Posts by db9091

I had to learn a few things at first like going into my interface with an XLR (I figured balanced was a better line) meant going through the Interface Preamp == Tone Suck.

So I needed to go LINE in. But the problem with LINE in was the DAC conversion was noticeable compared to the SPDIF.
I figure if you can really hear the difference. So was it the KPA DAC or the Apollo's ADC or the combination?

Since the SPDIF sounded like what I was hearing in headphones AND the KPA had to do a DAC for that, it must have been the Apollo, is my guess.

Bottom line, SPDIF was the bomb so I stuck with it. Apollo has an optical IN that is not RCA so I had to get a conversion box. AND I found out that for some weird reason, this same routing worked for the Clarett but NOT the ID22?!?

In any case, it has me thinking a lot more about ADC/DAC and what a really good unit would be, and what cost would be worth it. Not for the KPA, but for a tracking chain.

Quote from marcozzz

@db9091 yes I may be a bit dramatic sometimes but when you buy a new interface and it stop working after 5 days even your first reaction may be to wona throw it out of the window !

I know exactly how you feel. I went through 2 audio interfaces in 2 weeks thinking they were the problem (channels were blown) and in the end found out it was an I/O expansion from OWC that I used on my iMac that was broken and sending insane voltage to the units and burning them up!

Hopefully your issue is just, as said, some feedback loop, and not a bad unit.
I get issues often. I recently bought gear in Reverb and the unit was sometimes working, sometimes crackling. Turns out: Tube was not pushed in all the way. Simple fix, but frustrating at first.
Another unit from Reverb was dead-on-arrival! Returned. A replacement from a store, B-stock, came with an internal 100v capacitor (the size of a C battery) rolling around on the inside! I returned it. I got a microphone that came and the grill just fell off it! return. I have had THE worst luck since turning 50 two weeks ago! haha

But, in each case, I worked the problem, or upgraded to better gear. "You get what you pay for" is true often enough, and in this case, totally true. I decided to sell some guitars and just get very good gear instead of cheap clones. The results is a fantastic vocal chain that I'm proud to have. You need to feel confidence in your gear, and you get that as you work it more and more.

I'm currently researching what my next audio interface will be and am thinking of something rack-mount with lots of I/O options to give me many ways of routing should a problem come up. I like the look of the Antelope series, but that will have to be a 2019 thing. Can't stray into too much debt!

And, btw, your english is fantastic. Very clear to read!

Quote from IronWord

I just bought the BIGSKY reverb just becuase i was getting tired of the kemper reverb. no regrets at all!

I know it's not PR on this forum, haha, but I use an FX8 for it's COMP/DLY/REVERB combo. I got it mostly for the Reverbs, but truthfully, there is something 3D about the delays and their comp just does something that I didn't have when I used pedals.

I'd LOVE 3 pedals to replace this, but I'm afraid it would cost just as much, probably more. You're Reverb is what, 400-500?

I had the H9 and while it was quality and has some crazy sounds, the FX8 Delay/Reverbs were just noticeably better sounding. More 'musical' to my ears. A 'wow' combination otherwise I'd have sold that quick.

I bought at the wrong time, too. I think I spent $900 and the MKII had just come out but I didn't know that. 2 weeks later it was $800. Now it's a little lower. Just a little Fractal Audio lesson for me. But that don't matter in the end if you USE the gear. And I do use it, so I'm not sore about it.

Quote from SuckerFreeGear

Been searching for this one for a few years, it's the color that makes this one especially rare. Weird how guitars you search for years can show up all at once and now I can't afford to buy them all. Anyways here it is, I think some here may know what it is...

[Blocked Image: https://dk1xgl0d43mu1.cloudfront.net/user_files/esp/user_images/002/025/994/xlarge.jpg?1518103504]

That pulls double duty as a Tone Monster AND a pointy weapon! CONGRATS, SIR!

RCA:
I doubt the voltage going out over an RCA is going to hurt anything. What is it, a fifth of a volt?

Those connections ARE too hard. Never had a unit with such a tight RCA.

I would LIKE to see a future KPA have an optical SPDIF. Much smaller cable and easier to route, although it does come unattached easier.
But I use a 7 meter optical cable that going under the rug so I can play the Kemper across the room and not clog up the recording desk area.
If I WANT to go there I have a long guitar cable. (I'm not 20' away, just about 5 feet, but the long cable can go down, around/under, back up behind the studio desk into a 3 way so I can switch easily between a hardware reverb SPDIF and the KPA)

Problem:
Sorry about your problem, marcozzz. This, unfortunately, is a normal thing in home studios.
Take a a few DEEP breaths and ask questions on the Focusrite forum and then call Focusrite Support.
Focusrite makes good products and will take a problem seriously.

And DO NOT throw your Kemper out the window! This is irresponsible recycling!
The proper way to recycle a Kemper is to send it to me in NC and I'll take care of that for you, no charge.

