Posts by joe plays guitar

  • Is the Kemper right for me?

    Hi everyone. Work had me bogged down for a few days. I am getting together a list of gear I can sell to help finance a KPA. Also want to sell because I won't need !

    I have been doing some reading and some folk on the web say the KPA's effects are not that great other than the reverb and delay. I am not taking that to heart but it did make me think about pedals, etc. I have a wah that I run right after the guitar and a flanger that I really like. My current pedal board is a 4 cable method into my amps FX loop. Can I still do that with the KPA. I get the sense that it's different as far as where the loop might fit in.

    And one last ??? I am thinking the Kemper Stage might work for me. Other than a few less buttons on the front I believe I get the same amp, correct? Same ability to add pedals, effects loop, ect?


    Thanks as always!!

  • Is the Kemper right for me?

    Wow! Thank you all for the responses !! Your kindness and passion are off the charts !!

    For me at this point I think my biggest concern is that " in the room" sound. Partly because I wasn't 100% sure what that meant. I figured it was "does the Kemper and chosen speaker sound like a live instrument vs a recorded instrument? " But doing some more research is helping me understand the pros and cons of FRFR vs running a KPA thru my existing 1x12 guitar speaker, and what factors contribute to why an amp sounds different live. I also found this Youtube video that does a comparison of some FRFR cabs. Looks like some do better at that live amp feel than others.

    The guitar speakers I have in combo and cabs are all British based, but I think most of the amp profiles I'd like are Marshall and Vox types. ( Vox and Matchless el84 /el34 amps) so if I choose to go thru my guitar cabs and turn of cabinet emulation I wouldn't be too disappointed in the speakers?

    Getting excited that Kemper might be my solution moving forward. I have played some high end amps ( an original Matchless DC30 was heaven) but have owned only good but not high end stuff. Pretty sure some of the high end amp profiles would be better than anything I have owned !


    Thanks to everyone for your support ! I am thinking getting involved with this community would be awesome, and getting to the point where I can give back to the next player a must.

  • Is the Kemper right for me?

    Hello everyone!

    I am looking at possibly selling my tube amp, a Marshal DSL40CR and some effects pedals to help finance a Kemper. I don't play out much these days, and if I do there is either an amp where I go or some kind of Pod into a PA that is non-negotiable.

    I am mostly playing at home in a single family house with a dedicated music den. While I can't get too loud I can sometimes play at around 100db per the db app on my phone about 5 ft away from my amp. Not bedroom volume but not enough to get the amp to sound like it should. About 60% of the time I have to watch the volume a bit more. I have been trying some different speakers and cabs to get something I like, and while I love to experiment, buying speakers, tubes, etc can get costly even if I resell. Kind of getting frustrated with trying to get a great sound within the boundaries I have. I am no techno phobe but this is a possible new world and while I have done a lot of reading I really just need a quick summary of some of my concerns.


    Does the Kemper hear the individual characteristics between my different guitars? Can I hear a difference when I adjust pickup heights like I can with my tube amp?


    I have some guitars with excellent wiring that makes them useful even with guitar volume turned down to like 2-3. Can the Kemper react like a tube amp in this situation?


    I have read the FRFR cabs don't give the "room feel " that running a Kemper thru a regular cab does. Am I compromising what the Kemper can do if I run it thru my existing 1x12 cabs? I get that somehow when a rig is profiled the Kemper software can decipher what the cab is bringing to the profile, but are there rigs out there that are made especially for those who use their own cabs ?


    I have read that Bass/Treble/ mids/ gain controls are less effective than with a tube amp. Basically the profile is what it is for the most part.


    I am not super picky about effects but do have a nice board with a Boss ES8 switcher. As long as I can have the basic range of options for adjusting reverb, delay, chorus, and dirt pedals I am okay with using what is on board the Kemper. I do have a CatalinBread Zero Point Flanger I love, as well as a wah. With the ES8 I can change the pedal order, can the Kemper do that as well? For instance one rig with a dirt box before a delay instead of the other way around? Does the Kemper play well with a pedal board?


    I don't own an amp I'd want to profile, but I do understand there are many. many options to get rigs. I play mostly hard rock, instrumental rock and like variants of Marshall sounds. I also like a Matchless DC30 that I had the joy of playing a few times, and I also play a bit O jazz. I have been a tube player forever, but the realities are setting in that maybe it's time to brave something new.


    Thanks for any input you all can give on any of these concerns !!