Guys, what cab for the Kemper? Help please.

mooncobra

Well-known member
I have the Kemper power rack, and it sounds great. I have been reading online at the Kemper forum and other sites that the Kemper supposedly sounds MUCH better through a flat response cab. Is this your experience? Does it actually make a BIG difference in the quality of tone from the Kemper? What cab are you using?

So, the flat response vs a 4x12 cab, what do you think?

I have been playing it through a 4x12 with G12H30 70th Anniv's and it sounds good. Anyone played their Kemper through a regular cab then went to a flat response cab and noticed a big difference in the quality of tone?
 
In my opinion, you're better off sticking with a traditional cab or adding an inexpensive FRFR to it if you must...FRFR tech is just not there yet for my ear and even the best IRs don't sound as good as a traditional cab to me...

Having said that, I have both....I make a lot of profiles and like to know how they sound on multiple systems...

I use an Egnater 2x12 with Greenbacks and a powered Mission Gemini 2 cab.... :)
 
I find that the Kemper sounds MUCH better through a flat response monitor than a 4x12...

Steve
 
To me the Kemper sounds best using a DI profile, into a tube power amp, thru a guitar cab.
 
Mattfig":q0h2ss0i said:
Seems we'll get a myriad of thoughts on this which is awesome....Which FRFR do you employ Steve?
I've got the Atomic CLR.

Steve
 
It’s expensive, but I have the Gemini II and love it. The good news is the shop is very close to you, right up in Petaluma and they have a little area where you can demo their products. It may be worth it to take a guitar and your Kemper up there and try it out, I’m sure they will let you.
 
Hey_bert_whtcha_doin_bert":2b3u1ehi said:
I dunno, I turn the cab off on the KPA and use a v30 4x12. Sounds right to me. Frfr to me sounds less lively like your listening back to a studio track on monitors.

I feel the same way.....My Mission Gemini II sounds wonderful on clean and even mid-gain tones, but for high gain it sounds artificial....
 
I'm using a G-Flex 212 with Eminence EM12 speakers. Sounds great to me.

With these fairly neutral speakers I like the majority of profiles I use with cab sims on and some profiles with cabs turned off. With the V30's it was cabs off all the time and most high gain profiles sounded very, very similar to my ears.
 
I have the powered Kemper Rack and have been using it through my Bogner 2x12 OS using Scumback M75 PVC @ 65W. I the user category of mostly a live player, only a little recording. I Talked to a Kemper support guy who basically said that the Gemini II will blow me away, 1 because of FRFR, 2 because of the ability to use the empower technology to tune the cab to the room, and 3) because the class D amps they put in the gemini blow away the class d power amp in the kemper. He said there would be a substantial noticeable improvement. Turns out in retrospect he was the head of sales and the co owner of mission, not your typical support guy.

To my ears, the powered Gemini II did not sound as good as my powered Kemper Rack driving my Bogner 2x12 OS, regardless of how I set the empower knob, full FRFR, Full cab or anything in between. Regardless of clean, edge tones or gain tones. It was also heavier and much more cumbersome. It does not have casters, and there is only one handle on the top, but nothing on the side.

To me, the Gemini II sounded less full, with less bass response at the same Kemper setting. I was able to replicate any perceived clarity from FRFR by just increasing the presence on my kemper when using the Bogner....so if anything the experience helped me realize that I could improve my sound by increasing my presence, and after having done that, the Kemper/Bogner was way fuller and had more thump, and equally well provided feedback at will.

I returned the Gemini after a few days of trying to look for the magic.

I think it's possibly great for someone who does not have a nice guitar cab...although I reject the notion that the Gemini class D is superior to the Kemper Class D based on my experience...unless the bogner was so much better that it compensated for an inferior class D in the kemper and still sounded better than the Gemini?

Lastly as we know...it's all subjective and our ears differ...so good luck finding what you need.

I'm a Mission Engineering fan, using their expression pedals with my Kemper.
 
