2 Gigs under my belt... The Kemper rocks (in a country way)!

    I play lead guitar for the country group Lonestar and I just did my first couple of gigs with the Kemper after spending a few weeks profiling my favorite amps and programming rigs for our show. It was really great and very comfortable. I use a Ground Control Pro to change presets and I have a Line 6 M5 in the fx loop for any additional fx the Kemper doesn't have. I run the main outs to foh and monitor rig via xlr and I send the Kemper monitor out to the preamp in of my 3rd Power Dream Weaver amp for some stage volume and air movement. The sound onstage and in my ear monitors was so clear and although I will probably find small tweaks to make over the next few gigs, the clarity and ability to go from clean to dirty and still have it sound like my 3rd Power amp rig is just great.


    [Blocked Image: http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/lonegtr/kemperrig_zps12be3398.jpg]

    You mentioned pitch and harmony effects in a other thread. They are in the current public beta, and sound better than my G-System. There are many pitch effect rigs posted on the exchange, including some from me with pedal controlled bend. At whatever point you install 1.8, you are welcome to them - try them out, use them, make them better. That'a why the Rig Exchange is there :)

    I watched you perform on TV at Stagecoach in CA this evening. It was fun to see the Kemper sitting there on your right on top of a Matchless(?).


    Was this a fly date so you just brought the Kemper? If so, how did you feel it worked out (the Kemper, I mean....the band clearly rocked). :thumbup:

    Hey guys,


    thanks for the comments. Yes, the Stagecoach gig was a fly date. I initially began looking at the Kemper as a means to get my usual 3rd Power amp sounds on fly dates without having to fly heavy amps and such, since they're not a common backline rental amp. It was always hard to go from "my" tone to a hot rod deville and a pedalboard with pedals for gain. So I got a Kemper and profiled all my amps at home and programmed it for the Lonestar gig. I'm not sure if it'll just be used for fly dates or for all dates as of yet, but I've been in the fine-tuning/tweaking mode for the past few shows and it's about 99% dialed in now.


    At Stagecoach, I just flew the KPA, M5, and G50 wireless and backlined a Mesa Lonestar (no relation, ha) to use a stage monitor since I keep one ear open. I thought it sounded great and am curious as to what the audience thinks. I've heard clips of my live tone since I've started using it and I'm literally blown away. It sounds and feels like "my" rig.


    I'll have to check out the new beta with the pitch fx. I will need a whammy for one song from our new cd when we add it to the show and I'm using the M5 mainly for a tube screamer and an octo verb. I find that the screamer in the KPA is too much gain even set at "0". I'm really liking the compressor (after much a/b'ing with my Wampler Ego) and the delays in the KPA.


    Our foh engineer is loving the Kemper as are the guys in the band. I like being able to set the volume and eq of the stage monitor amp totally separate from my main output signal. It's just a well-thought-out piece of gear and I haven't played through any other digital amp that feels like a real amp. Thanks Andy Sneap for the demo a few months back! Now I've demo'd mine for a handful of people and some have even gone out and bought one.

    It's exactly people like you who are finally stopping my GAS addiction. Real people using the KPA in the real world making music with pretty much what we KPA owners have right NOW! Thanks for inspiring me!

    Quote from lonestargtr

    Hey guys,
    I thought it sounded great and am curious as to what the audience thinks. I've heard clips of my live tone since I've started using it and I'm literally blown away. It sounds and feels like "my" rig.

    I Tivo'd the whole weekend....and watched the WHOLE weekend. You guys sounded great!


    My son, who was *there*, thought that you guys, Toby Keith, and Florida Georgia Line were the best of the weekend...I concur! :thumbup:

    Very cool, Michael. I have done a similar thing the last couple of weeks with my American/British Dreams and the Kemper. I profiled it with the same mic setup we use for live. WIth some minor tweaking, you are hard put to distinguish one from the other.


    I use an HD500 for a controller and for all my effects right now because I am so familiar with the Line6 delays. The HD500 just changes amps in the Kemper for me while changing effects and guitars on the Tyler variax. Since I am singing all the time, it's nice to just push one button and get all the effects and amp changes.


    I eventually want to dig deeper into the Kemper's internal effects. But for now, this system is working great for me.

    Thanks! I appreciate that. It was hot that day but I thought it was a good show.


    Quote from Dlaut

    I Tivo'd the whole weekend....and watched the WHOLE weekend. You guys sounded great!


    My son, who was *there*, thought that you guys, Toby Keith, and Florida Georgia Line were the best of the weekend...I concur! :thumbup:

    Wow... Welcome (kinda late I know) but great to hear that you are loving the Kemper and happy with the Tone. Look forward to hearing if you go Kemper on all shows.

    I'm still doing some fine tuning and tweaking of patches and we just worked up a new show, so as it stands now, the Kemper will be my rig for the near future. The minor trade offs of it not being "my" amp do not outweigh the ease of use and the versatility. Being able to get cleaner clean sounds and a wider variety of amp settings instead of just setting the amp a certain way and using a couple of pedals is really nice. I really like the delays in the Kemper and the rotary speaker is phenomenal. And we just added a couple of songs that require me playing acoustic, so in a matter of minutes, I downloaded an Avalon preamp patch and voila! No need to take up an extra mic line on the console, and it's in stereo (with a teeny bit of stereo widener on it). Don't get me wrong, I still love my 3rd Power Dream Weaver proto and it's my favorite amp I've ever owned, but from a practical standpoint, the Kemper has a lot of benefits and very minor, if any, sacrifices.


    Pros:
    smaller pedalboard footprint (PT2 as opposed to PT Pro)
    presets keep me from pedal dancing all night and tapping tempo on every song
    ability to fly entire rig on plane
    variety of tones available
    the sounds are MY amp sounds, not someone else's idea of a Marshall, etc.
    stereo output to foh
    tone to foh isn't dependent upon stage volume, i.e. I can turn down my monitor cab without sacrificing tone out front
    delays and rotary fx (among others) are great
    guitar signal goes through no more than 3' of cable, even with fx loop
    I don't have to carry sensitive ribbon mics on the road
    the tone is absolutely consistent from night to night, not dependent on speaker environment, mic placement, stage volume
    I can record direct into protools at home without disturbing neighbors
    my princeton reverb can sound as loud as my Marshall
    it has pretty flashy lights. ha


    Cons:
    it's not a real tube amp and there may be a very slight bit of latency or dynamic range loss
    harmonic content may not be identical to my tube amp
    takes more time to tweak and eq sometimes
    amp snobs look down their nose at me


    just my thoughts.