KPA on the Way!

    I'm really excited (and somewhat nervous :) ) as I have a Kemper on the way! Should be delivered tomorrow. This will be a good weekend!


    I've owned an Axe FX II for about a year and a half. I've always been fairly happy with it but over the last few months I've really been impressed by clips and videos in which I've heard the Kemper in action. I've already read the manuals and downloaded a lot of rigs from the exchange, as well as a few commercial ones including the Amp Factory. I think I'm ready to dig in.


    My main complaint with the Axe is that I just spend too much time tweaking, which can be fun, but at other times it can be incredibly frustrating. I'm sick of tweaking and want more time to play. One of the big negatives about the Axe is dependence on IRs. I've never felt that the stock cabs in the Axe were that great. There's only a handful that really work for me and I find they require a lot of EQing to sound decent in a recording. I've spent way too much time trying out various IRs (both free and commercial) only to be disappointed, generally speaking.


    I really like the idea that a rig is a combination of an amp, cab, mics, etc. These elements are specifically chosen by the creator of the rig to arrive at the intended tone. For the most part, I figure that I'll audition rigs and if I like 'em...good. If not, I'll move onto a different one. I'm not against tweaking to a certain extent but I've had it with spending hours starting from scratch with the Axe trying to "build" a tone from the ground up. I think the modeling in the Axe is awesome but it's the cab (IR) that makes up a huge chunk of your tone and that's always the stumbling block with the Axe. In the end, the Axe with all its complexity and massive feature list, ends up being limited by IRs.


    Don't get me wrong, I've gotten some great tones from the Axe and it has some features that I really like. But, if I can get results easier with the Kemper I'll be a happy camper.


    By the way, I'm mainly a high-gain metal/hard rock type of player, though I do enjoy playing a little blues and jazz fusion as well. I found it fairly easy to get a good 80s metal tone with the Axe, but for modern high gain sounds it was a different story. Not only did the dependence on IRs make things too limiting, I've always felt that there's always been something lacking with most of the super high gain amps in the Axe. They seem to have too much of a "stiff and artificial" feel. I'm hoping the Kemper will be different in this regard as well.


    Anyway, looking forward to trying it out and being an active member of the forum. I'll be sure to offer my thoughts after I've had a chance to work with it a while.

    Welcome aboard.


    I reckon just with the stock Lasse Lammert, Keith Merrow and Ola Englund Profiles packs you'll have your hi gain/metal tones out the box.
    Even though in many cases tweaking isn't necessary, the KPA is actually fun to tweak because it's just so easy.


    All the best.

    Welcome!


    I'm sure you will find what you are after with the high-gain sounds - I'm in the same boat after tweaking an Eleven Rack for the last 3 years - want to spend less time crafting tones, and more time playing. Hope the KPA works out for you and post your initial thoughts when it arrives.


    All the best,


    -Tonerider

    The FX is an awesome piece of gear, the effects and routing of them much so.


    That said, you'll be floored when you get some great Amp Factory profiles of the amps you love. So budget a little extra.


    There are a number of good commercial sellers, Soundside, Pete, Till, etc, but for $8 bucks an amp, or killer sounding packs, TAF is the bomb.


    Try his free stuff first. Some come bundled, others are free on his website.


    Come a year and a half from now, you won't have the same issue with the Kemper. You'll still be quite thrilled with how real it sounds, and how much more you play the guitar instead of fooling around (although you will and can do that on the KPA too)

    Quote from deadpan

    Welcome, You should have no problem with high gain sounds on the Kemper. What specific style of metal are you going for?


    I'm a fan of many different types of metal tones, not necessarily any in particular. I'm hoping to cover all the bases. The genres I listen to most are melodic death, technical death, and progressive.


    Probably my all time favorite tone is a 5150 or 6505 going into a V30 cab, which I also happen to own. I'm looking forward to profiling it.


    Seems there's no shortage of rigs out there, both free and commercial for modern metal tones so I'm sure I'll be good to go with the Kemper.

