The Real "Missing Piece of the Puzzle"

    I have tried about a half dozen powered FRFR monitors with my non-powered Stage (and before that, a non-powered toaster) and just hate the sound and feel. I won't get into the brands or models, but most have been really better quality.

    Got a Kemper Kone and put it into a Mojotone 1x12 open back cabinet and by FAR prefer it to anything else that I have tried so far. My thoughts and a question: When you hear the Kemper through the main house speakers, there is an additional thing factored into the equation. The preamp in the board. I am thinking that this really makes a considerable difference (for the better). I am one of the people that really dislike the actual sound of the direct into FRFR thing. Just seems too sterol. The Kone makes things way better to my ears. It's not about moving air and shaking my pantlegs with me. I don't enjoy loud stage volumes. (Which may explain why I hear better that most musicians I know. LOL) BTW, I am using a ISP Stealth Power Amplifier Pro, since my Stage needs power.

    Anyway, I bet that a nice tube preamp, a pedal with a transformer, or just a good mixer preamp in general may just be the major improvement that some, such as myself, want when using a FRFR solution. At any rate, I love my Kone way beyond anything else that I have tried for a personal, on stage monitor. I haven't even spent serious time with the speaker sims. Some of you guys and gals seem to like that even better.

    Thoughts?

    Could you be suffering from "two-tone troubles"? The reason I say this is because I have two tones; one for single practice and one for band mix and recording. The tone I have for mix is considerably flatter with boosted mids and kind of trebly to my ears compared to the tone I have for practice -- which sounds just like a tube amp and cab would. Practice tone has more bass depth and cut in mids. It took me a while to get used to this.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Edited once, last by BayouTexan ().

    Like 2

    I agree with what BayouTexan mentioned above. Your profiles are going to sound different based on the volume that you're playing, as well as the sources that you're playing them on. You can take a profile that sounds amazing on one PA and then dull on another. Everything comes into play - the PA's board, the types of speakers they're using, the room, etc. Similarly, you can play a profile that sounds amazing when you're practicing at low volume or on headphones, but then when you play it live, it may sound REALLY high ended due to the Fletcher Munson effect.


    I think the best way to use the Kemper is to have a couple of performances for each one that you have. One for a live setting and then the other for at home. For me, I just use one because creating two for everything would be too much for me. I just make sure my live stuff sounds amazing because that's what matters most to me. Then when I'm practicing at home, I can tweak the settings or my board if I want (I just never save them).

    I don’t believe the mic pre on most live desks is having a really positive effect on your tone in the way that a Neve or something would do. I think the reason you find it difficult to get on with FRFR on stage is more likely to be related to the tweeter and crossover in those cabinets and that fact that you are generally quite close to them. With the Kone there is no active crossover and no tweeter so the sound is more natural and smoother but can’t reach the ultra highs that a traditional FRFR can. Also, the sound coming from a full range FOH PA is usually coming from two sources into a larger space and you are usually further away from the speakers which gives the sound more chance to develop rather than having the direct tweeter blasting your head.

    I would agree...you are likely to get more variation from the room and speakers used from a PA than the desk pre amps.


    FRFR is not for everyone. We are used to a valve amp at full tilt, blissfully unaware that this is NOT the sound FOH. Naturally we often find FRFR odd.

    I don't believe the answer to any of the issues people quote are to use a valve amp to "warm" everything up.

    Quote from V8guitar

    FRFR is not for everyone.

    Likewise for the Kone (or speakers, in general). I have always had a love/hate relationship with speakers. I have a few that I love but most I do not. Most of the list of imprints that are currently available for the Kone includes speakers I never cared for in real life. It's a neat idea on paper but I'm sticking with my DXR10 pair.