Powered or non-powered? Please impart your wisdom

    I'm going to buy a Kemper and am not sure whether to go for powered or non-powered. I generally play smallish gigs where the guitars are going through the house PA.


    I think my 3 options are:


    • Powered head into guitar cab. Pros – Nice and easy. Cons – If lining out into sound desk, would the sound not be as good as the Kemper would not be modelling a cab?
    • Unpowered head into power stage of tube head then guitar cab. Pros – Relatively easy,though not quite as easy as the above. Cheaper, as I already have a tube head. Cons – Same as above, plus all the stuff that potentially goes wrong with tube power amps.
    • Unpowered head into powered speaker. Pros – I’m guessing this will be the optimum “on stage” sound quality. Also if lining into sound desk, the sound will already be modelling a cab. Cons – Decent powered speakers appear to be rather expensive. I have also read that they’re not generally as loud, meaning even more outlay to achieve the same volume. Also sound guys will probably not be a fan.



    Can you guys pick some holes in my assessment?

    I use my unpowered Kemper with a powered cab, and am very happy with it. I still wish I would have bought the powered one, though, just to give myself even more, convenient options . My 2x12 has been lonely since I got the Kemper.

    I regret not getting the powered version, so I added a camplifier later.
    Although my main rig still includes a 90s tube power section, having the option to grab the kpa and a 1x12 cab as a (great sounding) grab and go rig, is a “very very nice to have”.


    I have not confirmed that the ss amp does it all for me when volume picks up (never had an ss power solution that did), but did not test it thouroughly in that regard yet...it just may.


    Regarding your option 3, seems there is haters and lovers of frfr, find out what you are before deciding.
    Some will blindly advice anyone to go for frfr....im in that “haters” camp :)


    So, id go for the powered version...and you can experiment with the return of your head for rough conditions, also with frfr.

    Since they're exactly the same except for the power amp I would (and did) go for powered.


    I mainly use the internal power amp in a jam session situation, where there's either no PA or a PA that won't do it justice. Just plug it into a guitar cab and away you go. Amp in the room.

    1. Easiest for sure. Sound will be fine using the right profiles.
    2. This will color your sound, some love it - some dislike it. Do you want to pack an extra piece of gear to every gig?
    3. You could use any power amp you want in your rack, which is nice. Depending on the FRFR they can be plenty loud enough!


    For your needs it sounds like powered would be the way to go. Grab a cab, your rack, and your off to melt faces man! ;)

    One thing about using a guitar cab is that the Effects section is designed to be applied AFTER the cab colouration, like in a DAW or PA mixer. Not necessarily better or worse in every situation, but worth knowing in case you're trying to figure out why there's a difference.

    Quote from EddieVN
    • Powered head into guitar cab. Pros – Nice and easy. Cons – If lining out into sound desk, would the sound not be as good as the Kemper would not be modelling a cab?

    The Kemper has an option of "Monitor Cab Off" that allows you to dissable the cab simulation only for the monitor output, but keep the cab sim on in the Main Output (the one that would go to the desk).


    If you think you will want to use a guitar cab, go for the powered version. The only downside is that the power amp for your guitar cab is MONO. Other aftermarket options like Camplifire have the option to run your guitar cab (or cabs) in stereo. The Main Output can always be stereo if you want.

    Quote from Finally

    One thing about using a guitar cab is that the Effects section is designed to be applied AFTER the cab colouration, like in a DAW or PA mixer. Not necessarily better or worse in every situation, but worth knowing in case you're trying to figure out why there's a difference.

    Wow, I did not know that until right now… And that’s why I have been having some issues running FX while using guitar cabinets maybe?
    Is there a way to address this? Pre-/post?

    You could also buy an unpowered rack version with an 1HE poweramp. This would be cheaper than the powered Kemper.


    Nevertheless, of course it gives you more options but in my opinion differentiates from the original idea of the KPA as well as cutting some advantages like „silent stage“, „lightweight gear“, „I hear exactly what the crowd hears“ etc.


    There might be situations where it makes more sense but for me going unpowered does it. if you would like to have an „amp in the room“ feel why not go FRFR and take all the CabSims / IRs with you?


    In some situations (jam session, new band, ...) it might also be more convenient just to grab a good-old < 20W tube-amp and play like in the pre-Kemper days.

    Quote from Finally

    One thing about using a guitar cab is that the Effects section is designed to be applied AFTER the cab colouration, like in a DAW or PA mixer. Not necessarily better or worse in every situation, but worth knowing in case you're trying to figure out why there's a difference.

    Are you sure about that? I think I remember some of the Kemper folks on the forum saying this isn't the case, and that is just how it is laid out on the front panel. I can't remember which one of them it was, but I thought they said the effects block was applied before the cabinet. My memory sucks though, so I could be wrong.

    • You can use a traditional cab and go foh. The foh out of main output will still have ‘cabs on’ so your sound there will be great still.
    • I wouldn’t go this route as it does colour the profile sound and if I was lugging a tube amp to a gig I’d just use that anyway. The only benefit I can see is that the tube amp can be a backup if the kemper goes wrong. But with the nature of tube amps it’s more likely that will than the kemper.
    • A powered speaker / monitor works well but a good one isn’t cheap. I’ve used a dxr10 for around 4 years and have recently gone over to a guitar cab. I’ve done this as I decided I missed the feel of a real cab in the back line. The dxr10 is great though and I still have it.

    And one thing that no one says, but many think:


    a live show is 50% music and 50% visual. For some genres even more attitude than musical skills. And I am sorry but no FRFR beats the looks of a good old Mesa/Marshall/Orange(imput your own flavour here) guitar cab behind you. Even better 4 of them...

    I prefer powered monitors in stereo so I can take advantage of morphing a Main Station Delay up to 80%.
    Try the EQ stereo widener in the X slot, intensity @ around 5 and check the atmosphere.
    I like the amp in the studio sound myself after years of insanely loud stages.
    Either way everyone seems to find a good way to operate. Best of Luck Amigo. :thumbup:
    A good Back Line never hurts.

    My preference is the unpowered toaster. I find that using good powered speakers (studio monitors for recording, and Atomic CLR for playing out) gives me the most flexibility. Obviously, the added assurance that the FOH gets exactly what I’m hearing through the monitor is a plus. I have the option of using any power amp I want if I decide to go through a cab. However, I rarely do that anymore - while it may sound great for one particular rig, it usually blows for others.