Posts by FormerRogues

Hi everyone.

The Parallel Path was designed for bassists, but this feature also offers something great for ambient guitarists. Enabling the Parallel Path and setting modulation effects in A and B with the effects set 100% Wet allows more control over making pad style effects. The Parallel Path allows drippy or atmospheric reverbs, crazy delays, etc., to sit much better under your main guitar tone, and this trick really helps if you like playing with gain, but want pristine ambient sounds. I would highly recommend that you try this out.

However, I am wanting to know if there is also a way to enable/disable the Parallel Path using the FX footswitches (I, II, III, IIII). When you disable a modulation/time-based effect in the Parallel Path, your guitar DI signal comes through. This isn't always so pleasant.

I understand that there are a few workarounds - Creating identical Rigs where one has the Parallel Path and the other doesn't, or using the Morph function to turn down the volume of an effects output in the Parallel Path - but does anyone know if you can actually Enable/Disable the Parallel with use the FX footswitch to both bypass the effect and disable the Parallel Path?

Maybe this is just me overthinking things when the Morph function should work well enough, but any tips would be welcomed.

Any time a new piece of gear hits the market people start saying it's the next best thing, and all the older models will be obsolete. Here is the funny thing though, all modellers and profiling amps are trying to recreate the sounds of an otherwise obsolete technology. No one is using tubes in their TVs, their radios, and the vast majority of consumer audio devices, save for audiophiles and guitarists.

That being said, with so many people thinking Kemper needs a V.2, I think we should be happy that there is one product on the market that is being constantly updated and still works, and still sounds amazing. Kemper doesn't need a V.2 to compete with the Quad Cortex, or any other modeller. Kemper doesn't even need to profile pedals, if your purpose of getting a Kemper was to replace your pedal board and amp. Profile pedals in your amp's signal chain.

What Kemper could do is work on the profiling algorithm. Not because of the EQ that some people hear, or don't hear, but because the Kemper cannot accurate profile ALL amps. For the life of me, I cannot get my VHT Pittbull 50/ST profiled and refined to sound accurate. I also have struggled to make accurate bass amp profiles, albeit the Kemper wasn't initially designed to profile bass equipment. So, if the Quad Cortex can more accurately capture and profile these 'hard to profile' amps, it has a slight edge over the Kemper, and Kemper should find some way to work on this issue.

I've successfully profiled a number of other amps in my own collection, as well as from friends and band mates, but I have always encounters a couple of amps that just do not quite get captured correctly, or in some cases even remotely closely. Figure out a way to solve this, and the Kemper will remain as relevant as ever.

Oh, also, more flexible parallel signal routing options for bassists would be great. That is one area where the Cortex and the Helix seem to be better, is in routing flexibility. When I play bass, it would be nice to choose where to split and merge my parallel signals, but I have found a useable workaround for playing live, and in the studio, I don't use the Kemper that often for bass, and just route through my pedals, amps, and DI as needed, then mix them all together in my DAW. If the Kemper figured out a bit more flexible parallel signal routing, I'd probably just record bass it with instead of using my other gear.

On a final note, I was discussing this with my band mates last night. Both one guitarist and I use Kempers, and our other guitarist is interested in getting into either the Quad Cortex or the Kemper. Any differences in profile fidelity between the Kemper or the Cortex will only be relevant in isolation. Since every youtuber comparing the Kemper and the Cortex have done soloed A/B comparisons, my bet is that in a mix, we'll be hard pressed to hear any difference between the Kemper and the Cortex. It's a bit silly to think that isolated tones are the benchmark of a good profile, because anyone who has spent time in the studio or behind the mix desk knows that what sounds good in isolation often sounds terrible in a mix.}

Either way, I can't see any reason to buy a Cortex or even a V.2 Kemper when my stage does nearly everything I need it to. As for the hard to profile amps, I can just record them in my home studio when tracking, and use a different profile when I play live. There are so many bands who use different gear in the studio and in live situations, and the vast majority of listeners can't tell the difference. Let's be happy that Kemper has kept our products up-to-date and will continue to do so.

I had a change to get a Sig:X and missed the boat. I look forward to getting home after the holidays to try these profiles out. VHT/Fryette is way up there for amp tones that I like. Thanks.

Howdy bassists and others,

I have acquired a Darkglass Microtubes 900 and am trying to create clean, crunch, and distortion profiles from the DI output. However, I am running into a few problems:

1. When I level match the Reference Amp to the Profiler Amp, I can set a good level BUT the Kemper's profiling input signal into the amp and into my Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 ends up clipping

2. When I lower the MT900 gain and/or preamp input gain so the Kemper does not clip, the resulting profile volume is WAY lower than the Kemper Profile I was level matching with. The Profile use has a -6db on the Amp block, but I need to boost my MT900 Amp block to +12 and it is still quieter in comparison.