JerryP":2zm9z6cq said:
To me the Kemper sounds best using a DI profile, into a tube power amp, thru a guitar cab.
Most of the Kemper profiles I have are not DI and removing the cab sim and running through power amp and 4x12 must not be the same as I do not like the way that sounds.

Steve
 
stratjacket":1ldr8lai said:
It’s expensive, but I have the Gemini II and love it. The good news is the shop is very close to you, right up in Petaluma and they have a little area where you can demo their products. It may be worth it to take a guitar and your Kemper up there and try it out, I’m sure they will let you.
When I went there the owner James gave me a tour of the whole place. He was super awesome. Not to mention that their products are outstanding :rock:
 
Hey_bert_whtcha_doin_bert":1y34opuu said:
Frfr to me sounds less lively like your listening back to a studio track on monitors.
I get what you are saying, and this is EXACTLY why I prefer FRFR with the Kemper. The guitar sounds like a cab mic'd through a mic pre into a recording system. To me that is where the Kemper shines. With the non-DI profiles I have, it never sounds like a real amp through a guitar cab in the room anyway, so if I want that, I play my real amps through a cab. If I were playing live now in small rooms, I think I would love the Kemper direct to front of house for the audience as it sounds like a mic'd guitar sound. That mixed with the rest of the band in a set of in-ear monitors would be awesome. Trying to get a loud amp to sound good mic'd would just be a pain in a small bar.

Steve
 
sah5150":cyay6rvx said:
JerryP":cyay6rvx said:
To me the Kemper sounds best using a DI profile, into a tube power amp, thru a guitar cab.
Most of the Kemper profiles I have are not DI and removing the cab sim and running through power amp and 4x12 must not be the same as I do not like the way that sounds.

Steve

IMO the DI gives you the true amp sound. The studio profiles with mics are never going to sound like what I hear in the room with the amp. That's why I always recorded video for my sound clips. I can't play for shit, but they have the tone of the amp. In all my attempts to capture the real amp sound with mics and having a couple local studio try, it never sounded like the amp. I came to the conclusion studios just get a good sound that works, not worried about the true amp sound they hear live. The studio profiles can sound great, but not the same IMO. For those I agree clean power and an FRFR is the way to go. Even though the DI has the power section profiled, I think when I run the DI profile thru a tube power, into a guitar cab, I get the sound and feel of the live amp I've profiled. The feel is never there with solid state. I had the powered Kemper originally and it didn't do it for me.
 
sah5150":3sb2kayi said:
Hey_bert_whtcha_doin_bert":3sb2kayi said:
Frfr to me sounds less lively like your listening back to a studio track on monitors.
I get what you are saying, and this is EXACTLY why I prefer FRFR with the Kemper. The guitar sounds like a cab mic'd through a mic pre into a recording system. To me that is where the Kemper shines. With the non-DI profiles I have, it never sounds like a real amp through a guitar cab in the room anyway, so if I want that, I play my real amps through a cab. If I were playing live now in small rooms, I think I would love the Kemper direct to front of house for the audience as it sounds like a mic'd guitar sound. That mixed with the rest of the band in a set of in-ear monitors would be awesome. Trying to get a loud amp to sound good mic'd would just be a pain in a small bar.

Steve

Steve,

DI profiles are where the Kemper shines for me personally. I can send you a few from my profile packs if you want to try them out....

Cheers,
Mattfig
 
If you have a favourite cab and want all your tones to be expressed with its flavour, then a traditional cab is for you.

If you'd like to be able to approximate all manner of amp->cab and combo setups, FRFR is for you.

In the latter's case the Yamahas get the most love from Kemper users, from what I can tell. Solid, reliable and great value.
 
stratjacket":fn12heef said:
It’s expensive, but I have the Gemini II and love it. The good news is the shop is very close to you, right up in Petaluma and they have a little area where you can demo their products. It may be worth it to take a guitar and your Kemper up there and try it out, I’m sure they will let you.


Thanks man! So you went home, huh? Happier, yeah?
 
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