Posts by zerocrossing

Quote from donbarzini

because he doesn't need to constantly tweak and pedals sound great with it. I plug in and use the same three or four presets every day and never get tired of it.

I don't know if I could ever stick to the same 3 or 4 presets, but one big thing I've noticed is that I no longer look for better quality tone in my guitar, just different tones. There was always a certain type of "crunch" I was looking for and never able to nail with amp modelers that is effortless on the KPA. The sound is best heard in Brian May's leads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij4xGqHSy2Q

God I love that sound. So, while my quest for that tone is over, I now feel it's my personal responsibility to make sure I get every good profile in the user profile area. Wish me luck.

Welcome aboard the Kemper train. I like your pragmatic take on learning the Kemper, though I don't think that I could be that patient. Over the years I've developed a set of favorite preset types and I usually spend the first few weeks with any new guitar amp simulator trying to get ideal versions of those sounds. Note, these are just my own internal ideas like, "clean big stereo chorus" or "big heavy nu-metal rhythm chunk." From there I'll add effects, or not depending on the need or my mood.

As for getting good tone at a live gig, I'd suggest going into the house PA if there is one as well as having a good wedge monitor throwing my tone and the rest of the band back at me. For small gigs I think I'd get a small full range powered PA speaker or keyboard amp. I used to have a pair of Peavey KB60s I used for my guitar synth sounds and electronic drums. I started to experiment by taking one of the stereo outputs of my Digitech 2120 and running it into one of the KB60s, the other back into my Ampeg's effect loop. I got a huge sound using this method... and I eventually ditched the amp all together and just relied on the 2120. Not the most "traditional" guitar sound, but I loved it. Later I moved to Mackie SRM350s but I think the KB60s actually sounded better. I think if I were doing this again I'd audition a bunch of different options in both powered PA speakers and keyboard amps.

Quote from evanbrass

yeah, I'm completely floored there isn't a better way to browse, organize, and manage profiles on the kemper, on your computer, and on this website.

I have to imagine their working on it - it should be their top priority considering most people have requested their nuts off for this feature

Yeah, that is weird that we can't even sort by amp profile. I'm sure I'll get to a point where I find my favorite 50 or so rigs and that'll be that, but it sure would be nice if they had a Line6-like computer editor for the KPA that let you pass profiles back and forth between your computer and the KPA.

Quote from Guitartone

Try these two Profiles of the same amp, they'll blow you away.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55111…ley%20Lane%20Profiles.zip

Thanks for this! I'll try to get into my studio later today... but it might have to wait until next thursday night. My wife's birthday gift is a trip to Carmel (we're in California) so I'll be away from the KPA for a bit.

Quote from guitarnet70

Steavens Poundcake:

[Blocked Image: http://www.steavens.com/products/pc100/pc100_b.jpg]

Ah! I wish all the profiles were named a bit more obviously. I was curious about that profile because I liked it and you should have seen what came up on google when you search for "Guitar Amp Pancake"

Quote from Garrincha

I can't imaging myself not checking the rig exchange daily

Quote from londonjeepster

Yeah the real gems are in the user stuff but for newer owners its gonna be a pain searching for them amongst so many others.

I think the way to do it is to probably try only a few at a time as to not become overwhelmed. I wish there was a PC/Mac editor that would automatically download all new profiles/rigs and allow you to sort them by date added. You could then audition them quickly and decide what ones you wanted to transfer to your KPA.

Quote from guitarnet70

Nothing against the stock profiles, but between the User ones you have some outstanding/goose bump ones. You're really missing something without them....

Yeah, I'm sure you're right even though the included profiles are some real gems. After I wrote my initial post I played for a while and got to the bitter end of the rigs. OK, it wasn't bitter... it was actually pretty sweet... Some amp that started with a V... very sweet and lush sounding. I wonder, is every amp/cab that comes with the Kemper used in the rigs? The effects sure aren't. I discovered the lp and hp filters and I'm in love! Much fun could be had with those if you put them after the cab. ...but I digress.

Anyway, after I ran out of rigs I took the time to see how every amp in my HD500 sounded as a distortion box in the effects loop. Not all worked well, but some were great. All needed a bunch of tweaking though, mostly getting rid of too much high frequency fizz. It really is like getting 22 cool fuzzboxes.

