The Kemper thread

chrishill901

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@chrishill901 How are you getting on with the Kemper now you've had it a few days?

I’m absolutely loving it although I’m not currently using it to its full potential because I can’t get enough of the Caswell AFD profile and every time I switch it on to try a few different profiles I end up playing Appetite in its entirety and then running out of time! It is such a great unit though, it’s certainly a keeper. I want to get my head around the performance mode and then start to build rigs for variety but I’ll get to that eventually. At the end of the day the most important thing is to enjoy playing and I really enjoy playing it

sweepy

OK chaps, probably been mentioned earlier, what FRFR setup is everyone using, pros and cons etc 

Jonathanthomas83

@sweepy I used DXR10s but have reverted to Genelec 8020s now that I don't need those bigguns.both are superb.

drwiddly

I bought a dxr10 last year and used it for a couple of gigs and band practices but found it struggled cutting through a band mix on stage. I tried it in combination with a combo amp and it was better but controlling monitor outs to an amp return and main outs to the dxr10 and the desk was problematic.

I'd almost decided to give up on frfr speakers for my backline when I saw a few good reviews of Red Sound active speakers. I bought a B stock Red Sound LG12 from Thomann and, whilst it sounded good on its own it was missing something that the dxr10 had and vice versa. I decided to try pole mounting the dxr10 with the LG12 on the floor and that was the revelation. The LG12 gave the sound more low end power and thump and the dxr10 provided clarity. The combined headroom was immense so it felt like there was masses of power in reserve.

A few muso's and my bandmates have commented on how good the rig sounds and it feels great on stage. I've used it for smallish pub gigs and a couple of festivals and it's been great. I still use a power amp and guitar cabs occasionally but I really don't feel I'm losing out using the frfr rig and in terms of clarity and controllability, it's superior.

It's not the cheapest solution but it's definitely up there with the best sounds I've ever had from my backline. I'll be at the Huddersfield jam on the Sunday and I'll bring this lot with my Kemper and Axe II so people can compare and try for themselves.

Jonathanthomas83

@drwiddly that sounds cool...I'm imagining a passive red sound with the Kemper power amp and 2 DXRs flanking it in stereo...that'd be a very cool setup!

FarleyUK

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@drwiddly that sounds cool...I'm imagining a passive red sound with the Kemper power amp and 2 DXRs flanking it in stereo...that'd be a very cool setup!

...and also going back into the realms of why a lot of people use Kemper in the first place - to cut down on lugging a huge amount of gear around!

Personally, I had 2 DXR10s pole mounted either side of the drummer as a backline. But - at the last gig, I went direct to the mackie DL806 mixer and direct out the PA speakers (also mackie), with us each using IEMs. Much easier to setup, even less floorspace taken up, and still sounded great!

Jonathanthomas83

FarleyUK said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@drwiddly that sounds cool...I'm imagining a passive red sound with the Kemper power amp and 2 DXRs flanking it in stereo...that'd be a very cool setup!

...and also going back into the realms of why a lot of people use Kemper in the first place - to cut down on lugging a huge amount of gear around!

Personally, I had 2 DXR10s pole mounted either side of the drummer as a backline. But - at the last gig, I went direct to the mackie DL806 mixer and direct out the PA speakers (also mackie), with us each using IEMs. Much easier to setup, even less floorspace taken up, and still sounded great!

Ha, yes, of course! Cool nonetheless!

drwiddly

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@drwiddly that sounds cool...I'm imagining a passive red sound with the Kemper power amp and 2 DXRs flanking it in stereo...that'd be a very cool setup!

It has crossed my mind to get a bar for the pole so I can mount two dxr10's but as @FarleyUK says, it does defeat the object a bit! 

The rig as it stands is small, light and portable so not too much effort. I have had great tones in the past from my Axe II, a Mesa 2:90 and two 2x12's but it is a weightlifting contest and I'm getting too old for humping that lot back and forth 4 times a night!!

hotpickups

JW-Jones blues guitarist recently put up a video on Facebook where he compares a kemper vs a fender amp. Sounded great and the other seasoned guitarist who was a valve amp devotee couldn't tell the difference 

Wazmeister

hotpickups said:

JW-Jones blues guitarist recently put up a video on Facebook where he compares a kemper vs a fender amp. Sounded great and the other seasoned guitarist who was a valve amp devotee couldn't tell the difference 

Well, for the first time ever, I am amp-less !