Quote from Dean_R

Exactly, no one can dispute the need for an editor for any digital device , as much I appreciate the easy KPA user interface and how fast I'm at it, period.

Hmmm. So... How fast ARE you?... lol
-
I can see this turning into a nice annual KPA Olympics! Fastest Tone Matching, Most Accurate Profile, Kemper Playing Marathon, Relay Re-amping..

The winners get Gold, Silver or Bronze KPA knobs!

Quote from nightlight

That sounds like quite the rack and signal chain. Look forward to hearing the results.

I'm not used to hearing that I have "quite the rack"! haha

One thing I've noticed over the years is that while my recordings sound better and better, its the performance that makes or breaks a song.

There are crappy recordings of songs that being in the moment have more "feel" and "vibe" to them, and every time I try to redo them, upgrade that drum I didn't like the snare sound on, etc, it's missing that very important mojo.

Not being a professional, I have to be in a special mood to get it right. That's what professionals don't seem to need. They can get it right from talent and experience on a planned work schedule.

The argument is so black/white. I'm FOR a ... I'm don't CARE for a ...

The devil is in the details. What this thread should be about is:
1) What features should an editor have
2) How should they look
3) What peripherals should they work with (i.e. touchscreens like iPad)

The devil is in the details. So many ASK for an editor and they WILL get one. But will it be how they'd like to have one?

Me, I'm an IDCare but if it's going to happen, who has a great editor out there that could be a model for this? The Fractal or Line6 ones, or something new? Discuss.. haha

Sounds desirable if you want to replicate that coily-cable Jimi Hendrix tone?

Man o man, I've had some Warm Audio wo's.

First, I get a WA-87 used from a big guitar store (shipped) and when it arrives the grill falls off. Return it and on a whim decided to get the U87ai. Done. THAT grill ain't coming off. Ever.
Then I order a WA2A. Sounds lush with the U87->BAE 73->WA2A.

THEN I decide to go for broke and get a faster compressor in front of the 2A to grab faster volume spikes in consonants (and I heard the combo was good)
So I decide on the WA76 of of Reverb. Arrives DOA. Wow. That is rare for me. Reverber is very cool about it and pays return shipping and refunds it.
I then get a B-stock from that big audio store. It arrived 2 days ago with something rolling around inside! Opened it up, it's a 100v capacitor that came loose and rolled around. Wow.
I called Warm Audio and they said "pay for shipping here and we'll send you new units". But I figure 2 things. 1) the unit was already under warranty. 2) maybe Warm Audio Quality Control is too spotty for me.

So I talk to the big store and decide to get a 500 series rack and compressor (my decision, they were suggesting a Daking or Drawmer)
- Heritage Audio OST-6
- Elysia Xpressor

I've also wanted to get a Neve EQ for the 1073 and settled on:
- Neve 551 EQ 500
to put in the 500 rack.

So the 2018 chain will be:
U87ai->BAE 1073 DMP->Neve 551->Elysia Xpressor->WA2A->TC M3000->Apollo (split at WA2A to go LINE to Apollo, then SPDIF from M3000 to Apollo)

That's why some people get a Universal Audio interface, so the DSP can run the plugins w/o affecting the CPU.

Problem is, it takes a lot of "cores". For a typical home project, you'd need at least 4 cores. I had 6 available and didn't run out.
But you CAN get away with 2 cores (ie Apollo Twin DUO instead of the QUAD) and just "print" the effect, or "freeze" it and then turn the UA fx's off to take them out of the DSP % count.

This is also an expensive route.

Some folks who can afford it go the Pro Tools route with external effect processing. I don't know anything about that, but Pro Tools has to be your DAW and plugins for such a platform aren't cheap either (external plugins like Waves. Pro Tools has it's own plugins which are very good)

The best route of course is to up the GB count of your RAM first, then up the power of your CPU as a last resort. I run minimum 16GB and I do fine on a 2011 iMac (now a 2012 iMac)

I would learn first how to "print" and "freeze" tracks to handle CPU usage. It teaches you how to make MIX decisions up front that makes mixing easier later on.

Just some messy thoughts:

Isn't' that a wee bit overkill for 3 inputs? It's a nice unit, I have no doubt.
But you're spending a lot of money on extra pre's you're not using that could be put into other features.

I'd want something more like a 4 input with the money going towards that units better pres than a Scarlett.

I've been impressed with Audient, but they haven't come out with their ID44 yet, and when I had the ID22, I couldn't get the SPDIF to synch up with the Kemper's clock
and I needed a SPDIF->RCA optical converter. (Same conversion works fine with my Apollo Twin)

So in that case, the Focusrite Clarett 4Pre sounds like a good fit because YOU can go in SPDIF and thats as clean as you can get with the KPA.
Good sounding unit. Pre's not as good as the Audent, latency good but a little worse. Uses Thunderbolt or USB depending on unit you choose.
It's SPDIF has no problem with the KPA.

Apollo stuff is nice, but if you don't do their UAD plugins, an overly expensive system.

Now if you want to up the game a little, that Antelope Audio Discrete looks neat...

However, IF you ARE pining for that Scarlett 18 rack mount thing, go for instead the Clarett. Way better pre's and the mix software is tons easier to figure out. Almost intuitive.

Quote from Dean_R

I actually meant both, thanks to all who chimed in.

*phew*

I don't bring backup. First off, 5 years and I've never had a hiccup that wasn't a dead cable or volume low setting. Worst took me 1/2 to figure out my own stupidity!

That said, if the KPA did kick the bucket during playing LIVE, I'd look over at the other guitarist, wave a $100 bill in his direction, and tell him to buy some drinks for girls at the bar.
Then I'd use his rig. (He has a Fractal FXII XL)

If on the rare chance the "other" guitarist flips me the bird, I take my $100 and go to the bar myself. Win-Win.

I just can't do Ingolf's solution: You don't bring a knife to a gun fight. And you don't bring a Zoom to a KPA gig!

Ok, fantasy, over, time to wake up!

Truth, I don't gig at bars. I just play with a friend at parties but mostly record at home. And for that I can always use any ol' amp he has available. I'm not that picky.

For recording: I'd just wait for the replacement most likely (out of frustration), or possibly DI my BAE 1073 DMP or if that Bootsy 1/4" input was too weird the Apollo Z-input and use a demo UAD plugin until the replacement came and reamp it.

Oh, you mean amp backup, duh! (former IT guy here)

Quote from 808illest

Those are very good observations, I track with reverb more now that I have an Apollo

We need samples db, saaaamples mannnn lol.

Haha. I'm still searching for that perfect John Lennon "Day in the Life" reverb/delay combo!

I like longer echos, not slapback. Never felt comfortable with plate. Only large ones (ie Hall) if the song is slow. Room if it's a faster song.
The Lex 224 was the first delay in a plugin that wow'd me with such natural treatment of your source track.

I had a TC Electronics M-One XL but only found a few good reverbs (didn't know how to dial them in) but the M3000 so far, still learning, sounds nice. We'll see.

I need to get to work. I've been lazy Mountain Biking too much last year!

Quote from Greg

Ocean Way wouldn't be my first choice as an effect - its more to stop your instruments sounding small!

Slate Verb is excellent, and would be my first choice for a plug-in!

What I've been toying with is the Wet/Dry issue. I know you can record both ways, so I'm setting up my hardware reverb to do that in the apollo (dry in case the wet track doesn't work in the mix)

But the issue is, singing wet sometimes makes for a different performance, better that is, because you sing different based on the reverb you hear while tracking.
Decisions you make on vocalizations differ. You get more "in the mood".

And you can't really do this in the box easily, because plugins have latency. UAD isn't so bad because it's "in the box" due to the DSP.
But other reverbs not on UAD DSP (VerbSuite) induce latency that can be noticed.

But if you don't track with reverb, it's ALL good, haha.

I didn't bond with most of my strats until I had a nice American (just a lucky find) and just sold it, lol. Tried Anderson, Suhr, but it was my Thorn SoCal that is the keeper.

It's not 100% classic sounding, very close, maybe a bit hotter (and made by Lollar I think) but it's darned close. Why sound exactly like everybody else!

That said, my fav guitars right now are my LP and Duesenberg Starplayer. They just sound killer recorded The Thorn is easiest to play. Like a PRS or Custom Strat neck.

808illest

I used versions of DAWs that came free with hardware purchases. Cakewalk, Sonar, Ableton Live, even Pro Tools 9->10 upgrade.

In the end, why I chose Reaper was, when I wanted to do something, like splice a WAV file and move a sub-part to a new track, Reaper was intuitive.

I didn't need to define tracks. Didn't need to open a "WAV editor". Assigning I/O is easy peasy drop-down menu.

Bottom line was, it was FUN. I have Logic Pro X, but on my system, it would crash, or if left open, would eat up RAM and hog resourced, requiring a kill-reboot.
Often, it wouldn't even open due to a plugin (I have a lot, and they're all big names commercially purchases, so that pissed me off)

I liked Studio One 3, but that too had plug-in issues. Support told me to peruse via some method, and eliminate the problem plugin protocols. Ie, if there was an AU, VST, VST3, and the VST worked, delete the other two. That would mean going over a hundred plus plugins eliminating these version, in more than one place. Just STUPID.

Reaper, opens, works, rarely crashes. Easy peasy. So I decided to stick with it, even though it's difficult in terms of compatibility with hardware (ie Slate Raeven, Melodyne, etc)

GTRworks,

You could imagine what amp you want and then look for amps like that (start with KPA Rig packs since many good commercial profilers offer free ones)

Once you have a subset of the amp, narrow it down by reviewing each one in the Rig Manager.

When I go by ear I often do just fine. Most times, It's figuring out which GUITAR I want to lay a part with, lol.

Now a "switch", an "upgrade" haha.

Welcome!