Posts by Vice Squad

I have reduced the size now.... although being a man, I do like to make things seem bigger than they actually are !!! x

SORRY, it was my computer screen resolution set to small

Having owned the Kemper and comparing it to the OX myself, there is one thing that hasn't been discussed, the FEEL & EXPRESSION of the units. I found the Kemper to be lacking in dynamics and low end grunt. Yes, I tried several settings within the Kemper, even mixing in the raw signal and dialing in pick attack, lag etc. [/font][/size]
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By using a real valve amp you bring the characteristics of the design of each amp used - the output tubes and so forth, which as anyone remotely experienced will know is a major part of how it actually plays.

Personally, I find the minutiae of whether each amp & cab profile sounds exactly like the real thing of no use in a recording situation, its as much about playability as sound when working at home.

I must reiterate, I am not here to attack Kemper, I loved my one in a live situation I only wish to share my thoughts on an issue that has plagued me for over 20 years of producing and mixing at home x

Quote from ckemper

A bit amusing to me is comparing the Profiler to the other solutions without making profiles using the other solutions and comparing this. It‘s been a long time that the Profiler is treated like modeling amp (without IRs) in a comparison

CK

Actually, having owned the Kemper and comparing it to the OX myself, there is one thing that hasn't been discussed, the FEEL & EXPRESSION of the units. I found the Kemper to be lacking in dynamics and low end grunt. Yes, I tried several settings within the Kemper, even mixing in the raw signal and dialing in pick attack, lag etc. By using a real valve amp you bring the characteristics of the design of each amp used - the output tubes and so forth, which as anyone remotely experienced will know is a major part of how it actually plays. Personally, I find the minutiae of whether each amp & cab profile sounds exactly like the real thing of no use in a recording situation, its as much about playability as sound when working at home. I must reiterate, I am not here to attack Kemper, I loved my one in a live situation I only wish to share my thoughts on an issue that has plagued me for over 20 years of producing and mixing at home x

I sold my Kemper Power Rack ... so, apologies for hijacking a Kemper forum whereby everyone is in love with their Kempers, but we are all here to help each other right?

The Kemper, turned out to be a big surprise from what I imagined prior to purchase. I thought it would shine in the studio and maybe not deliver in a live situation.
How wrong was I... it turned out to be the other way round, this beast was awesome live but I never got a satisfactory tone in the studio!

So, I have gone back to real valve amps ( 5150, Victory and Boogie ) and go thru the UA OX Box and thats it... happy days!
After 30+ years of trying almost every solution available, more recently the Two-Notes Torpedo and wanting to get the best possible guitar sound at home without mic'ing up cabs and not losing the feel and expression of an amp in a room during recording, I have hit the jackpot.

I am not an employee or endorsee of UA, in fact the latest OX firmware has screwed up my system so I am pissed off with them, I just wanted to share.

Cheers
PauL

Quote from Slyman

I mainly use mine for recording as well. I don't use it via SPDIF (except for reamping) and still get awesome results.
A lot of major recording studios own a Kemper, which would be pointless if great recordings could ne be achieved.

Quote from OhG

I'm going to have to say this is more user error than the Kemper not sounding good recorded. I mean, just go on YouTube and listen to all the samples that people have recorded directly into their computers. They are unreal, and they are also what convinced many of the members on this forum to go out and take a chance and buy the Kemper.
There are a bunch of different variables, just like with playing live. The right profile is key. And a profile that sounds amazing live, doesn't always necessarily sound great recorded.

I personally haven't even tried recording with my Kemper in the nearly 2 years that I've owned it, so I can't really diagnose what you may be doing wrong. But the fact that there are TONS of people out there on YouTube who have some of the most realistic amp sounds I've heard, just proves that this thing CAN sound amazing in the studio as long as you know what you're doing.

On the flip side, if it sounds amazing live, why would you get rid of it? You'd then be back to lugging around heavy amps and only having the sound of that ONE amp available each night. And most high end amps cost the same if not more than the Kemper does anyway. This is just my opinion, but even if the Kemper wasn't able to be used for recording, I'd keep it just for the flexibility, portability and sound that it gives me for live gigs on it's own.

Thanks for your input guys.... don't get me wrong, the Kemper isn't really bad, it just has no grunt, no gristle compared to a real amp either mic'd or even via Torpedo or OX... despite the Kemper Forum tagging me as a beginner, I am very experienced in recording and producing with releases on EMI and UK TV credits too... I wouldn't discount user error but I have worked with the Kemper for way over a year trying all kinds of settings, cables and so forth and the distorted tones from native and bought profiles are lacking, especially in the lower end. I would love to keep it, but I am a pro musician which translates as hand-to-mouth living, especially here in ultra-expensive London. I simply cannot afford to keep a £2,500 amp when it isn't being used to its full potential.

