Recently purchased used Kemper profiler

    Yeah, Tritium has it right. Full Range, Flat Response. I too never heard of "FRFR" until a couple years ago. Me and the folks I've dealt with always just referred to it as "full range". After all, if you were making a two-way or three-way full range speaker it was probably for sound reproduction where the goal was to be relatively flat.


    The only new concept to me was the GRFR, or "guitar range flat response". That involves a single speaker that is relatively flat up to typical roll-off frequencies for guitar. That solution only makes sense for modeling/profiling, since the typical non-flat guitar speaker is a major part of the guitar sound. A normal guitar amp without a cab-sim would sound terrible for most players with this type of speakers.

    I hate emojis, but I hate being misunderstood more. :)

    Like 1


    Whoops, you got me there, John. I was under the mistaken impression they only had one speaker! Thanks for steering me in the right direction!

    the kemper and axe fx have been widely available for some time now as well as other modeler based technology. It surprises me how many of the guitar stores around here (guitar center included) have little or no idea what I'm talking about when I ask them for a full range, flat response speaker/cabinet solution for this kemper. I guess what I'm hoping is that the jbl jrx215 monitors that I'm currently using have something to do with this poor sound quality. Then the fix would be obvious, just go buy something that works. But if it is indeed the profiler itself I'd rather not go spend a pile of money on something else just to get the same results. I guess I could just bring the KPA with and try a bunch of different things and see what, if any, sound best. Should I be getting somewhat decent tone out of your average p.a. monitor type speakers?

    Quote from Ragnarok

    I guess I could just bring the KPA with and try a bunch of different things and see what, if any, sound best.

    Personally, I think that's a good idea. I mean, there's always the possibility that your KPA is simply screwed up, but I'd at least try a decent monitoring solution before throwing in the towel and opening a support ticket. Of course, I'd love to hear a sample of the unit. That would tell us a lot more about whether something's actually amiss in the KPA or if it's more than likely your monitoring.

    Quote from Ragnarok

    the kemper and axe fx have been widely available for some time now as well as other modeler based technology. It surprises me how many of the guitar stores around here (guitar center included) have little or no idea what I'm talking about when I ask them for a full range, flat response speaker/cabinet solution for this kemper. I guess what I'm hoping is that the jbl jrx215 monitors that I'm currently using have something to do with this poor sound quality. Then the fix would be obvious, just go buy something that works. But if it is indeed the profiler itself I'd rather not go spend a pile of money on something else just to get the same results. I guess I could just bring the KPA with and try a bunch of different things and see what, if any, sound best. Should I be getting somewhat decent tone out of your average p.a. monitor type speakers?

    I haven't heard that speaker but for the Kemper I can definitely imagine it not reproducing the mids correctly. Most budget PA speakers are weak in the mids which is so important for guitar tone.

    Very frustrated . Am losing my cool with this device. I'm still in the process of getting something recorded and trying to upload it so maybe someone can tell me what is going on. I'm pretty sure it's not to do with speaker choice at this point as I've had an opportunity to play through several different types of moniters/ cabs lately. All of them sound thin and fake to me. Had an opportunity to run through a line 6 stage source L2m via the moniter and headphone output and was very dissapointed and discouraged. I was really hoping the KPA would be plug and play with minimal hoops to jump through, but so far not the case. Will have audio soon...

    Quote from Ragnarok

    Very frustrated . Am losing my cool with this device. I'm still in the process of getting something recorded and trying to upload it so maybe someone can tell me what is going on. I'm pretty sure it's not to do with speaker choice at this point as I've had an opportunity to play through several different types of moniters/ cabs lately. All of them sound thin and fake to me. Had an opportunity to run through a line 6 stage source L2m via the moniter and headphone output and was very dissapointed and discouraged. I was really hoping the KPA would be plug and play with minimal hoops to jump through, but so far not the case. Will have audio soon...

    Without hearing samples, it's impossible to offer any useful input.

    Quote from Ragnarok

    Very frustrated . Am losing my cool with this device. I'm still in the process of getting something recorded and trying to upload it so maybe someone can tell me what is going on. I'm pretty sure it's not to do with speaker choice at this point as I've had an opportunity to play through several different types of moniters/ cabs lately. All of them sound thin and fake to me. Had an opportunity to run through a line 6 stage source L2m via the moniter and headphone output and was very dissapointed and discouraged. I was really hoping the KPA would be plug and play with minimal hoops to jump through, but so far not the case. Will have audio soon...


    Okay, another recommendation for you to try, Ragnarok...


    When I first played my powered KPA through my FRFR monitor, it took me a brief period to find what was for me an optimum set of guitar "cabs". I can't speak for others, but for me, I rarely stick with the stock cabinet that is part of a Studio Profile/Rig. Keep in mind that the "Cabinet" portion of a profile represents 75% (or more) of the over-all amp tone. I typically have 4 or 5 "go to" Cabinets, which I have copied from Merged profiles (I recommend Till's Cab Lab commercial pack). Whenever I test a new commercial (or free) profile...I invariably end up swapping out the original cabinet for one of my "go to" cabinets. In general, swapping out and changing the cabinet will make a HUGE difference to the sound of any given profile/rig.