So if I have the time on Saturday maybe I'll dig into the user section. I too look forward to finding oddball stuff. I love using Speakerphone instead of included cabs. There are some really awesome sounds to be had. Is anyone profiling weird non-guitar stuff like antique tube radios or toys? I think there's a lot of potential in non traditional types of amps.

One thing that bothers me about the Kemper is that with all that screen resolution amp brands are still abbreviated. Do you know how long it took me to realize that "Mars" was short for "Marshall?!" I'm not even quite sure what I have... Pancake? What is it?

So, I'm up to "TLS 60 Crunch" in the included rigs. I go though a couple each day, sometimes hitting on something so good I leave it and just play and play, other times finding something that I know would be awesome with a little tweak here and there and some reverb or a screamer in front of it.

My point is, this thing is a giant treasure trove of tonal possibilities! I almost can't imagine downloading any from the Rig and Profile exchange or needing to do some profiling on my own. (I don't currently own a real amp.) OK, I will admit that I did download a few bass amp profiles as the KPA didn't come with any, and the TC ones are very good for my taste. Anyway, I was just on the Amp Factory website and while they all sound good to me as well, I had a hard time thinking I'd part with $125 USD when I already seemed to have a crazy pile of amps that I'm already finding to be almost a burden to go though! I'm almost having a hard time thinking I'd even exhaust or even feel the need to go to the Exchange. Am I alone on this?

Quote from guitarnet70

Yeah, you're right, but your monitors are also at min 1m from your ears, and the internal latency adds up to it (double). I could feel the improvement when they lowered from 5 to 2.something ms in an earlier FW update.

I can't feel the latency now, but I don't have the ears of Peter...

Right, but the monitor to ear latency is irrelevant. You'd have that no matter what. So, you could do your recording with headphones coming out of the Kemper which would eliminate 3 ms or so, but you can't do that with an amp unless you're in the control room.

I think the issue of latency is way, way, way overblown. Yeah, you can feel it but unless it's horrible your mind adapts really quickly. Most of the time I play with the Kemper going into an audio interface and coming out of Live. I forget what my computer/interface round-trip latency is, but it's pretty good. Add the Kemper's to it and I guess it's more. I don't notice it at all.

So for fun, I did a little unscientific experiment. I downloaded the wav files and put them in a play list and hit random and then hid the window. I just listened to all the files in no particular order with no idea as to what was playing. My impression was that all the samples sounded equally good. Nothing leaped out at me and screamed "fake" or even "bad." (I know those things are subjective. I also listened to them on my computer's output using a pair of V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones. Not the best but not crap. Maybe I'd have a different opinion.

Then I a/b'd each example. Interesting. I could hear differences for sure, but in most cases I didn't have an obvious preference. The only ones where I thought the real amp sounded noticeably better here VoxFullChords and VoxRocknSolo.

Here's the thing though, I've been playing the profiles of these amps (but not these profiles obviously) for a few weeks now and that high frequency shrillness that's evident on some of these sounds to me like what I get when I'm not careful of the Kemper's internal gain staging. I may be wrong but I swear I'm hearing the clipping you get when you've got too much gain going into the output stage. Now the genius Peter Weihe couldn't have ignored his output LED as it was turning red... could he? All I know is that I'm getting better results with my KPA than is evident on those wav files. I don't get that high frequency shrillness at all.

Sound travels 0.34 m/ms as sea level. So... what does it mean to have 3ms of latency? It's like having an amp a meter away from your ears.

I hope you're ears are at least a meter away from your amp.

Quote from stompman

As a side note, I looked at some mini tube amps for a while, but once I realized how much the tone suffers through a digital out (e.g., for headphones) and how expensive it is to buy a quality speaker simulator that will put the proper load on the amp my search ended rather abruptly. Not to mention the fact that I would have to live with a specific range of tones for the forseeable future from a single amp.

When I was on my "quest for tone" my first idea was to buy a tube preamp and use the Two-Notes software for amp and cab simulation. I kind of felt this was a bit limiting but could have been a good solution. Another route was to buy a tube amp and use something like a Two-notes Torpedo Live. This way you get real preamp and amp distortion. From what I can tell this would have been about the same quality as the KPA but the Torpedo Live is about $1000 USD. By the time you find a multi-channel tube amp head you like... you're easily over $2K and own no effects. Of course you could go cheaper but if you're looking for the Mesa Boogie IV head, you're spending $2300 for it new or $1600 used. If you're a touring musician who likes to have a real amp on stage but something silent for the home studio, this would be a great route.

