Posts by JEverly

  • Kemper Stage VS Fractal FM9

    Quote from JoshuaL1

    yep, but if We really want to compare it’s just impossible to get the same satisfaction from a piece of gear that you own for a year and a another one that is completely different that you’ve played for two days.

    To be fair, I have experience with Fractal products. I still have my Axe FX Ultra that I bought in 2010. This new OS was very easy for me to adapt to. I think this comparison is pretty fair. Will I continue to refine the sound of the FM9, absolutely. I will try to get them as close as possible. I was speaking from a standpoint of first firing the two units up and getting the tones of my tube amps as accurately as possible. I honestly didn't have to do much tweaking with the Kemper to get the tones where they were spot on to my tube amps. The fact that I am going to have to put a fair amount of tweaking into the FM9 to get the tones there says something positive for the Kemper in my book.


    One thing that I don't think I mentioned is that I was using profiles of a Dirty Shirley amp in the Kemper and models of that same amp in the FM9. I also have a Twin Sister amp so my comparison points should all be pretty equal.

    Quote from Finally

    I was just being a goof, sorry. I really appreciate the effort you went through to put the review up.


    I think if I played acoustic a lot more on stage I'd consider a Fractal for what I think is some extra flexibility.

    No worries. I was not offended at all. I think the amp tones are the main factor for most all of us.

  • Kemper Stage VS Fractal FM9

    Quote from Wheresthedug

    That would be a game changer for me too. At the moment I run my Parker Fly and PRS P22 with one output going to the front of my Toaster for the magnetic pickups and another output going to the return input as the Return of an FX Loop in Stomp A. I then use Parallel Path to send the Piezo through one FX (usually Reverb) in Stomp B. However, this is extremely limited as normally I would want a Compressor, EQ and Rev on the Piezo signal (an acoustic profile would be even better but that isn’t technically possible in the KPA). I have been seriously thinking about adding an Aura or an LR Baggs etc to get round this. However, just being able to use more than 2 Stomps on the Parallel Path and/or blend it back into the main FX chain post stack would let me use the KPA as a stand alone solution.

    I have a compressor > cabinet with and IR in it > chorus > delay > reverb in the signal chain for the piezo. I had an EQ in there as well but there is enough EQ in the compressor and cabinet that I didn't need it so I took it out to save some processor.


    I used an Aura for a while and liked the sound of it. The compressor in it is very good. What I didn't like is that I wanted to have a little chorus, delay and reverb along with it. I had to run them in the loop of the Aura to get that. It started to get complicated. That drove me to buy the FlyRig Acoustic. The amp section of that does not sound as good as the modeling in the Aura. It has the delay and reverb built into it along with a boost, which was something else I needed for a few things. It worked but didn't sound as good to me. Running the cabinet block with the acoustic IR has brought me back to a sound much closer to the Aura and I have all of the other things I wanted in the chan and all in this one unit that is also running my normal clean and overdriven guitar tones.

  • Kemper is placing the current rig I am profiling in my performance slot

    Quote from Pwrslave

    When did I insult them? Secondly if you read the very first reply to my issue , it does in fact blame operator error. He says " it only happens when entering profiler mode from performance mode. " I never entered profiler mode from performance mode, and I assumed I would get some ridiculous answer that means nothing, He could have at least listed ways to clear the cache, and reach all the systems menus on startup (flash menu etc. ) There is absolutely no way I should have to select an empty performance then click back to browser mode to begin with a rig , then hope I was on an empty unsaved performance to keep from screwing up my performance slots. Yes I was rude, but they also have the ability to delete my comments. I paid thousands of dollars for this stuff which were earned by my patience , and sweat. If you got a problem with the way I handled it then you can shut your computer off, or they can end my account. I was sent to the forum via Kemper from the last time I had an issue. So blame them. There seems to be a large percentage of forum participants that poo poo all over what others ask or suggest , as if you are all trying to make the thread author settle , and give up.

    The statement that this is a problem that they are never going to fix was an insult. He was trying to help you. You insulted Kemper as a company with that statement. Would you be eager to help someone that was throwing around statements like that about your company or product?