    So, here's what I want you to try...


    Go to the front of your KPA, and select an amp profile/rig that you like. Then, press and hold the "Cabinet" button. Next, turn the BROWSE knob. You will see two options:
    "Local Presets" and "From Rigs". First, select "From Rigs". Then, use the arrow buttons to switch through different rigs. Each time you select a new rig, in this Cabinet view, it will load only the Cabinet profile from that particular rig, and apply it to your current rig. In other words, this gives you a quick and easy way to audition through all the different Cabinet sims that are on your KPA, and to see how they sound with whatever amp Rig you currently have selected. In other words, it is only changing the Cab, while keeping the amp and all other settings (including any stomps and effects, if applicable) fixed. If and when you find a cabinet that sounds just right, remember to hit "Store" and then "Save As" ---> Then give it a new name. Once you have done this, you will have saved your current selected amp/ rig with a different Cabinet...meaning you now have a new amp + cabinet combination.


    With any luck, you may find this to be just the ticket, hopefully...fingers crossed.


    Cheers, and good luck,
    John

    Edited 2 times, last by Tritium ().

    Not a bad stab in the dark, John. The OP's already tried a bunch of monitoring options 'though, including real cabs, so I don't know. Tough to know anything 'til we hear that forthcoming audio.


    Quote from ColdFrixion

    I'm open to the possibility that his unit may not be functioning correctly, but I'd like to hear samples to get a better fix.

    I too, '80s brother. That's why I quoted this at the bottom of my post to remind you:


    Quote from Ragnarok

    Will have audio soon...

    It's also entirely possible that the Kemper is fine but the user's speakers are coloring his impressions. Are you connecting the Kemper directly to the monitors? Are you gain-staging everything the right way?


    Also, are there any music shops near your place that have the Kemper? Some simple tests should help you figure out if indeed your unit is defective.


    I'll also note that even through a cheap PA system, I get really good results with the Kemper with all settings flat.

    Quote from Tritium

    Compare the frequency response curve of a Celestion Seventy 80, with a true FRFR monitor, such as a Yamaha DXR10. Note the flat response all the way up to 20 kHz, which is due to cross-over circuitry in conjunction with a dedicated HF driver.


    Yamaha DXR Frequency Response Curves

    I would just like to point out that these frequency responce curves all are smoothed to a certain degree. Since it is very unlikely that all manufacturers use the same amount and type of smoothing (even between their own products), these graphs are pretty, but always take them with a grain of salt. ;)

    Personally i didnt like the Kemper though frfr monitors. Maybe u suffer from the same defect as me...and the Kemper is fine.


    I love it on my studio monitors (cab sim on), and through almost any return of regular guitar cabine/amp.(cab sim off)
    Did you try one of these options? Guit cab may require a little eq to compensate, but should sound natural to start with.


    The Kemper maybe be the best thing to hook up to an frfr, but possibly described as artificial compared to an amp in the room...just as any miced cab backstage (and routed to frfr) would.

    Sorry for the delay, I'm spread very thin lately. I own a small business , have 4 kids (all of whom play hockey), coach 2 teams, volunteer on local fire dept., etc. Doesn't leave much time. I've been having problems getting a decent recording in the few spare minutes I have here and there. Have had a chance to run through p.a. setup at band practice and it was bad. Have run out of every output at some point or another. All I can say at this point (until I can upload audio ) is I can get somewhat decent tone through headphones . Every moniter/guitar cabinet I've run through
    Sounds either muffled with cab Sims on, or harsh with Sims off. The powered moniters sound great running an mp3 or tablet through them. I was a little hesitant to purchase a KPA because of my own lack of technical proficiency, but was blown away by demos and couldn't resist. I guess I should've known better.

    Quote from Ragnarok

    Sorry for the delay, I'm spread very thin lately. I own a small business , have 4 kids (all of whom play hockey), coach 2 teams, volunteer on local fire dept., etc. Doesn't leave much time. I've been having problems getting a decent recording in the few spare minutes I have here and there.

    Forgot to mention I'm also trying to build a garage....

    Quote from Ragnarok

    I was a little hesitant to purchase a KPA because of my own lack of technical proficiency, but was blown away by demos and couldn't resist. I guess I should've known better.

    Ridiculous.


    You can raise kids, run a business, coach sport, fight fires, build a garage and play guitar, and yet you fear you mightn't have the "technical proficiency" to what? Get a sound that isn't harsh out of the Kemper?


    Seriously man, I sincerely hope that the day comes for you when you're able to say, "I should've known better than to say I should've known better!". ;)