The Kemper thread

WiresDreamDisasters · May 2021

I'm still on the Kemper beta team. But they've not really delivered anything exciting to me for a while.

Really what I want is a complete overhaul of Rig Manager. It's pretty poo software. It's confusing and the UI+UX needs a lot of love IMHO.

I certainly hope they respond to the Quad Cortex, because the Kemper profiling methodology is a bit long in the tooth at this point. At the very least put the definition parameter on the post-profile refinement page, and even auto-refinement would be splendid!

Really struggle to get excited by all this wireless tripe myself. I don't find it useful at all.

Jonathanthomas83 · May 2021

WiresDreamDisasters said:

I'm still on the Kemper beta team. But they've not really delivered anything exciting to me for a while.

Really what I want is a complete overhaul of Rig Manager. It's pretty poo software. It's confusing and the UI+UX needs a lot of love IMHO.

I certainly hope they respond to the Quad Cortex, because the Kemper profiling methodology is a bit long in the tooth at this point. At the very least put the definition parameter on the post-profile refinement page, and even auto-refinement would be splendid!

Really struggle to get excited by all this wireless tripe myself. I don't find it useful at all.

I would absolutely love to do UX on a guitar based product!!

FarleyUK · May 2021

Just putting it out there - if anyone is after some RedSound LG10 cabs for the Kemper, I'm selling a couple. Check my ad in the classifieds.

Adamski · May 2021

What’s everyone using for power for the unpowered head/rack/floor?

Currently deciding between these three options -

Kemper powered Kab
Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170 + cab of choice (prob a v30 1x12 or my current 2x12 which is a v30 Heritage mix)
Fryette Powerstation PS2 + cabs as above.

I like the Fryette as it’ll introduce some valve warmth (I don’t care about it being totally accurate - 6L6 colour might be nice) and it’ll double as an attenuator for my Bogner too. Obviously this is the most expensive option though.

The Kab is simplest but then I can only use the Kemper with it and I can’t use the Kemper with my normal cab.

SD Powerstage seems like a good option but at £350 the Fryette is only a few hundred more….

drwiddly · May 2021

I've had my (unpowered rack) Kemper since 2013 and have tried numerous power amps and cabs and a couple of frfr solutions.

For power amps, the KPA is better with something fairly neutral, so SS or 6L6 valve power stages sound better to my ears. The Matrix amps are good and I really like the Power Station too. Surprisingly, the Harley Benton GPA 400 also sounded great. I tried a couple of EL34 amps but they seemed to colour the sound too much.

Having said all that, I'm running mine with a couple of Red Sound cabs atm and I'm really happy. I've still got guitar cabs and a couple of power amps if I fancy a change

If I were you (and if you can afford it) I'd go for the Power Station. That bit of punch from the valves may not be entirely accurate but it does sound great.

FarleyUK · May 2021

Is it likely the new iPad editor will work with the rack versions? I see the vids above for the stage and the head, but there appears to be few details on HOW it works....

allen · May 2021

FarleyUK said:

Is it likely the new iPad editor will work with the rack versions? I see the vids above for the stage and the head, but there appears to be few details on HOW it works....

I've been piecing it together from the social media info and it seems that the legacy units will connect via the ethernet port. This means that if you want the ipad to connect wireless you need a small wifi access point plugged into the ethernet port, plus a switch that will allow another cable to go to the remote.

My research tells me that this can be done relatively cheaply, but will need another power supply and a bit more fiddling with additional boxes.

WiresDreamDisasters · May 2021

Pretty gammy implementation really. As if I'm going to fuck around messing up my remote connectivity just to use a bloody iPad app.

FarleyUK · May 2021

Not bad for 8 year old tech, actually. At least they’re not trying to make people splash out another 2k on an updated version. And you don’t HAVE to use it.

QC doesn’t even have a mobile editor (even though they said it would….).

Adamski · May 2021

drwiddly said:

I've had my (unpowered rack) Kemper since 2013 and have tried numerous power amps and cabs and a couple of frfr solutions.

For power amps, the KPA is better with something fairly neutral, so SS or 6L6 valve power stages sound better to my ears. The Matrix amps are good and I really like the Power Station too. Surprisingly, the Harley Benton GPA 400 also sounded great. I tried a couple of EL34 amps but they seemed to colour the sound too much.

