Posts by e1614e36a3b051571d61cb8fdc50c4becad982a2

Here's an idea.
If you have only ever played solid state amps go to a music store and play though one at a decent volume. Then plug into a tube amp and play for a while (choose a low watt one and crank it a little) then go back to the solid state amp.

If you were blown away by the tube amps reaction to your playing buy a Kemper. If you were underwhelmed and didn't care much for the difference then buy any of the other ones....

If you loved the solid state more than the tube then buy anything Line6 and save about £1300. (sorry couldn't resist)

Mike

Hey

Please don't take this the wrong way but I feel you may be asking the wrong question.

A modeller or Profiler will sound relatively the same at full volume as low volume as you are not using volume to achieve tone. This helps with headphones, running though monitors, PA's etc. Due to this playing in an apartment only means any of the ones on the market will solve your problem.

I think the reason your question is not what should be asked is you have a lot of options on the market to solve the volume issue, it more depends on how you approach tone and with that in mind anyone saying "buy a Kemper" would, in my opinion, be wrong.

My view is this:

Hd500: if I used only clean sounds and wanted a load of mid range effects the HD500 would suffice. You will spend a lot of time trying to get a good amp sound especially if you like high gain amps. These are now really cheap now too.

Axe: if you need high quality effects with good to excellent amps, depending on how much you want to tweak the amp sounds, then the Axe seems to fit that bill. People rave about the effects on the Axe but opinions divided on the quality of the amp modelling.

Helix: if you want a lot of routing options, excellent effects with reasonable amp modelling the Helix, or Helix LT may fit the bill.

Kemper: if you want ultra realistic amp profiling, if you have never played a tube amp then the Kemper may not be able to show its quality to you, excellent effects, excellent routing options, but no dual amp like the Helix, then the Kemper will fit.

What I am saying is if you are a tone hound then Kemper will do everything you want. If you want loads of high quality effects the Axe may be the best option. If you don't care less about the quality of the sound and it's purely a volume issue then I would save your money and buy a second hand HD500x.

I play a lot in a converted room, I am in two bands but if I was playing at home only and knowing how my ears are I would still own the Kemper.

Hope this helps

Mike

String

I am looking at this one:

https://www.studiospares.com/A…C2nEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Not sure if it's of any use.

If you want Ethernet and USB I'm not sure there is one.

Mike

Tony

Remember you have to carry it to gigs, don't buy one that's too big. To me 8u was just to large, after 6 I would rather have 2 separate racks as the places in Liverpool you practice in are not always the most accomodating when carrying equipment for example listed buildings, narrow hallways, spiral staircase etc.

Just a thought mate

Mike

David

When I received mine, not so long ago, it required a firmware update and the new delay and pitch presets adding.

It's extremely easy to do just be aware updating firmware, adding rigs and adding additional pedal presets are 3 different steps.

Read the Read Me file and you will be fine.

Also whilst adding the presets search the forum for Wah Presets and add them too...... Well worth the effort.

Have a USB drive at the ready to do everything outside of adding Rigs as you already have Rig Manager installed.

Mike

Oh the Kemper is extremely shallow, even in the smallest case there will be loads of room behind so make sure you get a case with rails front and back or you will end up with space you will not be able to use in the future at the back of the case.

Mike

Dude

This is the most frustrating thing about owning a Kemper. Do I buy a Kemper? Yes... Done in a week. Do I buy a rack case? Yes... Do I buy 3u, 4u,5u,6u, do I buy full size, shallow...... Aahhhhh

Burnt my head out for ages.

My advise would be buy a shallow case, makes a huge difference. I own the 6u Gator shallow case and its brilliant. I got the 6u as I have my Kemper, a tray for my Shure wireless and Vl3x, then at the back I have a 19u power strip with enough room to add a 19u patch bay.

If I did it all again I would buy the same thing. I did look at 2x3u cases but the amount of plugging in power, midi cables etc meant I would be back to a slow set up.

As for the feet, they will fit fine, there is space above and below in a 3u rack. Just Google 3u Kemper rack and you will see pictures of the space

My final advise is think about what you want to add later such as a power strip, wireless unit, patch bay, so you don't damage the Kemper plugging and unplugging cables, as the difference in price is minimal if you buy bigger now.

If you want a link to my one I can find it for you.

Just my thoughts.

Mike

Thank you all, very good tips.

LesPauled whilst not what I was after as it requires online access this is still a great resource. I am very good and accurate at writing in my head and transposed this later at home and when I do I often use Web resources for scales that way when I do get home I know the riff, the notes for the riff and the scale without picking an instrument up. Knowing the scale helps me remember the rhythm or at least the pattern for the music.

MdeeRocks, downloaded and will try that out thank you. Looks ideal.

I am selling all my worldly distractions so finding other ways of utilising functionality in one device so I have my PC, Kemper, microphone and Gibson and that's it, no iPad, laptop, plugins I never use etc.

Cheers all

Mike

Oh I also own Chords and Scales for the PC but it's scales are very limited.

