Hey guys,
Had my first band practise with a KPA today, bit of a disaster, the poweramp i got cheap off ebay wasn't nearly loud enough (i'm gonna have to drop big money on one of those matrix's 
), so i ran the main outs into our PA and found it unusable untill i set the master out's volume to about -40. I assumed it'd just stay on zero. Even with it at minus 40 it was too hot and the noise was starting to get too much too. I assume i'm probably doing something wrong somewhere?
What desk are you using and how do you hook up the Kemper? Is there a PAD switch on inputs? The Profilers outputs are indeed hot, going to a mic in on a desk needs a low output setting on the master out of the Profiler. I get along well with a setting of -25dB on Main Volume.
Ok, so to troubleshoot tell me the following: Did you use XLR outs on your Kemper to XLR (mic in) on the Powermixer? How is the input gain set on the Powermixer? Can you go with TS cables to line ins on the mixer? Correct gain staging is mandatory for optimum results.
Well, a terrible powermixer might be sort of not doing the best sound to expect 
.So try connetcing to the Powermixers line in inputs with TS (guitar) cables, turn the channels gain down to minimum and check levels. You can turn the Profilers output level down to something like -95dB, this should suffice to match your powermixers inputs. Slowly bring the level up. If you can not achieve a satisfying level, the poweramp on the powermixer is not delivering enough power and/or the connected speakers are insufficient in regard of sensitivity, resulting in SPL too low to rock the house.
Check rig volume too, easily done by twisting the volume knob slowly. Normally it would be set to 0.0 dB. How does the output LED behave? Be sure to stay in the green/orange range to prevent output clipping.
I guess it's the terrible Powermixer, the Profilers outputs are very quiet unless your guitar picks up noise from lights/electrics at your rehearsal room. Good look!
Consider that a line out (like the Profiler's one) usually outputs in the 1 V magnitude, while a mic can output around 20 mV. This is the reason why a mic needs an amp on its own (called mic preamp). If you used a mic in ,and did not defeat the mic preamp, you actually made your signal about 10-50 times stronger (kind of preamplifying it twice). This also certainly raised the noise level a huge lot.
Should you happen to use that system again you should choose a line input, suited for 10-1000 mV signals. For example a keyboard in, an aux in, a tape return, or even an fx return if nothing of the above is available.
Reading this I remember that I had the same problems. Still there's no clear instruction in the manuals that explain exactly what to do (level wise) when you connect the KPA using the various options available.
I guess this is something that might lead some people to think that the KPA is not that good. In the end, however, it's rather a question of how to connect the unit and set the levels right. This is something that should be added to the manual immediately.
Before you spend big money ....
Check the Behringer EPQ900 (or 450)... cheap... loud as hell. I used to A/B those with my Matrix GT1000 and ended up keeping the Behringer. If you don't mind the extra weight of the EPQ and the noisy fan then have a look!
Reading this I remember that I had the same problems. Still there's no clear instruction in the manuals that explain exactly what to do (level wise) when you connect the KPA using the various options available.
I guess this is something that might lead some people to think that the KPA is not that good. In the end, however, it's rather a question of how to connect the unit and set the levels right. This is something that should be added to the manual immediately.
The output level of the Profiler is standard studio line level. This is the case for about all the outputs.
Do you ask us to give recommendations how to level a mixing desk correctly?
Turn down the gain of the channel strip and have the PAD button pressed, if existing, for line level signals.
These words can be found in the manual of every single mixing desk, I guess.
I had a similar experience the first time I plugged into PA - but I had been anticipating having to make some adjustment since I couldn't find the specific output rating (in layman terms "line level" or "instrument level") in either of the manuals (but the Reference manual does give the max output dBs on pge 91) -- so luckily, somehow, I knew to hit the "pad" button on the PA... and it sounds fine.
