Posts by alligatorlizard

Quote from KPmole

I just built an expression pedal with a used Dunlop wah.

It was actually in PERFECT shape and could have passed as "new"...the previous owner didn't even take the plastic off of the bottom and front logo. -Nicer than both of my wahs, but they're both custom and I didn't want to convert them.

I used the 10K linear Dunlop pot that came with the gear and washers attached. I also bought a momemtary SPST footswitch and added a stereo jack for the expression pedal out. Lastly, I used a 1k ohm resistor on the wiper of the pot. I prefer to use a switch instead of the toe or heel position to switch off the wah, which avoids any issues despite the fact that my Dunlop wah pedal stays at the heel position on its own.

It works great and has the right feel!

$30 used pedal, +$20 parts, +$10 stereo cable = $60 "Mission EP1-KP".

If I wanted to get really fancy I would have bought a can of green paint....

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Sounds like a plan! Thanks for the info. As I've already got a (faulty) Crybaby, should be even cheaper Will order a 10k linear pot from either the link someone gave further up the thread, or have found some on ebay for similar price (also with gear and washers attached). I guessing you ordered yours from within the US?

By the way, how did you wire up the footswitch to have it work as on/off switch?

And am I right in assuming you swapped the footswitch because the one in there originally is a latch switch, and the Kemper's wah on/off function requires a SPST?

Have had my Kemper for a few weeks now, and - like most people - have been blown away by how realistic it sounds/feels.

However I was initially a bit underwhelmed by the onboard Dist pedal effects... that is until I started experimenting with the Boosters. With the Dist pedals I'd just been leaving their volume setting at 0, however with the Boosters you obviously need to use the volume setting to get the boost... - and I found that even using just the "Pure Boost" I was achieving nicer lead sounds than I'd previously got from the Dist pedals.

I then went back to a Green Scream preset I'd saved, and set the volume to where I'd had it on the boosters - instantly got the same fat/smooth/fiery lead sound I'd liked from the Boosters, but now with some extra Green Scream overdrive as well (though I ended up turning down the gain on the pedal a fair bit from where I'd had it before to get the best tone).

Experimenting with the other Dist pedals, I found that if I first set volume (with drive at zero), then added drive to taste, was getting much better results than before - in fact they now all sound fantastic!

Thanks guys, sounds like the pot'll need replacing then (hot potz II is indeed a standard crybaby pot replacement made by dunlop) - I'll test with a multimeter tho to be sure.

Have just read up a bit more on pots - can anyone anyone confirm it's definitely a "10K linear taper" one I need? If so, I've found these on amazon/ebay for a few quid

btw - I'll presumably need to remove the cog/teeth attachment from the wah's pot and put it on the linear one - any tips on how to do this? Looks like it's glued on...

Quote from paults

Although the range can be calibrated, the Kemper is designed to work with a linear taper expression pedal. Using a non-linear pot will result in a non-linear response.

Yes, I understand, but the question is: is the "Hot Potz II" definitely non-linear?

I've got an old Crybaby wah-wah pedal which I recently tried to fix by changing the pot - didn't make any difference, so problem must be with circuit board. However as I now own a Kemper, I'm thinking is makes more sense to convert it into an expression pedal rather than fitting a new circuit board.

Have found this guide here, seems the only thing I'll need is a TRS jack: https://www.strymon.net/strymo…our-own-expression-pedal/

However I also found an old thread on here where a few people suggest replacing stock pot with a "10K linear" pot: Expression pedal for wah

The pot I recently put in my wah was this one (Dunlop Hot Potz II 100k):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dunlo…otz&qid=1580648883&sr=8-1

I'm not sure what the difference is between this one and a "linear 10k" pot - and seeing as you can calibrate the range of the expression pedal within the Kemper, does it really matter? Or is the problem not so much the range , but that the Hot Potz II has a non-linear response (i.e. that would be curved if plotted on graph)?

Thanks - I heard this might work, good to hear it confirmed! Might do this until I can invest in a remote

I was just following the procedure described in this thread here:

All profiles lost bottom end, sound a little nasal and brittle *SOLVED*

Other than wiping the data - which is, fine, I hadn't saved any use presets or anything yet - I can't have done any harm in doing this can I? e.g nothing else I need to do now in order to make sure my Kemper functions normally? Other than just copy back the presets etc. via Rig Manager?