Hello all

When I'm writing music I generally have my iPad next to me Guitar Toolkit on. Once I come up with a riff I enter the notes in scale finder and pick an appropriate scale. I have written like this for years and it's great when playing lead as you have a quick reference scale.

The iPad is a pain due to constant updates, slowness when operating etc so I was wondering if any knows of any software that they possibly use with this function.

I have purchased Guitar Pro a while back and whilst it have this feature the Instrument Panel is small and not great for quick reference mid writing.

Any ideas?

The PC I use in my studio is offline so rules out any web based content.

Thank you

Mike

It was me being in All Performances in Rig Manager and not MyProfiler.... What a noob

Guys

Having a strange issue today. I have loaded up Rig Manager and started adding parts to a song. Now I have issues with Rig Manager and the Kemper talking to each other where I can change performances in Rig Manager but the Kemper does not update. This leads to performances being incorrectly overwritten as in the mire of recording you tend to forget about this intermittent issue. This happened again today as a patch without a phaser took place of one that I have spent an hour perfecting.

I am now having another issue.

*kemper on and in Performance mode
*Rig Manager on.

Go to performance, open the performance for the track I am working on so I can rename each patch in the performance to make sense on the Pedal board and also alter the tempo, now I can't edit anything. Changed cables, reboot PC, reboot Kemper..... Nothing, but if I hit Preview it works but loads the profile over a current one rather than changing the block. Is there a setting I am missing that has stopped the Kemper from being edited by Rig Manager.

Any ideas?

Starting to get to the point where the Kemper is becoming a distraction when writing music. I can't fault it for sound but 2 months in and I am finding myself behind the Kemper changing USB cables and restoring Performances the software has ruined or even worse spending an hour recreating the sound I have been working on.

Any help would be great as I don't want to have to upload all the profiles onto the Kemper so I have to edit everything on the unit.

Thank you

Mike

Chopshop

I would imagine you would do it the same as how I control my VL3X with the Kemper.

Footpedal to Kemper - Kemper Midi out to AxeFX Midi In.

Set the midi channel (default is generally 1 anyway) then in each profile set the midi out change Program Change to the right patch on the AxeFX.

Example.

On the Kemper I would set it to Performance. I would add an amp that I like to slot 1. Now in that amp I would go to midi, enable midi, then you can set which Program Change number to set. For example Program Change 1 would be patch one on the VL3X, PC would be patch two on the VL3X and so on.

Hope this helps.

Mike

OhG

Sorry mate it appears I responded thinking this was the case rather than stand post.

I have Google that stand and it looks very good. I may see what local shops have so I can taste it one the gator case arrives.

Cheers dude.

Mike

OhG

Cheers man, that looks brilliant. Can I ask how deep is your case? Part of what I am concerned about is the distribution of weight and it ending up being front heavy.

Thank you

Mike

Hello all

After a month or so with the Kemper I thought I would share my experience.

General Use
So far I have only really used the Kemper reamped into Cubase using an UR824 soundcard.
I mostly write Hard Rock/Grunge and I am the main writer, singer, lead guitarist and general pain in the arse.


First Usage
When I first started to use the Kemper I was seriously impressed. Not only was the amp profiling providing more than what I expected a recommended commercial pack of the JVM was an eye opener. I instantly did not miss my JVM.

I found from the moment I plugged it in it was very intuitive. The menu structure, whilst vast is memorable when used and I have yet to think to myself "where was that setting?" which is something I always struggled with when using modellers.


Few Weeks In
After updating, purchasing a few commercial profiles and getting Rig Manager I was ready to record. I found the Kemper extremely easy to use. The manual was very rarely referenced and the few videos I did watch were enough to get me going.

Once I was settled on a few commercial packs I started to record a few riffs. Now let’s just say the profiles are awesome and park the profiles for a second. The effects are brilliant. I absolutely adore the modulation effects, they don’t mix into the profile, they seem to sit underneath complementing the sound. What I mean by thid is the modellers I have used have always been too extreme, they kind of alter the initial sound to the point you are trying to EQ the basic sound back into the model. With the Kemper you have an amp profile, you turn up the delay and it does not really alter the amp sound just adds repetitions. In a nutshell the modulation effects can be very subtle.

Now I did run into a few issues, crap sound, not enough gain, hiss etc. and guess what…..it was all of my making. I changed my gain on the UR824 and was annoyed that I was back fiddling until I realised it was all my fault

The other thing I like is when I think “I wish I could do xxx” I find it in the Kemper. Can I save the input? Yes, can I save the output? Yes, can I blank off the profiles and upload my own? Yes. The saving of outputs and inputs is probably the biggest thing that made me gasp. It's no good creating an easy to cable live and studio rig if you have to spend 20 minutes setting up levels, setting EQ etc, no need to just save away, even save per venue, per practice room...... Brilliant.

Now Rig Manager I loved to start with, I used it as part of my work flow very quickly. Open Cubase, create a session, name it, open up Rig Manager, Create a performance, Name it the same as the song, record a riff, reamp it, check which amps I want to use, add this to the Performance…..done.