    Quote from Der_JD

    I'm a fan of many different types of metal tones, not necessarily any in particular. I'm hoping to cover all the bases. The genres I listen to most are melodic death, technical death, and progressive.


    Probably my all time favorite tone is a 5150 or 6505 going into a V30 cab, which I also happen to own. I'm looking forward to profiling it.


    Seems there's no shortage of rigs out there, both free and commercial for modern metal tones so I'm sure I'll be good to go with the Kemper.


    I have had no problem at all getting those tones and there are some very good profiles on the exchange. If you have any trouble finding the sound you are needing PM me.

    Thanks everyone for the warm welcomes!


    Got home from work yesterday and the Kemper sat there in my living room waiting for me. So far, I've only had one night to play with it so I've barely scratched the surface in terms of what it can do but I'm extremely happy with it so far.


    First thing I did was install the latest firmware and then I imported some rigs that I've been acquiring over the last few days. I dialed up some Lasse, Ola, Merrow, and Amp Factory rigs and was just blown away! Those Amp Factory rigs, especially, are just insanely good. I bet a guy could just stick to strictly Amp Factory rigs and be totally happy. I tried a few rigs off the exchange and was impressed by them as well.


    Coming from the Axe Fx, I find it really amazing that you can basically just plug in and get sweet tones straight out of the box. With the Axe, I found most factory presets unusable. There were a few that were ok and served as a foundation to build on but my problem was that I'd end up tweaking/trying different IRs for hours to get where I wanted to be.


    It seems to be dependent on what profile you're using, but to me the tones from the Kemper just sound more "real" and three dimensional to me. They sound more like a real amp. Within minutes I was able to achieve that saturated, chewy 5150/6505 high gain tone that I've never fully been able to get with the Axe.


    One issue I had while auditioning some profiles is finding ways to control the low end. Sometimes I'd load up a profile and think "man, that's got great potential if I could just make the low end tighter and less boomy." I briefly played with the bass control and studio EQs, but I'm wondering what are your "go-to" methods in this type of situation?, I'm sure once I dig into it more/fully read the manuals, etc. I'll understand my options better, but it would be nice to hear your opinions as well. Is there a high pass filter available in the Kemper at all? What about a "low cut" control (for example, let's say you want to cut lows below 125hz before the signal hits the amp)?


    Looking forward to digging in deeper this weekend!

    Explain to us how you are hearing the Kemper first.


    Are you hearing a boomy low end through Headphones, or studio Monitors, or through a guitar Cabinet?


    It may be a product of what you are hearing it through is my point, so let's start there and work backwards. (in other words, what is the WHOLE chain of your setup)

    Quote from db9091

    It may be a product of what you are hearing it through is my point, so let's start there and work backwards. (in other words, what is the WHOLE chain of your setup)


    Quote from db9091

    Are you hearing a boomy low end through Headphones, or studio Monitors, or through a guitar Cabinet?


    Quote from db9091

    Explain to us how you are hearing the Kemper first.


    I'm not saying all profiles are sounding boomy on my system. In fact, most are not. It's just that occasionally I come across one that is and I'd like to know the typical ways that more advanced users solve the problem.


    I'm just running the Kemper into studio monitors and headphones.

    Ok, well on those you can do one of a few things.


    1) Adjust the EQ Bass + Mid to assuage it. Then STORE that profile. Next time you pull it up, it's already "tweaked". Or if you want the original, change the name as you store it ("Save As" option)


    2) Insert an EQ pedal and adjust. Then to the STORE button and "save" over or save as". This way it's only on that.


    3) You can pull up an EQ pedal, adjust it, and save the pedal effect to call up on any profile you feel needs it (one size fits all, or tweak after pulling it up) You can use this way in conjunction with 2.


    As for "how pro's do it" they just use their ears like everyone else, only, when they use their ears, they make gold records! ;)


    For boomy bass I typically choose a highpass, lowshelf, or lowcut. This way it doesn't interfere with the Bass guitar or drum Kick. Professionally Recorded guitars are surprisingly nasal sounding if isolated, as Will Chen pointed out. Its only when we play them alone we expect them to make up for what's lacking sonically in the low end.