..and using Spdif is so easy, takes up less space, inputs and sounds great. The converter is very inexpensive. Here is the one I have that I use with my Apollo x4 Coax-to-Optical Digital Audio Converter Adapter
How the SPDIF tone compares to the main outs tone? Better, worse, equal?
This could seem a nonsense question, because we know Kemper profiles integrate mic preamps contribution, and you can add reverb and equalization by pressing a button.
But imagine that you want to integrate the Kemper into your actual studio, who contains a lot of outboard gear like mic preamps, reverbs, enhancers, compressors, and so on...how do you connect the Kemper to your existing outboard?
Imagine you want to add color and warmth of your favorite mic preamp, like Golden Age Pre 73.
Imagine you want to add clarity and detail with your favorite enhancer/signal processor like BBE Sonic Maximizer or Aphex Aural Exciter.
Imagine you want to add the color and depth of your favorite rack reverb, that could be a Lexicon MX400 for example.
Imagine you want to add the punch and color of your dream analog/tube/optical compressor like LA-2A, 1176 or dbx.
In all these situations, can you run the main outs of the Kemper directly into the input of the preamp/enhancer/reverb/compressor? Do you have to take special precautions? Do you need additional gear, like a DI box, between the Kemper and the outboard?
All suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks a lot.
I did a lot of tests in the last weeks and I found that the Kemper, similarly to a real tube amp, reacts well to some pedals, bad to other pedals.
For example, it takes very well my Hermida Dover Drive and Buffalo FX Evolution overdrive, but it's meh with the MXR FET Driver and the Boss BD-2.
And the FET Driver is very similar to the Dover Drive, they're both solid state clones of the famous Butler Tube Driver, but the first one sounds awesome, the second one like a Guitar Rig overdrive emulation.
So my idea it's that it depends...it depends on the pedal, on the circuit, probably on the output impedance also.
Hi,
if you have a Kemper, you have probably tried at least once to connect an analog pedal like on a classic tube amp. I tried 3 configurations:
- input
- loop mono
- loop distortion
founding that the result is almost identical. I didn't notice a big difference in tone.
I also found that I can get more punch and fullness, turning down volume and gain on the pedals, so leaving more headroom. This is quite different from the behaviour of a tube amp, where the more you boost the volume with pedals (TS9 for example), the more the amp sounds better
And you? What is your experience using analog pedals with Kemper?
SeanChristopher gave me an idea.
I'm not able to create a Kemper pofile of my amps because I can't crank them up too loud, but I was thinking if I can send to my USB audio card the normal audio output of the Profiler (including all effects+amp+cab), and a second signal without the cabinet part (effects+amp), then applying custom IRs on my DAW via a plugin like NadIR or Poulin LeCab, and mix them up to have more body and fullness.
Is it possible using the many rear outs of the Kemper, or not?
You don't need CabMaker any longer. The latest Rig Manager allows you to import IRs directly. You can then change IRs via the Cab slot. It works best if you use Direct Profiles or Merged Profiles that had the amp profiled separately from any speaker cab.. If you change the cab in a studio profile, the profiler has to guess the point in the profile where the amp ends and the cab begins. Some like it and some don't.
You and others assume that everyone can install the latest Rig Manager. This is not always true 
I'm a Windows7 user, so I'm stuck with Rig Manager 2.3 and I need the CAB Manager for sure.
I also thought of the utility of Direct or Merged Profiles, but how can I spot them? I have thousands of profiles on Rig Manager, both free and commercial. Some of them are labeled as NO CAB, DIRECT, NO CAB JUST PREAMP. Are these the Direct profiles, so they contain only the amp part without the cab?
With the Merged profiles, instead, the cabinet is separate from the amp, right? So I can replace the stock Cabinet with any IR I want?
Kemper and custom IRs.
Let's talk about this.
In the download section of the site, there is an application called CAB Maker that allows you to import third-part IRs on the Kemper that replace the Cabinet block on the Kemper, so you can use a custom IR instead of the stock Cabinet block. In this way, you can play your favorite tube amp today on a Greenback, tomorrow on a Creamback, but also on a V30 or a G12-T75 if you want, getting always different sonic nuances.
