Throw another Newb on the Barbie!

Hello, my name is Stephen and I am a Kemperholic...

Actually it would be more fair to say that I am looking become a Kemperholic. I have yet to jump in the deep end and make the move from Tube to anything less than tube ... As you all had to take the Matrix challenge and had to choose the red or blue pill (and chose wisely), I am certain that you can relate to the reluctance to leave great sound for the unknown.

It is not a question of "IF" but "When" at this point and I chime in now because I have seen that this community is really great and with vastly more knowledge about the Kemper than I will find any further just standing in the shadows.

I have read many of the Forum entries but I admit I have not read every delightful chapter ;). I hope that you might be willing to let me in the fold and share your thoughts of Kemper Wisdom with me even if I ask another NEWBIE question that you have already addressed in the past.

Thanks for having me on board and I am so stoked to get my Kemper hooked up in the near future.

Cheers!

Thanks Kemper's!

I appreciate the welcoming and already the helpful hints.

I have been on the WiKPA site. There have been few Kemper stones left unturned. GAS!

Seen most of the vids listen to so many awesome tracks that you have put up. So far I am blown away, not only by the Kemper but all the great musicians on this forum.

Although the Toaster is cool (especially with those custom painted shells!) I think the rack is just more practical all around for me. I am thinking without the power amp, since live I can plug in a powered monitor, in studio direct, when in small venues go with 2 powered FRFR's, which can double as mains or monitors, and at home or practice when I want to let loose Use 2 powered FRFR's and my Reeves for the dry out giving me Wet/Dry/Wet.

So I would love to have your thoughts.

I know that the CLRs are the rage among the Kemper Family. In deed I would go this route but I am looking to create the simplest set up and since I am between Europe and the US I am looking for gear that works on both 110V and 220V without having to lug around around extra gear such as heavy transformers.

So, one thing I wanted to get verified from people already using the Kemper. The Profiler accepts both 110 and 220 and just needs a matching power cord... is that correct?

From the FRFR speakers I have researched the ones that seem to best match my criteria are sadly not the CLR's due to them not being adaptable in voltage. One very big contender at this moment is the Line 6 L3 series. There are a few of you Kemper's using them but I have not found many posts on them.

For those using the Line 6 L series are you still loving them? Can you verify for me that they are 110 and 220 friendly?

Ingolf you have made some great comparison vids of FRFR speakers, I don't imagine you could get your hands on a Line 6 L3 and make a comparison vid with the CLR ?
Well you can't blame me for asking...ha. Or if any L3 users are able to put up a vid review I would love to see it in action with the Kemper.

One thing I had read in the forums is that although stomp boxes can be profiled (non time based) that they can only be stored as amp profiles.
Has Kemper considered creating a way to store stomps as stomp profiles?
I am sitting on a mountain a wonderful pedals that I would love to profile and share.

One last burning question. There are all these wonderful profiles being put up either from you Kemper's or the professional profilers. I find it interesting with all the specs that are taken into consideration the profiles never seem to mention which tubes the amp is running on. I have become much more aware of the vast difference different brand tubes make in the amps over all tone and feel. I recently retubed my Reeves with all NOS Blackburn Mullards and my Fender Evil (Franken) Twin with all NOS RCA's and they now sound and react much better than ever... perhaps you say placebo effect, I too was skeptical at first but once you have done it you notice it.

If these great profiles of these vintage amps are being made are these vintage/nos tubes or are we playing that great 50 year old Bassman with JJ's?? Are profilers taking the extra steps to give us that great vintage tone?

NOW about getting that room sound ...lol Kidding.

Thanks again for all your input and I can't wait to have my Kemper in front of me.

Thanks Ingolf...

Ha, yeah, I of course had not meant for you to buy one, only if you had the ability to get your hands on one from a local dealer/friend...etc.

As for the US/Euro issue it is more about my home has been shifting in between and I am currently in France with a bunch of gear that is 110V dedicated and now that I am finding that I can get great gear that no longer runs into this issue I am better off.

For instance if the Kemper is dedicated to either 110v or 220v and I buy one in France it is rated at 220v and in 2 years from now who knows, I may be back in the States and then I have a piece of gear that just became impractical.

The Kemper is 110v and 220v compatible as far as I see... is this something you can verify? Thanks for all the Kemper related work Ingolf!

Cheers

Quote from paults

RE: NOS tubes, or not?

If you like a profile, it doesn't matter

I totally get your point, and agree that a good profile is a good profile but I still see a valuable to knowing, when purchasing a profile of a vintage amp that you wish to sound like it would have with the original high quality tubes being made back in the 50's and 60's (can be debated but at least with their own specific character), that you are getting that tone and not a hybrid tone, which might be just as awesome but different. It is certainly not that I am bitching that they don't specify it but I mentioned it more as a consideration especially in vintage amps.

For instance there is a TAF HiWatt profile of an amp Gilmour recorded the album Dark Side of the Moon with. If this was retubed with modern tubes the profile may not truly represent the tones that amp is being sought after by the Kemper User.

So, My thought is that it is at least worth mentioning on "Paid Profiles" a bit about the Amp, IE: which Tubes were used and what brand and model Speaker that is miced. To me this is every bit as important in the profiling as which microphone was used and which mic preamp.

Cheers!

Quote from paults

I think a quality set of tubes, biased for the kind of response and sound wanted is of more practical use than NOS or original tubes.

The old tubes would be worn out, and NOS tubes are not necessarily the same brand/biased the same way/with the same number of hours on them as when Dark Side was recorded.And, an old anp's components have aged quite a bit, and may have had power capacitors or the transformer replaced over the decades.

I agree that all these are variables and that is why I said it would be nice information to include. If a transformer or caps have been changed it can be a vastly different amp than it was built to be. When caps get old they need replacing, there is a lot of talk about this issue on sites like the infamous Gear Page so I will leave it there :p. As for Tubes, certainly long plate preamp tubes have different characteristics from the later short plate tubes.

The point remains the same with vintage amps, people who like those sounds can tell the difference between playing new JJ's versus NOS Mullards (Blackburn factory) in the response and feel as well as tonal characteristics. Perhaps the profiling is not sensitive enough to translate this. So perhaps that is the better question.

Can the Kemper Profiler profiling an amp (where everything stays constant other than the tubes) discern the difference between the two profiles? Is the Kemper that sensitive? and Would a profile sound different if the sound had come through a Fane AXA speaker versus a Jensen? With all the talk about Cabs here I imagine that this is important info

If not, than you are right these points make no difference.

If yes, than the only difference for the Seller of the amp profiles would be adding a line of info about the amp in the profile, Tubes and Speaker many already mention microphone and mic pre amp. Since all you have to do is look at the back of an amp to have the answer it should seem plausible.

Would love to hear how you guys feel about the Kemper profile sensitivity.