Posts by Myramyd

Yes,

If you are distant mic'ing in a very ambient room, you are essentially modeling a reverb as much as or perhaps more than an amp, which the Kemper was not designed to do. If you really want room sound, dial that in with some very wet reverb. Otherwise, make a DI version of your amp tone and add an IR of your cabinet with ambience using a different program instead of a Kemper profile. IRs are better for creating reverb/ambience.

I don't think the Kemper "falls down" since it's not designed to model room responses, it's designed to model amps.

J

Just to clarify my position, I'm open to any and all new features and am excited to see what is added over time.

What gets me is when you see the poll results and "demands" on the Feature Requests part of this forum always seem to place Pitch Shifting effects as the #1 request. To me that is really out of left field for a device such as this. With so many things that all of us users could benefit from in the short term, that is the top priority? It just doesn't make sense to me. If you are buying the KPA for the effects you are really missing the point of the unit IMHO. People get so caught up in what the DON'T have that the miss how great it already is!

To me what is says is, "I don't want to pay another $200-500 to add a pitch shifter to my rig so please make one for me for free NOW!" Haha.

If the KPA can add pitch shifting effects at some point, great. Happy to have it as part of the unit but, to see all these demands for that specific effect is really odd to me, especially when things like the librarian, performance mode, floor controller, etc. are really more beneficial to all of us. The only thing I "fear" is that the KPA team delays the development of those items so they can meet this high demand for pitch effects. I'm not saying they will do that.

To each is own. To quote Pulp Fiction: "Pitch be cool!"

J

Yeah, what you are missing is the sound of the room and the pushing of air by the speakers combined. I use IEM and have learned to deal with it to some extent. I send the monitor out to a mixer, then to the IEMs so I can EQ if needed. The quality of the buds really affects what you hear as well.

I have just kind of tweaked my profiles a little so that I'm using some that sound great through the monitors/PA and still sound pleasing through the IEMs. With so many to choose from, it wasn't too tough. YMMV

If it makes you feel any better, I had the same issue with my real amps. It just won't sound the same in the end but, to me it's worth not damaging my hearing and being able to hear myself and the other band members consistently.

J

I agree with the OP to some extent--although a librarian would be very helpful to many, if not all of us. I bought the KPA for one reason and that was for its amazing ability to sound like a real amp and it has delivered in spades. I've never thought, nor will I ever think of it as an "all-but-the-kitchen-sink" EFFECTS unit. To think of it that way is really coming from the wrong angle IMHO.

I have several other pitch shifting effects and use them when needed. If someone really needs pitch effects, there are many fine options out there. They are DSP intensive and labor intensive to create so, as the OP said, why do we want the KPA team to devote their resources to an effect that not everyone needs while more useful and broadly applicable features would serve us ALL better in the near term?

To become hostile over a feature request is completely unnecessary. I like how this forum is always helpful and civil. It's really critical for a piece of equipment such as this. Without this forum, I would not have bought the KPA. Simple as that.

Just my two cents.

J

Question on the Twin Reverb profile in this new pack. The description says "good for that singing lead tone." Does this mean there is a profile of the amp cranked, ala early Santana, Rolling Stones, Derek Trucks (I know he uses a Super Reverb mostly) etc.?

I'm having trouble finding that cranked Blackface lead tone so far with other profiles. I have your other Twin set and its nice but doesn't get there. I know some of this depends on the speakers, bias, and other factors. But, it's also produced by cranking the treble and lowering the bass. I can get there on my real Deluxe Reverb but I suck at profiling so far!

At the moment I'm using the TwoRock 35 instead.

Just wondering...

Thanks,
John

On mine I tried everything, including just a patch cable straight from the direct out to the return input and the distortion was still present.

I sent my original unit back and got a replacement. No problems with the new one. Support said it was a hardware issue so, not fixable without a visit to a repair shop.

You will know if it's there or not--it's very present and nothing will make it go away--other than disabling the loop and never trying to profile an amp.

J

Quote from Per

+1, it would also be kind of cool if you could set the FX loop to be in the location it is with most real amps, i.e. between pre and power, in the Kempers case that would probably mean integrated into the EQ block settings (but applied after the EQ).