It kept coming to the point of money. I had a pretty firm $2,000 USD to spend. I could have waited, I guess, but I wasn't convinced that something more expensive would be better. The real amp/Torpedo route plus a decent effect processor might have worked but I would have been limited to a single amp and I must admit that amp modelers have spoiled me! I like a wide range of sound, I always have. Another route was to get a iso cab, but the only one I found that I thought didn't sound terrible was the Rivera Silent Sister and that was $1000 USD. That would have also been a not totally silent situation but I could have put it in my garage which is adjacent to my studio. Too much fuss. I did come very close to getting the HD500/DT25 and Rivera Silent Sister though. I think that would have been a fantastic rig and with the addition of a cab I could have a more traditional amp set up.

But in the end I realized I didn't want a more traditional amp set up. I was yearning for the physicality of a traditional amp set up, but not realizing the "cost" of it beyond just the money. Those things take up space and heat up the room and it already gets a bit stuffy in my studio in the summer. The beauty of the Kemper is it's a little box that looks like an ultrasound machine and it's a single solution. I got the HD500 to accompany it, but that was really not needed. The included effects are fantastic and probably all most guitarists would ever want or need. Plug that weird looking thing into my audio interface and play. DONE!

I've been playing guitar for about 32 years, though I have to say the last 10 years or so I've been focusing on my career outside of music (user interface design) which has made me more than a bit rusty, but like you I'm also a lover of great sound. That can come from many places, synthesizers also occupy a lot of my musical time. Some weeks I can squeeze in 5-6 hours of play time, but often it's less. Depends on work and basic life. For a long time I thought, "Amp modelers are good enough for my needs and the flexibility is awesome." It was true too. There are great sounds to be had these days in the better amp modelers, there's no doubt about that. We live in an awesome time!

I always felt there was a special something... not in all guitar tones, but in some of my favorite types, that I don't get out of amp modelers I've tried including the Axe FX. Until the Kemper I figured this was the price you paid for a tube amp. By price I mean, the volume, mic'ing issues, limitations and flexibility. So, while I didn't have the cash for an Axe FX... I found the cash for the Kemper. So if you have it and want the best tech available, I think you know the answer.

Now, could you be happy without it? Sure. There are some monster tones in Amplitube and S-Gear at a fraction of the price. Here's why I say get it though. Since I've purchased it I yearn to get back to it like I've not yearned to play in a long, long time. Good gear, as you probably already know, is a joy to play and can inspire you like nothing else. If money's not an issue, why not? My guess is that it will hold it's value for a pretty good run so if you tire of it you can always sell it. You can also use it to beef up synth tones as well. Also, until I had the Kemper I was always on the look out for something "new" in the world of amp simulators. Since I got it I have no more G.A.S. for guitar gear. IK released a special new pack that's supposed to be great, but I couldn't care less about it.. in fact, I sold my Amplitube 3 license.

Quote from mbenigni

Kudos. I choked somewhere in the A's. No joke.

No worries! There are many treats ahead of you!

Quote from mbenigni

I posted this question in context of another thread (a feature request for "folders") but got no reply. So here it is more directly:

Re: tagging rigs, the KPA reference manual states:

...but it doesn't go on to say anything about how it will be easier. Am I missing something here? Is it possible to search or sort by amp model, cabinet, etc? I think this would be a good incentive for people to be more thorough, accurate and consistent in tagging their profiles.

As it stands, searching by profile name is very ineffective because there are so many takes on naming conventions: amp mfr, amp model, author initials, genre, original artist, and on and on.

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I have no answer, but I'm interested in the same thing. Maybe this is a feature that's yet to be implemented? Something for a PC/Mac editor that's in the works? (is one in the works?) Regardless, as it stands the navigation/search for rigs is very poor.

I guess at some point I'll probably settle down with a bunch of my favorites and that'll be that. I'm still plowing though the included rigs though... I think I'm in the "k's"

Quote from Per

I think you may be thinking of another Per, I usually go under Per or Per-Anders as that's my name, but also mdme_sadie on some older forums (Abelton and Propellorheads forums), though I am also in the bay area. I'll have to experiment some more with the HD in the loop sometime.

Ah, yeah, I'm thinking of a fellow named Per Boysen. I know him from a few other forums and he's the exact kind of guy who'd end up with a KPA. He's an amazing multi-instrumentalist. http://www.perboysen.com/ He lives in Sweden though, not the South Bay. One day we'll have to get together over a beer and geek out about our Kempers.

