer a great overdrive (or two or three) into an edge of breakup clean amp any day over a dimed half-stack sound. It's personal preference, just like the amp sounds out of the Kemper are phenomenal. However, for myself, I use different amps as a great "base" to paint my sound on.
    2. Easier on the budget - nope. A quality overdrive pedal is going to cost at least $100 US, and some even above $200. If you have three and stack them, then you're probably in the $300-$500 range. One could easily buy a great sounding 15w combo and an A/B box for that price. I easily have $1000 worth of overdrives, and probably have spent at least another $1000 over my lifetime that have been sold or broke. That's not easy on any budget.
    3. Convenience - nope. Having more switches means more complexity and more to set up every time. If I didn't have stomps in front of my Kemper, I'd have less connections, meaning it would be more convenient to set up. It's not convenient for me to carry around a larger pedalboard, to set up and power a MIDI switcher, etc. But I do it anyway because it sounds amazing, especially into amazing-sounding amps on the Kemper.
    4. Easy to bend down and adjust on the fly - okay, I'll give you this one. However, this is really only a case for those with ONE overdrive pedal. I cascade/stack mine, and often have two or three going at a given time. They are set at particular settings and I won't adjust them. If you're pushing a singular amp with an overdrive to tighten it up, some tweaks can be necessary, especially if you flip amps frequently.


    Yes, people use overdrives to drive your amp harder and give it a different signal to base it's own overdrive/compression off of. And, most of the time, this cannot be achieved by a tube amp alone. But taking it even further - the reason for this request is not because there aren't sufficient offerings. There are some good ones. There are, however, many more options out there, all that shape your tone differently, and, based on personal opinion, for better or for worse. That said, I have yet to hear a great digitally-modeled overdrive pedal yet, including the ones in the Kemper (they're good, but not great). Having some better options would certainly take the Kemper to another level in tone shaping.

    Doug I suspect the Strymon sounds are better because of the dry through? A lot of people say the Eventide bypass adds a bit of digital crispness where as the Strymon sounds more natural due to the analog dry routing.


    Yeah, that certainly helps, but it's a pretty minor part of the equation. There's a head-to-head video on Youtube somewhere that goes between the Timeline and the Timefactor, on every single setting. The range of the knobs is a little greater on the Strymon in most cases and there are a couple algorithms each have that don't match. All in all, I personally feel the Timeline is a little more natural sounding, regardless of the bypass issue. I think their delays are just better balanced. However, let's put it this way - I would not be upset if I had a Timefactor instead. It's such a minor preference over the other that I don't necessarily think that one is any better, but I think they are both in the same class.


    Going back to the point at hand, if Kemper can get anywhere in the ballpark of these two, I'd be amazed. Probably not enough to get rid of my Timeline (and, when the reverbs come out, the BigSky), as they're great tools, even outside of the traditional guitar rig.


    I get that. I went through a phase where I used nothing but drives. I had a simple DOD chorus pedal, but I never used it. The last few years, delays and reverbs have become my thing - the pedalboard format boxes sound every bit as good (if not better) than those 80's rack mount units, and some of them even do a fantastic job at emulating them. Strymon's Dig pedal that came out about a year ago was solely designed to recreate the sounds of those 30-year-old rack unit delays. And, I feel if Kemper is spending any time building up quality effects, then you will not be disappointed