Played my (powered) Kemper live for the first time on Saturday night. I thought Id write down a few thoughts:
I’d done a remix for a band (Keltrix) a while back, and they invited me to play my guitar parts live. As I was only playing on one tune on the night, I thought I’d give the Kemper a try - as I’d not have much to lose, and the mix required some reverbs i don’t’ own in pedal form, so went for it.
Apologies for the lack of confidence with the Kemper, but when you’ve been playing ‘real’ amps for 30 years, going on stage with a digital toaster that you’ve not moved since buying it (though I’ve played it and record with it a fair bit), is a little nerve wracking. I still took a 2x12 EVH cab for comfort/security. I think the fact that you only ever see big bands with Kempers, and they always have at least 2 or 3 of them kind of sticks in your mind a little. Also, if you’re playing at a small venue with maybe 2 or 3 wedges, you might struggle finding yourself - I’d say it’s essential that you have your own monitor. You’d be in trouble if you turned up with just the head, and had to share a monitor.
Carrying the head and pedal board in the bag was heavier then I’d anticipated, but not as heavy as my Fender amp. I think the idea that you’d be able to get the train with the head and a guitar is a nice one, but in reality, I’d not want to walk very far with it, and I’m a strapping lad. I didn’t like the way the pedal clanked against the head as i walked, so I’ll be putting a cloth on there next time too.
Having experienced the Looper pedal nightmare (how the F do i switch this thing off?!) at home, I was interested to read that someone had locked the pedal by putting a cable tie around it, which worked perfectly for me.
I’m not sure if it was real or not, but pulling one of these out of a bag and putting it on stage did cause an amount of interest. Added pressure, in a way, as i’d have looked a proper twit if it hadn’t worked - but a great point of conversation later. One thing that made my heart jump into my mouth was pulling out the ethernet cable for the pedal, as the plastic end caught on another wire, and i couldn’t help thinking if I’d have yanked that out, it would have broken. To my mind that is probably the only soft spot on the rig, and needs addressing.
Sound check was very simple once i’d calmed my nerves after being asked 'which hole? The sound girl was delighted when she looked, saying ‘ooh stereo!’ I’ve only ever DI’d an amp once, it was for an acoustic, I vowed never to do it again 'cause it sounded horrific, so the lack of mic on the cab made me a little nervous.
Switched it on… tuned up (sorry but the tuner is not quite up to the old Boss TU that I’ve used for decades, but it’s ok)… opened up the volume on the Les Paul and the room flooded with lovely clean P90, solid, EQ’d, balanced, and responsive sound. The heavy sound fed back against the cab which was pleasant too. (not sure it’d do that without a cab??) Used a tweaked Fender Deville profile for clean and slightly over driven, with a touch of the new Crystal delay and some reverb. Engl PowerBall profile for heavy. Played with the gate almost off - what you lose in pristine quiet sound, you gain (i think) in responsiveness. It’s really easy to get carried away with that amazing gate, i think.
Played well, admittedly held back a bit - but was rewarded later by being asked to play again in the encore, and this time I let my hair down, and the Kemper responded in kind. One thing that you won’t be surprised about was the time it took to switch the amp back on felt like FOREVER once the applause died down and the audience waited expectantly.
It all packed up quickly after, and got a taxi home (after a few beers), which admittedly would have been way easier if i’d have not brought the cab, and wasn’t so drunk.
The thought of people turning up with a USB stick to use the ’house Kemper’ struck me as I chatted to one of the other bands. I love and hate the idea at the same time. It’d certainly be a damn site cheaper for bands to travel around like that. We also talked about our favourite guitarists who may have got their sound partially through the limitations of their kit, which clearly doesn’t apply to the Kemper situation. Maybe also that future generations who will have been born into this age will not have any hang ups, but they’ll miss out on the joy of working with and sometimes against your kit - the debate will go on for years.
There’s a comfort in nostalgia, there’s comfort in things staying the same. I’m incredibly nostalgic about music, but I see a danger in it too. I guess if you were to separate the Kemper from the amp, and the Kemper sat on the floor as a bunch of pedals with amp simulators in it, you’d be in pretty much the same place, at least for solid state amps, and no one would raise an eyebrow.
I’m left with a very pleasant feeling that has continued on to this Monday morning. The balance and solid feeling along with the very full/warm sound has put a big smile on my face.
I can’t wait to play it live again, but will be taking a cab for the time being, or look into eating my own wedge.
