Kemper in fx return of a tube amp

Well, the Kemper is primarily a studio tool.
If you're playing it live, it would be expected that you run to the FOH or use FRFR monitors - it's ability to run through an FX loop is an added bonus by what i gather.

It works reasonably well if you adjust your amp accordingly. I still haven't run mine full blast but i imagine some tinkering will be needed to make it sound as good.
CK claimed, with the release of the 'cabdriver' thing through the monitor out, that you no longer need to use a 'bypass cab', just turn the cab off. Are you using the monitor out?

hi thumas,

i had the same problem almost a year ago. here is the old thread.

follow guitarnets suggestions, it can't do any harm AFAIK and it could solve the problem.

after that i NEVER ever had any problem with my KPA via fx return. and i tried 3 amps with this method, somehow things got
f&%§&§ed up and the restart solved it
even my band colleague was envious about my sound which the KPA as a preamp produced
(btw he had the total opposite approach. hundreds of effects and pedals before the amp and sounded good as well)

so maybe in a few minutes you will be a happy guy. this kind of amplification is no additional feature, this is a must for a touring/gigging musician.
cu

is the miking position absolutely identical in the four cases?
if not. try to repeat the profiling AND the recording and post those new 4 files.
it is really strange that number 4 is not closer to the original.
but if you changed the mike position or/and it points towards the center of the speaker
harshness can be the result. maybe this helps.

Can you closely match the original using the monitor out eq? (Specially the presence, I would turn it down a notch and adjust the rest accordingly) The tools are there to be used.

If you are planning on using a rig connecting to the fx return of an amp I think the only good solution is to actually profiling from the fx send instead from a miked cab...
There are some rigs on the exchange made from di fx send, give them a try if they sounds good to you, remember NOT to switch off the CAB on the STACK section!

i have read it again and again. do you have another amp?
can you play your 5150 profile to your cab via another power amplifier?
maybe, just maybe the effect loop of your original amp does the colouring.
if not, i have no idea. sorry.
tell us when you succeeded.

How do you typically refine, when you make a profile? That can make a big difference in the response of a profile.

Thumas,

thx for your work here. I also put some time into investigating these problems. The real problem is not only on the KPA side here. It´s because the power amp sections in tube amps (mostly heads but also rack gear) are not standarized in how they alter the sound of the preamp signal that they are usually fed with. There are no standarizations in how tube amps are built so you don´t know which components of the signal chain belong to the preamp and which ones belong to the power amp section. This will result in one amp having a harsh sounding preamp and a mellow sounding power amp, which together sounds great. However, another amp builder build his amps differently, with the result being a dull sounding preamp and a harsh sounding power amp. If you now combine these two together, the results may sound great but also may sound horrible. All in all, this is just a matter of luck and is not predictable in any way.

I own about 7 tube amps and compared how they sound when their power amp section is fed by the same preamp signal. The results were sooo off, you wouldn´t believe it. From dull and muffled to screaming treble there was everything.

The KPA only sees the Amp sound as a whole since it cannot profile the preamp and power amp section individually. It only strips off the cab portion and the cabdriver makes sure that the monitor out sound is balanced. Every power amp will react differently to the sound. For example the two ENGL rack tube power amps i own put a lot of extra low end into the sound, which too much for many rigs. My Marshall power amps sound a lot more balanced.

I think the best solution in the long run will be linear solid state power amps.

short notice:
the two (!) mesas, both sound best. this is a hint like tyler said that indeed the
poweramp can colour the signal. solution #1: use the mesa!

problem number 2: what kind of interface do you use. there i KNOW are
big differences between a cheap soandso and a good A/D sampling sound card
the one i used for years had a metallic taste audible when recorded and nothing else changed.

hope that helps a little ...

I can´t really say how scientific the approach was when CK developed the Cabdriver. I think he asked for early user opinions on how they adjusted their corrective monitor EQs and applied those settings into the cabdriver. Though this works pretty good, there maybe might still be room for improvement.

Maybe it would be a good idea to use a spectrum analyzer and compare the signals of an original amp´s speaker output signal vs. the speaker output signal of neutral solid state amp that is fed by the cab driver. Perhaps, a complete match is not possible, but maybe it could still get a little closer.

Maybe we could work together here. At the moment i don´t have a neutral solid state amp at home. Would a PA Poweramp work?