Posts by gambcl

I've made a few of them over the years, usually because Apple don't make the exact form-factor that I was looking for.
They are much easier now, if you pick the right parts, last time I tried it the only tricky part was getting iMessages and Facetime working, but I think they have figured this out now.

Some tips:

• Try to pick hardware that is similar to stuff used in real Macs (especially graphics and audio), then it will likely be supported out of the box. This means less hassle for you, and easier updates in the future.
• Look for Golden Builds on TonyMac, or check their Buyers Guides for compatible hardware.
• Sometimes its worth disabling stuff on the motherboard if you can get better support for a plug-in replacement. i.e. LAN, wifi, audio and bluetooth chips are easily replaceable with a plug-in PCI card or USB dongle, and it's usually easy to find one that uses a supported chipset if your motherboard does not.
• Might be worth setting it up offline until you're sure everything is working before connecting it to the internet and trying things like iMessages and Facetime, apparently one problem a lot of people have is that Apple's servers will block machines if they suspect they are not real Macs. Usually you have to use a tool to generate a serial number and insert that into a config file in order to make your hackintosh appear "real" to the iMessage/Facetime servers. Best to get this right before connecting online.
• I would recommend getting a motherboard with a UEFI BIOS and then using the Clover bootloader.

If you get the hardware choices right then it can be as simple as:

• Prepare a USB installation stick (ideally made on a real Mac using a download from the App Store instead of downloading some hacked image from who-knows-where).
• Configure some settings in your motherboard's BIOS for compatibility with Mac OS.
• Boot from the prepared USB stick and install Mac OS.
• Install and configure the Clover bootloader (this can be a bit technical but it's not too bad).
• Generate and install suitable serial numbers into the Clover config files.
• Check that you can sign into App Store, iMessages, Facetime.
• Enjoy your new Mac

It's a lot simpler than it used to be, and if you can do a "vanilla" install (i.e. without needing hacked kernel drivers for unsupported hardware) then you can safely install updates straight from the App Store now.

Hope that helps,

Charlie

Thanks for the answers, puts my mind at rest about the weight anyway.

Had a slight hiccup when picking up the Kemper rack yesterday, the new rack unit I was collecting turned out to be a customer return and it already had a few marks on it, so I said I preferred a new one, they only had a rack+remote bundle available but they offered me a good deal on it so I went for it. It will be cheaper than ordering the remote separately from Kemper anyway.

We opened it in the shop just to check it over before I took it home and a bunch of the coloured LEDs along the top had cracks in them. Probably just a cosmetic issue, but I wasn't happy seeing that in a brand new unit and passed on it.

They have another new one coming in this week, so we'll see what shape that arrives in.

Hi folks,

I previously has the unpowered head and used it at home for practice, really loved the sound and feel but stupidly sold it because I thought it was overkill for my beginner needs. Of course I immediately regretted it and decided I can have nice things after all, even if I'm just a home noodler, so I'm picking up a new one tomorrow.

This time I think the rack model would suit me better because I don't play out and it will help me tidy up a whole mess of cables and I can have the rack unit high enough to see and tweak, whilst also having somewhere to put more rack units in the future if needed. I'll probably also get a rack mixer to easily listen to backing tracks without using up the FX loop inputs on the back of the Kemper, and maybe an audio interface later on.

I'm thinking if I get a nice solid-wood rack it will look like a piece of furniture and the wife won't notice
Thinking of one of these http://www.mixingtable.com/19-racks

Before I do that I have a few questions for anyone with rack experience, as I have never used or bought one before:

1) Weight - seems like a lot of rack gear is very light, but things like the Kemper rack are a lot heavier. Are the front rack screws really enough to take all that weight alone, or do I need some extra rails or something inside the rack itself to support the rear of the Kemper rack unit?

2) I thought it might be handy if possible to bring some of the Kemper rear inputs into a front rack panel, I have seen some pre-cut panels but not sure where or what type of sockets I would need to put into the pre-cut holes. Can anyone point me to some parts to extend USB and audio sockets into a front rack panel?

Thanks for the help folks,

Charlie

Hi folks,

Due to lack of time/skill to actually use it, I've decided to sell my Kemper gear and downsize a bit. The following items are for sale in the UK, all are in as-new condition and only 6 months old.

Kemper unpowered white head £1050 (hardly used, in original box, with all original contents)
Kemper bag for KPA head £50
Mission EP1-KP (green) £100 inc UK postage (never used, in original box, with all original contents)

I would prefer buyer to collect the KPA head to ensure its safe arrival, but if preferred the buyer can email me a prepaid UPS label and I will take it to a UPS access point.
I am based in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Cheers,

Charlie

Hi folks,

I'm hoping some of you can help me out. I'm just starting out on guitar and use my Kemper as a bedroom practice setup. I'd like to try learning the Scorpions' Wind of Change which was a favourite in my youth
I've got the Lick Library DVD for Scorpions to show me how to play it, but it doesn't really go into the tone and my inexperienced ears are not great at identifying the best amp settings and effects to use.

There seems to be 2 or 3 guitars:
- an acoustic strumming lightly in the background
- a clean-sounding electric
- a more high-gain electric for the solo

I was hoping to setup a performance (for the first time) with slots for each guitar sound and then I might get the remote to switch between them.

Is anyone on here more familiar with this track and could recommend me some settings/effects for these guitar parts?