I greatly agree with this. If you put it between the EQ and the Cabinet, I think it would work, since the cabinet will affect the sound. With things like delay and reverb, it's nice to have them after everything (i.e. as a post effect as you would do in the studio) but, for things like pitch effects and some modulations, they sound way too "clean" after the cabinet.

For example, I use a lot of pitch and harmony effects live and in the past being in the FX loop of an amp, the poweramp and speakers would warm up the sound and make them blend in to the overdriven guitar sound a lot better. When you put them after the cabinet, they sound REALLY synthetic and just plain terrible. They don't work at all before the amp so, my only choice is to have them after and turn them way down so they don't sound so terrible. But, it doesn't sound nearly like they did before.

That's about the only gripe I have for an otherwise amazing platform for amps and effects.

Otherwise, since I use the FX loop 100% of the time live, it would be really nice to have a "permanently enabled" effects loop as an option. Right now I have to program every profile I use to have an effects loop.

J

My question was whether or not it's okay to introduce a line level signal to the main input (guitar input) for fear of damaging something.

I tried plugging my Roland JV-1010 synth module (which has a very quiet signal even on max) and disabling everything and it really sounded strange. It was super quiet and sounded "compressed" is the best way I can describe it. I put it on a clean amp and disabled the stack, Amp, EQ, and cabinet.

I also tried putting the JV-1010 into the alternate input and it was way too quiet and I couldn't boost it. After about 10 minutes of playing it, the whole KPA started getting quieter and quieter. Switching presets and disabling the Alt Input signal still didn't change the overall volume. I had to switch it off and restart it, then the volume was back to normal on all presets.

Since then I haven't dared put a line level signal into the KPA. Not sure what the deal is. I ended up just using the JV-1010 straight into our PA board instead. I only play keys on one song so, I thought I would send it through the KPA to make things easy and since I plan to eventually get a GR-55, I wanted to see how it was to patch it in. Don't think I will be trying it again. I thought about starting a thread on this but, not sure if it's "normal" to want to patch a synth through the KPA anyway!

J

What is weird is that it is fine when I use the volume pedal in the loop but if I use the volume pedal or volume knob in front of the Kemper it cuts off even if you turn the knob down a little bit. I'm talking about the delay and reverb trails, not the amp sound.

J

Yeah, it makes it difficult to do volume pedal/knob swells when your delay and reverb are cut off by it (I use external effects through the loop).

J

I use a Boss GT-100 for switching live and have the same lag/latency when switching between rigs via MIDI. The worst seems to be when you go from a clean rigs to a high gain rig.

For example, when I switch between two patches and one is a Tills JVM and the other is a different rig but also uses the Tills JVM (same rig saved with different EQ), the switching is nearly instant. However, when I switch between the Tills JVM and Andy's Twin Clean rig, the lag is nearly a full second. If you watch the front panel you can see how long it takes to bring up the new rig. There is no gap in sound (no dropout) but, it takes that long after you hit the switch for the sound to change.

We play several songs that require instant switching between clean and dirty and this causes serious problems. I used the same setup with my real JVM amp (which changes channels via PC on MIDI) and the MIDI switching was instant. The GT-100 is only sending program changes AFAIK, since I've disabled all the other MIDI stuff.

I hope there is a fix for this.

J

Cool man, thanks! Just making sure I'm not losing my mind. It's been known to happen.

J

Quote from guitarnet70

Master left is NOT the same as Master right, need to use Master mono if you want it that way

Can you clarify what you mean to say here? When I switched the output on Master Out to Master Mono, the L and R XLR outs sound the same to me. If I switch it back to stereo there is a clear difference though.

J

I don't have an official answer but, I have tried it and it does work. I just set the Master Output to Master Mono.

I ended up using the Monitor Out for my in-ears since my personal mixer can't handle the hot signal as well. I use a TS cable and it sounds fine for me. If I ever get a better mixer I would probably use the two XLRs though.

J

I'll chime in here.

