Posts by V8guitar

  • About to pull the trigger into Kemper World **Need Help

    The pro's and con's for your Kemper:
    Pro's - versatility, simplicity, consistency
    Con's - finding and setting up your sounds, adjusting to the way the kemper works ( going direct vs cab and therefore demo'ing sounds/set up)


    The Kemper is so easy to use and programme but there is so much flex that it can take time to tune what you want. Persoanlly for me it was great out of the box.


    So, based on what you've said, I think it will do 90% of what you want. SamBrox is right, for heavy Looper work, its not quite there but other bases should be fine.
    The only other concern is that the effects generally aren't as good as some outboard effect ( some people tell me). So if you are used to Strymon delays for example, the Kemper might fall short. For me I have no issues with the effects and therefore no need for outboard pedals. The Kemper takes pedals well so that is always a possibility still.


    However, it does so many other things that you may currently work around.


    My pedal board was quite large ( Whammy, Wah, delay, phaser, OD, bypass, tuner...), I have got rid of all outboard effects. I don;t have a crew to carry my gear so size is a real benefit for me but also the fact that its one cable to connect ( I was using about 4 if you include effects loop etc) is a god send.


    I use the same settings for every gig, sound guys love it as no messing with mike placement or balancing volumes with the desk. I love the flex that I can just use FOH with IEM's or a cab ( I have the powered version). I can also use my live settings to record by going direct into my PC ( via an interface of course)....

  • Kemper Tuner vs Polytune Clip on

    ?? Never had an issue.


    I like the bubble....I use it for drop D ( I have a detune key to switch from concert to drop D and just tweak) and I think it works really well.. Strobe gives me a headache and I personally find it harder to read ( I know that sounds odd).


    You sure you're not getting any resonance from fret buzz or anything?

  • Powered Head & Powered DXR12

    Not a DXR user but its generally plug and play. Most people go for the DXR10 because its less boomy than the 12 ( that's what I found when I tried them both) and smaller but few tweaks with eq on the DXR or Kemper and you should be rockin..

  • What does the Kemper Remote give me that the FCB1010 with a 3rd party chip cannot?

    My main reason for upgrading from a FCB to the remote is that it was easily confused if you stomped on 2 buttons at a time.


    You also have to run 2 midi cables to get the tuner, so along with power it was a pain.


    The remote is more convenient, dead easy to programme with multiple stomps, more reliable, easily up-gradable in line with improvements with KPA, better/clean display, looper control etc.


    FCB is good, remote is great.

  • Where are the Overdrive "pedals"?

    There seem to be 2 ways to achieve a good gain sound relatively clean amp with pedals or use the amps own gain.


    Personally I've never understood why you'd buy a £2000 valve amp and run a £200 solid state distortion/gain/overdrive pedal so I'm not a pedal person or see any need to run a pedal in front of it.


    Many pedals were created to make up for deficiencies of a particular amp but to me the Kemper has the versatility to manage that ( e.g. boost/change e.g. for solos etc..


    We are all different though :)

  • downward compatibility of firmware updates and new profiles after release of Kemper 2

    If a KPA Mk2 does arrive, will you then hesitate because a Mk3 might be a possibility? In other words there is always the possibility of hardware changes with any product, cars are the worst example. You have to join the market at some point and there is always a risk that you will buy just a s a new model comes out.


    The point here is no one really knows and I'm not sure if the possibility of a MK2 came up from users, not sure of the history here. There is no hard evidence of a new model so you just have to make a judgement call.


    How much use do you have to get out of it to be worth ownership (return on investment), e.g. 6 months? This is nearly impossible to calculate and I say pointless.


    You buy one and assuming you are happy then if a new model comes out, so what. You'll still have a fantastic amp with a lot of life in it.


    I worried about this when I bought mine 2.5 years ago. Thankfully I didn't hesitate/wait.

  • Intermediate Hobbyist thinking about Kemper

    Your question is difficult because you are really saying will my interest increase to make enough use to justify it...we can;t answer that and probably you can't so look at it this way:


    Don;t live life on what if's...just get one and try, if you don't use it you'll lose very little money because Kempers have strong re-sale value.


    Then think that if it did spark more interest, then how much is that worth - its priceless.


    Many years ago when I started playing I was struggling and I decide I'd buy a decent guitar and the fact I'd invested would make me persevere...25 years later, best decision I ever made as I've been in gigging bands ever since and had some of the best experiences of my life, all from that one purchase...my wife might curse it but it changed my life, literally!


    Go for it!

  • Kemper Rack incoming, what do I need to know?

    Quote from Monkey_Man

    Nooooo! It's the hole on the right-hand side. "Strangely", the left socket is the headphone output. :D
    Welcome, mate.

    You may not get this joke but its a real newbie gotcha....when I first got mine I couldn't get any sound, tried everything etc...then realized I was plugged into the headphone socket not input..


    Otehr advice from me - donp;t immediately spend a bundle on 3rd party profiles, there are so many other there although SamBrox is right, its so easy to get tone blind.


    Rig Manager quite limited in what it does but its very useful for auditioning profiles/rigs...


    Oh, and profiles will sound very different through FRFR speakers compared to guitar cabs...

  • Stereo vs mono question

    Im not sound engineer so this is my very basic view:


    Stereo will always sound fuller but it depends if that's really want you want - fuller usually equates to less cut. This is why I tend to play without any affects including reverb ( particularly on rhythm ) because at home it sounds ace, in a band it disappears...


    You'll probably get a bit more separation and spatial sound, question is, is that desirable?


    Are you a single or dual guitar band ?


    Personally I'd definitely stay mono in a dual guitar band and only go stereo if I wanted to maximise stereo effects ( like a ping pong delay)...otherwise its just not worth the extra leads etc.


    As an analogy, a single guitar band can sound fuller than dual when playing the same riffs because 2 guitars can be slightly out and make it more mushy. This for me is the same effect for stereo...


    Although as I said, just a personal experience...

  • Help for New FRFR User

    Quote from Jimi1983

    Thanks. I double checked that and everything is set up correctly with respect to the monitor and speaker emulation. I didn't really think that was the problem because I am not having extreme tonal differences as occur without emulation on. I'm starting to think it may come down to the quality of the profiles I was using, even though they had sounded really good with headphones and guitar cab. Perhaps the new monitor is revealing some limitations?

    When I switched to FRFR, I had to ditch all of my profiles as the guitar cab just smoothed everything out so I think that is a real possibility. Go and try some other profiles, and you'll hear a much greater variation via FRFR.

  • Balancing guitars live

    Quote from Sharry

    Ultimately, I have also opted for this solution.With a guitar cable with a silent jack and the change via remote it is the the quickest procedure for me to change guitar.
    (e.g. from acoustic to electric )

    Same here. I run a Les Paul and Gretsch. I don;t find it a hassle because ultimately I use they on different songs so each tweak is unique and does not have to be replicated onto the other performance..


    I also generally swap pickups anyway, so on the Gretsch I've upgraded to slightly hotter TV Jones which makes the "gap" between the guitars a little less without changing the fundamental nature..