Hi,

I did a system restore yesterday (turn on while holding down soft-button 1) but it didn't restore the factory content - rigs and effects presets are completely empty. I even tried another system reset immediately afterwards to see if I'd missed something, but the only available option is to "init from flash" (or something like that), nowhere in the process am I given an option regarding restoring factory content.

Also, I've read there should be an option in "system settings" (on page 1 I believe) to restore factory rigs and effects presets - there is no such option anywhere in my system settings.

I had previously updated the the latest (non beta) OS via the Rig Manager by the way.

I know I can copy the factory rigs and presets over using the Rig Manager, but just wanted to check if what I have described above is normal.

Thanks!

You know what, I might just modify an old crybaby pedal I have - and I wonder if a simple 2-switch pedal would be enough to use the looper??

Thing is I need the expression pedal(s) more than anything right now, as I want wah-wah capability! And if I get this, plus remote, it adds up - as I've just forked out for the Kemper itself, and investing in a few rig packs, my budget is kind of shot for now...

On the other hand, as I'm mainly using the Kemper for recording, there are only two things I REALLY need a controller for, one being wah-wah, the other being the ability to use the looper (which would come in very handy while tweaking settings, and I don't think can be accessed without footswitches?) - it would also of course be nice to change thru favourite profiles/fx with feet, but that's more of a luxury as I'll be multi-tracking different sounds anyway.

So I suppose I could just get an expression pedal for now, and plan to invest in remote later... Hmmm... will do some more research on the chips before deciding - or is one generally considered better than the other?

Hi,

I'm mainly a guitarist, so not as clued up on bass amps as guitar ones... I'm after a some good bass profiles for recording purposes though - could anyone recommend any commercial packs that would cover me for most things, mainly rock (blues/classic/heavy) a bit of metal (Megadeth/Metallica style) & funk-rock (Parliament/RHCP)? Guitar wise, I almost exclusively use Marshalls (esp JCM800), Oranges (esp Rockerverb) and the odd Fender (Twin/Princeton) - just mentioning that in case it helps suggest bass amps that will gel well with these.

I've bookmarked Guidorist's Ampeg SVT -CL pack (as that's one bass amp I do know fairly well, and his guitar amp profiles are great), but any others I should check out?

Also, back when I used Amplitube for recording, I used their model of the Orange AD200 MkIII quite a lot - are there any profiles of this available? Or similar Orange bass amps?

Thanks in advance, and I hope you'll excuse my general ignorance on the subject of bass amps

EDIT: Since posting this, I discovered the Kemper Bass Rig pack on Rig Manager (had only noticed the 17 bass rigs in the factory content previously) - anyway, found TONS of good stuff in here, I think I'll probably be covered!! I'll leave this post up just in case anyone's got any further recommendations - sometimes it's nice having a full profile pack to have a range of options of a particular amp, so if there are any that come well-recommended I could be tempted...

Just to report back - after spending FAR too long browsing thru profile-makers' websites (there's just too much choice!!) I've bought a few Marshall packs from TAF, and Guidorist's Rockerverb - all of which I'm very happy with! Also found some good Fenders in Tone Junkie's free packs, so feel like I've now got a good base of sounds to get started with.

However I'll definitely be expanding on this collection once I've got a bit more familiar with my Kemper. TAF's UK Gold Toolkit looks like one of the best Marshall collections out there, and I've bookmarked a whole bunch of other great sounding Marshall's e.g. M Britt, Nick K, Choptones, Katzbach, BHP etc. I've also now found a bunch of great sounding Oranges (the OR100 mentioned above, and livereadysound's Rockerverb, various AD30's and TT's etc). Just trying to resist buying everything at once... but it's good to know all this great stuff is out there for when I do want to expand my collections. It's a fantastic thing this Kemper

One thing I will say is it's a lot easier to narrow down choices when companies make a few free sample profiles available. Everyone's audio demos sound impressive, but once I started trying out the sample profiles in actual mixes, it became clear that some just instantly worked better with my production style than others - e.g. TAF's stuff all fit right in with very little tweaking, whereas Top Jimi's - which were initially some of my favourites - just sounded a bit too "vintage" in the context of what I'm currently working on. This has made me cautious of buying from places where I can't demo a few patches first. I can understand people don't want to give away stuff for free, but as some of these packs can get quite pricey, and there's just so much choice, it's REALLY useful to be able to try before you buy.