Having said all that, I'm running mine with a couple of Red Sound cabs atm and I'm really happy. I've still got guitar cabs and a couple of power amps if I fancy a change

If I were you (and if you can afford it) I'd go for the Power Station. That bit of punch from the valves may not be entirely accurate but it does sound great.

Thanks for the reply, that’s my thinking too as the Powerstation will double as an attenuator for my Shiva.
I can also get a neat little 1x12 and I think I’ll prefer the sound of a real cab to an FRFR speaker.

allen · June 2021

Quick heads up.

The ipad editor app is on the app store and kemper have said that the new OS is imminent in the next few hours.

allen · June 2021

I did a video on how to add wifi for those of us with legacy kempers.

It's for people who have no idea about networking, if you know what you're doing it doesn't add much.

Anyhow, hope it's useful to someone.

WiresDreamDisasters · July 2021

So a bit of background. I've used Kempers on and off since they were released. But never really used them in a band context. Just never needed or wanted to. Well I did yesterday. And some thoughts....

I find the performance mode a bit confusing to be honest. Typically in the heat of the moment I want to switch your "amp channel" without touching any of your effects. And because the performance slots on the Kemper affect the entire unit, throughout the day I regularly kept losing tweaks to my effects, or just flat out losing ones that I had added in the moment.

I can see how it all works, and I can see that it would be very good once you've got everything setup and you know your bank layouts and everything. But when you're wanting to just fly by the seat of your pants... I think it's a bit confusing.

Musicwolf · July 2021

WiresDreamDisasters said:

But when you're wanting to just fly by the seat of your pants... I think it's a bit confusing.

I've been using modellers / profilers in bands for well over a decade now and I would agree with you, at least at first.

When working with a new band I try to keep it as simple as possible. A couple of amp models (clean / crunch / distortion) and a couple of pedals. Once I've got a basic suite of sounds (with balanced volumes) I'll start tweaking and create song specific patches. Even if there is a song-per-patch many of the patches will be carbon copies of one another.

They're not for everyone but I like to push the tech to the limit. I select a song from my set list and that also brings up the relevant patches on the SY-300 and VoiceLive 2, it loads the song file on the laptop (which may contain a count-in or a pre-recorded intro), from a pedal I can then start playback of the count or intro whilst starting record so that I can make a mulitrack recording of the whole band at rehearsal or gig. Oh, and it also pulls up the relevant scene on the digital mixer.

Next step - running the light show.

The other guitarist has a Blues Junior. He knows how to switch it on all by himself (we're still training the bass player).

PVO_Dave · September 2021

This sounds great - one to have a play with when I next get some time

grappagreen · October 2021

Picked up a Stage yesterday as I'm moving back to Kemper for my live tones.. had a Toaster previously so I just need to get up to speed with the changes in the OS..

The format seems perfect for my needs..

Si

Jonathanthomas83 · November 2021

Does anyone have the PDF for the Choptones Bogie Dual Recto 3CH 6L6 Kemper Profiles pack, please? I deleted mine and really need to see settings for one of my favourite profiles, thanks.

https://www.choptones.com/products/bogie-dual-recto-3ch-6l6-kemper-profiles

Jonathanthomas83 · December 2021

Anyone still using a Kemper in 2021?

Musicwolf · December 2021

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Anyone still using a Kemper in 2021?

I've had mine since May 2015 (I checked my Thomann order history) and I still love it as much today as I did back then.

Jonathanthomas83 · December 2021

There's still two of us then! Happy days, @Musicwolf!

I'm enjoying a bit of a renaissance with a new Kemper. I sold mine back in 2019 and not really sure why to be honest. Probably needed money, but I remember thinking at the time that I'd probably achieve what I wanted to do by keeping it and pairing it with an amp and pedal setup. The tones it delivers are very good and I'm just having great fun with it.

I think it's fair to say that Fractal have overtaken it in recent years, in many ways, but there are so many profiles that I'd never be able to accurately recreate using a Fractal unit. These are tones that I've had in my head ever since I started using the Kemper, so they're kind of ingrained now and hard to settle for a "kind of" alternative.