Many Youtube examples are not within a mix, others in finished highly treated songs. I guess if the likes of Andy Sneap use Kempers then thats the benchmark, although my friends in Saxon said they used real amps on the album with Andy and he profiled them for live use !!!!

I use a MOTU 2410 professional audio interface, I have taken mono and stereo outs from the Kemper, tried different cables, different impedance settings.
Everything else I record into the MOTU sounds fine, sharp, clear and high quality, the Kemper however, sounds plastic, not bad just fake ;-/

I have had my Kemper PowerRack for over a year now, it sounds amazing live, and I don't even have a great cab, just an old Marshall with dodgy speakers and wiring.
Sadly I have NEVER had a satisfactory result recording my Kemper. I have tried everything, checked all outs, engaged cab sim, checked my audio interface, used SPidIF the lot!

I must know if other folk have had similar experiences.... ??

It's a very expensive bit of kit to only have half-use of really. I bought it for both live and recording applications but cannot beat a, 'real' amp such as a 5150 into Torpedo Live.
More recently I got the UA OX and my recordings have improved immensely ( no, I am not a UA troll or endorsee ).

Any feedback ( 'scuse the pun ) tips or advice welcome as currently my Kemper is on his way towards the eBay pile

Thank you ALL - PAUL

I thoroughly recommend another German unit as backup to the Kemper, the BLUGAMP, which is basically a 100w amplifier in a case the size of a small MultiFX unit.... it has a tiny Russian Military Valve onboard, reverb, two channels and a boost for solos, all can be tweaked....

Hi mate, it is not resolved as such, simply because my cabs are in storage, I am out gigging this weekend and will try some adjustments and see if I can improve things. It is awkward not having my cabs to hand but even then it's impossible to get a true picture until the whole band are playing....

I will let you know if things are improved over the next few shows - best wishes

It is really nice of you to be involved mate...Thanks.

I have linked the monitor out to the master so I can turn up monitor output from the master volume pot which is the best solution for live.

I have tried to check that the monitor is indeed linked properly to the master volume and it looks to be fine...

A small but relevant problem is that my cab is in storage until we next play a show, so I cannot fully check and adjust until the next gig. I may however rent a rehearsal studio room and try it through a hire cab. Saying that, you can never fully test without a full band being present....

Kind regards to all Kemperites

Quote from ewrath2

Regarding settings... make sure this little box is checked. If not the "cab" part of profile is going to your monitor output and your sound will be completely jacked up. When I first tried a KPA out the Guitar Center guys didn't know this so it sounded like ass. It's counter intuitive to have to click a box on to turn a feature off.... Please double check this and the "Monitor Output" volume before you rewire a cab - I had to go thru the same thing to get my stage volume.

FYI Kemper manual warns against loads of less than 8 ohms.

Thanks for taking the time to explain and photograph your unit.
I have checked the monitor cab off thanks... I am still perplexed as to why the ADA & Rocktron Poweramp combination is way louder than the Kemper.... both poweramp are rated at 150w into 16 ohms and 300w into 8 ohms. I use the same cab and the same settings of a medium output on the individual master programs but the Rocktron is blowing the Kemper on almost full out of the water whilst only on about 4 !!!

Quote from scramick

I run a 412 EVH Cabinet (16 ohms) and a Marshall with two V30's and two EVH GB's (all 16 ohm) running the two cabs in parallel to get me 8 ohms.
This is LOUD and comparable to my 50 watt Marshalls or EVH 5150iii 50 watt head.

My Marshall cab was wired in stereo until buying the Kemper: 4x16 ohm speakers split in pairs, which I believe would have been 2 lots of 8 ohms.

I rewired the cab back to mono 16 ohm for the PowerRack speaker output... maybe I should have left it?

SO, if you run two speakers how do you configure the single speaker output from Kemper to connect two speakers?

Quote from Alfi27

I totally understand your concerns, I did have them myself some time back. A few months ago I moved away for music school, bringing with me a shitload of gear including a Marshall stack and the Kemper Powerhead.

I have played a lot of guitar since then; live gigs, but mostly in a steamy and sweaty practice room with two or three other equally sweaty guys. Long story short: after fighting it way too long all the tube amps have to go, because the Kemper is simply the superior piece of kit in every way!

I mostly use it with custom Zilla cabs strategically ordered to maximise volume and headroom (8 ohm and 100db speakers), and when I try to turn the volume past five I start to get complaints and have to turn down again... Haha! If you get the cab rewired and it still won't play loud enough, you should borrow another cab with max 8 ohm and 100db speakers like V30s or G12H30s. I did actually notice a larger difference between 97/100db speakers than 8/16 ohm.

