Some pre- purchase advice...

    Okay so I am hopefully picking up a Kemper soon, I have read a lot of discussions on the Forum and have just a few simple questions that may seem related to other threads and yes I have search the forums but did not find the answer in other posts. Depending on funds at the time yeah I haven't decided between the power rack or the unpowered version, I will definitely be using fr fr speaker setup and that is where my question is. I play metal and right now the band rehearse with does not have a PA system so my line 6 hd100 provides plenty of volume and sound quality enough to be heard over a hard-hitting drummer and then some I almost fear moving away from tube power so if I go to the unpowered routes I am thinking active speakers but for rehearsal I need to have plenty of sound quality and volume during rehearsal I see thousand watt powered speakers 500 watt powered speakers 1500 what powered speakers... any advice? Also I actually got to play on a kPa I went to check out an amp that I had found for sale and the guy had a camper running through some powered studio speakers I got the plug a few notes on it the profile read "engl se" or engl se lead or something like that and it absolutely sounded amazing! I believe he told me this was a profile rig that he had purchased but I was very impressed!

    Edited once, last by Metal Greg: Typing errors ().

    Quote from Metal Greg

    ... I went to check out an amp that I had found for sale and the guy had a camper running through some powered studio speakers... and it absolutely sounded amazing!... I was very impressed!


    Hey, I'd be impressed too if I saw and played a camper squeezed through a set of monitors, especially if it sounded amazing. :D


    Welcome, mate, and good luck with the purchase.

    Yeah, I have to constant-titty-lee manually correct the auto-correct.


    Even if I know I've typed something correctly, I still check 'cause so many words we use in audio aren't catered for in the software.


    I've no advice for you on the live-rig thing as my unpowered rack is for recording only, but Yamaha and Atomic seem to get a lot of love around here, and they'll surely be mentioned again as more folks chime in.


    On the power thing, I've heard it said that the 600w the powered units provide is more than enough to compete with even the most demanding of situations.

    I have a powered rack and use it almost exclusively live (i.e. not at all for recording), although I use it with a 4 x12 cab rather than FRFR.


    In deciding whether to go powered or not, its a simple choice of cost versus options - with the powered you have a choice without having to get a separate power amp ( sorry I know that's stating the obvious).


    I've just started on my FRFR journey and I've initially gone for a passive monitor, mainly because its cheaper and I expect to go FOH and probably use the in house monitors or in ears. Therefore I didn't want to spend a great deal on an FRFR speaker but needed something to set up the sounds. For rehearsals I'll still mainly use the studio 4 x12's.


    Most FRFR cabs are expensive ( e.g. Atomic CLR's Matrix Gemini ) at around £700+ and hence with the powered rack at least I have other options. The fav on here seems to be the Yamaha DXR10's which I nearly went for ( and I tested against a few others like the Alto's and RCF's), which sound great and are incredibly portable and with 1100 watts of power should handle rehearsals. It does depend whether you want the guitar cab "look" as well...


    Let us know how you get on!

    Basically it comes down to cost.


    I own the powered version, It cost more but I have the luxury of using passive or active speakers.


    My last gig, I ran into my passive Martix cab and ran a line out to a DI into the front of house. The sound guys were impressed and a couple other guys performing loved my set up and tone.

    Thank you all! Heres an off topic question then..... does thr rack version have the same controls and knobs as the "toaster" version? Obviously the layout is a bit different, to make for space, but are all the controks present on both?

    Hey Greg,


    I think a musician like you should seriously consider a GRFR cab, which helps a lot in the transition from tubes.
    There are some very good around (Matrix, Red Sound...) and it might worth investigating.


    HTH

    Quote from Metal Greg

    Thank you all! Heres an off topic question then..... does thr rack version have the same controls and knobs as the "toaster" version? Obviously the layout is a bit different, to make for space, but are all the controks present on both?

    The rack doesn't have the modulation rate/mix controls, and doesn't have the LED collars around the EQ controls. Otherwise, they are the same (although the rack has the USB port for memory sticks on the front, rather than around the back as the toaster).

    Quote from Metal Greg

    And so the rack version actually has one less feature? Interesting


    For studio and home tweaking the Toaster has advantages. For life performances and transport the rack version seemed to be more convenient.
    If I find the donkey who serves golden apples, I will buy an additional rack version. ;)