Hi,

Have been researching options for a cheaper alternative to the Kemper Remote, and it looks like the Behringer FCB1010 would be the best choice - enough foot-switches to mirror most of the functions on the Remote, plus two expression pedals.

Are there any other products I should look at (that also have at least one expression pedal), or is this definitely the best alternative controller?

Also, I've seen there are chips made for it such as "UnO4Kemper" which automatically set it up to mirror the Remote's functions. Are these worth it, or can you get the same functions by just programming the FCB1010's midi signals? And if the latter, is there information easily available to figure out what midi signals you need to assign to each switch/pedal?

Thanks!

Is there any way to loop some playing in the Head version of the Kemper without owning a remote? Would be very useful when tweaking settings - otherwise I'm either playing hammer-ons with left hand while turning knobs with right, or strumming open strings with right while turning knobs with left - neither ideal!

Quote from calgaryben

For Marshall’s, Top Jimi is my go-to. Just stunning profiles. I have the ‘68 Plexi, Hendrix SLP, Gilbert/Jackson, and YJM Plexi. They’re all excellent, and are mainstays on my KPA.

I haven’t bought too many Orange packs, even though they’re among my favourite amps, but one not to be overlooked is MattFigg (aka MotorCity Mods). His profiles of preamps based on Orange amps are great and as good as the real thing. I have his OR pack and it’s just gorgeous! I think the Rockerverb pack is called the ‘Stonerverb’.

Can’t help you with Fender mate, but I’ve always heard Tone Junkie is great for cleans.

Those MattFig OR100 profiles sound amazing, perfect for that COC riff in the first video - thanks for the recommendation, hadn't spotted these before! Will almost certainly purchase these at some point. His Stonerverb seems to be an actual modded Rockerverb pre-amp though, not a Kemper pack?

Definitely planning to buy some Top Jimi packs too, these are some of the best sounding to my ears on the demos, just can't decide which pack to start with! Possibly the 410HJS (of which there don't seem to be that many profile packs available), or his JCM800 or Lee Jackson... Only thing is, I'm not liking the profiles in his free pack on Rig Manager so much, not sure why - but then, most of these aren't from the packs I'm interested in - anyway, will probably buy one of the Top Jimi packs I mentioned, then if they work for me, invest in a few more. I'm tempted to buy the whole Katzbach collection of Marshalls too... These have a very different sound though, rawer, less "produced" somehow - not sure if they might take a bit more work to make sit in a mix? But they are more instantly "punchy" (and their free JCM800KK profile is one of the nicest I've played thru so far).

btw, on the issue of how different the various profile-maker's packs of the same amps sound, I'm presuming it's a lot down to mic placement? e.g. to my ears the Katzbach ones have a very SM57-near-the-centre-of-the-cone sound, while Top Jimi's I suspect might have the mics further away and mix in more condenser mic? Or maybe it's more the Definition settings etc within the Kemper?? Anyway, I guess people's preferences for one profile maker over another comes down largely to which style of mic-ing best suits their production style. Going to try some of the free profiles in a few mixes today and see if this helps decide...

Quote from deadman42

Indeed, that's what I would say as well. All good ones. Still they have there different styles and different vibe here and there.

Not to make it complicated but I would add one. Michael Britt. I like his 69' Marshall profiles a lot. Alltime favourites for Marshall sound in my ears. But he has a 800 pack as well and on the page a lot of sound samples from it. Look here:

MBritt 800 pack

I've actually got that one (the '69 Marshall) bookmarked too! Seen it recommended in a number of places now, and demos sound very "alive". Also got Top Jimi's Paul Gilbert owned Lee Jackson marked as another JCM 800 alternative. There do seem to be a lot of good choices for the types of amps/sounds I'm after, though I'm trying to avoid buying everything all at once...

Quote from digbob

search the Rig Exchange for Fender Amps there are a lot

of great Profiles on RE

As for the rig exchange, I will definitely spend more time browsing that, but so far I've found it very hit and miss - definitely found some gems on there, but quality (and, annoyingly, volume levels) are all over the place... So far I'm searching for specific amps, then ordering by number of reviews, then rating, but let me know if there are any other tips to track down the best stuff.