So far the theory.
But the practice?
Have any of you ever done this? What results did you get compared to the sound made with the stock cabinet contained in the profiles?
Spdif allows me to record both the stack and the direct signal for reamping (git/stack option) in an easy way.
Also its simpler in terms of cabling.
But the analog inputs sounds ever so slightly beefier so that's also a good option.
You mean the SPDIF recorded tone is thinner and more chirurgical? Are you sure? Did you make an A/B test SPDIF/Analog inputs?
I was thinking of passing to the SPDIF output of the Kemper, I thought it could improve my tone, but your message surprised me... Is it the audio card's preamp that beef up the sound?
Just to say that, by chance, I discovered a pedal that seems made just for me.
https://www.tcelectronic.com/C…TAP-RIFF-RECORDER/p/P0CM1
Unlike the TC Ditto, Digitech JamMan, Boss RC-1 and loopers in general, this thing doesn't do overdub when pressing the footswitch. It closes the recording, and the pedal is ready to record a new phrase.
I'm using it since a couple of days, and I'm very happy! I can browse profiles, as well as tweak FX parameters (delay, modulations, reverbs, compressors, and so on...) by pressing the Play button. Instead of tweaking a single parameter, playing, recording my phrase, listening to the new recorded track, then tweaking again,playing again, etc...till I'm satisfied with my tone, with this tiny metal box I can tweaking multiple parameters and amp profiles at time while listening my phrase.
It's like having a guitarist close to you: you can concentrate at 100% on your tone!!
Very time-saving!!
With the advantage that the differences you're hearing beween two tracks, are not due to your playing, but only to different amp profile, power sagging, pick, definition, speed, rate, feedback, pre-delay, and so on, becase you're recording EXACTLY the same phrase/riff played continuously through different Kemper parameters.
After a recent gig where my MIDI controller decided to stop working, I had to play just with ONE profile and use my guitar's volume knob and pickups to control the gain.
A couple of friends came to me after that to ask me what I did to my sound as my guitar tone was the best they have ever heard from me. Needless to say I was shocked after that... So it's definitely possible to do it.
It depends...
if you play Carcass, you don't need even the guitar's volume knob. 10/10, bridge pickup, done!
If you play hard rock, so your tones goes from crunch to lead, you can do your job with the guitar's volume knob and by switching bridge/neck PU.
BUT....If you play prog (Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Opeth), if you play some old stuff like Queen, you cannot complet a gig with only 1 profile.
For example, do you think you can play this song with just 1 profile?!
Been there, done that. It’s just not that big a deal.
I know many guitarist who complained about the lack of XLR output in the Strymon Iridium. And we talk about a 400€ amp simulator.
Think of how they would accept the lack of XLR outputs in a 700-800€ digital pedalboard....
Nice concept, but such a thing would be not very functional.
I challenge anyone to do an entire gig with 4 buttons and no XLR output, but a Kemper Mini about the size of an HX Effects then with 8/6 buttons arranged on 2 rows, with the same display of the Kemper toaster, with the same 4 stomps in pre and 4 stomps in post, with 2 XLR outputs in addition to the 2 mains outputs, but with some restrictions like:
- no profiling
- no possibility of making it amplified
- not all the knobs of the head/rack versions, so it must be managed largely by a PC editor
- a number of saved rigs limited to 50-100 for example
at a listing price of 700-800 €, would cut off at the knees to all competitors.
Who loves all the physical buttons for adjustments on the fly (like me), who wants to make it amplified, who love his rack, who wants to keep a zillion of rigs and profiles on the machine, can still choose the toaster or the rack.
By the way, not everyone is interested in profiling his pedals and amps, and moreover not everyone has the knowledge and gear (mics, audio card, preamps) required to perform a good profile of his rig. For most users, the Kemper is a convenient way to have access to a list of amplifiers they could never afford like Cornford, Hamstead, Hiwatt, Dumble, Mesa, and so on...