About the Profiling setup:

1. Clean Profile is selected

2. No Cabinet is selected

3. I have tried in Reaper to use no channel or master fader effects, and have also tried using the ReaXComp and a limiter to bring up the DAWs output volume. Either still results in low Profile volumes.

I don't want to keep clipping my preamp input signal, but I also cannot get a good volume match. Any help, tips, or advice for getting better bass amp DI profiles?

Thanks Awesome_Elvis

DonPetersen haha, good catch on the typo, or else you have an impressive ear.

deadman42 my SG is really dark, and I did find the Bea version a bit bright with the Juggernauts as well. I will keep experimenting with different guitars. I am sure other cool sound are there somewhere.

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up an Orange OR15, which joins my Kemper Stage and my VX Kraken. After some days of recording with my band, I have been messing around with amp blending and decided to try my hand at making a profile this way. The final result came pretty close to the original tone, so I wanted to share it around and see what people think.

The blend is my VX Kraken on Gain 2 with the OR15's gain set around 1 o'clock. Both amps ran into the same 412 IR with a single SM7B. I added a post-signal high and low pass at 100Hz and 12500Hz, plus a -2.5dB notch at 250Hz and 4000Hz, to help tame the signal. The rigs available on the Rig Exchange are the same profile, just tweaked to two different guitars I own, which have very different pickup characteristics. Each rig name corresponds to a different guitar: SG being my 1972 Ibanex SG lawsuit with Greco Screamin' 82 pickups (dark guitar, brighter profile), and Bea being my Chapman ML3 Bea with a Bare Knuckle Juggernaut.

Your can find the rigs under:
Minotaur SG
https://www.kemper-amps.com/ri…load/8KTA23BEuNLXccemdZ6F
Minotaur Bea
https://www.kemper-amps.com/ri…load/4gR9if9X8WREgmaOPQmo

Let me know what you think.

The band I play in from Oslo, Norway, recently released an EP of old songs tracked over a year ago (guitars/bass recorded with a Kemper or loadbox + IR). We are demo recording four new songs and I am really looking for comments on where we can improve our recording/mixing for these new songs.

https://raatemusic.bandcamp.com/releases

We have more on Spotify and Apple music, but getting thoughts on the guitar/bass tones and the mix would be awesome because I really want to step up our recordings.

Cheers.

I think it will be cool to see that the QC offers, and not whether it will be subjectively 'better' than a Kemper, but how it will be different from a Kemper. The new tech can certainly open doors to creative people who will try using it in imaginative ways. This, for me is the real potential of the QC. If 4 amps simultaneously are possible, that is an insane wet/dry/wet+ another wet/dry rig.

For anyone who has ever tried to do wet/dry or wet/dry/wet in analog...not the easiest to patch, match or move. The QC could be the mobile version of this.

I think a lot of people are caught up in the hype or trying to defend and justify their previous purchases, instead of seeing the different possibilities.

Is the Kemper perfect for everyone? No. Is it perfect for you? Perhaps. Will we ever find the perfect rig? We can all hope but everything comes with pros and cons.

I have faced a few limitations switching to Kemper from a pedalboard+amp setup, but my analog rig had limitations that the Kemper rectified. The Kemper opens WAY more tones and streamlines my studio workflow and live shows, but I wish I had more stomp options. In the end, I found great tone workarounds that are just as good, but different, from what I came from. To me, that is the beauty of a Kemper.

Mind you, the Kemper tones I like are not the tones my bandmates like, so subjective choices abound. If you like the Kemper, keep your Kemper. If you like the QC, get a QC. If both work for you but give you different option that you want or need, get both.

I am just stoked to see in more detail what the QC can do, and how it might inspire new sounds for Kemper users. I hardly think Kemper will suddenly become old tech and be obselete, considering we are all trying to capture a subjectively obselete technology - tube amps.

That is also a plan when we have a full few days to tone test, cabinet and mic swap, etc. I had a good time going some studio profiles with one of the guitarists.

Awesome.

I am already profiling with a Two Notes Captor and the Wall of Sound suite as an IR loader. Already the BlendIR program came to my attention.

It is a bit tought to mic up my cab and 50W amps in an apartment 'studio' where we track guitars and bass. Using IRs has been a godsend for the band. Thankfully I have access to some spaces over evenings and weekends where I can mic up, but the gear tear down/set up/tear down again is never worth it for tracking. I hooe that I can get the IR recording figured out and get closer to capturing our tone.

Of course, the Kemper is great for profiling a studio setup, but one guitarist uses a CAB M pedal for live gigs with his Mark V:25, and we haven't converted him to a Kemper yet. The IR is also a great solution for quick live setup and control over what FOH recieves from us.

Honestly, I have the FV500s because I got them cheap and they worked well with pedals before I switched to Kemper. I certainly got used to them, and like that I can get a good feel of control because they are so bit. Now that I have the smoothness sorted out, the Kemper is a DREAM (not like it wasn't before, but the live performances with ambience are just so much better).

