Hissing/White noise on new KPA

    Hey guys,
    This is my first post on the forum and unfortunately it's about a problem.


    Yesterday I got my KPA (Powerhead) and since I plugged my guitar, on rigs with hot distortion, a hissing noise is being made (I'd say not very different than the sound you get in front of a loud cabinet) when the guitar is silent but with volume on.
    The day before I had the same issue on a live show with a real amp so I figured it was the guitar's fault, but when I change guitars the problem persists.



    Here's some things I've noticed through trials (all playing is done through headphones) :
    - the amount of gain directly affects said noise, on clean rigs it doesn't occur
    - when noise gate is turned on the noise goes away (at around 3,5 - 5 it dissapears completely)
    - I tried another room where no electric devices are present and it's still there
    - something that worried me, even with the guitar volume off or even without an input cable in, I can still hear the noise, it's at much lower volume but it's definitely there (still affected by gain amount/noise gate), is this normal?
    - different guitar cable doesn't solve the issue neither different headphones


    All that being said, in my experience, my house doens't have the best grounding. I would get having some noise, but even with no input?
    Headphone volume is at -12dB. I will try the KPA on a real amp in the studio on Friday and will see if the different enviroment changes anything. The studio owner also has a KPA so it will be easy to see if my unit is defective.


    But as you can imagine I was hoping for an answer before that.
    I'm pretty frustrated by the whole thing and any input (no pun intended) would be greatly appreciated.


    Thanks a lot!

    Quote from BurnedPriest

    when noise gate is turned on the noise goes away


    This made me suspect an external, pre-Kemper cause.


    You said you changed guitars, but didn't mention whether or not you switched leads, so I thought, "OK, it could be the cable", until I saw this:


    Quote from BurnedPriest

    even with the guitar volume off or even without an input cable in, I can still hear the noise, it's at much lower volume but it's definitely there


    Now I'm stumped.


    You might have to wait 'till that studio session; the comparison with your buddy's Kemper should reveal whether or not there's an issue with the unit. Be sure to try your guitars and lead/s with it.


    Welcome, BurnedPriest!

    I mean hand your guitar to the singer. LOL


    Here's your clue, BurnedPriest, where I said:
    "You said you changed guitars, but didn't mention whether or not you switched leads, so I thought, "OK, it could be the cable", until I saw this"


    I figured you'd be best served if you made sure you used your guitars and lead/s with his KPA; you never know - it isn't unheard of for a cable to go south even when it hasn't undergone rough treatment. Only a couple of days to go now, so IMHO you might as well wait 'till the session. That said, it also wouldn't hurt to create a support ticket here:


    Kemper Amps | Contact


    Good luck, BurnedPriest!