building a load box to profile direct out of the amp

To add a cab to a DI profile does not work perfectly, the Kemper always consider that there is a cab and remove something unfortunatly.

DI profile ohne cab

Before I went digital with the KPA I used little-big-amp setups and therefore had a lot to do with powersoaks and loadboxes. I can tell you nothing sounds as good as a speaker - and the Weber MASS Motors (scroll down here) are speakers (electronically seen). I tested them against all kind of OHM resistors with treble taps and even against the famous PALMER PGA04 and the MASS motor was always way much better, more dynamic, almost as clear as a real speaker!!! Those new transformer based Powersoaks (I tested a Toneking Ironman) also sounded really good but their price (and also their weight) was way too high for me. I only used it on a small 2x6V6 amp so one 100 Watt MASS motor was more than enough. For a short test I also used it to dime my Fender Twin 65 TRRI. Did work - no smoke but normally the load should be twice as much the Wattage of the amp. So for a really rugged loadbox for a 100 Watt amp it is better to take two MASS motors in series or parallel (like two speakers in a cabinet).

If you just want to use it for a DI profile you could also just use a speaker taken out of it's baffle. Without the support of the wood of a cabinet the speakers are much less loud.

But until there will be a change in the software that allows us to store a profile with the CAB button switched off, the whole thing only makes sense if later you leave the CAB switched on and play the KPA through poweramp+guitar cabinet.

So why would you want to profile without your speaker sound? This is mostly done if you want to play through poweramp+guitar cabinet. If the reason is that you don't have a room where you can profile really loud - then it might be better to profile though a silent cab. If you don't like the sound of the silent cab you can replace it in the KPA's cab section by your favourite cab.

Or another idea: you profile DI with a dummy load and before you go back to the KPA return you lead the signal through a DAW and add a software cabinet there. But I maybe this is a bit too much muddling along. Maybe it is best to look for a room where you can play loud for just the short time it takes to do a profile with a real cabinet.

You need a power load if you want to make profiles silently.
Otherwise you can just place a DI box between amp and speaker. Obviouslt you need a DI which can handle that kind of signal, like the behringer GI100 or some Radial stuff.

I made some of my profiles (engl screamer 50 by Giacomo D'Avanzo) with the behringer box, and I think I got nice results.

Quote from Jimmyno

You need a power load if you want to make profiles silently.
Otherwise you can just place a DI box between amp and speaker. Obviouslt you need a DI which can handle that kind of signal, like the behringer GI100 or some Radial stuff.

I made some of my profiles (engl screamer 50 by Giacomo D'Avanzo) with the behringer box, and I think I got nice results.

+1

All those power soaks only make sense if you are aiming at power amp distortion. And most users who aim for it are shocked how shitty it really sounds when they hear it for the first time.

So, using a simple DI Box like the GI100 ist totally sufficient if you wanne take DI profiles at bedroom levels.

You can use any DI box to tab the speaker signal if it has a PAD of at least -20db (for a 100 watt amp better -40db). Behringer GI100 and Radial JDX are guitar-DI-boxes with a analog speaker simulation circuits built in. If you use those you are colouring your profile again - if you want that.

I was talking about using only the MASS motor (not the MASS attenuator) as a load box for DI profiling. But even the MASS attenuator would do fine as a dummy load as long as you are not miking the signal in the speaker. And BTW those new, transformer based attenuators like the Ironman or the Aracom are really a different breed!

After all - I still think the best solution is to schlepp your stuff to a noisy room for an hour of profiling.

+1 for all
I could add that SAMSON do a cheap DI too and the best load box would probably be a 8 or 16 ohm speaker which can handle 100w. Just cut and remove the cone and fix it on a board, you will have your "silent" loadbox.

Quote from mba

best load box would probably be a 8 or 16 ohm speaker which can handle 100w. Just cut and remove the cone and fix it on a board, you will have your "silent" loadbox.

Hmm - great idea

BTW: When you did your DI profiles with the RM50 did you use a DI box? Did you try to use a guitar-DI-box? Maybe a JDX would just bring in what the KPA takes out when it "removes" the cab?

Perhaps the JDX Speaker simulation will help. I don't have a JDX here to make the test.
I'm using the send effects actually. There is a slave output too, i have not tested it. I know that you have to check carefully the level with this output.

I use a Palmer PDI04

Quote from BRUNO

I use a Palmer PDI04

PDI04 hmm - I don't know - a typo?

PDI01 is a nice passive, linear DI box with -20db pad for small amps and -40db for larger ones.
PDI09 is a guitar DI with speaker sim.
PGA04 is the 19" version with loadbox included.
I tried both for my little-big-amp setup and I did not like the cabsim sound of PDI09 and the loadbox of the PGA04 was way too lifeless against a MASS-motor, but the filter options here are great.

Quote from fretboardminer

You can use any DI box to tab the speaker signal if it has a PAD of at least -20db (for a 100 watt amp better -40db). Behringer GI100 and Radial JDX are guitar-DI-boxes with a analog speaker simulation circuits built in. If you use those you are colouring your profile again - if you want that.

Not exactly. The GI100 works as a classic DI and like a post amp DI. You can choose if having an emulated line out a direct line out, since there's a switch to choose that. I'm pretty sure about this since I made my profiles without cabinet emulation.
If I remember well (I don't have it here) there are different inputs for power signal and guitar signal.
Of course anybody is free to spend any amount of money, but if your goal is just to make a direct profile it works very well with 30 euros.
If you need to go silent, it's a different story and the mass attenuators, along with palmer's ones, are top notch for that.

Quote from fretboardminer

PDI04 hmm - I don't know - a typo?

PDI01 is a nice passive, linear DI box with -20db pad for small amps and -40db for larger ones.
PDI09 is a guitar DI with speaker sim.
PGA04 is the 19" version with loadbox included.
I tried both for my little-big-amp setup and I did not like the cabsim sound of PDI09 and the loadbox of the PGA04 was way too lifeless against a MASS-motor, but the filter options here are great.

Yeah sorry PGA04

I once tested the JDX. And gave it back because it does not have a switch to turn the cabsim off - it is always on.

Quote from BRUNO

Yeah sorry PGA04

Do you also hear a difference when you do a DI profile with the PGA04 and then switch the cab at the KPA on and off?

Probably it hasn't that option, while the cheaper behringer does.
Thanks god

My personal choice is definitively PGA04 among lot of other devices.
I'm fully agree with this guy here...

There are Two Notes Torpedo devices too but around the budget level of KPA itself.

Quote from fretboardminer

Do you also hear a difference when you do a DI profile with the PGA04 and then switch the cab at the KPA on and off?

Yes

Quote from mba

To add a cab to a DI profile does not work perfectly, the Kemper always consider that there is a cab and remove something unfortunatly.

DI profile ohne cab

Someone seems to have found a solution to this: load a cab that is empty. In this cab collection here is a cab that is called "Cab-bypass". I did not check it out yet and don't know how it is done but this seems a good way to go.