Thanks a bunch,

Charlie

I just saw this come up on my Facebook stream, I'm assuming this is the same company you're looking for...
http://pimpmykemper.com/

Have to say the green leather with stitched Kemper logo looks very nice

Do you think it will improve my playing and tone?

Thanks for the opinions everyone, it all helps. I guess I forgot to mention that gigging isn't a requirement and recording isn't (yet) either. I'm very much a newbie at the guitar so I only use my KPA as a (fantastic) practice tool rather than a performance tool.

So my main concerns are:
- still having decent sound quality (seems a shame to cripple such an awesome gadget as the KPA by using completely rubbish speakers).
- keeping my wife happy (by not filling up our room with big black boxes).

I think I might have underestimated the amount of space needed at the back of the monitors for the power/audio cables to stick out, so even the 402's might be borderline unsafe on that ledge. So I'll either have to settle for the Woburn or maybe search for some nice-looking speaker stands that I can place slightly away from the wall, which then gives me more options for monitors I guess. The only stands I have seen so far have been massive black things, which won't go down well with the wife.

By the way, does anyone know of any better single-box speakers than the Woburn, I'm open to suggestions there too.

Hi all,

Just wanted your opinions on which of these would give the best experience for bedroom practice (with the guitar). I already have an OK pair of headphones (AKG 701) but sometimes I get fed up of the cable and want to play through a speaker.

I'm pretty limited for space in my current practice area but I want to find a decent small speaker arrangement that will fit on a window ledge approx 19cm deep.

I have looked at the Yamaha HS7/8 series but they are much deeper than 19cm, I don't mind a bit of overhang but I don't want to have them falling off the ledge either. People said to avoid the HS5 and also the Yamaha series have rear-facing bass-ports on them so they should probably be a certain distance from the wall/window behind them.

So I'm looking for something that can be placed right next to the wall (i.e. forward facing bass-ports) and only about 19cm deep (front-to-back).

The two things that caught my eye so far are the Tannoy 402 monitors and the Marshall Woburn.

The Tannoys will just about fit, only thing that worries me is how far out the XLR plugs will stick out from the back of the speakers.

The Marshall Woburn is a one-box stereo speaker that will fit perfectly, just not sure how suitable it is for use with a Kemper.

Anyone got any advice either way, or recommendations for alternatives?

Many thanks,

Charlie

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to have a look at the Yamaha HS series next week.

In the meantime I will be trying out the aux input into my THR10.

I also saw some posts about the Marshal Woburn and Hanwell speakers, which look ideal for bedroom practise.

Hi folks,

I'm getting my first KPA today, I have been reading the user guides and this forum but still had a few questions that I'm hoping you can help with.

I reckon 90% of the time I will be using headphones along with the aux inputs to play along with a backing track, I found an old pair of Sennheiser HD595's lying around that I've hardly used, not sure how flat they are in terms of sound reproduction but they will do to start with.

However, when I get the house to myself I would like to get out of the headphones and use some kind of speaker. This is where I get a bit lost, I'm very new to all the different types of speakers and so not sure exactly what I need.

I only need bedroom levels of volume and would prefer a physically small solution if possible, but I still want it to sound good.

After researching on here it seems I have the following options:

1) Get a powered FRFR speaker. These all seem pretty big and loud to me, probably too much for bedroom playing.

2) Get a 25W Camplifier and a small passive speaker. Not looked into this much yet.

3) Get some powered studio monitors, the Yamaha HS5/7/8 seem to be well thought of but I need to see some up close to get an idea of how large they are.

OK, really dumb question time, do I need a stereo pair since I thought I read that the KPA sends out a mono signal.
I thought a stereo pair would be needed to make any backing track sound decent though.

Also, do I need any other equipment between the KPA and the speakers, or do I just plug the KPA directly into 2 studio monitors?

I'm not entirely clear on the difference between the Main Output and the Monitor Out, which one would I use with the various options above?

I also have a Yamaha THR10, I wasn't sure if I could use that as a small speaker by feeding the KPA into the THR10's aux input, or will that sound awful?

Anyone else have any small bedroom setups that they can recommend?

Next question is the aux inputs. I have the Y-cable to go from my iPad into the aux-input/fx-return on the back of the KPA which should work according to some posts on here. This seems to mean that I can't use the FX loop at the same time as the aux input though, since the FX return is already being used. Is there any other way to get an aux input into the KPA whilst retaining the use of the FX loop?

Thanks for any advice!

Cheers,

Charlie

Hi folks,

Just wanted to say "Hi" as I am expecting my first white toaster KPA to be delivered today - excited!

I am a real (late) beginner, interested in all styles of music except metal.

I wanted something self-contained that I could use for late-night practise with headphones and experiment with amps, pedals, etc without cluttering up my house. I was looking into the Kemper as well as various other multi-effect units but I really got to like the look and feel of the KPA after watching many videos and seeing it up close. I also liked the online community here, it seems to be really positive and helpful.

Last week I was on a family holiday in Germany (driving from the UK) and it was pure coincidence that in every major German city we visited, we just happened to walk past the local Kemper dealers (yeah, my wife didn't believe me either). I just wanted to see if they were any cheaper in Germany, but as it happened they were slightly more expensive than in the UK, and none of them had a white toaster model in stock. So, I took the plunge yesterday and ordered one from Andertons in the UK, along with the carry bag. If I get on OK with it and decide to keep it then I'll be ordering the remote too.

I still have a few questions to ask, but I'll put them in a separate thread.

Good to meet you all, and thanks for the great community on here.

Cheers,

Charlie