Its an amazing statement from me; still shocked by it. 
Rambler and Redplate both sold in recent weeks...

Jonathanthomas83

That is amazing @Wazmeister! What a turnaround!

I recently read on TGP about a guy who couldn't get on with the Kemper and was thinking about returning it and keeping his Axe FX III. He had both, to A/B.

I messaged him to say "don't give up" and told him to try a couple more profiles on my recommendation. A couple of days later, he thanks me and reports back on his thread to say that the Kemper is a keeper and he's considering (likely will) sending the Fractal back.

I'm shocked how often this happens. It worries me that Kemper haven't got it quite right in that people could prematurely throw this thing away before hearing its full potential.

Still, another Fractal convert who has heard how good the Kemper is! I'm glad people are being enlightened, but also worried about how Kemper aren't making it easy for newcomers to the platform.

People get lost in a sea of profiles and I'm not sure about anyone else, but I don't find profile hunting much fun - in the same way I didn't enjoy IR hunting or pedal flipping.

Thankfully, I've found my core sounds, but I wonder how long it takes people and how much money it costs for them to find their sounds with the sheer number of 3rd party profilers out there. The whole thing is a bit frustrating. I often wonder how we, as a community, could make it easier.

sweepy

Ex Axe Fx2  and Fx3 user and loving my Kemper. Where the unit really does fall down is in the FX dept although tbh it's easier to hook up an Fx8 in 4cm to negate the shortcomings

Jonathanthomas83

That's what @Freebird does and he loves it!

I personally love the FX on the Kemper and haven't found myself wanting, but we've all got different use cases.

FarleyUK

Hopefully the (delayed!!) update for the Kemper will sort some of the FX out. I've been hearing a lot of positive things about it, as it seems to overhaul the FX.

Saw my guitar teacher last night, and he's also on about getting a Kemper after playing around on mine. Another convert!

Jonathanthomas83

I'm interested to know, guys, what your thoughts are on the FX? What isnt the Kemper doing for you?

It seems I'm in the minority.

@farleyUK, that's interesting, are they working on effects other than the reverbs?

sweepy

The drives and compressor are average and the pitch tracking and wah don’t seem that great but I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to really stretch the unit. 

Jonathanthomas83

Ah, ok, I was talking about post FX, I don't have any issues with those...I agree that the drives could be improved a lot though, yes!

I must admit, I've had better luck with Kemper pitch fx than I have with Helix or Fractal.

Wazmeister

sweepy said:

The drives and compressor are average and the pitch tracking and wah don’t seem that great but I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to really stretch the unit. 

I must say mate, I think the Compressor are some of the best I've used !

I assign a standard Blue one to the footswitch and I love it. really works well live, and really reminds me of the Cornish OC-1.

Jonathanthomas83

Wazmeister said:

sweepy said:

The drives and compressor are average and the pitch tracking and wah don’t seem that great but I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to really stretch the unit. 

I must say mate, I think the Compressor are some of the best I've used !

I assign a standard Blue one to the footswitch and I love it. really works well live, and really reminds me of the Cornish OC-1.

Agreed. I bought a Cali 76 a couple of months back and ended up sending it back because it didn't give me hugely noticeable difference to the Kemper comp to warrant keeping it.

FarleyUK

Jonathanthomas83 said:

I'm interested to know, guys, what your thoughts are on the FX? What isnt the Kemper doing for you?

It seems I'm in the minority.

@farleyUK, that's interesting, are they working on effects other than the reverbs?

Yeah, from what I gather on the official forums, what started as just a spring reverb update is now something that is looking to enhance and improve most of the FX in the unit. Of course, until they decide to actually release this mythological update, we'll never know.... my bet is sometime in 2019.

But personally, I don't use a whole load of FX, and have found the ones in the unit to be fine for my needs. the most complex song we do FX wise is probably I Want to Break Free, but I've managed to get the Kemper to match all the FX on it so it's all good!