I also use a volume pedal as a manual mute. When the pedal is so big and gives a visual indication that it is off, troubleshooting the dreaded 'no volume' when playing live is pretty simple. It is also handy for home playing, recording and profiling as well. I just slam that sucker down.

That's Wheresthedug
Good to know the Kemper is capable. I will spread the news and test this out in the new year.

Just to be sure, ALL effects/amp/cab blocks should be disabled/turned off, then I can run a sine wave or white noise signal from my DAW and interface, into the Kemper's Input and out of the powered Output, correct?

I don't actually own a powered Kemper, just a Stage, so knowing the routing would be helpful. Thanks.

Hi everyone.

I've become interested in creating my own guitar cabinet impulse responses and would like some help and suggestions regarding a power amp.

Is it possible to use a powered Kemper, with all slots disabled (effects/amp/cab), as a power amp to send an IR sine signal through? Or would you recommend a stand-alone solid-state power amplifier?

Also, I am considering purchasing an Orange Terror Bass which has a class D solid-state power amp (I have a Kemper Stage for live shows that I send to my bass amp's FX return for stage volume). In theory, I could route signals through the FX return to bypass the tube preamp, and use the Terror as the power amp. What are the chances that this could work?

Some things I have learned but am still wondering about:
- Most people say that a 'neutral' and 'low distortion' solid state power amp is best for capturing IRs. Does the Kemper or a solid-state bass amp power section provide a 'neutral' sound? What budget power amps would you recommend (I am looking at a QSC GX5 that is locally available on the used market)
- I will need convolver software, of which there are many to choose from, but are there any specific recommendations?

Other notes:
- I am aware I can use third-party IRs, and I do this regularly. My band wants to create IRs of our own gear so we get closer to our own tone.
- I have all the necessary equipment, EXCEPT a power amp, to do this process
- I understand that I shouldn't use a guitar amplifier, especially a tube power section, because this can colour the IR tone. Tone colouration might be better for people who want to use only a guitar preamp section when recording, but I probably will skip this because I would like to load my IRs into my Kemper to use with different amps.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, especially from people who have tried out some different IR creation techniques.

Update. I remembered that the FV-500 series has a Min-Max dial on the left side. I always had this set to Max for maximum travel on the pedal. Adjusting towards the Min made the travel play better with the Kemper.

The pedal is much smoother with swells now, after finding the 'sweet spot' using the dial.

Well, I am glad that I am not the only one having these travel issues.

Guavadude I can't believe I didn't think of just putting the FV500 volume in FRONT of the Kemper. Duh...

I do need my volume to go right to zero, since I use a lot of feedbacking effects. Need to kill things, and due to some stupid modifications from the previous owner, I have a tone of unnecessary dip switches on my bass guitar that impedes easy access to the volume pot. Anyways, I will just pull the volume pedal out and try it in front, but I will also check out the other forum. Perhaps there is a better and more smooth pedal out there for me.

I am using a Boss FV-500H as a volume pedal and a Boss FV-500L as an expression pedal for my Kemper stage.

My issue is I feel like I do not get the full range of the pedal with the Kemper. Say on a scale of 0-100, 0-20 has no change and 80-100 has no change. Seems like there is some ineffective range with the pedal and the Kemper.

Is there anyway to improve the pedal calibration so I can get more control with volume swells?

NOTE: both FV pedals are set to their maximum range on their side pot.

I came to the Kemper from a Boss ES-8 switcher and a huge pedal board. The Kemper really did a lot to improve my tone, but I am also keen on testing this hybrid approach, since most of the effects I use are reverbs and delays. I like the idea of being able to use a real amp for recording, but rely on the Kemper for certain effects so I can downsize the number of pedals I have.

The 4CM seems like the most appropriate way to do this, and it seems like BrentKer has the right idea. (I also saw he has another post on the same topic).

If anyone has tried using the Hybrid approach, I would like to hear about if it went well or if there were problems. I will test this out myself and see, since my ES-8 is going up for sale.

At the practice space and live (when playing with my pedalboard before I bought a kemper), I always used the FX return/Power Amp in, since I had my tone dialed and sent to FOH anyways.

The power amps that seem most convenient and best priced are definitely geared towards guitarists, so I really have no knowledge or experience with power amps aside from using a tube or solid state amp.

Hi everyone,
I am curious to see what the bassist here are using to push a cabinet with an unpowered Kemper (toaster/rack/stage). Also, I am curious about suggestions.

After looking at FRFR cabinets, I think I might be more satisfied using the FX loop return of a bass amp into a cabinet paring of my choice. I run the Kemper without a cabinet section anyways, and this would just be for on-stage volume. My direct signal would still be sent to FOH.

The Orange Terror Bass has caught my eye, and from experiencing technical issues, I think using a bass amp for live playing offers a redundancy plan. If the Kemper has an issue, I can at lease use an amp (+DI out) to keep the show going, and only lose out on my effects.

Thoughts, ideas, opinions on live monitoring solutions?