noise - is this normal or is my kemper broken?

Nacht · May 9th 2013

Hey, dont know if this was before and if its normal but my kemper produces quiet noise and with more distortion or more treble ( in this case a treble booster in the stomp section) it get very loud. The funny thing the noise gate dont do anything about it till i damp the sides completly. (example at the beginning) it is with every guitar i have and too if the guitar is plugged of.

cant imagine that its broken cause i had it the whole time in a rackcase but i played concerts with it.

https://soundcloud.com/nw-productions-1

here a example

guitarnet70 · May 9th 2013

I hear nothing strange, it's actually very quiet considering the level of gain you're using. The real smp would be louder.....

Karl · May 10th 2013

I battled this problem from the first day I got my kemper. I can hear exactly the same problem I had and no, it's not normal because the noise is always there. The noise gate can silence the signal, but, the noise remains during any playing. This noise you will find also affects note sustain, as if the noise "eats" the note away. Infact, even a few demo recordings at places like The Amp Factory exhibit this problem. You will realise the difference when you finally solve this noise problem and you finally hear the full Kemper sound, especially on clean profile sounds where notes are more likely to be sustained. To test whether you have this problem just play and hold a chord or note. If you don't hear the full length decay of the sound, then, it's likely the same problem discussed here.

List of things I tried;

1. Push grounding switches in at the back of the kemper. Test different combinations to see if it helps.
2. Disconnect all other electrical devices especially laptop power-supplies. If you have multiple people with laptops in the house, then, try waiting until everyone has gone and disconnect them all. Internet routers can also add noise.
3. Use power conditioners, preferably 2 together in serial and connect the kemper to the last one in the chain. I use 2x Lindys power conditioners (they have 6 sockets each).
4. Try using different power plugs, 2 pin, 3 pin with a travel adapter and see if that helps.
5. Move as far away from your electrical equipment as possible with your guitar during recording/playing. Even try turning away from your gear and see if it helps.
6. Use high-quality leads like Monster Cable. I found when I had this noise problem I could also hear faint radio signals. Leads make a difference when you have this problem.
7. If you have to power your laptop/pc, then, plug the power-supply/cable directly into the main socket, don't use extension cables at all for these pieces of hardware.
8. Turn the light off in your room.
9. Disconnect all unnecessary USB devices especially hard-drives. Even USB soundcards can add noise, but, this is hard to fix apart from moving as far away from it as possible.
10. Turn LCD/Monitor/TV/Radio off especially during recording.
11. If your soundcard has a grounding screw, then, connect a grounding cable (green and yellow one) to it along with a plug (cable is connected to ground only) and plug it into the mains, but, leave the mains switch off! Do not try this with power on, it doesn't work!

Hope that helps you find your problem. Good luck!

Nacht · May 10th 2013

Quote from Karl

I battled this problem from the first day I got my kemper. I can hear exactly the same problem I had and no, it's not normal because the noise is always there. The noise gate can silence the signal, but, the noise remains during any playing. This noise you will find also affects note sustain, as if the noise "eats" the note away. Infact, even a few demo recordings at places like The Amp Factory exhibit this problem. You will realise the difference when you finally solve this noise problem and you finally hear the full Kemper sound, especially on clean profile sounds where notes are more likely to be sustained. To test whether you have this problem just play and hold a chord or note. If you don't hear the full length decay of the sound, then, it's likely the same problem discussed here.

List of things I tried;

1. Push grounding switches in at the back of the kemper. Test different combinations to see if it helps.
2. Disconnect all other electrical devices especially laptop power-supplies. If you have multiple people with laptops in the house, then, try waiting until everyone has gone and disconnect them all. Internet routers can also add noise.
3. Use power conditioners, preferably 2 together in serial and connect the kemper to the last one in the chain. I use 2x Lindys power conditioners (they have 6 sockets each).
4. Try using different power plugs, 2 pin, 3 pin with a travel adapter and see if that helps.
5. Move as far away from your electrical equipment as possible with your guitar during recording/playing. Even try turning away from your gear and see if it helps.
6. Use high-quality leads like Monster Cable. I found when I had this noise problem I could also hear faint radio signals. Leads make a difference when you have this problem.
7. If you have to power your laptop/pc, then, plug the power-supply/cable directly into the main socket, don't use extension cables at all for these pieces of hardware.
8. Turn the light off in your room.
9. Disconnect all unnecessary USB devices especially hard-drives. Even USB soundcards can add noise, but, this is hard to fix apart from moving as far away from it as possible.
10. Turn LCD/Monitor/TV/Radio off especially during recording.
11. If your soundcard has a grounding screw, then, connect a grounding cable (green and yellow one) to it along with a plug (cable is connected to ground only) and plug it into the mains, but, leave the mains switch off! Do not try this with power on, it doesn't work!

Hope that helps you find your problem. Good luck!

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Thank you very much

many of that steps can be controlled by plug in in kemper somewhere else (maybe another house :D) and listen with headphone. I will do that today. And Many of them i tried before with no success.

I had a similar problem with my monitors too but it did not record the noise so i didnt spent all the time solving it. Dont know why but its gone (monitore problem - yamaha hs80m)

Karl · May 10th 2013

Before finding the culprit this problem can also change everyday depending on surroundings and what profiles you play with. Sometimes the problem isn't there, sometimes it's bad. Throughout my own testing of this problem I only used headphones.

As for your monitors, it's probably similar grounding issues. If it's gone, then, something must have changed. Anyway, hope you solve your problem. I did and I'm happy with my Kemper for recording now.

Nacht · May 10th 2013

Quote from Karl

Before finding the culprit this problem can also change everyday depending on surroundings and what profiles you play with. Sometimes the problem isn't there, sometimes it's bad. Throughout my own testing of this problem I only used headphones.

As for your monitors, it's probably similar grounding issues. If it's gone, then, something must have changed. Anyway, hope you solve your problem. I did and I'm happy with my Kemper for recording now.

What was your problem? what solved it ?

I dont know but i think after buying a subwoofer its gone ... only change i remember ...

Karl · May 10th 2013

My biggest problem was grounding issues which was fixed by changing the power cable from a PC type to using the 2 pin cable that came with the Kemper via a travel adapter.

rtb · May 29th 2013

Happening here too. I notice it more on my single coil tele than my Les Paul and with more high gain sounds.
Very noticeable when sustaining a note or chord.

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