Have been getting to know my new Kemper over the last week by searching through the factory content & profile packs on rig manager (and rig exchange) - found tons of good stuff, and am very impressed with the overall sound and feel of the Kemper - in a totally different league to the software modelers I've used up till now for recording. As I was advise before buying, it does feel like playing thru a mic'd up tube amp in another room, as opposed to actually having an amp in the room and hence being able to interact with feedback etc. - but that's fine, recording is primarily what I'll be using it for, and the main thing is it DOES feel/sound like a real amp! So as I'll definitely be keeping it, figure I may as well start investing in a few rig packs...

My favourite amps have always been Marshalls (for overdriven 80's/90's rock/metal tones), Fenders (for cleans & funk), and more recently discovered how good Oranges are for super-smooth thick distortion (great for Drop-D tuning riffery, but I also really like the Orange sound for funk-rock leads). I've found some great examples of all of these via rig manager, but would like to expand my collection of sounds for these amps as I'm not sure I've favourited many real "go-to" profiles yet.

I'm mainly after suggestions for Orange Rockerverb profiles as I've haven't found so many of these, and a lot of the ones I've found seem to focus more on ultra-heavy/doom settings as opposed to the smoother heavy-rock sounds I'm after - however I've bookmarked Guidorist, TAF, and Deadlight Studios - has anyone tried any of these Rockerverb profiles, or are there any other good ones I should check out?

I've found tons of good Marshalls - in particular some great sounding JVM410HJS profiles, currently trying to decide between Top Jimi, Katzbach, Soundside, Deadlight Studios and TAF's offerings here! However I'd also like some more JCM 800 profiles, and here the problem is there are just too many... Any suggestions where to start?

As for Fenders, I'd like a good set of Princeton & Twin Reverb profiles (ideally with some convincing Ted Nugent style tones from the Twin, as well as some sparkling cleans and more gently-driven tones suitable for funk rhythm playing) - I think the best sounding I've found so far are Tone Junkie's for these amps - but again, are there any others I should check out?

I know I probably can't go wrong with any of the above-mentioned profile-makers, and over time I'm sure I'll end up building up a collection and figuring out whose sounds work the best for what I'm after. But as I'm new to this, would welcome a few suggestions of where to start to get a good collection of go-to sounds for mainly distorted-blues/funk-rock/heavy-rock sounds. Will be mainly using humbucker pickups by the way (DiMarzio Mo Joe & Paf Joe).

Thanks in advance, and apologies for the long post, but hopefully enough details there to give a good idea of what I'm after!

Thanks for the link! I do practice gain-staging in my DAW, using a VU meter plugin (calibrated at I think -18db) - basic rules I follow are keep all tracks around 0 on the VU meter, or (for more transient material) keep peaks below -9db (dbFS?) on the DAW's mixer.

However, I'm not sure that article made me any wiser as to what the practical implications are of the different options on the Fireface... hence why I'm hoping some real-world examples might make things clearer - e.g. with connecting my Kemper. Or does it not really matter which option I choose on the Fireface so long as I gain stage carefully?

Hi,

Apologies in advance for a rather boring technical question...

On my Fireface 400 audio interface, I have 3 options for the inputs:

1) "Lo Gain": +19dBu @ 0dBFS / 15db Headroom

2) "+4dBu": +13dBu @ 0dBFS / 9db Headroom

3) "-10dBV": +2dBV @ 0dBFS / 12db Headroom

To be honest I've never quite understood, in practical terms, which is best in what situation. +4dBu seems to be the default so have always left it on that.

Can anyone advise which of these is best when plugging in a Kemper via it's main stereo outputs? (My monitors are Adams A7X if that makes any difference, and my Kemper's an unpowered head.)

Thanks!

Thanks all for the info! Very useful, much appreciated.

Yes, the whole Kemper concept does sound great - I remember when I bought my first valve amp (a JCM 2000 TSL), I was initially intending to buy a rackmount system so as to have a wide range of sounds, but back then (late 90's) the digital technology was not really competing with the great feel/tone of valves. So if it's now possible to have all manner of classic valve amps accurately reproduced in one small unit, then that's exactly what I've been looking for for as long as I've been playing guitar. And in terms of what I need it for - i.e. recording a wide variety of music from a home studio - seems like the best upgrade to the VST's I've so far relied on to get the range of different guitar tones I need.

Anyway, if the playing feel and responsiveness is as good as people are saying, sounds like I'll have no complaints!