Quote from Per

Welcome to here, glad your'e enjoying your KPA. The HD500 is a fun unit too although mine has been relegated to being pretty much just an interface for the KPA on the PC side until I can sell my Ensemble and afford to get a decent cross platform sound card.

Per? From the ol' Loopers forum?

I think you'll find that the HD500 makes a good friend to the KPA. On it's own it's pretty basic, but the combo makes a certain magic. It seems to be great at providing the weirder effects that the KPA likes and using amps as overdrive devices has yielded awesome results. I haven't even gone beyond basic experiments putting various effects in a loop before or after the "amp" in the KPAs effect loop, but so far I've had a hard time making it sound bad.

Quote from Zappledan

Agreed, but just for amplifiers ...

Heh, it's always something, isn't it.

But the array of amp sounds available, coupled with the quality and tweakability of each one has put me in a state of remission from G.A.S. at the very least.

Honestly, I've been on the hunt for a satisfactory substitute for a real "tube" sound now for a very long time. Software was creeping along, slowly but surely, but there is a certain something, and I'm not talking "feel" that plain and simply isn't to be found there (yet) and trust me I've looked. Not even in hardware amp modelers costing up to $2500. I heard the thing I'm talking about in the first demo I heard of the KPA... I think from Sweetwater Sound's website. I had a hard time thinking it was real. I obsessed about that thread that pointed out the KPA aliasing. Somehow I haven't been able to reproduce that at all, but I was able to get that sound I was searching for. Every time I leave my studio now I think, "God I love that box."

Quote from marco

Have to say thanks very much for all the very helpful replies. Much food for thought now

@ Guitartone - I wasn't aware of these various waves of reaction, I only came across the KPA in the last month or so and have got 99% of my info from browsing here. The samples you linked were very interesting (allowing for the speakers I'm playing them on) Funnily enough I liked the Bad Cat 1 much more than those particular AC30 profiles - wonderful tone and gives me great hope about the KPA delivering the goods

@ fretboardminer - that's great info and a good reminder that not all magic happens straight 'out of the box' Thanks for making the effort to give a helpful reply (edited 4 times) or perhaps you're just a terrible speller

@ XpennoKPA - that's a very generous offer, which I'd definitely take up if I was a little nearer. I think imall41 is right - i need to find a place with 30-day return and download lots of profiles from here to put it through it's paces

I'm definitely much more attracted to the amp/cab vibe that Jimmyno mentions. The FRFR thing is a little off-putting for me. I don't like HiFi when it comes to guitar tone and can't really see the point of reproducing freqs that shouldn't really be there in the first place (if you get my drift) I understand what people are saying about colouration though - money is far from 'no object' so perhaps for me a Tech 21 PE 60 (1x12 or 2x12?) might be a good place to start and maybe try it with a Beyma 12GA50 that someone else here suggested.

There are a whole set of other questions to be answered, as for a lot of other people here, as to what combo or amp/cab solution would do it justice live, without breaking the bank. I'd be really interested to hear best bang for buck solutions from you dudes who've already been there - it might be a good idea to order something at the same time on a 30 day trial so I can check out studio and live performance at the same time

Cheers and thanks again

Marco

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I just wrote about this at length:

Extending the KPA via effects/modelers

I think we're at a point in time where guitarists really don't have to do much compromising in terms of sound, but as someone mentioned, the KPA replicates (Why didn't they name it the "Kemper Replicant" or "Kemper Shape Shifter?") a recording environment so that's your amp, cab, mic and then your board and monitors get added in to the mix. So, when you think of that the KPA... or any other device for that matter, is never going to sound and feel like sitting in front of a real amp. IMO, it's stupid to even think about such comparisons. But ask yourself this: can you get as good a tone as the KPA can effortlessly give mic'ing a real amp in your studio? Maybe. Maybe better. But that means a good sounding room, good mics and patience. I live in a condo next to a major Amtrak train artery which effectively means that "good sounding room" is out of my reach. I have limited time so patience is in short supply and I guess I could guy some good mics, but the two other strikes make that a bit silly. (nothing works better than an SM57 to me though! )

While I'm at it, there's more to guitar sounds than an amp. There are the effects and the Kemper's effects are worth the price of the unit alone.

Anyway, I can personally say that in all my time working in studios (worked for almost a year with Adrian Belew in a Laurie Anderson project) and on the road I've never had an easier time getting better results with the KPA. Clean... high gain and everything in between. It's a game changer.