I'm happy I got another one.

crunchman · December 2021

Still using mine.

I have been thinking about getting a Kemper Stage as well. I've got mine on my desk plumbed into my PC. It's a bit of a hassle unplugging it all to go out and play live, so I've been using an Iridium with my pedalboard. I have been thinking about selling the Iridium and some other pedals to get a Kemper Stage. I do want to check out the Quad Cortex though.

Musicwolf · December 2021

I've not tried the Fractal but I do own a Helix which I use live (the Helix can act as a MIDI controller and has better external loop capabilities). The Kemper sounds much better to my ears. I don't think that I've used the Helix once on a studio recording, everything is through the Kemper.

Jonathanthomas83 · December 2021

The QC is a very enticing prospect, must admit. I'm going to find it hard to resist once they've figured out how to get the plugin tones into the QC in an elegant way.

That said, the Kemper is staying for all the reasons I mention above. I've learned over the years that I should probably keep gear that delivers the tones I love, for posterity if nothing else. And the Kemper certainly delivers tones that I love and consider key to my personal repertoire.

FarleyUK · December 2021

Even though I love my AFX3, I really, REALLY miss my TopJimi #34 JCM profiles..... They were absolutely amazing!

TeleMaster · December 2021

The other day we were listening to about 70 demos I made about 5-6 years ago, all with the Kemper. And just talking about the quality of the guitar sounds, we were surprised as to how good they sounded. Clear, defined, authentic. When we move and I get my man cave back (having a kid put that on hold) I’m thinking I may get a non power head version.

While I prefer the Axe for live use and all, for home recording/studio stuff my opinion is that the Kemper is king.

steelcustomguitars · December 2021

Still a Kemper user here, on and off since 2012 but used one for the majority of those years. Currently own a stage and a rack. Can’t beat the Kemper feel for me, have tried all the other main competitors and they just don’t quite get there in the same way the Kemper does for me.

Really want to try the Powered Kabinet- any owners here with experience of using one?

BGG · December 2021

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Anyone still using a Kemper in 2021?

Yip, still loving mine.
Got a gig in January so can’t wait to turn it up. For gigs I use two Matrix NL12 1x12’s via a Palmer splitter box from the mono out on my powered rack.

Sounds fantastic.

Jonathanthomas83 · December 2021

Great to hear, guys. I've been searching for all my old profiles and managed to find many of them, even though it's like searching for a needle in a haystack sometimes, a lot of them didn't come stock on the unit, so I've been wading through 3rd party libraries and I'm very pleased to have found them.

Also been listening to the Tone Junkie and MBritt podcast (the first time Britt was on the podcast) and some of the tips they're sharing from improving the sound of rigs has really helped bring some of mine to life. They also talk about it being more flexible than the real thing...not to be mistaken with sounding better than the real thing...just more flexible and easier and a lot of it rings true.

Even the way that you can up the gain and maintain a decent volume (ie. not having to turn the volume down because you've gained it), how that fixes an issue that other modellers haven't really accounted for. It's a well thought out piece of kit.

susbemol · December 2021

For me too the KEMPER is very hard to beat both in terms of sound/feel and what it offers in one solid package. If you have ever had the chance to profile amps (the right way!), you will know how it can sound so damn close to the real thing. I gig and record with my Stage and, with the right profiles, it just sounds seriously brilliant.

Sorry, I LOL'd when I read the question asking if anyone is still using the KEMPER because I see them all over the place so often, both live and in the studio with all sorts of artists and enthusiasts. I thought the notion that people would stop using the countless number of units that are out there is quite funny.

In my limited experience with people working in fairly major productions, if it ain't broke, they don't fix it so it's very likely the KEMPER is here to stay for quite some time still.

grappagreen · December 2021

Kemper Stage user here.... had a a toaster in the past but grabbed a stage for practicality reasons and never looked back. I too have ended up profiling my own amps and am really happy. Peops also seem to underestimate or shy away from using the sound sculpting capabilities of the KPA - if it sounds good it is, irrespective of how you get there.

I've also moved away from cabs on stage; my signal goes out through the PA and I monitor via a QSC K10. My live sound has never been better..

It ticks my boxes still.

Si

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