The fact is that market no longer thrives towards the heads and racks as 10-15 years ago, but towards the desktop minipedalboards (Fractal FM3, HX Stomp, HX Effects, POD Go, Hotone Ampero, Mooer GE200, Quad Cortex ). A small pedalboard for live gigs with 4-6-8 footswitches, that can be used as a desktop practice/recording amp also.
Hi all
I wonder if anyone had ever connected his Kemper to a synthesizer. Yes, a synth with white and black keys 
Is it possible to route the outcoming signal from the synth into the Kemper and use just modulation, delay and reverb effects?
Can I connect it into the input jack, like guitar or bass?
I want to avoid a new piece of gear like TC G-Major2 or Alesis Microverb just for ambient effects.
Thanks a lot for the help
I don't need advanced looping functions.
By "external footswitches" you mean a generic footswitch, like the ones used for channel switching on a tube amp?
Hi all
I have a KPA head. No Remote.
I've see the official tutorial where the Loop function is explained, but it uses the Remote Controller.
I wonder if the KPA allows to record a short clip, put it in loop, then browse different profiles and performances. I'd use this to audition different amps and cabs, without having to play the guitar. In other words, can the Loop function be used only if you have the Remote Controller?
Is it possible to record a short clip and put in playback, if you only have the KPA head?
If the answer is NO, do I need a looper pedal like the Digitech Jam Man XT or the Boss RC3?
Thanks a lot
Hi,
I have a Vox V847A wah-wah pedal and an Ernie Ball VP JR volume pedal. Can I use them with a Kemper head, like with a regular guitar amp? Can I connected them to the KPA input with a standard guitar cable, or does I need a special adapter?
Does the Mission Engineer EP1-KP pedal pedal have any particular functions that I wouldn't have with my Vox and Ernie Ball pedals?
Thanks a lot
I heard the broken LED issue, but I read also that is a defect well know repaired as free by Kemper. Did I understand wrong the Kemper policy?
Apart from that issue, are there common issues with the Kemper? Something that happens most frequently?
I read that the repair is very expensive, some users spent 300-400€ for a fix out of warranty.
Good morning beatiful people,
do you know if it's possible to change the front panel from white to black, and conversely? Does Kemper sell the front panel apart, or are there thirdy part manufacturers who sell it?
Yes, it's just a cosmetic change, but if it's easy to replace it...why not?
Are there some tutorials who explain how to perform the substitution?
Thanks a lot
Hi,
I have the opportunity to get a used Kemper head with no warranty for 1000€ from a private, and an ex-demo Kemper head for 1200€ with 24months of warranty from a guitar store.
Which should I buy?
I'd like to save my money, but what is the cost of a hypothetical reparation?
What would you do in my shoes?
Wetnosedog I read your experience at the Fractal forum...I don't know if you choose Kemper for the rude treatment you received, or because it fits better to your needs. I hope the second....You have to play with the AXE FX, not with the forum owner or other users...
FWIW, I'm also registered in the Fractal forum, I asked some serious questions about the limits of AXE FX and if suits better to metal players, rather than blues and rock players. The answer from the moderator was:
QuoteThere are tons of pros and amateurs alike using the Axe-Fx for non-metal. You have a biased world view that you're painting with when you say stuff like this.
I didn't reply, because I'm experienced enough to understand the mood. When you start shifting the focus from reality to interlocutor, from facts and numbers to the person who's speaking....well, you can figure that arguments and flames are just around the corner.
I left the discussion and the Fractal forum on tiptoe.
Isn't it the same as the Wahmmy DT? The DT is a Wahmmy with a built in The Drop. Same company, same technology.
Some time ago I tested the Drop pedal against the Transpose in the Kemper and didn't find an improvement with the Digitech pedal, so it went back.
Any of them work ok with distortion and are unusable with clean tones.
I know very well the Digitech Whammy pedal, but never had it.
All I know is that the Digitech Drop works fine as 1st stomp into an analog FX chain. I'm not sure if it goes crazy in the Kemper's input for whatever reason: additional AD/DA conversion, impedance mismatch, other...
I'll try when I'll put my hands on the toaster
