Kemper For Live Solo Guitar Playing

    Hi Folks,


    I wanted to get some insight and help with something that I have been dreaming of accomplishing, it's got to the point where I'm losing sleep :(


    I own the following gear.


    - Kemper Profiler Power Head

    - Kemper Profiler Remote

    - Focusrite 2i4 Interface

    - Yamaha HS8 x 2

    - Orange Cabinet 2x12 with V30's (recently acquired)


    This is my dream and I believe it is realistic.


    I want to play guitar covers of my favorite songs live for a crowd.


    Essentially, have the song playing in the background while I play guitar parts of the song.


    What is the best way to do this so it sounds fantastic? The song playing in the background and my guitar playing is not fighting each other.


    I want to add bass drops in parts of the songs to emphasize certain moments, do I use Midi through a DAW to do this?


    This clip here is one of my inspirations where live midi switching effects happen. They solely use the Neural DSP Quad Cortex running through Orange Cabs


    here the guitarist on the right side stage plays chords and then switches to tremolo picking with reverb and delay, and he doesn't touch any pedals to do this, ( he messes up a little, so I know it's not prerecorded)


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    Please watch 20 seconds of this clip, I time-stamped it for convenience.


    Furthermore, I have purchased high-quality profiles from places like STL. They sound good through my monitors but playing them through the orange 2x12 it somewhat not so impressive even though the profiles already use V30s


    I was looking at the Headrush 212 FRFR speaker but wanted that amp in the room feel. Essentially what this band in the YouTube clip is doing; Quad Cortex send to Orange cabs.


    Any expertise on what is the best pathway to do this, if I need additional gear please suggest.


    Should I purchase PA speakers to have the song playing through a DAW and have the orange amp output my guitar playing or replace the orange cab with a Headrush Cab?

    PA for music and kemper using a simple mixer would be a good option. That way you don't have to lug around a cab. Play songs that women like and can dance to otherwise you won't be famous. Only little boys like screaming. :P

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    Quote from Bryan2433

    Does that mean the orange cab would be obsolete if I run everything through PA speakers?

    I wouldn't say obsolete. The Kemper Kabinet is a better choice IMO because you can use the speaker imprints which gives you more options on tone than a single amp cab. But any chance to bring less equipment to a gig would be best and less to worry about.

    Larry Mar @ Lonegun Studios. Neither one famous yet.

    I would say yes, the Orange cab(or any other cab), would be obsolete - as in no longer needed. The Kemper Kab somehow got brought in as a previously unmentioned alternative. I wouldn't consider it unless you already own one - you didn't list it. You will have plenty of cab options built into the Kemper itself.

    I originally had a VHT 4x12 with a VHT 2X12 "Fat Bottom" cab. Playing the Kemper through an amp and to the speakers (PA amplifier used, not a tube amp so not to add/remove anything), what I found is that the VHT cabs create so much of a "tone" themselves that all the profiles have a common "sound" or "color" to them.


    I get much better results using a FRFR speaker (DSR112) when I want to play with a group that doesn't have IEM's or enough PA to amplify the Kemper directly with the PA.


    With my own PA, I use IEM's for monitoring, and go directly into the PA with the Kemper (no cab or amp on stage). This is by far my preferred setup..... but I don't play lead.


    For lead playing, there really isn't a substitute for the air interaction between a local amp/monitor and your guitar strings. For lead players I would recommend the following:


    1) Kemper L/R direct into PA

    2) Kemper Monitor out to a powered FRFR on-stage pointed at the guitar player

    3) IEM's to hear everything and your guitar.


    So in my experience, (others may and will disagree) you don't need the power amp or the orange cab :).