    I don't believe they wanted you to come on the forum and be rude to people. It is laughable that you want me to blame Kemper for your rudeness since they sent you here. I believe your perception of this form is pretty far off base. There are many threads on here where people asked for help with an issue and received it and resolved the issue they were having. Most of the issues are usually user error. There is rarely a software issue at the root of the problem, except in the beta releases. The best way to handle your issue is to use the directions that were posted in this thread for you from the manual and see if you still have an issue. If you do, open a support incident.


    Quote from Pwrslave

    That is funny I do not recall opening a support ticket being in the moderator's advice, I do however recall something about " it only happening when I switch from performance mode to profiler mode then bla bla bla we assume you did not read the manual " Besides they will probably just ask me to check the forum. Here is a manual , oh by the way we also have a forum- oh no no no we don't want you here did you try reading the manual? Gimme a break. I know this is dependent upon labor cost , but did you ever think they could ask for a backup of my kemper via email plug it into one of their units , and diagnose the software? I did , but everyone just treats me like somebody who does not read manuals.
    IT IS NOT EFFECIENT FOR MY UNIT TO DEPOSIT A NEW RIG IN MY PERFORMANCE MODE EVERY TIME I MAKE A NEW PROFILE. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE MANUAL ABOUT MAKING SURE YOU HAVE AN EMPTY PERFORMANCE SELECTED SO AS NOT TO RUIN YOUR SETTINGS , WHEN WANTING TO MAKE A PROFILE.

    He was trying to help troubleshoot the issue with you. If he would have determined that it was actually a software issue he would have suggested that you open a support incident. Again, there are plenty of examples of this process on here.

  • Question about the Kemper Stage

    It has separate outputs for the mains and the monitor. You should be able to run it the way you did your toaster. The stage actually has more connection options than the toaster has. What may be confusing on the stage by looking at a picture is that the main outputs have XLR connections and the monitor outputs are TRS connections. There are also TRS connections for the mains if you want to use those.

  • Kemper Stage VS Fractal FM9

    I have had my Kemper Stage for right at a year now. I am super happy with how the profiles sound and am going to be moving on some of my actual tube amps due to how good the stage sounds. I got on the FM9 waitlist because I saw that it looked like I could run my piezo pickup in a separate signal chain and run that and my magnetic pickups through the same unit in separate paths. I have been doing this with two different solutions and would like being able to do it all in one floor board units.


    I received my Fractal FM9 on Thursday last week. I spend A couple of evenings with it and then a good chunk of time on Saturday. I was able to get it setup with the two signal chains that I wanted. However, when I tried to put everything in it that I have been running with two separate solutions I maximized the processor, not good. Here are some thoughts on the comparison of the two units now that I have spent some time with both of them.


    Fractal FM9

    • The piezo signal chain that I created sounded good. I was using a Fishman Aura to do this before. I found some free acoustic IRs and put some in the unit. These made a big difference in the sound.
    • I can have the two separate signal chains with separate ins and outs. On the downside, I can't put everything in the preset that I want at one time. I will have to think through this a bit and put only what I think I will need and create other presets for other purposes. The one thing that comes to mind is that I don't use a wah all that often. I will have to create a prest that has a wah in it and drop some other things out to free up some processor for it.
    • I was not too wild about the sounds of the presets in the FM9. To my for the tones I like the presets had too much of everything in them, gain and effects. It seemed to me like they were really catering to the high gain player.


    Kemper Stage

    • The amps sound and feel better in the stage than they do in the FM9 to me. I went right from the FM9 to the stage using the same mixer and speaker and immediately liked the tone and feel much better. They are much more touch sensitive than what they are in the FM9. The amp in the stage acted much more like my real amp and pedals when rolling back on the volume. I have to roll the volume back much farther on the FM9 to get it to start reducing the gain. It was nowhere near as responsive as my amps or the Kemper.
    • You never have to worry about running the Kemper out of processor from my experience. I can put something in every slot on the Kemper and I can turn them all on at the same time and it just works. You have to pay attention to the processor utilization on the FM9 if you get a lot in the preset to make sure you do not get too high on the processor utilization. If you do, bad things happen.
    • I think the presets sound better and have a better feel in the Kemper.


    I am going to keep the FM9 and will figure out how to get it to do what I need it to do. I see these units as two different ways to play, sort of like deciding to take a different amp or pedal board out to the gig that night. I may stop by and add thoughts to this as I dig deeper into the unit. One thing is for sure, it will not cause me to sell my stage. My Kemper has a permanent home. I haven't found anything that gives me the tones and feel of my real tube amps like the Kemper does.