Quote from Spid

Thanks for the feedback but I'm not gonna buy the KPA "Head" right now.
I'm waiting for the rack version and it might not happen before end of the year I guess (Winter NAMM?).
If the Rack is available in July (Summer NAMM?), that's another story. It's typically a trade show more guitar oriented, so I'm gonna wait until then before to buy anything.

I'm also having a look on some small amps (Orange Dark Terror, Egnater Tweaker, Mesa Mini Rectifier and TA-15) that could be a good temp solution and "B-Rig". I'm also considering the DT25 just because I like the concept and Bogner (we have a Shiva at the studio and I like it too). But again Line6 and Amp... The only Line6 products I liked really so far was the DL4, FM4, MM4, etc... And that's why I'm looking at the M13, they're supposed to have these effects too. Does anyone actually tried and compare a DL4 and a M13/M9 for these effects?

If they worked well with the KPA like it might be the case from everything I read here, that might be a good solution (I like the 3x5 layout, very "stomps" approach, and not "foot controller" like the HD500 thought, but it doesn't matter much). Thanks for the feedbacks anyway, I appreciate it.

I'm still gonna keep some pedal, and even buy some new ones... I'm lately keeping an eye on the Strymon and the Tech 21 Sansamp series. (I tried the Oxford and Liverpool and I liked them). That's also because I'm gonna keep them (for sure for home and studio use), even when I'll get the KPA Rack, that I'm looking at them *right now*.

The main question is: Will I keep them for stage situation?

Sorry for being talkative, but it's really a point I'm struggling because now I know what the KPA is capable of, I wish I could use it live too and get some benefits we can get in studio. But I have hard time to be sure of it, for both stomps/effects, as well as the power-amp and cab situation (i.e. my other post). I'm a "modern" kind of guy, who likes digital, VST plugins and all modern technologies... but when it comes to guitar territory, I don't know why, but I always have been a kind of "tube amp snob" and "analog stomps only".

And from everything I tried so far, I had a good reason to be. The KPA is really the first device I'm really liking for "Tube Amp Simulation"...

I wish someone would release a "Stomps/Effects Rack" that can profile, clone, model (whatever technology would be used) to reproduce at 99.9% any stomps and/or effects on the market... typically, having what the KPA does for the Amp... but for the Stomps/Effects.

My 2.5 cents
Phil

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When I was shopping and considering everything it came down to the KPA and the "Line6 Dream Rig" sans Variax. So basically the HD500 coupled with the DT25. I think if I could have found the Randal Isolation Cab for sale locally I would have gone the Line6 route. In a sense I think the HD500/DT25-50 is a better sounding solution especially for live shows.

...but I'm glad I didn't. When I couldn't find the Randal, I looked into the Jet City. Crappy. Then I looked at the Silent Sister. That seemed to sound great, but put me out of my $2k budget. Again, I'm a studio bound guy at this point. My days of dragging amps around are over. Nothing in it for me and I finally admitted to myself that I never really liked it much. But that's me. If you're looking for a "B" rig I'd highly recommend getting a HD500/DT25 set up. Check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9E2eXXwW28

Now, the issue for me is that either I'd go with an iso cab which would be a) costly, b) expensive and c) still audible or find a truly silent solution. Enter the KPA. Trust me, I was worried that I wouldn't be satisfied by anything that didn't have a real tube in it. But I kept hearing demos that blew me away. Like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAuY9OyMsdg&feature=plcp

(I wish I lived in England, I'd totally shop at Anderton's just to goof with those guys) Can't help but love that sound... but would I love it in person? I did, of course. Best part of it was that there was no fuss for me. Plug and play. For you, though, I'd go for the Line6 now, and then get the Kemper for the studio.

If that's too rich for your blood, or seems unnecessary, (it does to me, but I'm different) you could get a ton of use just out of the HD500 alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ3QA4sEl0k&feature=fvwrel

Then add the Kemper when the rack version comes out. Frankly that's probably how I'd go as tbh I could care less about "pristine" tone in a live show. For me it just has to be good and I think a well made patch on an HD500 is going to sound a hell of a lot better than even a decently mic'd amp in a wonky room. In fact, I think at this point if someone asked me to do a live show and I was in the mood to do it, I'd leave the KPA home anyway and just go lean and portable. Do I still want the DT25. Yes.

:lol: