Posts by OneEng1

  • Recommend me some new pickups for my strat.

    Great topic ;)


    I have a blonde American Strat with Fralin pickups in it. This is my go-to axe. These pickups are spanky with a warm feeling to them. The bridge pickup I have is a bit hotter than the center and neck. I have several rigs I use this on and simply warm it up a bit with more lows. I can get a great AC-DC bite with this setup.


    I have another American Strat I have fitted with Kinman pickups. They sound ... well alot like the video ;)


    No noise, but as you can hear, they lack the smoothness of a standard strat pickups.


    They sound awesome on higher gain stuff though. The sparkle of the highs really makes them cut into the mix. I use them alot for heavier music and drop D stuff.


    The Lindy Fralins are more stock sounding though. They do stock strat better than stock strat does ;)

  • What do you like about your KPA Kemper?

    I am ashamed to admit that while tone was important to me, when I sold my VHT rig and bought my KPA, I was mostly looking to make my rig lighter and easier to setup on stage.


    I would still say that this is my biggest love. After all, there aren't many people out there that would argue that a VHT pittbull with a VHT 4x12 cab isn't a fine sounding rig (seriously though..... have any of you lugged one of those cabs around? It's like 2x the weight of a Mesa).


    The tone was a surprise. I actually expected to lose tone ..... and I have gained it.


    So this is my short list:

    • Setup/Tear-down time and portability
    • Tone
    • Ease of creating good sounding rigs

  • less latency (i compared the Kemper, the Axe FX and the Line6 Helix)

    Quote from paults

    In the real world?


    Sound travels 5.75 feet in 5ms. Anyone who is truly bothered by 5ms latency would not be able to perform with other musicians live, unless they were always standing in the middle of a stage that was less than nine feet wide ( that would STILL be as much as 4ms latency).


    I am right there with you ;)


    Additionally, I don't know about you guys, but with my IEM's in (see my avatar), I can't hear the notes I pick from the actual noise of the string, so there is no way for my "brain" to get any sense of delay there.


    The human sense of touch is not sensitive enough to determine a 5mSec delay (using 2 points that contact the skin 5 mSec apart), and the brain certainly can't rectify a sound to touch delay of 5mSec.


    What I am saying (again), is there is physically no way for a human to "feel" a 5mSec delay from a guitar processor (I don't care how fast you pick).


    It is possible for a small portion of the human population to "hear" a delay of 5mSec under very isolated lab conditions (there are studies on this). While not everyone uses IEM's live as I do (which really eliminates hearing this delay), the chance of anyone "hearing" the ambient sound of their strings on a stage with wedge monitors is ..... just a little south of zero ;)


    As for our eyes helping to eliminate real delay ..... well, it doesn't work for me at least. I can clearly hear/feel the latency if the speaker sound doesn't reach me for 20mSec (15 feet plus the additional digital latency of the KPA). Eyes open or eyes closed, it is pretty noticeable.

  • less latency (i compared the Kemper, the Axe FX and the Line6 Helix)

    Quote from Klappy

    I find it amusing that the whole latency issue wasn't an issue before we all had DAWs and reducing latency became a sport similar to squeezing an extra 1/4HP out of a car engine. You never heard guys complaining that they couldn't stand more than 7 feet away from their amp on stage (7ms latency) because the lag became noticeable.


    My thoughts exactly.


    In addition to the 1mSec per foot that sound takes to travel, there is also a mechanical delay associated with speakers (at least there is with the woofer).


    When I play through my basement speakers from my computer area (which is about 15 feet from the speakers), I do notice a delay. When I play with headphones, I can't hear any delay at all.


    These informal results make some sense to me. Lets assume that the measurements done with the y cable are correct and that a Kemper has latency of 3.5-4.6mSec. That registers as "instant" in my head. Add another 15mSec for my speakers being placed some distance from me and we have around 20mSec. Most of us would be able to easily hear this I believe.


    Some people can hear IEM delay of 5mSec.... but this is different since you actually "hear" what you say through your bones vibrating before the IEM actually reproduces the sound. When playing a guitar, you only have the mechanical act of picking to time the latency with.


    I defy anyone to be able to "feel" a timing of 5mSec from one pick to the sound hitting your ear ;)

  • FW 4.0 beta experiences thread.

    Quote from Zappledan


    If I'm not mistaken, the original design included all of this, so the UNO chip is unlikely to change IMO. OTOH, nothing's guaranteed ...


    I thought of that as well; however, it is my belief that the CC# for morphing is unlikely to change on the Kemper. The Uno4Kemper chip v1.4 is only a small change from 1.3 in that it allows you to setup either foot pedal as Wah, Volume, or Morph.


    I already ordered it, but if I have to get another one, I only wasted ~ $23.00 ;)


    I am still considering a KFC in the future. I am seeing them advertised now for as low as $450.00.... so it is starting to be quite tempting ;)

  • UnO4Kemper and the new morph feature

    Quote from WybZ

    I have another issue after the FW4.0 upgrade.


    When I, for example, load a rig pressing bank 1 switch 2 of my FCB 1010 floorboard, when pushing switch 2 again it loads another rig (I think the previous from my list of rigs).


    Will this be solved with UnO4Kemper 1.4?


    My old digitech 2120 floor controller had this "feature" (ie, press the same button again and it toggles between this rig and last rig). I actually really liked it.


    It lets you hover over 1 button with your foot and switch between your clean and dirty (or crunch and lead) rigs without looking down.


    Are we sure we want this "fixed"? I found it to be a very useful feature for live gigs.

  • FW 4.0 beta experiences thread.

    Quote from Stefans-Kemper

    About FCB1010:
    You need to buy and insert a new chip with software 1.4 to use the pedals for morphing.
    I bought one and it works fine.
    Updated yesterday to 4.0.2 and there was one problem with doing a backup on USB-Stick.
    There is a different conversation about that.
    My performances work until now.


    Woot!


    That is simple enough to do .... and well worth the money.


    I'll be running straight over to the website and order the new chip now.


    Thanks!!!

  • FW 4.0 beta experiences thread.

    I have been watching this thread closely. Thanks to everyone for all the feedback and information :)


    I use my Kemper with an FCB1010. I would be interested in hearing from others that have updated to the new 4.02 firmware to hear their thoughts before I take the plunge!


    Is there a way for those of us with an FCB1010 to use one of the foot pedals to control morphing?


    Also .... a big thanks to the Kemper team. What a great new release! As an engineer myself working with embedded systems, I also applaud you guys. Great beta program, and great turn around on the issues reported.


    Way to go team Kemper!

  • FW 4.0 beta experiences thread.

    I hate all you bastages! :)


    Figures, I go off on a business trip and 4.0 beta is released :(


    I guess I will have to live vicariously through your experiences until I get home!


    I am pleasantly surprised that the multi-slot delay is available. I should be able to setup a better U2 sound now I think. I thought that was going to have to wait until 5.0!!


    On the flip side, I use a UNO4KEMPER chip in a FCB1010, and don't really want to lose my tuning mute function, so I will have to wait until a new beta is released with that fix at least before I load it for anything more than an afternoon of plunking around.

  • Any word on 4.0 yet?

    I agree with the clarity, definition, eq, and efx discussion completely.


    Most rigs can be made to sound acceptable to my ear assuming that I like the amp being profiled in the first place ;)


    I almost always find the rigs (both commercial and free) in need of more clarity and definition .... and usually less gain.... but then that may just be my taste.


    I predict 4.0 will be released before the end of this month!

  • How often does your KPA crash?


    Yea, but one area that a true tube amp will always surpass the Kemper is in the spectral of failure. I have seen some pretty impressive tube amp failures in my time! Spontaneous combustion with a loud BAM in one instance .... followed by smoldering dark smoke rising from the embers ;)


    Compared to this, the mere lockup of a Kemper can never match such behavior ;)

  • Any word on 4.0 yet?

    I would say that, at a bare minimum, all Kemper owners have a great ear for tone, and are incredibly intelligent individuals.


    I hear that there is a study in the American Journal of Medicine this month that conclusively shows that owning a Kemper not only improves your guitar tone, but also:

    • Reduces your risk of cancer
    • Makes you better looking
    • Greatly improves your sex life

    Just imagine what the benefits of the new 4.0 firmware may lead!

  • How often does your KPA crash?

    Quote from tomoinn

    Totally solid for me here (unpowered toaster). I'm more likely to break a string than have the profiler let me down, I've never seen it do anything other than what I want.


    Indeed. Much more likely. Of course, I carry multiple guitars and only 1 Kemper. My backup "amp" would be my old Digitech 2120 since I no longer own a real amp. I could get by, but would feel like I was playing a playschool guitar with respect to my tone :(

  • How often does your KPA crash?

    About 1.5 years of service, hordes of gigs and weekly practices (where it gets moved and setup in both cases), and I practice at home about every other day of the week.


    No lockups, no crashes, nothing.


    Rack version housed in a 6 space SKB case having a power conditioner and a rear patch panel. I use the FCB1010 as my foot controller and no external gear at all (other than my guitar(s) ;) ).