The Kemper thread

Jonathanthomas83

Are you using the powered head or are you using FRFR?

firepaulmusic

FarleyUK said:

Just done the sound check, and the first thing I notice - it's not as loud as the AX8! I'm almost at max volume and can only just be heard over the drummer. Eeek.

Seems I need to increase the volume of each performance set over the weekend...!!

Just put more in your monitor, that's the  beauty of this set up...

Jonathanthomas83

So, I tried and failed with the Axe III, so I plugged the Kemper back in this morning and got immediate gratification from a few profiles I've never even tried before. Everything just seems more real and accessible.

There's no doubt in my mind that both units are immense and superb at what they do. The Fractal is hugely powerful. But the Kemper has a realism I just can't get close enough to on the Fractal...to MY ears anyway. Its workflow works better for my needs too.

I'm glad I tried but I'm pleased I can back to the Kemper too.

Foolishly, I sold my remote though so need another. Could have been worse, I suppose!

@FarleyUK, I said you had nothing to worry about with the Kemper, didn't I!

FarleyUK

Nice to hear!

So, gig went very well last night - managed to get over the volume limitations (still had 6db spare on the master volume, I just get nervous being near max volume!), and it sounded immense out the front; to my ears, it sounded a lot more like a tube amp than the AX8 ever did.

Still got some tweaks to do, but I'm very very happy with it. Got a third expression pedal coming later today - might use that for leads and to morph in the gain with a volume boost.

Only downside I discovered was that the buttons on the remote are much too close together!

Jonathanthomas83

FarleyUK said:

Nice to hear!

So, gig went very well last night - managed to get over the volume limitations (still had 6db spare on the master volume, I just get nervous being near max volume!), and it sounded immense out the front; to my ears, it sounded a lot more like a tube amp than the AX8 ever did.

Still got some tweaks to do, but I'm very very happy with it. Got a third expression pedal coming later today - might use that for leads and to morph in the gain with a volume boost.

Only downside I discovered was that the buttons on the remote are much too close together!

That's awesome mate. Were you using a powered head with a cab (what kind) or FRFR and FoH?

What are you using the other 2 experience pedals for? I'm interested :-)

FarleyUK

Jonathanthomas83 said:

So, I tried and failed with the Axe III, so I plugged the Kemper back in this morning and got immediate gratification from a few profiles I've never even tried before. Everything just seems more real and accessible.

There's no doubt in my mind that both units are immense and superb at what they do. The Fractal is hugely powerful. But the Kemper has a realism I just can't get close enough to on the Fractal...to MY ears anyway. Its workflow works better for my needs too.

I'm glad I tried but I'm pleased I can back to the Kemper too.

Foolishly, I sold my remote though so need another. Could have been worse, I suppose!

@FarleyUK, I said you had nothing to worry about with the Kemper, didn't I!

Go and post that on the Fractal forums, I dare ya....!

Jonathanthomas83

Haha, nah you're alright! :-) I'm really glad I tried it, was an exciting few hours to have a go, but ultimately, I wasn't digging it, sorry to say.

Jonathanthomas83

@FarleyUK did you get your remote direct of 2nd hand? Just wondering how long it took them to ship it to you as stock seems low.

FarleyUK

I used 2 DXR10's in stereo, so it's an unpowered head. Here's a quick video someone posted - https://www.facebook.com/trish.wright.1232/videos/10217051194618092/ (bear in mind I hadn't played for 2 months as I was in America, so it's a bit rough around the edges!).

Got my remote direct from Andertons with the head. And I'm using one expression pedal as wah (spring loaded), and the other as delay mix

Jonathanthomas83

Perfect @FarleyUK, thank you, mate!

I'm out and about ATM, but will take a look at that video soon. Glad to hear it went well being an FRFR setup which sometimes take a bit to get used to live, great stuff!

FarleyUK

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Perfect @FarleyUK, thank you, mate!

I'm out and about ATM, but will take a look at that video soon. Glad to hear it went well being an FRFR setup which sometimes take a bit to get used to live, great stuff!

Here's a remote - https://sxpro.co.uk/kemper-profiler-remote

Yeah, I'm used to FrFr now, after the Helix and AX8. I find a trick is to cut anything above about 7300kHz, and I take a 4db cut out at about 3400kHz. Doesn't seem quite so shrill then!

Jonathanthomas83

@FarleyUK thanks mate, I'll have a think. I'm not in a particular rush just yet.

What made you move on from the AX8 and Helix, if you don't mind me asking, anything in particular? Can PM me if you'd prefer not to say publicly.

Wazmeister

@Jonathanthomas83 - Mate, buy the Remote direct from Kemper. Arrives in about 3 days and cheaper than the daft used prices and SX Pro

Jonathanthomas83

Wazmeister said:

@Jonathanthomas83 - Mate, buy the Remote direct from Kemper. Arrives in about 3 days and cheaper than the daft used prices and SX Pro

Yeah I think I will, mate, they're showing as 7 days wait at the moment and I wondered if that was accurate, probably fine.

FarleyUK

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@FarleyUK thanks mate, I'll have a think. I'm not in a particular rush just yet.