    EDIT: Adding this comment from another post of mine below.

    One thing that I don't think I mentioned is that I was using profiles of a Dirty Shirley amp in the Kemper and models of that same amp in the FM9. I also have a Twin Sister amp so my comparison points should all be pretty equal.

  • Kemper is placing the current rig I am profiling in my performance slot

    Quote from Pwrslave

    What was my mistake again? Besides expecting results in a forum , instead of people trying to tell me to settle or what I am doing wrong when they have never even occupied the same 10 feet of space as me? There seems to be a lot of you types on here that love to hijack threads , and give non-solutions. I mean you know anywhere else I can report a firmware bug for Kemper ? They never tried to help me they tried to tell me what I was doing wrong when I did no such thing. Does your kemper place your last profiled amp into a saved performance , without touching the browse knob while switching to performance mode from profiler? Why do you care? It ain't like they said can you be more explicit in their first response. The moderator in fact responded by telling me what I was doing wrong instead of realizing they have no clue how it happened. Is there some kind of rule against switching to perform mode from profiler mode when the session is done that I failed to read in the manual? Last time I checked no changes should occur to your performance mode until you select a new rig for the slot , and save.

    You came in really hot on this topic. Do you have any experience troubleshooting an issue with a customer? Burkhard was trying to start a troubleshooting dialog with you. He is very knowledgeable with the Kemper. He also knows the most common causes to repeat issues. He was trying to eliminate a very common mistake made by users. Instead of engaging in the troubleshooting with him you came back with a complaint that there was an issue they would never fix. If it was truly an issue others would probably have experienced it as well. I have profiled my amps and never experienced the issue you had. You didn't seem to want any real help. You just wanted to complain and insult people instead of actively participating in the troubleshooting. You are never going to get good results with this approach on any forum. I am active on multiple forums like this and they all have very helpful and knowledgeable people on them. However, if you come in hot like you did with insults and are not willing to have a civil conversation and participate in actually troubleshooting your issue you are going to get this type of response, no matter what forum you are on.

  • EQ setting combinations

    To me your tone has less clarity on the top end compared to where you are trying to match. I think your tone will not cut through the mix like the original. I don't hear a massive amount of high cut in the original. It is just a really good neck pickup tone. I get tones pretty similar to this by just using the neck pickup on a guitar with humbuckers in it. I think in a band context you won't want to turn the tone knob down all that much if at all. YMMV.

  • Treble bleed not effective on Profiler.

    Quote from toolowd

    Does anybody have a solution for the Kemper’s horrible reaction to a treble bleed circuit? It just doesn’t react like an amp.


    TIA

    Pop


    I think we need more description than "horrible reaction" to assist you. The treble bleed circuit is pretty simple and nothing in the Kemper would affect what it does.

  • 5 band mark series eq ?

    I could get along with having a 5 and 6 band EQ that is frequency adjustable. They could build presets to have them adjusted to the Mesa and MXR frequencies once they are there. I wouldn't think it would be too hard to create this since they already have the studio EQ. It may take a little more processor power to run it. One thing I like about the Kemper is that you don't constantly have to monitor processor utilization. It will let you turn on every effects slot and run it with no issues.

  • What is your favorite base color for a guitar?

    Quote from deadman42

    A great friend and former bass player of a band I played in used to say "a guitar can have every color... as long as it is black!". And I liked that saying. Mostly true for me. My guitars are mostly black in different ways...


    But as dmatthews already mentioned as well some natural or see-through tones are killer when the wood below is so beautiful as in many PRSses for instance. Love my dark cherry sunburst Singlecut a lot :)


    That is one of my favorite PRS finishes. I have a Custom 22 with that finish.

  • For those that think refining is a pain...

    Watch this video on what you have to do with an Axe FX III to use the tone matching on it. He even mentions a couple of times in the video that this is similar to refining with the Kemper.


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    I will take the Kemper refine process over this any day. To me the one bonus of the tone match in the Axe III is that you save it out as an IR that can be used with other things. That part is cool. But to compare the two processes, I think the Kemper process is much easier.