Just my two cents

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Cheers, this all sounds great, thanks for your input, I dunno who else reads this stuff but as a Pro working musician I have gone beyond the patience threshold of changing my entire rig or buying even more speakers that are just thrown around in order to fix a problem that shouldn't exist.

One reaches a point in gigging guitar life when it no longer is a n option to find oneself carrying more gear than necessary or throwing bad money after good in order to chase a problem...

If anyone out there can tell me if my old Marshall cab which is 4 x 25w Celestion 16 ohm
greenback speakers when reconfigured to 4 ohms and whether the result would be access to more volume SAFELY from the KEMPER and not suffer loss of tone?

I would be grateful....

Much love to my fellow KEMPERNISTAS

Quote from Nightwish2

Sounds like it would be a good idea to rewire the cab then to get 8 or 4 Ohm.

btw: how's the ADA MP-1 like? I own a few preamp units but not one of ADA and I'm thinking about getting one if they're worth it.

Mate, the ADA is monstrous, I am seriously reconsidering the idea of selling it and the Rocktron to pay towards the KEMPER. I had one back in the early 90's and used a Kitty Hawk PowrAmp and Aless Quadraverb with my Marshall wired in stereo. I could hold any note and it would feedback in perfect tune... doing Gary Moore feedback trick or Nazareths, 'This Flight Tinight' was a doddle

More recently, after retiring my old 5150 to studio duties I bought an old ADA on EBay and got a used Rocktron 300w poweramp, the sound isn't quite as good as my old valve poweramp rig but it is really is tight, sustains with clarity and cuts through the band like a razor.

The KEMPER has far more depth of tone and variation but this issue with lack of volume and the fear of smashing up a £1600 piece of kit on the road is unnerving to say the least !

Cheers x

Thanks brother, it may be not necessary as my cab is 16 ohms.... all I can say is my ADA/Rocktron combo is pure power, I never had the volume above 4 and have played some big shows, I fear the Kemper PowerRack will struggle to give me the horsepower I need at open air events.... admittedly it was the first outing for the Kemper this weekend, the sound was awesome but the lack of volume is worrying, especially as the KEMPER cost almost 10 times more than the current rig that I have been using !!!

Thanks for the input guys... sorry about the pun !

My cab is a really old 16 ohm Marshall, no 4 ohm sockets, just a regular single input.

I would have thought that maxing out the power amp volume AND the poweramp boost would be adequate for my needs... but the rig was still not cutting it at bigger venues.... plus, I dont like the idea of having everything on full throttle, I want to control the overal output with the Master Vol which is quick and efficient in a live scenario.
The idea of relying on editing individual performance profiles for volume changes sounds a most horrendous way to go.

I am aware that my issue is not totally relevant but I am genuinely intrigued as to why my Rocktron 300w poweramp is far louder and solid sounding than the KEMPER. going through the same 16 ohm cabinet....

Kind regards to all x

Hi brother, no 4 ohm input jack, it is an old Marshall cab with a single jack and four old greenbacks wired at 16 ohm.

I am intrigued as to why the 300w Rocktron solidstate poweramp is infinitely louder than the KEMPER powerack through the same speakers!

CHEERS x

Requesting some advice on using PowerRack with a Marshall 4x12 please.

I did my first shows with my brand new KEMPER PowerRack this weekend. I have a Marshall Celestion loaded cab wired in series rated at 16 ohms, and , I must be honest and say this set up isn't very powerful at all.... I am not a very loud player but my old rig, an old ADA MIDI preamp into Rocktron 300w poweramp then into the same cabinet blew the KEMPER into the middle of next week.

I rarely had the ADA and Rocktron amp above 4 on respective volumes but the KEMPER was running almost on full power to make it comparable to my old rig on less than half of its capability.

I obviously checked the speaker out was being used, checked speaker cable, engaged the poweramp boost, checked input and output settings, made sure MONO was set on monitor out, I pushed up individual output volumes of the rigs in performance mode, made sure cab was taken out of Monitor output, disengage noise gate... I got through the shows but I am not happy running the KEMPER at almost full throttle, it doesn't give me the same confidence I had with my old rig.

I assume that I could rewire my cab into 8ohms but would this fix the lack of volume issue?
I tested the cab with the ADA and Rocktron setup and the cables and the output volume achievable really is at least twice that of my PowerRack set at almost full.... I am confused and slightly worried....

Any advice is welcome - thanks

I always got great results DI'ing the bass and then using Ampeg SVX plugin.... You could run the Kemper with the Direct out plus a toppier, distorted sound via main output, then, when mixing blend it with the DI signal which is processed thru Logic or Ampeg amp sim or even revamp the DI back into the Kemper and EQ the more bassier tone whilst mixing...