Hey!
I purchased a power rack version last Friday direct from Kemper, and it is currently on its way to Canada via Germany as we speak. I am super stoked to get my hands on it. I plan to use it extensively live and in the studio. Right now I have a crazy pedal board. Myself and a friend of mine have a small business here and we build flight cases, custom pedal boards, and offer custom pedal board wiring so we have gone through a few boards of our own in the last year testing things out.
Perhaps my most important concern is whether or not my board will gel well with this setup.
Firstly, here is my boards current setup.
I have a True Bypass Looper that runs the following things: Diamond Comp, Maxon OD9, Xotic SL Drive, Klon KTR, Frantone Peach Fuzz, Xotic EP Booster (My Looper also has a TRS jack that runs to my midi controller for a master tap tempo for my midi devices)
My Disaster Area DMC-6D controls patches on my Strymons (Timeline & Mobius) which are both run with a pigtronix Dual expression pedal so I can control them both.
Alongside those I run a Strymon Bluesky and Boss Harmonist.
I also have a custom I/O box we built with a switchable signal chain that will allow me to run all my effects into the front of my amp(s) or I can split my signal and send all my wet effects into the effects loop of 1 or 2 amps, depending on my setup. Normally I have been running everything to the front end of the amp, and I'm wondering if that would be my best option with the Kemper or if I should be using the onboard loop from the effects section.
I may be wrong on this, but could I assign a stereo effects loop for my wet effects to the X or MOD button, then lock that to always on in my performance mode enabling me to continue using my board and midi controller as normal? Then just hit the front end with my drive pedals like I would a standard tube amp?
Despite my affinity for pedals and my love of this insane board I currently run, I'm also looking for advice on a foot controller. Ideally I would like something capable of 2 way communication so I can see my patch names when I'm not near my rack.
Obviously I have looked into the Remote from Kemper, but my only problem there is that it will take me upwards of 3 1/2 months to get one according to the site, and I am gigging very regularly. Bare minimum one night a week, usually more like 3-4. I would like to be able to access all these awesome features of having many different amps at the touch of a button on a moments notice.
I have looked at some others as well like the Mastermind, Ground Control, Softstep 2, FCB 1010, etc. but I'm wondering what the general consensus is on what is the best pairing. I know the price I'm willing to pay would be a factor in what the best pairing is, but price is not a huge concern for me. I just want to have the accessibility and ease of use I get from using my pedal board, but through using the onboard effects and amp models in the Kemper. I would like all my sounds to be self contained and the sooner I can have a foot controller to help me attain that the better. (Anyone selling a Remote? )
Also, a friend of mine is building me a wedge style cab with a 112 speaker (Eminence Beta 12-CX), a crossover, and a tweeter that will be designed to angle up at me and have my rack placed on top. Not sure if anyone has tried this particular combo of things to see if it works, but my aim is to get as close to my FOH feed as possible for my on stage monitoring.
Sorry for my rambling post, but I am beyond excited to get this thing, and I have a million and a half questions, and you all seem so helpful in all these threads. Any words of advice you may have, even words not pertaining directly to any of my above concerns would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post!
Chad