What made you move on from the AX8 and Helix, if you don't mind me asking, anything in particular? Can PM me if you'd prefer not to say publicly.

Moved from the Helix to AX8 due to the improved responsiveness and feel that the AX8 had over the Helix; however, the community and the support from Line6 was light years ahead of the Fractal group and company.

Moved on to the Kemper mainly due to your blog, and I also had a producer come to a gig and was raving about how good it was - as well as a mate of mine having one. If anything, the Kemper sounds even better than the AX8 to me, and the feel and responsiveness is even better!

Jonathanthomas83

FarleyUK said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@FarleyUK thanks mate, I'll have a think. I'm not in a particular rush just yet.

What made you move on from the AX8 and Helix, if you don't mind me asking, anything in particular? Can PM me if you'd prefer not to say publicly.

Moved from the Helix to AX8 due to the improved responsiveness and feel that the AX8 had over the Helix; however, the community and the support from Line6 was light years ahead of the Fractal group and company.

Moved on to the Kemper mainly due to your blog, and I also had a producer come to a gig and was raving about how good it was - as well as a mate of mine having one. If anything, the Kemper sounds even better than the AX8 to me, and the feel and responsiveness is even better!

Ah wow, I didn't know that mate, thanks for saying so, very kind of you. That's very cool! I agree with your thoughts mate. Now I've had them both under the same roof at the same time (which I didn't before), I feel there is a difference and I know which I prefer.

TeleMaster

I love the Kemper for recording and home playing. There's nothing better IMO.

I've tried and tried the FRFR route and had very little success.

Here's what I've used.

Atomic CLR - Too shrill. Doesn't sound natural to me. Customer service was atrocious too.
Matrix Q12 - Same as above sound wise, but fantastic customer service.
Matrix FR212 - I actually quite liked this option, it actually felt like a cab with thump and response not dissimilar to a 2x12.
Yamaha HS10's x2 - My home solution, but not practical for a band situation.
Matrix FR10p - Sounded weak and lifeless to me.
Various cabs - some sound okay, some not so good. My current Friedman Dirty Shirley 1x12 is a bit muddy with the Kemper.

So it's fair to say I've tried many options. I do love the thing and would love to use it live but so far (aside from the FR212 which is a bit big) I've been largely disappointed. What are you guys getting success with these days?

Jonathanthomas83

TeleMaster said:

I love the Kemper for recording and home playing. There's nothing better IMO.

I've tried and tried the FRFR route and had very little success.

Here's what I've used.

Atomic CLR - Too shrill. Doesn't sound natural to me. Customer service was atrocious too.
Matrix Q12 - Same as above sound wise, but fantastic customer service.
Matrix FR212 - I actually quite liked this option, it actually felt like a cab with thump and response not dissimilar to a 2x12.
Yamaha HS10's x2 - My home solution, but not practical for a band situation.
Matrix FR10p - Sounded weak and lifeless to me.
Various cabs - some sound okay, some not so good. My current Friedman Dirty Shirley 1x12 is a bit muddy with the Kemper.

So it's fair to say I've tried many options. I do love the thing and would love to use it live but so far (aside from the FR212 which is a bit big) I've been largely disappointed. What are you guys getting success with these days?

I use Genelec 8020s at home and have used Yamaha DXR10's. Both sound great.

This could be worth noting...

FarleyUK said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Perfect @FarleyUK, thank you, mate!

I'm out and about ATM, but will take a look at that video soon. Glad to hear it went well being an FRFR setup which sometimes take a bit to get used to live, great stuff!

Here's a remote - https://sxpro.co.uk/kemper-profiler-remote

Yeah, I'm used to FrFr now, after the Helix and AX8. I find a trick is to cut anything above about 7300kHz, and I take a 4db cut out at about 3400kHz. Doesn't seem quite so shrill then!

FarleyUK

Here's a vid from Friday night - was tricky trying to get the swell at the beginning and the effect, and the solo effect; but think it was worth it

https://www.facebook.com/daryl.greaves/videos/10160860245905437/

Wazmeister

TeleMaster said:

I love the Kemper for recording and home playing. There's nothing better IMO.

I've tried and tried the FRFR route and had very little success.

Here's what I've used.

Atomic CLR - Too shrill. Doesn't sound natural to me. Customer service was atrocious too.
Matrix Q12 - Same as above sound wise, but fantastic customer service.
Matrix FR212 - I actually quite liked this option, it actually felt like a cab with thump and response not dissimilar to a 2x12.
Yamaha HS10's x2 - My home solution, but not practical for a band situation.
Matrix FR10p - Sounded weak and lifeless to me.
Various cabs - some sound okay, some not so good. My current Friedman Dirty Shirley 1x12 is a bit muddy with the Kemper.

So it's fair to say I've tried many options. I do love the thing and would love to use it live but so far (aside from the FR212 which is a bit big) I've been largely disappointed. What are you guys getting success with these days?

The secret, for me personally, is to separate ‘live’ and ‘home’ set-ups....

It’s very hard to get a speaker that does both well, imho.

So, with the Kemper, think studio momitors fir home use and big 1x12 (etc) for live. It took me ages to realise this...