Kemper Power Kabinet - Full range mode

melod

Can the Kemper power kabinet , in full range mode, be used effectively with other modellers or analog preamp pedals (say revival drive)?

grappagreen

It always operates in full range mode when not coupled with a Kemper and using imprints. Hence you can use with another device..

allen

They specifically say you can't in the manual, but no harm in trying. If it sounds good it is good. 

Nerine

Are these any good? 

Only reason I ask is a friend of mine had one and it sounded horrendous, had no volume, and sounded like cardboard. 

All that said, he also doesn’t really know what he’s doing so could have easily been pilot error. 

grappagreen

I use one with a Kemper and it's brilliant.. I've used an MBritt XiTone cab and a number of high quality monitors in the past and wouldn't go back.

Si

nero1701

I have a zilla 2x12 with a pair of Kemper Kones in, Sounds great, I really like the imprints, They sound very good, easily recognisable as the speaker they are emulating.

Dan_Halen

Nerine said:

Are these any good? 

Only reason I ask is a friend of mine had one and it sounded horrendous, had no volume, and sounded like cardboard. 

All that said, he also doesn’t really know what he’s doing so could have easily been pilot error. 

I borrowed one off a friend for a few weeks and it sounded great, especially if you were using a profile through it that would be similar format i.e. a 1x12 like a Deluxe Reverb or Princeton. Still sounded good (or at least better) that the normal FRFR cabs I'd used for other stuff less like for like as it's just not going to sound like, say, a Marshall with a 4x12. However, it absolutely did feel closer to having a real amp in the room.

When I first plugged in wasn't too impressed as it did sound a bit boxy and quiet, then found out I was running it in the wrong output mode and had to change that and couple of other settings. After that had a big jump in volume/clarity. Wasn't massively clear how to do this from the info online - a lot of change 'x' in menu 'y' followed by 20 minutes of trying to figure out how the hell you get to menu 'y' so every chance your friends one wasn't set up right.

The guy I borrowed it from had also been running it in the wrong mode which is easy done - just plug into the main output and you will get sound, but think that's just FRFR mode, not Kabinet mode. However, if you're getting sound out of it then easy to assume you're hooked up correctly and to not change the required settings. Once I had some joy with it he took it back and gigged it but thought it wasn't anywhere near as loud as his Tonemaster DR which was surprising.... maybe he'd not managed to set it up correctly again but, having not gigged it myself, can't really say. However, I can say that I'd definitely buy it off him if he was selling it as worked great as a 'home' amp at least and would probably cut it live... although not sure I'd go seek a new one out at full price.

grappagreen

I run a powered Kemper Kabinet on stage with a Kemper Stage. When setup correctly and using imprints it sounds brilliant. I tend to run imprints that reflect the speaker the amp was profiled and since I got this setup I've never looked back. 

On the power front, again using as designed with the Kemper, and setting the power boost (and watching the power meter) I've not faced a volume challenge for the gigs I do..

Si