Now whilst the Kemper does perform above expectations unfortunately Rig Manger does not perform even fundamentally with how it’s designed; well not for me anyway. Example:

• Open up Cubase
• Create a session
• Name the Session
• Open up Rig Manager
• Create a Performance
• Name the performance
• Record a riff
• Reamp

Now the problems start.

Rig Manager will allow you to audition a sound without issue, but in Performance mode it does not always save to the Kemper, even worse the performance you are in does not always correlate with the Kemper meaning you sometimes overwrite settings you have worked extremely hard on for another track. This is my only really area of frustration with the Kemper as a free Times it has sucked me out of the creative process to sit and recover the sounds from a backup or have to remember and recreate the sounds.

A Month In
Well I love this device and my writing has improved. I also find when I am struggling to build on a riff having so many fantastic sounds at my fingertips has lead me in the right direction. I find the unit inspiring and fun to use.

There is one thing that is a huge bonus and the reason I love this more than anything……..I play and don’t edit. I was honestly scared of moving back to a modeller/profiler after owning a tube amp as once I bought an amp my playing greatly improved. I started to love having limited options but with the Kemper if you want to have 1000 amps and tweak away you can, if you want to buy your favourite profiles and stick with them you can do that too.


What would I change?
Rig Manager and its synchronisation needs to be improved.

Can I say editor without being lynched LOL.

I honestly do not think the unit needs one as the unit is extremely simply to use but the fact the Kemper is in the studio, then moved to a practice room, and then back again means it cannot sit in a fixed rack on the desk all cabled in and within arms reach. It’s in a 6u shallow Gator case across the room of placed untidy and inconveniently within arms length. It would be great to be able to place the Kemper in an area where I practice at home (no computer distraction) which is close enough to edit whilst practicing then I can leave it there, run a long USB cable to the PC and not have to move it when recording.


What do I love?
Performance Mode

Variation of sound

As simple as you need meaning if you want a simple, amp with a few pedals setup, you can have it. If you want to alter sag (shame women over a certain age don't come with this feature), deep level EQ, every knob possible on a delay you can.

The sheer simplicity in the design ensuring it’s easy to edit.

Less cabling than using pedals although I have still yet to connect the 2 Mission pedals.

And a big thank you
To the guys and gals profiling amps and providing free/commercial profiles to us thank you.

Also a big thank you to Monkey_Man who via PM recommending some awesome profiles of the JVM providing me with a fantastic reference point.

Cheers all

Mike

Afternoon all

I have been enjoying the Kemper so much I have not posted in a while. I've been writing so much more since I bought the Kemper it's been a lot of fun. In fact I am now writing what I have always wanted to write. Buying a few commercial amps and then restraining myself was the key.

Now a while back I was looking for advice on a rack case as it was frustrating the life out of me. I purchased one which was a 55 deep 6u which was just to big with loads of redundant space. I have now ordered a shallow 6u gator from Thomann so I am waiting for it to arrive. I also bought a cheap pedal case for the floorboard and 2 mission pedals which I have yet to use.

Now I have a question; what do you guys use as a stand. For example something like an amp stand with the DXR on the floor and the 6u on the bars.

Any recommendations that would be portable and can be purchased in the UK would be great. I would like to take it to gigs with me too so I am not looking for a chair to put it on.

I feel like this is the last piece of a very expensive jigsaw.

I want to write a review of my experience with the Kemper after a month or so of ownership which will follow shortly.

Cheers guys

Mike

Man

When I gigging about 15 years ago I remember our other guitarist using a Boss GT5 if I remember correctly.

Playing in a university a guy dropped then kicked his pint and soaked the pedal.... Instantly died.

The guy borrowed money off me and bought a Line6 pedal....... 4 months later some guy headbanging with his bottle in his hand splashed the Line6...... Dead.

I would never buy a floorbox that houses everything after that experience.

Just my personal view.

Mike

On a plus note though I used modelling pedals for years, same gigs as him no issue lol.

Guys

How do you find the Gator cases in terms of having the lid on the floor. Is it to deep to access the pedal and does it slide about.

Still paralyzed by indecision but we start jamming again next week and I can't wait to take my Kemper but only if it's protected.

I gather you can't fit a pedal near the to the kemper..... That's what's lid twos for I guess lol.

What is stopping me is I want a 4u but I don't think I can fit the Vl3x in there too which would be awesome.

I may just need to buy one and try.

Thank you

Mike

Cheers MrSpag

It is a tough decision. My one is powered although I don't need the power it's just backup.

I just can't decide what to do and my biggest worry is ending up with a shed loads to carry.

In your 4u can your floorboard fit on the lid and if so how many pedals can you fit on?

I'm almost at the point I think a none shallow version with the Kemper at the front with a tray at the back to house the Vl3x and wireless pedal. Then utilize the two lids, one for the floorboard and one for the pedals.

I wish I had a place I could test a few.

My other though is to get rid of the vocal effects and buy a 4u..........

Too many bloody options

Cheers dude, I'll take a look at the link

Mike