I have purchased about 15 Amp Factory amps so far and I can say that I don't regret purchasing any of them. However, I will say that the ones I use for gigging all required tweaking first. The first thing I do is disable all the stomps on the rig and go from there. I find all the profiles to have solid bones and the stomps give you a good idea of what is possible with them. The multiple EQs and Reverb make things jump out at you while you are browsing through but, I find that most of them don't need it. I think of those stomps as Andy's own tweaks to make them sound the way he prefers. It's no sweat to take those off and start fresh--they are just a few buttons.

I think a lot of people get confused between the profiles and rigs and don't think they should have to do ANY tweaking to get the sound they want but, that is almost never going to be the case. I think you have to open your mind a little and know that just like any other piece of guitar equipment--you have to tweak it to be what you want it. I believe that's why so many think the stock profiles are so lifeless, is because they are raw profiles with no tweaking but, some of them can be excellent once you turn a few knobs.

I use around 40 presets live and all but two (the Rockman and Tills JVM) are from Amp Factory purchased profiles and all 40 were tweaked by me. My main rhythm is the JCM800 Push with the Green Scream in front and, I will say it sounds like the idealized form of the real version I used before, i.e. that amp cranked, where the real one I could only turn up to about 2.5 everywhere we play (why I moved to the Kemper).

If I'm playing at home or recording, I will often just disable the reverb on his profiles and use them as is.

I haven't tried any of Armin's yet but, once I get the darn Kemper paid off I certainly will!

Just my two cents. YMMV

J

Quote from and44

Yeah, these will all be available as single downloads too.

Thanks so much Andy, your work is really appreciated so, I would rather give you what money I have rather than none at all! Haha!!!

This group of amps is looking really cool.

J

Any chance you are going to release this one as individual amp downloads as well? I found that very helpful on Bundles 1-3 since I didn't have the budget for full bundles. The bundles are frankly out of reach for some of us. I was able to buy the 15 amps I needed with the holiday promotion luckily.

Heck, I still have 3 payments left on my Kemper!

Thanks,
J

Just thought I would follow up on this.

I converted my microphone IR files using Cab Maker and imported them. Using the acoustic rigs from the new amp pack, they sound great. I did have to disable the amplifier part of the stack--leaving the EQ and Cabinet in place.

I don't remember where I got those but, they work great for making piezo pickups sound a little more realistic.

J

BTW, I don't mean to downplay the effects on the Kemper as I do think they are very high quality--it's just easier for me to control the Boss/Eventide effects via footswitches at the moment.

The Kemper delays are nice, the Timefactor is just more flexible and the analog/tape delays are a little more "guitar" oriented. It's hard to describe. The Kemper kind of has it's own vibe with its effects, which is a good thing.

J

Well, it all depends on what your needs are. The delays in the Timefactor are better IMHO than the Kemper and there are certainly more of them. I mostly use the tape and analog delays and they are top notch. The Pitchfactor is pretty much the ultimate pitch stomp for sure. If you have to do diatonic harmonies or scalar harmonies, there is nothing better. They are both quite expensive. I have also used a Lexicon MX400 for reverbs. I'm sure the Space is just amazing judging by the TF and PF. I have heard the Modfactor was disappointing however.

That said, depending on the gig, I also use my Boss GT-100 for effects and it really plays well with the Kemper--both for changing rigs via MIDI and for effects quality. With it's programmable external footswitches and the two onboard (P.Loop & CRTL are also programmable), you can have up to 4 different effects to switch on and off. I use two for leads and two for effects and probably have around 40 presets. It's very nice. I'm actually really impressed with the quality of effects in the Boss, even coming from the Eventide stuff. The modulations, delays, reverbs, even the pitch are all very good. I would actually give them a 9 out of 10 compared to 10 out of 10 for the Eventide/Lexicon.

I actually don't use any of the effects on the Kemper, since it's easier for me to think of it as an amp replacement instead of an all-in-one box. Maybe if the footswitch came out I might change my mind but, with the crazy amount of effects and lead switching I need to do, the Kemper sounds great as an "amp" and the Boss/Eventide sound great for effects.

I'm in a Classic Rock/Hard Rock cover band and there is a lot of pitch and harmony stuff I have to cover, not to mention other effects. I'm coming from using a Marshall JVM410 previously. I could never turn it up past 2.5 and we use IEM anyway so, I figured the Kemper would be worthwhile and so far, it has!

J